Fingers Crossed

Yesterday we received a real offer on our condo! After a tumultuous week of nonsense thanks to the city of Walnut Creek, we were pleasantly surprised to learn first thing this morning that some one submitted a strong offer on our place and they even qualified for the first time homebuyers program. We made an appointment to meet with our agents later that night after dinner to discuss the details.

After more than sixty days on the market, we were nervous that the offer would be low. But, when our agents placed the contract in front of us and we started to sort out the fine print, we saw that the offer was very fair. The buyer came in just about 7K under our asking price, yet requested no closing costs, which surprised us. But, they wanted our refrigerator, washer, and dryer. After some thought, we decided to counter back at a slightly higher price, but I definitely did not want to hand over my fridge as part of the deal! We didn’t really mind that they requested our apartment-sized washer and dryer, since we planning to upgrade to a full sized set when we bought a house anyway. So we sent the counter offer back to the buyer’s agent and anxiously anticipated a response.

This morning, we received news that they accepted our counter, with the condition that the condo passed inspection and appraisal of course. This is good news, but we don’t want to get excited just yet. Even though the buyer has accepted our offer and is cleared through the city to buy from us, we know that any number of unexpected things could jeopardize the sale. So we’ll hold off on the celebration. Plus, after sifting through all the monetary details, it appears that we will walk away with just under what we initially invested into the property. We are slightly disappointed from this, but at the same time, we know that there are countless others out there who are taking enormous losses on their properties right now. So for that reason, we feel extremely blessed.

Now, we are just praying that the transaction continues to go smoothly. Once everything is in place, we are hoping that we can find a nice home that we can afford!

It Blooms!!

Back in October of 2006, when I was busily planning the last minute details of our wedding, I decided to make my own flower bouquets and arrangements to save a little money. So, with Elaine’s help, we set aside the morning before the big day to make a trip to the San Francisco flower market. Since we were on a budget, I wasn’t picky about what kind of flowers I bought, I just hoped to find shades of red, orange and yellow to compliment my fall theme. But, I do remember wanting just one specific flower- calla lily. As luck would have it, we found no calla lilies at the flower market. Somewhat disappointed, we were just about to leave with the rest of our selections when I stumbled upon a lone potted calla lily plant with the most beautiful reddish-orange blooms. Thrilled, I added the huge potted plant to my tab and its blooms made my bouquet even more beautiful.

Since it was a potted plant, I clipped all of the lily stems to use, which left an empty pot with only a few green leaves left over. After our wedding, I set the pot outside on our balcony. I had no clue how to care for it, so when the bulb went dormant, I thought it had just died. But, I kept what I thought was just a pot of dirt anyway. I eventually learned that it was a bulb and over the past few years, I have watched the plant with anticipation each spring as it brings me big, leafy greens, but sadly, no lilies…


Well, finally this year, it blooms!!! :) I am just thrilled! (special thanks to my loving husband who dedicated himself to the care of my lovely plant). I hope to re-plant it in the ground once we have a home with a nice yard. Then it can grow even larger and bring me even more pretty blooms!

Little Yosemite

Our friends Lisa and Peter invited us on a hiking trip to “Little Yosemite” this weekend. We hadn’t been there before and since we enjoy the occasional hike, we were excited for the day. We stopped to grab sandwiches for lunch and then headed towards Sunol where we found our way to a beautiful park near the edge of Fremont. I was surprised that the weather was actually really nice out that day (it’s about time)! It was a short hike uphill, then a level trail led down to a running stream with huge rocks. We climbed down the rocks and found a nice little place to have lunch overlooking the water. Then we explored around the area and found an awesome mini-waterfall and a small pool to dip our feet into. We took some nice pictures of the scenery and of each other before we found our way back to the trail. We will definitely be back to this great little spot again soon!