zen and the art of furniture maintennance

Ok, so I have no idea where I left off, and I'm not going to go back and read my own blog. I cannot stand to be faced with the rambling. I think the last big thing that was happening over here before my hiatus was that I was trying to learn how to parent MyFavoriteKid through his troubles in school, particularly with math. I'm going to tell you all about that for sure, but not today. Today (because apparently venting is an integral part of my emooooootional process *snivel*), we're going to talk about an odd little outburst of tears I had last night.
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TheMostImportantGuy had come to visit for the weekend (as he most often does) but it was Sunday, and it was time for him to go.

Now, let it be known: I hate "The Going" part. Once he's actually gone, I'm okay. I mean, he's missed, but I'm not behaving ridiculously. But during "The Going" ?? Egads it's bad. It's so bad that we even have a well established ritual that is intended to lessen the drama. Right before he heads out the door, he pops a hard-candy into my pouting whiny mouth (sugar free or I'd be toothless by now---we've been doing this for years). The sweetness of the candy and his kind gesture keeps me distracted long enough to be keep me relatively happy until he has left and has some distance behind him. Odd, aren't we. I know.

Anyhow, he was headed out the door last night, and I somehow managed to get quite weepy and clingy. It was oddly over the top. About an hour after his departure I started feeling all sick to my stomach, and that's when it finally dawned on me that it wasn't his leaving that was causing the upset. Something else was off kilter. That is when I realized that what was realllllly upsettting me was the dining room table.


Let me rewind and give you the backstory about this table. I've had this table for a long time. It was given to me back in 1994 as a thank you for helping a neighbor move. I'm not sure how long my friend had it before then or how he'd come to have it. I have always loved this table. It's a drop leaf and folds down into a narrow 2-seater. If you pull up the wings up and it seats 4-6 people. Pop in the additional leaf and it seats 6-8. Solid wood. Worn from much use even before it came to me, but lovely.

As much as I love this table, there has always been a part of me pining for something different. Even before this table, I have never owned a "grown up" diningroom table. I either didnt have the space in my apartments, or I couldn't afford one. And this table of mine, being a hand me down, came with a few quirks. One of the pop up wings is a little loose and unstable, and it also always requited a matchbook (or two or three) underneath it to make it even.


When I moved here to the new house a year and a half ago, I only brought 3 pieces of furniture with me, and this was one of them (I went on a rampage and refurnished the whole frickin' house). I have been bitching ever since I got here that I even though I love this table, I really wanted a new table, I just couldnt find exactly the right thing. What I really desire (and maybe I've been watching too much Barefoot Contessa), is a round pedestal table that expands to an oval.

Well, leave it to the fates. Or mercury retrograde. Or something. As of last week, one of the legs of my dining room table is officially falling off.



Like, the wood split. Repairable, if someone has the skill. But I don't. Repairable if I just brought it to someone with skill, but I decided this was the universe telling me that my ideal expandable round table is now out there waiting for me, and so I went looking again, and lo and behold, there it was. By yesterday afternoon, I had found my new table. I ordered it, and it will be here next week. Huzzah.

Immediately after ordering the table yesterday, I took the pictures you see here of the old table, and I posted them on CraigsList. I offered the table for free, provided that whoever took it promised to fix it and love it and not turn it into firewood. Of course, I got a pile of replies, and by the evening, I had made plans for someone (who sounded like a nice woodworky sort of guy who said he would keep it and use it) to come pick it up on Monday (today).

Okay. So this brings us back to the point in the story where TheMostImportantGuy is heading home and I am snivveling with candy in my mouth. Sorry for not giving you the reader's digest version. Thanks for sticking with me if you got this far. Reward yourself with chocolate, my compliments.

So there I was last night, clutching my stomach feeling like I was going to be sick, and that's when I realized what was really going on. Clearly, I am attached to this old dining room table. Rewind some more, and I can tell you that earlier in the week, I also finally disposed of a beloved bedroom lamp that had been shattered beyond recognition, and it was a lamp that I had since I was 19 and in my first very first apartment. I broke the lamp 3 months ago. I didn't have the nerve to toss it out until last week. And right after I tossed it, the table leg broke. Rewind some more, and I can also tell you that earlier last week, I realized that I am all of the sudden feeling very middle aged. I am in my early 40's, but I have close friends in their 50's and 60's (and then some), and I also have close friends in their 20's and 30's. I can totally see where I am going, and I can totally see where I have been. It's an interesting vantage point. I like it. but I feel very "middle-ish" and I'm not exactly sure yet how this is relevant, but I am damn certain that it is.

Then I start tossing out furnishings I have bonded with big time, and well...all hell breaks loose, and I get all emotional and am crying and feeling nauseous, and it's all over a table that I couldn't really wait to replace.

Ahhhhh, The Dining Room Table. So many parties, and so many stories, and so much laughter, and family times, and making food for people and and and ....

You get the drift. Break out your tiny violins.

The bedroom lamp? The one that I used to drape with vintage sheer scarf so it would cast a lovely romatic glow across my boudior? It's now toast.

Having done a tremendous amount of purging of clutter in the past couple of years, I know for a fact that what I am attached to is the memories, not the lamp or the table. In fact, the more I think about it, I might not even be attached to memories. I think I might just be attached to the feelings these objects represent. And that feeling is intimacy.

Figuring this out is making it much easier to let the representative objects go (replacing my lamp with a new one that casts an even rosier glow has not hurt any...and once this new diningroom table is here, y'all are officially extended an open invitation to join me for dinner so I can make me some new memories. You just come on down now, ya' hear??!)

But going through the whole process of figuring out why I was so upset?? What an interesting little pile of internal research that was last night. And shifting from feeling sick inside to being ready to let go, and doing so quickly (in just a few hours) was kinda fun to watch. I hope I can do it at this speed more frequently.

The punchline to my little story, though?? The guy from Craigslist flaked on picking up the table today. I did all this internal work and finally got to the emotional place where I could really let it go....and the table is still here.

'ello

I get up every morning
determined to change the world
& have one hell of a good time.

Sometimes this makes
planning the day difficult.

E.B. White

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I can't even tell you how many times I have tried to post something and then been sidetracked by the whispers of items still in boxes....you misssss me...unpaaaaack me......you neeeeeeed me.....

Oy.

Well, it has been paying off to keep unpacking. Lookie! No more boxes in the livingroom.

Okay, well....except these two boxes (but they have a purpose):

Like my coffee table? Hahahaha. Yeah, well...for now...IT WORKS.
See, if you go back to that first photo, there should be a bookcase in that corner there where that basket is. The bookcases aren't here yet, and I haven't found a coffee table I like....so the boxes full of books, plus a piece of glass left behind by the last owner...? Viola. My "new" coffee table.

Actually, that first photo was taken before I created my designer coffee table. I took it so that I could show off the hardwood floors I had installed before I moved in. If you recall, the floors used to look like this before I moved in:

OoooBoy. There was no way I was keeping white carpets being a wheelchair user who lives with a 10 year-old little boy.

But I lamented over the floor selection. LAMENTED.

I knew I loved the darker woods. I knew that when I looked in magazines, the rooms that made me oooh and ahhh were the ones with darker floors. I also knew that I didn't know squat about decorating, and had lived with white walls my entire life. Here I was about to plop down a very big bundle on something that I couldn't replace or just paint over if I made a little "whoopsie" with my color choice. I had this huge fear (instilled in me by many) that the floors would be too dark and would suck the light out of the house. Some people told me that it would be too dark in here, and that it would make the room look too small or make it feel like you were floating, even.

I wasn't posting during that period of time, and be very glad, because every single person within earshot of me(or available on instant messenger) heard me freaking out about the floors. I mean, like really freaking out. It had the potential of being the biggest financial mistake in my entire life, because I have never spent so much money on something I wasn't entirely sure would work for me.

Well, as it turns out, the floors are gorgeous. The wood I chose is called "Tiete Chestnut". What makes it work in here is that it has a finish on it that actually shines light back into the room, so even though the floors are a bit darker, they actually make the room a bit brighter. The whole space is now very warm feeling, both to look at and to the touch.

I am very thankful for all of you folks who encouraged me to trust my gut and go with what I knew I loved, even though I wasn't sure it would work or not, and that it might be a costly mistake that I would have to live with for a verrrrry long time.

Thanks also, to all who commented about the orange kitchen. I love it, too!!

As for the dishwasher, well....I just had to kiss it. I have never lived in a place with a dishwasher before. This is a first for me! Growing up, my parents said they didn't need a dishwasher, because they already had TWO (my sister and I, hardy har har).

I am off to bed, but here is a shot of where I sat to type this post.

at the diningroom table

G'night ;-)

on the flipside

We. Have. Arrived.
It's been two weeks since moving day, and although there is still plenty of unpacking to be done, the house is in a pleasantly liveable state.

I've been trying to get back on the blogging horse for a few days now putting together a massive post full of photos of the house, but I can see it is a task that is big enough to keep me from doing anything at all. SO how 'bout a mini-tour over the next couple of posts, eh? Want a peek?

Here's a tiny bit of my kitchen...

My BrightFuckingOrangeKitchen. Which I am totally in love with. Besides being so vibrant, it is open to the diningroom and most of livingroom, so I don't feel isolated when I am cooking. The kitchen in the old house was totally closed off to the rest of the house, which was great for hiding a mess, but I do much better when I am forced to clean up because it is visible, and when I dont have to be alone while doing it. In the old kitchen, even if someond did want to keep me company, there was no place for them to sit or even stand without getting in the way. Cooking and cleanin up had become a punishmnet. Like being on detention or something. I didn't enjoy cooking, and it all explains why the dishes would pile up, too.

Not in this house, though. Now I can clean up after cooking and be talking to people or be watching tv or listening to music. Of course, the new house has this sweet little baby, which aint hurtin' any:

yes, that is me taking a picture of myself kissing my dishwasher. I wonder how long it will be before my neighbors find out what a loon I am

Soon there will be a breakfast bar installed attached to the main kitchen counter, and then folks can sit and hang out and visit and eat while I cook.

This house is built for entertaining. WHEEEE!! (come on over. anytime. seriously. take me up on it. this is the first time in a long time that I would actually not dread surprise visits.)

The kitchen is already organized to the point of amazing efficiency, and I will show you some of that soon, as well as tell you a bit about how it got that way...because yes, it IS just that interesting how it got that way.

More soon, but today is the day I upack THE YARN!

smoke signal

Moving day is (finally) here. It's happening this Friday.

just a portion of the wall o' box

Yes, I am moving on a Friday the 13th.

No, I do not think it is a bad omen (besides, the first full day in the new house is a new moon, which in my mind trumps that).

Yes, it has literally taken me this many weeks to both pack up the old house and also get the new house ready. I am frustrated that this whole packing process, plus dealing with multiple contractors at the new place, has sucked the life out of me...and I am bummed that it and kept me away from my blog (not only mine, but yours, too). There is no way in hell I would have gotten everything done if I was distracted by the warm fuzzy glow of my favorite screen, though.

Thanks soooo much to all who emailed or posted to ask me how I am doing.
I am doing fine.
I cannot, however, say the same for the cat:

clearly there have been a few occasions where it has been every "man" for himself

I cannot wait to be out of the old house and into the new one. You can't get me out of here soon enough. Occasional little outings in the new neighborhood have been the only thing that has saved me from....ohhhh....putting a bag over my head.

sound advice from Dell's packaging dept.

I have plenty to look forward to. Look at my new hood...

taken about 15 minutes north of my new place...I took the shot from the passenger seat while the car was moving....I didn't even notice the bunnies until just now!

one really great burger joint sitting on a quiet stretch of
river

Just a few more days and the dust will settle (yay!! no more dust bunnies!!...just real ones)....

and then I'll be back ;-)

oh no here we go

Today I drove down to TheMostImportantGuy's work and took him out for a birthday lunch. Then we went back to his office to divvy-up a big ol' carrot cake with his coworkers.

I arrived home from lunch just in time to receive this delivery:

doesn't kitty look thrilled?

If you don't see smoke signals rising up out of the bubble wrap every few days, send out the troops.

ohhh the irony....

I have, in hand, a set of keys, along with a signed addendum permitting me full access to the new house (insert sound of me tooting a party horn).

Escrow hasn't officially closed yet, but it will the second that last piece of paper comes in. What's been missing is a document from the seller's bank proving that she paid off her loan for the house way back when. I won't name the bank, but for story telling purposes, let's just refer to them as SmellsLargo.

The escrow company tried to get SmellsLargo to overnight the document, and they refused, even when the escrow company offered to pay for it. SmellsLargo also refused to have the document faxed to a local SmellsFargo for the seller or the escrow company to pick up. They only send these things via snail mail. Nice, eh? We're all hoping it comes in by Friday afternoon. Once that form comes in, this will be allllllll mine, baby....




Ummmm, yeah.

That would be the seller's crap that she left in the garage that apparently she has no intention of removing (she's already turned in all of her keys and security gate codes, etc etc).

More nice, eh?

I find it totally ironic that since November I've been slowly purging my own home in preparation of this moment, only to arrive at new empty homeowner bliss to find a pile of crap with a note on top that says "Salvation Army" with their telephone number scribbled on it.

Now before y'all get in a twist in the comments, I'm not fretting it, okay? So neither should you. She's elderly, and she's nice, she has a broken hip, and if it was you, you'd be happy I wasn't complaining about it, too. I'll deal with it. I will even deal with the computer desk and the dresser on the other side of the garage that didn't make it into the photo LOL.

My agent was totally willing to pursue the removal of the stuff with the seller and her agent, and she's such a sweetie that she even offered to handle removal herself. To be honest with you, because I have been making almost weekly trips to the local Goodwill Donation Station while emptying out my own house, I'm quite used to all this. One more car load aint gonna kill me.

But before I haul it off...anyone in need a TV tray or a toaster oven???

the waiting game

It's Tuesday morning, and I'm quite fidgety. I was supposed to have keys to my new place at 10am. I have utilities going into my name as of today, and I have four appointments lined up this week for contractors to come in and give me estimates on things I need to tweak. And I have no keys. I'm just sort of sitting here waiting for the phone to ring.

So meanwhile....I figured I'd post some photos from the trip to keep my mind off things:

Another butt/beer photo op

Fort Worth Fire Station No. 1

Inside the fire stations is the museum of the history of Ft.Worth, which we spent some time trolling. I love learning about the local history whenever I visit a city.

Ball-Eddleman-McFarland House

I saw this building perched on a hill and TheMostImportantGuy drove around until we found it. We didn't get to go inside, but if I'm ever back in the area, I would love to. Here's info about it.

Mouse....just for you:

Jackelope.

An R2-D2 mailbox. I love it.

Taken from the freeway...

...the sign points to a big blue aluminum sided shed. I'd go there for surgery, wouldn't you??? ummm yah.

Me playing dress up.

I was going to just settle for a picture of me wearing it, but when TheMIG's eyes lit up with that big of smile, it had to come home with me.

Oh, the things he could get me to do with that look. I shudder at the possibilities.
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Update: got a call from the realtor while I was uploading photos.
It looks like I will get keys today, and paperwork will be signed allowing me access to the property.

Apparently escrow could close without this one missing document from the seller, but both my realtor and the escrow company advise against it (rightly so) as it could come back to haunt me when I sell the house later.

As incentive for the seller to get her paperwork in order, she will be held responsible for the proration of any/all/everything until the escrow officially closes. And she doesn't get a dime out of the escrow account until it closes.

I think it's going to be okay. I should get keys this afternoon, and I can keep all of my appointments this week with people I have coming in to change things before I start moving stuff in.
I'm excited!! *smile*
But guarded. *frown*
But I'm not flipping out (which is unusual for me), and the tension that I do have will go away once everything is finalized.


And now, we return to our previously scheduled program:

Purging and Packing
brought to you by our sponsor--one SeriouslyClutteredHome.

home sweet...

So some of you have been asking about the new house.

Here she is!
(hmmm....the new inanimate objects in my life are female. innnnnteresting.)

Uber-suburban, aint it?!?! I'll expand on that in a minute. But first...

The house is in a little town called American Canyon, which makes me feel very oddly patriotic. I guess a name like that is supposed to make you feel that way, but I still find it odd that it has that effect on me.

American Canyon is billed as the, "Gateway to Napa Valley." Because it is. When you are coming from the East Bay to spend a day winery hopping, American Canyon is the little blip you pass through on the way into wine country (if you know the area, think Marine World). Being very close to the Napa Valley, it's a region full of culinary superstars and resident foodies, which will make me very happy. American Canyon is only about 20 minutes farther north from where my current house is, so I don't believe it's going to be all that big of a deal to get back into the Bay Area or San Francisco for activities and events.

The schools in American Canyon are great, there is less crime there, there are still a few wide open spaces, it's quiet....and my house....it's accessible, and it's within my budget. It's going to be a great place for MyFavoriteKid and I to live while he gets through school. Oh. And one more big thing about the American Canyon house: it's close to my folks, whom we are really looking forward to being close to again. We've missed them!

Escrow was set to close on the 17th, but on the day of the home inspection, the homeowner took a tumble and landed herself in the hospital with a hip fracture. I am feeling sooo badly for her. Because her hospital stay is estimated to be 10 days, her agent (in all of his convertable BMW, gold chained, Hawaiian shirted, infinite wisdom), asked us for a 10 day extension.

Now, I don't know about you...but if I had lived in the same house for 16 years, and if I was planning on packing everything myself, and if I was downsizing to an apartment (so I wouldn't have a garden to tend to because I'd already fallen twice while weeding), and if I was actually LYING IN A HOSPITAL BED at the moment my realtor was proprosing an escrow extension so that I had time to get my shit together....well, I'd be asking for a whole lot more than just a measily 10 days. Just me.

here's one section of the yard that she has NOT fallen in: 3 of the 7 fruit trees (front to back: babcock peach, asian pear, and some sort of crazy grafted apple tree that grows multiple varieties simultaneously). Not pictured are two cherry trees, a lemon tree, and some species of orange that makes for good juicing. Nope, no avocados, John...and that is sad. I have an avocado tree at my current house, by my evil neighbor climbs my fence when I am not at home and steals them all ...and he's even had the audacity to tell me so.

So back to the seller and her broken hip. I had met her on the day I first toured the house, and she was also there during the inspection (her fall was later that afternoon). I really like her. Maybe she's never really injured herself before now, and maybe she really only does need just 10 more days to compensate for her 10 day hospital stay....but I think she's nuts. Ok, not nuts. Just doped up on pain meds and not thinking straight. The other times I met her, she seemed to totally have her wits about her.

I did something a little strange, being that buyers and sellers usually don't have contact during the escrow. I called the seller at the hospital to say hi. Not to talk about the house stuff, but because I happen to really like her and I am worried about her! Honestly, I think she has no sense of the scope of her injury yet. In my experience, being in rehab is a horrible measuring stick for what life will look like once you get home. I have a feeling that once she is discharged and she is hobbling around her home with a walker and trying to pack, she'll be asking for another extension. Whaddya think?

I'm actually okay with giving her a bit more time if she needs it. A bit. Although I haven't figured how much more time "a bit" is. At some point though, I am going to need to set a limit to how far out I can push my own moving date. I do need to get moved and settled in over the summer so that MyFK can get start the new school year up there...but to be honest with you, there really isn't a huge need to close escrow in May. I wasn't going to move there immediately after the closing date anyhow. My plan is to let MyFK finish out the school year where we are. I was kinda thinking we'd move during the first couple of week in July.

I figured I use the time between closing and moving to change a few things about the new house.

Like the white carpets.

(from the kitchen into the livingroom..pardon the current owner's dust...hey, she she was packin')

I mean, really. Plush white carpet. Let's do the math:
White Carpet + Wheelchair User + 9 Year Old Boy = Stupid
I'm thinking installing wood floors are definitely in order before we even set foot in the joint.

Along with the change in flooring, I'd like to put some color on the walls. Yeah, you heard it. Color. Color color COLOR!!! As you recall, I'm forty years old and I've had either white walls or wood panelling my entire life, including the home I am in now, and I OWN it. I've had 9 years here where I could have painted the place any color I like, but I haven't.

So the closing of escrow on the new house....right now it's set to happen on the 29th. We shall see. I'm not holding my breath. But I'm also not sweating things, either. That's a switch. Usually I'd be tweaking on the not knowing. I must be getting more relaxed.
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Okay. Let's get back to the uber-suburban topic.

Take a look at the house again:

It is not your normal construction home. It's a modular home. It was built almost entirely off-site, and then one fine day, it (and all it's neighbors) just sort of landed where it is. Kind of like a whole bunch of houses in Kansas got sucked up into a tornado and landed in American Canyon (except we don't have tornadoes in California, and it's not Munchkinland. But close.).

The set up for living in this community is a little different from owning your own freestanding home. The best way I can describe it is that it's more like living in a condominium complex (there is a clubhouse, and a pool, a HomeOwnersAssociation, and a monthly property fee), but all of the houses are freestanding. All of the houses here are set back the same amount of space from the street. All are painted in HOA approved colors. All have HOA approved landscaping. The neighborhood super organized...super tidy...super clean....and normally I despise this type of environment. Usually a place like this would feel manufactured and sterile to me. But there is just something so charming about this place, and I have a very difficult time articulating it. I guess it's just so far over the top dollhouse looking that it's totally working for me. I love it.

I'd gone with my agent to see homes in four different neighborhoods before narrowing my house hunting down to this particular community, and the environment felt so contrary to who I am, that I was needing more analysis about why I loved it there so much. I had a discussion with TheMostImportantGuy about it, and he said, "You like it because it's like Disneyland."

Fantasyland

The Disneyland moniker became a major point of reference when talking to friends and family about my house hunting. For weeks, if I went and looked at a new home anywhere in the American Canyon, they'd ask, "is the house you looked at in Disneyland?"

Why yes, Walt...it sure is.

Except my mom. Mom saw something entirely different than Disneyland. She came with my realtor and I one day to look at a couple of places, and we weren't 30 seconds in the gate when she got all excited because it looks like the town where Edward Scissorhands lives.

Hmmm. She's got a point there.

And personally, I have no problem living in a Tim Burton movie.

But I'm still calling it Disneyland.

dear diary...

Well, I haven't written in awhile, and lots has been going on.
Big things.
Like house hunting.
And making offers on houses.

Yeah, I know. Houses. Plural.

See, the first offer didn't work out so well. The seller decided to use their adult son as their real estate agent. They listed the house way over anything comparable in the area, which would be fine if it was in tip-top shape, but it is not, and it's a buyer's market out here right now. So I went in low, not neccessarily to stay low, but just to get them down a bit. Then they came down a bit. Then I went up a bit. And then there was only a measily couple thousand dollars between what I offered, and what they were "standing firm" at. But their "stand firm" price was still more than what the house was worth, and I was not about too budge.

Did I mention that they were trying to play me against another offer they said they had?
Poo-butts.

The more I thought about the whole thing, I was getting really annoyed for being played that way. I mean, I know that's how the game is played, but it still pissed me off. Top that crappy feeling off with the fact that I knew that my final counter offer was still for more than what the house was worth, and I felt like I was paying $3 for a pack of gum with a few pieces already chewed up, when I could have gone out and bought a new pack for a dollar. I like the house, but it's been come to be known as the ScheisterHouse (apparently I mispell shyster, but it's the trickle down of yiddish in me, sorry). And it was beginning to seem that moving into a house that I was always going to call that was probably one really big fat bad idea.

So after the sellers of the ScheisterHouse laid out the verbal, "we're not budging" bit, they never really did accept or refuse my final counter offer...they just kinda let it time out. My counter offer officially expired Tuesday afternoon sometime.

So I went on my merry way and looked at another house yesterday, one for less money and in pristine condition. Pristine condition (the I-Follow-The-Martha-Stewart-Homekeeping-Handbook sort of pristine). Seriously. This lady has planted her very own garden of fruit trees, one of which, "...makes the very best orange juice ever,"...."Oh, and this is a Babock Peach tree, and this is Asian Pear...and this..." But she wasn't a snobby lady. Very humble actually. Just a little Type-A, if you know what I mean.

The house is a little small, but it is laid out wonderfully, and even though it's small, it's still way bigger than the house I am in currently. This new house has layout where the diningroom and (most of) the livingroom open to the kitchen, which the trained chef in me adores (in my current house, the kitchen is isolated. Very isolated. Like me. When I'm in it. *frown*). Being in this house would mean that I'd be able to be in the kitchen, happily slicing and dicing away, and not feel like I'm in solitary confinement. I'm more the LifeOfTheParty-type, anyhow.


Anyhow, so guess who was going to look at the PristineHouse that very same evening after I looked at it?!
No, c'mon...guess.
Yeah.
The twit who was the other offer on the SheisterHouse.
And what wheel does that gear turn?!
The one that makes the InexperiencedRealtorSon of the ScheisterHouse call up and say (two days late), "Sure! We'll accept your offer and let's just forget about that coupla thousand we couldnt agree upon, eh?!"

Hmmmm. Well.
"That's really too bad, SonOfAScheister," my agent says (that's not really what she says, but you know what I mean LOL), "but I showed my client another house yesterday, and I'm not sure what she has planned yet. Oh. And by the way, ScheisterMan, her counter offer has officially expired, so thanks for signing it, but it's a null contract," (she didnt exactly say that either, but again...you know what I mean...and I promise you, she and I were both thinking it).

So.
I went ahead and made an offer on the HouseOfMartha and all it's GloriousGardenage.
And I shit you not, as I was just writing that paragraph abve right there, the one about what my agent wanted to say but didn't, guess what....
C'mon. Guess. hehe

my phone just rang and my agent says that my offer has been accepted!!!!!!!!!!!
wooooohoooooo!!!!!!


Duuuuudes (hi, Carol!) , I am finally going to have a house where I can actually get my wheelchair into my own bedroom, my bathroom, my laundry room, and (once I ramp a couple of stairs) into my garage. The only room I will have to use crutches for will be the guest bathroom, which will primarily be used by MyFavoriteKid, so guess who is going to be adding "cleaning the bathroom" to his chore list ;-)

I need to go get me a glass o' bubbly.
YAY!

and yes, I know it aint over til it's over and all that, but whateva........
*smile*