I must apoligize for the terribly long delay in writing on this Blog -- There has been a plethora of work done around the house and it seems that I've been completely swallowed by the "Fix It Now!!" syndrom, and now with barely the arms that I once had (The old ones have fallen off somewhere around the time I got on my hands and knees and scrubbed the carpet to get it clean...after buying a new carpet steamer...that's 'nother story...) as they have left the country and are on a tramp steamer headed for the open waters --

We, that is The Husband & I have been on the search for a new abode...living here has done it's number on me, along with The Hospital and all their Dominions of Doom (i.e. "PAY US THAT MONEY YOU OWE< NOW!!!") and all the ugly phone calls ~~ Well, one can only take so much of that for just SO LONG...and then it becomes obvious that iit's just time to make the break and start things all over. We looked at serveral places just over the border in N.C., and have stumbled on a brand new little house, quite out in the country...surrounded by farmland and looking just like it needs a new crew of people to make it The Nice and Happy Little House it ought to be. We've going back over to look the house and land (just a tad shy of an acre) this weekend, and hopefully put an offer on it. We've also notified a realtor in the City here...He's suppossed to come over tonight and look our poor little house over and see what can be done with it. Oh -- we've done quite a bit to it in the past 3 weeks...the bedrooms have all been repainted, the kitchen has been patched and repainted, the carpet in all the rooms has been steam cleaned...'cept where the good machine took a nose dive and died in the middle of the front room floor...No --- that rant is for another day...

So, the realtor thinks that we should get just around the appraised value for the house, which is just a tad over the selling price of the place just down the highway...we should come out above even on the whole sale/rebuy deal. I'm so tired from all the scrubbing, painting, scraping and cleaning, that I'm suprised I've got any hands left at all. The house is as ready as I can make it...the youngest has been a gem and helped do some odds and ends for me while I was buzy with other projects...painted his room a wonderful shade of blue...and the carpet got cleaned so it's shade of blue just seems to glow now. I've replace curtains and cleaned up tile and grout in the bathrooms, so they look pretty good. Naturally since it's the day the Realtor is suppossed to show up, the tub decided it's a perfect time to get stopped up, and naturally I don't have the car today, an' can't go get drain cleaner till after The Husband gets home...which is the same time the Realtor is suppossed to be here...QUIT LOOKING AT MY GREY HAIR!!! I EARN THESE< THANK YOU!!!

So -- I'm scared and happy and worried and all those things people go thru when they sell a house..my nerves are completely shot, and I feel like throwing up half the time. I'm just hopeful that this won't be like the nightmare I went thru with our first house, where the 1st realtor I had was an absolute witch, and the second wasn't much better...but it was wayyyy out in the country, and they were the only ones in the area..so whatta ya gonna do?? Shades of another person trying to look the part of a Smart Wonderful Wealthy Person trying to sell our home keeps flying thru my head...LAWDY no wonder my last good nerve got up and left on that dayum tramp steamer...So for the last minute things, is recleanind the bathrooms, planting some fall flowers in containera on the front porch, and sweeping up around the outside of the house. The Youngest did start painting the trim all around the windows so that's one last thing to do. The Realtor did say he has a crew to finish whatever we can't seem to do, and I'm optimistic they'll get paid at the closing of the house...we just do NOT have $1,200 or so for any of the larger projects...and thats what scares me the most. If we can't pay the crew right away, we may not be able to do a thing...and I don't know if I can handle that at this point in time...DAYUM!! I SAID QUIT LOOKING AT MY GREY HAIR!!!

Lady of The Tulips -- who has to go and paint up the patch job she finished last night...found some more spots where the previous owners covered up holes in the walls with wallpaper...and removing said wallpaper is indeed another story..and repainting over the plaster walls...well....shwooooo

My youngest son gets these little nagging-headacheyy-sinus problems that have driven him nutz since time began..So -- since he is a bright fellow and can fig're things out in a New York Minute...we drove to one of the local health food stores, and the owner suggested this product that clears up congestion, makes you smell good at the same time, and have one of the most cool looking packages I've seen in a long time. And it wasn't too expensive, which makes up for the drive across town in traffic...

I've been cleaning and getting the house ready for a realtor to come and look over early in the week. I've got a map and location for some acreage that sounds promising for The Husband & I -- we've gotten over the "Old Farmhouse From..." and feel like we're ready to go and look at properties again. I've got the address and some basic information on what kind of prep-work has been done on a couple parcels just over the border in NC and we'll do some investigating this afternoon. I'm also looking at so many other properties, it's amazing that I've gotten anything else accomplished. The Husband just says "Hmmph.." when I get too detailed in the information on houses, legal deals (contracts, buyers premiums..etc. .. ) so I try to keep all that under my hat for now. The Youngest and I worked all day yesterday cleaning and painting --- he's rearranging his bedroom and getting it ready to paint. He chose a very mellow blue for the walls and a slightly darker color for the trim and window ledge's -- The lady at the home improvement store was very impresed by his selection..he took FOR EVAH deciding what color to choose.."You know how MEN can be.." she sayz to me with a twinkle in her eye...I told her that my son is more picky than most women I know when it comes to picking things out. Good Golly Miss Molly....

I've got a collage just finishing in the studio!! YEAH!!! I don't have time this morning to get a picture on here, but in the morning after all the dust settles I'll post it here. I'm pretty happy with how it turned out, I must say. I wanted to post it on here Friday, but the Youngest & I were going all OVAH getting paint and supplies..pricing this and that..an' then The Husband comes back up from the Raleigh area, 'bout 3 hours earlier than he'd first told me...so I had to make it a FASTT trip over to the truck terminal...AND THE CAR DIDN"T OVERHEAT!!! Well...after $500 the darn thing BETTER NOT!!! Even thinking of another breakdown gives me an instant headache....man o man...

LAdy of The Tulips -- who now has to skeedadle an' get dressed -- The Youngest will be home an' shooo me away from here an' I'll pout an' be sad for the rest of the afternoon....well...not really pout, but I will be looking at some Land...