We’ve been in the new house in Virginia for a little over a month now, and are finally mostly settled in now.  Wanna see the house?  Okay!  Here are some pictures:

Front of the house. Ain't it sweet?

The house is set way way off the road, at the end of a 50-yard driveway.  The owner’s cousin lives behind us, but it’s a parcel of land over 4 acres in size, so there’s plenty of room.  We found this house on the last day of house-hunting, after having zero luck finding anything acceptable.  Ironic that that was when THIS place dropped into our laps!  Thank you, Lord!

Some more pics:

Shot of the driveway next to the house

Florida room on the back of the house

Relaxing and nice in here!!

If we were actually staying in this area and bought this house, I’d put a couple of couches, tables and rugs in there, but it’s nice as it is.  This is one of my favorite features of the house.  The kitties agree!  They’re always in there laying in front of the open screen doors.  Spoiled kitties!

Boxes...and boxes...and boxes...

…and this is after someone responded to our Craigslist ad and picked some up!  They’re finally gone, and no longer block half of the earth’s solar energy. 

Oh, and there’s a POOL!!!  Well, not yet, but next summer, watch out!!!

Can't wait to get this thing going next year!!

Ok, so that perspective is coming in from the driveway, and as you come up those side steps into the Florida room.  Here’s a perspective going in the front.

Front room/library

This room is immediately to your right as you enter the front door.  We have all the bookcases in there (thanks, Dr. Obvious), the piano, and the secretary.  Still working on getting all the pictures and wall art up, but we’re getting there!

View from the front door...

…as you walk past the front room and through the small foyer, you walk into the dining room/kitchen.  Unfortunately, the fireplace no longer works- it used to be gas, and the rental agency talked the owner into removing all gas appliances.  Bummer.  To your left is the hallway to the bedrooms.  To the left, behind the buffet, is the staircase leading to the basement.  The door to the left in the picture goes out to the Florida room.

Buffet to the left...

… stairs to the basement behind.

Dining room, kitchen...

…and a bad kitty on the counter that’s about to get squirted.

A better view of the kitchen. And a better behaved cat by now...

Guess he learned his lesson.  Won’t be long before he’s back up there, though!

Down the hallway is Lizzy’s room.  She got to pick her own room this time, as the girls take turns getting dibs when we move.  Her room faces the back of the house, toward the pool.

She had this done and set up within a week of moving in!!!

Across the hall is our room.  It has a nice bay window that we really enjoy.

Master Bedroom

Whew.  Okay.  Now for the BASEMENT!!

View as you get to the bottom of the stairs- fireplace to the left

Left of the previous view. The owner's self-made entertainment center is still up. Not for long! Door up the stairs is just out of view to the left

Computers on the back wall

Holy wood paneling Batman!!  Still, it’s nice to have the finished basement.  There’s more!

Turning around as you're standing by the computers

I have NO idea where that wood paneling came from, but it sure is rustic.  He may have recovered those planks from an old building on Fort Lee.  Danny, the owner, built this himself over a period of two years from 1971-73.  He used recovered wood from old buildings on Fort Lee that were being demolished.  He removed them plank by plank and reused the wood on the house.  There is a detached garage that is similar;  Danny and his cousin took one of the old hospital buildings plank by plank, and then reassembled it in the same layout.  I don’t think the house was built the same way, though.

Oh, here’s the best part:

No longer suffering in their cases, never to see the light of day! They're FREE!!!

My own cool room!

The music room is the former office.  There were two desks left in there as well, as half of the room is behind this view.  It’s really nice to have a space for all my musical stuff, and have some elbow room to actually USE it!!

The house is on a 4-acre parcel that we share with our neighbors Bill and Susie; Bill is the owner’s cousin.  It is very close to a business corridor about 3/4 of a mile down the road, and the I-295 ramps are there too.  Being so far off the road, and on such a large parcel of land, it’s like being in the country.  It’s very quiet (except when the rifle ranges on Fort Lee are going, or the bugle calls over the loudspeakers, or the students calling cadence during PT and during the day).  Sometimes the sounds waft over from the post and remind us that we’re still in the Army, but mostly it’s quiet, serene and sunny.  Lots of windows make it quite nice.  We are very, very blessed and thankful!  So if you’re ever down below Richmond on I-95 or 295, stop on by!