We moved to Austin a few hours ago and checked into a hotel while our landlord does the finishing touches on the place, so this still feels like a holiday. We've been road-tripping since Tuesday, (what?!) which is another thing people do on holidays.
Nick drove the entire time. I'm going to type it again. Nick drove the entire time. And now, we are here with Estro. YAY!!
The lease is signed! Pix below.
We are running out of things to do before we leave. The big truck comes this Monday to collect whatever we think we want to see on the other side of this move. It's the greatest pare-down we've ever had and it's all going well.
Took Estro for her last SF vet appointment this morning because her back legs have been looking a bit draggy lately, but at the end of every walk, she likes to sprint. I'm proud to say that at 15, she's still spry!
The vet recommended arthritis pills and after just one, Estro was chasing pigeons. This is progress. The vet is the same one who spayed her as a puppy, and he's seen her her whole life. He was very sweet with a tinge of melancholy about us going, and wished us a safe trip. I gave him coupons for organic pancakes and waffles in a can. He gets it.
I also collected my medical files (I know it sounds so old school: paper medical records?) from the same doctor I've been seeing for 14+ years. She'll retire in a year or two, so we said our good lucks and goodbyes while I folded my file into my purse. My ages were listed like "32" which looks so funny to me at 41. Forty-wonderful, that is.
But by far, the most enthusiastic person I've talked to about "the move" today was the chirpy blond man working at the Lush store on Powell Street. He said he's from the Midwest and almost leaped over the counter as he rang up my assorted bath bombs, shrieking "Six foot tub?!" That's right.
The grass may be greener (even if you're the person going to be on that particular grass on the other side) but the bath bombs are blueberry, pink, and chamomile. I am getting prepared.
We will terribly miss our dear friends, but we're going to be just fine. It's our '09 adventure, and you're looking at it.
We are so totally in the single digits phase of the move. We've got one week left before a truck parks all up in here. Crazy. I've been getting things out of the house like a madwoman. We're getting less stuff and more space, which is a winning combo.
I also scanned some stuff, including an invitation to Nick's college graduation party and an old pic of me and Estro.
Here's our SF house a couple of nights ago. Crazy moon, moon fou.
We're hoping to find out shortly. Or longly! Either way is okay; this place is pretty great. It's in our first choice neighborhood, near Alamo Cinema Drafthouse, The Saxon Pub, and Mr. Natural, where I hope to eat as often as humanly possible.
Back to the (potential) house above, if you go out the rainwater-harvested, xeriscaped backyard, there is an adorable footbridge over a creek. The trees you see here are the entrance to a private park where we'll be seeing deer, raccoons and who knows what. No neighbors on an entire side? And a six-foot tub I can fit in?
We really hope we get this one! Did I mention pre-wired surround sound?
Just did the final walkthrough for the new tenants who will take our house here at Mission and Richland in sunny San Francisco. The yard looks minimized (to me) but it boasts 3 working grills. I offered the new tenants the 2 spares and they said yes.
We're taking the fanciest grill with us, and the 3 grills is actually left over from paring down. We used to have a plug-in smoker that was somebody's wedding present, so if you know who wants it back, it's at Garrett's on Belcher. Sorry!
I also gave away the 30 bricks that made up the custom smoker that we built from scratch for our housewarming party. The 70-lb. pig I'm told was delicious and somebody named her Charlotte. At one point when the pig was being made into pulled pork sandwiches on the carving table, somebody put sunglasses and a hat on her. Nasty, huh?
Do wish us luck sealing a deal on our new house, wherever it will be. We're still in a holding pattern from a potential landlord and we leave San Francisco in two, count 'em, two weeks.
Take a breath. Breathe. It's really just A to B. Our stuff is at A, and it will be at B. What's the big deal, right?
That free online Tarot card reading was right. After asking what the deal with our new house in Austin was going to be, the cards said that I would be steered wrong at first:
"The card to the far left represents the first false path that may lead you astray. Seven of Pentacles (Assessment): A pause to check on the progress of your labors. Making difficult financial decisions. Exercising patience and perseverance." Yeah, yeah, that could be true of anybody.
Even Susan Miller's horoscope for May -- Nick and I are both Aquarius so it's double -- said that we would underbid on a house, and we did just that. We found out this morning:
"For example, perhaps you bid on a house but were turned down by the owner because they felt your bid was too low. Now you may be invited back to bid again and win the house you had your heart set on, perhaps because competitive bidders have bid low, too." That could end up being true but we're going to put in an offer elsewhere.
We have 2 backups which are still pretty good, and both are in the South Lamar neighborhood, which we really like. One has a gated community across the street. Can we really have a view of:
"Little boxes on the hillside...and they're all made out of ticky-tacky and they all look just the same." Probably not.
I'm favoring a funky '30s house that has really lovely Austin-style landscaping, a fenced yard for Estro and a fenced garden for us. We could grow flowers and salad.
One thing is for certain, there is a plethora of houses out there. We'll nail this thing in a matter of days. But now, I'm taking myself to brunch and I'm going to overtip my server.
