Weekend tidbits

Kates spent the afternoon in her classroom and is still there this evening. In the meantime, I spent the afternoon playing with Phoebe, in between taking care of the homestead.

And now we’re watching “Toy Story.”

Such is becoming our Sunday routine.

* * *

On the bright side, how about those Green Bay Packers!?

I was thrilled to see they were on national television today, and they looked good -- real good. Except for the fact that they had trouble stopping Michael Vick in the second half. And Aaron Rodgers looked Favre-alous throwing that fourth quarter interception that could have turned the tide and lost the game for the Pack.

But, hey, the Packers are 1-0. … The Vikings are 0-1. And Favre is appearing more like even he doesn’t know why he decided to play another year. He didn't look good the other night against the Saints. ... Ok, so he suited up for the first game, but I still doubt he’ll play the whole season.
Adding to my weekend sports fun, the Cubs were in Milwaukee this weekend to play the Brewers. I made the discovery Friday night when I was flipping through TV channels in search of a game. Phoebe immediately joined me on the couch, and when Kates came into the living room and I announced the finding there were high-fives all around.

The three of us watched the game together, and Phoebe fell asleep while cuddling with me and watching a baseball game for the second time in three nights. She did the same on Wednesday night while I was watching the Red Sox game.

The Cubs won Friday night’s game behind the rejuvenated Carlos Zambrano, but I was just as pleased to see the Brewers win one today.

Nothing like the enjoyment of watching your hometown teams on TV. Even when you’re living hundreds of miles away.

* * *

We resumed our house hunt this weekend …

We saw three houses. No. 31, No. 32 and No. 1 on our list.

The first was a mansion that was out of our price range, but we wanted to check it out anyway. It has a layout similar to the home that’s been our benchmark since we saw it last spring -- House No. 29, the one that we would buy in a heartbeat if only it weren’t on one of The ’Ville’s main drags. The difference is the house we saw yesterday has been completely refinished and restored, from top to bottom -- including the attic room, which had been transformed into the ultimate man’s lair. The yard was gorgeous, too.

The second home we saw is an old farmhouse Kates has been keeping her eye on for the last few weeks. It sits on a large lot and the interior has a ton of potential. Hardwood floors, ornate woodwork, a large kitchen and four bedrooms upstairs with the possibility of a second on the first floor. … Those bushes, by the way, would come out immediately, too.

On the downside, the foundation has some severe cracks, and a little bit of tugging on the wallpaper showed its holding the plaster together. The property also has two unattached one-car garages, which we’d want to demolish in order to build one two-car garage. The home sits on a corner lot that features a gas line hub, which just scares me considering what happened in California. And I’m not in love with the neighborhood.

The home is well -- well -- within our price range, which would allow us plenty of extra funds to turn it into something really beautiful. … The debate we’re having, however, is whether we have the time, resources and energy in us at this stage of our lives to do the job.

For our third viewing of the day, we went back to the first house we saw last spring. The price had been hacked quite a bit since we last saw it, and a few more looks at the charming exterior convinced Kates and I that maybe a second look might change our minds. …

Nope. Almost as soon as we stepped inside again we remembered why we didn’t like it the first time. The first floor layout is awkward. The three bedrooms upstairs are tiny and there’s virtually no closet space. And the basement is just plan creepy.

And so the search continues.

* * *

This week our landlord, aka our realtor, had a new washer and dryer delivered to our place …

We used for the first time today. And it is heavenly.