Things Are Starting To Look Up

At least on the purchasing end of our journey. We have a binding contract on the 28th St house, with escrow closing on the 12th of next month. The rush to close is necessitated by R's work schedule, he'll be very busy the rest of this year, as his carrier prepares for their move. He is supposed to be off the ship before the move, so at least he won't have to fly back from overseas. But the really good news is that the sellers signed an agreement to repair anything mandated by the VA appraiser or lender, which means there shouldn't be any obstacles to closing on their end. No repeats of 26th St nightmare, yay! Our inspection is scheduled for next week, I have my fingers crossed that nothing wacky turns up. And of course now is when we have to finish packing, cleaning, painting, requesting leave, reserving a truck & lodging, getting quotes for carpet and pest control for the apt. Lots to do before closing day!

Morning Rant-Grocery Etiquette

This is for the elderly gentleman in the Langley Commissary this morning, who apparently was in SUCH a hurry to get through his 9am produce shopping in an uncrowded store that he felt it his duty to comment on the placement of my child-filled shopping cart. I believe his exact words as he pushed by me angrily were, "Gee, thanks for blocking the WHOLE aisle!" I feel compelled to call attention to his uncouth behaviour.
You sir, are a discredit not only to your gender but to your years. For shame, that you could not be bothered to utter a simple "excuse me", yet you have the breath to waste on a snide and cutting comment. Which you made in front of my children and several other men, ALL of whom looked embarrassed by your actions. It is a certainty that if one of them had been in front of you, those words would not have left your mouth, instead you probably would have just moved their cart aside to make way. And speaking of making way, that is exactly what I WAS doing, making way for the stockperson to finish unloading the fruit I was trying to purchase. My aim was not to make everyone behind me look for another route, but to try to help a fellow human being. Which is something you ought to try to do more often. Oh, but I suppose it's easier to be a misanthropic chauvinist and tell other people where to go, then rush off to avoid being confronted. Please keep your scathing remarks and snap judgements to yourself. Stop doing such a disservice to the rest of the wonderful, elder generations that possess the warmth and social graces you so obviously lack. Yours sincerely,
Young, Mixed-Race Mother in the Grocery Store

Let Downs

We finally got pictures of the other house we're considering, on Van Buren. Surprisingly, this one doesn't look as salvageable as 28th St, even though the original views we had of it seemed to suggest otherwise. Of course, the listing agent probably took the best possible shots and left the rest out, so I should have expected this. It looks like someone demo'd the porch and put an asbestos-shingled addition on the rear, a la 1940's. Except for the Living/Dining Rooms the interior is really weirdly chopped up and dinky. The neighborhood looks a little nicer, that and the original interior trim plus slightly larger yard are the only things this house has on 28th St. The renter next door has mean dogs and there's a registered sex offender living three houses down, so apparently in this case looks are not all they're cracked up to be. Oh well, here are the pics of this Quasimodo. Take a gander!

Another Day, Another House

Hmm. Well, this next prospect is certainly thought-provoking. It's a 1923 brick bungalow on a tiny city lot with a shared driveway, and the interior is a mixture of Craftsman details and 70's fugly. I really don't know what to feel about this house, part of me wants to try and save it, the other part thinks that its surroundings might not make it worthwhile. The seller is willing to make the necessary repairs to get us through escrow, and it is priced low enough to allow serious renovation, so we are somewhat tempted. Just to give you an idea of what I'm still trying to wrap my brain around, here's the 28th St bungalow with:

The Good

The Bad

And The UGLY!

Happy Birthday, Son!

Our youngest, A, will officially enter toddlerhood this week, and while I'm not willing to give out the exact date, I can favor you with a montage of photos of him from the past year. Smile, birthday boy! We love you.

Norfolk House Voyeurism

While I wait for inspiration to strike in the buying process, here are just a few of the cute little bungalows in the Downtown area of Norfolk, by Lafayette Park.

My personal favorites are the little yellow and gray houses, they just look so cozy, cute and cottagey.

They Could Be Contenders

Oh no, now we have more houses to choose from! I guess quite a few people waited until after Memorial Day to put their homes on the market. So here are three more possibilities while we wait to see if our back-up offer on Adams moves to 1st.

Contender #1 is on Parry St up above the downtown renewal project, and was built 1912. It's kind of blah right now with the aluminum siding, skimpy porch hardware, and unfinished basement. Inside the house is 3088 sq. ft. half up, half down, with 3 beds and 2 full baths. Situated on a .17 acre lot with a 1 car garage and $99,000 price tag, there's definitely room to play with.

Contender #2 is on Adams (another one!) just behind the LDS Pioneer Church (nice grounds) above 22nd. Built in 1907 with very charming brick exterior and windows, it has 1765 sq.ft., 4 beds, 1 full bath, an upper half story, and a partial unfinished basement. The asking price is $100,000 and there is a 2 car garage on this .17 acre lot, which looks fully fenced

Contender #3 is the most likely to prove hard to resist, it is located on 7th in N. Ogden, has a nifty stone exterior, and a .38 acre lot. Built 1918, with 1820 sq.ft. half up, half down, it has a fully finished basement, 5 beds (make one a study), 1 full bath, a 2 car deep garage, air conditioning (ahhh), awesome mountain views and a fully fenced HUGE backyard. It is also the most expensive, they want $122,500 and will probably get it. Nice area, big lot, nice house with mostly original windows/doors/trim, and only been on the market for 2 days. My realtor is putting a PO together as I type, so that she can call me from the house if it looks as nice or better than the lovely Adams bungalow that we are currently waiting in line for. Cue suspence!