Taxidermy Worms: There's No Place Like Home

A new home is something I had been dreaming of for a long time... Not my dream home, although I have spent an continue to spend plenty of thought time on that as well, but what I was aching for these past months (years even) has been something with more than one bedroom. The ability to do laundry in my own place of residence without the aid of a roll of quarters. A garage.

I cannot even begin to explain how blessed I am. As I type this I am looking around me at the walls and ceilings, windows and doors of something that is so, so much more than I could have hoped for in a first real home (a condo will always just be a condo no matter how cute). It's funny too how these things happen. It had been several weeks since the listing for our condo went live and not a single person had been by to see the place. I was honestly beginning to put the idea of a move out of the forefront of my daily thoughts. If for no other reason than to ease my disappointment.

I had finally let my mind stray for a moment, though my prayers remained the same. And as happens more often than I tend to realize things fell into place. Funny how that happens.

Two showings were booked and a day after the second one our friends and families were suddenly barraged with "WE HAVE RENTERS!!!" text messages, phone calls... I think even a few carrier pigeons went out!! We were excited to say the least, but there was also a whole new set of nerves being hit. We had two weeks to find a place to live! And so our search began...

My Father-in-Law clued us in to a listing on a place that happens to be a couple blocks down from where I'm sitting right now, and though it was a nice house (quite a bit more modern than is my preference) we decided to keep looking around before we made any decisions. We might as well cruise around town for a few minutes while we were already there, see if we came across anything. Not much stuck out to us and there wasn't much town to see so we were heading back to the main road when from behind a large pine we noticed a cute old home peeking out at us as we approached the last stop sign before the desired intersection. Gray with black shutters, a sizable front porch and a walk lined in rose bushes... "That's a pretty house!" we said practically in unison. As we spoke together my mind immediately chimed in "I bet it's not available"... but quickly shut up when, again, we both yelled out "And, there's a sign!". My Debbie Downer mind quickly regained her footing and retorted with a "it's gotta be a sale sign, there is no way this house is for rent!". And again, foot to the proverbial mouth... it WAS a rent sign... and as we both took in that detail out-loud (there seems to be a theme here) from the back yard walked another young couple, child in tow speaking with a real estate agent.

We debated back and forth with our doubting minds and with each other as to whether this couple looked like they were about to snatch the place up before we could even stop the car and get our seat belts unfastened... then about whether we should attempt to impose on the agent standing in the yard by asking if we could check it out while she was there anyway... and well, you all know how this story turned out! So why don't you sit back and take a gander at some of the few photos we have of our humble abode. (detailed room posts to come, sometime, in the future... hows that for a vague advert?)