158 - Dinner is serv-ed

So, we may not be swimming in money but I'm pretty tired of eating in restaurants anyway, so I've been cooking up a storm lately (as dad might say). Tonight I decided to grill, and I just beat the rainstorm. I've come to realize that rain out here comes fast and hard, and it may last ten minutes or it may last all night. This was a ten minute storm.

For tonight's meal I made Chicken-Apricot Skewers... Well, the skewers were actually in the RV, smashed between the slides, so it was just grilled chicken and apricots. Sort of a Thai recipe with coconut milk, peanut butter, cilantro, jalapeno and a few other things in the marinade. Turned out deeelicious. Mike, oddly, doesn't like moist chicken so I tried to leave his on the grill longer... but with Greek yogurt in the marinade I figured I was fighting a losing battle. He snarfed it down anyway.

I am getting better at plating. Isn't my rice pretty?

Yesterday we had New Orleans BBQ Shrimp. I made the bread that I turned into toast, which was topped with goat's cheese that I mixed with mayo and homemade pesto.

Yesterday we made our first pickup from the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). For $25 we got 1 lb bacon, 1 lb sausage and a 3 lb pork roast, all hormone free and locally raised. Also got some raw goat's milk, the aforementioned goat cheese, some soup bones, and a bag of lettuce. Looking forward to fresher non-GMO food that is much, much better for us. So far, so good.

We've been having sandwiches and/or salads for lunch. I have finally found the ultimate salad that tops the one I've loved for years. It has a bunch of veggies in it, and the homemade ranch is far superior to that crap in a bottle. And the sandwich was amazing too... whipped feta for the condiment, topped with pesto (that I made), roasted peppers (that I roasted), some lettuce, and Cajun chicken (I bought that in the sandwich meat section). So... between the exercise we've been getting from the move and our walks to the creek, and eating better, I'm hoping we are losing weight.

Also made some strawberry sherbet. First time I've used the ice cream maker and I was pleasantly surprised. It's a simple recipe that starts with mixing strawberries with sugar and vanilla extract, then roasting them before pureeing with buttermilk and sour cream. Roasting strawberries makes them smell so good and they are so sweet, almost like jam. I liked it so much I decided to try a grapefruit version. It has an odd texture, like snow until it starts warming up, but it's good. Since I have apricots leftover I might try an apricot version as well. And we bought cherries that were on sale so... I have options.

Mike will be returning to AL to help Jason with concrete soon so I'll be here at the house by myself for the first time. Figure I'll get a lot of boxes emptied out, there is still a lot to do and we've been focusing on other things. Monday our tankless water heater will be hooked up so we will have actual hot water (right now we can just turn the hot water knob all the way up and it's about right... it's not heating up much). The washer and dryer are hooked up so I washed clothes last night. I have missed having a full sized washer and dryer... the one in the RV just doesn't clean the same and takes a loooooong time because you're washing and drying all at once. Well... not at once, but it's tied up for both cycles, holds a whole lost less clothes and doesn't do as good a job. Not nearly. And the mailbox is almost up. The concrete was curing this afernoon and the post just needs to be screwed in.

We've come up with some ideas that we think will help Jason with some of the difficulties he's been having lately, and if he's amenable, we've worked ourselves into his equation. Since it was his idea anyway I think it'll be fine, we just have to agree on the details. So that may end up being our jobs, which we would much prefer to having to work for someone else. We know we are all like-minded and get along, and this job would be something I can do from home. Hopefully he will be moving out here soon so Mike will also be closer to home when they're working. Nothing is for sure, but we can hope and try our best o get there.

Mike found a puppy he wants to go see. It's close to Jason's house, so if he likes her, he will bring her back with him when he comes home. She looks a lot like the other puppy we were supposed to get, and at $200 (she's also AKC certified), she is much less expensive as well. This morning we found three dogs we wanted to go see and all of them had been adopted, one was a Catahoula... gorgeous girl... and two were German Shorthaired Pointer pups. We'll see. I would love for him to finally have a dog, his eyes light up and you can see the weight of the world start to lift from his shoulders. Makes me a little jealous, hahaha... but seriously I have Gracie so I understand how it feels to have the right animal around and how they can brighten your day just by being there. She's been very lovey dovey with both of us today. Some day I would love to get a Great Dane. I never would have thought that, but there is one at the hardware store down the street that I'm in love with. His name is Ludiwig and I call him horse-puppy because he's so tall that I don't have to lean down to pet him. He's pretty calm, but if you want to play he's ready to do that too, and when I pet him he sort of leans into me. I don't seem to sneeze around him, so you never know. We do know that as soon as we can manage it we want goats, chickens, rabbits and then we'll go from there, but it's going to be a while before we can afford them, much less the fencing or feed to keep them.

In the meantime, this made me smile... the evil of baby goats:

http://www.buzzfeed.com/meganm15/baby-goats-are-jerks

Other than that it's same old, same old. We live, we go on living, and we're making the best of it.

157 - Settling like a foundation in the Houston swamps

So we're here finally.

In a case of really bad planning it seems that all the nuts and bolts with which to put our dining room table, bed frame, and a shelving unit were somehow packed in one box and that box is apparently in Austin. Same with the power cords for all of our tv's. Seriously?

We have also realized we have too much stuff for not enough house. We figured as much, but it's blatantly obvious in the schizophrenic furniture arrangement we have going on. It doesn't quite feel like home yet because there is still stuff everywhere, still boxes to unpack but no place to put their contents.

I did manage to find curtains... curtain rods are in Austin, but the Dollar General down the road had $1 rods, so that wasn't bad. Most of the windows are covered and I only had to buy five for the front room. They were cheap but they look really good. Mike did an awesome job hanging them, which is actually saying a lot because we had to get creative.

The basement is damp so no paper, no furniture, nothing that would be destroyed by dampness can go down there. We bought some extensions for the downspouts and Mike is going to clean the gutters tomorrow, hopefully that will help dry it out a bit. Right now the rain just sheets off the roof because the gutters are full of debris, and all that water runs into the ground by the basement wall. We've been getting a lot of torrential rainstorms lately, but we are lucky that we are high on a hill and far enough away from the creek that it shouldn't affect us much. There seems to be a leak somewhere around the chimney, found that out when we had an attic ladder installed (need one for the a/c we're eventually getting, although we are reconsidering and may put it in the basement after all). The former owner sent a crew to tar it up, and that did help a lot, but tomorrow Mike is going to go up there and put some flex seal around it on the underside of the roof because there is still a small leak. I think it is appropriate to say that when it rains, it pours.

There is no level spot for the RV to sit, so we can't open it up and get the rest of our things out. All my cooking utensils are sandwiched between the slides and some of my clothing as well. We've got most of what we need, but there is more to unpack. We are pretty much all hill here. So eventually we will have to level a spot, and Jason and Mike will pour a pad, but that costs money so it will have to wait.

A lot of things have to wait.

Like a/c. My now ex-friend screwed me over big time. She and her fiance found the home buying process too stressful for their delicate dispositions and backed out. We closed on this house on a Friday and I was supposed to go from that closing to another closing where I would sign the documents so that they could be overnighted to their closing on Monday. At 11 am that Friday I called the title company and was told closing may not happen on Monday. I took that to mean we'd close on Tuesday. Then on Sunday I saw a cryptic Facebook post by Beverly talking about how going into business with friends is a bad idea. That's how I found out that things weren't as solid as they seemed. Monday when I called the title company is when I found out that they decided not to close. They were more concerned with the wedding they didn't end up having. They don't know what stress is. We literally had a day or two and the deal would have been done. So I'm assuming he's keeping his options open and wasn't as ready to commit as he wants her to think. In my opinion, that's probably going to be a good thing, I have suspicions about him that I will keep to myself.

So I wrote an email telling them they had five days to get out of my house, because yes, I let them start moving in early. If they weren't out by then I'd have the sheriff put locks on the doors. I said if there was any damage, they would be responsible. If I had to re-key any locks they would pay for that. And if I didn't have the rent they agreed to and had not yet paid, despite me asking about it three times, I would see them in small claims court. I got a long-winded response explaining shit I didn't care to know and it ended with the hope that we could still be friends, but if not, it was on me. Yeah... because I'm the asshole.

Luckily a high school friend happens to be a realtor and she is listing the house for us. She's been a godsend. I owe her big time when we get back on our feet because she's gone above and beyond for us. It's moments like that that restore the faith other people have destroyed.

So other than that, neither of us have jobs. The one I was supposed to have seems to have fallen through. The one Mike was supposed to have had... ditto. I've applied for a few jobs but there's not a lot out here. Mike has done the same. I am toying with the idea of a burger shack. If I can find a cheap rental in a good spot I think I can make it work. I've already blown a few minds with one of my burgers and I have a few more ideas that I think would also be amazing. Burgers are fairly simple to do. Food around here kinda sucks unless you go down the road a few miles. There are a few places here and there that are good, but no burger places at all except for fast food chains. Closest mom and pop is about an hour away, Granville or Cookeville. Problem is the same as ever... no capital and no credit... but that's why I'm hoping there is something out there ready to go that I can rent, and maybe get for cheap. I have a couple of ideas for that too, but nothing I'm sure of.

As far as the house goes, we have a breaker box now instead of fuses. Our water purification system has been installed. Monday or Tuesday the tankless water heater will be hooked up. Thankfully, we have been given a couple of window units to use for a/c... that and the ceiling fans are working fairly well but it still gets hot. I can't wait for central air and heat, but it probably won't happen until August/September since I have to get the money out of the Texas house first.

People used to be trustworthy. Handshakes and promises used to mean something. Hell, friendship used to mean something. It's times like these when I wish I had asked for a much larger earnest deposit. And some other kind of default fee. It just makes me ill because they knew our situation and they still did it. They even painted a few walls, thankfully a neutral color so I really believed they wanted the house. Anyway, enough about that, I already ranted about it on Facebook.

Hopefully our steel building will sell and we can use that money to get a mower and pay some bills, maybe get the a/c before the house sells. There has been some interest in it, but no firm deals yet. I'm ready for shit to start falling into place instead of falling apart. I remember a time when I didn't think about money 24/7. I remember a time when things were much, much easier. We didn't realize how good we had it, and now we know. We still find happiness in things, but moving in wasn't quite the joyful experience I expected. We were ecstatic right after we closed, and then shortly afterward the rug was pulled out from underneath us so that now all we can do is worry about how we're going to manage to keep it. But I'm sure we'll find a way. Surely there is an end to all this bullshit.

156 - Big Time

Two days until Mike comes home, three days until my 40th birthday, five days until we close on the house and start moving in (and I get to see my cuz), sevenish days until we get Duchess, and eightish days until I officially sell my house in Texas. It's kind of a big week for us.

I was about to head to the grocery store when I noticed it seems a little windy and grey out there, so I checked the weather - I'm learning! I'm going to hold off for about an hour to let the thunderstorms pass through. It probably won't be bad for long but I don't like driving through heavy rain, especially on country roads. City roads are pretty predictable and you have a clear line of sight, sometimes for miles, but with curvy roads and lots of trees, you have to be able to anticipate, so every inch of sight counts. I tested it and if I didn't have my glasses on, I wouldn't have been able to drive through that last one... not very fast anyway. Don't get me wrong, I love driving these roads, they just take more focus.

Tomorrow I'm hoping to meet the plumber at the house to get a quote. Also hoping that quote is reasonable... but I have a feeling I'm about to get pretty queasy. May take a few things from the RV that we can live without. We have the owner's permission to start moving in but there's not much we can actually do until the trailer is delivered. Then on Wednesday we're going to move some appliances in. The stove will be decorative until we get the gas hooked up, but I can't wait to cook on it. A real stove... I've missed that.

But I think it's the fridge that I've missed most. The one in the RV is about half the size I'm used to but I can almost live with that. My biggest complaint is the humidity and that it doesn't get as cold as a house fridge. It does its job, but food seems to spoil faster, even combined with the fact that you shop more because of the smaller size. Cheese - artisan cheese made with fresh ingredients, really doesn't hold up at all. Veggies don't particularly care for it either.

Yesterday I made it to Carthage without using the GPS. It's a small accomplishment. Of course, when we get to the house all that learning won't help me much because we'll be coming from a different direction. Thank goodness for the GPS! I'll probably be headed to LaFayette anyway, their Walmart is better, and it's closer. And they don't have a ridiculously low speed limit with cops everywhere just waiting for you to screw up. It's hard to go 30 mph, it really is.

Okay, weather is clearing up so I'm going to take advantage of it before the next round comes through. Exciting times!

155 - The Big 4-0

I realized today that I've been focusing on everything that has gone wrong over the last year... because let's face it, it's more than enough to keep a person's mind occupied. I've been stressed about the two closings and all the associated logistics. I've been stressing about a lot of things. There is a lot on my plate right now and not much of it good. I also admit that I was somewhat bitter because I'm turning 40 and there won't be much fanfare to it... won't be able to afford that tattoo I've been trying to get for the last six years... my friends are mostly back in Texas... no big night out. I had hoped by 40 my life might be different but here it is, the same old song and dance.

Then I decided it's counterproductive to think that way. Life is what it is. Once you hit bottom you get a clean slate Two days after my birthday we get the chance to start our new life in earnest, and that is a gift. As for my actual birthday, we're going to Lebanon where there is a decent Mexican restaurant, and on the way back we'll pick up our appliances and move them into the house. Granted, it's no Chuy's, and I won't have Joey to dance and lip sync and make me laugh, but I also won't have to battle Mandy for the jalapeno ranch dip, fearing the whole time that she might stab me... it will be nice nonetheless.

So if I can't focus on the negative, what am I thankful for?

I am thankful that despite our hardships, Mike and I are still best friends. We're, perhaps, closer than before because of our struggles. It's hard to say because it seems like (as adults) we've always had a bond. I can say that we know each other far better than we did when we started out, for better or worse as they say (on both sides so that you don't think that was a jab), and we love each other very much. Otherwise we wouldn't have made it. For my part, I admire him for working as hard as he does. He doesn't pick easy jobs, and when there's work to do, he gives it his all. He's had a lot on his shoulders this year and I hope the coming weeks remove some of that burden.

I am thankful that I was able to take a year off and see the southeastern United States. It wasn't always a bowl of cherries but we did meet several nice people along the way and we saw some gorgeous scenery. We certainly sampled a lot of wine along the way, and luckily two of my favorites are local.

I am thankful for friends and family who have put us up, and put up with us for the last year. There are several people who have helped us out, whether by providing a place for us to stay, lending us money, giving us work, or generally helping us get where we want to be. I don't like that it had to happen, but it did and they deserve our thanks. This has been an especially humbling year: My mom and dad, my grandma, my cousin Jason, Brian, my sister-in-law Christi, Hannah and Bombdog, Fern and Maria, and Ernie. Especially Ernie. I called him my surrogate husband when Mike was in Afghanistan and he has gone above and beyond for us for many, many months. Also Dave, who ultimately made it possible for us to get this house without having to sweat the closing date of my Texas house, and Beverly, who is purchasing that house. Friends who encouraged us in general like Kirk, Debra, Stacy, Tracy and Glori.

I am thankful that I was able to spend time with my family. I got to glimpse into our history through photos and stories which my grandmother and aunt shared. I also got to spend time with my parents when we were stuck in Houston. I'm thankful that Mike and I had extra time to spend with his family.

Right now I'm listening to the birds and looking out at trees. This afternoon I got to enjoy a thunderstorm (whereas yesterday as I drove through one... I did not enjoy it). I've noticed that storms here are brief but volatile. There are weird spots in the road where all of a sudden your windshield will fog up for a second and then it will go away. The steam from the ground wafts up into the mountains and you understand why they call them Smokies. I drive around, look out my window and catch myself constantly thinking, "gorgeous," whether it's a mountainside filled with trees, a holler taken over by kudzu, a small farming community with rocky outcroppings, a narrow bridge with a gorgeous view (even if some of that view does belong to the Gore's), roads turned into tunnels by the trees branches that cross over it, or rocky gorges formed when they cut a road through the mountain. And water... creeks, rivers, waterfalls... water everywhere. I am thankful for all that, too, because I get to live it day in and day out for the rest of my life, with my best friend, and that is more than I ever dared to dream.

So now I'm going to make myself a salad and watch a couple of movies. Mike is still in Alabama working with Jason and hopefully we'll get to chat tonight. I think he and Jason were going to go canoeing after work today and I know he loves being on the water so that's awesome. Good workout, too. I'm sure at some point we'll get a canoe or some kind of boat... too much water around here not to take advantage of it.

154 - The Rollercoaster at Kristy and Mike's House of Horrors

So in my last blog post, everything was hunky dory...

You may have noticed there hasn't been another post since...

You may have postulated why...

As soon as everything seemed to be coming together, the curveballs started coming fast and hard.

First, Mike passed the majority of the pre-employment testing with flying colors. Unfortunately, his heart rate stayed 2-10 beats per minute higher than was acceptable. So it's not a "no," it's a "no for now." He will be re-tested in three weeks, in Tennessee this time, and if his heart rate comes down this time, he will have a job. If not, he will have to get a release from a cardiologist in order to get the job. I'm slightly worried because his heart rate has always been high, but mostly I think it's our sedentary lifestyle and frequenting of restaurants for the past year that is the problem.

We went to the store and bought healthy stuff... salads, sandwiches, veggies and chicken. For breakfast we are having Rose's fruit and yogurt concoction with walnuts. And yesterday evening we went for a walk around Granville. I have the blister on my foot to prove it... I don't have walking shoes with me. That's pretty much the plan... drink a lot of water, get active, and eat at home/eat better.

So for the next several days, Mike is headed to Alabama, in fact he just left. He will be helping my cousin with his concrete business. That will help us augment what money we have left and should get us by until the proceeds from the sale of my house and/or the roustabout job comes through.

Second, the closing on my house slipped from the 24th to the 1st of July, possibly the 2nd of July. That turned out to be the worst news of all because the seller would not sign another extension. We think he has another buyer interested and got tired of dealing with our delays and conditions. I don't blame him, but from our perspective that doesn't stop it from sucking. We've invested money in this house, but more, we've invested what little hope we have left. Yes, we would have money (since we wouldn't have to use our new savings as a downpayment), but we probably won't find another owner finance situation with a house and land as nice as this one.

Luckily, just this morning, we were able to find the money, and we are going to close on the 28th at 2 pm. And, I guess there are no hard feelings, because the owner said as soon as we have the funds in the bank and a firm closing date, we can start moving things in if we want to. I've also worked a similar deal which helps my buyers and us. They're paying a prorated amount and I'm handing the keys over early. For us it helps offset the cost of my mortgage for the days I wasn't expecting to pay for, for them, they are anxious to be moved in before the wedding. If I didn't know them, and if they weren't definitely approved, I wouldn't, but she's a good friend and I feel like this is win-win.

This process is exhausting. The constant shifting dates and uncertainty... the scheduling and rescheduling... the logistics of it all... it's all very stressful. Sometimes what will be, will be... and sometimes you have to force it. I know we were meant to be here, it feels like home and has since we stepped off the plane. While I usually look for signs that things are meant to be, I think sometimes you have to prove you want it. I think we've proved it. Fucking hell, we've paid the price and then some. I have to believe that from here on out, things are going to get easier.

So that's the update... hopefully nothing changes (unless it's for the better).

153 - Happy posts are here again :)

Today we went to the house to run the water so we could take a second sample to be tested. By the time we got done with the rest of our day, we were unable to make it to Cookeville by 3 pm, which is when they shut the lab down. And they don't test on Fridays... so I have to take it in on Monday.

So while we waited for the chlorine to be removed from the system, we went to the local Mexican restaurant. It was actually good! The lady who served us was so sweet, she saw that Mike liked spicy food so she brought him another sauce to try. And it's just down the road... 5 mins maybe, so that's handy when we're feeling like a trip to town.

Then we went to the post office to ask about a mailbox. We can put a mailbox on the road, we don't have to get a PO Box.

We also set up the DirecTv installation and got internet service scheduled as well. And we scheduled the plumber for the tankless water heater, and got the application for the electrical cooperative. Waiting on a couple of people to call us back, but accomplished quite a bit of our to-do list.

Went shopping so I can make a few dishes at the house and bought a leash and toy for Duchess.

In short, we're making progress. We should be able to close on the TX house on the 24th, and close on our TN home later that day maybe, or at least by my birthday. Happy birthday... to me!

152 - Today was a pretty low-key day

In the key of A# minor. :)

Went to Cookeville to drop the truck off. In the rain. Of course it had to rain today. Hopefully they'll figure out once and for all what the problem is. And I can't help but hope it is the other dealership's fault, because if it is, I think we will be reimbursed for the a/c work and won't have to pay for this issue, since both were supposedly fixed in Athens.

After that we ate at one of our favorite restaurants, Crawdaddy's. We're addicted to their pesto goat cheese dip. It's creamy and delicious. The rest of their food is good too. Haven't had anything there that I wouldn't order again.

Once lunch was over we headed to Verizon because Mike's phone doesn't want to hold a charge. He's tried different cables, he's tried different batteries, so it has to be the phone. As luck would have it, our warranty expires this month, so Mike will be getting a replacement phone.

Because of the rain, and my tummy... okay, exclusively because of my tummy... we came back after that. We need to let the water run at the house and take another sample to TTU since they shocked the well, but with the rain we didn't. We're getting a water purification system anyway, but they shocked it to get a new reading since it sat unused for a couple of years. I did talk to the plumber about the tankless system, installing the gas line and the purification system. As soon as Hannah gets the okay from the buyer for us to look around the basement, I'll schedule that appointment and we'll have a better idea of how much it will cost. If it's too much, we'll have the gas line run and the purification system put in, but hold off on the tankless water heater. Hannah and Tony have a water heater they will let us have, just needs an element replaced.

Now we're watching A Good Day to Die Hard and afterward we'll probably watch another movie. Usually DirecTv movies are more than I would otherwise want to pay, but if we rent two we basically get two free... so with the travel time around here, it's about the same price as Redbox without the hassle of having to return it. I am getting used to traveling a bit to get anywhere and in the country the drive doesn't seem like 45 mins because it's a nice drive... but it's still a hike.

Tomorrow I have a laundry list of people to call... trash, electric, cable, etc. Can't get cell service here at the park, it's the one downside, but at least we get internet. At the house I remember we had no issues getting a signal, so that's good. So I guess our day tomorrow is going to the house to run the water for a few hours until the chlorine is gone, get the sample and head to Cookeville again. And at some point during the day I take care of my phone calls.