Shameless plea for advice

What kind of phone should we get?  We no longer have a landline (haven’t for a few years now  — Ben and I got rid of ours circa 2007, I think) and Aaron and I both have pretty craptastic phones with contracts up so that we are free to do as we please!  Aaron is leaning towards an iPhone, but I am scared of the costs of service (not so much the phone itself as a one-time fee is something I can deal with).  I do want kind of a fancier phone as I’d like to be able to have a real calendar on it and all that.  But maybe that’s silly.  Of course, we also don’t have to do the same thing, but family plans seem cheaper and, of course, then there’s just one bill, which is nice. 

Help! Peeps, please advise.

Step three? I hope you’re seated!

In a shocking turnabout, we’ve decided to take the house (er, condo) off the market.  What?  But, Kate, you just put it on the market!  I know, I know.  But, in getting ready for last week’s open house (to which only one, but seemingly genuinely, guy attended and liked the place); I pretty much came to the conclusion that it was not the right time to move; that I love the place; that I love the location; and that moving now is just not necessary.  I know, peeps, you must be shocked and worried about my mental health.  I assure you all is ok (or, rather, as ok as it has been).

So, stay tuned for possible updates on fixer-upper stuff…And if anyone has advice or suggestions on peeps to talk to/hire about doing kitchen or “lover level” (I’ve decided calling it the basement is just bad sense) remodeling, I’d love to hear it…

And stay tuned for pics from the 3rd annual Cambridge, WI Barktoberfest!  Though damn chilly (the snow held off!), it was a fun time for peeps and hounds.  Wait, wait…here they are!  Make sure to try to fully understand the size of the English Mastiff (200 lbs.); my pics don’t do him justice.

UPDATE: Design appointment scheduled with Big Box Depot on Thursday evening.

Will it be Chicago?

I was up around 5 this morning (well, let’s face it, not UP, but awake) and turned to CNN.  I knew the decision was coming soon, but I didn’t realize it would be today!

So, if Chicago gets the Olympics in 2016, lots of biking would be in Madison. I know peeps have mixed feelings on hosting the Olymps because it costs, say, billions and I think some peeps just don’t like having loads of extra people in their town for a few weeks, but I really, really, really hope it happens. I just think it would be super cool. What I don’t think is the coolest thing about it, though, is that I’ll be 41 in 2016.  Not that that’s inherently uncool or anything, but it has given me pause.

So, we’ll know today whether or not there will be an Athlete’s Village in Madison.

UPDATE:  So sad.  Chicago was eliminated in the first round.  Given that there are only four finalists, I’m not clear on why there are rounds, but there you have it. * I had heard that the favorite was Rio.  We’ll see in a moment, I guess.  I’m bummed.  [And, yes, I know South America has waited a long time for the Olympics, but so has Madison...er, well, yeah.  The end.]

* Apparently, the IOC members vote and if there is no majority in the first round, the vote proceeds to a second round and the city with the fewest votes in the first round drops out.  Oh, poor Chicago.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune’s website.  I just love the shocked faces.  I mean, I don’t love that their shocked and sad, but I think the picture is so great; it makes me giggle a little.

Ok, and this really makes me laugh, which I sorely needed as this whole Polanski bonkers bonanza has my blood pressure at record levels.  It also, nicely I think, ties my previous two posts together.  Sorta.

Step two? Check!

The vintage couch is mine!  And it’s glllllllllllllooooooorious!  Enjoy…

Ok, maybe it’s not for everyone, but I just love it.  I wish the curve were on the other side so that it could define the space a little better, but what am I going to do, complain?  Heck no!  I got this sweet couch for $100 and that included delivery.  The kid probably would have taken even less, too, but I didn’t want to be a jerk.  $100 for such a cool couch!  It’s a Valentine-Seaver Original and my trained eye places it at Vintage 1961 (I completely made that up — well, the year, not the brand).  I think it’s just so peachy.  And the best part is that it really made the lower level (not ‘basement,’ people!) so much better for much less than I thought I might have to pay.  I know there’s still more work to be done, but I feel we’re on our way.  And now, I don’t want to leave.  I just love it here.

Also, let me point out to those of you with a critical eye, the space really is not crowded, though it may appear that way in my zoomed photo.  The treadmill is in plenty of space behind the couch and there is a lot of space to the side of the couch, so that the murphy bed can still be pulled down without having to move furniture.  So, there.

Attempt to sell #1

As you probably all know by now, I’ve decided to try to sell my home.  I’m not exactly in love with the idea of leaving it because (a) it’s my first home; (b) I really love living there; (c) the location can’t be beat; (d) it’s affordable; (e) who wants to actually move?; and (f) I don’t know that I can do any better.  So, why am I trying to sell it?  I think it’s mainly two things — (1) Sorry about all of the lists.  Ok, that’s not really (1).  (1) I’d like to have a house house with a yard that puppy can run around in and relieve herself to her heart’s content without me worrying about a particular neighbor grilling me about Gracie’s bathroom habits and  I’d really like to have a more traditional second (or — gasp! — third) bedroom.  As much as I love the murphy bed, I’d like to have a real guest room or office or whatever.  And (2) I think I just want to see if I can sell it.  I know it’s not the ideal time to sell, but what do I do?  Wait another five years?  I’ve lived here for 4 1/2 and I think it may be time to see if I can move on to something else.  We’ll see.  If it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t sell and I stay put in a place I truly love coming home to.

That said, if any of you know anyone looking to purchase an exquisite (if I do say so myself) near-west side condo, I’m the one to talk to.  And I know peeps say the condo market has bottomed out, and maybe that’s true, but I don’t think that really applies to the place I call home.  It’s not a high-rise, it’s not cookie-cutter, and there are only 13 units in the entire association.  And really, it’s nice not to have to shovel.

Check it out.

So, for a bit, it’s possible this blog may turn into a boring old blog about trying to sell a place.  Step one, put it on the market.  Check.  Actually, that’s probably not step one, but it pretty much was for me.  Step two, try to buy this cool old vintage, mid-century couch off of craigslist to try to stage the basement.  Wish me luck.

Ugh

You know, I love a good human interest story as much as the next person, and in this age of declining newspaper sales and, well, newspapers, maybe small-market journalists would be better off staying close to home and reporting on local flavor, but this is pushing it.  This is the big story on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s online paper today.

I’m really disappointed in the papers in Wisconsin these days.  I used to subscribe to the Capital Times and while I acknowledged that it was a pretty bad paper, the poor quality had its charms.  Paragraphs were often repeated several times, stories often had no conclusions or discernable points, and local news could be about something as inane as me.  Well, it never quite reached that level, but it teetered close to the line.  But now, with only the State Journal and the Journal Sentinel left, I feel lost.  No question, the Milwaukee paper is way better than Madison’s version (putting aside today’s ridiculous story), but when I want daily Madison news, I’m left with the cold, charmless and incomplete State Journal.

Thank goodness for the Isthmus.