"Good things come to those who wait..." ...and wait... and wait...

The escrow on our house was supposed to close on Monday. Then Tuesday. Today.... Now tomorrow around noon. The crazy-making thing is that this is Jeff's last week of break before he goes back to work, and the timing WAS perfect, since we were planning on spending the week working on it and moving in while he was free. Oh, well. I really do believe it will happen tomorrow, and I guess that, in the end, I don't have much too complain about-- we can't wait to move in!!!

More points for Portland!

Last night, our new hometown scored some big points, by way of The Academy Theatre. OK, not only are the tickets three bucks apiece, not only can you buy pizza and beer to eat as you watch, but they BABYSIT your kids while you see a movie! I think I'm in love. Jeff and I went to the movies about twice a year BEFORE Amelia was born, because we just couldn't justify spending $9 each-- actually $9.75 now at AMC! Then after A was born, we couldn't fathom getting a babysitter so we could go to the movies when we could just watch one at home after she was in bed. But last night, for the price of two AMC tickets, we got to see a movie, get Amelia babysat for two hours AND enjoy a couple of local microbrews. Ingenious. Amazing. Wonderful.

Cashing in....
We took advantage of being just two hours away from D & H, and drove up to spend the night on Thursday. Amelia is now at an age where she can really be entertained by her adoring cousins, and had a great time. It was really fun to see them together. It's so nice to be close to siblings here! The drive was so beautiful, too.







In other news, our closing date has been moved up to the 27th! That means we can move in a week and a half-- especially good, since Jeff is off of work that week until the end of the month.

Tomorrow is J's birthday, so we are dropping Amelia off with his parents and heading to the mountains to stay in a cabin for two nights-- can't wait! We'll take some pictures.

Launch!

Ok, so I've been working on a new blog project. I'm taking on the challenge of trying to buy/ eat mostly locally grown food, and still stay in my food budget. It can actually be very expensive to buy food (especially dairy, eggs and meat) from nearby farms, so I need the extra motivation to try to make it happen. I am hoping that by blogging about these efforts, I will be extra inspired and disciplined to make what seems almost impossible actually happen! Plus, I am kind of bored with blogging about just the latest family news, and am excited to share what I am learning (and to hear from others) on this topic. I really should've figure out how to insert a link by now, but I haven't (should I be embarassed? Nah.) The site is: www.belocal.blogspot.com

Here are some pictures of the yard.

Front door.

Front yard.


Side yard and side door/porch off of the kitchen.



Backyard, future garden!

We went over to the house for the big inspection today, and I was able to take some photos while we were there. The inspection went very well-- the old house is quite sound, and all of the major upgrades that it needed have already been taken care of. I'll give you a little walk through!


The fireplace is the first thing you see when you walk in. We are looking forward to some cozy weather!

A view of the front door from upstairs.


The master bedroom is upstairs in the attic space. Across the stairway is a smaller version of the room, which will be Amelia's.

Living room-- note the nice high ceilings!
More living room...

Dining room-- we are dying to have guests over for dinner!

Kitchen views-- this is the room that will require the most work!

Farm Fresh!
Amelia and I had a really nice adventure yesterday. We went to visit the farm we have been buying her fresh goats milk from, and to talk to the owner of the farm about joining their stewardship program. The farm is on three acres about an hour's drive from here, and it is beautiful! Amelia is really noticing and enjoying animals right now, and so I am always on the lookout for friendly- looking dogs that we might say hello to when we're out-- Portland is the perfect city for that, by the way! We have a lot of books about animals and go over their names and sounds daily, so it was really great to be able to introduce her to real, live goats, horses, ducks and chickens! She especially hit it off with the goats, who all seem very friendly and docile. It also felt so good to me to be out in the country with all of those wonderful smells (I particularly love the smell of horses!) and to spend some time with some kind, happy and energetic farmers.
We were there for a couple of hours and were able to tour the property, see where the goats get milked and where the chickens lay their eggs, eat some cheese and blueberries from the farm and talk about how we might be able to get involved. Something I really appreciate is how much they value children and want to have kids involved with them. We will be supporting the farm and getting some of our food from them, and in return they welcome us there as extended family-- we can go there whenever we want to, they have some rustic guest quarters where we are encouraged to spend the night, and eat meals with the farming family and get some hands-on experience of farm life. Erika, the owner (whose credentials include being a traditional Swiss homemaker,) said that she hoped Amelia could come every week or two and really feel like this was her backyard-- running around to see what's new and developing relationships with the animals there. Being in that setting was very therapeutic for me-- I didn't realize I'd had a raincloud over my head until it lifted while we were there! I am so thankful to be living in a place where we can do these kinds of things, and I hope to find more opportunities like this.
By the way, I am working on a new blog along this theme, and I'll let you know when I'm ready to have readers...

YAHOOO! Or, for all you Texans, YEEHAW!
Our offer was accepted, and we are soon to be homeowners. We are obviously thrilled, and I probably won't be able to sleep tonight, I'm so excited. These next three weeks will be very busy, but we are glad for the short escrow period, since we are dying to REALLY settle in and unpack most of our boxes, finally. It's funny, I am really relieved to be done looking at homes-- I know a lot of people love that part and keep doing it after they've bought a home, but I'm not much of a dreamer and would rather make concrete plans. So now it's time to take a serious look at all those home magazines and start some serious planning. Hurray!

So we made a move on the house I posted about. We put in an offer that expires tomorrow evening. It was a pretty surreal (but kinda boring) experience, and now we are just waiting to hear back from the seller. Escrow would close at the end of the month! I'll be sure and let you know as soon as we find out.