Posting out of boredom.

I mean, it's not unusual that I don't want to be at work, but it's harder this week. Sitting here @ my desk is torture. It's making my butt and back hurt and I'm drinking a cup of coffee @ 3:00 p.m. because I can hardly stay focused on anything. And it doesn't help that it is faux-fall outside. I've got autumn foods on the brain. Casseroles. Soups. T.o.r.t.u.r.e.

And it's difficult to not let my mind wander to a house we may one day own. I already know what I'm going to make for the dinner I'm inviting you to. There'll be table linens & fresh baked bread.

Full steam ahead!

This past weekend was hella. I can't even say what kind of tired I am. Pretty damned, is a good start.

KMHD & I spent Friday evening arranging and organizing the porch for the yard sale the next day. BTW, it is a lot of work. I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else; we work well together. It is a lot of work and I'm glad that I had someone who cut the crap and kicked out the jams, you know? Our preparedness paid off and made for an easy and successful yard sale.

Too bad you can't see the fine porch set-up:

KMHD's artful clothes arrangement. Great use of bushes and crepe myrtle!:

Every sale has one!

I sold my Vespa, a bitter-sweet moment. Good-bye, au revoir!


Yard sales. They're hilarious. We started at 8:00 a.m., which is not THAT early in the yard sale universe, but as soon as 8:00 rolled around, we had some folks show up. We always find it amazing what sells and what doesn't. KMHD sold a freaking used eye patch! What?! And why? I'm somewhat disappointed that no one even looked at my golf clubs or my cute little cupcake stand. KMHD says that yard sales are the ultimate examination of anthropology. Nothing can explain the whys of what people buy & don't buy, though. Madness. Too, those buyers made us work so hard! We had to move heavy furniture and plug things in to show that they worked and pack things into car trunks and find string so we can tie their trunk hoods down, etc. etc. Ridic.

Our hours were 8:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m., but people kept showing past 2:00. We had to have the fellas sit and watch the sale while we pulled down the signs, so people would stop coming. After we 'closed', we put some stuff to the curb (which disappeared) and piled the leftovers neatly on a table on the porch. Some lady that I communicated with on craigslist picked up all of our leftovers, so we didn't even have to haul anything away.

Yay to being rid of junk, making some cabbage, AND not having to do some manual labor. End of ACT I.
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As soon as we were done with the sale, I hopped into the shower and then scrapped together a set list to play @ the Eclipse Glasses/Arkansas Queen show. Not an easy task, I was buggin'! Especially since I decided that I was going to play nothing akin to what ATM and Kyle play. I had my Yo La Tengo, I had my R.E.M. and Sonic Youth. What else? WHAT ELSE? I had an hour to figure it out before we met ATM's folks for supper.

A little while later, they met us at the house. After the hellos & hugs, we drove over to look @ a house that we have our eye on. I won't really get into the details, but it's a great place. After that, we dined @ Whole Hog BBQ, which is still the best BBQ IMO. They did not fail to deliver. After that, we had to get ready for the show. On a boat. On a boat! How exciting! We said our "See you laters" to the 'rents & packed and practiced and loaded and unloaded, etc. Man, this day. Action-packed. I felt like I had already experienced two days crammed into one. Because it felt like only 5 minutes passed before we were boarding the Arkansas Queen & getting ready for the show. Earlier that day, ATM got a text from Lorenza that said that we sold all of our tickets & that the reservation line was ringing off the hook. Also, he got calls from people frantically searching for a ticket. Which makes my being worried hilarious, I guess. I was worried that not a lot of people would show because $15 is a lot to ask of our friends & family. Thankfully, I was really wrong. We sold out & the AQ crew allowed 50 more.

I didn't think to/didn't have time to take a lot of photos. I did get a few snapshots with just me, ATM & Kyle before folks boarded.








What an incredible show! There were SO MANY people. Lots of lovely friends, pretty ladies, handsome men & proud parents. After people boarded, I never left the top deck. It was a little muggy, but once we set sail, it was breezy & cool. I had the privilege of DJing while Eclipse Glasses played. It was just the way I wanted it - not too many people, mostly folks just coming up for a smoke or to talk on their cell phone. It has been years since I 'hit the decks', so I wanted a small, inattentive crowd. I do love my lady friends who hung out. I heard that EG did well, which does not surprise me. All in all, it was a great trip. And it's so nice to see both LR/NLR's 'backside' from the river at night. I do want to call out some folks for throwing cigarette butts into the river, but I only know one by name...COLLIN! ! I saw what you did! Tsk tsk! For shame! I try not to finger wag, but come ON!

We did not get to bed until about 3:30. Amazingly, I couldn't fall asleep. We had to unwind by watching infomercials for smooth grooves to turn off the brain.

The next day, we met ATM's parents for lunch & did a bit of shopping. I need shorts, but the stores have already switched from summer to fall apparel, so I may be out of luck. Before they took off, ATM's mother gave us a beautiful china set that belonged to ATM's gran. It's so classic & beautiful, I can't believe they are ours! I feel like we got the best house-warming gift early. Now, if only we can get the house.


List-making started yesterday. Checking things off that list begins this eve. The beach is within' reach!


Extras!

From our camping trip last weekend, here is the view from our tent:

Uh oh! Someone didn't just leave foot prints!

Domino Potatoes

I made domino potatoes last night:


There are no 'after' photos, because we ate them. They were delicious, of course! I made them with olive oil/S&P instead of butter, but I may use a little butter next time. And rosemary. Too, when you bake them, go ahead and cover them with foil. The texture is very au gratin.

So. I learned the basic crochet chain and simple stitches last night. I never envisioned myself crocheting, so big pat on the back. My concern was that I wouldn't be able to sit still long enough to make anything ever. I haven't started a project because I'm still practicing, but my goal is to make a scarf for ATM. Or a pot-holder. It was lovely to sit around with my lady friends on a rainy evening (on the best porch in town) and chat and crochet. Not knit. There is a difference, btw. I never knew! My work is still a little 'meh', but I just started yesterday. I hope to get better before I doom ATM to shitty scarfdom.

We decided, last minute, to go camping this weekend. This is our getting back to AMD/ATM basics. Time to recalibrate. I want our return to the woods to be perfect, so I worked up a menu that is perfect summertime goodness, but still complies with the self-improvement plan. Easy! I made a corn salad that is so. good. Cantaloupe. Yogurt. Portabella mushroom 'burgers' with garlic-basil aioli. Dark chocolate for the sweet tooth. For breakfast, eggs & bacon on an english muffin. I can't wait to eat and nap (and crochet?) in the woods.

SOLO time:

Oops. My. Bad.

We didn't get the house! So, wha 'appened?

1. The seller accepted our initial offer, but it was contingent on our lender's required pre-appraisal, which we paid for. ($450!!!) The bank just wanted to make sure the house was worth what the seller listed it for.

2. The house was not worth the listed price, so we re-submitted an offer more attuned to the appraisal. They refused. Why? Because they did not want to pay our real estate agent's commission. Too, they did not offer a counter-offer.

3. The seller kept calling my cell phone to, I think, avoid speaking to our real estate agent, which is a no-no. I can cite cases in my court where behind-the-scene real estate dealings have gone awry & now it's left to my judge, who is no real estate expert, to figure out who is going to prevail. We never answered the seller's calls, but he did leave messages. The last one was golden! He wanted us to know that the failure of the last deal was not his fault, but our agent's because he didn't want to pay her commission. Also, "good luck" and "have a nice day."

4. The end.

The story feels so unfinished to me. We spent $450 and have nothing to show for it! I feel like this seller, who is in complete denial that this is a buyer's market, burned us. We totally paid for his appraisal. I'm 11 kinds of sad & angry. ATM & I have been dealing with it as best as we can, but this last one really broke our hearts. I think we're taking a break because we can't find one house in the LR/NLR area that does it for us. Too, all of this hunting has affected us adversely. It's all-consuming and we haven't been sleeping properly. Maybe it's good that we step back and get some sleep. Too, we've got some things going on that need our attention, so. So. We will try to not get so emotionally connected to a house we love next time. My bad!

This evening, I am going to learn how to knit. Terrifying! But, hanging out with my lady friends will be so good for my soul.

Plate Spinning

Kicking up the dust by going through all of my belongings is making my allergies go wild, so I've got a nice B3nadryl swagger going on right now.

I've got so much going on in my brain right now. Images of paint swatches and wallpaper and purging, and packing, and call the realtor, and call the lender, and call mum, and oh yeah, don't forget to eat, go to work, and get some rest, and aaaachooo aaaachooo aaaachooo! I am so ready to be done with all of this. I know, I know, big crisis. I'm one of those people that does well on a normal schedule, so I feel way off.

We've still got a yard sale to contend with, the Arkansas Queen Eclipse Glasses show (with me coming up with a DJ set list!), and a vacation and all of the planning that requires. All before a tentative closing date.

Even though the contract for the house isn't set in stone, we figure it's a good idea to start going through our stuff to pack. Obvs, we get to work at a comfortable pace. Purging has been easier to do that I imagined. A new home will be a clean slate for sure. Too, if we find a place smaller than the one we live in now, well, I don't want to fill it with STUFF.

3516 N Olive

Update: The sellers @ 280 Goshen countered our ridiculously awesome offer, so we pulled our contract. As to be expected, they changed their minds and accepted our initial offer, but we had already moved on. You know, there is some satisfaction in knowing that we could've had that house. No harm, no foul, but bwahahahahaha!

After agreeing that we wanted to move on, we drove around Park Hill to collect more addresses and numbers. We were about to give up when we ran across this gem (You'll have to forgive the quality of these photos, we don't have a scanner. These are pictures offa a flyer!):

First off, RED DOOR! The bushes & landscaping need to be scaled back so you can see the aluminum awnings, which hang over most of the windows. Those will be lovely on a rainy day. I'm not too concerned about the little porch, because there is an A+ deck in the fenced-in backyard. A backyard that has a mature pecan tree which provides the shade on the deck. From the street, it's not the most dazzling place, but it conforms to our style. The goods are inside & in the back!

There are wooden floors throughout w/ tile in the (tiny) kitchen. I think it's pretty wild that we ended up falling for a house with a small kitchen, but we are confident that we can make it work. This house is smaller than the one we currently reside in, but we gain storage & space through a detached garage that is about half the size of the house & houses a wood-burning stove! Seemingly, all of the majors (electricity, plumbing, AC/heat, roof) are in good shape, so our concerns are all cosmetic. They are letting us keep the washer/dryer combo & refrigerator, which is fantastic in that that's one less thing for us to worry about for now. I will express some disappointment in having an electric stove, but I'll get over it. If there are hook ups for gas, maybe I'll get lucky? I am stoked that there is a dining room! This is coming from someone who has been eating off of t.v. dinner trays for 8 years. There is a weird nook in the dining room that the seller didn't know what to do with, but I think we can easily correct that. I've read enough mags & design blogs (for years) to not be turned off by weird nooks.

There are only two bedrooms that are modest in size, but not problematic. There's one on the front end (guest room/temporary music room) & the back. They remodeled the bathroom. Now we've seen some really awful remodeling jobs, but the seller actually did a good job on this one. I was blown away by that, actually. There is a pedestal sink, which is a personal preference. Too, there's a linen closet, something our bathrooms here have lacked.

This house is $10,000 cheaper.

If I seem foolishly, emotionally invested and really sure of myself, well, it's because I just learned the seller accepted our (badass) offer! We just have another little hurdle & then we are in! Somebody pinch me!

280 Goshen

I've been going back and forth between severe anxiety to extreme confidence and everything in between. Why? Because we made an offer on a house yesterday evening!

A big part of me is sad about the whole ordeal, which is crazy, I realize. I've wanted to buy a home for as long as I can remember, but I guess I've gotten really comfortable with where I am now. Eight years comfortable. I live in an excellent neighborhood, one I'm reluctant to move out of, but am being squeezed out of by rising property value. Park Hill (NLR) is a wonderful neighborhood, my next choice. I love Park Hill. There are old trees everywhere, beautiful homes, and a lake nearby. We'll be neighbors with the Holland-Salleys and the Bakers! I'm just one of those people that doesn't take change very well. Eight years! Also, I worry for SOLO. She's an old lady now and I imagine this move will be hard on her. I only wish she understood that her kingdom has expanded and that it would be the last time she had to move ever.

Then there's the part of me that can't wait to unleash the interior designer within. Ha! I have this manila envelope dubbed 'the folder of dreams'. It is filled with magazine clippings & rip-outs of ideas & inspirations for my future home. I've had it for years! I've made ATM look at it a few times. I'm pretty sure I made KMHD take a gander when she bought her home. Finally, I get to bust it out and make things happen!

I've already planned dinner parties and having guests.

Too soon?

We won't even know if they've accepted our offer until 6:00 this evening, so all this crazy talk may be over nothing.

I feel like we gave a good offer, so I'm confident. And terrified.

All other business has taken a backseat until this is taken care of. In the meantime...

Sip

It was tough day @ work on Friday. Thankfully we got an invite from Heather to swim @ Casa de Holland-Salley. It was bitchin'! They have a really nice backyard which is far from the street, totally surrounded with greenery. And mosquitos. I probably could've stayed out there all night listening to 8 tracks & sipping iced tea, but the little buggers proved to be too much for us. We were driven inside after about 30 mins.

We decided to go get some grub, but before going to dinner (Starving Artist. Again. They aren't paying me.), we drove around Park Hill to look at homes for sale. Park Hill seems to be the best place (so far) in the hunt for our new home. We will be meeting a realtor on Monday to take a peek inside some of these homes. I can't wait, can't wait. I'm already hosting a dinner & guests in my mind. Too soon?

KMHD & I have been discussing our futures lately. The thing is is that we don't want to work for someone else & don't want to go back to school. She said it best: we are going to spend our 30's trying to start a business & work for ourselves. I'm going to wait until I buy a home (and probably a car) and finish my gig working with Judge Kilgore. Hopefully, I'll be debt-free, aside from a mortgage & car payment by that time.

Good Saturday. Coffee with baby. Shopping w/ KMHD. I got a new dress. The self-improvement plan afforded me that.

Ladies & gentlemen, we are floating in space.

*Tomorrow eve (Saturday, 8 August), we are hosting bands Awesome Color (Bklyn, NY) & Egyptr (Fayetteville) at 209 Victory Street. 5$. BYOB. 9:30 p.m. ATM & Kyle will be DJing 'tween sets & probably after, so, please come & bring your interesting conversation. Attn out-of-towners: need a place to crash? See me!*


My dad's family is from the Finger Lakes region of New York state. More mid-state than upstate, Interlaken is a tiny village; it's not featured on all NY maps. Both of my beloved grandparents are buried there. I've been there maybe three times ever, but lately, I've been wanting to go back. Probably because billions of solid gold memories have been forged there. And then there's the curiosity. My uncle Steve is staying in my grandparent's home. I haven't talked to him in like 15 years. How is he? How is the house? Is he being plagued by the 'goddamn woodchucks'? (Inside joke. With my grandmother, even. Bless.)

Dad, being the difficult, strange, paranoid isolationist that he is, hasn't been helpful filling in the huge blanks of our family history. I would never accuse him of it, but I believe that he doesn't want us to connect with the larger part of the family. I'm sure his reasons are utterly ridiculous. I mean, there was a family reunion & we weren't informed of it until it was way too late. I can't imagine what our relatives must think of that. Anyway, my sister & I have decided to go around his back & reach out.

A few years ago, our second cousin, Kim, entered his name on a hugely popular search engine. He found KMHD instead, so he dropped her an email that was all "Hey there!" and sent us a few of his band's cd. Nothing really came of it, but I figured he'd be a good start to get our foot in the door. Early this week, I sent him an email asking if we could come visit & explore ye olde stomping grounds of dad, his siblings, & our grandparents. The very next day, I got a most positive response. Of course we could come! The family is stoked! What an opportunity!

It looks like we won't be able to head up that way until next year, but I can hardly wait. This is farm country, not the big city. Amish communities abound! In my memory, it's very cool, green & plush.

The dude has got good form!


Yeah, last week, we got one more swim sesh in with Seth. He made killer sriracha bread that almost derailed my self-improvement plan. (Seth, I promise, that's not a back-handed compliment! Just the normal kind.) See & wish for smell-o-vision:

Recipe here. Seth added the extras on top, so if yours doesn't turn out like the photo, then you're doin' it wrong. It goes well with everything. Soup. Mozz w/ basil & ripe tom. Balsamic vinegar reduction. Your mom.

I'm trying not to bug out about finding a home to buy as we haven't even hit the rough patch yet, but I am feeling I-L-L about the whole mess. Can I get that beach countdown going?

Proof and pudding and whatnot

♫ This is...a happy house...we're happy here! ♫

Yesterday, ATM & I went to the bank to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan.

Now comes the exciting part of looking for a home.

I'm sad that we won't be able to stay in Argenta. There are a few reasons why we won't be able to: 1. There are some owners sitting on valuable property, but they aren't selling. I don't know what they are waiting for. It's so irritating to me. But, it probably has to do with... 2. Property values rising nearly every day. This leads to ... 3. Our inability to afford it if something came up. Boo to this! I've lived there since April 2001, so I'm a little bitter about the whole thing. Grrr. I guess it'll give me the opportunity to learn and love a new neighborhood. I have my eye on Park Hill. They've got old trees. Too, I love NLR. In the end, it will depend entirely on the house itself, so who knows where we will end up.

On a completely unrelated note, I'm happy to announce that my self-improvement plan is working out well. I felt a spring in my step when I woke up this morning, so I cheated and pulled out the scale (because you're only supposed to do it once a week) and was very pleased to learn that I reached my modest goal. I mean, I'm shocked because that was easy. So. Onward!

This evening, which looks like will be a cool, rainy one, we are going to Seth's folk's house for a small soup potluck. I will be making tortilla soup & KMHD will be making vegetable soup w/ pistou. (That's pesto, ya'll.) I'm hoping Seth will make his killer tom khaa. I think I'm going to bring my swimsuit despite the crap weather. A little rain-swimming never killed nobody, amirite? As long as there's no lightning?

My mum, that crazy broad, dumped a metric ton of cucumbers on our porch. KMHD picked up 1/2 last nite, but I still have too many. I'm going to attempt Japanese press pickles this afternoon. I mean, I have no choice. Pickling is the most logical thing to do with them all. I have thought of sneaking them into the grocery store to get rid of some, but I am not sly.

Here is my first batch of pickles ever. They were just o.k.



EXTRA PHOTOS ☟

My dad's house. It used to look cool & cute, but in it's current incarnation it is strange and unfamiliar to me. What is with the flag pole and weird signs that say NO TRESPASSING or PRIVATE PROPERTY? I didn't know the house was ever mistaken for public property, but whatevs.


My aunt's home:


Driving around Ft. Chaffee:


Bunny:

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Seth invited us to swim @ his parent's house on Friday eve. It was the four of us, the dogs, and a pot of tom khaa soup on the stove.









I wanted to stay in the pool all night, but we were going to Ft. Smith early the next morning, so we called it an early evening. We did make plans to return, but it looks like it's gonna rain all week.

We primarily went to Ft. Smith to visit family. We had this grueling schedule of going back and forth between my dad's, my stepmum's & my aunt's homes, over and over again. A few hours here and then on to the next. We never had time to ourselves, which made us exhausted & weary. In a weird way, I feel like we were some hot commodity that they couldn't get enough of. "Where are you going next and when will you be back?"

On Saturday, we had lunch with our stepmother @ Pan3ra Bread. It was o.k.. Their baked goods looked really awesome, but are currently off limits. After lunch, we got a kickass coffee @ Sweet Bay. I have to praise their iced mocha w/ soy (no cream). Magic juice! After lunch, we checked into our room and then went on to dad's.

How can I explain our father? Our relationship with him is troubled and extremely delicate. Just spending a few hours with him makes me feel physically & emotionally ill. I can't enjoy the simple fact that I'm 'back home' and hanging out in the house I grew up in. Dad is such a downer, but only with me, KMHD & our ex-stepmother, who he is stringing along. He is happy, fun & easy-going with everyone else on this planet, but us. It really gets to me that he shares his (imaginary) misery with his family only. I guess I should thank him for at least not drinking while we visited? How's that for a silver lining? We hung out right up until the breaking point. I could not have made this visit without ATM & KMHD right by my side.

After we left dad's, we drove to Ft. Chaffee to take some photos before it got dark. A lot has changed out there (Janet Huckabee Nature Center?), so we didn't find what we were looking for. In some parts, it looks like life after people. Roads are overgrown with weeds and aside from a little mowing here and there, they're just letting it go. As I understand it, most if not all buildings are full of asbestos. It would be costly to demolish them, so they're just sitting there. We ran out of time before we could take some photos, so we hightailed it to my aunt's house who had bowls of pho waiting on us.




It was one of the nicer moments of our trip. My aunt is the best cook in our family and I greedily ate that pho. My cousins & aunt are so loving and sweet. Even the little one that I previously had 'issues' with was precious. I LOVE that my aunt likes ATM. She likes to make him eat and listen to him attempt speaking Vietnamese. It's fun-NY. After supper, our cousin wanted to drive out to Ft. Chaffee & shoot a potato gun (!), but they couldn't find it, so we drove around for a little while.

No, we didn't stop by the natural history museum! This display is my uncle's. Ha!:

My littlest cousin, outside their home, on the street:

Here's Carol Ann Cross Park. Apparently, when the pond is low, you can go 'underwater' in this room that acts as an overflow catchall. Only high school kids would know this, right? KMHD, ATM & our cousin went down there. I didn't because I didn't have proper footwear on. I was kinda jealous.:


From the park, we drove to our hotel and went to sleep. I was beyond exhausted. My bones were heavy like lead.

The next morning, we met Mayumi (stepmother) for breakfast. We tried to keep it light because our aunt was going to make lunch for us before we left town. Anyway, for breakfast, we had Pan3ra Bread AGAIN. We had to do boring because we didn't have time to do the proper full breakfast spread. After breakfast, we drove out to Ft. Chaffee again to see if we could find the barracks. I have not been on base since I was a kid. Dad used to take us when he shopped at the PX. It was awesome to be there again, but I felt really sad to see it in it's current state.

In my memory, the barracks are white. Now they're yellow? You could see right into them because the doors are open. If I had better shoes on, I would've gone inside one for some snapshots.






Last year, there was a fire that wiped out about 150 buildings. I wonder if the one my mum stayed in was one of them? Just the foundation and chimneys left.


On our way to dropping off Mayumi to her home, we stopped by Pho Vietnam, better known as the Vietnamese Deli. I wanted to pick up some bahn mi for Collin as well as myself. The wait was long & the sandwiches were great, but I've been spoiled by better. That is considered sacrilege amongst peers, but I can offer no apology.



We went over to my aunt's for one last meal:



I felt bad rushing off right after being fed, but our energy was rapidly diminishing & we still had to see dad. We went to his house for a super quick cup of coffee and made our way home to Little Rock/North Little Rock.

We started feeling better once we passed Van Buren.

While on the road, I thought about our trip and figured that it was my father and my stepmother that made going home extremely difficult. There's no happiness there. Nothing is ever easy with those two. They dislike where they live; they are not advocates of Ft. Smith. I feel that we, when we have the time and are not with family, do a fantastic job of exploring and finding what we love about Ft. Smith. I love getting coffee and going to Creekmore Park. I love walking around downtown. I love hanging out @ my aunt's house with my cousins. I love driving by my old schools. I like driving through the historic district. I love retracing the steps of my old stomping grounds. I'm from there! The Ft. Smith I knew and the one that exists now are not the same. So, I'm rediscovering it, getting to know it again. I just wish that my family weren't soul-snatchers. I know, you can't choose your relatives. But, damn!

This will be the recovery week for me. So far, so good. I hope I can get a lot more swimming in. Seth!