Surprised By Spring Part 2

Have you ever learned a new word and then immediately noticed that the very word you didn’t know a week ago is being used all the time now?  Clearly, the word was being used by others before it was learned by us and it just took us stopping to notice the word once before we really noticed it at all.  That's how this spring feels to me.  Four days ago I didn't think spring was anywhere close and then I turned a corner and came face-to-face with a tree draped in pink blooms.  And now I'm seeing signs of spring everywhere. 

In my own front yard, the daffodils have emerged.

And the hydrangeas, still adorned with last year's dried blooms, are pushing out leaves.  It's days like today when I am thankful to live where I live.



Spring has come and I am going to enjoy this penultimate month in my house before we move.

Surprised by Spring

Sometimes you can sense it coming.  Sometimes you notice when the daffodil stalks break through the ground.  Sometimes you see buds swelling on a tree that has been dormant so long you can't quite remember what it looked like with leaves.  Sometimes you just notice the warmth of the sun on your face and you remember what heat feels like.

But sometimes, the coming of spring surprises you.  Sometimes you don't notice spring bulbs or swelling buds.  And sometimes, on a cloudy day in February, it is hard to remember the warmth of the sun.  But then you turn a corner and see something like this:

And you know that whether you noticed it or not, spring is coming. 

In Escrow

I know better than to say anything is official when it comes to selling a house but we’re getting very close.  We received an offer we liked and the potential buyer was okay with our counter offer so we’re plowing forward with the sale.  Officially we are in escrow.  Of course, several things could still happen that would put us all back at square one.  One of those things is the pest inspection scheduled for this weekend.  I am grateful that dandelions and palm seedlings don’t qualify as pests in this case.  Another hurdle is the appraisal.  If the house doesn’t appraise for the amount we accepted the buyer would not be able to secure the full funding. 

Columbines from last March

As part of the negotiations the buyers asked that we leave our wall mounts for our TVs.  At first I thought that was a strange request but it makes sense.  If we were to take those with us there would be gaping holes in the walls that would need to be patched and repainted.  And really, taking a TV mount would be tantamount (see what I did there?) to taking your curtain rods.  Curiosity drove me to Google which revealed that this request is actually pretty common.  In fact, I got off pretty easy.  In some cases, if your flat-screen TV is attached to the wall mount and requires a tool to remove it, the buyer may have the right to your TV too.

Our weeping cherry was in bloom at the end of March in 2012.  I hope it is again this year.

On our end of the negotiations we asked for an extra month to rent back our house.  This will serve a couple purposes: it will give us a little breathing room and allow us more time to find a house we like that isn’t in foreclosure or isn’t an active short sale (because those can take 6 months give or take).  It will also give me a chance to enjoy one more spring in my garden.  We estimate that we will be fully moved out before April 1^st.  Spring in Sacramento generally arrives in early March.  I am thankful for this because right now the garden looks pretty bleak and I’d prefer to leave it on a good note.

An Iris on April 1st

It also gives me some time to figure out how I’m going to move all my potted plants.