The Hunt is On...

... to find ourselves a permanent residence.

Yes, good women, we are back in the Bay Area! After what seemed like an eternity because of Hubster having to pack the entire house by himself (I tried to help but was as worthless as tits on a goose), and a three-day pilgrimage to get here (we wound up staying two nights in a hotel at the far side of the Grapevine), we are checked in at our extended stay hotel for the duration. I have an appointment with a pain doctor tomorrow (since I'm almost out of meds) and a fresh stash of herb, so I'm good for now, but we can't stay here forever. I could, though, get used to having a weekly maid and no bills other than our "mortgage" payment. I've found a program where you put down some money and they take a small amount out of each monthly payment; at the end of four years, you have the option to get a loan to buy the house. I even found a house which suits our needs. Now I just have to wait and see if the guy from the company is willing to work with us because... well... we don't have the upfront payment. If he is, then home sweet home! Keep your fingers crossed. I would hate to rent and see our money just fly out the window when we could do this program. They qualify you based on what you can afford to pay, not your credit. Good thing, too, since we could wipe our asses with our credit reports.

Forgive me in advance for jumping around. I see it's been a while since I last posted, so this post will most likely be a stream of consciousness type of thing.

I received this email from an absolutely lovely lady (you know who you are) who asked that I copy it here for your reading enjoyment. I'm more than happy to do so, although I'm not disclosing her name out of respect for her.

"Hi, Pam,

I tried to put this in your comments but I don't have any of the required accounts (open id, google, whatever) so shall write to you directly.  Would you mind posting this to your blog, including my request that you do so?  My first comment is that regardless of what went on between you and "other", I really think it's very shoddy for "other" to invade your blog.  I also read your comments about your SnB women being afraid of catching TB just because you tested positive for exposure.  I find it odd that in this information age, anyone could be so ignorant of such basic medical information.  Having said that, on to nicer topics.  You include something about your hubby in just about every post, which is so sweet.  I read in one post that you met him on the Internet.  How long have you been together?  When you write anything lengthy about him, I get the feeling that you two "fit".  You said in one post that you never seem to fit in (I think it was to do with the SnB group), but you sure fit into his heart by the sound of it.  However long you have been together, you sound very much in love.  And, by the way, I do not think you are weird.  I think you are unique, but that's not the same as weird.  Living outside of the box is something is something that many of us would like to do but we don't have what it takes.  As the younger generation says, "You go girl.""

I think that says it all. And in response to your question as to how long we've been together, we will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary in December but have been living together for 21 years. Egads... I used to have all my body parts in the right spot. Oh well... the old man still loves me, and I him, so everything is right with the world.

Having gone into my mail program to copy the above missive (blowing kisses at you), I found a letter from the housing company. No, he can't work within our parameters, and the house which I liked so much is in a town I don't want to live in, so the hunt continues. Sigh. Even though it's exciting to think of living in a new house, I hate the credit explanation. I can only hope that the right house falls into our laps during our foray into the rental world. While this room is adequate for the time being, sitting with one of those back rests in bed to sleep, knit, etc., is not optimal. If there's something to bitch about, I'll find it.

Now that we're back home (so to speak), I don't have to worry about my health suddenly taking a nosedive and not being able to get to a hospital quickly enough. There are even stores, McDonald's, other restaurants, movie theaters... imagine! And my mother, having gotten us back, is already bitching and trying to be "helpful". Goddess save us.

Speaking of my health, I'm not doing well. I have to use the walker to get around just about everyplace and, if not the walker, my cane. I did manage to find a dude who carves the coolest canes, putting a wood spirit on the front of each one. I wasn't keen on using a store-bought cane, so I was really happy to find this guy. If anybody needs a cane or walking stick for hiking, check him out. He's on Etsy and ArtFire - "Walker Canes", or something like that. At the very least, take a look at his stuff just for the visual enjoyment.

So what's the first thing I bought for our room? Yarn, of course! I actually had to, since Jenny Boully (Woolly Boully) is once again dyeing. She's on Etsy and has put her leftover skeins on there, so if she's a fave of yours, head on over. She also does those Imagumball or whatever the fuck those things are called, and you'll find those in her shop.

As for what I'm working on, I'm still plugging away on the swatches and also working on socks (including two pairs of baby socks) and two baby blankets. Why is it taking me so long to do the swatches? Well, there are a lot of them, and one of them is a lace weight which gets something like 2000 sts/in (not really, but it feels like it), and has to be knitted into a Feather and Fan pattern (it just screamed out that no other pattern would do). It's really cobweb and totally gorgeous, having been dyed into a tonal teal. Stupid me - I looked at the amount they sent and wondered what the hell I would do with so little. Heh.

And so I come to the end of my first post in ages. I'm alive (and will be alive and stoned off my ass as soon as I proofread this), we're here safe and sound, and I'm having a salami sandwich for dinner.

On real sourdough.

Yum.