Kind of Over It

Inspirational song: The Log Song (Ren & Stimpy)

We are still recovering from the shock and horror of yesterday's home inspection. We needed time to grieve. We have gone through several stages, including denial, anger, bargaining, and we seem to be arriving at acceptance now. Yesterday we were plotting our next move, how we would ask for them to pay for our structural engineer, electrician, and pest control specialist. Then, we would demand the money for the repairs, plus a percentage on top for contingency budget and the extra expenses of staying in this apartment. Today, after looking at all the bleeding red type on the inspector's report (he color codes things that are in compliance, need attention, or are horrible violations) we have come to the conclusion that this is not our next Park. We are going to walk away, and because it is a result of the inspection, we shouldn't lose our earnest money. It makes me extra tired and depressed thinking of starting the housing search all over again, but it is our only real option. We can't wait months for this house to come up to compliance. It will be someone else's problem.

We were invited to a couple different Independence Day parties, and ended up going to none of them. I declared it Independence from Pants day, and was barely dressed most of the day. I had an extra long nap in front of a fan, with cats piled around me, and it was just what the doctor ordered. By late afternoon, I summoned the strength to go shopping for necessities (to process food in and food out of all our bodies), and somehow I managed to create a new dish for dinner that worked quite well. Someday I will do a full workup for Annie's Test Kitchen, but the short version is: chicken, onion, butternut squash cubes sauteed in butter, covered in spices--specifically curry, garam masala mix, cinnamon, coriander, and marjoram, braised in chicken broth for half an hour, and then baby kale leaves stirred in at the end while the sauce thickened. It was fantastic. Not the usual hamburgers and hot dogs of July 4th, but it was what I was craving.

Fireworks have been going off all around us since dark last night. Alfred has been hiding in his bunker almost the entire time, and periodically there are booms loud enough to set Murray barking and to put a look of stress on Jackie's face. I've seen enough fireworks displays in my life to take a pass on this one. We are staying home to keep the animals calm. We can see a few flashing lights outside, and that's enough for now. Until we have a house of our own again, or can at least start the next stage of the search, we are just going to lie about the brick oven, as motionless as logs.