Thankfulness

A coldfront blew in this past weekend.  Coincidentally, the furnace went out the night before, we called furnace folks in spades but no one would return our call for 3 days.  On Monday there was a snowday for the public school kids but no snow. Our furnace was also fixed that day; it wasn't broken, just a sensor that needed to be reset, it cost us $90 to learn that.

Snow on our shingles, I just think they are so pretty, It was our first snow at Starlings which was a blessing even if we were freezing at the time.

On Wednesday, I found that the pipes to the washing machine in the garage  were frozen so I filled up the washer with hot water by the bucketful from the laundry sink.  Eventually the washing machine defrosted (with the help of a space heater) but later that evening and maybe or maybe not related to this event the downstairs water heater broke and leaked all over the basement.  Inspection of the almond colored appliance revealed that it was made in 1980.  Obviously replacement not repair will be the order of the day. Of course, this happened at 5 pm the night before Thanksgiving.

We won't be having hot water until Monday at best. Happily the upstairs bathroom has a separate water heater so we can have warm showers, but no dishwasher of washing machine on Thanksgiving Eve!

I had the fun task of cleaning all the dishes and the kitchen before Thanksgiving food was made, during and after by boiling water in the tea kettle.

This wasn't to be a complaining post, I just wanted to illustrate why we chose a snowflake theme for Thanksgiving decorations.
 

 

The Gardners and the Warrs heeded my pleas to come to Starlings for dinner and we had a lovely evening.  All the important foods were here, hummus included.  The sweet potatoes were divine and the heritage pastured turkey from Kookoolan Farms (thanks to Kristin's mad bartering skillz and generosity) was the best turkey ever known to mankind.  Even Moose thinks it is the best turkey ever.  We will have to keep inviting Kristin to Thanksgiving forever because we could probably never afford such a turkey on our own.  **Flash to the scene from A Christmas Carol where Scrooge buys the enormous goose***

 

Here is a photo of Moose carving the turkey, he was the only person  man enough for the task (it must be all that working out on his birthday weight bench.)

I-Shuan made an absolutely darling "Welcome to Starlings" sign as a housewarming gift on her new "Silhouette" machine, so perfect and thoughtful.

And the greatest blessing of all, we have wonderful, fantastic, amazing renters in our old house.  A giant weight has been lifted from our shoulders.  Thank YOU!  Amen.

Pumpkining

I got my 2nd BlogHer check, and again I made about 11 cents a day, and even though I should have used that $25  to buy shoes for the kids, Moose said I could do whatever I wanted with it.

Things have been happening on the selling the old house front.  Good things, bad things, disappointing things, stressful things, but things, things that require risky decisions to be made.  All choices are equally risky and safe.

I am not going to say just what because I don't want to jinx it.  I believe God is in control  and has a plan for us that we can't always see but I also believe in jinxing. ( I totally jinxed myself out of getting a big calling recently.  I was certain that it was going to be a BIG one, one with a LOT of responsibility but because I told people that I jinxed myself into one with very, very little responsibility. SWEET!)

I can however relay facts. 

• Fact one, we still own our old house.  
• Fact two, said house is empty.  
• Fact three, we can not afford to pay 2 mortgages next month. 
• Fact four, rental management properties have been spoken to.  
• Fact five, someone is interested in buying said property but since no paperwork has been made it is still only interest and interest doesn't pay the bills.  
• Fact six, November is coming quickly.

So last night as I tossed and turned in my bed while I tossed and turned decisions in my mind I knew exactly what I was going to do with my BlogHer check.  Buy pumpkins.  What better way to soothe mid autumn nerves than with big orange squash?

This morning I put the situation to the kids, I had a $25 limit for pumpkins and the pumpkin farms charge a lot of money for the attractions and the pumpkins and as far as I can tell none of them do what they used to do which was pay a fee to do everything at the farm which includes a pumpkin. So we hashed it out and decided to buy pumpkins at Winco (17 cents per lb.) and go to a pumpkin farm that had free attractions.

 

The main attraction was the "Hay Pyramid"  I even managed to get some pretty decent pictures from the broken camera.

 

 And just when you think it isn't possible to love Boba Fett any more than you already do, I give you....

Boba Fett the Basilisk, complete with hissing.

On the hayride Camrock spun a tale about  how it was really a vehicle taking us to a Zorg prison camp.  In this picture he was singing a song, presumably a prison song?

As we left we bought some apples for a snack and corn for dinner and a full hay bale.  The hay bale will serve 3 purposes; first, Halloween decoration for my porch, second, a target for my avid archer son, and third, dry matter for the garden.

The best part is I still have $5 left over.

Vintage House-keeping

First, the Mother's Day Picnic on the floor of the Dining Room,
Then the swings,
Tidying up the the Kitchen,Cleaning the Bathroom,And sweeping the front porch.

I am having a marvelous time!!

Mother, May I?

Mother's Day has to be the best holiday at our house.

Today the sun is shining, I wasn't expecting gifts, however, I woke up to
a very creative "Valentine" down planned to the smallest detail by Nutmeg and her written plans, executed with the help of Moose under her the direction of Nutmeg.Heart shaped jewelry from Boba Fett,
flowers and long coveted Matryoska nesting dolls/measuring cups from Moose.
I get to show off my new Mori Girl Skirt, made by me, designed by me, drafted by me, cursed by me fitted by Paula.

At church I am leading the children in a Mother's day song in Sacrament Meeting and in Primary there will be games, aprons, rolling pins and squirt guns.

After church there will be our annual Mother's Day Picnic (no cooking,) but this year it will not be at Council Crest Park but on the porch of my new house.
We get the keys at 6 pm.

It's a Retro House Cleaning Party!

Yes, it will be as awesome as it sounds.


Please join me on Tuesday May 11th at 9 am for a Retro House Cleaning Party at my new digs.

We get the keys to our new house on Monday evening so Tuesday we will be cleaning. I have no idea what the house will look like. It might be a complete mess or it might be spotless. In the event that it is neat as a pin, in lieu of cleaning, we will tour the house and eat Milanos and giggle.
Please bring something to clean with and if you want to dress the part you can go to one of my favorite blogs and learn how to tie a headscarf.

To RSVP send me a request of a song to be added Hausfrau Cleaning mix (music to clean to.)
If you don't know where my new house is call, e-mail or Facebook me and I will give you the address.

Give Said The Little Stream

I am a huge fan of service. I have a testimony of the blessings it provides for the giver. Providing services reaps nearly as many blessings as the receiver. I find that nothing cheers me up as quickly as serving another.

Lately my ability to provide service has been less, it is hard to step outside your self when you feel like your sanity is hanging by a thread. Though I have found some ways to show the Lord's love to others in the past few months the bulk of my service has been in the way of providing opportunities for others to serve. To serve me.

Next week, we will be moving into our new house and we will be providing opportunities to serve by the bucketful. I look forward to it.

But even better news is that I can see myself being in a position to give service in the very near future.

In the meantime I invite you to share the blessings service with my dear friend who started a new blog 52 Weeks of Pies, wherein she will perfect the art of pie making and reap the blessings of random service. I love it! Really, I am so impressed with this idea. I might just try and think up a way I can serve every week. Thanks for the inspiration.

9 Things I am Looking Forward to Doing When I No Longer Live in a House That is for Sale

Composting
Gardening
Baking
Hennaing my hair
Crafting with the kids
Letting the kids play with all of their toys at once.
Frying food.
Leaving my clothes on the floor.
Spending the entire day reading or sewing and not caring what the kids are doing to the house.

Sneak Peek

Cary Grant and I met with the Bishop for a pre-wedding interview yesterday. Here is a little sneak peek.
The Living Room with French doors to the Covered Porch
The first fireplace, in the Living Room. I love the words the owners have on the ledges, so appropriate for our struggle to buy this house.
The Kitchen from the Dining Room.

I am going to need a LOT of rugs.

***Still need your prayers but the Lord keeps blessing us and helping us find the path.
We are really close.***

If it's Cute They are Looking for...

Then I have it in the bag. job interview today, but I don't want a job, I want to stay home with my babies. I want my house to sell!

Gratitude

Things are looking very good for our little family and our new home. There are only two things that now bar the way and one of them needs to happen. I need to find a job by the 12th of April or our house needs to sell. There have been so many obstacles along this path and through faith and prayer the Lord has provided away around, through or over each one. This is the only one that stands.

I will be honest, the prospect of getting a job after a decade of full time mothering is NOT appealing to me. I really would rather SELL THIS HOUSE!

But I will do it because this new home will be worth it. So if you know of a job that would be awesome for seamstress with wicked cool public speaking and customer service skills and can help me pay a mortgage please hook me up!

In Walked Grace Kelly

Remember how I likened buying that house to being engaged to Cary Grant? Well, this weekend Grace Kelly showed up. Not only that but Eva Marie Saint and Ingrid Bergman are threatening to join her. I am channelling the scrappy little French girl and am going to fight to the end. This time Grace Kelly won't win.

Please send your prayers and good wishes, we will need them. Hopefully I will have some good news by the end of April.

P.S. Someone PLEASE buy my house!

It's Like Being Engaged to Cary Grant

When discussing my obsession (otherwise known as the fabulous house on which we have an offer accepted) I keep saying to my friends "I don't deserve that house" and they always come back with an enthusiastic "Yes, you do!" While it is very gratifying to know that all of my acquaintances are certain that I deserve the best house in town, I think that I am not expressing my feelings correctly. What I think I really mean is that it is too good to be true. An illustration, if you will:
It's like you are an ordinary girl and you somehow find yourself engaged to Cary Grant. You aren't quite sure how it happened but there is a ring on your finger and Cary Grant keeps hanging around, making eyes at you, declaring his love etc. You discuss things like guest lists and honeymoon destinations. It really looks like you are going to marry Cary Grant but you can't quite figure out how you managed to hit the jackpot. You feel a bit wary because how could Cary Grant even notice you let alone pick you out of all the stars in Hollywood? It just feels to good to be true and you are really afraid that Grace Kelly is going to show up and change his mind.

That is how I feel about the house, incredibly grateful, lucky and wary. Suspicion?

I realize that my story is preposterous because as everyone knows, Cary Grant wouldn't wait for a wedding, he would elope.

Why I am a Bore at Parties

It really bugs me when bloggers start a post with "Sorry, I haven't posted lately but I have been really busy blah, blah, blah." Just know that as I proceed with this post because the next words are: Sorry, I haven't posted lately but I have been so busy obsessing over the house we put an offer on.

I am sure that you think I exaggerate when I say obsessing, but I assure you that I am not. Obsessing is exactly what I have been doing. Ask any of my acquaintances and they will confirm that the only thing I talk about is the prospective house and that eventually I end up steering any conversation in that direction.

I know, I know, I am a bore.

I am just so excited and it seems to good to be true. It is so me. The house was built in 1950, updated in the 80's, has loads of charm and is in excellent condition. It is big and it has a ...wait for it...basement. A basement. In Portland. Oh, and it is in our church ward which is the number one requirement for our new home.

The offer has been put in and has been accepted but it is a short sale and if you know anything about the real estate market these days, a short sale is no picnic, takes eons to complete and isn't a sure thing until the papers are signed and the keys have changed hands.

Friends of mine who are also friends of the current owners tell me that the current owners are delightful and hope that the next owners will be a good family. I hope we are good enough! If pre-owner obsession is any indication of fitness for this house then I am qualified!

But the real reason I haven't blogged about this is that if I blog it, it makes it real, and there are witnesses. What if it all falls apart? Then I will have a permanent cyber-reminder of the house I fell in love with and lost. And it will be there forever reminding me and others of what could have been. I really truly thought about not blogging about it until the keys were in hand, but that isn't like me is it?

Look, I did it again. It's all about me and this house. Let's just pray that we can close this deal and I can stop annoying everyone with the trials and tribulations of my new house obsession.

P.S. Our house is still for sale and we REALLY need it to sell, fast. We also lowered the price. So if you know anyone who needs a 4 bedroom in the Bethany area at a great price please message me and I will send you a link.

P. P. S. I have not been stalking the house. I only drive by it if it is on my way somewhere which isn't nearly as often as I might hope.

For SALE!

I'm done.

The floors are mopped, the dust bunnies vanquished, rooms have been stripped of character, 5-6 van loads of stuff has been boxed up and is in transit to the storage unit including most of my books, paint has been applied liberally and frequently, windows have been washed and flowers have been strategically planted, several trips to Home Depot have been made....I could go on and on and on.

I have worked myself to the bone, well at least through a few millimeters of fingertips. I would treat myself to a manicure but scraping paint off of linoleum ruins a girls nails so I have nothing left to manicure. I don't remember the last time I have ever worked so hard for so long, if there was ever such a time.

I am looking forward to not snapping at my kids because I am doing something as lame as cleaning. I am looking forward to not being perpetually angry with my husband. I am looking forward to reading blogs. I am looking forward to watching movies and knitting. I am looking forward to reading to my kids again.

The house was listed late Thursday night and we have an appointment for a showing today. Keep your fingers crossed and a prayer in your heart that they miraculously buy our house because we have our eye on something we do NOT want to let get away but we need to sell first.

Buy This WIndow Seat

"You should sit in your window seat." La Keira has been telling me for months. I agree, I should. When our offer on this house was accepted I spent the remaining 2 months before we moved in dreaming of the things I would do to the window seat. I dreamt of the books I would read there.

The day we got the keys I came in and sat on the window seat and realized it was really hard and there was no place to put one's back to recline, it is cold when you lean on an actual window. So, I put some pillows on it and learned that they slipped right off the window sill. I thought about making a fitted banquette cushion but the windows were too close to the seat and eventually I gave up my dream of a reading nook.
For 8 years we have used it as a place to put stuff and at one time Camrock used it as a platform from which to play Spiderman. At Christmas we decorate it and it sits there just holding stuff.
And now I have artfully arranged it so that it looks like some one could sit there and read books.

Buy this Breakfast Nook!

Here it is. My wonderful Visiting Teacher Kristin came over this afternoon and washed and painted my breakfast nook while I tackled the kitchen.

Dear people who will buy my house,
I am working my tushie off for you.
Hope you like it,
-Samurai Mom

The Game of Telephone

"Camrock, will you please call Keira and see if she has any drop cloths I can borrow and can she deliver then since I am covered in paint?"

I really was covered in paint. I am an abominably messy painter. I cover EVERYTHING because if it is exposed it will be painted. I am generally covered with paint from the top of my kerchief to the soles of my feet. It is like that with everything I do, I just dive right into life and get messy, painting, gardening, baking, you name it.

This is why I looked at La Keira as if she had 3 heads when she casually remarked the other day "You could paint your bedroom this afternoon."
Yeah, right, sure, I'll just paint it in one afternoon. Painting a room around here requires a full two days and complete neglect of all other duties.

So Camrock calls La Keira and says "Sister Dominguez, Mom wants you to bring some washcloths over because she is covered in paint."
La Keira: "Is it an emergency?"
Camrock: "Yes."

I can only imagine what La Keira was picturing, me incapacitated by paint, writhing in such a terrible mess that my children feel the need to call for help and washcloths.

La Keira wisely asked to speak to me for clarification.

It was not a good day to call as The Domingo has been channeling Ivan the Terrible and what with her family headed into town. I wish I could have drafted heras I hear she is a notoriously tidy painter who rarely uses drop cloths.

The Kindness of Strangers

Monday I popped into Target to deliver 24 rolls of Advantix film canisters to have the images put on a CD.
Advantix was a film fad of the early 2000s which we were a party to much like the disk camera I had as a tween which I earned by selling greeting cards door to door. I have lurking suspicion that in 10-15 years (or maybe less) no one will know how to get those images off the rolls and my son's babyhood will be lost!

They wanted $100 for the job which was not something I was going to spring for so the gal at the counter did some fancy trickery with her calculator and said she could do it for $45 but I would have to come in on her shift and she also loaned me an obscure battery so that I could get free the final roll (which includes the first moments of Boba Fett's life which have never been seen) from our broken camera. She was SO NICE. Thank you Target Lady!

On Monday, the guy in the produce section of Albertson's said that he would save me some boxes to pick up on Tuesday. On Tuesday, the guy who looks and talks like Chris Rock was there instead and knew nothing of any boxes for me. Hopelessly discouraged I went to Trader Joe's where after a preliminary "We crush our boxes as we go" they found me a dozen wine boxes which are perfect for packing books of which I have 750 so you know, boxes are important. So nice, why does anyone shop anywhere other than Trader Joe's? Thank you Trader Joe's!Today, I was having a morning where everything was going wrong, the climax was when I was rushing to the car with a piece of peanut butter and jelly toast balanced on each hand and then they toppled and landed face down on the gross garage floor.

No breakfast for us.

On the drive I hear "Goody Two Shoes" by Adam Ant on the Radio and it changed my whole attitude. Suddenly I was no longer thinkng about all the bad thing that had happened but was thinking about dancing instead. Thank You 97.1 Charlie FM!I then stumbled upon a knitting group that meets in the rec center while Nutmeg has her ballet class. They were so nice and friendly and loaned me a tapestry needle as I had forgotten to bring one. Definitely a better way to spend the day. They said I should join them. I think I will. Thank You Knitting Ladies!

Wherein I Purchase 8 rolls of Packing Tape

I got this book from the library,it is called "301 Simple Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home Now and for More Money Than You Thought : How to Inexpensively Reorganize, Stage, and Prepare Your Home for Sale."

I read this book in one night. I liked this book, home staging is mostly common sense to me but I did get some pointers. I feel prepared. Except for two points.

The first is that this book was published in 2007, before the collapse of the housing market and when houses were selling like iced water bottles at the Fair in August. I am now trying to sell my house in the real world in a recession with unemployment skyrocketing and the Fed in danger of implosion at any moment. I just count my lucky stars that I live in Portland where the decline has been much less drastic than say Phoenix.

The second and most important is that this book devotes a mere 9 of 282 pages of the book to living in your home while it is staged and you are trying to sell and there are ZERO words of wisdom for living in your house while it is staged and you are trying to sell with KIDS in a slow market.

The good news is this is what my half of the sewing room/office looks like
Yes, this is the room formerly known as "Wall to Wall Fabric and Trim."
Note the ample storage space.
The bad news is this is what the rest of my house looks like
Those are boxes full of the room formerly known as "Wall to Wall Fabric and Trim."