Tag Archives: house for sale

A DREAM COME TRUE

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When I retired from work at sixty-two, I thought now I could finally relax and enjoy the good life. I will spend all my time reading, painting, writing, and all of my other hobbies. That had I put off all of my working years.

But it didn’t take long before I realized that although I was retired from working forty hours a week, I still had to take care of cleaning and maintaining my home and my garden. I still had to pay the bills. I still had to go food shopping etc, etc, etc.

But what I did make time for was going to estate sales and yard sales. Because I decided that Saturday was going to be my day off. I’m not sure why I loved this activity so much, but I did. Perhaps because it always felt like it was a treasure hunt. And I came to look forward to Saturday mornings with great anticipation. Oh, the thrill of the hunt. 

And so, every Friday morning, I would take a walk down to the local store and buy the newspaper and read the garage sale ads in the classified section of the newspaper. And then, I would write a list of all the local estate and yard sales and their locations and write the directions down so I could drive from one sale to the next.

One of the interesting things that I found out after a short period of time was that there were so many like-minded people going to estate sales, especially in the well-to-do locations. Because there was always a possibility that I might find a real treasure that I recognized their true value and others wouldn’t.

Most estate sale buyers had particular items that they collected. Anything was possible, and they might collect comic books or cookbooks, jewelry, antiques or cameras, and teapots. Really there was no end to the objects that people collected.

Oh, and there was always excitement in the air as the shoppers waited in line outside as the time got closer to open the doors to the public. Most often, there was a limit to how many people could enter the house at any given time. If the house was located in an exclusive high-end home, people really became impatient waiting outside for their chance to enter the home. God forbid anyone cut into line the crowd because they could really get rowdy. You were always afraid that someone would find that perfect treasure. The one you have been hunting for all along.

I looked for anything that was out of the ordinary or unusual. Anything from a chandelier to original art. As people slowly entered the house, the first few people who went in would emerge. Sometimes they would have a triumphant look on their faces or sometimes disappointed. But, you always held out hope that you would finally get that one special object that would complete your collection, no matter what you collected. Or even better, something that was worth a great deal of money, and you could sell it and make a profit.

Then finally, I was number one in line outside the front door. The house was a big, old Victorian home. I just loved the Victorian houses. They were so interesting, and they were all unique. People walked around examining each item that was for sale. It was a treasure hunt for us all.

I had been searching for a Victorian chandelier for my dining room for quite a while. And the moment I entered the living room and I saw the double doors that led to the formal dining room, I saw it. And it was the most beautiful crystal chandelier hanging from the dining room ceiling. And it was perfect. I looked for one of the people running the sale. As I wanted to buy the chandelier before anyone else did. I saw someone in the dining room looking up at the chandelier and checking out the price, and then they whistled and walked away.

I hurried through the double doors to the dining room. The dining room table and chairs were definitely original and almost in perfect condition. On the center of the table, there was a circular burn. It looked like someone had placed a hot dish or container directly on the table. I was standing there shaking my head when I heard someone say, “oh, what a shame. I wonder if it would be possible to have that burn repaired?” I said, “I don’t know, but I would definitely offer a lower price than their asking for it. And then possibly you could have it repaired. It really is a beautiful table, and the chairs look like they have the original seat covers. And they are in excellent shape.” 

“Yes, yes, they do. I love them. I think I might make an offer and see what happens. Good luck. I hope you find something you love as well.”

“Thank you, and I see quite a few things that I would love to get. But my budget is limited. Good luck, I hope you are able to buy the dining room set.”

I saw a woman that looked like she was in charge of the sale, and I walked over to her. “Hello, I’m interested in the crystal chandelier. “Can I make an offer on it?”

“Yes, of course. But you will have to wait until the end of the day to see if your offer has been accepted. If someone makes a higher offer. You could lose it. That would be a shame, and it is a one-of-a-kind chandelier. It is original to the house.”

“Really, well, I definitely will make an offer.”

“Well, there is a woman in the office through that door. She will take your contact information and cell phone number and let you know the outcome. Good luck.”

So, I went through the door. I walked over to the woman at the desk and told her I wanted to make an offer on the crystal chandelier. She handed me a paper, and I wrote down my offer and my cellphone number. She said, “It is a beautiful piece, good luck. There are two more floors. Maybe you’ll find something else that you like.”

I nodded and headed toward the kitchen. There was a small pantry with a table and chair. I was starting to fall in love with this house. It certainly was unique. I wondered how much they were asking for it. And if there was any way I could win the lottery and buy this home.

I walked back to the front door and headed up the stairs to the second floor. At the top of the steps, there was a long hallway with three opened doors. Wow, this house was amazing. The first door opened to a small bedroom that was illuminated by the morning sun. Unfortunately, it had horrible wallpaper throughout the whole room. Aside from that, it was empty. But, I was able to see the possibilities of the room. There was a large closet in the room. And the floor throughout the house had the original wood floors. And I believed that with hard work, they could be restored.

I walked down to the next door and I pushed it open it was the biggest bathroom I had ever seen, but unfortunately, one of my fellow shoppers was sitting on the toilet and going to the bathroom. Before I backed out of the room, I noticed a beautiful tub and shower. The room was black and white with even more hideous wallpaper on the walls. I said, “good lord, who picked out all the hideous wallpaper.?”It looked like it was from the turn of the nineteenth century.

At the end of the hallway, there stood a set of black, wrought iron gates that reached from the floor to the ceiling. I couldn’t imagine what might be behind them. At one end of the hallway to the right a closet that had a door on it and a window. It was empty save for an iron radiator. I gazed out the window and saw a side garden with huge overgrown evergreens and what looked like a balcony on the facing wall.

I left the closet and returned to the hallway and the next closed door. I heard people milling about behind the door. I walked through the entrance, and there was yet another bedroom. It was large and empty. There were about ten people looking around and peeping into the large, empty closet. I couldn’t understand why they were holding an estate sale since there didn’t seem to be anything for sale. And it occurred to me at that moment that they were trying to sell this huge, empty house. As I walked across the room, there was a set of double doors and a balcony. The doors were locked. But I could see the backyard from the balcony. There was a large garage beyond the small backyard.

I saw another door in the bedroom, and it led to a small bathroom. This house certainly had no shortage of doors, rooms, and bathrooms. It was the largest house I had ever been in. And that’s saying a lot because I had gone to a hundred estate sales over the years. All the people who had been standing in line outside were now in the house. And it didn’t seem crowded at all. That’s how big this house was.

There was a wooden door to the right I opened the door, and at least fifty people stood inside the room. It was absolutely the largest room I had ever seen in my life. There was a huge black chandelier hanging from the ceiling in the middle of the room. And there was a fireplace on the back wall. The walls appeared to have a surface that looked like spackled cement or something similar to that. The window on the far wall was unbelievably big, and the rest of the wall was covered in floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. I felt small in this room. The view outside the huge window was blocked by two tall trees. But I could see the neighbor’s house across the street.

I walked to the middle of the room and stood there simply amazed by the sheer size of the room and the number of people milling about. Who all had the same amazed look on their faces as I did. I decided to walk back down the hall and go up to what I believed was a door to the third floor. And it turned out that there was indeed a third floor that ran the length of the house. And above that was an attic. I couldn’t believe how huge this house was. I wondered who lived here before and what they did with all the rooms.

And the longer I stood in the middle of this room, the more I realized that this house, this magnificent house, was going to be my house; somehow, some way, I was going to make it happen. And as I stood there and imagined living here, I imagined all the beautiful and unusual artifacts I would be able to find at estate sales and all the fun I would have finding them. And that, my friends, is how I came to find and buy the home of my dreams.

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THE NEW NEIGHBORS

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It was just an ordinary day in the neighborhood. I have lived here for almost six years when my next-door neighbor had recently put their house up for sale unexpectedly. We weren’t close friends. They were quiet and kept to themselves for the most part. When I saw the For Sale sign on their lawn I was shocked. But I guess I shouldn’t have been since. We waved at each other but never really said anything beyond, “hi, how are you doing?” We both always said, “fine.” in response but a little more.

At the time I was a stay-at-home Mom. Since both of my children were under five and hadn’t started going to school yet. I waited a long time to have children and I wasn’t in any rush to go back to work. My day was focused on taking care of my kids and tending to the house and garden. My days were busy day so I didn’t have much time to worry about what any of my neighbors were up to. Since most of the neighbors, kids were in school and the husbands and wives were working full time.

But after that For Sale sign popped up life changed. There was a string of young, middle-aged, and even a few older couples who came by with their realtors viewing the house for sale. It was the first time in about fifteen years since there was a house for sale in our neighborhood. Pennsauken was a great place for kids to grow up. It was a quiet street with little noise. People maintained their homes and gardens. The elementary and middle schools were within walking distance. There were two playgrounds nearby.

During the Summer neighbors had bar-b-ques and invited their friends and neighbors to stop by. While the adults talked and ate hamburgers the kids would swim in the neighbor’s pool. Everyone decorated their house on Christmas and Halloween. I didn’t realize how much I love it until things started to change and not for the better. And it all started the day my next-door neighbor put that For Sale sign up.

After about three weeks passed I happened to be outside hanging the laundry on the clothesline. “Yeah, that’s right I had clothes outside to dry.” Anyway, I noticed the For Sale sign next door had a sticker on it that said in bold, red letters, SOLD. After lunch, I started getting phone calls from the neighbors who lived nearby asking me if I knew who was moving next door to us. I said, “no, I hadn’t seen or heard anything”. It must have happened yesterday when I had taken my kids to visit their grandparents who lived two towns away.

About ten days later I noticed a moving van pull into our neighbor’s driveway all their worldly belongings were being loaded into it and the family members got into their respective vehicles without a how-to you do, or see ya later. And they had been our neighbors the whole time that we lived here. They didn’t even wave goodbye. I have to admit I felt kind of sad. I began to get a bad feeling about who or what kind of people they sold their house to.

Early the next morning I noticed a large moving van pull into the driveway next door. It was Deja vue only in reverse. Two movers began moving in the new owner’s furniture. I hoped that it would all work out and they would be a good match for our neighborhood.

Later I was outside sitting on our front porch and I saw some people getting out of their cars. There was a woman and two young children and two men. I decided to walk over and say hello and welcome them to the neighborhood. “Hello, my name is Sarah, I’m your next-door neighbor. I don’t want to take up too much of your time. I know you are busy. Welcome to the neighborhood. I’m right next door if I can help you in any way let me know.

The woman said, ” Hello, my name is Meghan Walters and this is my husband Paul and this is my boyfriend, Harry. And these are John and Rob, my kids.” My boyfriend, Harry is a cop in Merchantville.”

I stared at her momentarily. I thought I must have misheard what she said. But then I knew I hadn’t because she said twice this is my boyfriend, Harry. I really didn’t know what to say about that. So, I just said, “well, it was nice meeting you all. And I waved goodbye.”

I walked back to my front porch and plopped on the chair. And I kept thinking husband and boyfriend? What in the world is going on here? Good grief. As I was sitting on the porch I glanced over and I noticed that the new neighbor’s two kids were next to the curb. And the youngest boy had a rope tied around his neck and was sitting on a bike and the older boy was getting ready to push the bike from under him.

I jumped up off the porch and ran over to the two boys. And I screamed, ” what in the name of god are you doing? Are you trying to kill your little brother? That is when their mother, Meghan called out, “oh they always play like that they’re fine. Not to worry.”

I looked over at her and I yelled,” Is this some kind of joke? He was about to hang his little brother?”

“Like I said, they always play like that. “

That is when I leaned over the two boys and whispered to the older brother, “if I ever see you do this to your little brother, I’m going to make you very, very sorry. Do you understand?”

He looked at me and laughed. Laughed, he laughed! I walked away and didn’t look back I felt like I was in some kind of bad dream or something. I couldn’t imagine what was going to happen next. But I was about to find out.

Each day that went by something unexpected and unpleasant happened. And it always involved my new neighbors. And their close proximity to my home. Which heretofore was uneventful and peaceful. One day I took my children outside to play on their swing set and slide. Only to find that the swings were missing and the chains that held the swings were broken. I just couldn’t imagine what had happened.

Did someone come into my backyard and vandalize the swing set for some unknown reason. I just couldn’t imagine why anyone would do such a thing. My children start crying about their broken swings so I said, ” you know what I think it would be a good idea if we take a walk to the park. It’s such a nice day. What do you say?”

They immediately forget about the broken swings and want to go to the park. I found that distraction is something that always works when kids are upset about anything. So I said, “let’s go it’s a beautiful day for a walk in the neighborhood.” And in less than ten minutes we‘re at the park and the kids run-up to the swings and are laughing.

About an hour later I say, “time to go home and eat lunch. Who wants peanut butter?”

They both yell out, “I do, I do.” And we‘re on our way home. When we got back to our street we stopped at the candy store and I buy them both a pop cycle for after lunch. As we‘re walking past my new neighbors’ house I happen to notice what looks like our swings seats and the chains sitting on the front porch deck. I decide to give the kids lunch and put them down for a nap. I think it would be a good time to go over and have a talk with my new neighbor.

After the kids fall asleep I head downstairs to the kitchen. I wash the dishes and as I start putting them away I see that my neighbor has just pulled up into her driveway and her kids all but fall out of the back door of their car. The older boy grabs his little brother and starts throttling him with both hands around his throat. Meghan says absolutely nothing to either one of them. I open the kitchen door and double-time it across my driveway to her side steps. I yell, at Meghan at the top of my lungs to get her attention and hopefully to stop the homicide I see happening right in front of me.

“Hello, hello, Meghan. Sorry to intrude but someone came over into my yard earlier and broke my kid’s swing set. And I couldn’t help but notice that the swings and the chains are sitting on your front deck. “Oh, yeah, I meant to come over and apologize but I had to run some errands this morning. But you know boys will be boys. And you can only beat them so much. “

“What? Did you say you beat them?”

“Yeah, how else can you teach them?”

“I don’t think beating them changes their behavior. Has it worked so far?”

“Well, no. I guess not. But eventually, it might if I hit them hard enough.”

I looked at her and if looks could kill, she would be lying dead at my feet. Well, I’m going to take the swings and chain back to my house and I’ll ask my husband if he can repair the swings. Can I talk to your boys for a moment?”

“Yeah, go ahead but I have a doctor’s appointment in an hour. So, I don’t have much time to chit-chat. Do you know what I mean? I have a prenatal three-month visit. I hope I have a girl this time. I don’t think I can handle another boy. Say, could you watch my boys it will only be about an hour or so?”
“Prenatal visit? Oh sorry, I didn’t notice.

Congratulations. Sure, I can watch them for an hour or so.

“And maybe I’ll find out whose the lucky father? LOL

“Whose the lucky father?” Oh yeah, of course.” I blinked my eyes a couple of times. I was flabbergasted by the whole conversation. But I did know one thing I was going to get to know John and Rob and I was going to give them a safe haven to spend time in.

“How about they come over and have lunch at my house. And then they can play out back until you come home. I’ll sit outside with them it’s a beautiful day out isn’t it?”

And that my friends is how my daughters and Rob and John started a friendship that lasted for years. And when Meghan had her little girl. I took care of her on occasion. And when she got older. She would come over to my sidestep and keep me company while I was cooking dinner. She could talk my ear off.

Meghan and I just never hit it off. But I came to love her kids. At some point, her husband woke up and they got divorced. And somewhere along the way, her boyfriend went home and never came back. Meghan informed me that she was on the lookout for a new guy. Some people are incapable of learning from their mistakes. And Meghan was one of them.

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