After the spiritedness of Christmas, and New Year's, and Epiphany, all is returned to an almost pressing quiet. Even my menstrual cycle has been uncharacteristically understated. First far less CM than I'm used to, then my attempt to take HCG fell through (I shall try again next cycle), and I didn't bother to use the progesterone cream. Nevertheless, I had less spotting even than I usually have with the cream. Yesterday was CD1, but I haven't yet had cramps, and by this time, it would seem that I'm not going to. Not that I'm complaining, it's just rather a demure presentation for AF.
My DH and I have been muddling through. Of course taking the long view (and perspective is not one of my strong suits, I must admit) we are blessed to have one another to share with us life's adventures, whether they're hardships or victories. That's what we signed up for and we are genuinely grateful for the opportunity. But when the challenge ahead is looming (let alone multiple challenges), it can be so hard to see anything at all but that.
I think we have hit a somewhat lighter patch, though. We've been having wonderful times just spending time together of late. Of course snuggling is one of our preferred winter-time activities, and I feel that my sound stewardship of my household (and, thereby, my marriage) is exemplified by the down comforter I bought at Ikea, which has kept us warm and cozy on many cold evenings (and afternoon naps) now.
In addition, my DH has been a very good sport and gone with me to see some houses. First there's the one I mentioned before, I'm sure, for which the owner is asking far more than assessed and so forth. As I had hoped, when he finally agreed to go, my DH loved the house and the neighborhood. In fact, he wants to put an offer on it, which we may be doing as soon as this week. It would be our very first offer, and it would be very exciting. But before trying to dramatize it over-much, I should note that our offer will not be accepted. It will be almost $200,000 below what the owner is asking (I'm not kidding). If he has to sell because he can no longer afford the payments on his refis, then we may eventually win this (because he will be forced into foreclosure or short sale). But if he's selling because he needs cash and thinks he can make money on the house, then he will simply pull it off the market when he realizes this is impossible.
After that offer is rejected, we move our focus to the houses we saw yesterday. They are...fairly extraordinary houses (there are two similar ones we're interested in). They're from the pinnacle of Victorian-architecture-as-undisciplined-aesthetic-excess, which obviously means that I find them enchanting (and so does my DH). However, they have been abandoned for almost 40 years, and they are not currently fit for human habitation. Of course this means taking on simultaneous rental expenses for a safe place to live, mortgage payments for a newly acquired property, and high-dollar up-front renovation costs to get heat, electricity, and water working (the plumbing and wiring are already in, thank God), and also install...structurally sound floors. Ahem.
I don't think I can show pictures, because the houses are actually pretty famous and would be relatively easy to recognize. They are on for bargain prices (because of all the work they need), but may not be affordable (for us) as a project, anyway. But you'll have to take my word for it that they are extraordinary-looking. And often when I read old-house type websites or publications, I am sad, because while I only look at historic homes to purchase, practically nothing I've been able to consider seriously has the sort of architectural fascination that the journals feature. These houses have ludicrous ornamentation, impractical floor plans (one of the houses has an entire floor devoted to a ballroom), and features that are pure fascination. They lack things like parking and any usable acreage, and stable floors, but...well, life is full of these trade-offs! So I have something to keep me entertained.
But that's really all I have to report. Life is quiet...perhaps 2011 is building up to reveal some extraordinary development, do you think?
