This isn’t the end, but you can see it from here. Work has begun on Phase 4, the final phase, of Maples at the Sonatas. I know it’s too soon to get all nostalgic about this. So I will spare you those posts until later in the journey. For now, I’ll just share a visual progress report. Here we are—Maples at the Sonatas—from the air. Three pictures taken from three small airplanes in three different […]
Tomorrow will be a red-letter day here at Maples at the Sonatas. Actually, make that a red-box day, according to my calendar. But however you highlight it, the day will be significant. Tomorrow is Turnover Day, the moment when our community takes its next step toward completion. At a meeting tomorrow, our builder, Jamie Wilcox, will officially turn over the homeowners association to us, the homeowners. As is customary with construction, the builder […]
It’s a new month today, but it’s the same old weather. More snow falling. Another cold, sun-deprived day. Slippery surfaces waiting to trick you into falling. Yes, the winter that began in November — even before the first official day of winter — shows no signs of letting up on us. Most of our days are still the hunkering-down kind that I’ve already described in two posts on this blog. And yet— Our neighborhood is […]
There are several gauges that can be used to measure the growth of our community. The two most obvious are based on simple mathematics. What is the number of homes that have closed? What is the number of residents who call Maples at the Sonatas home? But there is another measure too, a less precise, more symbolic one. And that is the progressive movement of the construction gates. Until last week, there have always been […]
When I asked Cathie if she would let me blog about her experiences moving to her new home, I got a whole lot more than I expected. I thought I’d do perhaps three casual interviews with her and write up each as a post. The three posts ended up being eight, as her story took more twists and turns than either of us ever imagined. And there was no interviewing involved. Cathie emailed me each […]
Yesterday, after a 4+ hour closing, Cathie received her long-awaited keys to her new home. She is anxious to get settled but will write an update soon.
It has been two weeks since Cathie last updated us on her purchase of a new Portico here in Maples at the Sonatas and her move from Texas. At that time, she was still in Abilene but was about to load her belongings on a truck for the move to Woodstock. When I look down my street this morning, I see her home, but Cathie still isn’t there. She explains why in this latest installment […]
At 11:30 yesterday morning, I am getting ready to help Carol in the sales office, filling in for her assistant, Kathy, who is on vacation. I have done this before, and Sunday’s hours are only noon to 5. This’ll be easy, I tell my cat Angie. But then I look out a window and see there is already a car in the parking lot. Without taking time to change into more professional clothing, I hurry […]
For those of us who live in the midst of it, the rapid growth of Maples at the Sonatas has almost become old news. It takes someone who is here only occasionally to really notice it. I’ve had two groups of visitors in the past two weeks who have reminded me just how much and how quickly our neighborhood is expanding. First, there was the visit from my brother and sister-in-law, who live in the […]
Today Cathie shares a quick update on her journey from Texas to Woodstock. Finally, the complicated move is about to begin. But that doesn’t mean that the problems have all been solved. Far from it! Here is the latest installment. I still have no closing date for my new home, but my soon-to-be-ex-husband and I are getting ready for the closing on the home we sold here in Texas. We need to come up with […]
Cathie expected to have closed, moved, and settled into her new home in Maples at the Sonatas by now. As she explained in yesterday’s post, it’s been a difficult and complicated process that isn’t complete just yet. While she waits in Texas for the final details to come together, here are her thoughts. Is buying this house worth all the trouble I’m going through? Absolutely! As Caryl mentioned in the first blog, I found Maples […]
When I asked Cathie last month if she would be willing to share her moving experiences for this blog, I had no idea what a saga it would become. She certainly didn’t either. Today’s post is part 3 of the story; part 4 will be coming your way in a day or two; and the final chapter has yet to be written. We both thank you for your interest in this story. If you are […]
When I moved to Maples at the Sonatas two and a half years ago, there were 21 residents. As of today, I count 80 people living here. Wow!
Earlier this week, I introduced you to Cathie, my soon-to-be neighbor. She shared the complicated story of her preparations to move from Abilene, Texas, to Woodstock. You can find that post here. Today, Cathie updates us on her walk through of her new Portico home and upcoming closing. Again, I’ll let her tell the story herself. ••• Well, I have some great news and some horrible news. First, the good news. On Memorial Day my […]
It was looking like Cathie had made it through the hardest part of the home buying process without a hitch. Using online research, she had chosen Maples at the Sonatas as her new community. Also online, she had decided on a Portico home, which was available here, and had communicated with our sales consultant, Carol. In early April, Cathie flew in from Abilene, Texas, where she and her husband are currently living, to look at […]
It’s hard to say who enjoyed yesterday’s Maples at the Sonatas Spring Tour of Homes more. Was it (a) the visitors who toured the five private homes and four models? Or maybe (b) the sales staff who created another successful event? Or possibly (c) the owners who opened their homes? Carol and Kathy, our sales staff, were certainly happy. An estimated 120 people walked though the homes, resulting in a number of good prospects and […]
Maples at the Sonatas is usually a nice, quiet place. Visitors and newcomers often comment on it. The rest of us have come to take the tranquility for granted. But we shouldn’t. Being able to hear yourself think is a wonderful thing and all too rare. We are a peaceful enclave, 24 acres carved from The Sonatas, a larger, separate subdivision of mostly two-story, single-family homes. But once I drive down Schumann St. into our […]
It was obvious that something big was going on. So often during the past month, I would look out a window and see a lot more cars than usual in the parking lot by our clubhouse. There were also more people walking around the neighborhood, either with Kathy, our sales assistant, or on their own, studying maps and heading from one model to the next. Yesterday, near the end of her workday, I finally managed […]
Home Sweet Abbey 