It's amazing. Just about the time I begin to truly despair of selling our house. We had a showing last Friday morning. They came back that afternoon and we had an offer on Saturday. We countered on Sunday and (due to some insurance issues) we're finally getting a response today to our counter. They have accepted it and we are signing the paperwork TO SELL OUR HOUSE!!! I can't believe it. I'm not holding my breath... I haven't seen the paperwork yet and all, but still. I can almost feel the huge sigh of relief welling up inside me.
I know that the next few weeks will be crazy. We won't really start packing until inspections and appraisal are done, but then we have to find a place too (for which I've been praying the past four and a half years). On top of that, we have two more weeks of school to do and get out of the way. Heaven help me (and I'm burning out already anyway - NEED. TO. BE. DONE.)
So that's the excitement. If this is premature and it backfires on me... I don't know what I'll do. My wife may have to pick me up out of the corner where I'll be blubbering like an idiot.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Thursday, May 5, 2011
And still I wait....
Well, it's been an uneventfully eventful few weeks since I last posted. We had Easter, that was good. Spring came, then it went AWOL, but I think they found it and are forcing it back to town this weekend. We've been rained on like mad.... Oh, I don't remember if I mentioned it before, but I'm a runner now! Yeah, I started back in March. I'm up to about 2.5 miles or so now. I need to lose weight and get my blood pressure in order - it was creeping up on me. I can't say I love running, but it isn't so horrible as it used to be. It really helps clear my head and improves my mood.
Our house is still our house. There was a family that I was told would be making an offer. They have a family member who is gifting them the down payment, which in my opinion is a dangerous kind of situation to find yourself in. Too many strings attached to that sort of thing, you know. But anyway, we never got the offer. Come to find out, they had a tiff of some kind and the family member wouldn't give them the money. There's another family that lives quite literally just the next neighborhood to our south. It's a ritzy neighborhood, high priced. They want to downsize and have told our realtor that if they sell their house, they want to buy ours. Well, that's dandy, itn't it? (yes, I spelled 'itn't' on purpose). Problem. Their house is kind of expensive. It's only been on the market for about two months. It has a flat roof line, which doesn't sell well. So there we are.
We continue to have showings. We had one Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. However, on Monday, we got the house cleaned and staged and left for the showing. THEN the realtor calls and cancels. AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! I'm so sick of showings. I want my life back. They really do mess up an entire day. They usually want to come at mealtime so I can't have anything in the oven because I don't want to leave with the oven still on. If they come just after dinner, we usually have to go out to eat anyway because it makes a mess and clean up is a big issue. (I know, I know... excuses). I just want my life back, that's all I'm saying.
In other news. I'm contemplating a trip to Poland this summer. There's a mission organisation that does family English camps where people come to brush up on their English. However, it's very Christian in approach and uses the Bible as a 'textbook'. There are numerous opportunities to share the Gospel and lead people to a deeper understanding of Faith in Christ. BUT, I've gotta hurry. The trip is the end of June for about ten days and I don't even have a passport yet. That's on my agenda for the next day or two. Fast track if you please.
I suppose I'll be dragging out the ol' tiller and seeing if I can awaken the beast in order to work up my garden and plant something this year. I'm not making the same mistake this year that I made last year. I'll at least plan on having something to can and freeze from the garden, even if we sell the house before it's ready. Actually, that's probably the surest way to sell our house... plant a garden and not be able to harvest any of it, and plan a trip to Poland so I have to either move the week before I go, or immediately upon my return. Actually, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of it sooner?
Well, that's about it. I need to go do school with the kids. More sometime.
Our house is still our house. There was a family that I was told would be making an offer. They have a family member who is gifting them the down payment, which in my opinion is a dangerous kind of situation to find yourself in. Too many strings attached to that sort of thing, you know. But anyway, we never got the offer. Come to find out, they had a tiff of some kind and the family member wouldn't give them the money. There's another family that lives quite literally just the next neighborhood to our south. It's a ritzy neighborhood, high priced. They want to downsize and have told our realtor that if they sell their house, they want to buy ours. Well, that's dandy, itn't it? (yes, I spelled 'itn't' on purpose). Problem. Their house is kind of expensive. It's only been on the market for about two months. It has a flat roof line, which doesn't sell well. So there we are.
We continue to have showings. We had one Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. However, on Monday, we got the house cleaned and staged and left for the showing. THEN the realtor calls and cancels. AAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH! I'm so sick of showings. I want my life back. They really do mess up an entire day. They usually want to come at mealtime so I can't have anything in the oven because I don't want to leave with the oven still on. If they come just after dinner, we usually have to go out to eat anyway because it makes a mess and clean up is a big issue. (I know, I know... excuses). I just want my life back, that's all I'm saying.
In other news. I'm contemplating a trip to Poland this summer. There's a mission organisation that does family English camps where people come to brush up on their English. However, it's very Christian in approach and uses the Bible as a 'textbook'. There are numerous opportunities to share the Gospel and lead people to a deeper understanding of Faith in Christ. BUT, I've gotta hurry. The trip is the end of June for about ten days and I don't even have a passport yet. That's on my agenda for the next day or two. Fast track if you please.
I suppose I'll be dragging out the ol' tiller and seeing if I can awaken the beast in order to work up my garden and plant something this year. I'm not making the same mistake this year that I made last year. I'll at least plan on having something to can and freeze from the garden, even if we sell the house before it's ready. Actually, that's probably the surest way to sell our house... plant a garden and not be able to harvest any of it, and plan a trip to Poland so I have to either move the week before I go, or immediately upon my return. Actually, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of it sooner?
Well, that's about it. I need to go do school with the kids. More sometime.
Monday, March 21, 2011
We need to move, and other stuff
Well, it's been 11 months and we're still here. My wife has taken a new job which will require her to drive to work everyday (rather than the two days a week she currently drives). It's about an hour and 20 one way. We need to move closer in a bad way, because that's gonna get old fast. We continue to have showings but no one makes an offer. It's quite frustrating to spend half a day staging and cleaning your house so someone can take ten minutes to walk through and say, "Meh, no thanks."
Recently I've been praying for some healing in my life about some pretty deep kind of stuff. I'm usually not one to observe Lent, but this year I felt like God was asking me to do something. So I gave up chocolate. You may not know me well at all, but I'm a serious chocoholic. Wife and I have a bag of Dove Dark in the cabinet at all times and usually eat two a day. Any ice cream I buy, cakes, etc... it's chocolate. So this is a serious thing. I'm thinking that doing so will allow me to better experience the richness and sweetness (like chocolate) of God's healing when it comes. Pray for me.
Further, I've decided I'm sick of being overweight and unhealthy. I've been walking (serious walking, not just taking the dog for a stroll). And I think I'm going to make the goal of running a mile by the end of summer. Yes, one mile. But, I'm 39 years old and have NEVER been able to do that. Not even in junior high when we had to do it for that cursed President's physical fitness test, which I'm convinced was designed by Nazi's to weed out the weak ones. I've also been doing push ups. I must say, that never having been one to really try, I'm appreciating the improvements I'm noticing already. Here's to being hopeful.
Otherwise, life goes on. We're on track with school and the kids, so we should finish up right around the end of May. I applied for a certificate of completion program from my Alma Mater so that I can be licensed as a counselor (long story, maybe some other time). I should know about that in the next month or so and would start in the fall.
Hope you're well. Thanks for looking in on my little corner of the world.
Recently I've been praying for some healing in my life about some pretty deep kind of stuff. I'm usually not one to observe Lent, but this year I felt like God was asking me to do something. So I gave up chocolate. You may not know me well at all, but I'm a serious chocoholic. Wife and I have a bag of Dove Dark in the cabinet at all times and usually eat two a day. Any ice cream I buy, cakes, etc... it's chocolate. So this is a serious thing. I'm thinking that doing so will allow me to better experience the richness and sweetness (like chocolate) of God's healing when it comes. Pray for me.
Further, I've decided I'm sick of being overweight and unhealthy. I've been walking (serious walking, not just taking the dog for a stroll). And I think I'm going to make the goal of running a mile by the end of summer. Yes, one mile. But, I'm 39 years old and have NEVER been able to do that. Not even in junior high when we had to do it for that cursed President's physical fitness test, which I'm convinced was designed by Nazi's to weed out the weak ones. I've also been doing push ups. I must say, that never having been one to really try, I'm appreciating the improvements I'm noticing already. Here's to being hopeful.
Otherwise, life goes on. We're on track with school and the kids, so we should finish up right around the end of May. I applied for a certificate of completion program from my Alma Mater so that I can be licensed as a counselor (long story, maybe some other time). I should know about that in the next month or so and would start in the fall.
Hope you're well. Thanks for looking in on my little corner of the world.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
I am...
Alive. Unmoved (meaning we haven't sold our house after 9 1/2 months). Doing better this winter than in years past (if it's going to be cold, at least it could snow... and voilas!). Still hoping that I'll be moved in time to order chicks this spring.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Just an update
Wow, it's been a loooong time since I posted anything. But when there's not much to say, there's not much to post, right?
I didn't plant a garden this year because I thought, "Hey, we're moving... why plant something for someone else to either enjoy or neglect?" My bad. We're still here. Haven't moved. We've had a lot of showings in 8 1/2 months and had one serious offer. But it was such a low-ball offer it was insulting and we weren't able to work anything out. So we wait.
I've been doing homeschooling with the kids, knitting, reading.... just being me. I'm way over getting my hopes up about moving and have resigned myself to just knowing it will happen when it happens. I remember thinking last spring, "I'll go crazy if we're still here at Christmastime." Well, I didn't go nuts, exactly, but we are still here. Sigh.
I didn't plant a garden this year because I thought, "Hey, we're moving... why plant something for someone else to either enjoy or neglect?" My bad. We're still here. Haven't moved. We've had a lot of showings in 8 1/2 months and had one serious offer. But it was such a low-ball offer it was insulting and we weren't able to work anything out. So we wait.
I've been doing homeschooling with the kids, knitting, reading.... just being me. I'm way over getting my hopes up about moving and have resigned myself to just knowing it will happen when it happens. I remember thinking last spring, "I'll go crazy if we're still here at Christmastime." Well, I didn't go nuts, exactly, but we are still here. Sigh.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Long Lost Blogger
Hi, it's been about two months since I posted anything and that's probably because there's not a lot to post. Well, maybe that's not true:
We've been running amok this summer. Went on a family trip to Sawyer, MI, where we picked blueberries, swam in Lake Michigan, climbed the Dunes at Warren State Park, and spent time with family. I took the kids to the county fair, we spent a day at the State Fair (planned intentionally so that I could be sure and see the dairy cattle), took the kids fishing (once), went swimming and hiking at Shakamak State Park, spent a week with the in-laws during the 4th of July celebration, which was also the sesquicentennial of Sheridan, IN. We've been running about. My Niece is getting married this weekend, and my youngest will be the ring bearer.
With all of that, I managed to do some reading and math with the kids once in awhile. We started our school year here yesterday. I'm doing two curricula at a time now, and I was pretty worried about how I'd juggle it, but maybe it's not going to be as bad as I'd imagined. I could be worse! Lol.
On the home front.... we had a contingency offer at one point, but he wanted immediate possession and we weren't willing to give that, so it didn't go through. If the other guy sells his house and ours is still for sale, he may well come back with another offer. We had a showing about the middle of June, then didn't have another until July 29th. We've had a few more since then. The housing market, like everywhere, is just the pits right now. But it's picking up around here. We had a showing and found out that ours is in the top two of this couple that looked at it. She likes our house, he likes another. BUT one of their parents live on the next street over from us, so that may be a selling point. Hope to hear something soon.
Melora's job as a flight nurse is going well, but it's taking her away from home a lot, as it's easier for her to go to her parent's house between shifts than coming two hours home, just to turn around and go back. This is kind of a bummer for us, but it's only temporary. If we sell our house, and can't find what we're looking for in Sheridan or nearby, my sister-in-law has offered us her place. She lives in an upstairs apartment above her art studio. She's remodelling a front room as a master bedroom and all five of us could sleep in it! Her husband is stationed in Vermont for three years with the military and she said she'd just go be with him while we were there. Her mortgage is half what ours is now. That way we would have a place to go and not be so pressured to buy someplace that wasn't exactly what we wanted. We'd just have to put all our stuff in storage for a while. Not the optimal situation, but it's an option.
There was a place we had our eye on that met our criteria very well. Newer house, close to her parents, barn/pasture, land to spread out..... It got an offer and out from under us it went. Bummer.
So that's what's going on. Otherwise, I've been reading the works of James Herriot (Yorkshire Vet) and watching the series, "All Creatures Great and Small." Great stuff.
We've been running amok this summer. Went on a family trip to Sawyer, MI, where we picked blueberries, swam in Lake Michigan, climbed the Dunes at Warren State Park, and spent time with family. I took the kids to the county fair, we spent a day at the State Fair (planned intentionally so that I could be sure and see the dairy cattle), took the kids fishing (once), went swimming and hiking at Shakamak State Park, spent a week with the in-laws during the 4th of July celebration, which was also the sesquicentennial of Sheridan, IN. We've been running about. My Niece is getting married this weekend, and my youngest will be the ring bearer.
With all of that, I managed to do some reading and math with the kids once in awhile. We started our school year here yesterday. I'm doing two curricula at a time now, and I was pretty worried about how I'd juggle it, but maybe it's not going to be as bad as I'd imagined. I could be worse! Lol.
On the home front.... we had a contingency offer at one point, but he wanted immediate possession and we weren't willing to give that, so it didn't go through. If the other guy sells his house and ours is still for sale, he may well come back with another offer. We had a showing about the middle of June, then didn't have another until July 29th. We've had a few more since then. The housing market, like everywhere, is just the pits right now. But it's picking up around here. We had a showing and found out that ours is in the top two of this couple that looked at it. She likes our house, he likes another. BUT one of their parents live on the next street over from us, so that may be a selling point. Hope to hear something soon.
Melora's job as a flight nurse is going well, but it's taking her away from home a lot, as it's easier for her to go to her parent's house between shifts than coming two hours home, just to turn around and go back. This is kind of a bummer for us, but it's only temporary. If we sell our house, and can't find what we're looking for in Sheridan or nearby, my sister-in-law has offered us her place. She lives in an upstairs apartment above her art studio. She's remodelling a front room as a master bedroom and all five of us could sleep in it! Her husband is stationed in Vermont for three years with the military and she said she'd just go be with him while we were there. Her mortgage is half what ours is now. That way we would have a place to go and not be so pressured to buy someplace that wasn't exactly what we wanted. We'd just have to put all our stuff in storage for a while. Not the optimal situation, but it's an option.
There was a place we had our eye on that met our criteria very well. Newer house, close to her parents, barn/pasture, land to spread out..... It got an offer and out from under us it went. Bummer.
So that's what's going on. Otherwise, I've been reading the works of James Herriot (Yorkshire Vet) and watching the series, "All Creatures Great and Small." Great stuff.
Monday, June 14, 2010
No News is... well, no news.
Hi, I'm blogging on my wife's laptop, so no pics today. Sorry.
Our house is still for sale. Wanna buy it? Two weekends ago, we went up to my in-laws for a visit and met our realtor and looked at four different homes. Nope, not a one of 'em was 'right'.
Do you remember a couple of years ago when I blogged that I'd written a letter to the owner of a farmhouse and property, asking if it was for sale? It's here in my list somewhere.... check around October, 2008. Anyway, as we're looking at houses, I drive by this place again, as I've done numerous times. It's now for sale! Great, right?! No. I looked it up online. 89.3 acres for only (snark) 2.67 MILLION! That's 30K an acre. They're crazy. Land is expensive where we're looking, but not that high! I'm so disappointed. I feel like God pressed the 'smite' button on me or something. We looked in the windows... wow. Beautiful woodwork, but that's about all it's got going for it, besides good bones and seemingly newer electricity. Still, if it could be purchased cheaply, then the money could be spent on the house to make it livable. Sigh. I've been debating whether or not to write another letter to the man to see if he'd split the land or consider a deal or something. But I looked online yesterday on Realtor.com and it says it's no longer available. It hasn't been on the market much more than a few weeks, I'm sure. I'm thinking something has happened and they aren't going to sell it. Who knows. So, the hunt continues. Meanwhile, we've had one showing in the past three weeks.
In other news, I've been dying wool. Oh, just two skeins so far. I buy the wool yarn in cream at the store, then come home and have fun with Kool Aid! Yes, that magical drink from your childhood contains enough citric acid to work with the protein in the wool fibers to cause it to absorb and hold the food coloring in the drink! You start out with a pot of colored, fruity smelling water and when you're done, the water is clear! It's all been absorbed and bound to the yarn! Fun stuff. I'll try to post some pics of the process later on.
I also won four free tickets to and Indianapolis Indians game because I called in with the correct answer to a trivia question on a Saturday morning talk show from the University of Indianapolis. The host and guests were talking about a book of collected stories written by a woman from Baker's Corner, Indiana (she's now deceased) on the subject of growing up on a farm in the early 1900's. Yes, I might have to read this one. We happened to be in Sheridan at my in-law's at the time (5 miles down the road from Baker's Corner) and it was my FIL that suggested I might want to listen to the program. It was mildly interesting, but then the host asked the trivia question. He starts talking about a cabin in Sheridan's (Indiana) Veteran's Park that was the home of a man running from bounty hunters because, as an abolitionist, he'd helped several slaves escape. He wanted to know what this man's name was. I picked up the phone and called in. Of course, I don't know how many people were actually listening to the program, and of those, how many knew the answer.... probably me and one or two others (and that may be being generous). But I did, in fact know that it was George Boxley, the first settler of Adams Township, Hamilton County, Indiana. WHY do I know this bit of frivolous trivia? Because my Father-in-law was the president of the Sheridan Historical Society up until this year and was heavily involved in the restoration of the cabin! So now, I get to go to a Minor League baseball game for free! I don't really care for sports much, but a trip to an Indian's game is usually a lot of fun. The seats are closer to the field, play is faster than the Major's, there's always some kind of giveaway or sideline activity going on... it's just a good time.
Not having a garden this year is kind of a bummer. Not knowing when we'd be moving, I didn't plant anything. I'm either going to have to go to the local Amish Auction or a farmer's market and get some things to can, etc. We're running low. It's kinda sad really.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
Our house is still for sale. Wanna buy it? Two weekends ago, we went up to my in-laws for a visit and met our realtor and looked at four different homes. Nope, not a one of 'em was 'right'.
Do you remember a couple of years ago when I blogged that I'd written a letter to the owner of a farmhouse and property, asking if it was for sale? It's here in my list somewhere.... check around October, 2008. Anyway, as we're looking at houses, I drive by this place again, as I've done numerous times. It's now for sale! Great, right?! No. I looked it up online. 89.3 acres for only (snark) 2.67 MILLION! That's 30K an acre. They're crazy. Land is expensive where we're looking, but not that high! I'm so disappointed. I feel like God pressed the 'smite' button on me or something. We looked in the windows... wow. Beautiful woodwork, but that's about all it's got going for it, besides good bones and seemingly newer electricity. Still, if it could be purchased cheaply, then the money could be spent on the house to make it livable. Sigh. I've been debating whether or not to write another letter to the man to see if he'd split the land or consider a deal or something. But I looked online yesterday on Realtor.com and it says it's no longer available. It hasn't been on the market much more than a few weeks, I'm sure. I'm thinking something has happened and they aren't going to sell it. Who knows. So, the hunt continues. Meanwhile, we've had one showing in the past three weeks.
In other news, I've been dying wool. Oh, just two skeins so far. I buy the wool yarn in cream at the store, then come home and have fun with Kool Aid! Yes, that magical drink from your childhood contains enough citric acid to work with the protein in the wool fibers to cause it to absorb and hold the food coloring in the drink! You start out with a pot of colored, fruity smelling water and when you're done, the water is clear! It's all been absorbed and bound to the yarn! Fun stuff. I'll try to post some pics of the process later on.
I also won four free tickets to and Indianapolis Indians game because I called in with the correct answer to a trivia question on a Saturday morning talk show from the University of Indianapolis. The host and guests were talking about a book of collected stories written by a woman from Baker's Corner, Indiana (she's now deceased) on the subject of growing up on a farm in the early 1900's. Yes, I might have to read this one. We happened to be in Sheridan at my in-law's at the time (5 miles down the road from Baker's Corner) and it was my FIL that suggested I might want to listen to the program. It was mildly interesting, but then the host asked the trivia question. He starts talking about a cabin in Sheridan's (Indiana) Veteran's Park that was the home of a man running from bounty hunters because, as an abolitionist, he'd helped several slaves escape. He wanted to know what this man's name was. I picked up the phone and called in. Of course, I don't know how many people were actually listening to the program, and of those, how many knew the answer.... probably me and one or two others (and that may be being generous). But I did, in fact know that it was George Boxley, the first settler of Adams Township, Hamilton County, Indiana. WHY do I know this bit of frivolous trivia? Because my Father-in-law was the president of the Sheridan Historical Society up until this year and was heavily involved in the restoration of the cabin! So now, I get to go to a Minor League baseball game for free! I don't really care for sports much, but a trip to an Indian's game is usually a lot of fun. The seats are closer to the field, play is faster than the Major's, there's always some kind of giveaway or sideline activity going on... it's just a good time.
Not having a garden this year is kind of a bummer. Not knowing when we'd be moving, I didn't plant anything. I'm either going to have to go to the local Amish Auction or a farmer's market and get some things to can, etc. We're running low. It's kinda sad really.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
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