Just Not Meant To Be

I finally heard the results of my offer on The House today. And its not good news. To put it simply, my offer wasn't accepted and someone else will be occupying MY house in the very near future. My only consolation is that the winning offer was for $10,000 more than I could even afford, so even if I'd offered more than I did I wouldn't have gotten the house. At least I don't have to ask "what if?" for the next 20 years!

So, that's that. There's nothing I can do about it, and its time to move on. Who would have thought that you can get so invested in a house having only set foot in it once? I know what my mom will say (and probably G, too!) - it just wasn't meant to be...

No Worries

Its good to know that with their shelter situation for the foreseeable future hanging in the balance Bailey and Pepper are remaining calm. As long as the new comfy down throw blanket comes with us, where ever it is we end up moving, they're cool. Well, the throw blanket and their gourmet kitty treats, of course...

Ticking Some More...

So, I just sent a kinda nasty email to my Realtor, and now I feel bad!. I'm STILL waiting to hear about my offer on The House, and I think the stress has finally gotten to me completely. I told Suzy that I wanted her to push the listing agent for an answer, whatever it is, before the close of business today so that if its "no" I can move on and start looking at houses again. I also intimated that maybe she needs to be a bit more on the ball and start acting on my behalf a bit more aggressively. I think these are all valid points, but now I'm feeling that maybe I overstepped my bounds - afterall, what do I know about the real estate game?? Nothing, really. Maybe banks that are trying to sell foreclosures just take FOREVER to say yes or no to offers, and I'm just being impatient. And maybe Suzy is trying to do everything she can, but there's only so much she CAN do.

In case you can't tell, I'm not the kind of person who likes confrontation!

Tick, tick, tick...

Believe it or not, I'm STILL waiting to hear whether or not my offer on The House was accepted. Its been a week now, and I'm not sure how much more I can take!! I did find out through Suzy that the listing agent for the house went on vacation last week, so that slowed the process down considerably. However, the posting for the house has been taken down from its web-site, so I can only assume that a decision has been made. Oh, the agony...

Wish I had more to report, buts that's it! Everyone keep you fingers crossed!

Tension and Paperwork

Just got back from filling out the paperwork necessary to put in an offer on THE HOUSE! I'm completely jazzed and over-caffeinated (probably could have foregone my morning coffee - I was up at 5:00 this morning, just pacing) and I can just feel the tension! According to Suzy, one other buyer has put in an offer on the house, and of course we don't know how much it was for, so we had to talk strategy over lunch today. I finally decided I felt comfortable with adding 5% closing costs, plus $10,000 to the asking price. That still works out to $15,000 under my maximum budget, so I feel good about that. Now, its just a waiting game. Supposedly I'll know by close of business tomorrow!

So, in the meantime, let me tell you all about this house! Its a 1940 bungalow foreclosure that's in a small post-war housing development just on the outskirts of the downtown area. It has 3 full bedrooms and a "den" which could totally be another bedroom, but it doesn't have a closet, so legally it can't be listed as a bedroom. Whoever owned it previously obviously poured some serious money into updating important things, like appliances, electric, roof, etc. but also left all the original trims, doors, cabinetry, hardwood floors, etc. completely alone - so its the perfect combo! It also has a working fireplace and a sunroom addition on the back - obviously those will become Bailey and Pepper's domain. I think I knew it was the house for me when I discovered that there was already a cat-door cut into the door leading down to the full basement (with washer and dryer)! The house also sits on half an acre of yard, which is somewhat of a drawback - that's a whole lotta mowing and raking! But on the other hand, it means space for a great patio and garden. The only real issue I could find with the house is that its not actually downtown, which was my target locale. Its in a very quiet, somewhat rural, neighborhood that looks like its mostly populated with retirees and young families - not the greatest social scene, but I'm only 3.7 miles outside of the action, so I can live with it!

So, that's the deal. If you all could keep your fingers crossed, I would appreciate it!

And on the 7th Day...

... the clouds parted and rays from heaven shown down. And God decreed that M should have this house, and he saw that it was good.

Yes, that is how momentous this is - I have to get all biblic-y to describe the moment at which I saw this house yesterday. I LOVE it! It is THE house, and I am putting in an offer tomorrow.

Tune in later for more info on THE HOUSE!

Pet-Sitting

This week, I'm playing mama to Sasha, Bonnie, Mia and Smedley - in addition to my own Pepper and Bailey. It seems EVERYONE is on vacation this week, and apparently I'm the neighborhood go-to pet-sitter! Actually, its just my landlord (Sasha the dog and Bonnie the cat's owner) and a co-worker who lives nearby (Mia and Smedley, both cats).

I'm excited to have a week in which to spoil Sasha and Bonnie - they are decidedly un-spoiled by their owner. Last night, I gave Sasha a Kong (apparently THE toy of choice among dog-owners) stuffed with treats. Most dogs would play with a Kong, and work relentlessly to get the treats out of it. Sasha, however, is snuggling with it. Ever since I gave it to her, she just carries it around and then curls up to nap with it. I'm not sure she's caught on to the fun aspect of the Kong. Anyway, in the pic above (which I took from inside my back door, so I wouldn't wake her up, hence the generally bad photo) the red thing under her chin is the Kong. I took this picture like 6 hours ago. She's still in pretty much the same position right now.

Storm Scenes

It seems that everyone around here is really taken with the weird and whacky weather we've been having for, well, it seems like MONTHS now, but I think its only been a couple of weeks. I snapped these photos of the sky a couple of nights ago after one particularly violent storm. I've always loved summer storms - they're exciting and moody. But, I have to say that I'm just a wee bit tired of all this rain!

Nothing else to report right now!

P.S. G and B - I made risotto and asparagus one night, broiled salmon and dill potatoes last night and I'm still looking for time to roast the squash! I'm like Martha Stewart this week! Which of course means that next week I'll be lazy and order pizza three nights in a row...

Fresh Stuff!

Just a picture of the haul from the farmer's market this morning (I also bought asparagus which is not pictured)! I have to come up with something to make now. I think I've mentioned my inability to just throw things together and come out with a great meal. I really need a recipe to do any kind of cooking, and even then its always anybody's guess whether or not I'll produce something edible. But, everything at the farmer's market looked so pretty and good that I got sucked in! Anyway, we'll see what I come up with...

Adieu Van Buren

Well, its official, I've passed on the Van Buren house. After another visit with Suzy to take photos and make notes and 48 hours of serious deep thinking, I came to the conclusion that it just wasn't the right fit. Well, that and I think I witnessed a drug deal go down in the neighboring yard the other evening. Just didn't make me feel all warm and fuzzy! I've also decided to start looking at houses outside of my target neighborhoods - a great house could be out there somewhere.

So, that's not much in the way of news, but its what I've got!