Barn and Arena.. almost functional

I am four days away from putting my horse in my own trailer and bringing him home. It is the realization of a dream that started 4 years ago. I cannot believe it is actually happening!

This last weekend we worked very hard to take the barn/arena from this:


To this:


and it would not have been at all possible without the help of my sisters Significant Other.. who operated a full size loader/Backhoe most of Saturday doing all kinds of moving and clearing and leveling!!!!


Here are the highlights:

On Friday Afternoon.. I got this delivered:



And this Tongue and Groove



When this showed up on Saturday:


and he did lots of work all day, moving dirt and wood piles and debris and clearing up a spot for me to put Beau outside.. and here is where he gets to go outside:


of course our supervisor was there making sure that we did things right:


and I got really excited when he starting in the arena:



I just wanted to drive that thing!

We purchased hardware for the gate yesterday, and hinges and latches for the stall door. This week I am on the hunt for a few things for the tack room... Next weekend is all about fencing, tack room ceilings and finishing things up.. including about three pickup loads of wood chips for the aisle.. stay tuned.. I am almost functional....

Finish work will not be totally done until it is drier and warmer...but even so.. I am pleased with what we have accomplished so far...

Another funny note.. the gal that used to own the place came by.. and THAT is a topic for another post.

I love me a half day at work

Today I only have to work a half day. 

I love this.. it gives me extra time to work on the barn. 

My plan today is to get gravel and mats and gates.

Tomorrow is the arena rails

Sunday is the finishing touches on the stall.

That means.. Next weekend is footing and fencing and Beau HOME!

I am far from being done, but the basics will be there.. and then I will gain an hour a day to do work around this place and get caught up on some other areas..

Also.. I will take some pictures of the industrial stuff my Hubby brought home...

Shelving, work tables, desk, chairs, and more shelving and cabinets..

Most are for his shop.. but some are for the garage.. and He did his own version of a garage sale..

He got all the cabinets, and the tables (which are HUGE) and other items for 150.00.. and he told me that just one of the work tables can run in the thousands of dollars.. Whooo hooo!

So he is off to the dump right now, and I am going to get ready to head out to get me some gravel after swinging by the barn to see Beau and clean his stall... Only a week or so more to have to make that drive.. soon I will be posting about our rides and less about my mucking of the stall.

4 months, 3 wrecks on the corner

We officially moved into our house about 4 months ago.. as of last night, we have witnessed 3 car wrecks outside of our house.

We live on a country road... 35mph type of road. Where our house sits there is a corner. This intersection is two 35mph roads that people travel well over the speed limit on. When we had the snow day in December.. We had two wrecks that day in our ditch.. one actually went onto our lawn and was sideways.. We had two families in the house that day while they waited for tow trucks.

Last night we had a third family in the house, but this time it was a little more serious.

I was doing the dishes and Paxton heard the wreck. My DH and child looked out the window and saw a jeep flipped up on it's side on the far side of the intersection right across from our side yard. They went out to call 911 and to see if everyone was okay.

When Paco came back in, he said that there was a woman and a child that needed to come in and sit down while they waited for the fire department and police.

I put the dogs away and they came in. This poor family. Their child had just gotten out of the hospital, they were actually on their way home from the hospital, and they get hit. The driver of the other car was outside, and my DH had asked them to just take a seat until the aid car and police got there.. the driver was attempting to move his car and leave. He appeared very "high" on something.

The fire department arrived and the mom and child went out to get looked at. They were pretty shaken up.

When the police arrived, it was a little crazy outside of our house..and the driver of the car that caused the accident left in the police car.

I was amazed at how quickly it was all dealt with though.. about an hour from the time the wreck happened until the tow truck drivers had the street cleaned up.

A bit of excitement at the corner again.

We joke about this corner and our property.. people typically will just pull over and park in our driveway, they will do u turns at this corner quite frequently, police will hang out there, and people will just ride their quads, dirtbikes, lawnmowers and such around this intersection.. it is just a little weird.

The county sheriff had come by last weekend and stopped to chat with us. I had told him.. The police are ALWAYS welcome to come and sit in our driveway, or use our property to set up a speed trap on this road...

There is a large equine facility across the street, we have dogs and kids, and this road is notorious in the last four months for speeders and wrecks.. I didn't even mention the wreck a couple of weekends ago right outside our shop on the other end of the property... so really.. 4 wrecks in 4 months..

I really hope this is not the trend... one wreck a month.

One more full day of work, and a half day and then it is on to more barn progress... and I also have to do a post about what MacGyver brought home last night.. It involved a 24 foot moving truck to get it all home...

Thanksgivings

This time of year is emotional for me.  Having lost both of my parents, and my late husband, and his parents, our family is much smaller.  My older siblings do their own thing for the holidays and only my younger sister is coming for Turkey day.  My childhood and past adult memories are all of pretty traditional things and consist of some pretty memorable holidays.  I miss my family that is no longer here something fierce this time of year.

I also think about what I am blessed with and what I am thankful for.

I am married now to a pretty darn wonderful guy.

That guys parents are truly amazing and so much fun.  They are here visiting right now and will be with us for Thanksgiving.  This is the first time they have spent Turkey day with their son since he moved away from Alaska 12 years ago.  We are all very thankful and happy they are here with us.

My friends will be coming for Thanksgiving.  My niece (quasi-grandaughter) will be with us.  My boys will both be here with us. 

I am cooking my mother's recipes and that always helps me to feel close to her.

We have a wonderful new house to entertain in.

Both of us have wonderful jobs and good income.

The boys are healthy and happy and my youngest got a 100.5% on his test today..

And... My mother-in-law is going to help me set up my sewing machine and get me going this weekend.. and for that, I will be eternally grateful as that was something that was in my mom and grandmother's domains.

I am brining a turkey tonight.. I am looking forward to see what happens with that!

I will hopefully be taking some pictures of things as I prep them and cook them tomorrow.  My camera has been dead and I need to charge it up tonight and get back to photos and posting regularly.

What are you all experiencing this holiday season?

Happy Thanksgiving.. Stay Safe, Warm and Stuffed!

Another small milestone at home

I can't wait to get home today.  I expect I will see something really cool.

Unfortunately, it will be dark when I get home so I will need to take pictures tomorrow.

My lovely Husband has been building paddocks today.  I hope to see posts in the ground tonight.

Tomorrow we will be picking up Horse Fencing.. I can hardly wait.. Actual Horse Fence on my own property.. it seems so unreal still.  When the Gates go in.. and the stall fronts are built.. then I really will be jumping for joy.

This is a big step though..  Until tomorrow with pictures.

The Pony is Moving!

So.. I wish I could report that I am bring the beautiful Beau home this weekend, but we are not quite there yet.  On other happy fronts, the appraiser came by this morning and it looks like we will pass with flying colors.

Good thing McGyver knows his stuff.. and how to let people who think they are important, feel important.  He has his eye on the goal.

Barn work will start next weekend, and one of the dead trees is already down with the second one falling today.  This means that we can haul the logs out and fence.  Important when you want to keep your ponies home.

I am so excited to get started, but sure will miss the warmer weather.  We will be doing the basics to get the stalls ready, the paddocks built and the tack room enclosed.  Everything else with the arena will happen after.  I always have to remind myself that it is progress before perfection in this house stuff.

I will be posting more pictures this weekend and I have a pretty good recipe to post this weekend as well.. can't wait to share it all.

House Photos

I have come to terms with the fact that I live in Chaos right now.  To satisfy the terms of our Holdback, we have to do much work in a small amount of time.  This weekend we will do the final bits of big work and then next week we should be complete.  By Halloween, I should be actually moving boxes and putting beds together.

The following weekend, I should be finally working on the Barn.  That is when I will really get excited.

My uncle came over last night and looked at the two trees we think need to come down.  He doesn't feel comfortable felling them himself, so he is calling a guy to come and do it for us.  He will help McGyver and I chip and chop up the logs once they are down, but we cannot build any fences until those two trees come down.  One is really dead and he suggested removing that one ASAP before the heavy wind storms we normally get around Thanksgiving come.

I have included some Day 1 photo's here  and some progress photos.  Enjoy!  If I haven't been responding or commenting much, it is only because we are literally working all the time.  When I am not at work, I am working on the house.  Up until today, this week at work has been crazy as well since I was gone three days.  I will be back to visiting everyone very soon!

All of these first photo's were taken the first few days we were there.  We actually slept on our mattresses in the dining/family room area.

Above picture is our Family Room and off to the left of that space is the Dining room and Kitchen

This is the Main Bath.. it needs SERIOUS help.  Mcgyver is actually working on this room today.

 

This is our Living room, Day one.. it had a swirly, gaudy VERY filthy Carpet, and the drapes were pretty icky as well.  Since this picture, there is NEW carpet, and the drapes have been cleaned.  I am waiting to replace the window treatments in this room as they are HUGE windows and the bedrooms have to come first.

 

This is the Master Bedroom, it also was in need of some SERIOUS attention.  It now also has new paint, new trim, and new carpet.  I will photograph it when it is put back together.. although I think I did take a couple of shots with the new Carpet and the new paint.

 This used to be my kitchen.. in my old house

 
This is my new kitchen.  It won't look like this forever.  Just until after the barn is done and my pony comes home.  I am sacrificing having new stuff in here and getting started on painting cabinets to get my pony home.


Now for the updated photos:

McGyver installed Cedar floors in the Hall Closets.  The Hall Closets were so gross I had to wear a mask to clean them out.  Now they have been Bleached, primed with a stain killer/blocker, the shelves were all cleaned, bleached, painted and put back in and he put in Cedar floors to make them smell nice.. it is wonderful and was a really inexpensive solution to our flooring dilemma in these closets.

This is now our dining room.  Paco is sitting at a CLEAN table in the dining room.  It has since lost this look and is now functioning as a work area again since the rain started up again.  he Paneling in this room has been the source of a couple of very "heated" discussions between McGver and myself.  HE thinks it is fabulous and is inherent of the character of the house and because it is in SUCH good shape, we should leave it.  I want it gone or painted White.  I want a different look in here.  So.. I am sure we will revisit this room again.

This is looking down the Hallway to the bedrooms and the Main Bath on the Right, Hall closets on the left.  This was in pretty bad shape as well and had NO trim.  Now the walls are Waverly Natural and the Trim is a nice White that I can't remember the name of right now, as I have purchased more paint in the last week than I care to remember right now.. and  75th Trip to Lowes is today right after work for guess what.. More paint.

This is the new carpet in the Living room.  It is made by Mohawk and is a Smart Strand.  You can do up to a 50/50 Bleach Water combo on this.  It is WONDERFUL carpet and we love it.. but it is a little on the pricey side.  We got ours on sale for 17$ a yard.

This is with our 50 inch plasma up.  We now think this looks little.. and that is my beautiful lab's BUTT in the shot.. Whooops.. she didn't run Quite fast enough.

Progress on the Master Bedroom.  I am finishing up the cut in stuff this weekend.  The color is Pine Needle Green.  It was scary in the can.. (mushy peas), but now I love it up on the walls!

We still have some things to do.. but with the new carpet and the white trim.. it is coming together nicely..

All this work made for some very tired people.. but these guys were absolutely EXHAUSTED

 These guys were all tuckered out.  They have totally settled in though.

Thanks for bearing with this very long post.  I hopefully will get to post again sometime this weekend with some more pictures.. otherwise it will be sometime next week.

Happy Weekend folks!

Home at last

I have been absent from posting due to moving.. Yep.. that is right.  We are moved.  We have a ton of work to do before we can move things in properly, but I have my bed, the kids are both here, we can cook in the kitchen and so far, everything works!  Even the Arena lights!!!

I am posting a couple of our "before pics today" along with the first thing I am going to tackle, project wise.  I will have to wait a couple weeks, as we have items on the appraisal hold back tick sheet to complete first and I have to follow husbands law on that.

Here is the outside of our house right now.

It is a tad bit blurry, it is freezing outside, so I might have shaken a little..lol

and here is one of the first projects I want to tackle!

This chandelier is in the dining room (which is our bedroom right now, until we get the master painted and the floors done.  I have big plans for this baby so stay tuned.

Another project I have on my list is a coffee table I picked up at a thrift store right after we moved out of our old house.  It will most likely get done next weekend.  I have today off and am back to work for a couple days and then will be taking another few days off to help McGyver get things done around here.

Happy Monday!

Moving Day?

Well... It looks like it is actually going to happen.  We are movin' on up... to a house!

The funny thing is... it is the house we originally wanted to buy back in May.  After some loopty loos and roundabouts, we are finally cleared for docs.  We should sign either tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday morning and be funded by Friday am!  This means that we can actually get some keys on Friday and start moving in this weekend!

I will take tons of before pictures.  The before pics will be prettttty scary.  This house has been vacant for over a year.  The whole reason we wanted this place is because of all the structures and the acreage this place has.  It is almost 5 acres with a house, an extra garage, a shop, a barn and even.... a covered arena!  The covered arena is the biggest bonus for me.  For someone who rides and is a fair weather rider like myself, having a covered arena is a huge deal.  This one is 60X60 and so it is not a big arena, but it is plenty big enough for me to ride in most of the time.  It allows me to work my horse even in the crappy rainy NW winters.  It also allows me to be able to turn my horse beast out even in the worst weather with no fear of mud!  The barn has four stalls, a tack room and electricity and Water.  These are huge expenses that are already finished for us!  The shop is a mechanics dream and my DH will really really enjoy it!

While there is mucho work to be done there, we know that it is a really really sound investment.  I will have lots and lots of before and after's to share in the coming months, and I cannot wait to have a place for my things again, and most of all for our family to be together again.

I also am so happy that the Dogs will have room to run, room to play and a house instead of being cooped up in a trailer all day long.  I don't think our Beagle really minds, but I know that our Jack Russell and our Lab will be very very happy to move around more again.

It has been such a long journey and we are not at the end yet, just at the beginning of the real hard work that will start this weekend.  I so dislike moving, but this move I am really looking forward to.  Mostly because it will signal the end of our Real Estate struggles this summer.  I am so thankful that Hubby and I have made it through this.. in fact, he remarked that it has made our marriage stronger and us closer.  Most folks we know that have gone through real estate goes through a strain on their marriage.  Maybe because we are united in this?  I am not entirely sure, but I know that I am so grateful that we are seeing the light at the end of this very long, dark tunnel!

This week will mark the end of my long commutes and I am thrilled about that.  I have three and a half days left of work this week and then will be off for 5 and a half days to get this done!

I hope all of you that come here have a most fabulous week, and I will post an update once we have our signing appointment and our actual date to get keys!

We have a second Chance

Last night, I helped my Mcgyver husband lay down a new Vinyl floor, and finish up the wall trim in a bedroom.  I also cleaned along side our Realtor.

The one bright spot in this crazy journey... our Realtor.  She is the mother of a horse trainer I know and she is lovely.  I picked her to list our house but more importantly to find us the perfect horse property, as she is the equine property specialist up here.  This lady knows where every dry piece of land is in Northern Snohomish County.  She is professional, keeps her cool and calm even when I have trouble with mine, and is always in our corner.  One of the most impressive things about her, which has endeared her to my DH, who is NOT a fan of most Realtors (he has been burned a couple times in the past by less than competent agents and brokers), is that when you tour a house with her.. she doesn't point out how you can make things work.  She waits for your comments and then is non committal.  I asked her about this, and she explained that she doesn't want to sway someone either way, that it should be their decision and if they love a house, she won't have to over sell it anyway.  I like that.  It is something I would do.. let it sell itself.

Her Broker has been wonderful too.  If any one in the vicinity of this blog is looking to sell or buy in North Western Washington, I will hook you up.  After all we have been through, I am sure glad we have had her!

On to the title of this post.  A second Appraiser is coming out today and I am sending many prayers to God to let this turn out in our favor.  We worked very hard yesterday and last night to get a floor in, the plumbing repaired, the entire place cleaned (Our Realtor ran errands for us, got us pizza and did all the windows.. like I said.. she is a Rock Star!)  Our Youngest handled the touch up painting and some of the extra hands my DH needed.  I put in 3/4 of a floor by myself.. Yeah ME!  I wish I had the time to take photos.. but if this goes our way.. there will be Tons of before and after photo's to come.

My sister came by and helped me put up the couple of gutters that were off, and when we left last night I had a much better sense of it all working out.  The house looked much better, the plumbing is fixed and everything looked much cleaner and had lost the musty vacant-for-over-a-year smell.

McGyver Hubby is going back this am to finish the last of the flooring in the second bedroom and trim and install one more shower head.  The appraiser is scheduled to come today in the afternoon, so I really hope that this time it is listed as "average" and we can go and sign papers.  Everyone is just waiting on this ONE person to do their appraisal today.. and then we can go and sign.. what a relief that would be. Absolute Joy and Relief.

I have tried very hard to be patient and be positive.  I am just running out of both of these things as September comes to a close.

The funny thing is.. as borrowers.. we couldn't be lower risk right now.  Both have very good full time jobs, we have a years salary in the bank that is separate from the 10% down and closing costs of this house, we only have one car payment and no credit card debt, no student loans.. no real debt.  We pay for our son's college classes out of pocket and we own all of our toys outright.  They are not brand new or shiny or fancy.. but they are all paid for.  It is just how we live... if we can afford it.. fine.. if we can't we don't.  Hubby is a saver and I have slowly been coming around to his way of thinking.. so we save and are careful.. even more so now.

So.. I am going to be patient today and going to remain positive that this appraisal will come back in our favor and by next weekend we will be moving things and playing with a U-Haul.

Then.. I can start working on all of the projects that will make that "average" house into AWESOME!

"Fair Condition"

Okay.. so I can't write the really the mean and nasty things I want to say about home mortgage people and real estate and especially appraisers.

How is that for an opening line?

We are in the middle of a house deal.. well.. this is the original house deal that we have now come full circle on.

Let me give you the not so quick and very dirty version.

Last May.. I decided that I wanted to have my horse at home, and that I wanted some room to stretch out.  My Darling Husband agreed with the stretching out part.. he wasn't sure he wanted the horse where he would have to gaze upon him on a daily basis, but the financial savings over boarding won him over (not that there really is a substantial savings.. but shhhhhhh).  So we decided we would have to sell our house in the burbs across from the Lake to make our dreams of a shop, a house, acreage, and a barn come true.

Everyone told us that it would take awhile for our house to sell and that we would be in a much better position to buy if we sold first.  Wow.. was that WRONG (most of the time, that advice is sound).. in our case.. we should have hiked up our price and put in an offer on the house we are trying to close on and waited.. because our house would have sold in a normal amount of time... (3 months) and we would have been still in our house getting ready to move out for only a few weeks.. NOT months..but.. I digress....

So on the market our house went.. we put in an offer on a Short Sale.. and our house sold in 16 days.. we closed on it in the first week of June and moved out to our Recreational property, thinking.. how cool, we can camp out for the 6 weeks this is going to take and relax, enjoy the summer at the property and Paco can swim everyday.. Nice.......

Except that we didn't hear from the Bank.. and we didn't hear from the Bank.. just that it was in Stage III.. whatever that meant... July Came.. we started to get nervous because we wanted to make sure we were in a house by School Starting for young Padewan to start High School.  We found another house.. NOT a short sale.. Nice big house, acreage, no shop, no barn, but cheap and we could build the other things.  We went through the inspection, the appraisal, we signed papers to close at the escrow/title office on a Wednesday morning.. and Wednesday night.. we got a phone call.. The sellers had changed their mind.   It was unthinkable.. how could someone change their mind after we signed papers?  They had until Friday at 5pm to get their tushies to the closing office... they never did.. this is an ongoing dilemma we are still having and have retained an attorney to recoup our hard costs.  YUCK.

So... onward to another house.. this one a tiny house, but great property, no shop, no fence, no barn.. we were getting a little desperate, but it was even cheaper than the one before.. was not a short sale.. the house was owned outright.. everything seemed in order.. we got 1 week from closing and it turns out there is a boundary line adjustment issue with a family member that will take a minimum of two months to fix and early occupancy is fine but we have to pay rent and can't touch a thing or even put up a temporary fence for the dogs.. We walked from that deal...

Not to mention that we had found our dream house.. and I am not kidding.. Big Shop, Beautiful Big Tri Level house, 3 miles from my little sister, with gorgeous pastures, a barn, a huge garden, big beautiful shade trees and an orchard that was unbelievable.. and.. it was totally in our price range.  We put an offer in.. but there was already a signed around Contingent offer.. and they only had 48 hours to sell their house and remove the contingency.. NO PROBLEM we thought.. NO one sells their house in 2 days.. Ummm.. you must not have met us with our Horrible Real Estate Luck... They sold their house and STOLE our dream house.. It SUCKS.
So while I was sobbing and screaming and throwing things.. our Agent wanted to show us the "cutest place" with room for The Horse Beast.  OKAY.. here we go again.. Chin up and all...

The place.. ummmm not even going to go there.. It was a bust.. and while we were there our Agent mentioned that we did have the acceptance letter now from the bank on the FIRST house we put an offer in.  We talked about it and said.. What the hell.. that place has a house, almost 5 acres, a HUGE shop (like almost bigger than the house big shop), a 4 stall barn with tack room and a covered.. yep.. I said Covered Arena.
It also needs a fair amount of work to make it into the fabulous place we envision.. but it can be done.  The rambler needs mostly cosmetic fixes and it does have a new roof.

So we get everything done on this house as far as paperwork.. and we get to the end.. again... and The appraiser only calls it "Fair".. It has to be at least "average" for the bank to loan on it.

Really?  I have prayed and prayed for things to work out.  I don't know why this appraiser has to be the pickiest and craziest appraiser around and why we have to draw this particular one.  So as I get ready to head over to said house with my Hubby's saws and cords and garbage bags and cleaning supplies and paint.. I am hoping that God really is in my corner and will see this through with us.

I am crossing my fingers that the new appraisal we ordered comes with a new appraiser... and we can get that "average" that we are looking for.

I will keep this updated as we go along this week.. and if you made it to here.. WOW.. THANK YOU and here is a nice picture for your reward

This is a moon shot from my old backyard..

Velvet Cows

We are going to miss another closing.  For some weird reason, I am completely calm about all of this today.  I know that I will probably start hyperventilating on Sunday when it hits me that we don't have a house to move into and I will be dropping young Padewan off at School each morning and picking him up from my sisters each day when I drop off the baby. 

Since we were supposed to move this weekend and that has been cancelled, my sister informed me that I would be going to the fair with her.  I don't seem to have a choice in the matter.

My husband has told me that He is NOT going.  He hates crowds, lines and inflated prices on any given day, but put them all together at the fair grounds.. that is a recipe for a very unhappy husband.  So.. it will most likely just be the sister, the baby (hers), the teenager(mine), and myself. 

I Heart Fairs....I love to look at the horses and feel that Beau is more beautiful than any of the horses at the fairgrounds.  I love to see all the different dogs, chickens and goats.  We love to see the pigs and most of all.. we love to look at the cows.  Dairy cattle are just cool to me.. especially the Jersey cows.. I think their coats look like Velvet.. I used to call them Velvet Cows when I was little..

See this:

 

They are soooo sweet looking!

I wanted to take one home and keep it in the backyard.  I used to believe that I could have random amounts of animals at any given time in my backyard.  My parents disagreed.. They were absolutely NO fun!

Going to the fair is so much fun for me.. and to get to go with the baby for the first time is a huge bonus for me.  I get to be the nana that took Ally to the fair.  

Paxton just wants to ride the rides, so I am not sure how that will work.  Unless he can take a friend, and that friends parent gives them money for a wristband and food.. Paco will be solo.

Since we are not moving.. I have many things to do.. and less to do.. It is bizarre how that translates.

I have to cancel the horse moving, and let my current place know he is staying for another thirty days.. and I have to call the school and see what we have to get for supplies and schedule.. since he is not changing districts.. and I have to rifle through the storage units to try and find my passport..

I have been saying my favorite prayer all morning.. "Little Jesus, lost and found, please bring my "passport" around."

I believe very strongly in prayer... even though I have moved away from my church.. and that means more than the physical location.. my faith is under a test right now and I am really finding that I yearn for another church now.  Another topic for another day.

The little Jesus prayer has brought most things back to me.. including my son's bike that was stolen a few weeks ago.. I said that prayer every day for three days.. and someone found the bike and returned it... so.. saying it sure couldn't hurt since I have to "find" the box I put it in... about three months ago.. thinking it was a temporary thing...

We are looking at a house this evening that has "wife's dream house" written all over it.  I am hopeful but not excited, since my hopes have been dashed far too many times this summer.. but I continue to be optimistic, because the alternitive is just too crappy to think about.

Thursday is the day before Friday.. which means the weekend and the Fair are just around the corner.. Hmmm Roasted corn on the cob, Fair Burgers and Scones.. Here I come!!!.. and hopefully I can pet a Velvet Cow while I am there.

Another Weekend gone

Another Weekend with no resolution. I seriously feel like I am just floating along with no direction and that tends to drive me crazy.

This weekend though, I finally washed my car, did crazy amounts of laundry at the laundromat, and had the sister and niece out for the day on Saturday. That was pretty awesome.

This week is the deciding week. Either we get to move in to the house prior to close or we walk from the deal and find a house to rent this weekend and my vacation is spent getting moved into a rental.. UGHHHH..

I really don't want to move three times in a short time period, but the alternative is worse.

That this is crush week at work doesn't help at all. I have a million things to do and no real time to get any of them done to the satisfaction I want.

Time to put my work hat on, and take off the real estate whining hat. High Ho.. High Ho.. it's off to work I go.. (whistling as I walk away from this post)

There is no crying in Real Estate

My DH made our mortgage person cry. He can be extremely blunt and to the point, and she took it to heart and was crying when he called her back. It has to do with our loan lock and the fact that we are stuck having to do 7 day locks instead of a 30 day lock. He and I are NOT mortgage or finance people so we are not sure why we have to play the banks game with this. The part of this that really chaps our hide is that she is trying to imply that the bank will feel "bad" if we don't continue with them.

Like we are supposed to have some sort of "bank guilt" if we don't continue with this particular lender since they have "gifted" us a week free of loan lock this week. (this is why she called in the first place). Since when do banks operate like the Sopranos?... we are obligated to this bank because they give us a free week of protection for our loan? Now we have to play their game??? He was understandably asking questions and she didn't have the answers we were looking for right away.

Long story short, we are keeping this loan this week, since we are talking to the sellers at the end of this week to see what we can do to get this wrapped up before I have a stroke. We are three weeks away from school starting and I really want to have Bubba registered so that he at least knows WHERE he will be attending his Freshman year.

My DH was reluctant to tell me that he made someone cry... and I pointed out that it is her job to take care of the borrowers, and she KNOWS that we have been totally screwed over with Real Estate this summer, AND... she has talked to you enough to know your personality when things don't make sense.. plus.. there is no crying in Real Estate.. it is business.. and she should probably get a little thicker skin to be in that business. Real Estate is emotional enough with all of the drama involved in a regular transaction, not to mention what we have been through.. and I still haven't cried over it. I have dropped some choice phrases, but I haven't cried.

I know that after this is over, and I am sitting in my tiny living room this winter, reading a book in front of the nice cozy wood stove, I will probably laugh so hard at our predicament that I might cry.. but right now I am far too focused on the end result to cry.. and I am sure that at some point it will overwhelm me and I might cry.. but not today.. today I am focused on work, and going to visit my Beau after work and start to pack up the crap I don't need at the barn. My horse will be and has been the balm to my frazzled nerves, and when I get overwhelmed, I go see my horse. I got emailed a great list today and I will share it here for any of you that happen to ride and or love horses.. you will "get it".. for all others.. sorry.. horse people are crazy.. good crazy mostly, but crazy none the less.

10 Exercises to becoming a better Equestrian!


10. Drop a heavy steel object on your foot. Don't pick it up right away. Shout, "Get off, Stupid, GET OFF!"

9. Leap out of a moving vehicle and practice "relaxing into the fall." Roll lithely into a ball and spring to your feet.

8. Learn to grab your checkbook out of your purse and write out a $200 check without even looking down.

7. Jog long distances carrying a halter and a carrot. Go ahead and tell the neighbors what you are doing - they might as well know now.

6. Affix a pair of reins to a moving freight train and practice pulling to a halt. Smile as if you are having fun.

5. Hone your fibbing skills: "See hon, moving hay bales is FUN!" and "No, really, I'm glad your lucky performance and multimillion dollar horse won the blue ribbon. I am just thankful that my hard work and actual ability won me second place."

3. Borrow the US Army's slogan: Be All That You Can Be -- bitten, thrown, kicked, slimed, trampled, frozen...

2. Lie face down in a puddle of mud in your most expensive riding clothes and repeat to yourself, "This is a learning experience, this is a learning experience, this is ..."

1. THE NUMBER ONE EXERCISE TO BECOME A BETTER EQUESTRIAN: Marry money.

I really really should have done #1

Happy Tuesday!

Another Closing Date has passed

People like to ask me.. "Have a house yet?".. and I am still responding.. NO! Thank you very much.. I don't. I have stopped talking about it, and really kind of stopped thinking about this house that we were supposed to close on this last Monday.

There is a delay. It is a fixable delay, but again it is caused by the other side not having their "stuff" together. It is starting to make be more than a little anxious as we are T Minus 4 weeks for school to start for the young Padawan. I still have School Clothes and Supply Shopping to do.. which I have held off on because.. OH yeah.. WE LIVE IN A TRAILER! and there is really no where for brand new clothes to go.. except for in a bin in the storage place.

I know that I will have to break down and go and do it while the best sales are on.. because my husband likes to remind me that "we are trying to buy a house here and we don't have extra money to be flinging around on clothing and paper for our 14 year old child who is entering high school."

Except that we have yet to actually go through a closing and "BUY A HOUSE.".. Most people tell us that it is a sign of the times and this is just a reflection of what is going on out there. I look at them in awe and I really don't respond any more.

I don't tell them that a. It is either God has a serious problem with us and wants us to suffer through this so we might go back to church, or B. It is just a string of bad luck because I somehow have some serious bad Karma.. probably because I haven't been to church in awhile.

Our Real Estate Agent is a very nice lady. She is also extremely level headed, wonderfully patient with me and is very very smart. She has really made this all semi tolerable. I think I would have gone to jail for assault if she hadn't been around to intervene in the last deal that went south due to the crazy sellers. One that front.. we STILL have not gotten our earnest money back. I think they are of the mind of sticking their heads in the sand and we will get bored and finally go away. That is horribly naive thinking on their part as I am as stubborn as they come and you cannot rip me off, steal my house, turn my life upside down and keep me from a really nice kitchen without having some repercussions here people!

I had so many things I wanted to write about today, but after my rant I am running out of steam a little bit. I went to the Doctor last night and it was the WORST appointment of my life. When did Doctors get cold, unfeeling and rush through things without listening to a WORD their patients say.. and then require them to come back for a 10 min procedure because they just don't feel like doing it?????????

At least my son got his sports physical.. his first one.. LOL.. I wasn't in the room for the exam.. you know the one.. the hand and the coughing????? ... but when I asked him about it.. He laughed and said it was just Weird.. and then he looked and me and said.. Drop it mom.. That is all you are getting.. Man.. that kid really knows his mama.. then I dropped him off after Taco Bell at my friends place. Her hubby is taking his son and mine to a Mariners game tonight.. They are excited.. if they are one of the first 20k, they will get a bobble head.. I know that is why I would go.. the bobble head. His aunt told him to get the garlic fries since that is the only reason she goes.. I told him I wanted the bobble head.. and he just said NO.. you cannot have it.. so I told him that I would never buy him Taco Bell again.. and he just laughed.. he knows I won't totally nix Taco Bell forever.. plus.. his brother would take him anyway.

The only really good thing about today is that it is Friday.. and that means two whole days of not having to go to work.. ahhhh.. two days!

Enjoy your weekend.. I know I am going to.

House Countdown again

Yesterday I received the beginning of the documents to close our house. This is the Third attempt for us to buy a house this Spring/Summer. We should close by the 21st of August. I have my fingers crossed, have knocked on many pieces of wood, have said a prayer to God, Jesus, Mary, St Francis, Joan of Ark, Zeus, The Pope and the President, all hoping that this deal finally goes through and I can move out of the 5th Wheel and into a real house..

Nothing against trailers.. I am just soooo over Camping with the kids separated and the DH trying to get the over the air antenna to pick up Retro TV so he can watch Knight rider.. I mean.. REALLY. If they would play Dukes of Hazard and Chips and the Love Boat.. with some Fantasy Island thrown in, I would be right there with him, banging on stuff. But I just can't get all worked up over David HasselHoff and Kit, not to mention that the Incredible Hulk is on right after that and that the A team plays right before... Man shows really.

Anyhoooo.. back to the real estate. Below are some helpful suggestions if you find yourself in a simliar situation...

Some things I have learned in the process:

1. Don't sell your house before you have another home to purchase.. that was just a dumb idea.

*The reasoning.. no one but no one will take a contingent offer right now.. and we will be stronger buyers with cash in hand* Says the DH and our Agent.. Okay.. but the trade off? LIVING in a Motor home for over 60 days with Said DH, one of the Teenagers and Three Dogs.. One of whom is a 70+ lb Chocolate Lab.. ummm.. yeah.. in 214 sq feet.. Yeah.. that works.*

2. If you do decide to sell before you buy.. have a back up plan..
*see above*

3. Do not attempt to buy a short sale house unless it is for investment purposes and you have like 6 months to wait around for the bank to get back to you. *We put in an offer 1 day after our house sold in May.. we have yet to receive an acceptance letter from the bank*

4. Research the sellers. We got all the way to closing before finding out we were dealing with freaks. *this is apparently highly unusual*.. hmmm it is Real Estate..NOTHING surprises me anymore.

5. If you do find yourself living at your recreational property longer than anticipated.. try to NOT divorce your spouse.. *This is sometimes difficult, I know.. because we have been thinking about how NOT to move into another dwelling with each other at times during this process*

6. Make Sure that when you put in your THIRD offer for a THIRD property, you ask lots and lots of questions like we did.. here is a small sample:

a. Are they Crazy? Anyone on the Seller's side having problems mentally or
financially?

b. Are they able to complete the sale?

c. Are they employed? Stable? Crazy? Seriously, we want to know. Just tell us
now, instead of after we have ordered utilities, bribed all of our friends, hired a
horse transport, and generally scheduled time off of work, made all kinds of plans
and mentally decorated every single room in the house. ( Oh how I am grieving
for the loss of that kitchen and the pantry and the space..)

d. Can we just have them sign something stating they are not going to back out after
we sign papers and then not respond to anyone, including their own broker, agent
and our attorney? Please?

These are the questions we had to ask. It saddens me that it has spiraled into this place of not trusting a nice elderly lady and her family.

I am also really struggling to come to grips with the smaller house thing. I had visions of moving UP in a house, not downsizing.

If the house closes, this Blog will transition into one primarily focusing on Home Improvement, Gardening, Farm live and living in a small space while trying to create culinary treats.

It will also probably still contain crazy rants.. like today. That is all..

Ciao

Monday, Monday

It is HOT here.. Up here in the Pacific Northwest.. We don't DO 90 and over for extended periods of time.. so the last week has been inching up to that over 90 stuff.. and this weekend we had these crazy thunderstorms and heat and holy crap it was 70 on my way into work before 7am!

I was acclimated to Minnesota heat when I came back to the PNW.. and I wore a sweatshirt most of the rest of the summer here. Now I am acclimated back to the drizzly weather and we get this crazy heat.

I spent 5+ hours cleaning out the Funky Hoopty (The 5th wheel we bought to be our cabin at the property where we are living out of RV's at the time.. earlier post.)

I knew the trailer had A/C but Hubby had to vent the roof properly. I went to grill steak.. and we were out of Propane.. so I had to go over the Motor Home... since the 5th wheel had the A/C on for DH, Son and puppies.. so I go and fry and broil steaks in the NON A/C RV.. Hmmmmmm

But we got to all sit at the table, and the 5th Wheel is a big step up in Room for us... I will post pics of the new digs over the next Week.. I still have mucho laundry from the weekend to do tonight.. and propane to get, and items to move.. so I am now off to pick up the baby who is bound to be hot and fussy and cranky.. GREAT.. just like me..

Ciao