It's not done until it's told, it's not told until it's written...
I am so hot and tired I want to diiiieeee... only not, because I kind of have things to do. But seriously. SO DONE WITH SUMMER.
thatrainbow and I went to walk around houses today with her parents. Being around her parents at all? EXHAUSTING. Walking around and being in close proximity to them for hours at a time? WAY WORSE. But I survived, and didn't bite them or say anything untoward, and they fed and caffeinated me, so it could be worse.
The house we wanted earlier ended up having too many problems with the roof and mold for
thatrainbow's parents to approve of it, but since we were there with the realtor and the inspector anyway, we all decided to go look at a couple other houses that were open.
House #1 was closer to the city, but only accessible by a road that is always full of traffic and that
thatrainbow hates driving on. And it was cute, and had a fully-fenced backyard and room for a garden (and a hot tub on the deck, WTF), but it was also tiny and weirdly arranged, did not have a bathtub, had some weirdness with the roof and would probably need the cabinets replaced. And it had carpet, which I haaaate, so we would have had to get the floors redone. I liked it, but it ended up being my second choice if the first one (ONCE AGAIN) does not work out.
House #2 was about a fifteen minute drive from the city - which is not awful, it just feels far away and isolated, and I mentioned before we went that a house would have to be awesome to outweigh the drive. This... was not. The paint outside was awful and peeling, the foundation was pretty scary, and I didn't even go upstairs because they were so steep I'm pretty sure I would die trying to come back down. BALANCE ISSUES AND STEEP STAIRS DO NOT MIX. I get into trouble on wide, flat stairs sometimes, so... no.
House #3 was pretty close to the second one. And at this point I was tired and just wanted to go hoooome (or, well, back to Pat and Caroline's, which is as close as we have for now), but that pretty much went away when I got out of the car.
1) The property is gorgeous. And also huge. It just keeps going and going. There's a front yard big enough to fence and leave the dog plenty of room, and in the backyard there's more grassy area, and gardens, and paths and just... so much space and awesome. We are seriously thinking about a berry/vegetable garden, and fruit trees, and ducks or chickens if we get the house. That's how much space we have to work with.
2) The house is awesome. Smaller than the one we thought we might buy (and only one story, which makes me a little sad but I'll live), but about the same size as the first new one we looked at today, and with a better layout. Plus, this one actually has a bath, more room in the kitchen, and even though there are carpets, there's hardwood under them. Two bedrooms, one of which I shall probably commandeer for an office/guest room. And the basement is nice and not scary or full of mold and spiders, and there's a washer and dryer down there.
3) Outbuildings. OMG outbuildings. There is a gigantic two-car garage - it is almost as big as the house, if not actually as big as the house, and probably twice the size of the apartment we just moved out of. If the village it's in doesn't have a problem with it for some reason, we are planning to turn it into a (probably two-bedroom) cottage and rent that out, instead of having to rent out a house in our actual home, which... we were worried about, because strangers in home, DNW. There is also what used to be a workshop, which
thatrainbow wants to turn into a painting/recording studio (yes, both), and a pretty big storage shed next to the garage.
Also, it is possibly still in Fairyland. But a nicer, friendlier part of Fairyland than where we were living before. Maybe the local fae will hate me less.
...if you couldn't tell, this is probably the one we are getting if there is no problem with the cottage plan (possibly even if there is - IDK what the people with the money are thinking here).
IN THE MEANTIME, we are looking at apartments for a few months, because not getting the first house means it is going to be even longer until we can close and actually have a house instead of just talking about it. And while it could be so much worse (as Plan B involved sleeping in our car), and Pat and Caroline are awesome, I feel bad taking over a corner of their living room, and I feel bad for the animals who don't know why they keep getting locked in crates and bedrooms and can't just wander and cuddle. (Ace is dying for love. DYYYIIING, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.) So while this is not getting resolved in the longterm for another month or two, probably, I am hoping we will have a better short term solution soon.
Other random updates:
- We got the poor puppy a bigger crate, because she can't be loose in Pat and Caroline's apartment, and she couldn't actually stand up in her old one. This one is wire, and she's deeply confused because she can see us but can't get to us. Pat and Caroline's cats are also deeply confused, because they seem to believe Ace is some kind of alien, and now they can see her clearly. But now she can actually stand up and stretch out, and I don't feel like such a horrible human being.
- At house #1, we met a tiny white stray cat. She's so small I don't think she's more than a year old, and so skinny, and there's no one and nothing in the house, so it's not like the owners are still moving and just haven't moved her yet. And she's skittish but also super affectionate, and was flirting with us so hard once she realized we wouldn't eat her. Whenever we get an apartment (oh god please soon), we are planning to swing by that house and see if she's still there. Not sure if we'd be able to keep her, but she will at least not be a sad little porch stray hanging around an empty home with no one to feed her.
- Dear christ, I need to get back to the free clinic. NEED TO. We didn't go in last Thursday because I was exhausted and would have to take the bus home and we were moving the next day. And then the car started to die, so we couldn't go Monday, or the Thursday after that. I am down to two pills of my citalopram, and I do not want to go through withdrawal. I have done that shit before, and it is unbelievably awful. Also, the counselor seemed really concerned when I mentioned my weird heart problems to him, as did the clinic coordinator, so they want me to talk to the actual doctor and then see about arranging financial aid for me to see a cardiologist or something. FUN STUFF. MY BODY IS NOW ALARMING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. :D
thatrainbow and I went to walk around houses today with her parents. Being around her parents at all? EXHAUSTING. Walking around and being in close proximity to them for hours at a time? WAY WORSE. But I survived, and didn't bite them or say anything untoward, and they fed and caffeinated me, so it could be worse.
The house we wanted earlier ended up having too many problems with the roof and mold for
thatrainbow's parents to approve of it, but since we were there with the realtor and the inspector anyway, we all decided to go look at a couple other houses that were open.
House #1 was closer to the city, but only accessible by a road that is always full of traffic and that
thatrainbow hates driving on. And it was cute, and had a fully-fenced backyard and room for a garden (and a hot tub on the deck, WTF), but it was also tiny and weirdly arranged, did not have a bathtub, had some weirdness with the roof and would probably need the cabinets replaced. And it had carpet, which I haaaate, so we would have had to get the floors redone. I liked it, but it ended up being my second choice if the first one (ONCE AGAIN) does not work out.
House #2 was about a fifteen minute drive from the city - which is not awful, it just feels far away and isolated, and I mentioned before we went that a house would have to be awesome to outweigh the drive. This... was not. The paint outside was awful and peeling, the foundation was pretty scary, and I didn't even go upstairs because they were so steep I'm pretty sure I would die trying to come back down. BALANCE ISSUES AND STEEP STAIRS DO NOT MIX. I get into trouble on wide, flat stairs sometimes, so... no.
House #3 was pretty close to the second one. And at this point I was tired and just wanted to go hoooome (or, well, back to Pat and Caroline's, which is as close as we have for now), but that pretty much went away when I got out of the car.
1) The property is gorgeous. And also huge. It just keeps going and going. There's a front yard big enough to fence and leave the dog plenty of room, and in the backyard there's more grassy area, and gardens, and paths and just... so much space and awesome. We are seriously thinking about a berry/vegetable garden, and fruit trees, and ducks or chickens if we get the house. That's how much space we have to work with.
2) The house is awesome. Smaller than the one we thought we might buy (and only one story, which makes me a little sad but I'll live), but about the same size as the first new one we looked at today, and with a better layout. Plus, this one actually has a bath, more room in the kitchen, and even though there are carpets, there's hardwood under them. Two bedrooms, one of which I shall probably commandeer for an office/guest room. And the basement is nice and not scary or full of mold and spiders, and there's a washer and dryer down there.
3) Outbuildings. OMG outbuildings. There is a gigantic two-car garage - it is almost as big as the house, if not actually as big as the house, and probably twice the size of the apartment we just moved out of. If the village it's in doesn't have a problem with it for some reason, we are planning to turn it into a (probably two-bedroom) cottage and rent that out, instead of having to rent out a house in our actual home, which... we were worried about, because strangers in home, DNW. There is also what used to be a workshop, which
thatrainbow wants to turn into a painting/recording studio (yes, both), and a pretty big storage shed next to the garage.
Also, it is possibly still in Fairyland. But a nicer, friendlier part of Fairyland than where we were living before. Maybe the local fae will hate me less.
...if you couldn't tell, this is probably the one we are getting if there is no problem with the cottage plan (possibly even if there is - IDK what the people with the money are thinking here).
IN THE MEANTIME, we are looking at apartments for a few months, because not getting the first house means it is going to be even longer until we can close and actually have a house instead of just talking about it. And while it could be so much worse (as Plan B involved sleeping in our car), and Pat and Caroline are awesome, I feel bad taking over a corner of their living room, and I feel bad for the animals who don't know why they keep getting locked in crates and bedrooms and can't just wander and cuddle. (Ace is dying for love. DYYYIIING, YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW.) So while this is not getting resolved in the longterm for another month or two, probably, I am hoping we will have a better short term solution soon.
Other random updates:
- We got the poor puppy a bigger crate, because she can't be loose in Pat and Caroline's apartment, and she couldn't actually stand up in her old one. This one is wire, and she's deeply confused because she can see us but can't get to us. Pat and Caroline's cats are also deeply confused, because they seem to believe Ace is some kind of alien, and now they can see her clearly. But now she can actually stand up and stretch out, and I don't feel like such a horrible human being.
- At house #1, we met a tiny white stray cat. She's so small I don't think she's more than a year old, and so skinny, and there's no one and nothing in the house, so it's not like the owners are still moving and just haven't moved her yet. And she's skittish but also super affectionate, and was flirting with us so hard once she realized we wouldn't eat her. Whenever we get an apartment (oh god please soon), we are planning to swing by that house and see if she's still there. Not sure if we'd be able to keep her, but she will at least not be a sad little porch stray hanging around an empty home with no one to feed her.
- Dear christ, I need to get back to the free clinic. NEED TO. We didn't go in last Thursday because I was exhausted and would have to take the bus home and we were moving the next day. And then the car started to die, so we couldn't go Monday, or the Thursday after that. I am down to two pills of my citalopram, and I do not want to go through withdrawal. I have done that shit before, and it is unbelievably awful. Also, the counselor seemed really concerned when I mentioned my weird heart problems to him, as did the clinic coordinator, so they want me to talk to the actual doctor and then see about arranging financial aid for me to see a cardiologist or something. FUN STUFF. MY BODY IS NOW ALARMING MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS. :D