And Suddenly We Own Our First Home

by John Shore on July 16, 2008 · 29 comments

Today my wife Cat and I found out that the offer we made on a townhouse over which we’ve been ga-ga was accepted. (I wrote a bit about making the offer here.)

Below is a picture of our home to be. The tall part and everything to the right of it will be ours. It’s three stories, 1515 sq. feet, two-car garage, built in 2003.

The fall in housing prices has been a sheer blessing for my wife and me. You don’t even want to know what this place sold for in 2004.

Does anyone think I should or shouldn’t invite my gay friends to our housewarming party?

KIDDING!

{ 29 comments… read them below or add one }

John Shore July 29, 2008 at 8:08 am

Man, I can't believe how lame it is I never answered these excellent comments. And now, of course, I'm sure it's too late.

Crape Myrtle. How can I live myself, knowing I missed an opportunity to even SAY "Crape Myrtle"???

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christopher July 23, 2008 at 12:09 pm

Looks beautiful, John. Really happy for you both!

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Judy July 18, 2008 at 10:33 am

That's a nice looking townhouse, John. Hey, is that a crape myrtle out front? And, don't pretend you don't know what a crape myrtle is. :)

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mormonsoprano July 17, 2008 at 11:08 pm

Congratulations! Theres nothing like owning a piece of the American Dream :)

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totaltransformation July 17, 2008 at 3:26 pm

Welcome to the world of home ownership- sort of. You don’t have to mow the lawn with a town home, do you?

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Lucas July 17, 2008 at 2:10 pm

1515 square feet? Just rub it in the faces of those of us in Northeast urban, "oh, yes it's perfectly normal to have a toilet in the kitchen," environs, why don't you?

Congratulations.

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Candace Ware July 17, 2008 at 2:09 pm

Hey, you know what just occurred to me though, John?

This means you have to move again :-(

Ugh.

Finding a different moving company, I assume??

(If you are like me, half your stuff is still packed anyway, so that’s a plus.)

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samwrites2 July 17, 2008 at 2:27 am

John,

A walk-out basement is one with an exit to the exterior of the house as opposed to having to climb up and down stairs should you reside in said basement.

In this area (Metro D.C.), those are usually rented out.

I live in a walkout basement at my sister's townhome. But then, you probably guessed as much.

I was going to ask Ric if I could move into his but he lives too far the other side of D.C. from my children.

So there you go.

-Sam

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Dan Harrell July 17, 2008 at 1:48 am

John,

Very nice. More room to store books and stuff. Possessions expand to fill the available space just as work expands to fill the available time. So, you will have more time to bring cool thrift shop stuff home.

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John Shore July 16, 2008 at 11:11 pm

Sam: What's a walkout basement? The school's are excellent. There are lots of places near ours for sale. Yes, there are coyotes in the hills all around our new place.

Arylyn (sp?): The top floor is this huge, unbroken space that runs the length of the interior. We'll use it for our bedroom. The two bedrooms on the second floor (both of which have bathrooms) we'll use as our work spaces. My office'll be in one; Cat's photography/art studio will be in the other, what would normally be the master bedroom.

On the ground floor is the living room and kitchen. And … there you have it! Thanks for asking.

Morse: Do you want the deluxe, 20-shot package? You know you do. In one of them, I'm wearing shorts and a T-shirt. I WON'T send you that one, though, for fear you'll violently defile it. It's for your own good.

Ric: Nice!

Winey: Thanks. (Sorry I didn't answer your Iraq War question. Can't … go there.)

Yvette: Why the bookshelf? And … does it matter which one of my bookshelves??

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Yvette July 16, 2008 at 10:56 pm

Congratulations on your new home! Send pictures of your new office when you can, espcially the bookshelf.

.

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wineymomma July 16, 2008 at 9:37 pm

Very nice new digs John!

Congratulations!

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ric booth July 16, 2008 at 9:36 pm

not long after we bought our home

the times behind my bloggin seat

soon scraped my plan inside my dome

said pitter, patter … little feet

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Morse July 16, 2008 at 9:06 pm

"All I can say, in hopes of offering you at least some relief, is that for a minimal shipping and handling fee, I can send you up to 10 similarly candid photos of myself, each suitable for framing. Or whatever else you might do with them."

If that doesn't scare the gay out of you, what will?

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arlywn July 16, 2008 at 9:03 pm

yay for houses indeed!!!!! Definately invite your gay friends. They would probably have a ball decorating. And you can feed them some food, unless you have gay friends like Jack off of will and grace. then they might be offended.

you should definately post pictures of inside, and…. do you have a back yard? What are you going to do with 3 stories?

and I wonts help you move either. I'll stand on the side lines and cheer for you though. :)

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samwrites2 July 16, 2008 at 8:59 pm

John,

You have a walkout basement?

It seems like such a nice place to live. How are the schools there?

You know, I've been working on rebuilding my credit and was wondering if there are any homes near you up for sale?

Congratulations – first a nice review for Steve and you in PW, then a flaming post garnering comments faster than Sodom did brimstone and now closing on a house… Dude, you're really moving up!

Are there coyotes nearby. though?

-Sam

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John Shore July 16, 2008 at 8:46 pm

Oh, Ric. How unsurprised I am that you want to talk about my behind.

Oh, wait. That's not what you meant.

NOT! It was.

Now Ric, I know that you're a bard

Which makes you think in terms of rhyme

But though you yearn, you must regard

The need you have as mortal crime

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ric booth July 16, 2008 at 8:16 pm

Your FIRST house? Gay Housewarming? John, you are so much more than just a little behind. (that may be a poem title…)

Congrats!

Let us know if you want help moving your blog. I know you're ahhh… technical challenged. Just post your password and we will all pitch right in. Why I bet even Anita would be willing to help with that.

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Skerrib July 16, 2008 at 1:26 pm

OK, but only if you help us schlep to WY. And if you get Anita to come along & help with any initial repairs/improvements.

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John Shore July 16, 2008 at 12:52 pm

Anita: It's so sad, to watch someone struggling against their carnal desires, refusing to admit to themselves the depth of their desire for something or someone whom they know they can't possess. I feel for you. All I can say, in hopes of offering you at least some relief, is that for a minimal shipping and handling fee, I can send you up to 10 similarly candid photos of myself, each suitable for framing. Or whatever else you might do with them.

Leif: Thanks, Mr. Man. I appreciate it.

Skerrib: Thanks so much! And yes, you are helping me move. I'll let you know exactly when. And you're free, of course, to bring your baby boy with you. He can carry little, hard to pack stuff, like lamps and free weights and so on. Great! Thanks!

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Skerrib July 16, 2008 at 12:31 pm

Yay for houses–congratulations! I'm not helping you move.

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Leif Sr. July 16, 2008 at 12:00 pm

Congrats John. What an exciting step in life.

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anita July 16, 2008 at 11:56 am

John,

As you know, when we aren't out there abominating, we fill our days with community service, volunteering at church, caring for our aging parents and assisting our straight male friends who couldn't tell the difference between a socket and a ratchet if their life depended on it.

It's odd Chuck called you a Rascal since I was pretty sure with that new photo we were looking more along the lines of Beavis…but Rascal will do.

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John Shore July 16, 2008 at 11:41 am

Anita: You THINK you're kidding–but, in Actual Reality, one of our lesbian friends told us today she WAS going to mobilize on our behalf "Tool packin' lesbians," as she put it right before she slipped through a hole and plummeted straight to You Know Where.

Candace: Thank you! And never fear: if I've blogged about something, I would never again feel too sensitive about that subject to blog-talk about it later. Not possible. Thanks for being so sensitive, though!

Chuck: Yes, I am a rascal. I'm a Little Rascal. To be more specific, I'm Alfalfa.

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John Shore July 16, 2008 at 10:42 am

David: Whaddaya mean, "become" gay?

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anita July 16, 2008 at 10:29 am

Of course you do Torch Boy! We give GREAT housewarming gifts and we of the female gay persuasion would gladly install your electric garage door opener. That is, after we finish howling at the moon.

Yet MORE KIDDING.

Seriously, congrats on the new digs! How exciting!

And David, in answer to your question, only if you're really, really lucky!

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David Barach July 16, 2008 at 10:06 am

Is it possible that if I were to participate in your housewarming party that I might become gay?

Congratulations!!

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Candace July 16, 2008 at 9:43 am

Oh, awesome!! I've been waiting for news on this! Almost asked a couple of times, but didn't want to in case it fell through and you were disappointed and didn't wanna talk about it.

YAY! Congratulations.

Just for kicks, I think you should invite ONLY your gay friends to the housewarming!

(ALSO KIDDING!)

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Chuck Anziulewicz July 16, 2008 at 9:17 am

"Does anyone think I should or shouldn’t invite my gay friends to our housewarming party?"

Oh you RASCAL, you.

Very nice looking new home!

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