Countdown: The Final Week

Last night I made chili without a recipe. I didn't even really think about finding one, just threw a bunch of things that seemed right into a pot, based on memories of the first chili I ever made. Ground beef, onion, green pepper, chili powder, cumin, a can of tomato puree, and some kidney beans. It turned out just fine. 

A week from today we'll be moving into our new place, and starting the business of learning a new town and sorting our lives back out from their current boxed state. The moving company has been around to give us an estimate. The packing is going well. We are excavating things that were shoved into a closet when we moved into this place, and throwing a fair number of them away, or giving them to the thrift store, hoping to avoid last-minute craziness as far as possible.

We'll be leaving some furniture behind when we go, some of the unfinished pine we picked up cheap in our first Boston years, and replacing it with what I continue to think of as "grown-up" furniture. Last night I packed up the baking ingredients--two entire boxes' worth.

27 weeks pregnant and things seem to be fine. She's an active little critter, just like her siblings. I got my packet of preregistration paperwork for the hospital, and started making a list of the things we'll need to get.

Last but not least, today is my daughter's birthday! 6 years ago we were well into the second day of labor, with five hours still to go before meeting her. It's been a wonderful time, full of adventures. Yesterday while I was working at home, I tried to assuage her disappointment at not being able to spend time with me by suggesting that she write me a letter. "Dear Mommy, I love you. Love Lydia."

A Big Step

The first major item on the summer checklist has been resolved: We have a new apartment! Signed the lease last night on a lovely place in Medford. We'll be moving next month, and I hope we'll be happy there.

Regardless, it's a major load off my mind to have it reduced to the relatively simple logistical problems of the actual move. This is much better than the major strategic decisions--not to mention the physically exhausting process of tracking down agents, locking down appointments, and driving hither and yon to see the places. It's exciting to be able to look at a calendar and say, "In X days I will be free of this commute." We told our current landlord that we're going to be leaving; a little sad after all these years, but our family is about to outgrow the place--it could be argued that we already have--and I'm more than ready to be done with the drive.

The farmers markets are open here at last, but my company's policy on working at home has changed somewhat, so I'm not sure if or when I'll make it to the Worcester market, in between everything else. I have been stopping by the one near the office, but there's a limit to what I can buy there without going into serious advance prep with coolers and such. I look forward to learning more about the markets in our new town!

Trials and Tribulations

This has been one of those periods in which the good things arrived sandwiched between the really unpleasant.

It started nearly two weeks ago, on Sunday, when we were supposed to drive into the city to look at a few apartments. Every single appointment ended up canceled or postponed until Tuesday. On Tuesday I went to the office early so I could head out and see the two places I had managed to reschedule. After spending twenty minutes stuck in an inexplicable traffic stoppage, I found that the first was in appalling condition and the second, despite being a duplex, was actually smaller than our current apartment.

Then I got lost trying to get to the highway. Did I mention that it was raining? I found myself thinking that maybe we should just stay put after all, forget the whole idea of moving.

The following morning we set out to visit my family in Pennsylvania. The trip itself went fine; everything was lovely and the kids behaved themselves to an astonishing degree. On Thursday we went to Presque Isle in the morning, then out for dinner with my grandparents (Olive Garden--Erie doesn't offer a lot of options). It was at about 2:30 the following morning that things really and truly went south, as I woke up with a vague feeling of all not being well. By 5:00 it was unequivocally established that I was ill (I blamed the restaurant, but later events seem to have cleared them). I spent the day on the couch with a can of ginger ale, package of saltines, and a Terry Pratchett novel while D* and my mom took the kids out.

Saturday I seemed to be improved, so we headed down to our college reunion. Had a lovely time, though I was very tired; it was nice to see people, to gripe about the changes made to the campus (and those that should have happened, but haven't). Around 9 that night I either relapsed or went into a delayed Stage 2 of the bug. Bad night. Sunday I was still a mess, and we had to drive down to Butler to see my seldom-visited paternal grandmother. I sat in the living room with my Gatorade while everyone else ate lunch, unable to contemplate the smell of anything edible. Then we continued on to Pittsburgh.

On arriving in the hotel parking lot, JJ threw up. The temptation was strong to turn around and head back to my mother's place and thence home, but having tossed his milk he seemed chipper enough, so we decided to see how the night went. D* took them out to a nearby park while I rested. JJ threw up once more, and so did I, before bedtime, but the night passed uneventfully after that, and in the morning everyone seemed to be doing okay. We went to the zoo as planned and had a fine old time of it, started our homeward trip that afternoon, enjoyed a lovely night's stay in Buffalo (and how often do you hear that?), and enjoyed an uneventful drive on Tuesday. I kept exclaiming delightedly about feeling more or less normal again.

Wednesday, JJ vomited again, but again it seemed to be an isolated incident, and it was hard to say whether he was really sick or just having some aftereffect of all the travel and excitement. Then our remaining cat, Jasper, was acting a little odd in the afternoon, and seemed to be having some trouble walking when he got up from a nap, so I made an appointment for him and blew a bunch of money on blood tests that showed nothing wrong that we didn't know about.

Thursday, JJ seemed to be more clearly under the weather. The cat seemed to be fine. I went to my OB/GYN appointment; I haven't gained much weight with this pregnancy yet, but I started off with some to spare, and the baby appears to have weathered my little gastro-intestinal adventure handily.

Friday, 4:30 a.m., L asked for a drink of water, and two minutes later was heaving.

Needless to say, I hope, I haven't been doing much cooking, and indeed food of any kind has not played much of a role for most of us in the past week. Still, the farmer's markets are opening, and in a fit of optimism, I am nevertheless making appointments for more apartment viewings this weekend. Sooner or later, things have to start going better.

Right?

Critters

First of all, we didn't get the house. Kind of bummed even though we expected it; the place really was just about perfect for us.

Second, I've joined critters.org, a web site that organizes online critiques of SF/F/Horror writing. While a part of me is sneering at this--Are you out of your mind? You need another obligation like a hole in your head. It'll never go anywhere--another part of me is aware that I am unlikely to improve as a writer if I don't get some feedback on what I'm producing--something more detailed than a form rejection, that is. I have also been struggling lately with a sense of being out of the loop. Twitter is helping, surprisingly enough, as I find my way to more writers' and agents' blogs, but it would be nice to feel more plugged-in to what's going on in the genre. I get the impression that everyone out there is writing YA/MG urban fantasies and "paranormal romance," but surely there's other things going on.

So, I will give it a try. I ought to be able to manage to read one short story a week, right?

Finally, this morning I got an idea for a not-entirely-serious project to add to my list of Things to Write Someday. It might be good to work on something light-hearted for a while. I'll make some notes and put it on the compost pile.

Oh jeez, not this again....

We found another house we like, so are getting all the usual crap sorted out to put in an offer. This one is a total long shot, not expecting anything at all, but what the heck. It doesn't hurt to put in an offer.

Housing Crash

So, we thought we had an agreement with the sellers about the wiring, but when it was time to write up the P&S, they tried to put something different in there. We won't back down, and at least for the moment, neither will they.

So... back to the !#$% drawing board. Again.

House Hunting Roller-Coaster

I started typing this post when we were still waiting to find out what would happen.

A couple of weeks ago, we went to look at a house in Maynard, our first viewing in a really long time, given the market doldrums. Not a bad little place, we agreed; it had a lot of things we're looking for. We went back and saw it again, decided that yes, we did in fact like it. Put in an offer well below the asking price, and were surprised when the sellers came back with a very reasonable counter-offer. So we arranged for the inspection with high hopes.

And there, just like the last time, we ran into big problems. That the place could use quite a bit of work, we were prepared to hear. That it needed to be entirely rewired, and that we probably wouldn't be able to get a loan for it in the current condition, meant that the whole thing could be a dead end.

So our realtor, who is an entirely awesome person and has been working for us for a year now without getting anything for his trouble, sent the inspection report and a letter to the sellers, saying basically that we really do like the house, but we don't have the cash up front to deal with all of this stuff. You fix the wiring, without which we cannot buy the house because the bank appraiser will laugh, and we will up our offer slightly to cover some of your costs, and deal with all the rest of it.

They went for it. We're supposed to sign the P&S later this week.

House Update

Yesterday we did the inspection. It was educational, to say the least, and unfortunately included the news that the heating and hot water system are on their last legs. We might be able to nurse it along through this winter, if we're willing to put up with the risk of it going out on us at some point. Noting that the temperature next week is supposed to dip into the 20s, that does not seem like a good idea. So if we're going to buy the place, we're going to have to come up with another five or ten thousand dollars to replace the boiler and hot water heater, and fix about a dozen more minor plumbing problems.

Apparently the fun just never ends with this process. And unfortunately, we don't have very much time to make up our minds.

The Check is in the Mail

Last night we did the P&S on the house we're trying to buy. The inspection is tomorrow. I can't quite believe this is happening!

Where I've Been

Buying a house, I hope! So it's been insane, and quite busy, around our household, and meals have been a little haphazard. I did make a cake for a coworker's birthday last week, which I will be reviewing the recipe for ASAP.

House Hunting Can be Depressing

Given our budget and the still-somewhat-inflated prices around here, a lot of what we've been looking at are short sales, places on the brink of foreclosure. Some of them have been dumps, clearly inhabited by far too many people, poorly-cared-for, and all that. Today one came up that was really depressing, but for a different reason than usual:

Nothing like misplaced optimism to make you question your own life.

On the up side, my oven got fixed Tuesday night, and I made some bread yesterday. This weekend is going to be entirely mad--we have either a game or a visit with friends scheduled, depending on some job things; the kids need winter coats as the temps have dropped into ice-on-the-puddles territory quite abruptly; and I have supper club. Plus all of the usual errands and cleaning and so forth. But maybe a miracle will happen, and I'll get some cooking done....

He slept through the night!!!

I will never figure kids out.

Friday night was awful. L brought a cold home from school and gave it to her brother, and he was up I think four times in the course of the night--crying, snuffling, and more than willing to share his misery with his parents. So Saturday night we were braced for more of the same; we got the car seat ready in case he found it easier to sleep propped up, and agreed to take turns getting up with him as needed.

Instead, he slept from 8:30 to 5, had a snack, and went back to sleep for another couple hours. Amazing. He has also become quite competent at pulling himself to standing. While he had done it a few times before yesterday, over the course of the weekend he has gained confidence and proficiency. When I went in this morning to find him standing up in his crib, it was time to lower the mattress level.

Most of yesterday was taken up with a trip to the Roger Williams Park Zoo in RI. We were there last year with our friends the Rs and their daughter, and are trying to make it something of a tradition, since we don't get to see them as often as we'd like. The zoo is on the small side in terms of the number of exhibits, which makes it just the right size for small children; both girls were pretty tired and edging into cranky by the time we finished. When the kids are bigger we might broaden our activity zone to other parts of the park.

Something to remember for next time: with little ones, do not try to leave something good for the end of the visit; they'll be too tired to enjoy it and will rush you through it, too.

Now to spend a rainy morning figuring out menus and shopping lists. Aside from the normal weekly things, JJ is getting baptized a week from now, and I have to figure out something to feed people afterward, plus we have a D&D game on Saturday. Takeout may figure into one or more of these events....

No further news on the house front; we seem to have exhausted the existing stock that meets our criteria in the Framingham area, and are left waiting to see what else comes on the market. We are hoping to take a second look at that one fixer-upper, just for kicks and to see how much work would really be involved. I keep reminding myself that we have plenty of time... but last night I packed up two boxes of videos we don't watch much. There's a big part of me that really wants to have this done with.

House Hunt Update: Maynard

After a long break due to various vacations interfering with the schedule, this past Saturday we resumed looking for a house, this time in Maynard. It's a tiny, tiny town surrounded by farms and apple orchards, but the main street looks reasonably lively, it's close to a number of other towns, and there's a definite appeal to the idea of a place you can walk around.

We looked at four houses, two of which were too small, one of which was enormous but the location is a little "eh," and the fourth was one of those sad tales that are all too common in this market: a foreclosure that has the potential to be gorgeous, but due to neglect and water damage and the fact that it hasn't been updated in about sixty years, it's going to need someone to gut the place before that happens. I highly doubt that it's going to be us who do that.

So ended our second day of looking at houses. We liked what we saw of Maynard, and will keep an eye on the place. We are also getting a sense of what the square footage advertised means in terms of real space, which is helpful. We have all these books to house along with the four of us!

We Looked at Houses!

On Saturday we went to Sudbury and met our "facilitators", and then drove around with them to look at three houses. The first one had a lot of issues, the second and third had more promise. Not that we expect to actually buy any of these--we're looking around to see what we like, and whether it's going to be possible to find anything we'd consider living in for the price we want. Right now, it looks like the answer may be "yes." Finally.

Other than that, I watched a lot of old B5 on Sunday, made some brownies (will post recipe if they're good), and did a fair amount of cleaning. Not too exciting really. Cooking has mostly been off the cuff and ancient stand-bys since we've been so busy lately.

Three-Pepper Quesadillas

The usual jam-packed weekend. We spent Saturday morning doing house drive-bys in the Tewksbury area, and found some reason to be encouraged, though most of the ones we saw were in pretty bad shape on the outside or in awkward locations. We got lunch at a pizza joint in Billerica called Sal's (passable slices, but the TV was tuned to a Pauly Shore movie), drove by a couple more houses, and then made our way home.

In the afternoon we took turns running errands. We had decided to finally see Surf's Up, a movie L loves to watch Youtube clips of, so I had to make something that could be eaten in front of the TV. Normally I do pizza, but we had pizza for lunch, so I decided to stick with the flatbread theme and make quesadillas. I looked at what was in the pan and decided that it needed more heft -- as written it would probably make a fine addition to a menu, but as the only course, I chucked in some black beans (added bonus, L eats those). The movie turned out to be very entertaining, though L cried a bit at unexpected points, which I chalked up to over-excitement.

Sunday I spent the morning cleaning the kitchen and L's room, including packing away a bunch of her old clothes for eventual transport to the thrift store. It needs to be done, obviously, but it always makes me feel wistful.

In the evening we drove through one of the apparently never-ended rainstorms the summer is giving us, to Allora Ristorante in Marlboro, for dinner with my supper club buddies. In sum: excellent food, service could use some work. The bruschetta was like nothing I had ever seen, hefty triangles of toasted bread smothered in chunks of fresh tomato and balsamic vinegar, scattered with cheese. Fabulous, and much too much for one person. Then the organic greens salad with pears and walnuts, which was quite good, and the pesto chicken, which I somehow managed to eat all of, somewhat to my own surprise. One of my fellows got the osso buco and practically licked his plate clean.

It was not a cheap evening in terms of money or calories, but I'd definitely give the place another try and see if our waiter was just having an off night, or what. JJ behaved marvelously, L less so, but they had us in a private room so it didn't matter too much that she was running around (and under the table) for most of the evening.

Thai Chicken Saute

I am fortunate enough to live with a man who is frequently and (I think) genuinely complimentary to my cooking. It is fairly rare, however, that he says something is "outstanding," so when it happens I try to take note. Unlike a lot of Thai-inspired dishes, this one has a short ingredient list. It also cooks in about ten minutes, which (together with the spice factor) is handy when the temperatures have spiked.

The day as a whole was a bit of a mix. We think JJ's night waking may be due to reflux, so I am drinking decaf tea this morning. We went to Marlboro and there seem to be houses there we'd consider, which was cheering, but it's still pretty far from my job. We'll look at the coasts next, and see what the economy does....

Finally Caught the Smile!

A tiring and discouraging day yesterday, driving around Framingham to see what our budget will get us by way of a house there. I am less than thrilled with the idea of having to look farther outside of Boston than that, but our explorations have only begun.

In better news, I finally got JJ to smile for the camera. He's taken well to cereal but still not sleeping as solidly as we would like. Could be teething, of course.



This morning he rolled from his back to his tummy for the first time! Now he's got both directions.

More Random Numbers

This on a newly listed 3-bedroom in Dracut: "Sellers will entertain offers between 259,900 and 299,876."

$299,921

Did someone use a random number generator to come up with the price on this house? (Link may require a login.)

Mobile Homes?

In today's new housing listing email: "Being sold as-is where is."

Given that this is a four-bedroom, two-story Cape-style house, shouldn't the latter be assumed...?