Washer, dryers, tables and boxes

Five days. . . five days until we get the keys to our new home. It's hard to believe. It's all still a little surreal. You talk and talk about something. You dream out loud about it, but you never really think it will happen. You write it off as a dream, a nice, sweet dream. And then once in a while, it comes together.

I know that buying a new home isn't discovering a cure for brain cancer or climing Mt. Everest, but for us it's been a long-time in the planning and even longer in the dreaming. And even if I thought we'd really make the move, I never thought we'd find a place that seemingly suits us so well, meets all of our needs and lands us in such a pleasant part of town.

That being said, we really got closer to bringing this whole thing to fruition this weekend. On Friday we shed our old living room furniture, now owned by my very young intern. We also started a bit of a furniture hunt of our own.

Never go furniture shopping without a clear direction. I honestly thought I had a handle on what we wanted, but I was wrong, all wrong. Our search spilled over to Saturday and after sitting on every couch from here to eternity, I still don't know exactly what we might want in our new abode. Too many choices. Too many shapes. Too many fabrics. Too many colors.

For now we'll sit, the two of us and the four cats, on a tiny loveseat destined to inhabit our den eventually. It's comical in a way and can do nothing if not bring a couple, shall we say "closer".

On Saturday we also made the first of our big purchases: a new refrigerator, washer and dryer. As you know, the latter two have been the subject of much debate. And we landed on the top loading variety, partly due to pricing and partly due to the fact that I found an incredibly efficient version, complete with a drying rack. Seemed to be enough of a compromise for us. And in the meantime we loaded our basket with everything from welcome mats to rope. I feel like such an adult, pricing out appliances, checking efficiencies and considering cycle options. My grandmother would be proud.

Today we ventured back to one furniture store where we bought a table and chairs. Our old ones are fine and dandy, but our plan for the new house was "more entertaining" and therefore we needed a larger table and more seating. Now, this is something I thought would come much later, but we found a set we wanted and decided to pounce. . . even if we don't have a couch yet. And as if I didn't feel old enough: I am still thrilled over buying a table with a "leaf" to be expanded for additional guests. Watch out, I might just make a turkey!

And then it was back to packing. I packed all weekend, and I dug in further today. We ventured into parts of the garage I'd only heard about and came out with two dead bats and a bunch of stuff that needed to be tossed. I'm also amazed at the number of chemicals one couple has. Bug spray for that; upholstery cleaner for this; oil for that.

Knee deep in laundry and trying to get a jump on what will prove to be a busy week; I am debating a nap. Shopping for couches can wear a girl out; maybe I need to consider a sleeper sofa.

On Saturday we ventured to a furniture store in another town, the spot where dreams are made and fabric samples can take a life. We came up empty, but I am still pondering a certain brown and green one.