A very Rich weekend

We had a wonderful weekend because our great friend Rich from England was visiting. This is Rich Carter, as in 'Rich and Anita.' John went to uni with him and lived with him for a while afterwards while they were first working at Lilly right out of college. Rich still works for Lilly, which is what brought him to Indy. He's here this week for work but came early to spend the weekend visiting with me and John. He brought his golf clubs so the boys played golf both days, so I didn't get as much time with him as John since golf takes a good 3 hours or more, but we went out to dinner both nights as well as sat around chatting at our apartment for a while. It is hard to express how good it was to see him, I wish we could keep him. I was saying to John last night that I wish he could stay and bring Anita with him, and it would be like old times. And while we're at it, Scott, Gem, Wyn and Helen should come too. And Jon and Marianne and Bella. And Mad, Michelle, and Jim. And while we're at it, Emily, Reena, Faith, and Steph should move back to Indy. What does everyone say? If you all agree to come I'll buy everyone pizza!

So while Rich and John were playing golf I tried to make the best use of my time. Saturday morning I went riding for the first time since I moved. The place was so nice and clean that it really revealed how much I was slumming it at Park Farm all those years. These horses seem to have it really good. They seem very well looked after and loved, and the barn is in great condition and is built in a way that gives the horses good views of their neighbors. (Horses are very social and can be quite sensitive about limited contact with others.) My riding was alright considering how long it had been since I'd ridden. Until, that is, we cantered. The instructor told me from the beginning this horse (Snapple) had a weird canter, and between that and my rustiness I was all over the place. And yesterday and today I have been unbelievably sore. It's funny when I get up from my desk to get water or go to the loo because I forget that I'm sore (since I'm immobile for long periods of time throughout the day) and when I first get up the pain hits me like a truck and I have to revert to taking steps that are half the length of usual. But it was good to ride again anyway.

The rest of the day on Saturday I spent with my mom. She came up to see Abbey and Jude and spend some time with me. We went to the village part of Zionsville (the town we live in), where there are lots of little boutiques and some nice restaurants. We grabbed a bite to eat at a cafe and then walked around the shops. It was a really pretty day for it. Then we went to a couple of furniture shops so I could keep looking for sofas. I found a nice little loveseat that had a sign on it for 50% off. I didn't see a tag so I asked the sales woman how much it was. She went all the way to the back of the store to find out and told me a price that was really reasonable. I said I would need to check with John but it would probably be just right for a living room. When I told him about it later, he said for that price I should just get it if I like it since it won't last long at that price. So Sunday (while the boys played golf again) I went back and bought it. The woman was there again and she said she had gotten in a little trouble because she had told me the wrong price and the owner was not happy about it. She had even told the owner 'maybe she won't come back,' with the hopes they wouldn't have to sell it at that price. It turns out the original price was about 70% more than the price she quoted, but since she had already given that price that was what she had to sell it to me for. So I was pretty pleased with that outcome!

So why am I so concerned with furniture right now, you might ask? If we're in a 2 bedroom apartment right now, why do we need more furniture, you think to yourself? Well, we have gotten a house! Pretty much. We have found a house that we love, an offer has been accepted, the inspection process is over and was fine, and now we are just waiting on the last bit before it's all officially official, which is for the mortgage to go through or clear or whatever a mortgage does during this phase. So it's very, very exciting for us. Assuming everything is ok on the mortgage side then we move on the 9th of November. Yaaaaaayyyy! We do have some pictures of the place but I will wait to post those until it's officially official.