Fun and Frolic With Long-Term Love

[Bluebird]

I was busy this morning. We had a plumber at Blackbird Manor and received more estimates. This is the same company who quoted us back in March, but for a different scope of work. They’ve actually done projects for us at our old house, including the $1700 job we did right after my mom moved in there. We are going to hire them - I just needed an updated set of quotes.

$8000 - sigh

We are planning on these projects to be done with the first part of the money we make from the sale of the old house.

1 My master bath has a separate hot water tank dedicated to the space. It has a date of 2003 on it. Lol This is going to be drained and capped off. My sinks and soaking tub and shower will be reconnected to the main hot water tank for the whole house. When we remodel this room next year, it will be replaced then. Right now it isn’t needed and we don’t want to have it explode because someone washed their hands.

2 The sanitary grinder pump is busted and needs to be replaced so we can use our fourth bathroom, located in the basement. The pump is located in an awkward spot so it actually needs to be moved to do the 3rd part of the project, and it doesn’t make sense to pull it out and then put it back broken.

3 Our current whole-house hot water heater is over 30 years old. After living here for a couple of months, we’ve decided that the size is more than adequate for us (50 gallons). So, it’s being taken out and replaced.

4 We have 20 feet of rusted cast iron piping in our crawl space, and it’s seeping at exactly 10 feet. So we HAVE to replace that first 10 feet. However, it’s all the same age, so it makes zero sense to just do half. It’s all coming out!

 

[Bluebird]

So our house listing went live yesterday, with SEVEN showings. Four today. We have one offer in hand and another one arriving later today. Squeee! I haven’t seen it yet. Our agent just texted me that she will be sending it soon.

Our professional photos went up on the page today and they look great. I’m very happy with them and they showed our house accurately - it looks bright and clean, but you can also see that the floors need refinishing. They’re accurate to the current state of things, and that’s what I was hoping for, to be honest. It doesn’t do anyone any good to hide issues - I want my offers to be fair and I want the house to close quickly!

Please let this all be over soon. Two mortgage payments are going to kill us slowly.

 

[Bluebird]

Soooo the very first offer we received tonight was amazeballs. $15,000 over our asking price. Everything looked great, yet it looks like we may be on the cusp of a bidding war, so we are holding off on accepting anything right now while we wait for other offers. Holy shit!

 

[Bluebird]

Okay so other offers haven’t materialized yet today but the realtor says it’s gonna happen for sure if we wait. Only we have this amazing offer right now. It expires at 4 today (in 30 minutes) but we asked for an extension until 8 pm, which we received. We have showings tonight happening, so our realtor is letting those know there is an offer on the table and they need to respond immediately if they want to get in on it.

If we don’t get any others, I think we are going to accept this one as it is written, as it’s really good. They’re already preapproved and they want a 30 day close, so that’s all aligned with our interests. Their contingencies are all okay for us.

I took a bath for the first time ever in our new house today. Bliss. It’s a jacuzzi tub.



Tomorrow I start tearing down wallpaper and window treatments in here!

 

[Bluebird]

We have a signed offer! It’s kinda surreal. We’ve been getting the house ready and now it’s going to belong to someone else.

Our agent spoke to the lender today and the buyers were approved for waaaay more than they offered on our house, and they have the resources to pay the difference if it doesn’t appraise high enough for what they offered us. The agent says they can schedule an appraisal though for Monday at the latest. But all the paperwork with the lender is complete on their end. So the closing is tentatively scheduled for August 11. However, they need to be out of their house by July 31, so they are going to push to get closed by then. Which seems crazy but there’s nothing on our end holding things up!

They want a mechanical & structural inspection, wood boring insect inspection and radon. They’re aware we aren’t paying anything to fix any findings and we signed on the offer where they wrote that we would only be asked to pay up to $100 for repairs.

$15,000 above asking price and 3% help with closing costs.

It’s solid. They were like the second people to see the house when the listing went live on Monday. Sent the offer yesterday, we signed today. Keeping my fingers crossed this moves just as fast because I would LOVE not to pay the August mortgage payment.

 

[Bluebird]

I was so anxious last night that I didn’t get to sleep until like 3 am. I have a full day today so that’s uggggh.

I’m going to get my eyebrows done later, and a trim on my hair. I kinda want to chop it to my collarbone - it’s soooo long right now. My hair stylist told me it’s better if I only get a couple of inches. We will see! I’m not getting it toned because I don’t have the money! Also, I’m heading to the Outer Banks soon and the sun and salt water will destroy anything I put into my hair.

 

[Bluebird]

Man our buyers aren’t messing around! Radon and house inspection today at 5.

 

[Bluebird]

Radon results will be here Saturday. The crack we have in the foundation is the only issue the buyers continue to have (and rightfully so). They are wanting to hire a structural engineer to be sure it’s a fixable issue (which we previously have been told). We are sure that their lender will want this information as well, and don’t feel it’s an ask to be an ass about. The general inspection yesterday didn’t give them any red flags otherwise.

Our realtor says they are requesting that we pay the $500-$600 for this report but we are pushing back a bit on that. We’ve said we might pay half. For now, she’s looking for someone to hire, and will get back with us today about what the actual cost will be.

The buyers have also asked about purchasing all of our furniture in the house. They also reiterated that they are pushing to close before July 31. I would absolutely love to not have to pay two mortgages for August, so we are in this with them!

 

[Bluebird]

I was out at the house earlier this afternoon - I stopped because I needed to pee. I watered the plants while there (not with pee lmao) and checked the mail.

Our realtor messaged and we were supposed to have a foundation specialist coming TONIGHT at 5 pm. She found a company that gives free estimates and the buyers were fine with us being there - so DarkKnight was going to meet them there to see what’s up.

Then the specialists didn’t show up, but their truck was against our curb all day. Like WTF? I guess they got things mixed up and they are now coming tomorrow at 4 pm. Again DarkKnight will be going: I can’t handle the anxiety - I’ve had insomnia all week. Tonight will not be any better.

Apparently closing has been set now for August 4. The buyers still want it sooner if it can be done, but this is the best date ever because it means we don’t have to pay August’s mortgage. Oh please!

I did get my hair trimmed and my eyebrows done yesterday. Here I am wearing a new romper this morning.

 

[Bluebird]

So the foundation specialist visit was a total waste of time. They gave us an estimate on getting the entire basement waterproofed and structurally secured - which they admitted it really didn’t need. Which is like, why TF are you even bothering? They refused to give any sort of written recommendation on what it actually DID need. Like what?

The inspector did say that the large basement crack has not expanded or shifted since it was last repaired - which was done before we bought the property six years ago. Before that it was behind paneling, which had been put up in the 80s. He would not put that in writing, but it was good to hear.

So now we are again on the search for a structural engineer.

 

[Bluebird]

My insomnia as of late has been absolutely terrible, but I’ve had some good sleep because apparently having DarkKnight read to me still knocks me out.

I’m home today since he took the car to work and I’m trying to decide what I want to focus on around the house. Tomorrow is my day for household budgeting, and packing for my trip to the Outer Banks with SirGawain that is next week. I’ve got two exciting things on my mind this morning though - there’s a garb sale in Annapolis on Saturday, and I’m planning a party in August.

I want to attend the Key State Steampunk event coming up mid August, and I have like part of an outfit assembled. I have a houndstooth vixen corset and some goggles! Maybe a skirt? I have to try some stuff on, but my bestie hasn’t been available to come over for that, though she was here for game night on Saturday. We’re going to meet up sometime this week! This coming Saturday’s garb sale should be helpful if I can figure out what I have here at home and then make a list of what I still need to buy.

As far as the party goes - I spoke to another bestie that I haven’t seen too much of since Covid, but she called me this weekend. Her and I have bonded through adoption, homeschooling and our cat fostering stuff. Well she is heavily involved in a rescue in Frederick, and I told her I would host a party in my new house in August to help her raise money. This is one of the reasons I love my house - it’s perfect for entertaining!

We’re going to invite our friends to come over on a Saturday or Sunday and make bracelets so she can sell them at events. MisterMoonbeam has an INSANE amount of beads and materials from his late wife’s jewelry business, more than I or any ten people could ever use. Like boxes and boxes of strands of beads. I’m going to get them set up so people can come over and make bracelets - my friend has cat charms that can be put on each one. She already does this herself, but she’s been buying the materials from her own pocket and I’m like, girl, I got you! MisterMoonbeam is happy to have these supplies go to a good cause as well.

I’m going to sort these out when I get back from the Outer Banks and start inviting people.

 

[Bluebird]

Apparently I have shifted into another dimension or something because I am living in bizarro world. I guess our old house has ZERO smoke detectors or co2 detectors. This makes ZERO sense because we lived there for 6 years. Seriously. There aren’t even holes where we would have hung any up.

So tonight we went to Home Depot and bought a bunch.

 

[Bluebird]

I’m soooo stressed out right now.

I’m just trying to keep my calendar open and my budgeting straightforward. Things are overwhelming me though and I’m emotional AF.

MisterMoonbeam made me a bagel and some chai this morning, and after writing this I am going to finally roll out of bed and get the day actually moving forward.

I’m going to take a bath - I love my jetted tub sooo much - and sort through my large pile of “donate” as this afternoon I am seeing my volunteers for the first time in a while. They always love my stuff, so I’m going to get it organized and into my car for them. We’re going to meet up at my old house for, well, old times sake, I guess!

I do need to figure out my schedule for the rest of the month, and for August as well, if I can. I really need to work on the budget too. It’s a mess.

We got our “Seller Net Sheet” yesterday, and DarkKnight filled out some paperwork online yesterday and today for settlement. He requested we get the funds through direct deposit. Right now we are still headed toward August 4 as the closing date, but everyone wants to move it up before the end of July, so we will see! Right now the buyer needs to schedule the termite inspection (not going to be an issue) and we are waiting on the official work on the crack in our basement wall. My architect friend is willing to write a statement but he’s on vacation in St. Lucia. The other contractor agency that could help us out is scheduling on Saturday. So we have a couple of options!

Also, I believe the appraisal has been scheduled. We got all of the smoke detectors installed last night, and also addressed that the home inspector said we had no GFCI outlets in the kitchen or bathrooms. I sent photos of all of them. I was flabbergasted to see that in the report because we very much meet code and have them where appropriate! I scheduled our electrician to come out and look on Wednesday morning - he was like, what? Lol He’s the one who installed them for us years ago.

We also had a note that the sliding door didn’t lock. It does. MisterMoonbeam looked at that last night and he adjusted a screw and it should be fine now. That was a super easy fix. The basement bathroom fan needs to be installed, but we have a brand new one in a box, and the electrician said he would handle that tomorrow as well, though the buyers didn’t ask us to do it. I’m just concerned the appraiser might require it, and it’s better to have it done so I don’t have to worry.

YellaBelly still messages me everyday, but I’ve been giving him the brush off because I just don’t have the spoons. AdorkableDude was here on Saturday for game night and I got to meet his wife, who I adore. My bestie was there with her boyfriend as well, which was a little awkward. We hadn’t seen him since Pride, and everyone in my polycule is unhappy with him. He’s very controlling and he actually told her to take a photo of her deceased fiancé down from her personal wall at work! He legit passed a year and a half ago. WTF He said it was disrespectful to him.

AdorkableDude actually texted me after game night and said he thought the dude had serious “serial killer” vibes. I told my bestie that I will always support her but I am very very concerned for her because this dude is not good.

Anyway, today I have to pack for my Outer Banks trip - I leave for that on Sunday with SirGawain. We will be staying for a week, similar to last year. I’m not excited, to be honest. I’m so stressed out it seems like more of a barrier to me getting things done around here! Of course I desperately need a getaway though, so I am hoping once we leave, I will be able to chill the fuck out.

 

[Bluebird]

So I didn’t pack a single thing but I figure I will do laundry tonight and pack tomorrow. Yeah, that sounds good! I ended up driving over and having dinner with SirGawain last night because why not? I didn’t see him this past weekend so I was missing him a little bit, even though we will be together for a solid week soon! It was actually a nice visit and I felt really lovey dovey afterward.

I’m at the old house this morning. The inspector said we had no GFCI outlets, so our electrician came and verified that we in fact have four and all work and are up to code. We had one regular outlet in the kitchen that he upgraded, but he also said that old code says it was absolutely fine so we didn’t need to do it. We had a light/fan combo in our basement bathroom that hadn’t been installed yet so he did that for us as well, though we were just planning to leave it for the buyers. We figured it would be better to do it now instead of waiting for the appraiser to come through and say it needed to be done for the loan.

While I am here I remembered that we have a set of old metal shelving on the side of the house, as well as a wooden/laminate bookcase, that need to be hauled out of here as trash. So I messaged a friend that does scrap and he just showed up and took both for me. Yay! BugGirl’s motorcycle saddlebags are here outside as well, so I am putting those in the car to come home, though I’m not sure if she wants them or not. She’s at work right now and not answering messages. I spoke to her on the phone last night about other things but I forgot to mention them.

After I leave here today I’m going to get gas in the car and a Powerball ticket. One billion dollars is no fucking joke. I’d buy everyone I know a house, and I’d improve the lives of so many people. Just wait and see. I did that with other people’s donations for six years - watch what I do with a solid bankroll of my own!

 

[Bluebird]

Ok we got the basement structural assessment done. The paperwork looks great in that and we sent it in. Now we are just waiting on the termite stuff, I guess!

 

[Bluebird]

The appraisal is supposed to be getting scheduled today - the lender said this morning, but we haven’t heard anything. After the back and forth yesterday, we got a counter offer from the buyers, which we responded to. They wanted four things:

1 Us paying for their termite inspection.
2 Us paying for downspouts and a re-grading of the backyard.
3 Us paying to update the entire electrical system in the house to current new-build code, us installing GFCIs and breakers, us installing smoke detectors and a CO detector.
4 Us paying for a chimney inspection.

We sent back:

1 No. we don’t have termites and never have. We’ve had regular pest inspections every quarter. There is zero visual indications that there is even an issue. We gave them information so they could reach out to our pest control services if they wanted. But if they want an inspection, they need to pay for that themselves.

2 No. We did the structural inspection and though the architect said that the cracks were caused by moisture, he also said that there was no evidence that this had continued beyond the original repair decades ago. There’s no need for this because nothing is happening anymore. Also, we said initially that we would not be paying for any remediation if any was needed. We don’t believe any is needed but either way, we are satisfied with the status of our basement crack.

In fact, our architect came back with a letter basically saying that their inspector is a fucking idiot, because though he managed to take a photo of the crack and him pointing to it, that’s the only thing he got right. Inspector called it a lateral crack and attached a graphic showing how horizontal cracks work. This is a stair step crack and it looks nothing like the graphic in the least. Our architect wrote that this assessment was COMPLETELY wrong (his emphasis was written in all caps, with bold and underline). He said there was zero structural instability in the cinderblock itself and everything was mortar-related.

3 We paid for an electrical inspection yesterday and all of the GFCI outlets are working fine and are within code. They very much exist, even though their inspector said they didn’t. We added a single new one that was over six feet from the kitchen sink, so it wasn’t required, but we did it. All of our current electrical wiring and system is working fine and does not need to be upgraded at all. Nothing is a hazard. (Upstairs is romex, but it’s in solid condition with no concerns and all outlets are grounded 3-prong.) We installed a new light and fan fixture in the downstairs bathroom, and all new smoke detectors in the house yesterday, and a CO2 detector.

New copper was installed 5 years ago and new overhead lights and 6 new outlets and 2 new circuits were put in with a permit at that time in the basement.

4 No. we’ve made zero claims about the fireplace, as we have never used it. There is deterioration and there needs to be liners installed. We said this at the outset and that has not changed. We won’t be paying for an inspection or making repairs.

So we are now waiting to hear back. Hopefully what we did do is enough. We feel pretty good about our reasoning. Also, we know the buyers can’t afford to start over with a new property - they have to be out by the beginning of August and if they got a new contract someplace else today, they would be looking at significant time in a hotel. Also, our house is awesome. They’d be dumb to walk for non issues.

 

[Bluebird]

I have so much going on that I haven’t written about because I don’t have time. Today is no exception to that - I’m getting ready for my vacation to the Outer Banks with SirGawain, and I have to do budgeting and pay bills as well, so all that is done before I go.

MisterMoonbeam bought us IMAX tickets this afternoon to see Oppenheimer. I am sooooo excited! Afterward I will be meeting up with my bestie to get pedicures. I am way overdue!

Yesterday I had issues with BugGirl. She called me crying in the morning that she needed to leave her boyfriend because he is toxic. She took the day off of work and had me on standby to help her move…and then nothing. Last night when she finally texted me she told me that she was okay. I told her not to call me until this morning - I didn’t want her partner listening in. This entire week she’s been saying things are okay when he could overhear, but then say the exact opposite when he’s not around. DarkKnight, MisterMoonbeam and I are okay with her moving back in with us so she can have some stability again. Not sure if she still wants to do that or what.

BeanBoy’s birthday is next week so I need to make sure the family has some plans for that. Even if it’s just my dudes have him over to watch Darkwing Duck and eat cake. Lol

DarkKnight has a one-act play he’s in tomorrow night, and he told me that he’s probably going to the after party and not to wait up after MisterMoonbeam & I see the show. Which is okay. My Bestie and MisterMoonbeam and I are going to a used garb event in Annapolis during the day so I probably won’t see much of DarkKnight this weekend, especially since I’m leaving for the Outer Banks early on Sunday morning.

 

[Bluebird]

Got my period, way early! It’s definitely stress and OF COURSE it’s happening when I am leaving for the Outer Banks tomorrow!

 

[Bluebird]

Hello Hatteras! I was here last July with SirGawain, and we are in the exact same beach house for the week! These pics were taken 10 minutes til sunset, so it’s not overcast at all - it’s just about to get super dark!

We don’t have any plans at the moment, other than we are taking a dolphin cruise on Wednesday night. There’s a live band on the boat too so that should be fun.

I am not having a good evening overall; I’m tired from the drive, and from having my period. Also, someone vandalized the front of our old house - when DarkKnight went there to mow the lawn, he discovered all of the plants thrown around and out of their pots! So I am incredibly anxious and upset, probably more so because of my period making my hormones wonky. (DarkKnight got it cleaned up, so no worries, really.)

So I am hoping that a good sleep will see me starting the day with a better attitude! Our appraisal at the old house is at 1 pm, so DarkKnight promises to stop by and make sure everything looks okay. This is the last thing we really have to worry about - since we were offered $15,000 over our listing price, it’s important that we can appraise at that price! Everyone says it shouldn’t be a problem. I guess we will see.

I just want the process over, and this house to belong to someone else!

 

[Bluebird]

The appraisal is done but we haven’t heard anything other than that yet. It’s hard to relax on vacation when there is so much going on at home, and so much I could be doing to move things along.

I’m hosting an event at my house in a couple of weeks called “Pretties for Kitties” and people are coming over to make bracelets that can later be sold to raise money for a local cat rescue. MisterMoonbeam is donating a ton of his late wife’s beading supplies. We’ve been paying to store them since we got together, and this is going to be a wonderful way to release the good in them out into the world. Anyway, I wish I had brought some of the beads here with me. There are boxes and boxes of them, and it would have been calming to sort them. It’s something to look forward to though, I guess, when I get back.

I finished ready a book about planning for retirement when you’re in your 40s and it was okay. Very basic. I guess it was a good kickstart. We’ve been talking so much about future plans with the house and our lives. It’s important to figure it all out sooner rather than later. Today I am making a list of goals and discussions I need to have with my partners. Something light for the beach. Lololol