What is a good friend?

Let's see....a good friend is one who calls me up to make sure I don't miss John Prine (and our talented and wonderful friend Jason WIlbur) on Austin City Limits....and who has driven by our future house a few times (just as I have) just to check out how it looks at different times of the day! And, well, who meets me day after day at the Y at the unbelievable hour of 7 a.m. so we can work out together (even when she has the discipline to go on her own but I don't!) Thanks, Malinda! Now back to John Prine and that glass of red wine....it's such a thrill to see Jason on TV! Life is good.

Mom on a Mission -- accomplished!

For a month or so, I've been meaning to write an entry called "Mom on a mission." A good friend told me that she felt the same way when house-hunting -- absolutely obsessed. And I was. I looked at lots of houses -- some that were really lovely, and much more expensive than the one we are buying. But none of them really felt like "home." I told Jordie that there are lots of plastic-looking beige-box totally-carpeted houses out there, with manicured lawns...for lots of money. NOT us!

Well, I thought for awhile that the house on the corner of Wimbleton and High felt right, but I was mesmerized by the fabulous kitchen. I mean, a really, really fabulous kitchen with a big kitchen island, slide-out pantry shelves, double built-in ovens. I was in love with that kitchen.

However, the house was on the corner of High Street, and Jordie could not envision living there.

But we both loved the Sycamore Knolls neighborhood....and our friends Deb Galyan and Mike Wilkerson emailed me that we should get in touch with their friend Catherine, whose house would be on the market soon. And we did.

At first, I was not in love with Catherine's house. The kitchen is perfectly nice and homey, but not .... well... fabulous. And, only one oven. And the windows in the living room are regular windows, and I am used to huge windows. And, the fireplace in the living room doesn't have a mantle. BUT, everything else about that house is really, really good. Beautiful paint jobs throughout. Walk-out doors from the downstairs family room. Fireplaces upstairs and downstairs. A really nice deck, surrounded by two magnificent pine trees -- it feels magical to be on that deck. And the backyard is surrounded by trees, mostly pines. And the most darling little tube skylights in the kitchen and one of the bathrooms. Two walk-in closets. The carpets are fine, and the living room and dining room have hardwood floors. She really has done a great job taking care of that house.

And the second time we were there, I had kind of gotten over the fabulous kitchen in the other house...and I noticed, while Jordie and I were just looking around there....that it felt like home. I told him that, even though it is a much bigger house than his parents' house in New Jersey, that the feeling of being there was so reminiscent of 21 Walter Avnue.

And he started saying "Did you notice that whenever you look out of a window in this house, you see trees?"

And so we began talking about "when" and not "if."

So, in April, 2033 South Montclair Avenue will be our new home.

Now, there ARE a few things I'd like to do...I'd like to put in dark-green granite countertops, knock out the wall between the kitchen and dining room, put in a kitchen island with dark-green countertop, put a new mantle and fireplace surround in the living room, with tile....and make the two windows in the front living room wall bigger, and casement style...or maybe one really big bay window with a window seat! I'll post some photos of the house below so you can see it.