Wow, big week!

On Monday, we closed on that little fixer-upper I’ve been on about. It was an intercultural experience. The sellers were an older Iranian couple who were apparently under the impression that there is no such thing as a done deal. Everything is negotiable, even at settlement–and even with your own agent! It took a couple of hours, and at some points I was concerned we (or at least they) might end up on “Judge Judy,” but we walked away with the keys and a check for uncompleted closing items, making the house an even better deal, as far as we were concerned.

Since then, I’ve been painting pretty much non-stop, with the help of my daughter and a friend. The blood-red living room is now off-white. The dark gray metallic kitchen is now apple green. The tree guys came in on Wednesday and took out all (or at least most) of the ugly bushes and trimmed back the silver maple that was threatening the house. Electricians are in there now, tearing the place up and adding lights and fans everywhere. Before-and-after photos coming soon!

Best of all, on Tuesday, the teenager was accepted to school number three in Vienna. He is not on probation. At least not formally on probation. We really do think this is the best place for him and that he will do well with a fresh start. My blood pressure has gone down ten points since getting the acceptance letter. So what if I have six weeks to renovate a house? That is cake compared to the last few months. No problem!

Did I mention that I never have to do this again?  🙂