Got a dollar?

We may be needing it!! Who knew that a house could be so expensive?

The house is fantastic!! I could not have asked for a better house at all-maybe less traffic noise, but that is minor. It is exciting to come home to something we know is ours-and we can make the decisions about what we do or no not do it it. Even just the slight bit of color on the walls is a nice change from the white we have been looking at for 4 years.

So we decided very quickly that the fridge needed to go, and that meant buying a new one. No small chunk of change-but since the old one was about 40 years old, this one is at least more energy efficient. Then the washer went, and well, while we had been given one year home warranty, what we did not know was that you had to purchase the coverage for the washer, dryer, and fridge separate. How special . . .off to Home Depot to purchase a washer and dryer. Again, they were also old, and so now we are probably saving money in the long run but still-3 major appliances within a week. Did I mention that DP still doesn't have a job?

Yes, she's been laid off and this is causing quite the struggle to keep good communication and the like. We have had to just sit down and admit that it sucks, and that somehow we will get through it-even if that means we are snippy and grumpy at times. We did finally receive an unemployment payment-as meager as it is, so that helps to know at least we won't lose the house or anything.

Otherwise things are fine here. We are thinking about guinea pig foster care-since ours recently passed away, and we have a nice big cage with no pig in it. We have started to look at dogs, too, but know for sure this is NOT the time to em"bark" on that venture. We did see a funny looking dog on Petfinder --it was a basset hound and dalmation mix-->spotted like a Dalmatian but shaped like a basset. Funny stuff!

We have some major projects we need to look into-such as re-grading the back lawn. There are so many holes and divots that it is a broken ankle waiting to happen-and with my track record for injuries it would probably be me that ends up in a hole!! We also have something that is eating away at our front railing-which is wood-looks like a wasp of some sort-not an ant, at least that we can see. Leaves little piles if wood shavings in its path.

I guess that's all for now. My mom and dad are coming next weekend, and we will hang out. Dad and I will go see the King Tut exhibit on Monday-which he is every excited about! I saw it this summer with DP's family when they were here, but dad is really into history and is quite ready to see the stuff up close and personal.

Hope all is well in your corners of the world!