Score!!!

Saturday morning.

Telephone rings.

Realtor on the other end: “Pack your bags. You’re the owner of a new house!”

WOO HOO! After I got off the phone, I was practically jumping up and down!!! (If you knew me, you'd know I don't get excited about too many things. LOL) The cute little bungalow-style house is on it's way to being mine.

The seller agreed to my latest offer, which was $9900 less than her original asking price (and $2K less than what she paid for the house 3 yrs ago), plus she will be fixing everything listed in the repair rider, plus she’s giving me all the personal property I asked for except for a sofa (The PP was just a bargaining tool), PLUS the seller’s realtor is buying me the 5-star home warranty plan so if ANYTHING needs replaced within the first year, it’s covered except for a one time $75 deductible.

I am proud of how well I did. :-D By the end of September, I will be in my very own home. Yippee Yay!!! *Happy Dancin*

I received a copy of the signed contract and faxed it to my bank to get the financing rolling. All the stuff I had to take out of the basement is now stacked against the wall in the dining room and will stay there until I move. I got a bunch of boxes from my sister to start packing. She’s in the process of moving now.

I need to give notice to my landlord, and don’t really know how to go about it. I’ve rented from them for 6 years. Hopefully, they’ll give me my deposit back! Maybe I’m making more of it than I should, but I dislike conflict.


Here's what people had to say:

Gayle: CONGRATULATIONS !!!!!!!!!!!!! That is great news. You will have new neighbors, no more sagas to read about in your blogs. What a shame.

Angie: AWESOME!!! The landlord should give you your deposit back..but who knows...Congrats on your house!!

Selina: woohoo, congrats. That's wonderful news :) Please share some inside
pictures once you move in :)

Sarah W: So happy for you Meari

Betty W: Congratulations, Meari~! I wouldn't worry about the landlord being unhappy that you're moving out .... it's not like you're going to another rental property! I'm sure you'll get your deposit back w/o problem.

Carolyn B: Congratulations!!!!

Sue: WHOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO Meari!!!!! I am so happy for you!!!! There is nothing like owning your own home!!!! I hope your new neighbors are much nicer than the ones you have now!!!!!!

Dee in TN: CONGRATULATIONS, Meari. You deserve this.

Jaunice: WOOHOOOO Congratulations. I bet you are so excited. Have fun in your new house.

Sharyn: How wonderful.........Congratulations on your new home!

Mar: Congratulations Meari! : ) It's so nice knowing you really liked the bungalow so much. So excited for you!!

Petra: ***Squeel**** That's terrific news!! Congratulations!! It's great that you are buying your first home and all the best on the process.

Annette: I second what Petra said! Congrats!

Heidi M: Congratulations! It is soo nice to have your own house. You will love it!

Debra in IN: Meari, that is wonderful news. I am so happy for you.

Nancy M: Congrats Meari!! Always an exciting time when you get to move!! Will hate to see your stories of *nice* neighbors stop though!!!

Tracy W: Congratulations Meari - you must be so excited! I wonder what the new neighbours will be like LOL!

Faith: Congratulations Meari! Owning your own home is a wonderful feeling! I wish you all the happiness in the world in your new home!

Rene: WOOHOO...doing a happy dance for you!!!! I see a cyber housewarming party in our future.

Renee H: Congratulations Meari!!! That's awesome news!!

Tracey: Wow! Congrats on being a new home owner :)

Lisa: Woohoo! Congratulations, Meari!!! You will LOVE owning your own home! Keep us posted!

Donna B: How Awesome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No more grass/mowing issues - nasty neighbors!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Milly B: WOOOOHOOOOOOO...congratulations!

Nancy N: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!

Pam K: Yey Meari! Congratulations!!! You have every right to be excited and proud of your negotiating!! I hope your move goes well and that you absolutely love your new home!!! Don't put off telling your landlord. They will appreciate all the notice you give them, I'm sure. But do give them a firm date of your move, you may have to wait until you get your closing date. You don't want them to rush you out before you're ready to move! Yey!! I'm happy for you!

Margaret K: Congratulations to you Meari. What a busy and exciting time for you come. Hope you really enjoy your new home.

Lynne M: Congrats on the new house, Meari. Look forward to seeing photos

Cynthia W: Yay...although I am one who will miss the Tale of ATGG....gonna hafta find some other poor blogger with neighbors from Hades... CAUSE it is NOT gonna follow YOU!!

Leslie: That is great Meari, congrats on the new house and even BIGGER congrats on the new neighbors.

Linda in MA: Congratulations Meari! Hopefully yours neighbors will be much nicer.

Melinda H: Congratulations Meari! That is exciting!

Eva: Congratulations Meari!! Hope you can move in soon!

Deborah: CONGRATULATIONS! ! ! I know it has been a rough road for you, but the end is in sight. Appears EVERYTHING is going your way finally. Nobody deserves happiest more than you girlfriend!!

Susan: Congratulations Meari! The best of luck with the new house.

Lavon: That's wonderful news!! I know you'll be happy to get away from your neighbors. :)

Monique: CONGRATULATIONS!!! Wonderful news :) And seems like good timing, since you are having to clean out your basement anyway.

Kathy K: Way to go! Congratulations on your offer being accepted. Especially since you had already started your packing when you were cleaning up after the basement flooding. :) Sounds like you made out on the deal too. I hope that all goes smoothly for you.

Dr Patricia: Congratulations, Meari! Getting to move to your new home should help you freecycle and pitch plenty of stuff! Take care of yourself especially with the sinuses and the flooded basement (MOLD!!!) and the heat (you ARE wearing a mask despite the annoyance and the heat, yes? I don't always take my own advice :-) I'm so excited for you! And just like one of your blog posters said, send a letter (registered, signature required) giving 30 days notice, and try to keep yourself out of your neighbor's way for your last days there.

Julie B: Congrats on your new home Meari. Wonderful feeling isn't it?

Cheryl M: Congratulations! I can’t wait to see pics!!!

Karin: Congratulations Meari!!!!!

Tinna: Congratulation. That is wonderful to you.

Kayle: Meari, I am so thrilled for you Congratualtions!!!!

Elaine H: Big Congratulations Meari!! How exciting for you! We will all miss reading about the neighbors though. :op I think you need to print up all your blog entries about the neighbors and write an Erma Bombeck type book. :o) It would be hilarious and I would buy it! Heck, I'll be your ghost writer! LoL

Cherie: That is soo cool!!! Good luck and great dreams in the new home!!

Diane in UK: Congratulations Meari!!! I moved into my own place last November, and there really is nothing like *really* making a house your own. And for most crafters, it is heaven on earth planning out what you can do and where and how you want to make it!!! As has been suggested on your blog, take photos of before and after. It will really surprise you just how different you can make a home, as you put your own personal stamp on your new home! It sounds as though you got a real bargain there - as long as there is room for your crafting things, of course! That's a definite must! LOL! I wish you all the best, and don't forget to keep us all informed on your progress, both before and after the move. I love hearing about things like this!

Kathie: Congrats, Meari! Here's to better neighbors!

Mare: Congrats Meari! Wishing you all the best as a new home owner.

Josephine: Congratulations Maeri. I'm sure you'll love your new home. I bet you can't wait to move in. I remember how excited I was with my first home and this one too.

Rita: Congratulations, Meari!!!

Marl: Congratulations Meari. I can tell you are excited and also glad to get away from those neighbours. This will be your own to do what you want.

Just A Waiting Game

Found out what the $1500 was spent on. Tub surround. Let me first say that my first impression walking into the bathroom was "Oh MY God, that HAS to go." What was it? They had used 3x3" ceramic tile as the tub surround AND continued to tile up the wall and covered the entire ceiling of the bathroom. It looks terrible! Not only that, there is no exhaust fan in the bathroom so the mold and mildew accumulates in the grout. How the heck is one to clean the ceiling, is what I wondered. Hence, it's got to go. And this woman actually paid $1500 to have this done? It's nothing special either.

Seeing as I used to work at a land title company, I know that they keep purchase price and mortgages on record. My realtor was worried that the seller had an upside down mortgage.

What is an upside down mortgage? An unwanted financial position that consumers find themselves in when the outstanding balance of a loan is higher than the current fair market value of the property.

I paid a visit to my former employer and asked them if they could help me with the info I was looking for. The seller is not in financial straits in regards to this property, market values, and the mortgage being held. Sometimes, sellers will try to hide the fact that there's more than one mortgage on the property. It isn't the case here, though.

We presented yet another counter offer and raised it $1K (My realtors wanted me to stay at my previous offer, but I think I'm offering good faith by upping it a bit.) and insisted the home warranty be included because the appliances and furnace/CA are very old. Since the seller came back with a counter offer within 4 hours yesterday, we're only giving them 12 hours to respond. Obviously, they don't need 24 hours.

Just a waitin'....

The *Real* Negotiations Begin

My realtor called the seller's realtor around 3pm today and presented them with my counter offer, which was $4K below the seller's counter offer. Within 4 hours, the seller's realtor was on the horn to my realtor with another counter offer. Their offer was $2500 above my offer and they took away the home warranty ($400 value). Both my realtors... well, one is the assistant... think the seller is desperate since they called back so soon. My realtors want me to stand firm at my offer for now and are going to call the seller's realtor back tomorrow at 4:45pm to tell them. We have until 5pm to make a decision. We're going to make them sweat it out. LOL

The other thing we have in our favor besides it being a buyer's market is that the house has been on the market for 255 days and no offers whatsoever.

Another interesting note: The seller told her agent that she put $1500 worth of work into the bathroom. Both my realtor and myself think she's full of crap if she thinks we'd believe that. There is NOTHING in that bathroom that is new. The toilet doesn't even flush right. The linoleum on the floor is stained around the toilet which means at one point it leaked. There was new flexible hose on the toilet, but that didn't cost $1500. The shower or sink fixtures aren't even new. My realtor said that if she spent $1500 then she got ripped off.

I'm taking TeeJay's advice and finding out exactly what the $1500 was spent on since I can't see where that amount of money was spent on the bathroom. I also have a call into my realtor to find out how long the current owner has owned the home, how much she paid for it, and how much mortgage she's carrying. It'll take some detective work...

Negotiations Are On

I finally got word today around 4pm from my realtor. Like we knew they would, the seller countered my offer. My realtor was very pleased. They countered with a price $3K below what they were originally asking and $6K above what I offered. They agreed to all the contingencies for making repairs. They also agreed to paying for a home warranty ($400 value). They also agreed to leaving all the personal property we listed: window treatments, chair, dining room table and chairs, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, garbage dispoal, all attached light fixtures, and the washer/dryer. My realtor suggested I counter with an offer somewhere in the middle, so I did. I'll find out what the seller says Friday by 5pm.

Surprisingly, I haven't been anxious or worried about any of this.

Tonight, my Dad says to me: "I wanna know something. If you move, who will your neighbors argue with?" Haha... Funny, Dad.

UPDATE: My realtor called to tell me that she presented the offer to the seller's realtor who seemed pleased with it. Hopefully, by tomorrow I'll know whether or not it was accepted. My realtor said if she finds out tonight, she will definitely call me.

What A Day!!

In addition to cleaning up the mess after the flood, I had a second showing at the little brick bungalow house. It was kinda good that it had rained so much because then I could see how wet the basement at that house got. Much to my surprise, there wasn't much water in it at all. S and I throughly checked faucets, toilets, AC, dishwasher, stove, lights, etc. We checked the attic for leakage (no leaks!). I looked at the circuit box and outlets.

Guess what? I made an offer!!! The seller has until 5:30pm today to accept/deny or counter the offer. Since the house has been on the market for almost a year, my realtor suggested I make a low offer with contingencies to fix everything that we found that needed repairs. Her boss suggested the seller offer up a home warranty. The offer also asked for a bunch of personal property that's in the house. All negotiating tools.

Surprisingly, I slept pretty well last night. Well, except for the aches and pains associated with the "clean up."

Number Crunching

I'm pretty spoiled in that the rent and utilities I currently pay are relatively inexpensive. In buying a home, I don't want to be getting into a situation where I would be putting all my money into the place I live and not be able to enjoy life. That'd be too stressful!

The "accountant" in me has comes out to play whenever I might be interested in a home to buy. On each of the two houses I've been interested in, I've crunched the numbers to see if I could really afford the payments, taxes, insurance, and utilities.

I was pleased to learn that I not only can afford the bungalow at the asking price (but I'm not going to pay asking price!), I would also have enough money to make improvements over time. How great is that?!

I talked to my bank again today and got re-approved for a loan. The other approval expired the end of last month. The loan officer was very friendly and very helpful. In addition to a "no fee" mortgage, I also am eligible for unemployment/disability insurance that the bank will pay premiums on for the first year. She said the bank will do that because the first year is always stressful for a first time homebuyer. It sure would take a load off my mind! After the first year, it can be cancelled. Also with the mortgage program, I won't have to escrow my taxes and insurance. Most other banks require this and it was a thorn in my side to think the mortgage company would be using my $$ for a year when I could be putting it in a savings account and earning interest on it myself. I also wouldn't have to pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) even though I'm putting down less than 20%. The loan officer also told me the interest rate went down since my last preapproval. Good to hear!! :D

I may just end up making an offer on a house soon!

The Home Search Goes On

Even though I really liked the house I talked about last month, it needs a LOT of updating. Plus with the front entrance the way it is, I don’t think I can fit some of my larger pieces of furniture around the corners. The back entrances are an option, but the furniture would have to be trekked up a steep hill and steep steps. Once inside the house, there is again a good possibility that the furniture wouldn't be able to be moved around the corners and down the narrow hallway. Even with everything that needs updating, my realtor said she got the impression from the listing agent that the sellers wouldn’t go lower than the 80’s (thousand). IMO, that's pretty expensive for a house that needs a lot of updating. For now, I’ve put that one on the back burner.

I’ve looked at more houses since then. S has gone with me on many of them, giving his opinion and pointing out things that sometimes I overlook.

We looked at one on the advice of my realtor. It was too big for me to start with. The best part of the house was the huge fireplace flanked by built-in bookcases in the living room. The worst part? The upstairs bedroom smelled like cat pee! It was so bad that it made my stomach roll...

One house we looked at was OK, except that the garage was built on to the house at a different time than when the house was built. In doing this, there is a window in the kitchen that looks into the garage. The bathroom had bright turquoise ceramic tile. There was a toilet in the basement... right out in the open! Another downer: One stall garage.

Another house was cute... had a fireplace in the living room and a nice little yard, but I didn’t like the kitchen. The master bedroom was upstairs (narrow staircase) with large mirrored doors that led into attic space. It was hotter than blue blazes up there. I was pretty sure that my furniture would not fit up the narrow staircase. Again, only one stall garage.

My realtor suggested I look at one that already had an offer on it. The yard was very tiny, but fenced in. The house was HUGE! The best part was the kitchen, even though it was dated. I kept thinking: I don’t want to clean this house, or heat it. The neighborhood wasn’t the greatest either.

I looked at another house in my hometown. It would need a new roof in a couple years... a complete tear off was in order. The basement is yucky with a narrow staircase. There is a parlor off the dining room that was made into a bedroom. What used to be a closet was made into a ½ bathroom with a tiny little 10” sink. The main bathroom is upstairs and it seemed to me that it used to be a bedroom because it has a huge closet in it. The room itself is pretty big also. The carpeting throughout is clearly 70’s – in the harvest gold and olive green colors. 3 different colors of carpeting upstairs. Windows downstairs were replaced with 60” ones but two of them on the front of the house are the kind that couldn’t be opened. The garage is portrayed as 3 stall – Yes, 3 cars could fit. Yes, it looks nice when the garage doors are closed. What does it look like when you open them? Like the garage was a shed at one time! Part of the flooring is dirt, part has some sort of tiles on it, and part is gravel. In the middle of it is this little room with a window. What’s room? Heck if I know! There was no way to get into it. My realtor surmises that it was an outhouse at one time. Nice... (not). My Dad thinks it might have been a woodshed. It seemed like the size of an outhouse to me. There were just too many oddities for me. Next.

The best one I looked at already had two offers on it. The second offer was by my boss’s 20-something daughter and son-in-law. Turns out they’re going to get it because the other couple didn't sell their home and couldn't afford two mortgages. It was a gorgeous little home with a great deck in the backyard and nicely landscaped. The only downside was the garage was one stall and there was no central air. It seems to be a theme in homes that range in the 80’s (thousands) – no central air.

Over the weekend, S and I went to several open houses. One was very, very scary! Two elderly sisters had lived there. One had died a few years ago. The other died recently. The entire house needed to be gutted and redone. The second story hadn’t been used in probably over a decade. Paper and paint were peeling off the wall and it smelled moldy and musty. The basement leaked and was very moldy and musty. My lungs were reeling for at least 30 minutes after leaving there. Another one we drove right on by. It wasn’t in the best neighborhood anyway.

We went to one open house that has potential. Pic is clickable for a better look. It’s a 1261-sq ft light brick bungalow style house with a matching brick garage. The garage is two stall and extra deep with room for storage in the rafters. It also has a garage door opener. The side door on the garage needs to be replaced, though. The exterior of the house is pretty much maintenance-free. Brick and vinyl siding with aluminum soffet and facia. The gutters are aluminum and in pretty good condition. The front yard has a huge pine tree. Lots of bushes along the front and side of the house. It’s a got little backyard with a huge shade tree, which is really nice. The backyard butts right up to (and I mean RIGHT up against) a commercial building. A 9-10 ft fence can hide the building which is exactly what I would do if I lived there. The house has all newer windows and is filled with hardwood flooring except for a 12x12 section in the living room area. Off of the living room is a 4-season room with French doors. Windows cover all the walls and it over looks the backyard. Hence the reason for the fence! I can picture a nice fence covered in flowering vines of some sort. The living room and dining room is in an “L” shape with a wood fireplace where both meet. The fireplace is light brick with ceramic tile at the base and a mantle above with some built-ins. I think it would be good to put a light/ceiling fan in the living room area to circulate air if the fireplace is being used. Currently there is no overhead lighting in the LR. The dining room has three tall windows that are built outward along with the wall to make like a bow window. You can see it in the pic on the right side of the house. It has a nice light fixture with a dimmer switch. The bathroom is kinda small – Big enough for one person only. It has an interesting medicine cabinet/mirror above the sink. It’s like a gilded frame around the mirrored door to the cabinet. Attached to the frame on both sides are ornate light fixtures. The odd thing about the bathroom is ceramic tile on the walls AND the entire ceiling. Those would have to go! No light fixture on the ceiling, thus no exhaust fan. It’s got a huge full (unfinished) basement with a full bath. That bath needs some serious cleaning! The woman who currently owns the house never used it, thus never cleaned it. The laundry area is in the basement. The downside is the furnace and central air is REALLY old. It would need to be replaced eventually. There is a walk up (unfinished) attic that I envisioned as a craft room (YES!). It could be made into a bedroom also. S thinks adding a dormer would make it a nice living area. The kitchen is functional, but badly needs updating. Stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and garbage disposal goes with the kitchen. Both S and I like the thought of a dishwasher since neither of us like washing dishes! All the appliances except for the GD are dated, but functional. The cupboards and counter tops are dated. It has a stainless steel sink with only one bay. The kitchen is one room that I’d want to re-do. Even though the room is small, there’s one wall that’s wasted space. A set of 12-18” deep cupboards with a counter top would make it so much more functional. Overall, the entire house is "light and air-y" due to all the windows. I called my realtor today to set up a showing so I could have a second walk-thru.

Lucky #21?

The contract I had with my buyer’s agent expired last February. After having her supposedly working for me for over a year and half (almost 2 years), I am still a renter. Out of the 15+ houses she showed me, only TWO were suggested by her. Both of those TWO happened to be listed by her agency. Do you see a problem with this?

Needless to say, I decided to get myself a new buyer’s agent. She’s an older lady who’s been in the real estate business for a long time. I told her my grievances about the other realtor. I figured it’d be good for her to know, and if she had a problem with me or my “issues” then she could tell me to take a hike. LOL

On my lunch hour we looked at 48 properties that matched the criteria I was looking for. For the most part, anyway. I narrowed it down to 7 properties that I wanted to see. The new buyer’s agent showed me 4 out of the 7 last week. Out of the 4, there was one I really liked.

It’s located on the outskirts of town on a fairly large lot with a nice view. Neighboring homes aren’t right “on top” of it. Across the road is the golf course. The lot is covered with trees. The neighbors aren’t too close and a very nice golf course is across the street.

From the front, the house looks pretty “Plain Jane”. The real curb appeal is the back where a balcony comes off the dining room that has a large patio door. The balcony runs 2/3 the length of the house. The 2-stall garage is under part of the house and you’d never know it was there unless you drove around to the back. The walkway up to the back doors is flagstone and flanked by flowerbeds (that are overgrown right now). There is plenty of parking space, with shaded yard in both the front and back.

The house is approximately 1400 sq feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. When you walk to the basement, there is an efficiency kitchen and two additional finished rooms. The garage is heated and to the front of it is a sectioned off workshop. What really struck me as interesting is that the home is very retro (70’s) -- Like walking back in time and I found it to be very cool. It’s an older home and when it was built, I could tell they spared no expense. There is a lot of closet space and storage areas. The main bathroom has double sinks, lights, and medicine cabinets. The Both the living room and dining room are ample size, with the dining room overlooking the backyard. There’s even a built-in area off the main hallway that was used for sewing. It has doors so all you have to do is close it up. There are things that would need to be changed such as carpet wallpaper, paint, etc. These are things that wouldn't need to be changed right away. Overall, I really like the floor plan, the architectural features, and the yard. I could see myself living there, and I can see the possibilities it has.

I have a suspicion that the electrical service into the home is only 60amp and will need to be upgraded to 200amp. It has electric hot-water baseboard heat (which I have found out is good), but I think the furnace may need to be replaced in the near future. Even though the roof looks good, there are 3 layers on it that will require a complete tear off when it is re-roofed.

It’s listed at assessed value and “as is” condition which means the sellers won’t be doing any repairs in conjunction with the sale. Taking into consideration the location and the values of surrounding properties, I’m pretty sure that if I bought it and invested $5-10K over time that I would make a profit if I ever wanted to sell it.

I took S to look at the outside last weekend and he thinks I should put a bid on it. We have an appointment to see the inside on Tuesday. I have worked up a long list of questions I need answered. Most definitely would want a sale contingent upon an electrical inspection, furnace inspection, well & septic inspection.

So could House #21 be the lucky one? Time will tell...

House Hunting, Squirrel Phobia, & McDonalds

OK, today's the day I'm really going to do some in-depth discussion about several topics. Grab a snack and a beverage while you sit down and ponder my thoughts along with me.

House Hunt #10
I've been house hunting now going on 9 months or so. Each time I see a house, I think to myself: "Do people really live this way?" Take for instance the home that looked really cute according to the photos taken when it was listed 5yrs earlier... before the current owners took over. I walked in and there was TRASH... yes, TRASH strewn everywhere: On the floors, on the counters, in every room of the house. There were dirty clothes everywhere. Big stains on the carpeting... what carpeting I could see. Cupboard doors were hanging off the hinges... Mattresses half off the bed. Oh and then I made the mistake of entering the bathroom! At some point they had mice. And did they ever have them bad! All of the shelves in the bathroom closet were covered in mice-you-know-what! Not just a few droppings... covered entirely! Did I mention they had pets? Did I mention the entire house smelled like pet urine?? There were other problems I'm not going to go into. Needless to say, I passed. That was home #8, I think. Or maybe #9... whatever.

OK, so that brings me to the house I looked at last night. House #10. My realtor was told it had been rental property and needed some new flooring and that 5 doors were replaced. 5 doors!! I thought it was a bit odd to replace 5 doors... but then again, some renters (self excluded) are a bit... let's say... a bit rough on the furniture. I got there before my realtor, so I walked around the exterior and out to the garage. Accounted for 3 of the doors...LOL What I couldn't figure out is... Why would someone replace a door on the garage when the window RIGHT next to it is broken out? Why I ask?!? As we walk into the 3 season porch, I assess the surroundings. Not bad. I did notice, however a fuse box -- 2 fuses. For what? Dunno. Onward into the kitchen. Nice BIG kitchen... lots 'o counter and cupboard space... appliances go with. Apparently no one had occupied the place in quite some time since there were a lot of dead bugs everywhere. Floors on entire first floor either sagged or were different levels. Now if you like the see-saw effect when you're walking to the kitchen in the middle of the night... Hey, this might be the right home for you! There was a laundry area just off the kitchen. Barely finished... rough... I noticed TWO more fuse boxes (not circuit breaker boxes... FUSE boxes). One was for the dryer. The other was for??? Who knows? Oh, did I mention that most of the rooms either didn't have ceiling lights... and if they did, they were manned by the pull chain? Try finding THAT in the middle of the night! There was a half bath (i.e. just a toilet) between the kitchen and living room. Wouldn't be bad unless you're over 5'6" tall -- That's how tall the door to the bathroom was. Another replacement. That's #4! The main bathroom was upstairs. It has four outlets -- Yay! Oh wait... they're of the 2-prong variety. Code calls for circuit breaker type outlets in bathrooms and kitchens. What a cute little tub! Again, anyone over 5'8" you're outta luck. Either take a bath, squat to shower, or go stinky... take your pick! The bathroom was nice and big, though. Doesn't that count for something?? I never did figure out where the 5th door was. Or, why there were 3 heat ducts in an 8x10 room. Or, what the 4th electrical box was near the furnace in the cellar (not basement... cellar... there's a difference, you know). I didn't know this part until I got home... The property taxes on it were more than the mortgage payment would be. More than what I paid on my other home which was fully renovated inside and out and on 2 acres of land to boot. #10 house was on a lot 66x155, or something like that. All I have to say is... NEXT. I won't even go into highlights of the garage and things I saw in the backyard.


Mickey D's and the Fish Special
I don't know if this special is going on at every McDonald's around the country, but in this area Mickey D has 2 fish sandwiches for $2.42 or something like that. Or, you can get a sandwich and fries, or a sandwich and drink for the same price. I rarely... rarely... rarely... (Did I say rarely?) go to fast food joints. I was in a hurry at lunch time yesterday, so I stopped and saw the special. Thought I'd try it since I like the fish there. I open sandwich wrapper to find a bun with the fish laying half off it and the other bun laying half off the other side. So I pull it apart (in order to put it back together the way a fish sandwich should be!) and I made the most devine discovery! What did I discover, you ask? Do YOU know that the cheese on the fish sandwich is only about 2" x 1½" in size? The fish patty itself is at least 3" square. The cheese doesn't even cover the fish!! What a travesty of fish connoisseurs everywhere! Well, it probably won't keep me from buying a fish sandwich again, but it came as a surprise to me how big.. or should I say... how little... the cheese is. Put some cheese on it, for goodness sake!


Sciurophobia
Picture in your mind, a sweet 5yr old little girl wearing a bright red sweater. She has big brown inquisitive eyes. Picture also, her 7yr old brother coming toward her with a squirrel in his arms. Excited to show off his new friend. Next thing you know... The girl is screaming. The squirrel reaches out and grabs the side of her sweater and won't let go. The more the brother pulls back, the more the squirrel digs in, and the more the girl screams in terror. In her eyes, a squirrel is attacking her. This is an experience that will stay with her the rest of her life. She will never forget. Heard of traumatic childhood experiences? Well folks, this is one! In hindsight, the squirrel was probably rabid - because how else would a 7yr old boy be able to hold a healthy wild animal??

A 9-1-1 operator receives a call.
911 Operator: "911, what's the emergency?"
A frantic woman (Yes folks, this is the little girl all grown up): "I'm a single woman with 4 young children. There's a RABID squirrel on my front porch and I can't get out!!"
A policeman shows up.
Policeman: "What's the problem, ma'am?"
Woman is now hanging out the upstairs apartment window.
Woman: "There's a rabid squirrel on my front porch and I can't get out!"
Policeman: "What do you want me to do ma'am, shoot it?"
Woman (still hanging out the window): "Yes! I want you to shoot it!"
In reality, the squirrel wasn't really rabid. It was simply a mother protecting her babies in a nearby nest. Needless to say, the policeman didn't shoot the squirrel but did manage to shoo it away. And did he have a story to share with the guys in the locker room at the end of the shift -- about the crazy lady hanging out the window, afraid of a squirrel. Public service, ya gotta love it.

Under normal circumstances, I would probably say: "You've got to be kidding, right?" Both those stories are true. As the case may be, I know that girl who became a woman (No, it is NOT me!). Someone close to me has a mild case of sciruophobia. Sounds scary, doesn't it? LOL You're probably wondering... WHAT IS IT? I'm here to fill you in. It's fear of squirrels. Yes, ladies and gentlemen... there is actually a phobia of squirrels.

Anyone ever see the episode on the Drew Carey Show where Lewis is being attacked by squirrels? In one scene, he comes running out Drew's backdoor, screaming and continues running out the back gate with his back covered in squirrels? LOL I guess that wouldn't be funny to a sciurophobiac now, would it? LOL -- I laugh anyway.

I ponder the thought... What causes a fear of squirrels anyway?

sciurophobia - fear of squirrels. Fear that somewhere, somehow, a squirrel is watching you.

Can be pronounced: ski-ooro-phobia or she-ooro-phobia

Another thought to ponder... Is he really watching you? Or, are you just imagining it?