decision.

Well folks, I think we've finally made the decision to move. When we started thinking about this whole thing, we didn't even consider water testing. But our testing revealed that our water at this little red house (cute little house that I'll miss) has really dangerously low pH, and a high-ish level of copper in the water. I am not going to jump to the conclusion that this has caused me to miscarry so much, but then again, I don't think it's terribly good for our health. Low pH in water corrodes the piping and makes water carry a higher level of potentially toxic metals. Not a risk I'm particularly willing to take. Also-- when your water tests at the acidity of vinegar (or lower) how can it be good to drink 8 glasses of it a day?

The water at the big barn where we will move into tested perfectly. I guess this is the "sign" I needed to finally make the choice. It's bottled water here from now until we move.

happy birthday to me!

Today I'm thirty! Despite the stress and sadnesses of the past two years, I'm feeling happy today. It's sunny and clear. We're having lunch with some of our closest friends, and Mr. brought me a huge bouquet of pink roses & made me a chocolate-orange cake. Seems like a pretty good day to me.

To move or not to move... that is the (urgent) question....

We’ve been putting off this decision for a long time, but we must decide… and soon. Our current rental house is going up on the market next spring. It’s no big treat, but it’s in a good location & it will be relatively cheap. A similar house in the neighborhood was sold within a few weeks, even in this tough market. If we stay here we can look forward to the annoyance of “showing” a house that isn’t even ours.

Maybe this would be okay, if this house were in great condition and we loved every aspect of living here. But it’s in bad condition. The pipes are always leaking. The toilet has been mounted on PLYWOOD for years now & the venting is poor, so often the wood is damp, which means mold. I can’t emphasize enough how repulsed I am by this situation. Although we’re renters, we do all the lawn work, most of the repairs, and have to deal with all the basement flooding issues.

But it’s been a sweet house. It’s surrounded by 22 acres of lovely woods. We have flowers, birds, peepers, silence. Other than the bathroom, it’s a cute, retro house. The rent is low, we’re close to campus, and we’ve had a lot of good memories here.

Here’s the interesting part: the place we are thinking of moving into has a lot of good memories and good karma too. It’s the place I lived in during my Master’s program when Mr. and I were dating and engaged. It’s an AMAZING re-done barn. The kitchen is enormous, the bathroom is a dream. It looks like something out of a magazine. Our dear friends live there (my old roommate and her husband), but are leaving this May. It’s perfect of entertaining. The cats would love it. And did I mention the size of the bathroom?

But…. it’s also a bit insecure. Technically, it’s not a “legal” apartment. This means we have to pretend we’re not really renting sometimes, and with that comes the worry that the town will swoop down and boot us out. (But they’ve never yet done this to any of the “tenants” of the place.) It’s a remote fear. And, as if the fates are conspiring against our housing… this place is on the market too! True, it’s been on and off the market for 3 years and only had one showing (I think). It’s ghastly expensive and not really zoned for “apartments,” whiche seems the only reasonable usage of the space. It’s not very quaint new-englandy. In other words, there’s almost no chance this place will sell. The owners are NOT “motivated” sellers, b/c they don’t plan to move for 3 years.

Also: we’ve poked around at other rentals, and NOTHING catches our eye. Everything is either too small, too pricey, too far from campus, too nasty…. etc…

Please advise. Oh pretty, pretty, please! What do we do? Help.