So where was I? Last Saturday. The performance went fine (though I could swear it was almost in Virginia), then we went to look at two different houses with my parents (including one we'd seen the night before). The one from the previous week got a positive rating from my father, and the other one was not as well maintained. So we decided to make an offer. We split up from the realtor at 5:30 so we could get something to eat and she could put together the paperwork. We met with her at 7:30 and got on the road to the convention just after 8:30. We arrived at the hotel just before 1 A.M. What a long day! At least we were pleasantly surprised with an awesome hotel room (with a panoramic view of statues of a general on horseback and Martin Luther).

Sunday we went to set up my booth, had lunch, and walked around a bit (it's been really hot!) before going back to the hotel. A bit later we got a call from the realtor saying that our offer had been rejected. Some background: the house has been on the market for over six months, and the price has been lowered a total of $18,000 since then. It was WAAAAAY overpriced before, and now it's just kind of high. We put in a bid about ten percent below asking price (which is kind of standard right now in this market). Apparently they are not interested in selling their house. Our realtor said that the sellers' realtor claimed that the house was worth ten thousand above the current asking price (why'd you lower it, then?), and that housing prices in that part of town had gone up 3-5% a year for the last ten years. Um, except for the last two years! The current owners bought the house three years ago, near the top of the market; all indicators we and our realtor have found show that prices are either the same or LESS than they were three years ago. The house is currently on the market for ten thousand MORE than what they paid. There were a few other things they were deceptive about (e.g. they claimed to have a "remodeled kitchen", but it still has the original cabinets, older appliances that don't match--and they're replacing Formica countertops with more Formica), so I think it's probably a good thing in the long run that they rejected the offer. I don't think I want to be in a business deal with these people! I feel bad that they can't sell their house, and that they're going to lose money on it no matter what they do. But they are clearly delusional, and are probably carrying two mortgages now. Anyway, we are back to square one, again... There are a few more things on the market that we want to see, but there aren't as many as there used to be. Plus, well, we're just more picky now, I think. We've measured living rooms and analyzed neighborhoods, and we now are quite clear on our minimum living room size (in order to fit the piano) and on which parts of town are just too far for Mark to commute from without going insane. There are some seemingly nice places that we've had to rule out because they're too deep into the southwestern suburbs, or because the living room is more of a square than a rectangle. And our requirements can't be as bad as most people's... We're still confident we'll find something, but it's pretty daunting! I find myself playing cheerleader for Mark, more often than not. Poor little boo, he gets discouraged...

ANYWAY, I am now manning my lovely booth at the convention, waiting for people to come by who have the least idea what I'm even promoting (let alone are interested in the topic). Yesterday I read Heather's book online, and it really made the day go quickly. (I did get pretty involved at a few points, and had trouble pulling myself away to talk to actual people... Take a look!) Today Mark stopped by, and we had lunch together. I was expecting to get all this knitting done, but it really wouldn't seem appropriate (I specifically started a pair of Vinnlands for myself in order to have a fun project for the two trips, and I'm still just a few rows past the first ankle). I guess I'm supposed to look like I'm working. =7 Last night we had dinner with my aunt (modern Indian--not bad), and tonight we're meeting Cathy and "Mr. L". I have about half an hour left, and I am BORED. Nor does it help that the Coke Zero I had at lunch was a bad idea...