That is good! Part of what American Halloween has become is a festival of lights in order to stave off the encrouching darkness of autumn, I think. Or maybe that's what it was always intended to be.

Matt, every open house you go to is going to help you refine what you want in a house. I DID buy the first house I actually visited, but at least I had had a long discussion with my buyer-broker about what I wanted/liked/could live with/could expect at the prices we were looking at. I still did go and dutifully see a bunch of other places while waiting to see if our offer would be accepted, et cetera, and it actually did reinforce my confidence that I was going with a good deal.

Part of what American Halloween has become is a festival of lights in order to stave off the encrouching darkness of autumn, I think.

That's how I'm doing it, for sure.

I have a little display of small, fake, black and white pumpkins with some big silver sparkly and purple sparkly spiders crawling on them and into/out of an empty, small succulent pot... plus a little gnome-y guy sitting on the edge...of a small shelf outside of our apartment door. No lights, but it makes me happy. Even my DP said, "Yeah, actually, it's cute. I like it."

DP starts new job today; he's very excited about the place, and it's 100% remote, so yay on both counts. I can hear the voices of his first call. Woot!

I am returning to visit my former workplace today, which I left around March 25th or so 2019 fully expecting to return the next day when [insert long tale of medical woes that lasted through March 2020, with a super happy ending, though!]. Then I figured I'd go back once I had a week or two under my belt after my final surgery, and then the world started having a pandemic.

Well, now it's October, the place is closing down (physically - early lease term + a lot of people got laid off, very sadly), and I'm going to get my phone charger, web cam, and random shit one collects, all of which are, purportedly, still there. Plus lunch with a former colleague, which is my first in-person visit with another human outside of DP's mom and my sister since self-isolating started.

Big day at my ranch! Hope everyone else's Mondays go well.

Theo, I've told myself that I'll only put in an offer this soon in the hunt if it's love at first sight with the house. I've really just begun saving up for a down payment, so the longer I wait and consider my options the better a financial position it puts me in. I've got 5 years to save and look around before my deadline for getting serious about finding a place kicks in.

I am keeping google alerts for a few houses not on the market that I really like the looks of, so I can move quickly if they go up for sale.

rain day here and for the first in yoinks, I have the day off. I'm doing texting and am going to do a batch of swapping out summer/winter clothes.

Oh man, JenP. Going back to the former workplace after so much time, and multiple life events, has to be pretty emotional. Enjoy your luncheon date and treat yourself today. Also, yay new remote job for DP!

I hope to do some decorating when I get home. Planning to make the southward trek this weekend.

do a batch of swapping out summer/winter clothes.

I was watching my niece do this over the weekend. I kept all my winter clothes here in NY and my summer clothes in FL so it isn't a task really. I had lots of like size 3 things in bins here that I gave to son's GF, because really if I ever got to that size again I would deserve new stuff. (although handing over some of my favorites was super painful)

Planning to make the southward trek this weekend

Safe and smooth travels to you. Flying or driving? Or train, I guess.

Just got a text from co-worker changing date to tomorrow, which works, too. That means today I will drop off boxes of unused medical "stuff" to the charity that uses it for underserved populations. So angering that so many don't have access to these things... my contribution is many boxes, but it's so limited in how long it would last someone, really.

Matt, my DP laughs at my obsession with apartment/house porn, and we're not even really looking. I'm impressed with your five-year outlook.

Jen, does DP stand for "Dear Person" or something similar? I've watched too much TV. I kept thinking, "Director of Photography."

Safe and smooth travels to you. Flying or driving? Or train, I guess.

We have to drive. DH will tow the boat and take the dog. I'll have two cats! Animals make travel other than by car pretty much impossible. We don't 'follow' each other as such, but catch up with each other at rest areas. I have to stop to charge my car every couple hundred miles or so (and have to go to the bathroom more often than that) and he has to grease the trailer wheels from time to time. I hope to talk him into two nights in hotels because although I love my car it does take some time to charge.

Matt, my DP laughs at my obsession with apartment/house porn, and we're not even really looking. I'm impressed with your five-year outlook.

DH and my son are always sending me house links! I do the same sometimes, but not as obsessively as they do.