Corgi Halloween

Well, I successfully closed the deal on the wee bungalow yesterday. The whole process has been so smooth, it's definitely like the Universe wants me to live in that house. I have the keys, and get to start moving in this evening. I can't wait. I'll get to be in my new digs for Halloween, which should be fun. I carved a special pumpkin just for the occasion (I'll post pictures of that later). I'm not planning on dressing up, and Conan certainly isn't, but here are some pictures of corgis dressed up for Halloween, sent to me from Conan's Godmother in Montana (the breeder where I got him, and where he spent over 24 months while I was on the ice and travelling.

Close!

I close on my wee bungalow in Englewood tomorrow! Everything about the transaction has gone eerily smoothly so far, and I have no issues with the house at all. It's in almost perfect shape. There is one hitch, though-- I gave away most of my furniture when I went to the ice in '08, and was stressing about furnishing the house with no money. The sellers are self-moving to Portland, and really didn't want to schlep all their furniture out there, so I approached them (through two realtors...) about selling me some. They agreed to sell me pretty much everything except the homemade dining room butcher-block table and chairs. I'm getting the couch with two matching chairs, two leather bar stools for the breakfast bar, an end table, a side table, a 32" TV with matching stand, the really cool living room area rug, the overhead pot rack, a warehouse-grade 8'x4'x12' shelving unit in the basement, plus shelving units in the garage and shed. I asked them what they would ask for all that stuff, and they came back with a price of $540! For all of it! I doubt if I could have replaced just the bar stools for that. I am so stoked. I take possession on the Friday of my three-day weekend, so I'll have plenty of time to move in. Conan will be in heaven, too. He's been spending workdays confined to the kitchen of my temporary digs while the house has been painted. He's been wound up like a cheap watch from sheer lack of stimulation every day when I get home from work. Having a whole house to himself will make it much easier. I plan to get a cat very soon, too. My living arrangements (and global gypsy lifestyle) have kept me from having a cat for years. Conan grew up with my cats Chuck and Squishy, so he's a big cat lover, and will love the extra company. Woo Hoo!

Bought a House!

Sorry there hasn't been any cool Antarctic content lately. I've been supporting the USAP from my little cubicle, and not too much sexy has been going on there. I was scheduled to deploy to McMurdo in November, to do some hardware and software testing at Black Island. Unfortunately, Mac Town is so totally overbooked that I got bumped. Projections are that the population will be about 175 over maximum all summer. Yuck-- in a way I'm glad not to participate in that. Though going to Australia and Hawaii for free...

The big news is that I'm buying a house! I'm making a commitment to settle down, at least for now. Still single, and really haven't done much dating out here in the 'burbs. Hopefully that'll change when I'm closer to the action, geographically.

It's a really cool little house. There is some confusion on the square footage, but it looks like it's about 800 sq ft on the ground floor, with one bedroom. In the basement, there are two nice little bedrooms, and a brand-new 3/4 bath. The couple I'm buyign it from totally remodeled the house six years ago, with a new kitchen, etc. The great thing is that they have very similar tastes, so it's exactly how I would have done it myself. It's in the middle of Englewood, west of Broadway, north of Belleview. VERY quiet neighborhood-- nary a crack house or meth lab on my street. I've gone through the inspection, and the inspector only found a few small things. Still in a little negotiations over the small things, but I'm set to close in 18 days. Can't wait! (Note: I never took the time to take good pictures when I've been there-- snipped these from the realtor's website.