So just for the record, that paltry snow storm we got at the end of February does not count as snow. Any “storm” in which I can see my grass through the snowfall afterwards does not count. As far as I am concerned this whole winter is forfeit. The ground isn’t even cold enough for snow to stick, hence my brick path above. Massachusetts’ winter without snow is ridiculous. I am expecting either snow in July or next winter to provide significant snow to compensate for this oversight. Hmrph.

So as many of you know, I’m not a gardener, but I am trying. Aaron’s mom has been a huge help since we bought the house and has put countless hours into developing our yard. I just try to keep up. Unfortunately Aaron’s mom broke her ankle earlier this fall, so I had to find a way to plant the fall bulbs on my own – without Rita’s help. Ugh. And then I heard about the Bulb Bopper. You see, when Rita and I work together in the yard, she works about 4 times faster than me – in the time it takes me to plant 3 things, she has planted 12. I’m not kidding. She’s a machine. I think this tool might help me to level the playing field a little bit. You see it’s a giant auger that you attach to a drill and it digs the holes for you. I could do their commercials. Anyway, I bought the tool and it definitely made the planting go quicker, although admittedly not as fast as when Rita does it by hand. I’ll take whatever advantage I can get.

So, in case you’ve been wondering what Aaron and I have been doing with our free time lately, here’s the story – we’ve been canvassing our area looking for a house. We’ve seen some good, some bad, but nothing quite right yet. The above shot is of me, admiring some “creative” wiring at one of the many properties we decided not to pursue. We’ve been to private showings and open houses, we’ve seen properties being sold by a seller’s agent and other’s by the owners themselves – the experience is different each time we go out looking. It can be quite exhausting, but we’re prepared to be patient until we find the right one for us. We’ll keep you all posted.

I took both the above photos of the Prudential Building as seen from Commonwealth Avenue today. Together they illustrate the forecast here for the next week or so – hot and humid with scattered thunderstorms. It was in the 90s Sunday and Monday – today it was a refreshing 84. Since work has central AC, I am almost eager to get there in the morning…if that’s not an indicator, I don’t know what is.

I can admit it..I love reality TV – the drama, the fights, the losing – all of it. So The Amazing Race is over and Tyler and BJ won (yeah!). On Survivor all the votes have been counted and Aras was the winner (boooo, I was routing for Terry or Cirie)… But all of a sudden the ‘Now Playing’ list on my Tivo only has the crappy shows Aaron is recording. What’s a reality TV junkie like me suppose to do now? I guess I’ll have to settle for Deadwood‘s season 2 on DVD.

Packing has taken over our lives. Please notice in the above picture we are numbering every box and cataloging its contents. Tonight we reached box number 118 on the spreadsheet…and we’re still packing. The move is scheduled for Saturday. Hopefully we’ll finish before the movers arrive.

It’s done. What a horrible and disgusting process. I had no idea that a stereotype/ generalization could be so true, but the car salesmen we encountered, across multiple dealers were rude, manipulative, aggressive and ridiculous. Do they all have a handbook? Thanks to research and persistence, Aaron kept a few steps ahead of them at every turn, while I took notes and looked mad (not a stretch, I assure you). Anyway, the good news is that we have a brand new car that I am very excited about. Hopefully this means I won’t have to worry about replacing timing belts, new brakes, leaky gas tanks, etc for at least a couple of years.

In another unfortunate twist of fate, our landlord recently informed us that he will not be renewing our lease, as he wants to re-do the plumbing, electrical, etc in the building and needs to tear up our unit. So, as of the end of March, Aaron and I are out on the street. Neither of us feel like there’s enough time to find and buy a house, so now we have to search for an interim apartment (that will let us go month to month mind you) and pack up and move. Ugh! Needless to say this is particularly bad timing for us. I’m dealing a bit better now and am trying to channel my frustration into packing energy, but I am ready for something housing-wise to go our way. It seems we’re overdue.

It’s official, we have started looking for a house. After another frustrating occurence at our current apartment, we have finally gotten serious about buying a house of our own. We are in the VERY early stages and are really just trying to educate ourselves on what we like and don’t and more significantly what we can afford…but it’s all very exciting. We went to our first open house this past weekend. Unfortunately this particular house needed quite a bit of work and as you can see from the photo above, the ceilings were a little low for our taste, but it was a good learning experience.

So many of you know that Aaron and I had a second car, a 1994 Buick Century. Originally, it was my sister’s first car and when she got a new car, she passed it on to us. This past summer we had a lot of problems with it. We hemmed and hawed about whether or not it was worth it to have it fixed. Ultimately we decided that we still needed a second car, so we put a good chunk of cash into getting it repaired. We got it back and then a month or so later the rear wheels locked. For me, that was the proverbial straw that broke this camel’s back. We agreed not to put another dime into it and that the best way to rid of it was to donate it to charity. So we researched charities, cancelled the plates and insurance and arranged for a pick up truck to come and take it away.

A couple of weeks later the pick up truck guy comes to take the car. I tell him it’s not drivable, the wheels are locked and I’m not sure how extensive the problem is. He says, “No problem,” and pulls out the biggest sledgehammer I have ever seen. He hammers the center of each of the rear wheels a couple of times, starts it up and then proceeds to drive it up onto the back of his flatbed truck, without the slightest problem. I wanted to say stop, wait, you can’t have it if it works…but it was a done deal at that point, so I just let it go. Meanwhile I was mentally kicking myself for not looking into what was wrong with the car. And yes, I know, chances are pretty good that something else would have gone wrong with the car soon…but I still felt betrayed by the Buick. So, it’s gone now…that car is dead to me. Here’s hoping the Honda hangs in there a little while longer.