The Hunt Continues

I've lost track of how many houses we've looked at so far. Matt and I didn't realize how picky we were until we started actually looking at houses in person. Last night we looked at an old Victorian which has the most potential out of any of the houses we've looked at so far. We were willing to accept that the yard's not that big, and that the neighborhood is kind of on the edge of being sketchy. But then we went into the basement, and the electrical is a 30 amp fusebox, the main support beam of the house is notched and has no posts going from the ceiling to the floor, and we noticed that in the crawl space under the kitchen you can see daylight through the cracks in the foundation. Any of those things on their own isn't that bad, but then you add in that the windows need replacing, we're fairly positive that the trim all has lead paint (it's such an old house, we'd be shocked if it didn't) and the only bathroom is on the second floor with the bedrooms. I've been renovating the house in my head ever since we left - jacking up the support beam, installing new electrical and new windows, turning the hall closet into a half bath. But then when it's done, it's still a house with a kind of small yard in an on-the-edge neighborhood. So those investments aren't going to have as much return as they could in a house in a different location.

So we keep looking.

And I am distracted right now by the stuff going on with my dad. I honestly don't know what to do and how to help my sister and my mom. I don't think that it would be right to post all the details of what's going on in this blog; let's just say that there was an incident last weekend, there was another this past weekend, and the way things have happened is seems like the downward spiral is accelerating. This weekend just crystalized how much the alcoholism has taken over and replaced the man I grew up with, whom I love and respect so much. I called on Father's day and the conversation was terrible. The person I talked to was someone else entirely, callous and indifferent and after I hung up the phone, I told Matt that any glimmer of my dad seems to be gone. I am grateful for Matt and his support and perspective, because my first response is to go in there and fix it for my sister and my mom. And I know I can't, but my mind keeps telling me that if I don't try, then I'm being a bad sister/daughter. It's also hard not to become bitter and judgemental toward them, to blame them for enabling and tolerating dad's drinking. Matt has been gently reminding me that they are feeling trapped and they are doing the best that they can.

My prayer this week is for both courage and for peace. Whenever this stuff happens, I am filled with anxiety and the "noise level" in my head just gets jacked. So I am praying that God will give me the courage to do what is good and right and that He will let me carry His peace into my family. I have no idea how to do that, but I trust that He will show me how, if He desires it. And even if He doesn't want me to be His instrument in this, I know He will give me peace and help me to trust that He is using all of these things to bring about our salvation.

Just a quick update and a request

As I mentioned, we're looking for a new home. We've been looking at houses all week, and I really don't understand what some people are thinking. Who on earth thinks that raising the roof, but doing it so that the ceilings slant and at their highest point are only about 5 1/2 feet tall is going to turn out well? How do you decided to lay down industrial grade carpeting and put up cheap fake wood paneling throughout your entire house? And do you really think you're fooling anyone by throwing some folding doors on the living room entrance and calling it a "master bedroom" thereby turning your 2 bedroom house into a 3 bedroom house?

So suffice it to say, we're still looking. Three more today, so I'll let you know how that turns out.

Also, there are some things going on with my Dad right now. My mother's in Poland, and we're trying to figure out what to do. I'll post more about it later, but if you would be willing to take some time to pray for guidance, assistance, and strength for me, my sister, and my aunts and uncles, I'd appreciate it.

Back in business, sort of

So Mike took a look at my computer and said that for him everything booted up fine. Matt picked it up from him last night and I booted it up this morning. Everything's running really slow and sometimes when I click on things, they don't respond. Which is not the problem it was having when I gave it to Mike. What the heck? I think this stupid computer is mocking me. I feel like the main character in one of those stories of people taking their car into the mechanic complaining about a noise, and the car refuses to make the noise for the mechanic.

Well, the reality is that I bought this computer just about 5 years ago, and it has lasted pretty well over that time. I bought it from a friend who owns a computer business and I told him at the time that I didn't want to have to buy a new one for a long time. I know that in the world of computers, 5 years is a pretty long time. So I am guessing that it will need to be replaced before the end of the year, and if it dies and I have to use the iPod Touch and Matt's computer until we've save enough to get another, I'll survive.

Today we're going to meet with a real estate agent for the first time to look at houses. We've been talking to someone from Bank of America about a mortgage, and we're not really impressed with him. We've also talked to a few people who've emphatically said that we should avoid BofA, so we're going to talk to two other people: one recommended by the realtor and one by friends of ours who just bought a home.

What am I hoping for in a home? A few things:

• We don't mind having to do renovations, and we are prepared to live in a house which isn't our dream house to start out. But anything we buy needs to have the potential to be a house we live in for quite some time. There's only so much you can do with a small house on a small lot. It also has to be fairly habitable while we're getting projects done. So any house which needs a new roof AND plumbing AND electrical AND furnace/hot water heater is going to be off the list because that's too many things which have to be done at once right away.
• I would like a yard big enough to both have a garden and a place for kids to play.
• I'd like to have enough room to have many people over at once. Right now in the apartment we could invite maybe six people over and have them all hanging out in the living room or dining room. If we wanted to have either side of our families over, it just would be too crowded, and both at the same time would be impossible. I don't want a house that's big and sprawling and I would rather err on the side of too small, but I think the minimum would be about 1000 square feet, 1500 would be ideal when we start to have children and need room for them.
• Along with the size for entertaining, a kitchen big enough to cook in. The kitchen in this apartment has a tiny refrigerator and about 4 linear feet of usable counter space. Not enough.
• Close enough to our families that visiting often isn't too difficult. My sister and her husband live in East Taunton and even though I love hanging out with them we simply don't see them as often because it's such a long drive to each other's houses.

All of this we're hoping for under $140K. Yes, there are houses on the market like that for around that price. They are just badly in need of cosmetic and functional repairs, or they're not in a good location, or both.

• Bonuses would be a fireplace, a garage, more than a quarter of an acre of land, and a big enough bathroom to someday put in a big whirlpool tub. The apartment I was in before this one had a big 2 person jacuzzi and it was sooooooo awesome. Especially in winter after coming in from shoveling, sinking into that tub with a book and cup of tea was heaven. Any of those things would be nice to have, but we don't need them.

So we'll see what we find today. We are lucky enough to have friends and family who are handy and who can help us look at houses with a critical and realistic eye. Keep us in your prayers as we go through this process!

Please Stand By

We are yet again experiencing technical difficulties. Mike has the laptop once more, and I am not sure if I'm hoping that he can fix it (and save the money it would cost to buy a new one) or if I'm hoping he tells me it's dead (and I get to buy a new laptop which won't give me the hassle this one has).

I'll be back soon!

Broken XBox

We are really sad in the Vigneau house. The Xbox has inexplicably stopped working and has to be mailed back to Microsoft for repair. Hopefully they can fix it and they won't send back a replacement because Matt's is a limited edition Halo version. Also, it's gone for 2-3 weeks, so no games until around the end of the month.

Maybe we'll get some things accomplished in the meantime.

Saying Thank You

Tuesday night was date night. Somehow I convinced my husband to spend it having dinner at home and writing out thank you cards for our wedding gifts. I made artichoke and spinach dip, lamb chops and rice pilaf. He picked out a movie, sauteed the zucchini, and blended up a frozen coffee and chocolate milkshake concoction. We watched an awful movie from Netflix (streaming) and wrote out almost all our thank you cards. Phew!

Honeymoon pictures

I made a slideshow of the honeymoon pictures. I would definitely do a cruise again. Bermuda was nice, but I would like to see some other islands or maybe do an Alaskan cruise next time.

(okay, I've edited it to have music.)