Show and Tell

Wow, just like kindergarten when you got to bring your bestest, shiniest, purdiest rock to show all the kids at school, I'm going to do just that, and show you a bunch of the steal of a deal bargains I've been finding for the cabin! (Aren't you ever so excited πŸ™‚ !)

 

So, I've started a ledger to keep track of everything. First, I've shopped my house for things that will be useful at the cabin and that I can get by without here, and recorded what I had paid for each item (I have a pretty good rememberer when it comes to what I pay for something, cuz I am cheap). Then I jotted down all the new things I've gotten and their cost. That way I have a good inventory list for insurance purposes, and also can see how much money I have invested in furnishing the cabin. If it looks like I'm getting too wild I can keep myself in check. So far, so good! I have come across some reeaally good deals!

We have a great little thrift store here in town. They have done so well that they opened another store downtown where they take the higher end donations and sell them for more than they would at the other store. Both have great prices for the most part. The community is very supportive of both shops with lots of donations and high turnover of their inventory, because it is set up so that a certain amount of the profits are poured right back into our town for lots of different projects, or people in crisis, etc. Win Win!

Craigslist is my BFF. I have found some truly awesome stuff there over the last few years. It certainly doesn't hurt living in such close proximity to Big Sky, where the wealthy are WEALTHY, and it doesn't seem those folks have any trouble at all letting go of nearly new, gorgeous furniture, and other things, when they get the notion to redecorate.

And the good old stand by, rummage sales! My style is best described as “Early Rummage”, and nearly my whole house is decorated with rummage sale finds – for real, I'm not pulling your leg.

K, so now come the pictures; I guess you'd call it a story board of sorts? Or maybe just a sneak preview of some of the ingredients, just not the finished spread πŸ™‚

 

This moose horn sconce came from the fancy pants (downtown) thrift. I thought $14 bucks was not too shabby. It would cost significantly more if I tried to make it myself – just think how much the emergency room charge would be after wrestling the moose for his horn πŸ˜‰

 

Here it is with all the other room lights off.

 

I walked in the thrift the other day and left with my car boot full. The lodge pole table was $7. The cedar piece sitting on the table was $3, and it will either be turned into a lamp, or I'll flip it the other way and make it into a shelf of sorts. See the picture of the elk to the left? It is a clock that Bruce's Dad won in a raffle and he gave it to Bruce.

 

Genuine Norwegian skis, complete with instructions only Ole could decipher. These were part of the window display at the downtown thrift. These, along with a pair of modern, just like new snowshoes, were in the window for about a week. Bruce needs snowshoes to keep strapped on the back of the snow machine for safety sake in case it would break down when he's far out on a trail. I needed the skis for decoration cuz they're cute. I went in and asked the gal if they would entertain an offer on both items since they'd been there awhile. She happily took an additional 25% off the already terrific price. Just a week earlier I had seen a pair of skis very similar to these at an antique store over the hill for $185; and the snow shoes sell new at the sporting goods store for $130…. So for 77% less, I walked out of that store with my arms full and a big smile. See the red, green, and tan flannel quilt behind the skis? It's just a quilt top, but it came out of the free bin at the thrift. I will, for sure, be firing up my sewing machine in the near future.

 

The cowpoke and bucking horse material will be curtains for the bedroom. I purchased the material at a rummage sale a long time ago for $4, and there has got to be a couple yards of the stuff. The vintage Yellowstone Nat'l Park scarf will be made into a pillow. The 2 rugs to the left my mom gave me; she's had them stored away for like 30 years. I am obsessed with Indian print rugs. Do you have any idea how much those buggers cost right now? Take a look at ebay sometime, search Navajo rugs, and you'll wish you had a few dozen of them stashed away. Which brings me to my next extreme deal –

 

I must have somehow sent some pretty good vibes out to the cosmos, because if you remember a couple of posts ago when I told you about the cabin, I said I wished Ralph Lauren was my uncle so I could shop at his store gratis, or at least get a family discount – well guess what……it came to me! I found this vintage Ralph Lauren dhurrie at the cowboy antique store here in town for a scream of a deal! And you're not going to believe this…….

 

A few days later I went over the hill to get stuff to stock up the pantry, and something just kept telling me to go to one of my favorite antique stores over there. It is pretty far out of the way, and I really had had no intentions of antiquing, but it was such a pretty day and the roads were nice and clear for January, so I thought what the heck. I got to the store, moseyed around and saw lots of great stuff I wanted and didn't need, when what to my wondering eye should appear, but an Indian design on something, stuffed on a bottom shelf, with baskets of belts and do-dads stacked on it. I cleared it off, pulled it out, and saw that it was a rug – Oh be still my beating heart – I unfolded and stretched it out, good Lord it was huge!! And in near perfect condition. 100% wool! Nearly 12' x 9', the most beautiful colors and design you've ever seen. I found the price tag and OMG, it was a price a normal human being could afford! I went to fetch the shopkeeper lady, and bravely asked her if the booth owners would be willing to come down on their prices. She said 10% was pretty common. I said how about 30%? She said she'd call the booth owner with my offer. So there I was, sweating bullets, anxious to see if they'd come down, all the while fighting the fight or flight instinct (flight in my case) because even tho I had offered a nearly insulting amount, it was still a mega chunk of change for me, cuz I'm cheap. Around the corner she came, and said YES! Even she looked surprised! So I hurried quick and paid up before anybody changed their minds, and with my mighty surge of adrenaline still pumping, I packed that big old rug clear down the street to my car. It folds up nicely, but it's heavy! So in the picture above, the Ralph Lauren is on the top, the giant rug is underneath. Could the colors go any more perfectly together? The other piece of material in the upper right of the picture, and the 2 braided leather belts, are a $4 purchase from the thrift. The material is a straight skirt which I will fashion into a drop valance for the loft window. I will use the belts to cinch it up so sunshine can come in during the day, and unbuckle them at night so the window will be covered.

Next comes the pay off for dogging Craigslist every single day

 

 

A main fixture and 2 pendants. These will be perfect for the kitchen, and will replace the lights in the picture below.

For about 1/3 the cost of the big box stores.

Then came this one.

It is 43 inches tall (not including the chain) and came complete with shades. Bruce jimmy-rigged it so we could see it lit up (3 of the bulbs are burned out). I wish you could see it for real, it is just stunning in my opinion. I have seen chandeliers similar to this in some super duper high end, smells like leather when you walk in the door stores, and they cost probably 8 or 10 times what we paid for this fixture. Needless to say, I am thrilled with our good luck at finding and catching this deal from Craigslist.

The day I filled my car boot at the thrift? This was part of the loot –

 

$5, and the glass shades and color of the metal match nearly perfectly with the 1st Craigslist fixture and pendants. Can't beat that deal with a stick!

 

This armoire was the very 1st Craigslist deal I found. We were able to haul it up to the cabin before the road closed. It is made of hickory and pine, is heavy as a truck, and was dirt cheap. I LUUUVVV it!

 

See the pinecones and branches painted (all by hand, not factory or decal) on this table? It came from an antique store near Big Sky, and was a crazy good deal. The black leather couch behind the table was also a Craigslist find a few years ago, and we just brought it up from the family room at home.

Moose Springs is going to get pretty fluffed up before too long!! And rummage sale season is just around the corner; more good deals to come I hope! Can't wait!

TTFN

Teresa πŸ™‚

 

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OUT OF THE BLUE!

Well, it's been a pretty good stretch between my last post and this one, because I really didn't know how to broach the whole subject that I wanted to share this time. I am completely thrilled and overjoyed, blessed and thankful beyond words, humbled and full of anticipation, all due to this most wonderful adventure that has pretty much dropped out of the big blue sky and into our lives.

Thru a strange, unplanned, much wished for, nearly cosmic πŸ™‚ set of circumstances, we have become the proud/shy, want to shout it from the mountain tops/maybe we should keep it under our hats, owners of a genuine, in the mountains, REAL LOG CABIN!!! It's true! Having a cabin has always been a dream of ours, like it is for so many people, but by gosh now it's for real! With Bruce's thoughtful consideration, and humble respect for many generations of his family, he has decided it would be a wonderful tribute to their years of hard work of the land and caring and planning for their families, for us in turn, to own a piece of this beautiful state for posterity, and to show due respect to the memories of his ancestors for helping us make this possible.

There is much work that will need to be done, but it is a cute little thing, and it will be so fun to subject it πŸ˜‰ to all my scheming plans for projects, Craigslist and rummage sale finds, fixing, fawning, and all the like!

So, without further ado, here is the pictorial tour of “Moose Springs”, our little cabin in the mountains (it was named that a long time ago and fits so well that it will keep the moniker).

 

WELCOME!

 

Come on in.

 

A cozy wood stove in the living room.

 

 

The future dining room, library.

 

Up to the loft.

 

Looking at the kitchen from the living room.

 

Standing in the kitchen.

 

An itty, bitty bedroom.

 

Just enough room for a double bed, a couple night stands, and hopefully a shallow cabinet for storing blankets and a little extra clothing.

 

A teeny, weeny bathroom.

 

Complete with a shower!

 

The balcony is big enough for 2 full size mattresses and a night stand in between.

 

Lots of flies and grubby carpet up there right now.

 

The view of the living room from the loft.

 


So awesome to wake up to this view in the morning!

 

The decks all covered with snow.

 

Even a little garage with a work shop to the side.

 

A stand of quakies for the moose and deer to meander thru.

 

The second bathroom πŸ™‚

 

Beautiful scenery when you drop out of the trees on the way back to town.

 

Almost nightfall.

 

It still hasn't completely sunk in. I have been up there twice; first to see it initially, and once again to bring up a couch and mattress. But then they closed the road because of big snow, and now you can only snow machine in until everything melts off in the spring. The exception being a couple of neighboring cabin owners that have SUVs with tires traded out for tracks, and they can drive back and fourth to the plowed road the area ranchers use all winter. A few of the cabin owners live up there year round – a pretty bold choice in my opinion. Bruce has snow machined in and stayed overnight twice (he is ecstatic!). There is a “second bathroom” at the cabin, but it requires wading thru 4 feet of snow for about 1/2 a city block to get to it! So I think I will wait til we can get the water running to the “1st bathroom” before I stay overnight (also read as sissy).

I have complete AADD (Adult Attention Deficit Disorder) since we closed on the cabin, because all I can think about is getting up there with the truck full of furniture, pictures, rugs, etc., etc. If only Ralph Lauren was my uncle, or Ralph Kylloe was my cousin, and either/both of them said I could have free rein, carte blanche at their stores! Until that happens πŸ™‚ I'll just keep reading books and magazines about the cabin style they so famously promote, and do my best to copy with my frugal finds! Oh, I can hardly wait! And I'll take lots of pictures if you want to come along!

Blessed, blessed, blessed – and not taking one drop of it for granted!!

TTFN

Teresa

 

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Brrrrrrrrrrrrr, I’m not kiddin, it’s COLD OUT!!

I'm too big a sissy to go out in this weather to finish Christmas decorating my porch. There are lights and pine boughs, and if this 20 below stuff doesn't break soon, that might be the extent of it. So, I'll just show you some of the stuff I put out last year instead!

That little Santa is so cute; Bruce brought it from his folk's house in Nebraska a few years ago. He said he can remember when he and the Santa were the same height and when he stood next to it they would be eye-to-eye.

The old runner sled I got for a dime at a rummage sale. It was well loved and well worn when I found it at the sale. I was smitten when I saw it and was a smidge nervous to ask the price because I was afraid I was going to end up paying too much because I wanted it to come home with me so bad. When the nice old fella told me 10 cents, I asked if he was sure because I felt like I was stealing it! He said I was doing him a favor getting his garage cleaned out. Guilt instantly assuaged πŸ™‚

Bruce also brought back a few of these old egg gathering baskets. I like to use them in the house for different things, but thought it would be fun to try hooking some old skates in them for Christmas decorations. It was kind of hard to stabilize them when I strapped them between the posts, but once tightened, they stayed pretty steady for the 3 or so weeks they were out there.

 

 

I wrapped lights that look like candle tops around and around the baskets, and they were ever so twinkly and cute at night.

I just love Christmas, and wish there was a way to slow down the clock this time of year. So much to do and see and get ready for, and then it's here and gone in the blink of an eye. I guess maybe those folks we saw putting up their trees a month ago aren't so far off the mark after all! They be a s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g out the season for sure!

TTFN

Teresa πŸ™‚

 

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Relaxing at the CottageLodge

 

Sittin by the fire, taking it easy tonight. I'll be running my stairs a-plenty tomorrow. Packing up the pumpkins and turkeys, tucking them in the storage room, then dragging out my 1,220 totes (maybe not quite that many, but feels like it when you're lugging them around) of Christmas stuff and transporting them all upstairs. Better eat my Wheaties for breakfast; better yet, a black coffee IV might be a wiser choice!

 

TTFN

Teresa πŸ™‚

 

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Turkey time at CottageLodge

It’s time for my mighty rafter of turkeys to see the light of day for 4 whole weeks. Poor things have to live in boxes downstairs for the other 48 weeks of the year. So here is another one of my collections; kind of like visiting a petting zoo, except different πŸ™‚

I took the pics with both my point and shoot and iPad – some are more clear than others. Someday I hope to get a fancy pants camera, but for now, what I gots is all I have!

We just finished installing oak floors in the living room, and also had the existing oak floors in the hallway and dining room refinished. I’ve painted (inside and out) so much the last few weeks my arm is about ready to fall off, now the turkeys have a nice shiny fresh place to roost. OK, here is some turkey overload for you…..

 

This decoy really freaked my cats out the first year he was on the porch.

A very old cast iron turkey bank

 

Pumpkin turkey or purkey. Tumpkin?

 

A flock of littles.

 

These are cool – they are called nodders, and when you give them a little push,they rock back and forth.

 

A little Pilgrim Mom with her 2 little kids (so the kids are Amish, I’m stretching it a little)

 

End o’ the bookshelf

 

This old turkey is made in Germany and is a candy container.

 

 

Ya, I am a board off center. I did indeed purchase this wonderful, large picture that I have to find someplace to store for 11 of 12 months a year, but hey, how many people do you know with a Pilgrim picture? Besides, it was 2 bucks; who could pass that up.

Baby turkeys. My Mudder is an arteest, and she painted this special for me for Christmas a few years ago.

 

A nice, washed out pic of the bookcase.

 

 

My big splurge after re-doing the entryway, a beautificus stag head, and he is watching over the prettiest turkey I own. A very pretty pair, me thinks.

How’d that pheasant get in here?

 

Old chicken feeders Bruce brought back from his Grandparents ranch in Nebraska.

These are the Pilgrim Grandparents.

 

Guess the crow chased the turkey out of this pic.

I only have a few white turkeys.

 

A turkey chocolate mold.

My Mom’s cousin was also an artist. She painted the picture and also the little kids

 

We’ll, there ya have it…..turkey time at CottageLodge! If you think this is overkill, just wait til you see Christmas around here…….

TTFN

Teresa πŸ™‚
Please also visit Wow Us Wednesdays for more fun like we have here!

 

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The Fish can’t live in the cupboard

When we remodeled the kitchen I wanted a huge window. My house is pretty dark inside because I have a bajillion trees in my yard. I try to cater to the winged things around here, so everything I plant is to try to benefit the birds, butterflies, and bees. Especially the bees because they are having such a rough time right now, and we need 'em!! (Who else is going to do all the pollinating?) I figured a great big window would give me one room where I could have the luxury of a little sunshine, even with all the trees. The only problem with that is it didn't leave much space for upper cabinets. None of my lower cabinet drawers were big enough to hold plates and glasses, so I found a couple cute, smaller, old cabinets that I could squeeze in, and went to work on them.

Even the paint brush I used came from a rummage sale!

 

This beauty was a $2 garage sale find.

 

Look how many different colors it had been in all it's years.

Bruce and I built a chalkboard to place to the right of the vent hood. I have a big problem with needing things to be symmetrical (which Bruce never lets me live down), and I felt this balanced things a bit better. I looked everywhere for another cabinet the same size as the one to the left of the hood, but no luck, so a chalkboard the same width and height as the cabinet had to do. The little cabinet came from an antique store outside of Portland. It was white, had clear glass in the door, a mirrored back, and was meant to sit on the floor. When I got it home I painted it black, had Bruce replace the mirror back with wainscoting, then painted the inside cream. In this picture the tile backsplash isn't up yet, but I already had the tile, some of which are slate with a pinecone design sandblasted on them. I made a photocopy of the pinecone tile onto sticky backed paper, stuck the paper onto the door glass, and cut out the pinecone design with a scripto knife. You can buy acid for glass etching and that is what I used. Then we screwed the cabinet to the wall, and filled 'er up! I also painted and acid etched the glass on a little old medicine cabinet I found, and put it on the adjacent wall at the end of the window. The bigger cabinet to the right was easier because it already was a kitchen cupboard and just had to be painted, no glass and such to fiddle with.

Getting ready to start the whole process of pineconing and acid etching the glass.

 

The light has to hit the glass just right in order to fully see the pinecones.

The larger cabinet on the right I use for plates, bowls, and glasses. It isn't deep enough to lay plates flat, so I bought an Ikea pot lid holder to put in the cabinet, and put the plates upright in the holder. The cabinet on the left is for spices and other cooking things.

I'll do another post on the kitchen later and show you the backsplash and everything else finished. These pictures were about 3/4 of the way thru the remodel.

Anyway, after all this cabinet information and stuff, the whole point of this post was to show you where I ended up having to put my neato fish anniversary dishes. It turns out they are too tall to fit into the cabinet. I couldn't bear to not be able to look at them and use them, so I copy catted something I saw awhile back.

 

 

This great old tool caddy fits the bill. I found it at an estate sale this fall for a whopping $5. Cleaned it up, polyurethaned it, and those fishes fit in there swimmingly (sorry πŸ™‚ ). It even has zinc tacked on the ends, so it custom coordinates with my countertop!

TTFN πŸ™‚

Teresa

 

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The long, long journey, part quatre (part 4 :)) – the Big Move In

The boxes had been packed and were waiting on the front porch. All the closing paper work was behind me. I had cleaned and scrubbed every square inch of my little house. This was it – the BIG MOVE IN! I was nervous sick, excited, scared, tired, and more than a little overwhelmed. Some of Bruce’s friends came over and it was game on – just like a big ol’ fire brigade line, boxes were being loaded, furniture going out the door, people dashing past one another; it was like we all knew what we were doing! I could only hope everything would land safely at the new house.

Many hours later everyone had left. It was pitch black outside and it was just Bruce and I to take up the last load. My folks had kindly loaned me their big 4 horse trailer, which was wonderful because it was so big it cut our trips by 2/3 versus just having the back of a truck to load. The only problem was that the little house was on a dead end street, and it took some really good navigating to back that big old trailer down the street, turn it onto the adjoining street, and then go. It started raining, really raining. The last things in the load were several tall plants, and Bruce said he would ride in the back to hold them up and keep them from tipping over. Oh brother…pitch black, pouring rain, I’m near exhausted, nobody to help steer me cuz he’s in the trailer, and you guessed it, I turned too tight to get onto the adjoining street and crunched my Mom and Dad’s trailer with the truck bumper :(. So water is pouring down outside, and now it’s pouring down inside – my personal water works had turned on full faucet and I was bawling my eyes out. And it wasn’t just crying from the trailer incident, it was the whole last couple of months that came out all in one big tirade. I’m sure Bruce just felt like grabbing his hat and running!! But he hung in there, got me calmed down, we straightened out the trailer, and headed on down the trail. So there is a semblance of calmness now, we back the trailer up to the door and start unloading. I walk into the kitchen with my arms full, and there is a waterfall pouring out of the ceiling. OMG.

Source Flickr

Let the renovations begin.

TTFN

Teresa πŸ™‚

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The long, long journey, part trois Get this house! (part 3 :) )

source Flickr

K, so I’m in the house, and once the angels quit singing, and sunshine beams stop blindingly bouncing off the walls, we start the tour (which was pretty much unnecessary for me cuz like I said, I was sold 3 feet in the door). Livingroom, big eat in kitchen, a nice sunny family room with a wood stove, 3 bedrooms and a bathroom, that’s the upstairs. Then, there’s a big ol’ basement yet to see! Yes there is! So down we go; another bedroom (not legal because there is no egress window, but who cares! It’s another room to decorate!!), a half bath (woo-hoo, more than 1 potty in the house!), a room that, if this basement had been an apartment, would probably be a kitchen, but for now, more empty space to decorate (yay), then, yet another family room/tv room. Thru another door a good sized laundry room (I have to admit, it really was scarey/icky to look at, but a whole room just to do laundry?…BONUS! The washer and dryer at the little house is in the kitchen and what a pain in the neck to have sorted laundry all over the kitchen floor on laundry day), and attached to that, a small work shop (also really scarey/icky). And finally, a good sized storage room off the would be kitchen type area, perfect for storing all holiday decorations and stuff. Back upstairs and out to see the yard. Holy smokes, this yard is a small farm compared to what I am used to – 10,875 square feet!! I am smitten!

So , there are probably a few things I wasn’t noticing due to the stars in my eyes (like the old windows, badly painted fakey wood paneling, the upstairs bath that was near to falling off the house, only about half the basement being sort of finished, no garage, the yard a complete weedfest with sickly unwatered trees, etc., etc.), but I didn’t care one whit! This house had good bones in my estimation, and it was BIG! Yowza, I could rummage til the cows come home! And have a place to put all those doodads I mean fine antiques, and just put those cows that came home out to pasture in the yard! (Just kiddin :), I wouldn’t really put a cow in the yard…a goat? Maaaybeee)

Then the seller’s realtor casually mentions that there is an offer on the house – WHAT???? How’d anybody see the house before me? It had only been on the market 1 day. Turns out one of the realtors in their office had a client that was looking for a place with this house’s specifications and they had gotten them in about the minute the house had hit the market. “So I’m out?”, I said. “Not necessarily”, she said. Their bid was low. Boy, I pursed my lips, put my hands on my hips and said “let’s write up an offer – FULL PRICE plus another hundred bucks if she’ll throw in the fridge. No financing clause, no closing date clause, no red tape – let’s just get this house”. Well, darned if it didn’t work! As fate would have it, I think this house was just waiting for us! The realtor told me that they had the house listed the previous year with nary a looker, no offers at all (that’s cuz it was waiting for me to come love it πŸ˜‰ ). HALLELUJAH!!! I’m in!

 

 

So, stay tuned for part quatre (part 4) of this spine tingling cliffhanger – the Big Move In!!

TTFN

Teresa πŸ™‚

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The long, long journey – part deux (2 :) )

( Should probably have spelled deux , do, because that certainly would be indicative of the next few years of our lives – do this, do that, do everything!)

Alrighty then, we left off with beginning the search for a new home cuz I’m betrothed now, and for sure can’t squish a husband and all his belongings into my little house. Oh the drama and trauma! I’m scared out of my wits to get married (even tho he is a fine, upstanding, peach of a fellow); I have to sell my sweet little “itty bitty” house; my car is starting to have some nagging issues so I have to sell it and get a different one right in the middle of all this; and I have to find a new house – and not just any house – it has to “feel” just right.

This is not a big town. I am not a rich girl. Homes for sale here were pretty limited at the time. But, one bonus, my Aunt is a realtor, and she took me to every single house in my price bracket in this County. Nada, zip, zilch. They were all awful. I am not a nit picker. I have good insight and can see past purple walls with lime green trim. If a house has strange decor but good bones, hey, I’m in. Mr. Bruce was a carpenter for quite a few years before he became a SOTA (student over traditional age), so I was pretty confident we could turn a place into whatever we needed ( oh, ignorance is bliss – I’ve since learned boyfriends do stuff pronto for their girlfriends, husbands do stuff when they get around to it πŸ™‚ ). We looked high and low. Still nothing. Then one day, I went to work and my boss announced he had taken another job far, far away and was moving. I want to look at your house ASAP! He was happy to comply! I went over the next day, and even tho it wasn’t zactly what I was hoping for, it was a darn site closer than all those others I had seen in the months prior. Dang, I was settling, but the clock was ticking and had to get in gear. So I told him “sold”.

Meanwhile, I had been spreading the word about my little house being for sale. I wanted to sell it myself because it was important to me to be able to pick to whom it would go. I loved my dear elderly neighbors, and didn’t want some honyocks moving in, tearing up my good little house, and making life miserable for these people I held near to my heart.

Sure… why not add a little more stress to all the other stuff that was already going on!!! Great idea!! Ya, be your own realtor! Good one! (And, by the way, my realtor Aunt was thrilled with this decision – not!)

Well, as luck would have it, a girl I worked with was getting married the same month as me, and she wanted to come see my little house….. Well come on down!!! I believe my hand was nearly crippled by the time she came over a few days later because I’m sure I kept my fingers crossed for that entire time. She and her Dad covered every square inch of that little house with the most serious looks on their faces. I was a wreck. They stepped outside and conferred, came back in and told me she wanted it! YAY!!!

Okay, so somebody nice wants my little house, and I have found another house we can work with – good to go. Ya, right. Every weird nuance that could pop up does. Stuff gets all discombobulated – the girl I work with backs out (they decide they want acreage); another nice girl and her fiancΓ© come look and they want it, YAY again; they want in in 2 months; my boss isn’t moving for 4 months; he won’t close earlier; the new couple doesn’t want my house if they can’t close in 2 months; my Folks say I can move in with them (God bless ’em) but what am I going to do with all my stuff? Can’t afford storage, need all my monies for closing. BRUCE WILL BUILD A GARAGE AT THE BOSS’S HOUSE!! All my stuff can then go in storage there and I can live with my folks. Wait, build a garage at a house we don’t own yet? (and borrow the money aside from the house to do so)..not a great idea. TIME TO GO TO THE LOONIE BIN!!! BOOK MY ROOM NOW, PLEASE!

So, a few days later (no immediate openings at the Loonie Bin,so I’ve got a little time to burn), I’m looking at the local newspaper, and I see this little tiny ad. There is a picture of a house for sale, in my price range, no address listed, and the strangest thing – I don’t remember ever seeing this house before in my life! Now remember, I was born in this town. In addition, I am a rummage sale aficionado supremo, could probably be the best taxi driver this town has ever seen as I was sure I knew every back alley/side street/any and all houses in this town. For real, don’t recall ever having seen the house in the picture. Smoke was coming off my heels I ran to the phone so fast to call my realtor Aunt. I’m sure she was convinced I needed an exorcism when she heard my voice – GET ME IN TO SEE THIS HOUSE, little teeny ad, paper, don’t know where, NEED TO SEE IT NOW!!!! She’s like “what????????”. So I calmed down, backed up, and told her what I had found. She said she’d call me right back, which she did, and we were to see the house the next morning. In all my exorcited state, I forgot to ask where it was. She called me in the morning, told me the address, and I hot footed it up there. So strange – even looking straight at the house, I didn’t recall ever having noticed it before. She turned the key,we walked in, and I was no more than 3 feet into the house, and I knew I was HOME πŸ™‚

Holy Moses, is this a book or a blog?

Stay tuned for part trois (3 πŸ™‚ ), be there or be square.

TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)

Teresa

 

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