So the first round of houses proved disappointing. We have found, Darling and I, that it is easier for us to remember the houses we look at by a distinguishing feature rather than the address. For example, the house we live in now we originally dubbed "cat pee house" because of its over whelming smell. We were lucky enough to rid the house of all odor, including the garage which was filled with garbage, actual garbage that had marinated over the summer and combined with the contents of the house filled a 20 yard dumpster. That's the cost of buying foreclosures. This will also lend itself to the anonymity I still maintain for my comfort here so I will continue the practice.

First off we have freeway house. When I tell people about the house I say it is near the "freeway #" and by that I mean "hey look there is the "freeway #"!" It is lovely. The property is large located at the end of a dead end street which means the kid won't have to contend with 55 mile and hour cars running past the home as he masters bicycling. On the inside it is open, light a decent sized master with bath and a nice bonus the second bedroom has it own separate entry into the second bathroom, I'm sure the kid would like to go back and forth from bed to bath without going into the common hall, especially when he is older. The formal dining room is on the other side of the living room which is a little odd but would make a nice place for the baby grand if it doesn't get too hot and cold in the light (lots of windows there). Down a spiral staircase (yes I said spiral staircase) there is a little apartment with kitchen, large living room bedroom with bath and what my Realtor calls a non-conforming bedroom due to it's lack of window egress. It has a separate entrance and what looks like a pad for parking. Nice little bonus, in a room filled mostly with stuffed animals there is a small two person sauna. I would love to buy it for the sauna alone. Outside there is a very large multiple bay garage. There is an additional bay for parking, two bays that have been heated for a workshop (and which may or may not come with a gray tomcat) another bay for storage and yet a forth for tractor and lawn and garden acutrament (sp?). There is a small storage garage off the lower walkout under the attached garage. All in all an embarrassment of space after our experience in the current space crammed from floor to ceiling in some areas. Now the downsides are not insignificant. First of all there is the freeway with its constant road noise and, oh I forgot to mention the rest area is almost directly across from the house which means air breaks at all hour of the day and night. The house counts the downstairs bedroom in the apt as it;s third bedroom so the living space upstairs includes only too bedrooms, this means no spare bed for when the family or friends come a visiting unless they stay downstairs with the folks, or with the sauna. And while the neighbor across the street is friendly he has cows, pigs and chickens. I doubt there are any wondrous spiders lurking about the farm and I am pretty sure the summer may be as odoriferous outside as our current house used to be inside. Last, and quite sadly, the spiral staircase would have to be removed and replaced with an elevator if have any hope of having my parents take their meals and/or spend time with us upstairs. The asking price $300,000 is too high for our comfort so we would have to get it for less to even consider it

So freeway house, not out of contention but not likely.

Then there was school bus house. The bedrooms just kept coming as we moved around this house. One room after another was filled with youngsters goodies, at least three upstairs and three down by my count, with three more rooms as yet unoccupied. We decided that the school bus with California plates outside was needed to move this large family around. I suppose the many rooms in the basement, technically a walkout by way of short stairs to a separate exit, would afford much storage but would also require much adaptation to make it into anything resembling an apartment. It is also very dark, a deal breaker for my mother whose sole requests are room for her sewing and light.

So no to school bus house.

Another foreclosure yielded an almost finished (kitchenette is possible and looked to be in the works, but very dark interior lined with cedar. The three car garage entered into the lower level and the stairs to the main house were wide, a straight shot and would accommodate a chairlift easily. The main house was incredibly light, with cathedral ceilings in the living room and windows from floor to ceiling. Skinny property with lots of acreage but close neighbors. The kitchen is open and light but unfinished wood.

I'm not fan of Cedar basement house but if we could get around the dark lower level there are still a lot of positives.

You can tell the order and attraction I have to the houses by the descriptions I think. As each paragraph grows shorter.

The last house, how I had high hopes for it. It had an actual inlaw apartment and a lot of square footage but the small kitchen, odd layout and darkness along with the foreclosure status made it a no go. How I wanted to like this house but it just was, in a word, yuck.

On the way home we swung by a house we are hoping to take a look at soon, looks nice enough from the outside, and found another we might look at on the website we favor.

Dinner at the Mexican restaurant finished off our day and we arrived home tired and, in the case of the oh so well behaved six year old, cranky. The tears flowed when he discovered their would be no bath. They only subsided when he was promised a bath today "promise me Mommy, promise". Mommy doesn't make promises lightly and will move heaven and earth to keep her promises, something the child has learned to count on. Tonight there will be bath time, long on playtime.

Last night was filled with nightmares waking me frequently and interspersed with indigestion a consequence of traditional Mexican food for me. I am tired and stressed over the pressure I feel to find a house. The clock is ticking. The last time we were looking for a house I was pregnant and between the nesting instinct and my very real fear the the baby would come before the house (which is exactly what happened) it was quite stressful. This time I am concerned that we will be trying to move my folks in the winter or worse they would have to spend another winter in their home, struggling up the stairs and navigating the ice to shop and get around. There will be ice here but I will be able to get them around a little and pick up some of the chores. I will feel more comfortable with them near me.

Could be worse, I am lucky to have my folks at my age. They have few health issues and are still quite agile. I love my folks, they are kind a decent and it will be my pleasure to take care of them in the sunset of their lives. Maybe my son will feel the same as my darling and I get older. Of course My Darling so much younger than me will be able to care for me better than most husband because he has the advantage of youth and, unless he acquires an illness will be able longer than I.

Whew, so much to say, time to feed the child who has waited so patiently for his breakfast.

I wish you Peace

~alison~

�