New mortgage is what they tell me I've got. There's only one snag, and it's one I should have thought of. The appraiser won't sign off on the appraisal until I have a railing on the last section of the front deck. I thought of that before he came, but then I forgot about it. If a deck is a certain height you're required to have a railing on it. Jamie had a fit when he found this out but I don't object to rules the way he does. Anyway, when Ralph kindly finished the deck that Jamie never did, we ran out of railing and there's one 12-foot length that lacks a railing. Tonight I'll ask Ken if I can borrow some boards to erect a temporary railing, just long enough for the appraiser to come and take a picture. After that I can take the railing down. The mortgage company called this morning and said once the appraiser has returned and finalized things we can schedule the closing--if he comes back next week we can close the following week. That would be a huge relief. I said I'd get the railing up this weekend. I hate imposing on Ken like this, but I'm desperate at this point and I don't think he'll mind helping me out this way. The appraisal came in at $99,000. Slightly less than I'd anticipated but I'll take it. Maybe the overall condition of the house had something to do with it. It's still good when you consider that I'll have $50,000 equity in the house with the new mortgage. I don't really consider that in the greater scheme of things: it's like money you can't touch, since you don't want to borrow that much. You'd just have that huge payment hanging over your head and you'd never be able to retire then. If you sold your house to get the money then you wouldn't have your house anymore, so what good does it really do you to have that equity? An investment, which is good for when I'm old and feeble-minded, and need the money I guess, but I always hope to be able to leave the house for anyone who might want it some day in the distant future (if it's still standing). Oh houses houses houses.

And my refrigerator made the most awful grinding noise the other night. It's been sweating up a storm for the past 3 months so I suspected it wasn't long for this world, but I'm hoping it can last until my closing at least. I have a few hundred dollars in the bank and can afford to pay cash for a new one as long as I don't need money for anything other than a car payment and insurance right now. They cost a fortune--$600-700. So far it's just humming along, but with my luck it'll die while I'm in RI next week and I'll return to a huge mess of mold on Sunday. yuck. Maybe things will run in my favor and I can wait until I get back. If I get one here at Lowe's they'll not only deliver it but they'll take away the old one--YES! I'll need $100 for boarding Jackson over Thanksgiving. god it costs a lot of money just to live these days, doesn't it.

Still warm and wonderful here. I went for a nice walk last night. It was really warm and dark, just barely spritzing mist. The dogs love it, Chances and Tess just tear around like fools. Jackson trots along next to me, huffing and puffing, but he seems to enjoy the walking. Tonight I have to go shopping, then should stop at Ken's for a quick visit and to ask about the railing, then I have to go to Malone to see Barb's artwork. That'll kill the night.

I spent the morning cataloging the last of Ticonderoga's backlog. Now I can move on to weeding for the last hour of the day. I'm well into the T's now, moving right along. Progress, how sweet.