the love of summer

Almost a whole season has past during my writing hiatus.  I let the pollen-filled, balmy air of spring transition to the sweltering days of summer.  Sitting down to write again, I realize I have written this before; that summer is my most favorite season.  I love all four seasons for different reasons.  Fall for its crisp air and changing leaves that present the most beautiful portraits of natural beauty.  Winter for its quietness when a cold day forces people to hibernate away in the warmth of their homes, gazing out windows that frame scenes of constant rain or snow.  Spring for the dewey promise of new beginnings, flowers blooming and birds once again singing out the morning window.  But summer to me is different.  Maybe its the warmth that hits the skin and just feels more penetrating.  It's the season where water is cherished and celebrated.  Whether the beach, the river, or the lake, these bodies of water produce relieving cool breezes and an escape from the penetrating sun.  Summer seems to be a time when it's okay to be lazy, when the serious things become not all that serious and the long days seem to fade into each other with each sunset.  

And so with the sunshine and the great bursts of leaves growing on the trees, just as things grow in fast movies, I had that familiar conviction that life was beginning over again with the summer. ~F. Scott Fitzgerald

Thunderstorms are a constant during a Southern summer.  I've come to appreciate how they ominously form on some of the hottest of days as if the skies open up to provide welcome relief from the heat.  This first summer in our house saw both of our birthdays, our third anniversary and hosted an ongoing string of visitors.  It turned out to be exactly how I would have imagined our house during summertime to be.  River shoes finding their seasonal permanent space on the deck, a barbecue in constant use, the hum of the air conditioner I am grateful for during these months, and the long summertime hours that beckon more fun and less sleep.

I drifted into a summer-nap under the hot shade of July, serenaded by a cicadae lullaby, to drowsy-warm dreams of distant thunder.  ~Terri Guillemets

In some places this summer, I realize it has been uncomfortably, sometimes unreasonably hot.  Summer, like it's counterpart winter, often tests us with extremes.  Somehow, as the long days shrink, shadows getting shorter and the night sky appearing earlier, we forget all about it.  In the shortest days of winter I find myself longing to feel that penetrating heat of summer.  In less than two weeks, August will give way to September and trickle into the beginning of fall.  I know I'll be ready for it, I always am.  Each year I find I am ready for those long days to become just a bit shorter because that means football and Halloween, the nearing of Thanksgiving which means time with my family.  As we trek through the next three seasons I'll keep thinking of what's ahead, of the next time Summer Solstice brings the longest day of the year and a new summer season.

What good is the warmth of summer, without the cold of winter to give it sweetness. ~John Steinbeck

the place i now call home

The last time I sat down to write, I was lamenting about the house we had just lost.  I am elated to report that I am now writing from my old desk but in a new room in our new house.  The whole process seems almost like a whirlwind blur.  We saw about 20 or so homes, changed realtors, and changed mortgage lenders but did not end up changing the location of where we wanted to live.  Irony will have it that we ended up in a home one address, yep, that's one address away from the house that I wrote about in my last post.

Being a homeowner is definitely uncharted waters for us.  After signing a very large and daunting stack of papers with a lawyer, the keys were handed to us and I had the feeling of did that just happen?  Our first course of action was to go over to the new abode and walk through every room, imagining just what it will be like to live in such a great space.  We are happy and thankful for the way that everything worked out and do believe we are in the right house for us.

As I explained in the last post, one of the best features of the place we now live is the river access the community has.  It is almost as if I am swept away to another place walking along the path that hugs the shoreline of the Saluda.  As corny as it may sound, the area reminds me of how much beauty different parts of our country hold.  I've always been drawn to water, and something about this area provides a sense of tranquility and beauty.  The space is shared of course with the areas natural inhabitants.  In the two weeks since moving we've encountered many Canadian geese,  Nutreas (if you haven't had the pleasure of seeing one, look it up), fox, deer, snakes and I'm sure there will be others that will make an appearance at one time or another.

Of course our dog has a whole new attitude towards us that encompasses a sense of unending gratitude.  I swear he is sure that this move was made for his benefit.  He has wasted no time darting through trees, jumping in the river, exploring the banks as well as scouting every inch of our backyard.  I'm happy that he has more room now to be a dog, I'm sure at some point he'll realize this isn't just for him... then again, maybe not.  There will be more stories to come, for now signing off happily from my old desk in my new home.

Home is a place not only of strong affections, but of entire unreserve; it  is life's undress rehearsal, its backroom, its dressing room.-Harriet Beecher Stowe 

the house hunt

Last Saturday, we decided to withdraw the offer we made on our very first home purchase.  Since starting the house-hunting process about five months ago, I've heeded to words of warning from friends and family.  This comes at no surprise as we all know the trials and tribulations the housing market has faced in the midst of the economic turmoil our country is facing.  It is undoubtedly a very interesting time to be hunting for a home with prices very competitive, sellers willing to make a deal and interest rates that are almost unbelievable.  We have been patiently waiting for our time to buy, being denied approval for a mortgage over the last two years due to not enough work history.  We finally got approved, contacted a realtor and headed into the hunt with fervor and excitement.

We saw about a dozen homes with only a few offering potential to us as a possibility.  There were others we toured where we instantly knew this is "not the one".  One such house had a creepy dark basement that I was sure the boogy-man frequented... that was a no.  Another was a charming older home that seemed promising if you were willing to gut-renovate almost the entire dwelling, a massive undertaking we are not willing to entertain...no.  Yet another was quaint and nice but I feared for my safety walking a few blocks away from the house, being active outdoors and runners...no.  Then we found this house:

  The appealing exterior was not even what made us love it the most.  The backyard led down a hill to a path situated on the Saluda River.  As the river has been a point of interest for us in living here (we even bought a camo-colored kayak last year), this seemed perfect.

So we decided to put in an offer.  We engaged in the  back-and-forth dance of coming to an agreement and after about a week, this was achieved.  On to the inspection.  Our inspector Kip was nothing short of wonderful.  He spent 2 1/2 hours scouring the 2200 square foot house and unfortunately found more than one problem...  we were sure this was the end of the road for the house.  Instead, the sellers were more than reasonable and agreed to fix everything.  Great!

Onward and upward, we were one step closer to being home owners.  Throughout the course of the process I went through the emotions I think most people typically have when purchasing a home.  Is this the right one? Are we spending too much? Should we have focused on other areas? The questioning was tempered by the remembered advice I received from many people: it's okay to be nervous, it's a BIG purchase.  

What happened next, we never imagined.  Following the inspection, the next step was the appraisal.  To our surprise, and I'm sure to the seller's dismay, the house appraised a whole 5% lower than the price we agreed on.  I now have even more of an understanding, or perhaps bewilderment, over how upside down the housing market has been turned.  I felt for the sellers who bought the house at a price 15% higher than what we agreed to buy it at.  Emotions aside, there was no question the appraisal was a deal-breaker.  When the sellers would not further reduce the price of the house, we pulled the offer and walked away.

You would think I would feel pretty sad about coming so close and then losing it all.  In fact, I feel very much at peace with the outcome.  I'm glad that there are processes in place so that buyers are not blindly forking over more money than a house is worth.  It is unfortunate that the housing market has gone through a dark time and that so many people are underwater.  I do think it seems there are lessons learned and changes being made to prevent a repeat of the atrocity.

For us, it's back to the hunt.  Embarking on countless drive-bys, shamelessly peering in windows, dissecting the layout of a house, contemplating where we want to come home to every day.  It's a thrilling and exasperating process all at once.  I'll certainly be happy when it's over.  For now, I'll roll up my sleeves, try my best to remain unemotional (not my strong-suit), and hunt for the place we can call home, sweet home.