Tired

I'm tired of signing my life away.

I finished the front and back of the Lordana Boucle Jacket and bound off the shoulders. I need to finish the sleeves and I'll be done. Just in time for Mommy to try it on at Thansgiving.

Speaking of which, the entire family will be here for Thanksgiving. Here's the menu:

1. Roast Turkey with Gravy
2. Brown Sugar Spiral Cut Ham
3. Cornbread Stuffing w/ Sage
4. Collard Greens
5. Macaroni and Cheese
6. Fresh Green Beans
7. Sweet Potato Pie
8. Peach Cobbler
9. Vanilla Ice Cream
10. Cranberry Relish

I wasn't going to make a ham, but Uncle Bernard has requested one. I may still make a leg of lamb instead.

Moving Right along

OK, on the knitting front: I've finished 43cm of the Lordana Boucle Car Coat (click to review in Ravelry). For about 30 minutes tonite, I couldn't figure out the match to the armhole shaping and I was convinced I would end up with more stitches than I was supposed to.

Tequila helps a lot of things.

After tequila, I stopped overthinking the math and, lo and behold, the armhole math was correct and I had perfect bind-offs. Now I'm confronting the possiblity that I will run 1 skein short of yarn in order to finish this project.

On the house front: The bank countered me at $119,000. At that point I was a little sick of the game, so I sent over a firm and final offer. I loved the way Jaya put it in her email, "this is my client's firm and final offer."

They accepted! My contract has been accepted! I'm almost a homeowner!

(Panicking, panicking, panicking)

Am I really ready for this? Am I really ready to be totally responsible for a house???? I mean, a house means that I can't just pick up and move when I get ready. I can't be footloose and fancy free.

It does mean I own a little something in the world, which is a strange concept. I believe in the Indian ideal that one cannot own land . . . you cannot own something that will outlast you in perpetuity. Someday I'll be dead and gone and that land will still be there. The most claim you have to it is temporary rights of guardianship . . .

But I'm off on a tangent.

The bank sent over an additional addendum. I read it yesterday in the Realtor's office, had questions she couldn't answer and am now waiting for the answer to my questions. I also didn't receive the termite information for the house, so I'm waiting on that before I sign this additional addendum.

Being a first-time homebuyer is frustrating and scary.

I have one set of mortgage contracts but I'm waiting on the other two lender to respond to me. I'm hesitant to sign with this first guy (even though everything is great) because I want to see if I can get the interest rate down to 5.875% or lower and I want to run back through the math again. If this works out the way I plan (and the way I really need it to), my house payment will be about $1000 a month, I will get the $7500 credit back on my taxes which I will apply to the car loan, and I'll be broke for an entire year, but I'm ready to do this.

Meanwhile, I still don't know if I'm doing the right thing in the right order. Once I send the documents back, I can schedule the inspection. But since this is a foreclosure being sold "As Is", I can't get out of it unless there is major structural damage. So I might be stuck with serious house repairs that I can't afford. I'm really gambling here. Then I have to get insurance, which is ridiculously expensive in Florida, and work on getting a moving company and a timeline. I have to box up my clothes. My move to Florida taught me how to pack quickly. . . so I know that a week of dedicated packing will get my stuff moved, but still. . . I'm so nervous.

I can't continue to rent. This is pissing away my money to someone else so they can get richer while I'm at their mercy on rent. If I'm going to pay $850 a month to live somewhere, I might as well chip in $150 more and have equity (kinda kills that earlier paragraph, huh?)

Finally, I try not to comment on Politics in my posts (only a few times I've broken that dictum), but I will say this: I'm glad election season is over.

Go VOTE!

Let the GAMES Begin!

On Saturday, I put in a bid of $112K on the house I told you about on 10/30/08. Well, Jaya called me today to let me know that the bank counteroffered at $122K. NO FREAKING WAY!!!! I'm not trying to be house rich and cash poor. I want to be house rich and cash even (hey, I know it's too much to ask for cash rich).

I countered with $116K. They better accepted that or I'm going to start house-shopping again. I know that this is a normal part of the negotiations and that this is to be expected, but when I need to give notice to the apartment complex on Nov. 16 that I'm moving out at the end of my lease, we don't have time to play! I need an offer, an acceptance, and a firm closing date that occurs before the end of the year. So although I'm nervous (really really nervous) I need this to happen for me.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch/apartment, I cast on for the Lordana Boucle Coat last night. . .179 stitches of bulky KnitPicks Twirl (great way to use it up and if it comes out looking good, I'll do another in Lordana Boucle for me :) ) on a size 8 (5.00 mm) needle. I'm hoping that this will move along fast. Instead of doing the back and fronts separately, I cast on on for them and will execute all of it at the same time. This is worrying me a little (I have to make decreases every 8 rows, but the yarn is so thick I can't count 8 rows) but I'm going to perservere.

I also decided to start designing more. So, using Shirley Paden's Flame Stitch Cardigan as inspiration, I'm going to try to create my own cropped cardigan. . . wish me luck!

PS. Am I the only person planning to get in line to vote at 7AM tomorrow???