Tick Tock

Is it just me, or has the summer just flown by? I know all of my teacher peeps in Christiansburg are feeling that way, because if memory serves me, they are heading back to school on Wednesday. That means that if Jay hadn't applied for a new job, and we hadn't moved to Richmond, I would be getting ready to head back to CES and Lois would be on her way to daycare. Wow. As sad as I am that I'm not with my friends, and that the door of Room 9 no longer says Mrs. Hogan, it only takes one look at my sleeping butter bean to make me SO happy that we are here. We are together. We are so very lucky.

I think in the past 4 weeks we've probably looked at 50 houses. This past weekend, we saw 4 houses that we felt were perfect fits for us, our dogs, and our furniture. And believe me, that's not an easy thing to find. We made a rather detailed list of what we need and want from our new house, and these 4 seemed to address all of our needs as well as our wants. We went last night to take a closer look at 2 of them, thinking that we would be ready to make an offer on one of them. Well, no offers were made. It's complicated, my friends. Really complicated.


Tonight we're taking a closer look at #3, and I've got a really good feeling about this one. Although I have taken note of what elementary school Lois would attend for each of the houses we've looked at, I hadn't spent much time researching the schools. Well, last night I did that, and now I've muddied the waters even more by finding an elementary school that I love. Lois MUST go to Robious Elementary School. That's a link, my friends. Go ahead - click it. And be prepared to be awed. So house #3 on our short list just happens to be in the Robious attendance area. I love that school so much that there could be green moss growing on the bedroom walls and I might still be tempted to buy it. Having already visited it once, I know there is, luckily, no moss. But we need to take a closer a look to determine if it really could be "the one."


Meanwhile, Lois is going along like she always does - the happiest, most laid back little butter bean on the planet. She loves hanging with our upstairs neighbors, and it sure is nice to have my sister so close at hand. For instance, when your dogs go outside and roll around in a big pile of dung and then come in and take a long seista on your bed, a trip to the laundromat becomes a necessity. Jay and I weren't looking forward to it, and taking Lois seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. So she hung out with her Aunt Marpa for the evening and now the basement and our bed are sweet smelling once again. The dogs? Not so sweet. If I thought I could have gotten away with shoving their fannies in a industrial front loader, I would have been sorely tempted.


On a sad note, Pops has decided to sell Jay's Hooptie ride. That's right. Grandma Pearl's car is going to have a new home soon. She served Jay well for the 6 months he drove her. Keep in mind, Pops gave her to us free of charge. No insurance to pay, no tags to deal with. Hooptie helped us out of a pinch. I'm sure Jay will shed a little tear when Hooptie goes to her new owner. I hope Pops will make sure the fuzzy dice go with her. God speed, Hooptie.


And for those of you who know my Dad, this picture is sure to make you laugh. Martha went to York this weekend to drop Andy off and pick up Maggie and my Dad specifically asked that she bring my digital camera to take some pictures of Hooptie for the "for sale" sign he's going to post at the office. When the camera came back, I found these pictures on the memory card:


I think the Smithsonian needs to get a hold of these babies. It's three generations of Pontiac Bonnevilles. All three owned by my Father. All three currently residing at their home with the 2 car garage. With my Dad's Chevy truck, his decrepit Blazer that is rusting away on our back porch, and his antique Chevelle. Yes - my parents have 6 cars at their house right now. Does somebody have a car fetish???? Nooooooo. Not my Dad. Nope.