Evil Genius at Work

Have goals, but not beat myself up or burn myself out trying to accomplish them.

It will come as no surprise to those of you who know me, or have been reading my sporadic writings over the years, that I have too much stuff. If you have not been reading me over the years, it’s too late now because my previous journal was on Journalspace. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

So perhaps this will be the year of letting go of stuff. Except books, because they store neatly on shelves.

Goodbye stuff!

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Morbid curiosity finally forced me to take a look at my Sharebuilder account this morning. I invest a set amount monthly, in a rotating list of ETFs, no matter what. This month will be no different. Buy low, of course. But there’s no way to set my monthly purchase without logging in, and when you log in, there’s that balance. And today that balance was, oh, 30% less than it was last month. Ouch. I do have a couple of targeted IRAs that are weighted towards stocks right now, and one small, old 403(b) that is spiraling downwards. But now more than ever, I am thankful that I have 20+ working years ahead and a state job with a fixed pension. And that’s all I’m going to say about that. Knock on wood.

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Everything went well with all the inspections, closing, etc, and the bungalow in the Heights became ours on August 28th. We then proceeded to arrange our move to Houston. I made my plan to start my cross-country drive on Saturday, September 13th. It’s all about TIMING, people. So, I have spent the last few days hanging out at my parents’ house north of Dallas, which was as far as I got before I decided to delay my Houston arrival. The furniture doesn’t arrive until the 25th or 26th, so no rush. I have received a report that my house weathered Ike with no damage. My friend who went by to check it out did report the loss of a large tree in the front yard, which appeared to have “shattered into three pieces” but did not hit the house. She was surprised that I considered this good news - but it was a Chinese Tallow that we wanted to get rid of anyway. I was reluctant to move in and start taking down trees right away, because neighbors don’t always take kindly to that sort of thing, even if it is a trash tree that has no business being there in the first place. But now we have the perfect excuse.

I wonder if Tallows are good for firewood?

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The hydrostatic test was done last week, and things checked out with one minor exception that the seller has agreed to take care of.  Insurance is taken care of, and the premiums are not budget-breaking. The appraisal was done and the underwriters have approved. We are moving ahead, things are looking good… knock on wood.

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In case any of my eDiets readers are still out there - I canceled my eDiets membership. I am very sad that eDiets shot themselves in the foot with that disastrous website remodel, and if it were still usable I’d still be there. But alas they did and it isn’t, and I told them that when I called to cancel. I had no trouble canceling, though. Unfortunately, great customer satisfaction for your cancelation process… well, it’s not really what you want to be know for, is it?

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Our bungalow was inspected today. I was a little nervous, but not really nervous - the house gives off a good, strong, sturdy feel. I was right - the foundation checks out, and everything else pretty much checked out. The house is 80-90 years old, so it’s not going to be perfect, but considering its age it’s in really good shape. As the inspector said, it’s “a keeper”, and he KNOWS his stuff - he really knows and likes old houses, and worked on them before becoming an inspector. He is now restoring one of his own. He has inspected a house for me in the past, and houses for some of my friends. If he says it’s a keeper, it’s a keeper.

He also thought the range was really cool. It’s got a bridge burner between the front and back burner, and a grill/griddle that you can put over it for indoor grilling. The stovetop is gas, and the oven is electric/convection, so you can really control the heat on top and get even heat for baking. I have a feeling I’ll be spending a LOT of time in this kitchen. 

There are some questions about the connection to the city sewer line, so we’ll get a hydrostatic inspection of that, and things are moving forward on schedule. I called Yanni and my dad to let them know how things went. Everyone is happy. 

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Almost. Maryland has been an… experience… but I can’t wait to get back to civilization Houston, my friends, my neighborhood, my office (which some of my co-workers seem to think is now a storage closet). We have a contract pending on a Craftsman Bungalow in the Heights, and if all goes well with the inspection tomorrow we will close within two weeks and the process of moving will begin.

We originally had a contract on another bungalow that had been totally redone, but it was a flip, the neighborhood just couldn’t compare (more transitional), and this one is going to cost us about $35,000 less. Besides, I wouldn’t know what to do in a house that didn’t need some work. The more expensive one would have actually been more of a compromise, since it had less usable yard space (for my vegetable and herb garden and intended fruit trees) and no fireplace. The one we decided on not only has all that, there are even built-in glass front cabinets flanking the fireplace, original windows, and room for a hot tub. AND it’s walking distance to a coffee shop/wine bar, a good used book store, the Onion Creek, and other things I enjoy on a regular basis.

Anyway, once it’s a done deal, there will be pictures galore and this will probably turn into one of those home-improvement blogs where I obsess about my wood-sash windows, light fixtures, and paint colors. I will also have to plan my holiday decorating scheme and save up for a massive light purchase since we’ll be on one of the Lights in the Heights streets.

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It’s for regular people, too. Click the pic and enjoy! And yes, it’s 100% work safe.

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Today we took the Metro to town to see, not the cherry blossoms, but a TRUE national treasure:

As you can see, I attempted to maintain a suitably solemn demeanor, as befit the occasion. It’s not every day one is in the presence of a national treasure, after all. I even dressed for the occasion in vintage Pendleton.

But Stephen will only be on display (ooh, doesn’t that sound nasty?) for a limited time - see this and other American treasures through April 13th at the National Air and Space Museum. You can also touch a moon rock.

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Let’s see… I’ve been  traveling, working too hard (as usual), reading and proofreading manga, and I’ve lost 11 lbs so far. Oh yeah, and knitting! Here’s the latest finished project, which knitted up really fast in medium-weight Socks that Rock:

Pattern: Serendipity - 2008 Rockin’ Sock Club Pattern #1
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts medium weigt Socks that Rock in Dragon’s Breath
What I did different: Nothing this time - I actually knit the pattern as written.

Red, striped socks are really difficult to photograph. But they look great on, and go so well with these shoes

I’m almost finished with the second sock kit, will post that soon. And then it’ll be time to work on some of the UFOs that are cluttering up the lair. Which reminds me, I need to declutter the lair. In preparation for moving? Could it be? Too soon to say, but maaaybe…

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