our luck is turning

A series of bad-news blows have seriously threatened my confidence that 2011 would bring a real turn-around from the hell that was 2010. 

Last week, we received a letter from our landlady of the last 2.5 years, with whom we'd had multiple discussions of eventually buying the house, stating that she was preparing to sell the house now, so we needed to vacate by the end of February.  Since we are in no position to buy the house now, we did a little mourning dance and started looking around for a new house with a heavy heart.  The heaviness was due largely to the fact that we absolutely love the area of Seattle we are in, and we had no confidence that we could find the house we needed, with all the different requirements of our budget, family and lifestyle, in the same area. 

In a marked switch from 2010, we apparently needn't have worried.  Within a week, a house that the whole family loves fell into our hands in a number of funny, deus ex machina-like coincidences.  My hopes for 2011 have been (guardedly) restored.

Here's the list for-the-win:

Warning:  not actual fridge
Example only ;)

• The new house is half a mile down the road from where we live now, and just one street away--so I keep my 20-minute, single-bus commute to work!
• Walking distant from a park and the Sound, so I can still take my walks by the water when I need it
• The landlord really likes us, and is very laid back (big plus!) 
• It's a 1920's farmhouse, full of nooks, crannies and character
• A two story with a basement that can be turned (with a good amount of work) into a music studio for Friday night jamming and recording 
• There is a fridge straight out of the 1950's down in the basement, with those little bumps for holding individual eggs and futuristic art-deco font on the "Butter" cupboard?  Cutest thing ever.  (I predict it will hold beer, beer and... beer.)
• Double-paned windows to save on heating bills (which we currently pay out the nose for)

Living Room; stairs to bedrooms
To the far left, you can see the little door leading
under the stairs--maybe I'll hang a sign:  "Harry Potter welcome"

• The whole lower floor (living room, dining room, kitchen and bathroom) has hardwood floors
• A gas fireplace in the living room (envision: 70's Afros, shag rug and amber wine-glasses, rawr!)

Gas fireplace/Dining room

• Bigger kitchen:  we'll be able to cook together without tripping over each other (current system)
• Gas stove (far superior to an electric one)
• Small corner cupboard/counter in kitchen (not pictured below) that will be the perfect "coffee central" for a family of four coffee lovers

Kitchen/mud room leading off

• Yard, front and back, is completely fenced in, and we already have the landlord's permission to get a cat, if we'd like (we'd like, we'd like)
• The garage was remodeled into a mother-in-law place, which is currently a bachelor pad for an unknown, older man (slightly creepy), but may be available to us--if we want it--in a couple months when he moves out
• And last but not least, no indeed:  $250 less rent than we pay now

And the ugly:

Tiny bedrooms w/
slopped ceilings

• No more view of the water from our living room windows (or anywhere on the property, sadness :( )
• Tiny bedrooms with little to no closet space... I'm going to have to try to find one of those old-fashioned standing wardrobes to fit my work clothes 
• Smaller square-footage
• Walking distance from a gas-station/mini-mart (less than savory characters; a couple guys actually picked a fight with John and his brother there one night last year, right after Tiffy died, and; my teenage daughter has been harassed by men while walking in that area)
• The basement for recording/jamming studio is unfinished and needs a lot of work, and no matter how much work we put into it, the fact that several of our 6'+ brothers will not be able to stand up straight in it will not change... -_-;;
• The yard needs a lot of work (might look less overwhelming in Spring/Summer)

Ouch! I think those stones used to be a
"BBQ" central?

• There's no covered garage for the car (was remodeled into a MIL house), which will be missed when a car John and his brother are selling needs engine/body work
• It's on a "main" street (however, there are monstrous, 9-10' hedge blocking the road, so it's not a huge negative)

Anyway, enough raving.  I'm just so relieved that this didn't turn into a huge drama or negative thing that I'm all "uber share girl".  But if you don't hear much from me in February, you'll know why.