My Heart's Not In It

Gorgeous Sunday afternoon in Florida.  We are truly blessed today; I am so appreciative of all the nice things I have in my life now.

I've moved back to working on the afghan for Mr. Grumpbump.  I'm trying to finish it before it gets cold in Florida, which means I have at least two months.  And since Mr. Grumpbump grew up in Minnesota, Florida "cold" to him is a joke anyway.  I'm not thrilled with the colors, but they were Mr. Grumpbump's choice.

I want to start another knitting project.  I think I'm going to take an online course on sock knitting.  I have a lot of sock yarn and really need to use it up, but I am not a very good sock knitter in that I don't do sizes very well.  My socks are usually too large.

Mr. Grumpbump and I are trying to add more foliage and actual grass to the garden areas within the pool enclosure to help the cats enjoy their outdoors instead of always wanting to actually venture outside of the house.  We went to the local home improvement store and bought some shrubs, soil and mulch.  I'll post pictures when it's finished.

In the meantime, our cats sleep their lives away (cutely):

Baby Kitten a/k/a Delilah

Macy sleeping in our luggage.

I'm in need of some ice cream and the laptop is burning my leg so I'm going to end this post.

I'm Not Old, I'm Vintage

Now that we have a bigger place, Mr. Grumpbump and I have different ideas about how we should furnish the house.  Mr. Grumpbump wants a pool table and I've agreed to it, on the condition it has a table pad to convert it to a dining table (in my defense, he wants to put it in the dining room).  My wish was for a china cabinet.   I inherited a set of wedding china and I have really want to display it appropriately.

In pursuit of our individual goals, Mr. Grumpbump and I have been searching  the for-sale ads on craigslist.  We have a disadvantage because we don't have a truck and most people selling on craigslist don't deliver.  The other consideration for both of us is the cost; we don't really have a ton of extra cash.  

However, I found a little treasure for sale a few days ago and now it sits in my garage!  I paid $60 for it.  It's small (3' wide x 5' tall x 14" deep) but it has grooved shelving for plates.  It has a scroll work on the top (we had to remove it to get it to fit in my car) and the glass in the front door has no cracks or chips. 

My new cabinet!

My measurements were not exact and I was worried that it would not fit in my car.  Because we don't have access to a truck, it was very important that we be able to get this thing home safely.  Lucky for us, my car is awesome and with a bit of maneuvering, this cabinet fit in the back and the hatch actually closed securely.

Without scrollwork at top

The lady selling it called it "vintage", which means that it has cobwebs and the wood is beat up in some places.  There are a few places where the wood has bowed, but I'm counting on my handyman to help me get it in working shape.

I need some advice on what to do about the exterior.  Should I just clean it?  Or should I take a leap and try to stain it?

Storage space

See Mr. Grumpbump's hand in the corner holding the scrollwork?

Delilah rubbed herself all over this thing when we brought it home.  She has to make sure everyone knows that it is in her house and therefore, by manifest destiny, it falls under her domain.  The house I bought it from had a really cute cat, so I'm sure she was also erasing the scent of the other cat.

America's Next Top Cat

My Delilah is a model.  Seriously, she's so beautiful - on the outside.  Her personality is, well, let's say, not so beautiful.  Delilah could definitely be a contender on the feline version of America's Next Top Model.  If there were such a thing, here's how I imagine it:

All Delilah needed was a trim to her honey-blond locks.  Typical wannabe-model drama when the finished product revealed the cut to be shorter than what Delilah wanted.

It's Makeover Time!

Time for the photo shoot!  The shoot was outdoors, early morning, and the theme was luxurious living by the pool.  

"Delilah, look directly into the camera"

"Delilah, show me vulnerability"

"Show me Madonna vogue-ing but then at the last minute scale it back a notch"

"Great profile shot while showcasing your fluffy belly!"

"Show me relaxed but with controlled lines"

Time for judging panel and we will see which cats will continue in the search for America's Next Top Cat.  Delilah, we edited your film heavily.  There were so many shots of the *exact* same pose.  You can be a bit too boring, and your small body mass and frame mean you have to work harder to get that extra strong photo.  These were the best pictures of your film:

"Your paws look awkward in this picture but as a beauty shot it's good"

"Your face caught the light beautifully"

"At this angle, your paws look huge, but the toe fluff is a nice touch"

"I feel the action coming off the picture - your face is bringing it!"

"You lost your face in this shot but  there is a market out there for paw shots"

And the award for best picture goes to....Delilah!  Congratulations, you are still in the running in the hopes of becoming America's Next Top Cat.

"You are beautiful but you have an anger that makes you push too hard
to the point where you lose focus and become to difficult to work with" 

Making Room for Grumpbump

A few weeks into home ownership and it still feels great!  The cats have definitely settled in and both of them enjoy hanging out by the pool.  The backyard is big enough to let them each have their own corner and Macy stays far away from Delilah.

I managed to unpack all of the kitchen boxes and lined the kitchen selves.  It was hard to decide where everything should go.  I hope I made the right decisions on where to put our plates, dishes, silverware.  I did ask Mr. Grumpbump for his opinion on the placement of everything.  I think it makes logistical sense, which is important when you are searching for the right pot, pan or kitchen tool.

Mr. Grumpbump had to install the over-the-range microwave, but the outlet for the microwave is in a weird spot.  Turns out that we will need to move the outlet (which would require the hiring of an electrician) to the cabinet above the microwave.  We don't have the budget for that right now so the microwave is plugged into an outlet on the side of the range.  For now, I'm hiding the cord by shoving the knife block and toaster in front it.  I can live with it for a while.  

Visible microwave cord

I knitted a grocery bag holder so I could start collecting all my random plastic grocery bags for each dispensing.  The pattern was very easy and I used some of my stash yarn.  It's not the most attractive piece of knitting (looks like a sphincter) but it's very useful.  The pattern is only available on Ravelry.  It's got a ribbing on each end and the lacy middle allows you to stuff the middle with a bunch of grocery bags.

It poops grocery bags

These moving boxes keep multiplying!  My dad is coming over this weekend and he's bringing more!  I have a feeling that I will end up throwing out most of what he is bringing over.  However, I have several boxes of wedding china (it belonged to White, who was my babysitter when I was very young).  I am in desperate need of a china cabinet but I can't afford to purchase one.   

As usual, I leave you with pictures of my favorite cats, Delilah and Macy:

Delilah was not happy to leave the apartment but she's adjusting

Macy hanging out in her cat condo - always a window view for her

A Place For Grumpbumps

No one I know likes moving.  I've moved at least 12 times in my life and I've cried during a lot of them.  A new place is always exciting, even when you are moving for sad reasons (like breaking up with a boyfriend - four times).  But this move into our new house has been so satisfying.  It sounds conceited or perhaps like I am being a braggart but Mr. Grumpbump and I deserved this house.  With everything going so much in our favor, I feel like I'm tempting fate by talking about how happy I am over the turn of events.  Also, it does us no service to chalk this up to fate or karma.  The facts are that Mr. Grumpbump and I made this happen.  I don't think I've ever believed that line coming out of other people - but now I feel like it completely a legitimate explanation for why some things in life happen the way they do.  (I don't believe this across the board because lots of bad things happen to very good people through no fault of their own.)  I just think it cheapens how Mr. Grumpbump and I hung in there in order to close on this house.

The big move happened yesterday.  Because we were moving from such a small place, we were 95% packed and ready to go.  Mr. Grumpbump and his friend and said friend's grandson packed the U-Haul, drove to the new house, and unpacked all within 2 hours.  I came over early to the house with the two cats in tow.  Both Macy and Delilah were pretty miserable upon entry into the house.  Delilah  would not stop hissing and growling, while Macy just made whimpering noises and ran behind the washer and dryer.  Delilah ended up in the master bathroom, hissing at anyone who opened the door.  It was not until we set up our bed and Delilah was able to climb up and sleep that she calmed down (a bit).  Macy did not relax all day, with a lot of whimpering and whining and crying.

Day two has been better.  I've moved Macy's cat condo to the main living area so she is near us, which appears to be of major concern with her. Macy's not a very needy cat, but she has really been stressed about this move and is constantly sitting next to us, always touching us.  In fact, she's sleeping next to me now, with her feet pushed up on my thigh.  Delilah, on the other hand, has been sleeping all day.  Mr. Grumpbump convinced her to go outside and she's now exploring the pool area.

Delilah lounging by the pool

Macy relaxing (sort of) on the couch with me

Macy's new perch by the window facing the pool

Today, I explored the neighborhood and found our Publix and a Super Target.  There are a ton of shops around our house and I'm looking forward to getting to know the local stores (for example, there is a cute little bakery up the street that I'm anxious to try).

I will post pictures of the house once we've organized ourselves a little better (too many boxes all over).

Happiness Is Our Home

I can't believe I'm typing this but we actually bought our house!  Almost one year ago (Labor Day weekend of 2010) Mr. Grumpbump and I started looking for a home.  And now, we own a really cute 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom single-family home with a pool!

The house needs some TLC - fresh paint inside and a good cleaning.  But the remainder of the house is in really good condition.  The floors are entirely tile (even the baseboards), with an inside utility room.  The master bath is really nice.  I'll get pictures of all rooms and post pictures as I can.

And, of course, the pool:

Amazing Pool

Although this is definitely the "before" picture because the house has sat vacant for more than six months, so currently it looks like this:

Yuck! Florida is no friend to untended pools

We've got a pool guy coming over this week to get this pool back to the great shape seen in the "before" picture.

I plan to post a ton more pictures once we actually move in and get everything situated.

Ugly Business

We are supposed to close on our house in 9 days.  I am very pessimistic about this closing and I am sickened by how people in this business are treating me.  My realtor is basically a non-entity.  She didn't even find this house for us - Mr. Grumpbump is the one who found it on the internet.  The loan processor handling my loan is rude and bitchy and I don't know if the loan conditions are cleared.  And finally, the title company handling the transaction is, predictably, padding my side of the closing statement with junk fees.  I spent a lot of time on email and the phone yesterday arguing with the title company about these fees.  I can't believe that they are refusing to lower their fees in order to close the transaction.  Instead, they feel the need to argue with me about what they feel they deserve, even after I disclosed to them that I'm a very informed buyer and closing real estate transactions has been my job for the last seven years.

The end result is that I'm anxious, nervous, pissed off, and very insecure about this closing.  We are so close to owning this house that it feels very surreal.

No matter what happens we will be moving from our apartment by the end of the month.

Decisions I Don't Regret

Yesterday was Macy's one-year anniversary with us.  She's a much more comfortable with us and can usually be found sitting in our line-of-site, watching us intently.  Macy has also learned that paper plates mean catnip (I put catnip on paper plates for both Macy and Delilah) and that good things come from the kitchen.   She's a bit more vocal but only when it comes to food, which I believe she learned from Delilah.

Macy's favorite perch

No eyes!  A rarity not to see those owl eyes.

I started a new ripple stitch afghan for Mr. Grumpbump.  He picked out the colors he wanted and I started it immediately.  I have to finish my pedicure socks, but I find it hard to work on them when I have my (current) favorite pattern on the needles.  I really put a lot of time into the afghan this weekend.

Color Palette

A nice lady at work is going to teach me to crochet.  Crochet will never replace knitting as my favorite hobby, but I have found so many cute crochet patterns that I want to try.  I'm going to have to dig through my stash of yarn and find something suitable to practice with.

I was supposed to go into work this weekend.  I didn't make it because I feel like I'm coming down with a cold.   I needed to work into order to catch up on some things that have just sat on my desk for weeks, while I put out fires and work on other high priority items.  But you know what happens when you put something on the back burner too long, it will become the next high priority.  I just hate being behind, but I hate going into work on the weekends even more.  Just thinking about me makes me sick.

Mr. Grumpbump thinks that Delilah is sick.  But I've tried to look at the situation from a realistic view.  She's still eating regularly (wet and dry food), drinking water, and going to the bathroom.  She has been listless and hanging around the apartment more than usual.   I think it can be pinpointed to the change in Mr. Grumpbump's schedule.  He and Delilah had a definite routine for more than 18 months and now, with Mr. Grumpbump getting a new job and working during the day, Delilah has had to adjust.   It is not as ominous as Mr. Grumpbump would have me believe.

Orange Cat loves to nap

We are not-so-patiently waiting for the short sale bank to decide if we can finally buy our house.  The appraisal by my lender came in $1500 under the offered purchase price and we immediately got an amendment to the contract to reduce the sales price.  My interest rate lock expires 30 day from tomorrow so the pressure is on to close this before the beginning of September.  I'm so anxious about this - sometimes I can feel my heart beating out of my chest thinking about actually purchasing this place.

Moving On To The Next Project

I finished my afghan last night.  I wanted to knit a few more rows but I was running out of the main color (orange).  I have enough of the green, pink and beige to make another cat blanket.  Or I might use it to practice my crochet skills.  The afghan ended up being 53" x 45".  I'm going to try to wash it on gentle cycle to see if I can soften it up just a bit.  The yarn I used was acrylic but it's not scratchy or rough.  I also want to make sure that my weaving in the ends will hold up to a wash.

I actually like the colors

I started working on Pedicure Socks (you have to be a member of the Paton's website to view this free pattern).  I'm just some KnitPicks sock yarn that I've had a for a while.  I couldn't put my hands on my bamboo dpns so I'm using this nickel-plated dpns.  The yarn slides easily (too easily) on the nickel-plated and I have to be very careful not to drop stitches.

I've decided to put the idea of a third cat on the (very) back burner.  I'm not sure that Delilah or Macy would be accepting of a new cat and we've only really begun our lives with these two.  I've already asked a lot of these cats to be housemates; asking them to share their house with another creature is probably asking for trouble.  The good news is that we might be moving to our new house as soon as the middle of August and that will certainly be an adjustment for both of them.

We've moved forward a tiny bit on our house purchase.  There is now a completely signed contract and the closing is "scheduled" for August 16.  We also did our home inspection and we are pleased with the results.  The roof on the house is in good condition, as is the air conditioner.  There are a few items that will need to be addressed, and the pool is just gross.  Mr. Grumpbump and I have decided that we will have a professional come out and clean the pool to get it in decent shape and then we can take it from there.  I'm hoping that we can get into the house pre-closing in order to get a fresh coat of interior paint on the walls and to clean/sweep up the kitchen and master bedroom.

My plans were to take as little as possible into the house and just start over with all new items.  However, I'm going to have to redo my budget because I have to come up with more closing costs than originally expected.  The short sale lender would not approve the contract unless we reduced the Seller-paid closing costs to 3% (from 4.5%).  Additionally, we have to buy all new appliances.   It's scary to think about spending so much money but I'm cautiously optimistic about having a house of our own in just a few weeks.

Crying Because I Want To

I started an easy project - a scarf using the the Double Bump Scarf pattern.  I've made several facecloths from this pattern, meaning to give them as a gift but they still sit on my kitchen table.  I took a knitting class several months ago and ended up with a skein of this light blue yarn.  I figured I could do a scarf and maybe have enough left over for a matching hat.  We'll see.  In the meantime, here's the little bit of progress on the scarf.

The beginning of a scarf

My afghan is  getting heavier on the needles and now drapes over my legs while I'm on the couch, knitting. I'm not sure how much more I'm going to knit but the pattern it's based on recommends at least 57 inches of the pattern, which does not include a two-inch bottom and top border.  I imagine that I will keep going until I use up all the yarn I bought for this project.  Mr. Grumpbump hates it when I have random left over yarn.

Retro Afghan

I thought about carrying around a little notebook with me so I could jot down ideas for this blog.  I think that most of my entries tend to be very one-sided and uninteresting.  In order to capture these brilliant ideas as soon as they pop into my head, I now carry around a small green notebook.  And it remains empty.  All of my ideas come to me as I drive.  I believe it would be a bad idea to suddenly whip out my green notebook at that time.  Notice I did not say they were good ideas.

For example, today I was thinking about how much hatred I have in my heart.  Or maybe I just feel like life is unfair and it makes me angry.  Now, as I start to type what I was thinking, I realize that the words on the page only make me sound bitter and pathetic.  It is a habit of mine to look at houses as I drive by and imagine how the people living inside can afford such luxury.   What is it that they are doing that I am not?  I then see that my hatred is just jealousy and it makes me feel uglier than all my excess weight ever does.  It's just a game I play with myself.

I then skipped around until I made a connection to explain my jealousy.  I was raised Catholic and attended parochial school until the 9th grade.  This means I went to mass every Friday and Sunday for at least 8 years, from age 5 to 14.  On top of that, every year we had a religious education class.  All the teachings were drilled into me over and over until it was no longer a choice but a part of me.  I believed with all my heart that if I lived my life as a good Christian that I would be rewarded by a good life.  So, I was basically a good person, with the exception of petty childish things, I earned good grades in school, I tried my best to be respectful of all adults, I did what I was told.  And then I waited.  Waited for this good life to come to me.  By the time I realized that the good life was not going to come to me, that I had to pursue it, I ended up with a man who took complete advantage of me.  Convincing me that being with him was the good life, when it was the exact opposite of good.  It was completely wrong.  I gave up that lifestyle and just tried to live a decent life.  Yet, I am still behind and the morally corrupt, rotten people are miles ahead of me.  I have no explanation for this imbalance and its very existence pisses me off.  That's the convoluted reason I envy those who have so much more than me.

I have to say that there are people I love who are experiencing things so much worse than me not having a house, or another kitten, or a baby or even a respectable career and money.  I specifically am not including their pain in this because it's not my place to discuss their private matters.  However, I am in no way equating the unfairness I feel with what they are going through and I would never discuss this with them for that same reason.  I would gladly accept more pain and suffering, with the rule of keeping my pity party strictly to myself, to alleviate all their problems from their life.

I Can't Help Myself

Mr. Grumpbump and I looked at another house today.  While I liked it, and the price was certainly right, our chances of actually getting it are slim.  There are already three other offers on the table for the house.  The house does not have a pool, but it does have a big backyard and an enclosed Florida room.  We are going to add our offer to the mix.

After we did our walk-through for the house, we drove by the home we still have under short sale contract.  The pool is a lovely shade of Mountain Dew-green and there are tadpoles now living in it.  This house is still the one we want but as the days tick away, we are less and less assured that it will ever be sold.  I wrote a letter to the owners of the house and appealed to them on a personal level.  I asked them to allow us to buy their house and take care of it properly.  I know they don't make the final decision (their bank does) but I have been told that they are not submitting the paperwork necessary to qualify for the short sale.  I can't stand the thought of someone else getting this house or having it just sit empty and deteriorating while the bank forecloses on it.

It's storming outside right now and Delilah is begging to go out.  In fact, she's yelling at me, but I will not give in.  So, she started taken to stalking Miss Macy.  I think she's going stir-crazy being inside, so I tried to work out some of her energy by playing with her.

Miss Macy is such a laid back cat and sometimes that means she does not get the attention she deserves.  Instead, Delilah gets it for being a such a bitchy cat.  While I was engaging Miss Delilah, Macy was sitting on the couch, watching us.  I did play with Macy but she was not really interested.  Macy is more interested in observing and eating.  

Macy watching the action