I generally don’t write about personal things on the JoryPepper.com blog, but there are some people and local companies that I would like to celebrate and could think of no better way to do that than on this public forum. So bear with me on this slight deviation from my normal rantings and musings about Middleboro, communications and genealogy…

At the end of December 2010, my husband and I moved into our new house. It was a painful, frustrating two-year process to find a house that we both loved in the town we both now call home. We had no interest in leaving Middleboro, Massachusetts and we finally found the home that we were meant to be in. Enough of the rose-colored peace, love and harmony, though. Moving stinks and packing up a house filled to the rafters with years of accumulated junk is painful. Literally painful. I’ll be calling my chiropractor very soon.

In the meantime, there are some folks that I would like to give a big shout-out to for helping us find, buy and move into this palatial spread surrounded by the Weweantic River and cranberry bogs. We have nothing but high praise and unhesitating recommendations for the following local companies.

Land’s End Realty: Debi Jenness Locke is our real estate agent. She worked her tiny butt off to get us this house. She dealt with an uncooperative, lazy and incompetent seller’s agent, crazy home buyers and a plethora of other issues that would have driven any else out of the room. She hung in there though and through a variety of issues, managed to find and sell us a fabulous new home. Looking for a home in Plymouth County, Massachusetts? Call Debi and get an agent who is truly working for you whether you’re the buyer or the seller. You’ll find Land’s End at http://www.landsendrealtors.com/.

Atlantic Carpet Cleaning: Plain and simple, Scott Otis ROCKS! The previous owners of our dream home had a cat. Said cat was not litter box trained. Enough said about that disgusting situation. Atlantic Carpet Cleaning – using only green, pet safe products – cleaned, scrubbed and sanitized the carpets on the second floor of the new house. For very little money, we have carpet that is brand new and saved us a ton of money by not having to replace it with new carpeting or hardwood floors. If you have carpets that need to be cleaned, run – do not walk – to Atlantic Carpet Cleaning. They are located in Bourne, Massachusetts and you can find more information about them, and the products they use, at http://www.atlantic-carpet-cleaners.com/. We are planning to bring Scott back to our old home before our new tenants move in.

Viking Floors: Located in beautiful Middleboro, Massachusetts, Viking Floors swooped in and made our old, tired and scratched oak floors shine, glow and practically sing. They brought out the gorgeous honey color of the oak and the deep cherry-colored pegs in the plank flooring. After professionally and quickly bringing the floors back to life, they applied a sealant and polyurethane coating that will last a very long time and left practically no smell at all. For very little money, these guys saved us a ton by not having to replace our hardwood floors (see previous comment about incontinent cat). If you have hardwood floors that have seen better days, check Viking Floors out at http://www.vikingfloor.net/. We’ll be hiring them to do the floors in our previous home; that’s how good they are.

Steve DiRado: The carpets on the first floor of our house were just too far gone to be saved by Atlantic Carpet Cleaning so we ended up having to replace them (again, we have to thank the stinky cat for this issue). That’s where Steve DiRado of Carver, Massachusetts comes in. Steve showed us a plethora of carpet samples as well as other types of flooring and we ended up with… wood? fake wood? We’re not saying but we will say that Steve is the guy to call when you need new flooring. Stay tuned; we’re getting you contact information for Steve and his services.

Marathon Moving: Finding a moving company in Plymouth County is a bit like finding a Native American Casino in Massachusetts – almost impossible. However, thanks to Angie’s List we not only found our carpet guy but we found our movers as well. Marathon came in at the lowest price, but that didn’t sacrifice professionalism or quality in any way. Lucas’ estimate was dead-on accurate and the three gentlemen that moved us were phenomenal. They didn’t break anything and not one thing was lost in transition. I’ve moved many times in my life and every mover I have hired has lost something; not these guys. There was one small glitch in the final billing, but the owner of the company quickly and competently resolved the situation and apologized profusely. I would hire this company again – if I were to move again. This is my last move though. They will be carting my dead body out of this house and burying me in the backyard. (See previous comment about how much moving stinks.) Marathon Moving is located in Randolph, Massachusetts – http://www.marathonmoving.com/ – and should be your first and last call to a professional moving company.

Mr. Anthony’s Chimney Sweeping: Anthony Andrade provides full chimney and wood stove cleaning, inspection, installation and repair. I’ve never lived in a house with a fireplace before, and now that I have two fireplaces, Mr. Anthony came in to make sure that we could safely burn wood in our new home. He cleaned and inspected our chimneys and fireplaces and was a delight to work with. Sadly, Mr. Anthony does not have a web site, but he is located in Middleboro, Massachusetts and you can call him at 508.946.4730. He is a sweetheart, a true gentleman and that rare gem of a service person who loves what he does and it shows. He’s coming back to replace our chimney cap and I can’t wait to see his smiling face again.

Finally, I want to give a huge shout out to Angie’s List. We found Atlantic Carpet Cleaners and Marathon Moving via Angie’s List and we couldn’t be more pleased with the vendors we hired and Angie’s List in general. It is a terrific, easy resource for finding service people that you don’t have any word-of-mouth recommendations for.

Hubby, dogs, rabbit and I are all settled into our new home – we even hosted a ginormous New Year’s Eve celebration for all of our friends and family. We could not have done this move without the help of the folks mentioned in this post, plus our family and friends.

Here’s to a happy, healthy and prosperous new year to everyone and may you all find happiness, peace and tranquility in your home no matter how grand or humble it may be.