To move...

 

Life is good. Better now. And it will be even better in about 70 days.

So...in the meantime, the next thing to think HARD about is a new home. Yes. I'm getting tired of the three months of the year where the fan up above, despite working during that time, isn't really keeping me cool. I'm on the top floor of a brick building, on the southernmost point, so I have brick and window exposure to the east, south, and west. All day long. In the summer, it's intolerable. The heat hits at its worst between 3 pm and midnight. Even when the sun goes down, the bricks still radiate heat in, and the fan blows hot air. Even the air conditioning, which has been replaced TWICE, struggles to keep up, and is blowing at least 18 hours a day...sometimes all day and all night. It's miserable.

Also, despite having replaced the fan TWICE as well, it works during the summer, then fails once I turn it off in the fall. And I have to replace it AGAIN. Only this time, I'm thinking it's a wiring issue. I'm not particularly happy to deal with that. Getting the blinds replaced has helped...somewhat. If nothing else, it makes the place feel cooler, simply because it looks cooler.

The homeless situation is also not ideal. Many times, I look out of my kitchen window or my front door, and I see a homeless camp on the side of the road. Sure, the police may do a sweep, but give it a few days, and they're back. In the time of COVID, it's a huge issue as well.

As a result, I'm looking to move. Of course, now that it's fall, cooler, and even snowy today, I have less inspiration to look. I mean, if this place were placed better, I'd probably be fine. Away from homeless and with a different exposure. Oh, and with at least some close-by lawn or outdoor area for a dog to play. Yeah, I'd love a dog now, too. Aside from Auggie, who is adorable. I just would like one of my own too.

I've enlisted John to help me find places. Of the new builds, it looks like the north suburbs are a big area. Of course, it would be good to have a place relatively close to Dennis and Mark. Dennis is particularly taken with Reunion. How ironic that I might end up moving even further out than GVR, after kvetching that if I were to have a seizure, that I would really rather be near the center of town, with access to mass transit at my fingertips. But Dennis is of the mind that he can drive me wherever I might need if I were to have a seizure. Since seizures tend to hit me in huge times of stress, and I am not particularly stressed right now, this may be okay. I'm certainly not under duress while I'm around Dennis; he takes great care of me.

What is holding me back? Well, the need to be a homeowner and all the responsibilities that it entails. In particular, the need to take care of a lawn. If I could have some xeriscaping done that would still abide by HOA certifications, that would be ideal. But...is that it? I'm not sure. Maybe. I look at the lists of homes that show up, and seriously, the ones I like are there for the taking. When one gets snatched up, another one or two take its place, so that's not an issue. I just need to put myself out there to do it.

The big issue, perhaps, is the need to interface with Chad...but he's open to it. I just need to figure out how to finagle this. And it will take some effort. It goes against my very homebody tendencies. Especially at this time of year, as I said above. Isn't this nice enough? Isn't this beautiful? Well...yes, but.

So.