apple picking

Ah! A crisp New England day.



Rows upon rows of apples. We tended to favor red and golden delicious for eating, and cortland for baking. No photos of the two pies made later, but we were all rather too sick with culinary delights to photograph the scene.



YUM.



Eve tries to persuade Adam. He looks pretty complicit.



It was the serpent's idea anyway.



Apple pickers in attendance: Emily, Ken, Abbye, Emily D., and Beth.

I wish I had taken a photo of the "hayride." If you read Kara's blog, you have had an account of a decent hayride. The one offered at our orchard was so pathetic! There was a tractor pulling this flat board on wheels. Upon the board, there were 4 bales of hay in the middle. That was it! So you could sit on the bed of the trailer and lean against a hay bale, but sheesh, how sad! Hayrides should have at least a few of the following elements: hay (lots of loose hay), hay bales stacked up to make benches with backs, horses, pumpkins, etc. Right? Am I a hay ride snob or what?

new obsession?

We've been thinking... and considering all the advice from those we've asked... it's probably NOT the best time to buy a house. Boo-hoo! What will my new obsession be? I like to have a project that I can think about (outside of the never-ending project of my dissertation)...

Any suggestions? I'm thinking of researching and figuring out how to best invest some $ for retirement. Roth IRAs? I've heard good things. Any financial advice out there? I love advice about these things.

But the process of looking at houses has left me knowing a bit more than I used to know. I know that I truly LOVE old houses. They don't have to be too old, but just a wee bit old. I like that. I also like reproductions of old houses, but those are usually mucho expensivo. I also now know that I'm very picky about where the house is located... I like quiet country settings. I also like neighborhoods that aren't too new or too fancy, but not too icky-hicky (duh). I'd love to live near one of those lovely New England town greens.

The good things about waiting to buy:

-we can continue put money away for the down payment
-we'll be buying when one of us has an actual JOB job, so we'll probably be able to look at a wider variety of houses
-we'll know what our commute will be BEFORE buying
-the market may continue to go down, so our housing options might look better and better
-the house we love may still be on the market, at the rate houses are selling in that area

Ciao!

E

to buy or not to buy...

Hi Loyal Readers (loyal you must be if you're even still bothering to check this)--

Well, I'm in love, and he's WAAAY too old for me-- about 120, I am guessing. a while back a former grad student in our program let the department know that she and her husband were selling their home. It started us on this whole house-hunting thing... and after seeing a little bit of what's in our price range, I keep returning to that first house that sparked our interest...

Here's a link to a listing:
http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?sby=6&lid=1086595264&sid=#Detail

I hope it works! What do you think? I've seen it twice, and it's very lovely...

But... we don't know how long we'll be in the area, it could be one year, it could be 3, it could be 40... we just don't know. While I HATE paying rent right now, I do fear getting involved with our first real estate project without knowing how long we'll be around. I want to buy, but I think that's mostly because it's such a sweet house, and it could be a really great investment. I keep dreading the day when we find out that the house has been sold, and we've missed our chance.

My only real concern is that it has a basement that is OLD-- and unlike any I've ever dealt with. Basically, it's just a fieldstone foundation, and the floor is gravel and dirt. All that is down there is the furnace -- it's not a storage area or anything. It doesn't seem wet or anything, but just different from what I'm used to. But, I suppose if I LIKE old houses, I better get used to the idea of old basements. Right? I don't know.

Most of the houses in our price range would need a lot of work before they seemed like home to me. This is a house I think I could really enjoy living in from day one...

Any words of wisdom or warning?

E