Another Shot in the Dark

We pulled off the impossible and found another house, submitted a contract, had it accepted, saw our lender and signed papers and got all the legal POA stuff done.

All in two days.

Once again I want to say I have the best agent and lender ever. Everyone was willing to work on off days and do whatever it took to get this done before Dion got on that plane.  Plus we really just like them and get along with them really well. It has made this whole mess of a house hunt enjoyable even in the craziness. That's pretty huge guys.

So Hubs is gone again. We put him on a plane Monday. The girls and dogs and I are back to waiting another month for him to return.

Inspections are this coming Monday. I probably shouldn't have even posted about the current house until then...seeing how its the inspections that fail each time. But just maybe...this time?

The house is actually in Valley Mills instead of Waco. But its no farther than the places in China Spring we have looked at lately. But it has a grocery store where China Spring does not.

Will tell more about the place if this one goes through.

Until then here is a blast from the past...Ozzy style.

Back to the Name Game

Unfortunately the third house we have offered on just failed the septic inspection. To be fair to the sellers, they did offer to put in a whole new system (like they could do anything else) -- but I also discovered that the largest share of the front yard and one side of the house are under water when it rains. Like up into the air conditioners deep. And we tracked mud all in the house during the inspections because of all the dirt washed across the front walk. Plus I realized that we would have to get rid of the majority of our furniture to fit in the house. It was a little on the small side in the living spaces.

So we cancelled the contract.

That means more time in the trailer (and yes Hubs leaves Monday so its probable we will not find anything before then and not be able to look again until September).

It means I have no idea what school Mouse will need to be registered in if I don't want to move her.

It means the dogs will still be without a yard.

So we started looking again in hopes that a miracle occurs before Hubs gets on a plane. And let me just take a minute to tell you that we have the most amazing Agent and Lender. Both are going out of their way to help us out even this weekend if necessary to get papers signed etc....should we find something. I cannot say enough good things about either. They make this much easier than it could be.

We decided to review the properties we have seen. That was actually funny. We realized we had names for the properties. We have seen at least 50 houses so we don't remember addresses...but we do have names for most them. So for fun we started running thru those names:

The Hacienda (sigh...the one that got away)
The repo (bank got to it before we did)
The Macy House (strangely we ended up looking at a house that a friend of Songbirds used to live in and we used to drop her off at)
The Shi* Sandwhich (first failed inspection house)
The Pool House (we found that this meant different houses to each of us)
The Disaster ( whole back of the house was cracking and falling off - I kid you not)
The Dog Smell House (which had a pigsty and huge pig in the back yard...which was more enjoyable than the dog smell)
The Blue House
The Middle of Nowhere house
The One We Should Have Bought (perfect location but needed lots of updating and fencing)
The Lake or the Dion house (second failed inspection house)
The Man Cave or the Autumn House (loved everything but the back yard and the price)
The Metal Building (exactly what it sounds like)
The Rat House (scary foreclosure that something was living in)
The 50's House (Way cool but too small kitchen and no back yard)
The Ditch house (me) or the Hot Tub house (hubs)
The Beat House ( totally abused)
The Green Pool House
The Hub Caps in the Bathroom house
The Tier House (three tiers in the back yard)
The Compromise House (its only three bedrooms but we like it)
The Fish House (Koi pond in back yard)

Of course there were plenty of houses that were so not what we were looking for that we didn't bother to name or even remember. There have been about three that I have walked into and wanted to leave immediately -- usually due to a galley kitchen.

Tomorrow starts another day of the search. Today we did find the Compromise house that is not exactly what we want but a good compromise. We like the house. It has many of the things we need. But. It is really two rooms short of what we wanted. There is an office but its really small so I have a hard time counting it as one of the missing rooms.

So wish us luck once again as we play another round of the name game!

Trailer Tales: The Smells Edition...aka...Ooooh Ooooh That smell!!

An extra person. Triple Digit weather. Lots and lots of rain. Cooking. Dirty laundry.

Any one of these things could increase the smell factor in an airtight tin can of a living space.

All of them?

Ugh.

Most of this trailer living stuff is not that hard to get used to. After all, its still YOUR space, not a hotel. That really does make a difference.

One of the major challenges I do have is keeping up with the smells. In triple digit heat there is no opening the windows to air out the place. The dogs can't take it and I have no options on cooling them down. That heat also makes the "black water" tank smell up real fast. We dump twice a week and double up on the deodorizer and it is still a hard fought battle when we are over 100. And that is with us making everyone use the RV park bathrooms for serious business. (I know...TMI!)

And cooking? We cook good smelling food but the smell never leaves!  It has made us all but stop cooking in this place because it becomes overwhelming. Sensory overload.

Now lets add the rain. EVERYONE loves that wet dog smell.  Times two. I went out and bought those waterproof pads for toddler beds and covered the couch and bed the dogs get on. Also invested in some Febreeze (sensory overload again) and do my best on the wet days. But I'm not loving it.

Then there is the laundry. The basket sits in the shower with the bathroom door closed. This space does not get air conditioned well so if there are gym clothes in there? Not nice. Or smelly socks? Needless to say we have to go to the laundromat several times a week to keep a handle on that.


So if you asked me what the hardest part of living in an rv is, I think my answer would be the smells. Even good smells are just too overwhelming in such a small space.

Trailer Tales: The Locked Out Edition

Did you know that it is very easy to get locked out of a travel trailer? That the lock has a design flaw that makes it happen rather often? And that lock smiths are very used to getting calls from locked out campers?

I didn't know either.

But I sure found out.

At 9:30 at night when I took the dogs out. And Mouse decided to come outside too.

In her pajamas.

And Songbird was out of town with the other key.

Luckily I walk around with my phone in my pocket most of the time. I was able to use the yellow pages ap and get a locksmith out in 30 minutes.  And I had been to the bank that day to pick up some cash.....I just didn't know thats what I would be spending it on!

Also in current new Mouse lost a tooth and we found that the tooth fairy DOES come to trailers also. Guess she didn't get locked out.

And in the "you've got to be kidding" category:

Songbird had her first accident. She walked away with a scratch on her ankle. Baby Molly isn't so lucky. She lost a tire, most of her lights and needs a new bumper and possibly a hood but maybe not. Moms - although SUV's are more likely to roll (she over-corrected into a ditch and laid it over), my baby was not hurt. All the first responders were amazed. Lets just say I'm a fan of teens in Durango's at this point.

Instead of that car shopping Songbird and her daddy were about to do, the new plan is to make the Durango street legal and give it to her. Daddy gets the new truck.  Tire, lights and a front end alignment might do it.

Did I mention this our tow vehicle? Tell me that this wasn't inevitable with the way our life goes. How could one of us not wreck Molly since we NEED her?

In other craptastic news, the chihuahua got hurt somehow. I'm leaning towards it being a wasp sting on his back at this point as its the only thing I can think of.  He cried whenever you touched his back. It was bad enough one day that I actually wondered if he had an injured spinal cord. But after the third day he seems to be better and not crying when you pet him or pick him up. Thank goodness for the small things.

And that about wraps up our first rotation without daddy in the trailer. Stitches, wrecks, family drama from hell that has ended all my tolerance, injured dog, locked out....and no house.

I have to say it makes me wonder if we were supposed to come back here after all......