Got back to LA on Wednesday. As things turned out, wish I could have stayed through the weekend since Kevin and Soula signed all the papers yesterday for the purchase of their house and expect to get the keys today. Maybe it’s just as well that I didn’t stay longer since I’m sure they will be busy this weekend working at the new house. While I’m sure I could have helped, it’s sometimes better not to have a mother (or mother-in-law) in the way.

Seattle was beautiful the entire time I was there…not too hot sunny days and cool evenings. We spent Saturday at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, visiting shops in the Market and ending with a late lunch at the Brewery. Then we drove around a bit seeing some of the downtown area.

On Sunday we met up with the realtor at the new house in Renton and took a tour of the new digs. The house is great and doesn’t need too much work right away, just a few minor repairs. They need to install a gate and do a few fence repairs in order to make the yard secure for the dogs, patch a spot on the front steps where “critters” currently have access to the crawl space under the house, patch a few nail holes and do some painting. Lots of decorating and landscaping type stuff will happen as time goes on…

They still have lots of packing and cleaning to do at the rental house, and I think it’s more than they realize. If they can get started this weekend (provided all goes well and they get the keys today), I expect they will get on the fast track to get it all done once they start moving things in.

We went to Lowe’s on Sunday (mostly just browsing a bit since they had never been there) and then went to Home Depot Monday afternoon. Picked up *lots* of painting supplies there as well as my gift of the “Home Improvement 1-2-3” book. Kevin also got the Home Depot landscaping book and Soula got the Home Depot decorating book. These books are great in that they tell you step by step how to do just about everything and anything related to home improvement.

It was great seeing the cats, Demon and Raven, again. Both have grown a bit since I last saw them in 2002–they’re huge! It didn’t take them too long to remember that I like cats and they spent a few evenings on my lap being petted. Adapting to life with a puppy was another story! Dante is very cute–but is a pain in the butt! He likes to rip up everything and isn’t totally house trained as evidenced by at least one “accident” each day. It’s going to be rough dealing with a puppy and moving over the next month.

I was sorry to leave, but happy to be back home in familiar spaces–and my own bed! My animals were happy to see me, and Loki spent all of Wednesday evening glued to my side. Wish LA was closer to Seattle so that I could spend more time with Kevin and Soula. Maybe it’s better this way, though, since the infrequent visits are always good.