Why did I accept that offer, Stilly? Two reasons. First, they offered $25K more than the asking price. Second, I did not know that the Ottawa real estate market was so markedly different from what’s going on here in Stratford — specifically, that Ottawa sellers do not even considered offers with a house sale condition. Also, it never occurred to me that they would take so long to list their damnable house! But here we are.

The building inspector found an iffy bit of plywood subfloor in the basement under the sill of the furnace room door. The buyers offered to waive the inspection condition for $5K off their offered price. After the construction misery I’ve just endured, I said Yes and thought Getting Off Lightly. But the closing date is non-negotiable (for unstated reasons), so I must be outta here on or before 28 August.

So I must engage movers and schedule packing knowing when I’m going but precisely where. (In the army, they say “Move now, destination later.”) This morning, I did the first task: booking the cats into my favourite feline holiday spa, Cats’ Paradise in Almonte, a little mill town about half an hour west of Ottawa. Next is booking movers, which I can’t even start until Monday morning.

On the fitness front, my weight is down to a point I haven’t seen since about Grade 11 and my voice is slowly returning to normal. I’m still eating very low-carb-ly, as it were — my digestion is much happier this way — but I refuse to forego peach season again this year. That’s too much to ask.