Monday, February 20, 2006

Cheated By Destiny

So, I didn't hit Powerball this weekend. I know you're all disappointed. If you're not, you should be...I was planning to sponser everyone's trip to B-List Blog Chicks '06, AND give really nice swag-bag gifts. Really nice, as in bundles of cash.

I'm one of those people who buys a lotto ticket once a year, if that. Because of this, I actually expect to win. Doesn't it seem like the big winners are always people who never play lotto, and only bought a ticket that one time as a fluke? I really think I should be one of those people. Especially this week. See, this week, the house I've been coveting is up for sale.

I've coveted different houses over the years. This one I've had my eye on for quite awhile. It's a 1785 cape on 2 acres, with a huge old barn in the back. It's right next to an ancient cemetary, which could be a little creepy, but I figure at least we'd have quiet neighbors. The residents of the cemetary would be the only neighbors, since it's on a corner and the lot extends pretty far back. The house was for sale last summer. It had a sold sign on it for awhile, then the sold sign was gone and a "price reduced" sign appeared. Eventually the sign disappeared completely, but now it's back (I did wonder if I should be worried about how often its been on the market, given the proximity to the cemetary, but I figured a ghost or two probably would be easier to take than some of my current neighbors).

I'm not sure what the reduced price last summer was, but now it's selling for $549,000. Unfortunately, that's a tad higher than any mortgage company in its right mind would be willing to give me. There was supposed to be an Open House two weeks ago, which I wouldn't have been able to attend because my daughter had an out-of-state karate tournament. But, due to a blizzard, both the tournament AND the open house were cancelled. So yesterday there was another Open House, and I had no plans. And the Powerball drawing was Saturday night, and since I never buy lotto tickets and therefore could reasonably expect to win, it seemed destiny. I could just waltz in to the Open House and hand the real estate agent a check. Destiny. Sadly, the Lotto Gods did not agree, since I didn't even have one matching number. Sigh.

So, I guess I'll be living in my two-bedroom aluminum-sided shoebox a little longer. If any of you hit the lotto in the next few months, though, I know what I want as my swag-bag gift...

On the Up-Side, I did score this weekend, in a slightly less affluent way. Hubby surprised me by not only suggesting dinner out Saturday night, but also producing a $100 bill he had squirreled away for that very purpose. So, combined with our pre-Superbowl dinner out, that means we've been to more restaurants in the past month than we did all last year. It's not 345 million dollars, but its still not a bad start for 2006!

Posted by The Gradual Gardener :: 10:10 AM :: 16 Comments:

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