Open House and Omens

On Sunday, before the Open House was to begin, we had a showing at 11:00 to some people who couldn't wait until the Open House. Because I had a migraine, I forgot to put the lock box out. Whoopsie. Not an auspicious beginning. I drove back to make sure they got in and then went to Panera bread and bought a loaf of bread and a coffee and drove to the park with my knitting, taking small bites to try to keep something in my stomach. Whoo-ee, I felt TERRIBLE. Haven't had a migraine like that in a long while.

Anyway, as I parked my car, that eighties song from Madness came on, the one called Our House in the Middle of Our Street? I found a couple of real versions on You Tube but this version made me laugh out loud. ("Sister sagging in her sleep.") I never really thought of the song as a funeral march... (Feel free not to watch the whole thing because it might make you cry.)


At any rate, I thought it was a good omen.

So then I came back and tried to lie down for a bit. Gosh, I felt terrible! I always deny that I ever get stress headaches, you know? Most of my migraines are caused by abrupt shifts in the barometric pressure (no, seriously!) but every once in a while I get one that is so clearly a product of stress that it makes denying the concept sort of ludicrous. This was one of those.

The thing is that the Open House sort of seemed like the climax to months of preparation. And add to that the fact that I BOUGHT this house at an Open House --well, I set myself up.

The house really did look as good as it can look, I think. I even re-organized my pantry.


My Realtor looked at that and said, "Wow, you almost look like one of those scary people with OCD or something."

ME? NAHHHH! Nothing obsessive-compulsive about ME. Nope. Nuh uh. Totally normal and moderate in all things. (Whistles while thanking the heavens for not striking her dead.)

So, then I had to leave. For two hours so that strangers could fill my house and touch my things and pass judgement on how we live, while my Realtor tried to interest them in buying the house. It's a very odd concept, this Open House thing. I don't really understand why they work--but I know they do since that's where I found this house in the first place. Of course, I'm a tad more decisive than most people because I walked in, turned around in a circle and said, "I'll take it." ("I knew the way you know a good melon." --Ei, that's for you!)

(No wonder I'm all upset that the house went on the market last Wednesday and it's now MONDAY and the dang thing hasn't sold yet!)

Luckily for us, Sunday was a spectacular day in Austin. It was 72 degrees and sunny--our house really shows well in the sunshine. I drove around a bit aimlessly and then did the only thing possible in moments of great migraine-y stress --I headed to the yarn store. I believe in the healing powers of yarn fumes.

I wasn't going to buy anything --really, I just wanted to fondle the yarn and then go home. But I needed some cheap metal double-pointed needles because I seem to lose at least one of my bamboo ones with every sock I knit--only to find it later after I've put the sock down for, oh, six weeks or so. So I got those and then I tripped and had a falling down in the sock yarn department.



I can sort of rationalize this by saying that I am really afraid that I'm going to run out of yarn on Jane's socks. This is all the yarn I have left:
I still have to knit almost the whole foot. It's not looking good for having enough. Might ahve to go back to the store... a different store, because I'm wily that way and hokgardner and I have plans to visit another yarn store this week. (Heh heh.)

Whenever I get worried about running out of yarn, I start knitting really fast--as if I can outrun it. AND I've packed my stash, you know, so I needed SOMETHING. (Pay no attention to the yarn that Stef gave me sitting over there here on my desk. It was no match for a Claudia hand-paint named Spring Break.)

After my accident at the yarn store, I drove home through the enormous park by our house. It's hilarious that in Austin, as soon as there is a sunny day, everyone heads to Zilker Park

Here are some pictures. (Remember, there was no festival going on or anything--this is just a crowd of people who love Austin, love Zilker Park and love to get outside for some exercise. I used to be one of them. If my foot ever heals, I hope to be a least a walker again. (Some of these were taken through my (dirty) car windows so they are a little dark.)




Austin has some happy dogs.

Here's one way to outwit the allergens!


Here's a photo I took of a vendor just outside of the yarn store. How much do I wish I'd thought of this concept??


At any rate, it was a gorgeous day and one that made us remember, at least partially, why we love it here so much. My kids were hanging out at a neighbor's house and I decided to go stalk my open house check on them so I drove up my street. I stopped by one neighbor's house. He told me he'd staged a huge fist fight in his front yard with another neighbor to really impress the home shoppers. I told him that it wouldn't have surprised me if one of them had run around banging two pans over his head and shouting, "Oklahoma! Oklahoma!" (THIS is really long and offensive--just a warning. I laughed HARD.)


Then I passed another neighbor who said she was on her way to walk through my house. She promised to tell the little kid out front to quit picking the seeds off the top of my Japanese Aurelia.

And then I got a little further down the street and saw that my girls, and our enterprising neighbor children, had set up a Girl Scout Cookie/ lemonade stand. Judging by the fact that they'd sold $150 worth of Girl scout cookies, I'd say the Open House was a big success.