Zip! Zap! Zing!

Eye surgery is done. Drops were put in my eyes at about 8 a.m. and they're still dialated. My next check-up is in six months and here's hoping I'll never have any future problems.

We had a nice time at Mum's. We didn't do anything really exciting but it was nice to get away from here for a few days. On Sunday we took a beautiful drive to go to Chili's in Issaquah but it was closed for a staff meeting. Lombardi's was open so we had a nice Italian dinner instead. Mum and I spent a few bucks at Target. Damn, that place is dangerous and it's probably a good thing they don't have them in Canada. The topper to the trip was when we were on our way home and just a couple miles from our destination. A bi-plane was flying over a large field. It was painted to look like the Red Baron's plane! It's too bad I didn't have my camera ready to go.

Speaking of cameras - I took a few shots of Kaylee and one of mum's cats (Callie). I hope there are a couple good photos. I'll process and post them soon.

Tomorrow's mission (ha!) is to see a few houses in Mission. For one of the houses this is a second viewing. Please, keep your extremties crossed.

Moving On

A long time friend of the mister's passed away yesterday. Long time readers may remember him; he's the friend who had a stroke a few years ago. J was diagnosed with lung cancer about a week ago (he smoked up until the stroke). They thought he'd have two to four months without chemo and about two years with. They were working on getting him strong enough for chemo, but it didn't work out that way. I feel so awful for his wife; they were married a long, long time. They have several children and grand-children so she has them to lean on. The service will be Friday or Saturday.

In other news, I had my last pre-surgery eye test today and I'm peeing highlighter yellow. I thought it was nuclear dye they'd inject but it was vegetable based.

We've also lost another bid on a house last weekend. We didn't have much hope for this one, but it was still disappointing. We're going to take a short break from looking and recoup.

Was it Something I Said?

Yet another contract bites the dust.

The seller and the president of the strata said that there wouldn't be a problem with the pets; that they would get us approval in writing. If they hadn't told us that we would have never put an offer in on this last townhome. BUT the treasurer said no. Fuckers.

We're going back to concentrating on houses. They're a bit more expensive but without strata fees to consider, and as long as the taxes aren't outrageous, we can afford a bit more.

Have you picked up on the fact that I'm tired of this shit?

The Second Time is a Charm!

We hope so, anyway.

We just signed the contract for the townhome we found this weekend. It's a bit different from the previous townhome: no formal dining room, not as updated (but in good shape), smaller (no basement), nicer complex and a much nicer backyard. It's also a bit more expensive but still within our range. It's not far from where we live now so the mister's commute will be about the same with no train involved. Oddly enough, for you who remember, it's around the corner from the apartment we lived in four/five years ago.

If we get it (the number of pets is an issue), we won't be closing until December or so. The current owners are in the process of looking for a place. We met the wife and she said they're moving because she wants a house. They have two small children (one is an infant) and I can certainly see wanting more room with a nice yard.

In other news, I'm typing this on my handy-dandy new keyboard (Microsoft Comfort Curve). My old one was filthy beyond endurance (although it was my own filth - eating at one's computer tends to make one's keyboard filthy. I like saying that - filthy filthy filthy!). We also bought a decent all-in-one printer (Epson Stylus CX3810). We had a nice Lexmark (it was free with my new PC a couple years ago) but Oliver decided he needed to remove the encoder (encoding?) strip. Silly beastie. In the interim we were using my ancient BubbleJet (BJC101 or something like that - I got it free with my original eMachine in 1999!). Anyway, the new one is just as nice and he can't get at the encoder strip.

This Ain't Happin', Man

We're not buying the townhome. We were finally able to review the minutes of the strata (HOA) meetings for the last five years. There have been roof/leak problems since before 2001. The roofs were redone in 2003 and there are still problems. Thanks, but no thanks.

So, we're disappointed of course, but we already have a few townhomes to see in Langley and Aldergove. It's odd but both the mister and I are feeling much more optimistic this time around.

I've kinda dropped the ball on keeping y'all updated on my eye issues: I had my initial appointment and the doc confirmed that I have diabetic retinopathy. I had another appointment to scan my eyeballs (OTC, OCT, something like that). I have another appointment on the 19th in which they inject nuclear dye into me for some more testing. My laser surgery is schedule for September 27.

Bonus points if you can tell me which movie my title comes from.

I Can Explain Everything

I know, I know. I've been quite absent lately. I haven't been reading what y'all are up to. I've even missed several weeks of PostSecret (*sob* I love that website). There is a reason behind it and it's come to a head today:

Eli and I will be homeowners somewhere around mid-September. Although having the RV to live in has been a life-saver, I'll be oh-so-glad to move on.

Our new home is a recently renovated (three years ago) three story townhome in Abbotsford. It has three bedrooms (all with good closets), one and a half bathrooms, a small backyard (15'x30' and it has gravel seven inches deep in it - that was a "WTF?" moment if I've ever had one), a decent kitchen (nice big pantry - see below for more info), dining room and living room. I even like the colour of paint they used (for the most part). The new laminate is blond, which isn't my favourite, but it's NEW and is used throughout the downstairs except for the kitchen and half bath (both have new vinyl). The laminate is also in the upstairs hallway and more new vinyl in the full bathroom. The stairs and bedrooms are carpeted in decent (not new) berber.

There are several things to do to make it perfect for us:

ASAP: a dishwasher (it'll have to be a portable for now), a clothes dryer (there is a washer but we're unsure if it works), new window blinds (there are blinds but they don't work well and the master bedroom doesn't have anything in the windows), replace bent shower curtain rod.

Semi ASAP: new living and dining room furniture (all we have is my old futon for a couch and an antique dining table that really doesn't work well).

LATER: we'll probably add another section of cabinets/counter tops in the breakfast nook area instead of using it as a breakfast nook, a deck and sod in the backyard, new faucets in both bathrooms, curtains to go over the blinds (I like tabbed curtains on wooden rods), repaint at least one of the second bedrooms (yellow and orange! the other one has dark blue on one wall which isn't bad), new bedroom furniture (my bed is fine but we need two dressers, a headboard, night tables), finish the basement.

I have the MLS photos but I'm reluctant to put them online. Should I anyway? As soon as I can see the property again (during the inspection) I'll take my own photographs.

For those of you who have been reading me a while know how much this means to me. For thems who haven't - I am simply bursting with joy.

Time Flies

While driving to my doctor's appointment yesterday I saw lots of yellow leaves on the ground, swirling about in the breeze made by passing cars. It was raining but that didn't seem to faze the leaves, they swirled in spite of the damp. Later in the day I was walking Kaylee and we stopped to watch a gaggle of geese fly overhead. They were heading north and honking like mad. I heard more honking in the early evening, also heading north. Kaylee was standing on the couch looking out the window and I watched her watch the geese go by. It got cold enough last night to want to snuggle under the comforter.

Winters have been pretty mild since I've lived up here. I wonder how it'll be this year.