Kitty Hawk

We have a pair of broadwing hawks that have built a nest in a tree in our back yard. I have not seen both of them at the same time, but I've heard them both and seen one leaving the nest. One of them likes to sit in the tree by our deck. Don't know if it's the male or female (tho I suspect it's the male) but I've named it Kitty.

Both of the birds are BIG talkers. They squeeee back and forth at each other constantly. This doesn't bother Mike because he can't hear that frequency - but it's always in my head. The sound pierces right through the walls of the house and find me. It never ends.

But it's worth it to have the honor of hosting a hawk family.

Still waiting to hear on the house. I don't wait well. This is agony.

Maybe

All hope is not lost. We're working on a possible short sale of the house. All I can do now is wait to see if everything gets approved.

I don't wait well.

Sad

I did not get the house. The owners apparently mortgaged it for more than it was worth in 2004 and don't want less than they owe on it. I really want the house, but it's not my job to bail them out.

So today I mourn for a little dream that died.

My husband keeps telling me that something better will come along - but I don't think it will. There is still a chance that the sellers will go for a short sale (as my agent suggested) or that it will go into foreclosure. Both options take a long time (and I'm not a patient person at all).

So, today I mourn.

New house

Today I made an offer on an old house in Pulaski, TN. It's really adorable; built around 1900 with an addition made within the last 20 years or so. It only has 5 rooms, kitchen (updated), living room (to be converted to bedroom), dining room (to be converted to living room), bedroom #2 and bedroom #3 (to be converted to den). It has good bones, but needs a lot of work. The yard is horribly overgrown (the picture is from the real estate listing and is a couple of years old), the future living room walls are spongy and dark red, the carpets are old and smelly, the wood floors could stand to be refinished, the deck (back and side) needs a fresh coat of paint, the fireplaces are sealed up (so God only knows what condition they're in), the roof (metal, probably original) is rusty with paint peeling off. But it is adorable.

If the contract goes through, I'll go to a local auction toward the end of this month and see about buying a few pieces of furniture. It pretty much sucks up all my money, so repairs will not all take place at once. As soon as the weather permits, we'll tackle the yard and do some serious pruning and chopping. If the roof is ok for awhile, the next project is replacing the spongy dark red walls in the future living room with sheet rock and replacing carpeting where there is NOT hardwood floors underneath. At the same time, the bathroom floor needs to be replaced. Then we rest awhile and recover from all the costs.

I offered really low (not my fault - Consumer Report said to always offer 20% less than asking price) so I will not be surprised by a counter offer. Can't wait to hear.