New Apartment, cont'd

We met with our new landlords this evening, signed the lease, wrote the checks, received our key, etc. The apartment was just as nice as we remembered, though we realized that our recollection of the layout had become quite misconstrued since we first viewed it. This time I brought the camera, if only to jog my own memory as we try to envision furniture placement and such. The yard is a veritable nightmare of weeds, some of them towering overhead in competition with the tree saplings. We have our work cut out for us in taming the yard, which has incredible potential to become gorgeous grounds. One sizeable maple along the driveway is slated to be felled, having caused $2,000 worth of damage to another tenant's car just by dropping a single limb in a wind-storm. Inside, I counted no less than 4 different types of hardwood flooring, a different one in each room, evidence of the age and mottled history of the home.

The first picture above is a peek into my future office (also known as the "+" in "2+ bedroom"), which is in a quiet corner of the house, featuring the beautiful french door shown, bright new maple flooring, and a built-in bookshelf. Secondly is our new pride and joy, the kitchen and dining room, which effectively quadruples the space we presently have for the purposes of preparing and consuming food. As you can see, it is incredibly bright and spacious, featuring new cabinets and countertops, a dishwasher & full-sized stove (neither of which we presently have), and a deck off the back. And the deck is exactly what the next picture is of - a perfect spot for a grill, a table, and some chairs. Notice the encroaching weeds on every part of the perimeter. The weeds are so numerous that they actually obscured an entire Weber grill, left behind in perfect condition, which will now be owned by me - finders, keepers!

After we surveyed the premises to our satisfaction, we went out to dinner at the Night Kitchen, an excellent restaurant that will be just down the street from us. It is located in the old Montague Mill building, right on the Sawmill River. We were seated on the patio overlooking the falls below on this beautiful cool summer evening, feeling quite content to be moving to this quaint village. All in all, we're very excited to move in, leaving Amherst and my beloved pond behind, only to find some new source of enchantment.