News

• signed lease for Pearl district apartment
• move-in is October 25
• promising interview Friday- waiting for job offer
• too antsy too sit in the house- off to downtown

rc

Say Goodbye to ....

We went househunting yesterday. We liked the condo we drove four hours to look at. We filled out an application. We drove four hours home. I was too superstitious to post about it until we heard back from the management company that we were approved. I just go the call. You can't really see our unit in this picture, but it's a lovely, secluded complex with a view of the river and the city from the deck and the windows in the master bedroom and living room. Birds were atwitter everywhere yesterday. We're busy packing now. What to keep? What to toss?
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rc
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Oh, no. Will the piano fit? Didn't check; waiting for measurements. Ack.

A simple image for a simple thought:

Our offer was rejected.

Rose

South Jetty

I hiked most of the way out the south jetty this afternoon. The day was warm and flooded with brilliant sunshine. It's slow going with big gaps and many canti-levered boulders making for unsure footing. Shorebirds were on the move. If you look at the full size image, you can see our town in the distance. After that I drove out to a little winter pond in the dunes where I saw many Dunlin and Sandpipers along with some Semi-Palmated Plovers and a few Short-Billed Dowitchers.

We submitted an offer on a little house today. The sellers have three days to respond.

Rose

Civilization

We traveled to Eugene Sunday for a nursing conference. I decided to tackle my worst fear and attended an all day seminar on "Managing Cardiac Emergencies". We got a great deal on our hotel at Priceline. I meant to hit some local birding spots and look for new wildflowers, but I wound up just enjoying civilization. We had some good meals, did some shopping, and we're glad to be home.

We turned in the keys to our old house Saturday. We're all settled in now in our new little rental cottage. Our stuff is crammed in the shed out back. The house is full to the gills. And we LOVE it. The rent is super cheap. The landlord is super easygoing. Now we can finally super relax.

Meantime, spring shorebird migration is in full force. Tomorrow I've got to hit the beaches. Hopefully there will be more on that later.

Rose

Lost Time

As I was preparing to go to Dahlia Man's this afternoon for our usual Wednesday dinner, jc reminded me that it is Thursday. Sure enough, I missed a whole day. I also missed my appointment with Dahlia Man.

On a brighter note, movers came and brought my piano to the new house today. All the important stuff is done. With it comes peace of mind.

rc

Moving Underway

I'm writing from the new place, using the wireless signal from the old place. The cordless telephone picks up the signal here, too. Ki'il helped me move everything from the kitchen this afternoon after we signed the lease. Then jc and I each grabbed a kitty and walked across the street. Shadow cried the whole way. She's still under the impression that she's being tortured or something. Ailleanach is relaxing in the sun in the bay window, enjoying the wraparound view. Now I'm going to cook our first meal in the new home.

Rose

Big Move

We saw a "For Rent" sign on the house across the street earlier this week and stopped to inquire. We got approved today and plan to start moving in this week, if possible. What a psychic load has been lifted from my shoulders! Landlady complained that the house was "a mess" when she showed it last week. We're ready to steal back the good luck that she took from us when we moved in here.

rc

lazy day

I was put on call both days this weekend. I got called in at 0500 Sunday to work for only a few hours. I had just gotten to sleep when they called and I didn't feel like going to bed when I got home, so I stayed up all day, taking a short nap in the afternoon. I guess that justifies staying in bed all afternoon, right? The only problem is that my hands are cold from playing on the computer. What I need is computer gloves, right?

I did speak with Mother and Father. This is the second week now that they've been mum about their pastor leaving, which I found out from Big M. I wonder how long they'll wait to mention it. I wonder what Father's role in it might be.

Our housing situation is moving. I can't say anything because I don't want to jinx it. I'm keeping my cold fingers crossed.

Rose

More Options

What if we bought a commercial building with attached living quarters and jc opened a personal training gym?

I'm all for it. How soon can we move in?

RC

Why so Quiet

I haven't felt like posting much lately, mayble largely because I've been doing a lot of thinking about our future. We now have only two and a half months to find somewhere to move into at the end of April. We've been spending a few days a week scouting a neighboring town.

The town we've been living in for the past two years since we moved to Oregon is starting to show it's seamy side. The Mill used to be the major employer; since it closed five years ago or so, the town has seen a steady downward spiral. Now everyone either draws welfare or gets their check signed by the state, with some exceptions. We hear numerous complaints about how much better life was when the Mill was still here. The dropout rate at the school is high. Top activities for kids are skateboarding and duning (ATVing). There is a paucity of nice restaurants.

We had fine tapas at a restaurant in Neighboring Town this week. I had a cheese plate and jc had, according to him, the best chowder he's had in Oregon. We walked around the shops and just generally enjoyed ourselves. There's nowhere to do that here.

I've also been doing some serious thinking about my career. I've always been interested in labor and delivery. The hospital I work at now doesn't deliver babies. A move would make exploring that career path possible, with the option of becoming a midwife if I find that I really like it and want to continue in that direction.

If we buy a home in Current Town, we're no longer confident that property values will rise in a satisfactory manner. The homes in Neighboring Town are selling for similar prices, but the neighborhoods are much nicer and the homes seem nicer.

People from Current Town have always scorned Neighboring Town as being too "uppity" and "expensive". We're still looking for options, but we're obviously leaning in that direction.

Rose

Miscellaneous

A) Living Arrangements- Following a friend's tip, we made the short trip to a nearby town to look at a house for sale. We're still basically at the drive-by level at the moment. The house is in a development planned by the home owner's association. All the landscaping is au natural- native trees and shrubs. The homes are relatively new, most not visible from the street, and on largeish lots for the area. We're waiting for a call now to move forward, but let's just say that it looks promising. One way or another, we're out of here in the end of April. If the house doesn't work out, we rent somewhere else.

B) Employment- With the impending move comes the choice of commuting to the old job or looking for a new one. There aren't so many hospitals around here, so looking isn't too involved. I had tossed around the idea of signing up for a 13 week travel job including housing/stipend. That doesn't look like it's going to pan out unless I'm willing to majorly relocate, which I'm not. (Confession: Got a little snippy with the recruiter who called at 8:20 AM today- says she makes all her calls at that time. I let her know that it's just basically rude to call before nine.) I'm looking forward to the possibility of working somewhere that delivers babies. I'd like to have the option to get into that area at some time.

C) TTC- I continue to use the progesterone cream during the luteal phase. In addition, I just started taking Vitex Agnus Castus aka Chasteberry. It is supposed to have the effect of balancing estrogen and progesterone. That's been shown in studies to relieve PMS and possibly allay menstrual pain. An undocumented claim is that it promotes fertility. The hypothesis is that Vitex also reduces prolactin levels. Hyperprolactinemia is a known culprit in infertility, although little talked about. Basically it prevents implantation. If Vitex lowers the prolactin level to normal, pregnancy may be possible for me. To be frank, that's a tenuous hope, though. We're in cylce 33 this month since I went off BCP's. Statistically, that gives us a pretty low likelihood of success. And I'm pretty okay with that. I decided awhile ago not to be emotionally crippled by infertility or childlessness. Our life is too good for that.

D) Birds- A Great Blue Heron got an awful fright today when I startled a Red-Winged Hawk into flying over it. Great Blue flew off and squawked like a chicken before settling its gangly legs into the mud in a nearby spot. Red Wing sat there as if nothing at all had happened. After all, Great Blue is a bit big for him.

Rose

Beware Strange Men.

As I was sitting idly on the sofa wondering what to blog about today, I chanced to glance out the window and spy a mustachioed stranger on the porch. No sooner did I notice him than he knocked on the window. I recognized him as the neighbor who had been fixing his car as I went to the post office this morning and tried to engage me in conversation about holiday fare. Looking back at the computer, I calmly informed jc that there was a man at the window. We had just this morning discovered that it is possible to communicate through the windows, owing to their thinness.

The man spoke: "Is that my cat?" He pointed to my lovely Ailleanach, nervously skittering away.

jc replied, "I don't think so."

A short conversation ensued about the various tabbies in the neighborhood before the intruder scuttled off. I repressed the urge to vomit and instructed Ailleanach to bare her fangs threateningly should the situation recur.

A note on our living situation: jc is currently engaged in a diligent perusal of all available real estate. Landlady's appraisal came back too low & the deal will probably fall through. We're still getting out of here as soon as possible.

Rose

A big thank you to all my loyal readers who offered their sympathies.

rc

Evicted

As we sat eating our nice, civilized dinner and sipping wine Sunday, the landlady came on the answering machine to tell us that we need to get out because she's sold the place. That's a provision of the lease. No date set in stone yet, we have 2-3 months.

This got me thinking that landlords around here are really awful and we should buy a house. So today, I talked to the loan officer, talked to the real estate agent, and looked through listings some more.

On the hunt for somewhere to live again.

RC