And the winner is...

9. The winner is number 9. The house we have had a crush on since we drove by it years ago. We'd oooh and ahhhh over it as we'd strain our necks to see it through the beautiful landscaping that keeps it private from the road. Sooooo pretty. Soooooo peaceful.

A day after the older couple in our neighborhood turned down our (very reasonable) offer on their home, I opened up my email and saw my Windermere automated search results pop up. When I clicked on the house listed in the north end, I let out a shriek. I called Mark and said, "Our house just went up for sale!" I sent him the link so he could see which one I was talking about. "No way!" he exclaimed as he looked through the photos. Every photo made him say, "niiiiiiice." Tall ceilings, wood beams, big windows, northwest/Asian/craftsman style. We called our real estate agent that day so we could go and see it. The owners were still prepping it to show, so we waited until the weekend.

When our real estate agent went to the broker's open house, she stopped by with a brochure and told us it is the nicest home she has seen in Seattle in 15 years. We couldn't wait to see it.

We loved it from the first moment we stepped in the gate and saw the stream trickling past the front door. Everything was beautifully done- so many thoughtful details, but the bedroom layout (one per floor) just wouldn't work with the kiddos, so we went home and talked it over.

And talked it over.

And talked it over.

Weeks went by. Every house we saw, we compared to the house we had dubbed, the Inn at North Beach. Finally, we went back through and had our architect take a look at it. Could we add bedrooms on the top floor? After carefully studying the plans, she said we could add a sleeping loft upstairs and another bedroom on the main floor right next to the front door. Awkward. We talked ourselves out of the home once again.

Weeks later, we had not stopped talking about that house. Finally, our real estate agent said- call up the architect who designed the house. We did and less than 24 hours later, they had come up with an elegant solution to our problem: a way to add two bedrooms and a bathroom on the top floor that wouldn't expand beyond the current footprint of the house. We were so excited! We called our real estate agent and said- we want to buy that house!

The next morning she planned on coming over so we could write up the offer. It was a saturday morning. We were dancing around the house to loud music, making breakfast, giddy about our decision. The Kay called and said, "You are not going to believe this but..." my heart dropped. A European couple had given them a cash offer that very morning. cash. We couldn't compete with cash.

I was disappointed, but really felt it wasn't meant to be- oh well, we'll find another. Mark was crushed. Not only that, he was grumpy. He growled and stomped and grumbled the rest of the weekend. By Sunday night I said- let's give the home owners a letter telling them how much we like the house- just in case their deal falls through. What do we have to lose?

We wrote our letter and drove up there, planning to tape it to their door. When we pulled up, the owner was in the driveway. Oh! We awkwardly explained what we were doing there and he invited us in to sit on the porch and chat. We felt bad for intruding. He insisted! We met his wife. We met his mother-in-law. We met his dogs. We talked for a long time and they told us the European couple are friends of theirs who want to buy the house, remodel it, and resell it. But they had a feeling it might not work out. A contractor had come that day to see if the remodeling plans were feasible and they hadn't heard back. There was hope!

We went home, cautiously optimistic. The next day, our real estate agent called. She wanted to know what we did- because the buyer walked away, and the sellers wanted us to buy their home. They loved us- and our kids- and wanted us to have it. HA!

to be cont.....

Adding up the numbers

I think we are close to buying a new home. I feel it. We have so many nice choices. We have gone back and forth about them all. Beautiful home but small yard. Large yard but the home needs work. Waterfront acreage with an old home. Our own beach access but the house is so big.

I was thinking about them all and remembered our real estate agent and her proclivity for numerology. Our first home address added up to 8- that meant abundance, prosperity, accomplishment . That certainly seemed to be true. We quickly made enough to jump to a home twice as valuable.

Our current home adds up to a 7. That means solitude, spirituality, introspective. It's a lovely home, but it's also the cancer house in my head. Introspection indeed. The house brought me much peace throughout our ordeal, but I am itching to move on.

These are the options on the table:

The home up the street that belongs to an older couple looking to downsize. The address adds up to a 6: love, compassion, home. I can feel this in the home. The couple raised five kids there and the love and happiness are tangible in the air. The lot is beautiful, but the home needs work. I think we'd jump on this house in a second if the owners weren't holding out for more money than we think it's worth.

The beautiful home up on the hill that reminds us of a peaceful inn. The address adds up to 9: completion, selflessness, letting go of the old. Considering what we went through in this house, "letting go of the old" sounds very nice. How about drop-kicking it out the door? We are smitten by the house, so I have a feeling this just might be the one, even if we'll have to do a little work to create enough yard space for kid revelry.

Then there's the giant home in Magnolia with the big yard and a trail down to the beach. This one is a 3: fulfillment, social gathering, achievement. It better be full of social gathering with all that space! The kids might need gps units so I can find them. I have yet to walk into it- that will tell me for sure if it's an option, or a crazy distraction from the real choices.

In last place is the Cherry Loop one. How can you resist an address like "Cherry Loop?" Two acres, on the water...I sigh just thinking about how pretty that piece of property is. But the house- ack- it makes me gag a little. That address is a 6 as well: love, compassion, home. I don't feel that inside the home. In fact, we'd need to tear down the whole thing to build our own love and compassion home. That sounds like a monsterous project. Maybe a little too big for us right now.

I bet these next couple of weeks will bring an answer. I think I want to start packing...

Tattoo Me

Yes, I will be getting a tattoo. I have always wanted one- a tiny drawing on my back, my ankle, my foot. But I was scared to take that step and actually do it. I almost did during our honeymoon. There was a hut at our resort in Moorea right on the beach. You could sit in a foldout lawn chair and watch the waves while getting inked. I worried about cleanliness. I didn't know what image to get- so I passed.

So much later...the cancer. The scars on my chest- ports for chemo, mastectomy, an armpit carved out. I look at my scars- so much better than what they once were- and I wonder, "why was I afraid of a little old tattoo?"

So I am getting one. Not an entire sleeve. Nothing on my neck. No, no, no. It will be pretty- and not very big. Well, bigger than I thought- but nothing garish. I want colors, and fine lines, and hardly any black. No skulls, no open wounds, no devilish creatures. Pretty flowers. Pretty leaves. Each one with meaning.

Now I just need to find the right artist. That is proving to be harder than I expected. So many mediocre tattoo artists out there. So many bad tattoos. I have looked through so many portfolios, I am beginning to recognize artist's work. But that doesn't mean I want them tattooing me. I am still searching...