I Think Someone Wrote A Song About It

I'm sure a song exists for every emotion known to man. Disappointment is a human emotion and I'm sure some country crooner crooned about the loss of a house because of rotting floor joists. Probably after his wife left him, his dog died and his truck got repossessed. Such is the world of home buying. You win some, you lose a lot, and you keep moving forward.
You may have guessed by now that we probably won't be getting our almost home. The inspector found a lot of problems. Not least of which is the floor joists with severe water damage. That would cost big bucks to fix. Money we don't have. And the sellers opted out of doing any repairs in the contract.
Now its moving on time I suppose. Time to stop decorating the living room in my head, or gazing at paint chips longingly. Our time will come I know. God keeps turning us in new directions. His plans are always better than our own, and disappointment will create new opportunities. And as soon as I get my face out of this pint of ice cream I'll be able to see those opportunities with a little more clarity.

Why I Love Our New (Almost) Home

A List by Susanna Hearn

1. We'll have plenty of before and after pictures. Take for instance the "front" of the house. Kind of boring and mismatched now, but with new shutters, an arbor, a well-placed window box, a cute front door that doesn't open into the laundry room (don't know, so don't ask) and new vinyl siding it could be like a picture from a magazine (or not, but one can dream).

2. We have a great view of the river and a yoga studio from the front yard, so I'll have a constant reminder that I need to exercise. I don't think I'll take classes there. I wouldn't have any excuse not to go.

3. We have a lovely view of Dillsboro from the FENCED-IN BACKYARD! Need I say more?

4. We have a rotting, decrepit garage/workshop filled with graffiti, empty cans, and a rusty telescope (perhaps for better viewing of the yoga studio), which we can disassemble with sledge hammers and other manly tools.

5. Once again: WE HAVE A FENCED-IN BACKYARD! And also a patio, whose stairs serve as a human death trap, or a convenient place to break a leg. Look alive, people!

The End

Can I Trade You Three Cats for a Dog?

I know I've been a slacker on the posting front of late. I won't waste time with excuses, but maybe I can make up for it with a brief summary of the past few months. Here goes- we moved out of our one bedroom cabin and into my parents home in early December. Most of our things are in storage, including our Christmas decorations which I had to remove after having them up only a week *weeping.*
We were looking at houses in Franklin at the time, made an offer on a house that was countered and decided not to counter in return. We then began looking at homes in Sylva, made an offer on a 3 bedroom ranch in Dillsboro which was accepted without counter. The exciting part is our offer was $24,000 less than the asking price, and well within our affordability range. Hopefully, we'll be closing on the house by January 30th. God be praised! (because it's not easy moving back home with a husband, a baby, and five cats).
Speaking of cats I saw a REALLY CUTE puppy dog over the weekend and I was wondering if anybody was in need of three adorable cats, so I can have a doggy. I mean they're no trouble at all, just hairy, pukey, rambunctious, violent, and annoying. I'm sure someone could put them to good use as dog food or fur coats (I jest, of course). I do want a cute doggie, though. We're going to have a lovely, FLAT, fenced in backyard, and wouldn't a sweet, non-feline pup just complete our idyllic family picture. I think my husband would let me, except I can't picture taking care of five cats and a dog. Oh well, maybe some of the cats will get lost in the move. I can accidentally pack them in the box we're shipping to Timbuktu. The box with no return address, and a few air holes poked in it. I guess the yowling at the post office would probably give me away. I'll post pictures of the house soon, so keep on checking back.