I got an email from Paul Sorvino
His family runs a dog rescue in Vermont and I emailed the rescue and Paul himself (or "Paulie," as he calls himself) emailed me back. He's nice and funny and he RESCUES GERMAN SHEPHERDS and other dogs, so he is currently My Hero, and Sunday is hereby Paulie Sorvino Day in the loachie/steakumms household. (Easter Schmeaster.)
We're having a bitch of a time finding a house. We made an offer on one but the sellers had already accepted another offer, verbally, so we didn't get it. Every house we investigate doesn't pan out (arsenic in the well water is a deal breaker for us, 'cause we're picky like that), and the ones we really like go into escrow before we can learn more. We're pre-approved at a nice low interest rate, but in order to keep that nice low interest rate we have to close escrow sooner than I think we'll be able to, unless something pops up on the market pretty damn soon. I so don't want to rent before we buy, but it's starting to look like we might have to. Part of the problem is my (not my husband's; he is sane and rational and logical about these things) desire to rescue a neglected 200 year old farmhouse and restore it to its former glory, with modern touches like big huge (thermopane) windows and a gourmet kitchen and a bathroom you could park several Hummers in. The problem with this approach, as the sane, rational, logical husband keeps pointing out to me, is that we have a 7 month old baby on the verge of walking and crawling and who is already getting into everything, and wouldn't it be kind of a bitch to child-proof a house with the flooring and walls torn up, and wires snaking out of walls, and lead paint dust blowing everywhere? OK, so he has a point.
That doesn't leave us with much, though. As xymotik pointed out, many many houses in Maine are little white boxes with all of the character and vitality of an office cube. Mainers are nothing if not cheap, and they are not going to spend money on useless aesthetic touches, like windows, landscaping, or design. And the houses with character in our price range (which is conservative, cause we just had a baby and this move to Maine is kind of an economic experiment for us, with a lot of variables) have huge, major things wrong with them, like floors that run uphill. Or poisoned well water. Or no electricity, or no heat in certain parts of the house (I am NOT making that up.)
I don't want to live in a white box, even if it is safe and well-heated and easy to child-proof.
So, we're still looking. The only reason we're still focused on Maine, rather than another New England state with excellent schools (Connecticut, number one public schools in the country, Vermont, number two...) is that my family, particularly my Gramp, who I'm very close to, will be crushed if not allowed to watch Maddie grow up. And I do want Maddie to grow up with family. It's just hard--I had this image of raising my daughter in the sort of Maine I grew up in--in a nice house, on lots of land, rural but not redneck, good schools, etc. and I'm not sure that's going to pan out. If we want a nice house (without major renovation), we have to give up the land, and if we want land, we have to give up the nice house. Of course my definition of "nice house" is one that is not only nice in the traditional sense, but also one that has lots and lots of character. Which is a really limiting factor. (There are a lot of capes and ranches in Maine that I can't even look at because I just don't like capes and ranches.) I guess I need to stop being so damned picky.
In other news, as hard as I tried to hate it, the American version of The Office was actually kind of funny.
We're having a bitch of a time finding a house. We made an offer on one but the sellers had already accepted another offer, verbally, so we didn't get it. Every house we investigate doesn't pan out (arsenic in the well water is a deal breaker for us, 'cause we're picky like that), and the ones we really like go into escrow before we can learn more. We're pre-approved at a nice low interest rate, but in order to keep that nice low interest rate we have to close escrow sooner than I think we'll be able to, unless something pops up on the market pretty damn soon. I so don't want to rent before we buy, but it's starting to look like we might have to. Part of the problem is my (not my husband's; he is sane and rational and logical about these things) desire to rescue a neglected 200 year old farmhouse and restore it to its former glory, with modern touches like big huge (thermopane) windows and a gourmet kitchen and a bathroom you could park several Hummers in. The problem with this approach, as the sane, rational, logical husband keeps pointing out to me, is that we have a 7 month old baby on the verge of walking and crawling and who is already getting into everything, and wouldn't it be kind of a bitch to child-proof a house with the flooring and walls torn up, and wires snaking out of walls, and lead paint dust blowing everywhere? OK, so he has a point.
That doesn't leave us with much, though. As xymotik pointed out, many many houses in Maine are little white boxes with all of the character and vitality of an office cube. Mainers are nothing if not cheap, and they are not going to spend money on useless aesthetic touches, like windows, landscaping, or design. And the houses with character in our price range (which is conservative, cause we just had a baby and this move to Maine is kind of an economic experiment for us, with a lot of variables) have huge, major things wrong with them, like floors that run uphill. Or poisoned well water. Or no electricity, or no heat in certain parts of the house (I am NOT making that up.)
I don't want to live in a white box, even if it is safe and well-heated and easy to child-proof.
So, we're still looking. The only reason we're still focused on Maine, rather than another New England state with excellent schools (Connecticut, number one public schools in the country, Vermont, number two...) is that my family, particularly my Gramp, who I'm very close to, will be crushed if not allowed to watch Maddie grow up. And I do want Maddie to grow up with family. It's just hard--I had this image of raising my daughter in the sort of Maine I grew up in--in a nice house, on lots of land, rural but not redneck, good schools, etc. and I'm not sure that's going to pan out. If we want a nice house (without major renovation), we have to give up the land, and if we want land, we have to give up the nice house. Of course my definition of "nice house" is one that is not only nice in the traditional sense, but also one that has lots and lots of character. Which is a really limiting factor. (There are a lot of capes and ranches in Maine that I can't even look at because I just don't like capes and ranches.) I guess I need to stop being so damned picky.
In other news, as hard as I tried to hate it, the American version of The Office was actually kind of funny.