Per the last post, I did share the most-liked Montopolis image with the guy at Callahan’s who vets new products for the store. He said he would share the t-shirt idea with his co-workers and get back to me…that was over a week ago :)
In other news, we hosted a small superbowl party and also hosted dinner for a co-worker (and her spouse) of Rob’s who were in Austin for the weekend. We’ve been using the sous-vide regularly which yields amazing results and those pickled blueberries were a cool touch to cocktails and as a salad topping!
The octopus on this t-shirt matches the color of my new jacket!
Beyond that, we have spent our remaining psychic energy on home searching.
Most homes-for-sale we view on-line in Zillow or the MLS, but we have seen several in-person as well either at open houses or with the realtor. We have defined our budget and we have also decided that we will be a bit further from central Austin than we had originally intended. We want more space, both inside and especially outside!
Most homes, however, are in new developments that are not attractive to us: country-club-style homes, suburban-type lots.
But we did see one place in Driftwood which would have worked for us, so we were scrambling to submit an offer but before we had a chance, someone else made the first offer. So we probably missed our chance with that one. Still, it was a good thing to experience as we settle in for what will likely be a long home-search journey.
These types of properties have a bit of land, so we are likely going to encounter more snakes. Our realtor helpfully explained that when there’s a snake in her garage, she calls for her husband who dispatches it with a hoe/machete combo. OK.
The area we gravitate toward is “hill country” which is south and west of Austin downtown. This is a popular area dotted with breweries, distilleries, and wineries. Higher risk for wildfire too, which concerns me. Sometimes when we are driving out there I call it “kindling country” which, by the way, is out past Slaughter Lane which I now substitute for Drury Lane in the Muffin Man song.
We are open to all sorts of home-styles, but we do have some criteria that need to be satisfied and some aspects that just matter to us a lot, like a good kitchen. It is clear that we will have to act with lightning speed when the right house comes around in this hot market.
We plan to have two dogs and a tortoise by the way. Conceivably, down the road, a few chickens. We’ll try to grow a few herbs and handful of vegetables.
This winter has been frankly too cold for me. It’s also on the rainy side. I was heartened today, though, when I saw a cute little lizard on the porch. I haven’t seen a living one of those for months!
PIca9 has me on temporary-or-longer? hold so I have been doing other things like: the Montopolis t-shirt design, Valentine’s origami, planning a painting for a large, rectangular piece of drywall we found at the side of the road, and writing a short story connecting some creepy-looking photos I found from historic New Zealand. The drywall painting likely will involve a chimera or the like. I also learned how to clean stainless-steel appliances: vinegar followed by olive oil.