Howdy again!
Well, after over a month of absolute crazy we have finally made it in to a house! When my wife and I started on this journey, we thought to ourselves "why wouldn't any one want to buy a house? Apartments are never yours, can cost as much, and always have downsides you cannot fix (i.e. only a wall separating you from others, tons of cars, etc, etc)." Personally, I hated not having a lawn to mow and being told I cannot change the crappy landscaping... Anyways, now we know. It isn't the down payment, closing costs, fees, or anything having to do with money surprisingly. It is the process in general. Jeez, we had to find a house put in an offer, begin negotiations and then deal with some of the most ridiculous events and that was only the beginning! We had planned on closing (the official purchase and paper signing for those not familiar with house buying) no later than the 25th of May as our apartment lease ended on the 31st. We began the paper work in mid-April. Then the shenanigans began. We did everything we could to keep the process moving but the sellers were slow, their realtor only worked part-time, and the title company (Stewart Title Co.) I would swear was trying to screw us over. I have no problem giving their name, and if you want to know why and how much they screwed contact me privately. There are horror stories. And this was after being one step away from buying another house when the sellers went crazy... Goodness house buying is as crazy as anything anyone can imagine.
Okay, now that the venting is over I can move on to the good stuff. Having a house is a wonderful blessing in today's America (or so I hear on the news). We absolutely love our new home as do our dogs. They really love going outside without a leash. Our new digs is a two-story recent build in the same subdivision as our apartment. We have fully moved in and are settling stuff out. Between moving furniture and working on minor honey-do-list items, I have begun work on the new train room! I do not have any pictures as it is still a mess, but it is an extra bedroom that is about 11'x13' with a 5'x5' closet. While I am sorting things out in the room, I am also working on a plan to fill the room. Back in the apartment I had some 1by boards up around the walls with Bachmann NS track just so that I could run something, anything to keep me from going crazy. Now that I have a permanent location I am looking at something more substantial. The current thought is a double deck, around-the-walls type layout with lots of switching as well as constant running. There is a lot to consider in this situation so as I go I will be posting my most recent thoughts. The only thing I know for sure is that the layout will be occupied by my Spindletop Rail Road. For now the trains will be running on the B-mann track on the floor.
The other nice thing about the new place is that if I look over the back wall (we back up to the end of the subdivision so there is one of those brick walls instead of wooden fence) I can see the local industrial sub operated by the UP (about a half mile away). Every now and then a lone GP40-2 with a yard number (Y-xxx) will saunter down and switch out the refineries and other industries. They run slow on the low-traffic line but that is right up my alley. Even better is I can hear the long-long-short-long grade crossing horn blasts as it goes back and forth between locales. I always smile when I hear it and run like a little kid to jump on the wall to watch.
So all in all, I am very happy right now. I am working on several different project that I will get to talking about eventually. Unfortunately I am one of those people who prefers doing things versus talking about them :) and even then, moving tends to push a lot to the back burner. Until then, take care and be safe out there! And for those in the great state of Texas, the Museum of the American Railroad in Dallas is moving their Big Boy steam engine to their new location on Sunday (6/16) so try to get up there and witness the history!
