Busy Times

Sorry I have not written in awhile. These are busy times at our home. Our family greenhouse is bursting with springtime---so the boys have work to get to every day after school. Homeschool is winding down as we are on the last few days of this school year. Everyone is trying to finish up with books that they certainly don't want to see next semester. Our daughter, Hannah has been very busy with speech competition and just qualified to go to the National Tournament in June with her very funny speech about out -houses! and we have re listed to sell our house.....again!



2 years ago my husband could see the economic slowdown coming, and to save money and cut back on expenses we decided to put our house on the market! Well, if any of you have had to get a house ready for market---you will know what I mean when I say I now have an ulcer! We had to repaint, de-junk and clean up around here. We have a large home, and guest house with 2 bedrooms and a very large horse barn with an apartment attached. We also have 10 acres of wooded land and many gardens and flower beds. Getting it all ready 2 years ago was a big job. but we did it----and then we waited.....and waited....and waited. For 2 years I had a nagging feeling in the back of my head that anytime we could get a call for a "showing". That meant that we had a short time to make it look like 9 people did not live, work and do school here every day---24 hours a day. It had to be picked up and tidy and look like a House Beautiful home in a matter of hours!!!



But in 2 years time we had a total of 3 showings....3!!!!!! So of course as time went by and there was not a flurry of activity, things kinda slipped back to "comfortable" around here. Books were stacked up beside beds. Lego castles were left out to admire. My desk was taken over by the paper monster that lurks under it somewhere. Things went back to being a home---not a "House Beautiful".



So this last week we decided to get serious again with selling this place. New cans of paint were bought, old floors were torn out and closets were de-junked again. The Realtor came for a walk-through of my beautifully clean, de-junked house that we all had worked so hard on again. Even my desk looked clean and organized! She did not comment too much on anything, but as she was leaving she mentioned that she would have her "stager" give us a call to come over and discuss a few things about what to do to make the house look "more sell able"!



What did that mean----"more sell able"? Does it mean that she doesn't like how I decorate! Did she not see how neat and clean everything was! Who is this intruder who will waltz in and tell ME what my home should look like!



As you can tell.....I have a pretty bad attitude about this whole thing...I am trying not to take it personally----even though every corner of my house reflects some aspect of me...every picture on the wall has been hand picked and hung by me..cherished photos of dead relatives smile at me as I pass them hanging on the walls.....I know what she is going to point out---I already know what she is going to say....but I am kicking and screaming about it already....



She comes on Tuesday....pray that I am reasonably civil to her and that I don't burst into tears when she says the old portrait of my dead great, great aunt hanging in the foyer has got to go!