Got some exciting news which I really REALLY hope I can post before 9am my time when the hottest woman in Europe takes off for the weekend cuz I can’t get online now. I was on long enough to pick up messages after I awoke, but now it’s out again. But since I usually do my entries in Word, I’ll just get on with it and hope I can post this once it’s done.

Tom asked the lady at work who lives at the park we’re looking into about barking. She says it’s not a problem at all. She said that when someone passes by people who are out walking dogs they sometimes yip at them, but otherwise it’s not like the mainstream. Yeah, well let’s hope Fido doesn’t go off on anyone passing by when he’s let out to take a dump just a few feet from our windows. In other good dog news, they must be kept indoors – yay! So they can’t just tie them up outside before they go to work or when they go out to run errands. I was so glad to hear this! I hope this will deter people from wanting dogs because, for reasons I don’t get, most Westerners don’t believe dogs belong indoors.

Tom said the people managing the place are super nice, and the more he talked to them, the more he doesn’t think there’ll be much trouble getting a place, and that if anything our credit will be just a minor hiccup. We both agree, however, that we don’t want to go from one single-wide dump to another just because it can be ours and much cheaper to rent the lot it’s on than to rent this one from pesky Jesse. We would rather wait for what we want which is a doublewide. It may not be very new and it may need some serious cosmetic surgery, but at least we wouldn’t have settled. As Nane said, if it doesn’t “feel” right, we’re not going to go with it. As annoying as Jesse and his mutts can be we’re not in a desperate situation here like we were in Phoenix, so there’s no need to act in haste. Besides, we have to do the paperwork and let them do the credit check.

He asked about closing costs and all that stuff and I guess there wouldn’t be any of that if we bought a place that was owned by the park as opposed to one a realtor’s selling. It’s a big park with hundreds of homes. He only saw 3, none of which we would want since they were 1-bed, 1-bath, but they said they have about 16 either up for sale or almost up for sale. They’re remodeling and fixing some of them now. They fix anything crucial that needs to be fixed before they sell them.

The average lot these homes are on rent from $400 - $850. Ours will probably be in the $500 - $650 range. This includes trash and sewer, but I’m not sure about gas and water. Probably not those two, and definitely not electric.

Another thing that appealed to us about this particular park is that it’s only 6 miles from where he works instead of 18.

Some of these parks don’t border on mainstream residential areas, but part of this one does. Therefore, we have to make sure we don’t take a place in that section or else we’ll get slammed with tons of barking. Tom was hit with it when they showed him one of the expandos which they call single-wides that have been expanded with add-ons.

The park has more amenities than I thought it did which is super cool. Here, if I want to go outdoors there’s not only any place to go, but I have to hope I don’t get sprayed by skunks or that a bear doesn’t jump out at me. I still love the country way better than the mainstream city, but still, there’s not much I can do out here in the mountains. At the park, though, there’ll be plenty of level streets for bike riding. They also have a pool, a spa, a library, a sauna, a game room, and a laundry room we could use until we got our own washer/dryer.

That’s another thing, the manager said they usually gut the homes before selling them when someone either moves out or dies, so it’s unlikely that we’re going to have a dishwasher, washer or dryer when we move in. On the bright side, we get to pick out the exact ones we want. We really like the idea of getting one of those two-in-ones that both wash and dry clothes. They’re only a couple hundred dollars more than a washer/dryer set. I’m not very hopeful for a dishwasher because there may not be room for one, but that’s not something I have to have. I’m just tired of having to hook up a little puny washer and then hang clothes in here! I want to walk up to a normal, full-size washer and dryer that’s always hooked up and ready to go. Oh, those little luxuries I’ve missed so much that so many people take for granted.

They have potluck dinners too, which brought back a funny memory of when Andy and I lived at the same apartment complex in Arizona in the early 90s that was ruled by a bitch named Stacey which I sort of developed a crush on. Yeah, I’ve got a thing for those tall bitches, LOL. It said to bring a dish. Well, we thought “bring a dish” meant to bring a dish to pile food on. Instead, it really meant, “Bring a dish of free food since you’ll be eating for free, too.” But they let us load up our “dishes” anyway, hahaha.

If we go with a more expensive place where the monthly expenses are comparable to this place, fine. Not only is that ok since we’d be getting so, so much more for the money, but we’ve shown we can save at least $500 a month here. So after we got what we wanted for the place, why couldn’t we save there, too? The most important thing is making sure there’s at least enough to go out and grab and old junker with should this car completely crap out in a way that’s not worth fixing. That would be mostly in the way of engine failure. All other maintenance and repairs Tom can do on his own. He’s always maintained his own vehicles.

So, two more steps – hoping the credit check goes through ok, and then waiting till what we want becomes available.

The excitement and shock of it all hit me again last night and I cried tears of happiness. For years I told myself we would never own again because I didn’t believe it was even remotely possible. It may be a manufactured home as opposed to an on-siter, but it’s still a home, and we can have it paid off in 3 years or less. I don’t like how we’d always have to pay rent for the lot it’s on, but it’s worth it with all the park has to offer. I’d rather that than pay nothing in the mainstream where people refuse to control their dogs and kids, and are always driving by blasting music, though this state isn’t nearly as bad for car stereos as Oregon and Arizona.

I can’t wait to go swimming – woo-hoo! It just may be too cold a part of the year.

It still blows my mind to think that on September 16th, not quite a year ago, we were trying to figure out the best way to die so we wouldn’t have to slowly starve off on the streets when the money ran out. Now we’re figuring out the best home to buy, OMG! My eyes are stinging with tears right now. We had a helluva lot more than just a foot in the grave. I will never forget October 3rd either. After that miracle call came through and saved us, I was sitting here writing when it hit me that by now the landlord would probably be discovering our bodies. shudders at the thought Now here I sit not even a year later, tears streaming down my face to know we survived such an ordeal and are on the road home and that day is coming soon just like Tom and Nane said. That is going to be one seriously emotional day for me.

Other things hit me too, and I ran to Tom and said, “Our baby’s been born! If it’s that close, she (but probably he) has been born by now. He’s only a few inches long and hasn’t got any fur yet, but he’s out there. He EXISTS! And he’s waiting to be taken home by his future mom and hugged and squeezed. Yeah, being the rodent junkie that I am, I doubt we’ll get a dog of our own. I’d only want to take my straightening iron to its tongue every time it barked and woke me up.

Later…

Thank you, Hanna, for letting me know you passed the message I sent you to your mother Stacey since I was unable to message Stacey directly, by disallowing messages. Stacey had that disabled on her own account, so instead, I picked her oldest daughter to share some old memories with. As in some of my 1993 journal entries. I almost wish I saved them just so I could laugh at them, but I know what’s in them. Stacey also let me know she heard about it by way of not only not accepting my friend invite but by blocking me. But did Hanna pass it on and did Stacey read it if she did? I would think she would be curious to see what her own kid was sent, but those who are that unforgiving and unable to move on as Stacey is usually don’t care what anyone has to say about them. They just want to spite them or avoid them. Or both.

Bitch looks smoking hot, though. That much is for sure. Her husband’s profile pic is a shot of them next to a Christmas tree and the bitch is almost movie-star gorgeous with her tall, slim body, perfect teeth and face free of sags and wrinkles. How do some people get so lucky? This woman’s not only younger than fat, sagging little me, if only by a year, but she’s had 3 kids. I’m sure that quite unlike me, God has blessed her with everything she could ever want and that what she can’t get is probably no big deal to her anyway. She’s got a beautiful home unlike anything we’ll ever have, she and her husband no doubt have great jobs, and of course they can both drive and keep schedules just fine. They probably still have a rocking sex life, too.

Her kid was listed on another site as being of mixed ethnicity, but what could that be? If she had all her kids with the same guy, and I assume she did, he looks exactly like what I picture Stacey to go for – someone much like herself. He’s damn near bald and his hair may be a touch darker than Stacey’s, but he’s just another blue-eyed whitey, though I’d say Stacey’s eyes are bordering on hazel and her hair bordering on light brown.