Buddy

"Buddy NO! No humping." I find myself yelling that in my deepest andmost authoritative voice with a completely straight face. It tends to make people laugh. I guess that one of the things you only hear at the dog park.

Buddy Tired Out From The Dog Park

Another Painting Date With Mom And Dad

My Latest Painting

I had another lovely painting date with Mom and Dad on Saturday. Here's what I made. 

Alex And Pip

This video was taken about a year and a half ago. I meant to share it with you then, but I'm sharing it now.

The Value of Competent Allies

When Andrew got his job with Lam Research in Tualatin, we immediately started searching craigslist for a suitable house to rent. Andrew and I have dreamed about buying a house for a long time, but we didn't have the savings for a down payment. As you may know renting a house in the Portland area is extremely expensive. We started combing through apartment listings, also expensive. Not only that but they all had a two pet limit. The thought of giving up the ferrets made me sick to my stomach. In addition Andrew and I had been dreaming of getting a dog through the whole process of job applications and temporary post-college jobs. When one of us landed that grown up permanent job, we were getting a dog that was our deal. With the limitations of being renters, our dog dream faded once more toward the distant horizon. Every once in a while life sends you a fabuluous streak of luck. Here's how it went for us:


1. I stumbled across an ad among the craigslist rental postings. The ad was for a mortgage company, it went something like "can't afford a down payment? We can help. There are programs that you're probably eligible for."
I was suspicious. Things that sound that good tend to be scams, but I decided to find out. It was legitimate. We lucked out, Robert and his team at Summit are some of the most competent professionals in the business.

2. Robert was an advocate for our best interest. Mortgage brokers get paid a percent; we were on a budget. It was far from a juicy sale, but Robert was always willing to take time to answer my questions and explain all the details of the program to which we were applying. He also recommended that we avoid shopping at the top of our budget.

3. We didn't have real estate agent in mind so Robert recommended Patti Freites.

Because of our budget, it didn't take us long to go see all the our options. We found the house we wanted on the first day and made an offer. The house was foreclosed. Banks are notoriously hard to work with. They made a counter offer that wouldn't work for us (or anyone probably). The counter offer was really very close to our original offer, we offered them 1% earnest money (the industry standard) they countered with 3%. We couldn't afford 3%, but even if we could Andrew and I wouldn't have been comfortable with it. In case you're not familiar, earnest money is money that the buyer puts down to seal the offer. If the sale goes through, earnest money becomes part of it. If the sale goes sideways, there are a lot of places where the buyer can get it back, but there is a possibility that the buyer might not. Why was the bank insisting on 3% when the standard is 1%?

The conversation went back and forth, but the bank (the seller) stubbornly clung to the 3%. Another potential buyer came into the picture and everyone put forward their best offer. The bank chose us, but they still instisted on 3%. Patti was furious on our behalf. She ranted to Robert, and Robert wrote a letter. Robert's writing reminds me of Auntie. If you know me well, you know that I can give no higher compliment. The letter was beautifully professional, clear, well reasoned and polite. It said you are being ridiculous and unprofessional, without being the least bit confrontational. It explained the way the system works (something a bank really should have known), and why 3% earnest money was unnecessary and unreasonable and why certain levels of detail about our financial information were the mortgage companies' concern not the seller's.

Andrew and I had learned that the bank had turned down nine other offers on the house. The house had been listed for almost a year, and during that time, its asking price had been reduced several times.  Some of the previous offers were probably higher than ours. We weren't extremely hopeful. The seller seamed stuck on requiring 3% earnest money no matter what, but after getting Roberts letter, the seller accepted our offer with the standard 1% earnest money.

It's been almost five months now since the house closed. We're all moved in and we have been remodeling all summer. We love our neighborhood. We love Newberg. There is no way we would have got this place without Robert and Patti. I cannot recommend these two enough. Because of them we live in this lovely little town close to Andrew's work and yes we finally have our dog.

Here's the link to Robert's webpage
http://go-summit.com/staff/robert-williams/

Ember Approves

"I Love You."

Buddy And Andrew At The Dog Park

Happy Dog

Oddly enough, the bathroom is the first room that we finished renovating.

Acrylic And Canvas

My First Painting Done In Acrylic

In August, at cannon beach, Andrew, Mom, Ruth and I spent part of an afternoon painting in water colors. It was really fun. I wish that I had taken pictures. Along the way, I discovered that I can paint pretty decently. So, I decided to do a few things on canvas. Mom and Dad and I have spent several lovely afternoons and evening painting companionably. The painting of the trees isn't quite finished in this photo. I've added a few touches since, nothing terribly drastic. The painting is based off of a photograph that Dad took when he was pretty near the age I am now. The photo is hanging in the guest bedroom at Mom and Dad's. 

This little bird came from a Nature Conservancy calendar. I think he's a Piping Plover in New Jersey. If I remember the caption right.

A Wonderful  Crow By Mom

Adorable Mushrooms by Dad

Our House In Newberg

Here is a tour of our house on the day in early June that it became ours.

A Year In Summary

It's not quite a year since I've written in my blog, but it's close. It's been an eventful 10 months. I hope to tell you about the in more detail, but here it is in summary.

1. In February 2015, Andrew started a permanent job with Lam Research, a company located in Tualatin, OR. It's a huge leap forward for him, career wise. He has broken the experience catch-22 that so many of us slam into when we graduate. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it goes like this: The entry level jobs require experience; It's impossible to get that experience without getting a job. I'm so proud of Andrew. 

2. Andrew's increase in income put us in a place to become home owners instead of renting. We moved in with my parents and started the process known as buying a house. I became queen of paperwork.

3. I decided to retile the entryway to my parents house as a Mother's Day gift. Removal of the til revealed a rotten wall and shoddy construction. Andrew and I replaced the living room front wall. It's sturdy safe and rot free though not yet drywalled or insulated. 

4. Just after Mother's Day our house in Newberg closed, and we moved in.

5.We began remodeling our house. (Still in progress.)

6. Melanie Moser, one of my very best friends, got married and I was a bridesmaid. 

7. In July 2015, we got a puppy. His name is Buddy. 

8. I decided that I don't want to have children. A puppy is enough to make me crazy. Fortunately Andrew is okay with that (both the crazy and the lack of kids.) 

9. At the end of July, Andrew mangled his finger with the router. Router injuries often result in amputation. It's a tool that's meant to remove a lot of material. Andrew got lucky, really lucky. He still has his finger and it almost looks normal again. 

10. I still volunteer with the USGS. I've put in over 300 hours in the last 12 months.

11. I am still looking for a job although I'll admit could have submitted more applications than I did. 

12. I am 4/5 of the way through writing my book. I have promised myself that I will finish it by the time I turn 30. That happens this April.