random thoughts – Day 1,941 – (Thursday) –house and furniture

The inspection on the house I’m buying was this morning. The inspector was very nice, very thorough, and explained everything. He, my realtor, and I are now intimately acquainted with the house from rooftop to crawlspace. I arrived a few minutes early, but the inspector and realtor were even earlier.

It was raining and the inspector told us to stay inside while he inspected the outside. It was a nice opportunity to chat with my realtor and long-time friend. Then he went through the inside, calling us over to show us things like the breaker box, outlets, mechanicals, and well, literally everything.

It stopped raining during the inside inspection and we all went outside and he explained everything he had noted on the outside and what he could see in the crawlspace. There were no major issues inside or out, and what seemed to me like a long list of minor things, but which my realtor said are just normal, especially with the age of the house.

My head was spinning by the time we finished more than three hours later, but that might have been because I had forgotten breakfast in my haste to get out the door and on my way  to the 9:00 appointment.

Fuzzy bathrobe couch!

After the inspection, I went next door to Mom’s to collect some boxes she had for me, then she and I went out for lunch. Fortified by food, we visited the Gardner Furniture Outlet to check out the sofas. 

Most of the sofas and sectionals looked exactly like everything I’d already seen at three other stores, with two exceptions, notable for the material covering them. One was cream, the other was black, and both were in plush fabrics that screamed fuzzy bathrobes, giant pet beds, or stuffed animals. I cannot imagine the fabric holding up well in real life. Both sofas looked like they had grand potential for becoming matted and needing to be combed daily. 

On the way back to Lowell, I stopped at a very cluttered antique shop that is like a claustrophobic treasure hunt. There were lots of pieces in black lacquer with mother of pearl inlay and gorgeous wood inlays and patterns. And no prices on most of the stuff, my least favorite aspect of any shop. 

It was fun to wander the store in my brain-fogged, headachey daze, just looking and not really having to process any information. I took my phone out to take a picture of the semi-organized chaos of the shop and saw I had missed a text. It was from a friend confirming our planned ice cream meetup at 5:30 which I had unfortunately forgotten about. I felt like a total schmuck, but heading to Westford felt impossible and we rescheduled.

It took a couple hours to relax, clear the cobwebs, and regain cranial function, but it happened. Now I can get busy packing things again.