Hate

I just don't know what to say.
Boy’s Killing, Labeled a Hate Crime, Stuns a Town

The memorial site for Lawrence King, 15.

Ahhhh...

I have about an hour more of touch-up painting and I have to get something for where the vinyl meets the carpet, but, except for a weekend of cleaning, we're done. We had the "Truth-in-Housing" inspection yesterday and there may be a few things we get asked to do, but nothing earthshattering. A lot of stuff is "grandparented" for a 90 year old house. E.g., we can't do much about the headroom on the stairs to the basement. But, ask me how annoying it is to have things identified that we paid someone to do! Oh, like the wrong kind of cap on a $3200 chimney. Grrr... But, painful wrist and exhaustion aside, the place looks great. After Sunday it's all about maintaining a level of cleanliness and order - and holding our collective breath.

In other news, we leave for F'ton three weeks from Monday. I sure hope the weather doesn't prevent us from reaching our destination. If we get stranded in Toronto I'm calling one of you! But, seriously, I don't care if we get stranded once we're there, but I do hope it's clear skies all around.

I can't believe how much has to happen in the next what I've taken to calling "hopefully-less-than-four-months." But, I just have to keep reminding myself to breathe. One day at a time, right?

Just watch for the posting that has me screaming, "Sold!!!" Fingers, toes, ankles, arms crossed.

Woo-hoo!

Greetings from the world of home repairs. The list is getting shorter. Porch light fixed. Check. Kitchen cupboards painted and installed. Check. Kitchen blind hung. Check. And so on. I have to admit - I can't believe how good the kitchen looks. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get the basement finished - though 7YO will be home most of the day, so it's a toss up. The only thing that it might be tough to finish by next weekend is some painting/scraping on the back porch. If only it weren't fast approaching zero - degrees that is! A month from tomorrow - weather permitting - we all head up to F'ton. Can't wait. It would sure be nice to go up there having sold the house, but that's not likely to happen in this market.

Well, just thought I'd post a quick update. More as it happens!

Update, or not...

No news. I'm still exhausted - caulking, painting, sanding... But, we are getting somewhere. Our bedroom now looks great. I really have to crack up at how great things will be, but how we never managed to do them for us to enjoy. I just called an electrician - to fix the porch light that has been out for-ever.

Both the builder and realtor in F'ton have been sick and dealing with snow/ice storms. So, no movement there either. I do have everything lined up with the lender, attorney, funds, etc. so that whenever we can move forward on things we'll be ready.

Things at work are hopping, too. I'm teaching an extra course and a half. P is working three part-time jobs; offers too good to turn down. And, it's still cold. But, if all were to go well we'd be driving from Chicago to Cleveland four months from today. We'll see...

So, just wanted to say, "hi" even though I've not much to add. Hope everyone is well!

Exhaustion

I am beat. Thursday I met with the guy who is going to do some repairs for us. Saturday we spent two hours with our realtor. This morning I woke up at 5:00, wide awake, thinking about how much I have to get done around here. At 5:30 I thought, "I can either lie here thinking about it and have a stroke or I can get up and get to work." So, I got up. I had to spend and hour and a half at the Home Depot-like store. Yuk. Then it was over to Target, home, lunch, drop P at school, take 6YO shopping, drop him at a birthday party, pick up P, back to the Home Depot-like store, pick up 6YO, stop at the grocery store, have supper, collapse. P did the bath/bed routine while I cleaned up and now I'm ready to fall over. Oh, yeah, tomorrow is back to work. A friend is coming to town Friday and on Saturday 6YO will become 7YO and there's a party. My head is spinning.

We hope to be able to get the house listed by the third week of February, but that all depends on how fast we can get the work done. The stuff we've been procrastinating about for years. P decided in August 2005 that she wanted to redo the kitchen cabinets. Not done yet. The porch light hasn't worked for years. Gotta fix that. I swear, this morning I thought, "The hell with it all, I'll just stay here." For about a second. And, we're still waiting to get the bid on the new place. Nervous as - fill in your expression of choice.

I can't believe that - if all goes well - we'll be sitting in Fredericton less than five months from today, Canada Day having come and gone. Keep your fingers crossed for us. So much has to happen between now and then, much of it beyond our control. Oy!

Okay, off to have some chocolate pudding. Comfort food.