Thursday, September 30, 2010

It's a Bust

Aaaaaaaand, I'm officially apartment hunting.

(Nuts.)

Monday, September 27, 2010

Still Waiting

No signature from the investor approving the deal today...*sigh*

Jane says not to give up hope until it's really, really too late, but truth be told, the odds are slipping.

And yet, there's still time for a miracle. ;)

Join me on the Edge of my Seat

So after spending the day mourning the loss of potential Seattle home-ownership, Jane got an email from the wily bank-negotiator (who was conspicuously absent during the final necessary hours before the deal had to be closed) which said, "Oh! I can get this deal done - I'm too busy to do it now, but I'll email you on Monday."

Aaaaaaaahhh!!

So after pulling her hair out in frustration, Jane talked to the lender and asked if we got all the paperwork to him on Monday, was there still a chance we could close in time. His response?

Maybe. IF the paperwork gets to him by Monday morning, it could still happen.

Oh the stress of it all!!

Update: There have already been several emails fluttering around today and the gist of it is, if the lender can get the paperwork in time, we have about a 50/50 chance of closing in time. However the bank negotiator said he has already sent TWO requests to the investor to sign off on the paperwork and he hasn't seen it yet. The deal definitely won't close without the investor sign off, so....

Stay tuned!!

Thursday, September 23, 2010

Aww, nuts...

Just found out today that the deal on the 2 bedroom condo in Greenwood I was trying to buy fell through.

*sigh*

So it's back the drawing board (and likely renting) for me...

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Grape Stomp 2010

It's that time of the year again, when, for the sixth? seventh? year, we head over the mountains to the east side of the state for a mini-road trip to the Champoux Vineyard for the annual Grape Stomp Event!

Last year
the stomp was canceled, so we were pretty pumped to get back into action this year. However, we had a few notable changes. First of all, Uncle Joe sold the hop farm! Tradition dictates that after work on Friday, we head east and crash for the night on Uncle Joe's many spare beds, couches, and square feet of carpet. Fortunately for us, he sold the farm to his son Jeremy (my cousin) so it all stayed in the family and we were able to keep the Friday night tradition alive - just sans Uncle Joe and (Aunt) Lila. Sadly, they took the spoils of the liquor cabinet with them when they moved (no more Jim-Beam-Mountain-Dew or Crystal-Light-"vodka" to be had, awww). But we made the best of it (read: drank beers instead) and Jeremy proved to be an equally good host.

Secondly, several of our regular attendees were unable to participate this year. Fortunately, I've been busy making new friends here in Seattle, so we still touted a group of 11 - half veterans, half newbies. Not quite the robust 20 we had two years back, but after a few hours together, you could hardly tell the two groups apart; everyone made a real effort to play nice. (Actually, I think they genuinely liked each other...there were a couple epic matches of horseballs and some great jokes born out of those new friendships.)

Lastly, since Uncle Paul is still on the road to recovery from the West Nile virus, we didn't stay the night at the Chateau as we had in year's past. Instead we camped at the nearby Crow Butte Park. With access to bathrooms, a few air mattresses and french press coffee in the morning - it worked out just great.

All in all, we walked away with a lot of fun memories, new friendships, some great wine, and - oh yeah - one of our teams took first place (but you didn't doubt that we would, didja?)

And finally, just to tickle your senses, our team names:

8lb, 6 oz Baby Jesus (first place)
Bangerang!
Valentine's-Day-After-Tomorrow-Never-Dies-Hard-(er)-With-a-Vengeance
(and one more...but I can't think of it right now)

Though Dustin couldn't join us this year, he had several good team name suggestions for us, including (but not limited to):

Mud-Butt
Full Diapers
Projectile Poopers

(Can't tell he has a new baby at home, can ya?)

*All pictures courtesy of Evan Taylor-Hurley, from whom I completely stole them, without his knowledge, off his Facebook wall. :)

Thanks Evan!! (You don't mind, right?)

Mama Quilt #6: Abby

When I found out the Terps had a bun in the oven, immediately ideas began to swirl around in my brain for Abby's mama quilt.

Abby and I met freshman year of college (even though she attended SPU and I was up north in Bellingham) and I can't rightly say we "hit it off." Don't get me wrong - we liked each other alright (er - at least I think Abby liked me then...) but neither of us knew how long the other would be in the picture, so I'd say we started out more acquaintances rather than friends, per se.

But as the years ticked by, it became more and more apparent neither of us was going anywhere. Then she went and married Dustin soon after graduation and sealed the deal (so to speak - heh). Once we were both B'ham residents, we set about the work of actually getting to know each other.

While some might say Abby can be a tough nut to crack - it's never been that way for me. During those first few weeks after she moved to Bellingham, when she invited me over to make several different types of cheesecake for the purpose of simply taste-tasting, I knew this friendship was for real. Abby is kind-hearted, fiercely loyal, straight-forward, thoughtful, awkward, hilarious, and - generally speaking - always right. It's been my honor to get to know her over the years; she's one of my most dearly-loved friends.

So, for Abby's mama quilt, I decided almost instantly it would have to be strictly black and white with some kind of predictable pattern (to demonstrate her extremely logical, steadfast mind) contrasted with an unexpected burst of wild color outside the pattern to demonstrate those spontaneous moments of unfettered jubilation she sometimes lets sneak out.

Here's the final result - I so hope she likes it. :)
























PS - There is another, totally different, bright pink flower on the back side as well. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of that side, so you'll just have to imagine it for now.