It's a done deal!

We had the closing on our house yesterday afternoon, which despite all the signing and handing over of really big checks was a good experience. The sellers showed up, which was a surprise, and turned out to be a really nice couple (interracial, like us, but straight). The sellers' attorney was nice too, even pulling out pictures of his new grandson to show everyone.

The bank was a little on the slow side, which made things exciting for a while. Our lawyer got the paperwork late (stupid of the lender to wait until the morning of closing to say, "Oh, I can't get in touch with one of your employers"), and then hit traffic on his way in from the Cape. But everything's signed and registered, and we're officially homeowners. Yay!

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A close call

My brother's main hobby is photography, and he often takes photos of the company's softball games. Last week, he e-mailed me to say that the team would be playing its first playoff game during our visit, and asked if we wanted to attend. Since we like cheering for a team (and the pizza afterwards sounded appealing), we said sure.

Today, just as we were waking up, my brother called from work. The first thing he said was that it was pretty overcast outside, which made him wonder if the game was going to happen. "I should know by 3," he said.

"That's fine," I said.

"Also," he said, "the woman who sent out the e-mail isn't feeling well, and another woman is sick, and you need at least three women to play, so they might be looking for volunteers."

After a panic-stricken pause, I informed my brother that I haven't played very much softball, but that I was pretty sure that I sucked. He reminded me that the team wasn't of the highest caliber anyway, having finished the regular season with a record of 1 and 13 (the one win coming after the opposing team failed to show up). He also said that we couldn't be any worse than he was when he'd subbed.

The wife found the prospect of one or both of us playing hilarious. "Well," she said, "you're taller than me."

"I don't think two inches is going to make that much of a difference," I said.

Fortunately, we didn't have to put that to the test, though it was a near thing, as one woman showed up right at game time. So instead we got to be spectators. The team put up a fight but lost (the other team just hit and fielded better). They seemed to have a good time anyway, and so did we.

My brother got some good shots, though he said he would've found it very amusing if we'd had to play. It's just as well -- he already has enough ways to torture his big sister, he doesn't need another one.

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Vacation getting off to a nice start

Today, our first full non-jet-lagged day in California, was a good one for several reasons.

-- the chocolate chip/pistachio pancakes we made for breakfast
-- a nice walk down Castro Street, where we browsed for books and had tea and croissants in a local cafe
-- another walk on a bike/pedestrian path right near where my brother lives
-- anticipating the gourmet meal of rack of lamb, green beans, carrots and rice my brother's making right now (plus ice cream for dessert)
-- and last but not least, good news from our mortgage broker: our mortgage commitment letter is finally in!

Now we can *really* relax and enjoy the rest of the week away. Woo-hoo!

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Proof that God has a funny sense of humor ...

... or that I have a lousy sense of timing, or both, can be found in our schedule a couple of weeks from now:

February 17: we leave for a week in California, to visit my little brother.
February 25, morning: we come back on the red-eye.
February 25, evening: we go to RSLS's and The Girl's new place for a night of food, Oscar competition and poking fun at fashion.
February 27: we close on our soon-to-be house.

Our reaction to all this can be summed up in one word: Ack!

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