Friday night, I stood on a lawn doing the best that I could to control a fidgety puppy and a sign that said “Sold”.  The real estate agent who brilliantly guided me through this process did the best she could to not get Auggie too excited to meet people (or too excited to eat the grass) while she guided the camera shot.  In a couple minutes, they were gone, and the pup & I were left with this new house.

What did we do then?

Well, nothing I guess.  Generally speaking, and literally to a certain extent.

My plan was to drop the pup off at home, head to the hardware store, buy a bunch of paint, spend Friday night celebrating, hang out at the house all day Saturday painting, finish up with whatever on Sunday before starting to pack Sunday night.  Friday went to plan … until after I bought the paint.  ‘Friday Night Celebration’ turned into ‘watching baking shows on Netflix’.  ‘Saturday all-day’ turned into ‘Saturday morning hanging at Starbucks, then a couple hours at the house before calling it quits after the gas got turned on around noon’.  Sunday, I didn’t even go to the house.  Nowhere in there did packing begin.

So basically, so far at least, all I have done at the new house is tape the trim for painting and drop off some fruit that will probably go moldy before I head back on Wednesday.  The dumb thing is that I don’t have the time to putz around like this.  Movers come for my stuff at the rental on the 18th.  Between now and then, I have to paint some rooms, get some things in order at the house, and pack up everything.  Plus I am out of town tomorrow, and gone again for one of the two weekends between here and then.  It’s going to be crunch time before I even get a good crunch going.

You would think I would be fired up to get in there; but it was a little bit of the opposite.  The problem with buying a house sometimes it feels like an arranged marriage.  Before finalize the deal, you get such a short time that you set-up some preconceptions that may or may not be true.  That’s kinda what happened as I wandered around the place this weekend.  The kitchen is primed for a redo.  The garage a classic man-cave in the making.  Bedrooms suitable for setting up for guests.  Then the decks (not the plural there) itching for outside furniture.  At least that is what I envisioned

Thing is, the garage is going to need work.  The floor is … well … a garage floor.   I’ve seen backwater Kansas gravel roads smoother than that floor.  Being detached means it isn’t air conditioned, not a place to be during the summers – so, so much for it being an office this time of year.  Doesn’t mean that all can’t be fixed … but it quickly pegged down a few levels to a ‘long term plan’.  Then I got to think about all this stuff I’ve accumulated over the years.  Much of it is stuff I need, some stuff I want, others stuff to get rid of.  Granted, it’s not a huge amount, but … it’s got to go somewhere, right?  So, I think the second bedroom is going to have to be a ‘stuff’ room for a bit.  The water and power wasn’t on yet, just from the fact they need to verify ownership first, but it doesn’t mean the place is unbearable yet.

It’s just when you peg off those concerns, you are left with a reason to be grumpy.  Which gives you reason to procrastinate.

So I guess I procrastinated like a champion this weekend.  How’s that?