Love at Second Sight

I drove by the cute storybook house on my way to run with the dog, just to look again. Am I crazy, maybe I'll come to my senses. I saw a person walking from the house to the garage. I got out of the car....hello?! I called out two times and the owner came back out. I asked a question or two. He said the realtor was there and would show it to me. Ok. I'm happy. I want to see this how the studio is set up even if I don't ever live here. Ideas, ideas for building a studio onto my house, if nothing else. A train load of ideas.

The realtor remembers my name from when I called her as good realtors do. She shakes my hand firmly and we go to look at the house. Definitely charming and all artistic looking. The owner's mom paints and the owner (female) writes. The workshop has dog doors through which the dogs come in and out at will and the floor is heated. It is not as big as I envisioned it. But it's only me. How much space do I need?

The owners collect antiques and it reminds me of my own house; there is even a table downstairs - (have you noticed realtors do not use the word basement?) - a table just like the one Rick and I bought together in the last months before he died.

That reminds me of how it was when we looked at the house we live in now. She had baked bread on purpose right before we walked in and her house was done in my colors in oak antiques, our style. It already looked like my house.

And I had to ask these nice people where they were moving to. The realtor had only said cross country. Why I had this sense that they might be headed for the great Northwest, I do not know. In fact they are moving to Bend, Oregon. To a house with a horse included. Stables. She showed me pictures. For them, it was a surprise too. They went out thinking they would take 5 years and eventually build a place out there. But the first place they looked at they bought. And there is no great rush to get out there, they can do the same business they do here out there.

The woman said more than once, seeing the excitement in my face. (I know you are not supposed to let them know how much you like it, but I wasn't house shopping, and so not really playing the cool game yet) she kept saying: I am only the 2nd owner and it breaks my heart to leave this place, it is important to me to see it go to someone who will love it the way I do. I'm thinking to myself: HOW important to you? Enough to lower the price a ton so that I don't have to take a huge risk moving in here? I was also telling myself: don't get attached, don't make a big deal of these details.

The zoning issue which seemed impossible to my realtor is just a matter of paperwork to the owner. And the possibility of selling a sector of land is almost a ready option. Red tape involved but it's worth 1/5 the price of the home.

wow, i'm tired. I am going to sleep on it.