“Shades of Easter” – lavender/mint/off-white

It’s been a seller’s market for quite awhile, but now it’s become an actual war.

Certain family members already have their own home under a sale contract, but now they need to find somewhere to go.  They want a bigger house, with room for Puppy Maya and, eventually maybe, children.

But it ain’t easy.

Sure, there were bidding wars when I b0ught my house 4 years ago, but back then you simply found a house, bid on it, and if someone bid higher, there was always the option of negotiating.  I bid on my house, and an hour or so later the realtor called to tell me there were other people interested in it and if I could raise my offer by a couple of thousand dollars, the seller would accept it and stop showing the house.  When I then listed my own home, I simply accepted the first bid that was close enough to my asking price, and cancelled any other showings.

Things are different now.  Houses are listed for 5 to 7 days, at the end of which written offers must be submitted to the seller to review.  The seller then picks whichever one looks best to him/her, and it’s not always the highest bidder.  There’s little room for re-negotiating; once an offer is made, the prospective purchaser is locked into that price.

Said family members have submitted 3 offers and were highest bidder each time – but each time someone else came in either with cash or better terms  (maybe living in an apartment or in mommy’s and daddy’s basement and didn’t have a house they were simultaneously selling).  People are even buying houses without doing a home inspection first.  Personally, I think a seller who’s afraid of a home inspection is probably hiding something – were I to sell my house I’d welcome an inspection so that the purchasers would know what a great deal they were getting.

But that’s just me.

The family members are handling it all much better than I am.  They tell me some purchasers put in 8 or more offers before finally winning a bid.    I’d love to crochet them a Halloween, Thanksgiving or Christmas afghan for their new home, but at the rate things are going, the Easter afghan may be the  best I can do.  Ugh.

Meanwhile, their purchaser is already pushing to close the sale of their existing home.  Of course, there’s a contingency in the sale contract that they must find and close on alternative suitable housing, but no one expected it to take very long.  Going into an apartment, or moving in with us, is not an option because (i) who wants to have to move twice?, and (ii) most apartments won’t take dogs as big as Puppy Maya, and (iii) Puppy Cody and Puppy Maya do not get along.

I even considered selling my own house because the market is so hot right now.  I could probably get a high enough price to pay off not only the existing mortgage, but also every debt I currently have, and still have money left over.  But I don’t want to join the house-hunt wars, and again, most apartments won’t take a dog as big as Puppy Cody – and I’d prefer not to move until such time as I’m forced into senior assisted living.  Sure, that time is coming, but hopefully not until Cody has had a full, long life and is no longer with me.

Such stress for everyone here, but it could be much worse – at least, none of us are homeless at the moment.

Meanwhile, I continue to crochet, crochet, crochet.  The current project is 2 afghans for some good friends – a pink one for the females in the household and a blue one for the males (or however they want to use them; that’s just my old lady-ness peeping through).

The pink one is finished:

“Pretty in Pink” – dark rose/medium pink/off white

I’ll try to control myself from giving these afghans to them before Christmas, but the blankets are just so pretty, aren’t they?

Now that I’ve run through the list of family members and friends to crochet for, I think I’ll try my hand at a little commercialism.  If anyone in Western New York would like one of my afghans (“Legacy Needlework by TeddyRosalieStudio”), just send me a quick email for details (cordeliasmom2012@yahoo.com).  The afghans are approximately 48″ x 60″, can be made in your choice of colors to match your decor or in holiday-themed colors, and are machine washable and dryable.  For now, I am unable to ship to areas other than Western New York, although exceptions might be made for very special people who live in the U.S.  You can always ask.

I’m already counting the money I’ll make from my needlework, ’cause I’m sure I’ll become famous for it.  Just like I did for my writing, and just like I did for my photography.

Surely, you recognize sarcasm when you read it?

In any event, crocheting relaxes me.  Even if I never make a penny at it (just like my writing and my photography), I know my work will bring some joy into someone else’s life.

Happy June, everyone!  Go out and enjoy whatever season it is in your part of the world.

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Images by Cordelia’s Mom/TeddyRosalieStudio