Back from Florida House Hunting

Shane and I just got back from another trip to Florida. We were house hunting again. We went down certain that we were going to put a bid in on one house and came back bidding on another.

Both houses are in Punta Gorda, FL -- about 2 hours south of Tampa. The house in which we were first interested was in the Historic District of Punta Gorda. It was built in 1927 (or 1930) and was on a residential street about three blocks from Charlotte Harbor and a beautiful park with free tennis courts. The house is a Key West-style house with a fireplace, beautiful wood floors, a beautiful front lanai, and two "Florida Rooms" in the rear. It also has drop ceilings, a bouncy kitchen floor and a really ugly kitchen. We loved it mostly for the location. We could walk to great restaurants, galleries and that park with the tennis courts.

The House in Town

We were all set to make an offer on the in-town house, but the Realtors took us to another house. It is in another part of Punta Gorda, further south. I walked into the living room and saw the view out the lanai and said "Oh My God!"

We all but forgot about the other house and wanted to make an offer on this one with a salt water canal. The house is a foreclosure (more than $500K was owed on it). It was built in 1980 and is in pretty good shape. The bathrooms are nothing to write home about, but who cares with that view? The photo of the view above does not do it justice. It looks out over a mangrove (who doesn't love a mangrove?) that can never be built on. That view will always be there. The sun sets over the water behind the mangrove. It is a dream house nearly in our price range. The house is surround by big beautiful homes, many with pools. It is by far the worst house in the neighborhood.

We would have been perfectly happy in the old house in town, but now this house has ruined it for us. We put an offer in, hoping against hope, but we know deep in our hearts it is a long shot. Though the listing price is relatively low and its only been on the market a few days, we know there are other offers already in. We put in the highest and best offer we could -- far more than we were planning on spending. We are half terrified that we'll lose this house and half terrified that our offer might be accepted.

Look at that view! How could we resist?

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #207

Yes, he's a great dancer, but buying him pants is a bitch.

The above cartoon is the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #207. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter.

Ben & Jerry's "Hubby Hubby" Ice Cream Celebrates Vermont Marriage Equality

The Vermont-based ice cream maker, Ben & Jerry's, is renaming its "Chubby Hubby" ice cream "Hubby Hubby" for the month of September in celebration of the State's new same sex marriage law taking effect. Though my Hubby loves Coffee Heathbar Crunch, we would buy "Hubby Hubby" if we could. It won't be sold in retail grocery stores, but will be given away for free across Vermont from wedding-themed ice cream trucks. Let's hope they expand on the idea and sell it nationwide!

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #205 + #206

Yeah, they ran out of the ankle things, so

my house arrest is a bit more obvious.

Aren't you Daniel Radcliffe?

The above are the cartoons for New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest for the weeks of #205 and #206. Since I was on vacation, I never got the chance to enter #205. Let me know if you come up with any captions too. Click on the link above to enter (#206).

Another Amazing Maine Sunset

Just after Sunset at Pumpkin Light

Sunset on Pumpkin Light in Maine

Isle of Haut

View from the Porch

Little Deer Isle, Maine--we're on the porch, watching the lighthouse.

Help Save Marriage in Maine

Shane and I are starting our second Maine vacation of the summer. We're staying at Moose and Squirrel, a house on Little Deer Isle with a spectacular view of Pumpkin Island Lighthouse. Shane is from Maine, and I am hoping that one day we can get married in there. We have purchased land in Maine and we're planning on building a house there when we retire.

Though Maine is one of the States that reportedly allows same sex marriage, it hasn't happened yet. There is a referundum up for vote this fall that could take that right away before any same sex couples get married there. Much like Prop 8 in California, Referendum 1 can take the civil rights away from LGBT Mainers. Do what you can to help win this fight. Go to Protect Maine Equality and help if you can. If you live in Maine, vote NO on 1! Thanks.

Police Ignite Wood with Taser

Police in Lancaster, Ohio, got new tasers on Sunday. That was bad news for Daniel C. Wood, 31, who was huffing a substance from an aerosol can and running in traffic. An officer caught Wood, but he was resisting arrest. He allegedly was kicking and biting and"made gestures with his hand as if he were reaching for a firearm in his waistband," according to Lancaster Chief Dave Bailey. That is when Mr. Wood's day started going very wrong. The officer zapped Wood with a taser, which caused him to catch on fire. The officers on the scene were able to pat out the flames, but I'm guessing Mr. Wood suddenly ceased in his resistance.

On the Bright Side

We have to stop and remember how good we have it. Sure, we lost out on getting the house of our dreams, but we really can't complain overall. You know you're spoiled when you are devastated that the cable is out -- no TV or Internet (I'm posting this on my iPhone). That's not the end of the world, right.

On the bright side, Shane is coming home from his business trip to Nashville tonight. He's only been gone since Sunday, but it sucks to have him away. On the not so bright side, he is going to grouchy we he finds out we don't have cable. (Actually, he got home as I was writing this and didn't care about the cable -- nix that.)

On the bright side, we only have three more days until we leave for our second week of our Maine vacation. We spent a rainy week in Maine in late June. On the not so bright side, it looks like it is going to be another rainy week and Hurricane Bill is headed that way.

On the bright side, our cactus is breaking out in a crazy amount of new blooms. The not so bright side is that we'll be out of town by the time it blooms.

On the bright side, Shane is home now!

Good Stuff Eatery--Suicide by Burger+Fries

Good Stuff Eatery is on Pennsylvania Ave. near our house in DC. I was walking home by it right after I got the news that we lost the house in Florida on which we made an offer (see below). Anyway, what better way to cheer yourself up than gorging on a burger with fries?

They had lines out the door this past winter, but I had not eaten there until today. It was busy, but no long lines now. I'm not a big fan of the Food Network, but apparently Chef Spike Mendelsohn won the South Beach Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash (which was on the Food Network in February). Spike took home three top prizes -- People's Choice, Judges Award and the Best Dressed Burger -- with his Colletti Smokehouse Burger.

I had the basic Farmhouse burger with cheese and fries. The burger was very good, but the fries were soggy with grease. It's a bit more than McDonald's, ($9 for the meal), but I'd go back for the burger. I will also go back for a milkshake, which I saw others enjoying.

I hadn't had a hamburger in a long time. I was not eating meat for several month, until I decided I wasn't getting enough protein for running. Not being used to so much greasy food, my stomach is a little churney, but I think I'll be OK.

Interestingly, I have a heart screening tomorrow morning. I will have a blood test for cholesterol and other heart-related stuff... probably not the best night to eat this meal, huh?

We Didn't Want That House Anyway

We made an offer on a house this weekend in Florida (see below). We just found out we didn't get it. Waaaaaa! Someone else made an offer on Friday that was accepted this morning. We're very depressed.

We had our heart set on waking up and looking out over that canal. Our realtor said that he only sees houses on canals like that on the market twice or three times a year, and they go fast. We live in DC, which makes it difficult to run down to Florida at the last minute to look at a house. This was a forclosure and an amazing deal. We were just a day late.

I now understand why you don't announce you're going to have a baby until after the first trimester. I know this isn't really anything like losing a baby, but we feel a little like there was a bit of a miscarriage.

New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest #204

Shirley, you cut the cheese.

The above is the cartoon for New Yorker Cartoon Caption Contest for week #204, along with my entry for the week. Let me know if you come up with a caption too. Click on the link above to enter. I realize my caption this week is juvenile, but I thought it was funny even though it doesn't really address why one of the businessmen in a rat. I like all their little hands.

We've Made an Offer on a FL House

We went to Florida this weekend to look for a second home. We used to have a condo in a golf community in Fort Myers, FL, but as the prices of real estate started to plummet a couple years ago, we sold it. Now prices seem to be at rock bottom (we hope), so we thought we'd see if we could find something we liked. We did. We have made an offer on the house above. It is in Port Charlotte and is on a canal. It is an older home, but our hope is that it being waterfront makes this a good investment.

This is the view a few feet from the back of our house, looking down past our dock. Yes, it comes with a small dock. That metal contraption in the foreground is a hoist that lifts boats out and into the water.

This is the water view from the master bedroom.

It is a foreclosure. Apparently, the previous owner went broke updating the kitchen with new cabinets and granite counter tops.

The living room and family room are tiled. This is the corner of the family room with a built-in bookcase. The doorway on the left goes to the garage and the other doorway is to the laundry room.

This is Shane on the dock of the canal. This house needs some work. Some of the appliances are old, it needs new carpeting in the bedrooms and one of the hallways, it needs some major landscaping, and there are some other small problems we can see. We're just crossing our fingers and waiting now to see what the response is to our offer.

On the Short List

Shane and I are house hunting in Florida this weekend. This house is
on our short list. We looked at about six houses yesterday and this
is the one we liked best so far. It is huge (2,000 square feet) and
in a nice area of North Port. We'd have to replace the carpeting, but
not much else. It is a foreclosure and listed for $114K. How can we
resist?

Shane Looks Over a Hole into the Attic

We may be crazy, but we're not crazy about this house.

The View from the Disaster

This is what we liked about the house on the canal--the only thing.

Crossing One Off the List

Shane and I are in Florida looking at houses this weekend. Shane had
high hopes for this abode he found on the web, but we quickly crossed
it off our list. It does have a beautiful view of a canal in the
back, but the house was a disaster. It said it needed a kitchen, but
it needed much more than that. it was completely gutted inside, had
rotted wood, broken windows (including a bullet hole through a front
window), and was a general mess inside and out. It was priced at
$95K, which is a pipe dream. The view is the only thing it had.