First 5 days. . .

Its been 5 days since I touched down in my new hometown, Anchorage. I've spent so much time here that it has become very comfortable for me, but it doesn't feel like home just yet. Its always been a pit stop for me though on my way home to Nome. It hasn't quite sunk in yet that I'm not going home. . . rather, that this is my new home. I've never moved to a place that I've known so well. Usually when I've moved its been to go somewhere completely new and different. So, the fact that this is familiar is really different for me too. I do think it makes the transition a little easier though.

Although I was going to do an "early occupancy" in my new home, my realtor advised against it and suggested I wait until a few more pieces of paperwork are finalized. So, I took her advice and have been staying with Mike. He's far from an animal person though, so me and my furry kiddos are definitely imposing. . . although he would never say so.

Henry is by my side all the time and is the only one who gets to sleep in the house. The cats are outside all day, but sleep in the garage. I thought Duke would be outside day and night, just like he was in Nome, but he opts to sleep in the garage too. He actually cried to come inside the first night, which was so strange, because for a long time now, he's had zero interest to come inside and actually whimpers to go back out when I make him come in. Its a nice change to see that he wants to be indoors because I've missed him. He spends the day on a long tie-out on the lawn, but come night fall, he wants to cozy up with the cats in the garage.

I've been able to spend a lot of time with all of them though, so that has been really nice for all of us. Duke and Henry have definitely found a new favorite place. . . the University Lake Dog Park, which is just a few miles from my new house. We've gone everyday and its been so fun. Its like a big playground for them and its one of just a few places in town that they can be free from their leashes.

Duke has had some behavior issues for a while now that got worst during this past year when I was gone so much and was so much less active than usual. I was a little worried about how he would be with so many other dogs around, but he has surprised me and been just great.

On Friday, I picked up Mike's little sister, Bink, to go for a walk in the dog park and get a smoothie. She instantly fell in love with Henry and told me that she could babysit him for me sometime. I just might have to take her up on that offer.



Mike's brother, Tim, gave me a hand with his pick-up truck and helped me transport my new sofa from Costco. I looked a few places, but liked this one best. Its now sitting in my new garage, patiently waiting to be moved in. Tim and his dog Hannah joined Bink and I at the dog park too.

Other than the above, I've just been running some errands and trying to move things along with my house stuff so that I can get moved in. We are potentially closing tomorrow, but I won't find out until the morning. If not tomorrow though, it should be within the next day or two. My loan is funded, title paperwork is out and ready for signatures, and I've got a boat load of cash (thanks to my dad), ready to sign over to my lender. My dad was able to give me the money from his home equity line to cover my down payment until my home in Nome sells. . . which is hopefully happening on the 15th of August. . . fingers crossed.

I stopped by the house today to take some pictures of at least the outside. I'm planning to re-paint before the summer is up, but this is what its like right now.



View from across the street

The upstairs windows are in the living and dining room and the downstairs windows, under the deck, are in the BIG family room (my future movie room and personal yoga studio).



Standing in the driveway, looking toward the front door.

This covered porch also has a door into the garage. Also this summer, I hope to enclose this area and re-locate the front door, as to create a small arctic entryway and provide indoor access from the garage. This will be nice for me, but my main motivation is to enclose it so that I can put in doggy doors that will give everyone access to the house, garage, and backyard. It will be so nice for all of them to be able to come in and out as they please. I think we'll all be happier. There are so many projects I want to do though that I'm not sure if this one will fit in this year or not. We'll see?



My new greenhouse in the backyard.



My beautiful, but overgrown, garden.



The back of the house while standing about in the middle of the backyard.

The door is coming from the garage, the upper window is my bedroom, and the two lower windows are the future guest room and office. (hint hint. . . there is a guest room, so I hope you'll come and visit!)

I'll post pictures of the inside hopefully in a couple of days.

I posted some new pictures on the previous two posts as well. . .

Moving Day!

Well, the movers are just about to land in Nome. I'm picking them up at the airport in moments in fact. Friday was my last day at work and was pretty uneventful. It was a really strange feeling to pack up my office and head out the doors for the last time. Although it was sad for me, it felt right. I know that leaving there is a good decision for me and I'm really looking forward to what lies ahead for me professionally.



One of my bedrooms became the moving room for about the last two weeks I had in Nome. Its where I started stacking up boxes and things to be packed by the movers. I also set out the cat's kennels with the door open so that maybe they would climb in and get used to it. Without any prompting from me, this is how I found them. They got comfortable very quickly and had a nice smooth plane ride when the time came.

Buford surprised me on Saturday night. . . We were supposed to play Scrabble, a game we both love and can never get anyone else to play with us. But, when I got to his house I was greeted with about 20 friends under a sign that read, "Later Sash Nome Will Miss You". As I stepped into the door, I saw everyone and immediately welled up with tears. I actually didn't make it through the door, but instead turned around. I was totally shocked and surprised. This is only the second time in my life I've had that feeling.



For my 25th birthday, actually just before leaving for Nome, my boyfriend at the time, Kavi, threw me a surprise party. I had no idea and was totally shocked. It was awsome and I remember feeling like I'd never be able to be surprised quite like that again. But, Buford and the rest of my friends here, really did pull it off. Very cool!



Buford's sis, Moriah, spent the day cutting musk ox that Buford later made into delicious shishkabobs. Moriah also made an amazing salad, complete with beautiful fireweed in it. Buford and Irv made a special point to get the house cleaned up, not always a big priority for a bachelor pad. It looked great and was a really comfy place to hang out with everyone. My friend Missy made my favorite carrot cake. Cherie spent some time with me in the afternoon and when she left my house had a story about how she had to go home to finish a dessert she was making for someone. . . that someone was me. Its fun to be tricked like that and then start noticing all the pieces and remembering the different little clues that you missed leading up to it. Moriah got me a really cute framed print for my new house and Kirsten made me some awsome jewelry.

Being surprised like that, and seeing all that effort played out, really made me feel loved. . . Thanks a million Buford and everyone!



Packing all day today. . . playing tomorrow. . . and getting on the plane out of here on Wednesday morning. Yay!

Peace.

Annual Salmon Round-up

Last year I got to join Buford, his family, and some friends for the Sallaffie/Holly annual fish gathering. They have a camp down the river a few miles from Council and each July they get a group together to spend the weekend saning (net fishing). Of course, the weekend also includes lots and lots of fish cutting. Buford's family gathers enough fish to last for most of the year. I joined in again this year and had a great time. We got about 160 Chum and Pink Salmon. We gut them, cut them, and soak them in a salty brine before hanging them in a screened in tent area to dry for approximately 3 weeks. They turn out something like jerky. I must admit, I'm not a huge fan of dry fish, but I love being a part of this weekend.

Our new friend Ethan, a summer intern at the hospital, came along with Buford and I this year. We left Friday night for about a 2 hr. drive to Council. We then canoed down to camp, which took another couple of hours. It was a beautiful night and we finished it off enjoying the sauna, dipping in the river, and having a bonfire. Good times.


Duke checks out the sauna

Dave and Kathy



Moriah, Sine, and Kathy







In the morning, Sine, Buford's mom, made sourdough pancakes from a 10 year old batch of mix. Delicious. By late morning, more friends, Kirsten and Kat had arrived to help out. Also, a family friend Jay, and his son Tyler flew in to help too.

Jay and Tyler

We spent a great day saning, cutting, and swimming. Moriah, Buford's sister, made some awsome Moose stew for lunch.









Kathy, Buford's little sister used her time cutting fish for all the pets. She ended up with a whole tray of tiny little filets. So cute. These were small Grayling and White fish that were lost in the net, so Kathy made good use of them.



With so much to do with my move I really needed to have a full Sunday to get some things done. So, we left at about 8pm on Saturday instead of spending another night. Apparently there was a slow leak in one of my tires so we had to change to the donut tire for the ride home. I didn't have a jack, but luckily we were able to borrow one. It was a slow ride home and we were all really tired, but its that sort of tired that I love. You know, that tired feeling from a long day in the sun, working hard. Its a good thing and always makes for a great night's sleep!

I definitely feel that after two years of fish camp, it is now a tradition. I hope to make it back next July to do it again.

I have a couple of videos that show off the whole process from netting the fish to hanging it up, but for some reason youtube is being uncooperative. I'll update this post with videos if/when I ever get it to work.

A little advice

My mom just posted this on her blog, but I loved it so much that I had to share it too.

An old man, a boy & a donkey were going to town. The boy rode on the donkey & the old man walked.

As they went along they passed some people who remarked it was a shame the old man was walking & the boy was riding. The man & boy thought maybe the critics were right, so they changed positions.

Later, they passed some people that remarked, "What a shame, he makes that little boy walk." They then decided they both would walk!

Soon they passed some more people who thought they were stupid to walk when they had a decent donkey to ride. So, they both rode the donkey.

Now they passed some people that shamed them by saying how awful to put such a load on a poor donkey. The boy & man said they were probably right, so they decide to carry the donkey.

As they crossed the bridge, they lost their grip on the animal & he fell into the river and drowned.

The moral of the story? If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye!

A night in the country

My friend Buford, me, and my boys went out for an awsome evening in the country a few nights ago. We headed out the Kougarok Road to go to Pilgrim Hotsprings, about 60 miles on the main road and then another 10 or so down a side road to the springs. Its the site of an old Catholic orphanage and sits on the Pilgrim river, which has great King Salmon fishing. The tub is a little rickety and is covered in moss, but its still awsome. The water is pretty scalding hot, but once you're in, feels so good.



I've never actually driven to the end of the main road. I was always under the impression that it was only about another 5 miles so I never bothered actually going to the end. Since I'm leaving I decided that I ought to just go see it, so I went on ahead. Its actually about another 25 miles and its gorgeous. They call the area Cottonwood and I could see why. The rolling hills are blanketed in white and its just so pretty.



There are several cabins, old and new, bunches of great spots to fish and hang out along the river, and a couple of cool bridges to cross. The end of the road turns into a trail that you can follow for as long as you'd like I imagine. The area is just beautiful and although very similar to the rest of the scenery, is still notably different. After being in a place where there are just 3 roads leading in different directions, you become accustomed pretty quickly to what each road looks like. Seeing different scenery, after almost 5 years of the same, was definitely cool.



The seals on the doors of my car are all pretty busted up so the dust just pours in. Although it makes for a dusty, dusty ride, its always worth it. The car still carries so many memories of Mike so I love having it, busted seals or not.

These pictures were all taken between about 6pm and 10pm. I still can't get over how cool it is to have bright, sunny, nights. I'll miss this road and this sun!

Home Inspection done. . .

My realtor called this morning after the home inspection was done. Since I'm obviously not in the area, she accompanied the inspector. She said that the inspector was really pleased with the house and stated that he had never seen a house that age so well taken care of. My realtor also said that after being in the house again and looking at it even more carefully she too feels like its a really great home. She took a lot of pictures for me today and is going to email me tonight, so I may be able to get them on here for you to see.

I knew there was a built-in stereo system from the 70's, but did not check to see if it worked when I looked at the house. Today, the inspector checked and it actually does work beautifully. There are two turntables, a tuner, and an 8-track (which I've actually never seen before). Its in a built-in cabinet downstairs, but has speakers with individual volume controls throughout the house. So funny. I'm wondering if I'll be able to adapt it so my ipod can play through the speakers instead?

There were no major issues with the inspection. Even the cool floating 70's style stairs were grandfathered in because they were not a code violation at the time they were built. There are some electrical sockets that need updating and the downstairs windows need some adjusting in order to open wide enough to pass code. But, everything else looks great!

The biggest news I heard today though is that on the day we came to an agreement and signed the contract, the sellers recieved another offer. . . for close to $10K more than mine. They could have backed out, but obviously they didn't. I feel so incredibly lucky to have hit the timing that I did and be buying from the kind of people that would honor their contract, even in the face of more money. I think I mentioned this, but the sellers of this home are the one's who originally had it built and have spent the last 43 years in it. This was a huge selling point for me. I just think that its so unique and special to be able to make a home with that kind of history, my new home.

The appraisal is set for next week and I'm crossing my fingers to close on the 25th, the day I arrive in Anchorage. It looks like my home in Nome may end up closing on that same day. Everything is moving along as smoothly as I could imagine.

I already have plans to put up a fence in the backyard. My friends Millie, Andy, and Andy's son, Devin, are coming back from vacation the first week in August. Instead of going back to Nome with Millie, Devin is going to stay with me in Anchorage and do odd jobs around the house for a few days while Andy is working in Dutch Harbor. When Andy gets back, we're going to put up a fence. He has experience doing this, so I'm really lucky to have his help. My dad is also flying in from Phoenix to help out and I also have a few other friends willing to lend a little muscle for the project too. Right now there is a short, chainlink fence and I'm replacing it with a 6 ft. cedar fence so Duke can run free and peaceful in the big backyard. I'm actually contemplating making it an 8ft. fence, but some people have suggested that its too much and would feel like a fortress. I'm not sure, but wonder if I'd appreciate the privacy? Post a comment and tell me what you think. . . 6ft. or 8ft.?

The weather has been so fantastic since I got home. Sunny and gorgeous everyday! I've been down to the beach the past several days and went swimming the past two nights after work. Boy, the water is icy, but it still feels amazing. I took a great drive in the country the other night and got some nice pictures I'll put up soon.

Two weeks from today and I'll be leaving Nome for my final departure as a resident. I know that I will be back to visit, but I doubt I'll ever live here again. Everyday is a new emotion about leaving. The only word I can find to describe it is so cliche, but so true. The process is just very bittersweet. Fingers crossed, we'll continue having this amazing weather. I plan to enjoy this last two weeks to the fullest! I'll be heading out to Council this weekend for the Salmon round-up again with Buford, his family, and some other friends. I can't wait to play in the sun and the river. . .

Peace.

I got the house!

Providing everything goes as planned, the house I wanted in Anchorage is mine! Yay! I'm so freakin' excited. I can actually visualize creating a life there and until the house I couldn't totally do that. I'm a very lucky and grateful woman!

On the same day I signed the contract for my new house, I also signed a contract for the sale of my home in Nome. So cool.

Rain, Muskeg, and more. . .

I had a fantastic trip with my sweet girl Romy. We have been friends since 7th grade and sharing that kind of history with someone is really a special thing. She has been such an amazing woman to know and love and I'm so glad that she had the chance to come and have this vacation with me.

Hole in the Wall bar ~ Ketchikan, Alaska

We met up by both flying into Ketchikan, Alaska. There we stayed in a great little B & B on historic, wood-planked, Thomas Street. We trolled through the town and found a couple of great shops among the smattering of look-a-like tourist traps. Soho Coho was one. Its the gallery of artist, Ray Troll who does awsome whimsical prints, t-shirts, cards, etc. with a primary salmon theme. You can check him out at www.trollart.com. We also found a shop called Chinook & Co. that we loved. Its run by a local, very hip and funny woman who loves to chat. Lots of fun clothes, bags, stationary. . . and our favorite discovery. . . Starr-Ridge Cookies. They are a company based out of Phoenix, Arizona and they rock. Not only are the cookies amazingly delicious, but they are made and packaged by hand using all natural ingredients and recycled material for packaging. A portion of their profits go to a local Domestic Violence shelter too. I know I sound like a commercial, but I always appreciate companies that make a good product and are actually conscientuous in their practices. You can check out their company at www.starr-ridge.com Romy loved them so much she is actually considering a tattoo of their name, written in Kanji somewhere on her body (tee hee!). Aside from a little shopping, we also went to Dolly's Brothel on historic Creek Street, took some nice drives, went on a guided sea kayaking trip, went treasure hunting at junk beach, and went on a waterfall and muskeg hike.


Wood-planked, historic, and adorable. . . Creek Street


Silk condoms that Dolly used to make flowers on her shower curtain


Orca's Cove, which we later realized is the generic name they use for the trip so that they can take you wherever the conditions are good.


For some reason I felt it necessary to pose with the bull kelp. . . maybe I just miss my hair


Junk Beach mosaic that we made


Swimming hole at the end of our hike



On the hike we met a local artist who makes lamps, vases, and various sculptures out of some of the beautiful wood in Ketchikan. We met on the trail and ended up following her back to her house to check out her studio. Very cool.


Garage/Studio. . . so beautiful

Her name is Gail Person and you can look at her work at www.tactilefromnature.com
I bought a sweet little bud vase from her and Romy actually put an order in for a branch that will become a jewelry hanger.

We took an overnight ferry trip to Sitka and had the best time just pretending we were on a cruise.

We had a tiny little cabin room, which happened to be the last one available when I did the booking. We both slept better than ever in the dark and cozy room. The scenery was endless beauty. The ferry is definitely a spectacular way to view this stunning area.

Just before getting off the ferry, we met up with some friends, of a friend of mine. Jason was my friend's friend and he was with his boyfriend, also named Jason. I knew they would be on the ferry from Sitka to Juneau, but it was a surprise to see them on the way to Sitka too. I didn't know for sure who they were, but I took a guess and was right. I won't explain the distant connection to how we met up, but however distant it was, Romy and I were both totally psyched to have met them. We ended up spending a little time together in Sitka and then a lot of time together in Juneau. We had a ton of fun together and definitely shared some memorable experiences. I hope to keep in touch and see them again someday.


Jason and Jason sitting around the campfire at Shelter Island

When we got off the ferry and made our way to the shuttle bus into town, someone called out Romy's name from one of the buses. It was Wendy Miller (now Wendy Chin), a friend of our's from highschool.



Funny thing is, both Romy and I said to eachother that we thought we had seen her on the ferry. Neither of us gave it much thought though, assuming that it of course wasn't her. But, it was. Crazy! Romy and I tripped out about it for the rest of our trip. Such a small world. She was on her way up to Anchorage with her beautiful baby and husband. He's in the military and they are moving there. I'm really excited to connect with her there and catch up after at least 13 years now.

We arrived in Sitka on a gorgeous and rare sunny day.


Evening one in Sitka, Alaska


Wood carving at the tip of someone's driveway in Sitka. I just loved it and thought it was so creative. Lovely.

True females, we spent some more time shopping. We also took a hike, went on some drives, and had a night on the town. Sitka was a little more chill than Ketchikan with less tourists, which was nice. We really enjoyed both places though.


Dock at Thimbleberry Lake ~ Sitka, Alaska


One of many cool, twisty trees on our hike ~ Sitka


The beach at Whale Park ~ Sitka



Next, we took the fast ferry to Juneau, which only took about 4 hours. The time flew as we played a game of Rummy with the Jasons. The ferry was much smaller, but definitely an updated, upgraded version of the first one we were on. Very posh and stylish inside, which again helped as we pretended we were on our cruise. We actually had a really fun time.


Shelter Island Beach


Alaska State Flower ~ Forget-Me-Not ~ Rick's garden, Shelter Island


I learned on this trip that the beautiful blue Alaskan flower also comes in pink. Rick grows both of them.

Once we got to Juneau, my friend (and one of the Jason's friends), Ryan, picked us up. Although we had a B & B reserved, we ended up just leaving our stuff there and heading out to spend the night on Shelter Island. This plan was a tentative one with my friend Ryan, but it ended up working out beautifully. Romy, I, the Jason's and Ryan all headed out to the island where Rick, Ryan's boyfriend, already was. Rick has, along with lots of help from friends, family, and recently Woofer's (World Organization of Organic Farmers), created one of the most spectacular places I've been. He purchased property on the island about 7 years ago that sits right in a muskeg.


Romy, in the middle of the muskeg





He's built a lovely organic garden, created a usable path with timber planks that he has harvested which runs from the beach almost 1/2 mile up to his property, put up a wood burning hot tub, built a tiny and adorable little gnome home (mine and Romy's sleeping quarters), built a kitchen and dining area, carved a path up a steep hill to a wall tent with an amazing view, and has been working on a cabin slowly but surely over the past 7 years.


View from the wall tent area at Shelter Island


Jason on the way down from the tent area


Romy, in the middle of the garden


The gnome home


Inside the gnome home. . . oh so cozy!


What a beautiful outhouse


Ahhh, the hot tub. . .

We spent the evening visiting around a bonfire. Ryan played his mandolin and Rick was on the guitar.



It was a pretty long day and we were all tired. After everyone retired, Romy and I attempted getting into the hot tub, but it was scalding hot and we could barely stand to put our toes in. It was still really great though. Peaceful and warm and a great segway into getting cozy in the gnome home. We got silly for no particular reason and snapped a few pictures just before going to bed.


Doesn't Romy look so darn cute!





In the morning I got up before anyone else and went back to that hot tub. I had about an hour soak with the sun shining and the snow capped mountains sparkling. It was the best! Ryan made everyone french toast and I chopped up some fresh fruit for what felt like a gourmet breakfast. All was well until I decided I needed to fall through some stairs before we left. I was carrying an armful of blankets and missed the step into the cabin, rolled my ankle and fell right through the gap in the stairs. Ouch. I could walk on it, but it got progressively worst over the next couple of hours and days. It was a bummer and is still not totally healed, but at least it was at the end of the trip, right?

We were going to have to take two boat trips, but then Ryan and I decided to just take the kayak back instead of run the boat twice. I'm so glad we did. It was a perfect, sunny day on the water. We saw a whale and a couple sea lions and had such a nice time. Ryan is a much stronger paddler than I and unfortunately I think it must have been somewhat maddening for him to be paddling with me. I was in the back so I was steering, but since I could never paddle strong enough to overcome his regular stroke, the only way I could steer was to drag, which is never the ideal way to keep a good pace. The trip was slower than usual so we missed the ride we had arranged. Ryan was so amazingly patient with me though and didn't make me feel bad at all for being such a weakling.



There is no way to really describe this place in words and even the pictures cannot do justice to the feeling that exists there. It was definitely the highlight of our trip! Thanks again Rick and Ryan.





Because of my ankle mishap, I was limping for the rest of our trip. We had hoped to go hiking, but instead layed low around town. . . again doing a little shopping and taking some nice drives. We found a great little artist's co-op with, you guessed it, more jewelry. Oh wait, maybe I didn't mention it, but I'm a freak for jewelry and found some in every stop. I only bought one pair of earrings here though, which was huge progress considering all that I wanted to get. We then spent our last night having drinks with the Jasons at The Alaskan Bar, a very cool historic spot. Good times. Romy and I had a waffle breakfast and decided to get matching wrist tattoos to commemorate our trip before we left.



Thanks for the memories Romy! (And Jason, Jason, Ryan, and Rick too!)


Me and the Jason's on a Juneau shore


Shelter Island Beach

By the way, for those of you wondering what muskeg is. . . one definition I found on-line is this.

"Like a soggy blanket draped over the landscape, muskeg, or peat bog, covers more than 10 percent of southeast Alaska. It provides a surprisingly fragile home for an abundance of plants that thrive in the wet, acid soil. During the summer, the flowers on many of them add a carpet of soft color to the muted greens and browns typical of muskeg."

I found this definition while doing "research" on the topic at Ryan's house. Romy became obsessed with muskeg after we heard it so many times throughout our trip and after we camped in it at Shelter Island. The word alone caused lots of laughs. Maybe you had to be there? Also in our research we found a sort of hilarious website that is worth a visit. www.muskeg.com



Peace and Love,

Sasha

P.S. Romy is much more detailed than I and has uploaded several more pictures, so if you want to read/see more, click on her name in the side bar to get to her blog.

Jitters like never before!

The owners counter offered this afternoon. . . I then had my realtor do a verbal counter back, which was verbally accepted. I just signed the actual paperwork to counter back officially, but now, its after 5pm and I'll have to wait for the official word back probably by tomorrow. But, it looks like a go, for a little more than I was hoping for, but still an amazing price for the house and the area. I'm really excited!!!

Now, I'm going home to discuss the sale of my home here in Nome. . . maybe that will be a go today as well. Wouldn't that be nice?

Pins and Needles

I'm on pins and needles waiting to hear back on a house that I've fallen in love with. I've essentially been house hunting in Anchorage for over a year, starting with curiosity, then searching for Mike's place, and lately for my own. I think buying a home is always a good way to go if you can, simply for the investment of it. But, I'm also not a great candidate for a rental with all my furry kids. I love house projects and creating new, lovely spaces. One of my vices is definitely HGTV and its nice to have my own home to live that out in. I've been really lucky to have had two of my own now.

My house in Nome hasn't sold yet, but there are interested people and I'm just patiently waiting for the right buyer to come along. Thankfully, I'm in a position to still be able to buy another home before the one in Nome sells. I was initially looking into buying from a friend of mine in Anchorge. She has a lovely home that I probably would have been very happy in, however, as I looked around at others and really evaluated my needs and wants, I've decided to go for a bigger place. I found one with my realtor just before my trip with Romy that I loved instantly. So, during my trip, I thought and talked a lot about my choices and had actually decided that I would move forward with the smaller home from my friend. When I got back to Anchorage though, I went and looked at the bigger one again, but this time took my friend Mike with me. I was verbalizing that I was on the fence about it still, but, truly I was really excited about the possibility of it and in my heart of hearts knew that I actually wanted to go for the bigger place. Its minutes from my new job, has a greenhouse and established garden in a big backyard with plenty of room for Duke, has a garage, has a new wrap-around deck, big windows, corner fireplace, and has 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Its a lot of house for one single girl, but I'm looking at it as an investment and I'm excited to have more room for my pets and the ability to host friends and family comfortably. The home was built in 1965 and is being sold by the original owners, which I think is really special. Inside it looks as if it was shrink wrapped in 1965, complete with lime green carpet, a variety of floral wallpapering, jenn-aire cooktop, built-in stereo system with record player, tuner and speaker and volume controls throughout the house. I have no idea if it works, but its still kind of cool. The home seems to be very well built and sturdy. Although it needs cosmetic work, the bones of it are very good. I see oodles of potential and endless projects ahead. . . which I'm thrilled about doing myself. Anyway, after a lot of thought and a little nudge from my friend Mike, I decided to put an offer on the house on Saturday. I am supposed to know something by 5pm on Monday. For the first time in this whole process of moving, I am really feeling excited. I haven't quite had that yet and this house is now helping me feel it.

Keep your fingers crossed for me!

I had an awsome trip with Romy and will post more about it and pictures later this week.

Hope you are enjoying your summer. . .

With Love,
Sasha