Books: about 3,900 pounds (1769.010243 Kgs.) of them. Fabric for The Quilter: there must be a thousand fat quarters (quilters will know). Clothes: yup, got some of those. Furniture and assorted crap: A lot. Guitar: one, and it has to be restrung and retuned. Trumpet: one, and it doesn't need any new strings AND I've recently had the spitvalve recorked, so it doesn't drool.

Cost (yeah, I'll tell): USD 185,000, less whatever we put out for a downpayment from the money we made on the sale of our house in South Bend, Indiana. Ultimately, I think it'll come in that we need a mortgage for about USD 140,000. Obviously we have to get some stuff done at the house -- bookcases, fabric shelves, and replacing the red/black 1970s-look carpet in the lower level (too dark, and it makes the stairs dangerous), adding a water heater....

'Twas built in 1968.

Librarians don't make terrific money (our rewards are in the smiles of the people we serve), but my wife's a mathematician/librarian/attorney. If she says we can afford it, I believe her, since my own math skills are somewhat less than hers.

And we don't have it yet...the offer we made was accepted, but we haven't paid for it yet.

Actually, it's effectively two houses. This is LDS (Mormon) country, and many of the houses are that way because of their beliefs (no, they don't need to have a separate kosher kitchen). There's also a "wet bar" which is like a kitchen but without a stove.

We're still in shock about doing this. Me, a poor, shy kid from the Great Middle West, buying a house like this, one which backs up to a golf course where I can shoot them golfs as they whiz by.... Golf's like polo, but played without horses, isn't it?