We’re all but in the final throws of a townhouse purchase with a few details to take care of before it’s just the waiting and preparing to move in. Being our first real-estate endeavor it’s all quite exciting and we’ve found a place we’re really happy with and that we agree is right for us.
The part that’s not so nice has been the ‘looking at our budget’ part.  It’s gotten to where I’m wondering what we can do without and if we can save a little on margarine by not buttering bread. Cable’s out, cell phone’s out, RRSP and RESP contributions cut back or out…And it wasn’t like we have overly high mortgage payment either. We borrowed significantly under what they originally wanted to lend us. I don’t know how they make up their numbers but it seems ridiculous the amount of money lending institutions are more than willing to throw at folks and I can imagine a lot of people getting themselves into a lot of trouble in waaay over their heads.  As it is we’ll need snorkels to breath.

But we’ve been in tight financial situations with much, much less to show for it than an abode that’s ours and that we love. Part of my fond memories of youth include my parents around the kitchen table with bills spread out before them sweating over these things. I look forward to my boys having the same fond recollections.

It’s probably been three years since I had my guitar out. I don’t know why tonight in particular but I just had a hankerin’ dig it and it’s ampy friend out of the closet and to noodle a bit. I’ve never been very good because I’m content with noodling and noodling doesn’t get you very far. But not having played for so long even though the noodling ‘technically’ was not much better or worse than I remember in the past it just didn’t feel the same. I’d lost something. I wasn’t ‘in’ the music and that makes all the difference between just noodling and…noodling that sounds…well more than noodling I guess.

I’m going to try and get it out of the closet more often.

My buddy Luke Corroigan has written a dark tale which he’s asked me to illustrate. The whole project seems like a stretch for me artistically so I’m quite excited to dig in. I’m just exploring the style and characters as I have time and already find it immensely enjoyable.

Ok, it was fun for the first few weeks but it’s just getting ridiculous now. It started with our 4 year old getting a fever and flu, then our 10 month old, then Amy, and then me. The oldest boy got over it as did Amy, but the baby and I hung on to it. Then the oldest gets a huge fever again for a second round and the baby following days behind…I still can’t get rid of whatever I had initially got more than 4 weeks ago.

Jokes over! We can go back to being healthy again ok?! AAAaaargh.

At least Amy has that ‘mom’ thing where she’s somehow able to be largely resistant to getting too sick, gets well quickly when she does catch a bug, and is able to take care of all of us and bear with our wining. Don’t know where mom’s get the strength or how they do it…