Hey, Guess What!

OUR CONTINGENCIES ARE REMOVED. As of this afternoon, all we have to do is finish securing our loan, and we are getting a house! It's funny - Rita sent over the paperwork to sign today, and I emailed her back "this is the final thing, right? Now, if we were to find out something bad, like that the roof is filled with rats, we'd lose our deposit." Not that I want to back out on the deal - all I want to do in life is buy this house and move in! - but it's good to know that the money that was taken out of our checking account on Tuesday is gone for good (and for a good cause!) I feel so lucky that it's gone as smoothly as it has. There's still a little back and forth about whether we close on the 20th or the 30th, but either way we'll work it out, and be able to wake up on Thanksgiving morning and be thankful for our first home.

We also got a great quote on having the joint painted. Now we just need to figure out the carpet. And figure out exactly where our meager furniture is going to go. Jan said we can have the Cat Couch back, which I am thrilled about. What's better than a 100 year old sofa bed with wooden arms carved into cat shapes? I was trying to explain the couch to Tim, and said "the arms are like Princess Lola in the backyard." He was like, "Princess Lola?" Yes Tim, Princess Lola, the statue of a cat that hangs out in my parents' backyard. Okay... maybe my family is a little weird. I come from a long line of cat ladies.

IN OTHER NEWS WE ARE LEAVING FOR IRELAND IN LESS THAN 12 HOURS. And yes, we finally packed. We usually travel with one big duffel bag that Tim got sometime during his youth. In the off season, we slide it under the bed, where kitties live (during their off season.) When I pulled the bag out tonight, it was just coated in orange cat fur. I scraped off the top layer, but if Don goes near our suitcase, he will probably have a full out allergy attack. But it makes our bag more recognizable - screw just tying a ribbon around the handle!

So, we'll have internet access in Ireland and I'm bringing my laptop. Please check back for photos, and submit your souvenir requests.