A Wild and Wonderful Day!

What an amazing day yesterday was! Just closing on our house was a huge accomplishment. Our lender was keeping us in great suspense by not turning in the paperwork until the final hour, but the title company really came through and did everything completely on the fly for us. But when we went over the papers, we realized that our lender had structured the deal in a way that left about $2800 of our money sitting on the table. Drat! So we got lender on the phone and worked out a way to make the deal happen so that we got all of our money, and we also got an even lower interest rate than we had originally bargained for! Our title agent was "double-fisting" it with phones on both ears, talking to people at the national HQ for her company and our lender down in Texas. It was pretty crazy, but for some reason I never got stressed out about it, at all. I think I knew it would all be o.k. A closing can be difficult, but I imagine it's rarely fatal, so I didn't get too worked up.

Nevertheless, afterwards I still needed to decompress, so I stopped for a mani/pedi and that really helped (even if the guy who gave it to me was highly unlikely to've been legally licensed... oh well).

Shortly thereafter, it was time to check out the exhibit. Here I have to stop and thank my friends for being open-minded to learn about the history of Tacoma's architecture. Just because I moved here in September and became fascinated with Tacoma's history, doesn't mean my friends did. But they still came and supported and that means the world to me. I also have to thank the director of Tacoma Historical Society, Mary Bowlby, for believing in me and my vision. It was amazing to see it played out in an exhibit, even in the cramped THS space. Many thanks also to Jeff Cunningham and his family for bringing treats to the reception, and Sanford & Sons antique shop, who let us use their space for the reception (very cool shop btw. I'll be there for an auction on July 20 if anyone cares to join me).

We all started to get hungry, so went down the recently-repaired Spanish Steps by the Elks (soon to be McMinemins!) to get to the Matador. It was a beautiful night, and the walk felt good. Matador was bustling with hip couples and groups of friends, and my Seattle friends seemed surprised that Tacoma is indeed fun and lively. Get used to it! We admired the wrought iron and wood decor, and crammed about 12 of us into a giant booth that still didn't feel big enough. My friends who arrived later were relegated to another large booth right next to us. Let me tell you, for me to butterfly between these two tables and still manage to get some dinner was no small feat, but I think I managed quite well. The mood was very festive and I had a fabulous time. Also, I am very blessed because I have not one but two friends who are jewelry-makers with great taste. So I got some pretties (thanks!). I also appreciated getting a book by Victoria Beckham called "That Extra Half an Inch" -- I'm told it refers to fashion, not to her hubby. Hee hee.

As we unfolded ourselves from our booths, the plan began to form of going to The Tempest for karaoke night. We said our goodbyes to those who had to go, and then several intrepid souls joined me at this fabulous joint on Hilltop. The Tempest is like a wonderfully shady living room, with funky secondhand furniture and plenty of atmosphere, and a bartender and karaoke host that almost immediately felt like family. While performing, I lost an earring (due to my insistence on wearing a platinum blonde prop wig and then flinging it away from me), and the bartender assured me in serious tones, “We will find that earring. Don’t you worry,” – and she did, minutes later. Many of us sang, and all of us seemed to have a great time. I did a reasonable job on “Hard to Handle” by The Black Crowes – you know what? That song is hard to handle! I realized while singing it that I’d never understood about 95% of the lyrics (who knew it says “Boys’ll come along a dime by the dozen/that ain’t nothin’ but dime-store lovin’”?) My friends said that my enunciation shed a whole new light on the song. Anyway, I never respected Chris Robinson, the singer of that band, the way I do now. Think rock stars don’t make enough money? Try belting that bad boy out at a stadium! That’s twice as hard (hee).
Anyway, we had a great time, and many great songs were sung, and I loved every one, even the country songs.

After we left the karaoke behind, Alex and I couldn’t resist a quick peek at our new abode. We went on in and practical me, I had to close the blinds in all the rooms to make sure no one can look in (at what? Beats me.) I took off my grey t-straps with their little maroon platforms and let my feet glide on newly-refinished hardwood floors that are mine-all-mine. Alex and I walked into the kitchen and my feet loved feeling my tile floors. We marveled at our bread box, our dishwasher, our butcher block island, our very own wonderful kitchen! We stepped out into the backyard around midnight, and the air still felt warm as I walked on the smooth wood of our deck, the cool concrete patio, the damp grass of our backyard. I hear the soft sounds of our new neighborhood, and I loved my life so much that my little heart nearly burst.

Sometimes life can be so hard, so terrible, and I don’t lose sight of that. It just makes me cherish days like this even more. Today I thank you, my friends, my family, the universe, and above all, God, for giving me such a day as this.

And now on to less lofty thoughts, such as packing my breakables and making a trip to Goodwill.