We finally met the current owners of our new home yesterday, which was very nice. They were kind enough to crack open a bottle of champers to celebrate our new home/their receiving a huge pile of cash.
It turns out that they didn’t really want to move until next April, so we’re kicking them out quite early, just a month from now, and they haven’t yet found alternative accommodation. They’re going to move into a furnished house while they look around for a house to buy? Sound familiar? Although they have all their own furniture, they don’t want to move it all into a temporary place, so they’re going to put it into storage.
After the champagne., we walked through the house while they pointed out various articles that we can take off their hands, if we’re interested. There are a few items on the list that would be convenient to have, but I think we’ll mostly be buying our own stuff when we move in.
It was St. Maarten’s Day yesterday, so while we were at the house, the neighbours and their children came a-knocking, lanterns in hand. They have four children, including three young girls, so Eloïse’s going to have plenty of friends at her new location.
The new neighbours seem really nice. They immediately invited us to a big neighbourhood get-together at their house, which will be happening the evening of the day we move in. That will be a lovely, warm welcome to the neighbourhood.
Finally, it was time to leave. Wiesje puked on the floor of the basement as if to say, “This is my place now”, and then we were on our way.
As we biked home through the Vondelpark, we could see children everywhere, lantern in hand, making their way down the streets, knocking on doors and asking for sweets and other treats. Just a few years from now, we’ll be doing the same thing with our daughter. What fun that will be!
Today was spent shopping for more furniture. I think we’re going to cool it on the furniture now, wait until we take possession of the house and then just bring in an interior designer. I feel overwhelmed by the huge number of designs, styles, heights, lengths, etc. plus the need to coordinate all of the various items with each other, the walls, the floors and the general ambience of the room. Neither Sarah nor I really know our arse from our elbow in this regard, so we need an expert.