17. we're on!

We are less than two weeks away from closing, and we finally (FINALLY!!!) got through the last of the big hurdles. We had a general inspection back in June, then a special solar inspection, then a special well inspection, plus a survey. The last big hurdle was getting the appraisal... and it took 17 days (not that we were anxiously awaiting the results or anything) to get the final report. When it finally (FINALLY!!!) arrived today, it was such a relief! We could start sharing our new address without worrying about "jinxing" the process!

We actually had to start sharing the address a couple weeks ago (like to cancel our cable, switch the utility bills to the new owners, etc.), and it just killed me to tell anyone where we were planning to live, as if saying the address would make the whole deal fall apart. Every time Husband would mention our future home, I would force him to knock on some wood. I wished on lucky stars, I wished on heads up pennies I found on the ground, and I would knock on some extra wood just for good measure - anything to help the deal go through!

I know it's completely irrational, and I never would have thought of myself as a superstitious person before all this. (It's not like I haven't taken my lucky underwear off, or anything like that!) But this process has made me realize that I am a lot more superstitious that I realized. And it made me think back to my pregnancy with Kid (after two previous miscarriages) - it wasn't until I was at least 36 weeks along that I said to Husband "I think we might actually have a baby this time!" It was like I was afraid that getting my hopes up would cause the good thing not to happen, so it was safer to just to be anxious and not to say anything that might alter the outcome.

(As an aside, in mythology, there were three women ("the Fates") who determined the destiny of all mortals. The Greeks believed that if you got too cocky about good things ("tempting the Fates"), they would respond by showing you who was really in charge and bringing some bad into your life. I must have more Greek ancestry than I realized!)

I'm realizing now that it's all in good fun to be superstitious, up until the time that very superstition prevents you from enjoying the entire process. (You know, the whole "it's the journey, not the destination" yada yada.) Bad things can happen - pregnancies end, house closings fall through, terrible accidents and tragedies happen every day - but silly things like knocking on wood aren't going to actually make a difference.

So today, after finally hearing back about the appraisal (and while technically still waiting for the underwriting process to commence, which should take three more business days), I decided to prevent my superstitious nature from impeding my enjoyment as we embark on this new adventure: I shared the address with several people, told my friends that our house closing is a done deal, and I reveled in my excitement for our new house.

And to top it all off, I wrote a blog post titled "we're on!"  Take that, Fates!

16. possible set back

After our house sold, we finally signed a breath of relief. Could things finally be starting to settle down? Could we relax and enjoy our last few weeks in MN? Was it safe to let our guard down?

Sadly no, grasshopper.

Husband went out to Montana for the house inspection last month after our offer was accepted and we were under contract. He and the inspector spent about 6 hours at the property, and thoroughly investigated every nook and cranny.

The good news is that Husband had been under the impression that the sellers (who had built the place) had done everything perfectly (which was intimidating to him), but he (thankfully) discovered that they were only human after all, and all was not perfect.

The bad news is that Husband had been under the impression that the sellers/builders had done everything perfectly, but he discovered that they were only human after all, and all was not perfect.

At first I didn't really understand the magnitude of the non-perfectionism, but as time dragged on for them to respond to our request to agree to some updates/fixes to the house, I started to question why it was taking so long. That's when Husband explained to me that there was actually some pretty MAJOR things wrong with the house (like, they had used indoor-grade wiring for the outdoor solar and wind power systems), and that it might be expensive for them to get it fixed.

How could such a thing happen, I wondered. After all we had gone through with permits over the years, and the major headache of our city inspection that was required for us to even list our house on the MLS, I couldn't figure out how such a major error had been allowed to happen for a house that had been on the market (with no offers) for over a year.

And that's when I was told that the sellers had never pulled a single permit for anything. Ever. Nothing.

Now, in their defense, apparently permits are only suggested for electrical and plumbing in Montana, or so Husband tells me, and building permits aren't even required for single family homes. And since permits can be expensive, I can kind of understand cutting this expense if your money is tight and you really know what you're doing. But what I DON'T understand is cutting this corner if you aren't absolutely, 100%, totally sure of what you're doing. And apparently they weren't.

So now we wait. We are hoping they will agree to get everything up to code, and to have it certified by a state-licensed electrician.  (And a couple other things we requested, which are a little more minor but still important.) If they do, then we can move on to the next step (appraisal), which is also not guaranteed. If not, then we start looking into back-up plans, as we're about 33 days away from the big move.

At this point, our realtor puts closing at about 50% likelihood.

15. the new addition to our family

About a year ago, when moving was just a twinkle in our eyes as we looked forward to retirement, we decided it was finally time to get a dog. Husband has been wanting a dog for years, but we had a small house with two cats already, plus we are super busy, so it didn't make sense to add a dog to our crowded lives.  In the winter/spring of 2016, however, we were shocked with the sudden and unexpected deaths of both of our beloved cats within 24 hours of each other. It was devastating. We decided we would institute a year of mourning before we welcomed any new pet into our lives.

We both grieved for a few months straight. But by the end of summer, Husband was ready to at least start thinking about our next pet. Always a cat tolerator and never a cat lover, he took our cats deaths as a sign that it was time to get a dog. But I just couldn't envision a future without a cat, so we decided to "compromise" and get one cat and one dog. His and hers pets, if you will.

We did much research and debating about the order of adoption, given that Husband very much wanted a purebed puppy and I very much wanted a humane society cat that was about a year old (young but not too young). We decided to get on the waitlist for a puppy away, and Husband did a bunch of research and decided to go with Welcome Home Labs in northern MN, with the hopes of welcoming a puppy as close to the end of the school year as possible.  (We visited them later in the fall, and even I, ardent cat lover that I am, left a little bit excited about getting a new puppy in the spring. They are great, if anyone else out there is thinking of adopting!)

The time passed, and we crossed off all the major holidays without our beloved cats: their birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. By early January I finally felt emotionally ready for a new cat. I started visiting the humane society, and keeping my eyes peeled for anyone who was looking to re-home a cat. On Martin Luther King Day (2017), we welcomed home our Cat. He quickly became king of the household, but also clearly needed a companion to play with (other than an unwilling one like me or Kid). We counted down until Dog could join our family.

And finally he did!

8 weeks

introductions

10 weeks

play time!

13 weeks (look as the size of those paws!)

I'm not sure I would necessary recommend getting an 8-week-old puppy the week before putting one's house on the market, but in retrospect (a month or so later), it had a couple unexpected up sides. (Like the fact that most of our stuff was packed away, which gave Dog a lot fewer things to chew on or to pee on. And most of Husband's hobby equipment was packed away, which made him have to focus all his attention on Dog.) But it definitely still added stress to an already stressful situation!

Despite the stress, Cat and Dog have been a delight to have around. And we think they are both going to LOVE Montana - Cat can become an outdoor cat (in the country) and Dog will have a lot more freedom as well. Unfortunately Husband is already starting to say things like "when we get a second dog..." (WHAT?!?!) We'll see!