sihayadesigns: (Me: Illustrated)
IF YOU PURCHASED FROM MY SALE, PLEASE READ THIS:

TL;DR: my shipping is running 2-3 days behind schedule as we continue to deal with the fallout from the Ellicott City flooding disaster. Our house was, as expected, affected by the floodwaters.

For more information, please visit the Sihaya Designs facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/SihayaDesigns

We saw our house.

By way of more information, the basement took on 7 feet of water. The backyard is TOAST. We no longer have koi. God bless the lovely, now-demolished fence that saved the deck from a six foot thick tree trunk.

We don't know what's going to happen with the sale. There's a lot of info that needs to come in. I am still committed to buying if it's financially feasible, but Jason is pretty shaken up. I expect he'll be slow to make any decisions, although I've made my own thoughts clear. We'll see.

We did go to get eyes on the house yesterday to meet our new potential neighbors and bring them cold beer and cookies, much appreciated after a long slog day. Hearteningly, they were all totally not panicking. They were working together to clean up, and due to the way our unit was built, no flood, even this one, ever touched the first floor of any of the homes. It was all very "yeah, this happens sometimes, although this is by far the worst." Everybody was very calm, and had a "let's get this done" mindset. Which is one I admire and share. They told us about past floods that had affected the houses up the hill, the most recent of which was Irene in '11, in which the basements took on some water but, well, they had time to prepare and it wasn't the so-called "storm of the millenium" that happened Saturday night for which there was absolutely no warning.

This week, the bank is going to assess repairs, and we have early signs that they will be paying for them. Which is good, because honestly, if they didn't, that'd be game over and they'd have to start all over again with folks who are NOT as invested as we have been. After repairs, we will have to do a second round of inspections.

So. My heart is still in Ellicott City. I share the non-panicked realism of the locals. I want to move there and help people rebuild. I might not get that chance if Jason objects and decides he does not want to deal with the reality of living on a flood plain. IDK what happens then, in a lot of different ways. I guess we'll see.

Side note: please do not tell me what you would or would not do in my situation. It is not as helpful as it is intended to be. It only stresses me out and makes me testy. We're the ones with eyes on the situation, and will be making our decisions once we have gathered all of the relevant data. Thanks from the management.
sihayadesigns: (True Blood: Terry & Lafayette)
So. Ellicott City. The town we are (were? not sure yet) buying in. It's basically gone now.

Ellicott City Gets Rainfall Expected Only Once Every Few Hundred Years

This video was taken by the husband of the woman who owns Still Life Gallery, who was to carry my work. http://www.facebook.com/sara.arditti/posts/10154333435401753

A massive storm & resulting flood took out most of main street. These photos are 1/4 mile down from the house we're buying. It's utterly horrifying. All of the places we love are gone. One person has died, two more are missing. The photos of the wreckage look like a movie set, not a place I have spent so much time.

We won't really know the status of our home until mid-week. We might be able to get eyes on it before then, but obviously, there needs to be structural checks done. I keep telling myself that it was built in the 1800's and has a solid rock foundation. It survived Agnes and can survive this. But I've only been able to see pics from a few blocks up from us (totally fine) and a few blocks down (cars piled up on top of each other). So it's really anyone's guess.

Jason and I are just... kind of in shock. The rental company we're currently with has already started to show our unit pending our moving out at the end of August. If we can't buy this house, I don't know what happens next.

Going back and forth between numbness and crying jags. The cynical part of my brain says, "well, at least this is where rich, Republican-voting people live, so Hogan will be more motivated to care." He's already declared it a disaster area, and has requested FEMA assistance. Rebuilding will be slow, and many of those buildings may have to be torn down.

I really need 2016 to knock it the fuck off.
sihayadesigns: (Sense8: I lost a flip flop)
Right now, my life is a bouquet of stress. Many different varieties of stress.

1. My little brother got married this weekend. It was a pretty good trip, despite the long, long, long hours in the car, and the fact that there is nothing my digestive tract hates more than traveling. Doubly so now that I've been on a relatively low-carb diet for two months. All of the rich/carb-y food of traveling/the reception have been wreaking havoc on my stomach. Not to mention, it cost us $500 to travel to the wedding. I was glad I went, but we are buying a house right now, and that's $500 I didn't really have.

2. Did I mention homebuying is expensive? Jesus christ. And the paperwork. The paperwork has given Jason a whole swath of new grey hair. We are going through a CDA loan because it gives us an extra $5,000 towards closing costs. Unfortunately, CDAs are bonkers. We have had to file paperwork to certify that money transfers from one spouse to another do not constitute "gifts," but rather "here's my half of rent/BGE/Verizon/etc." They are going over all of our finances with the finest of fine tooth combs.

3. Our being away apparently threw the cats into tailspin. Nox puked everywhere. Olive poo-sploded the second we got in the door (which was not later than her usual bathroom time). Mim developed an acute UTI, and we have a vet appt for her at 4:30. She's currently unhappily chilling out in a crate with a tiny little litterbox, and peeing tiny dimes of pee every five minutes. I caught it relatively quickly-- the behavior started about two hours ago-- but still. More money. At this point, I am resolved to never again leave the house, because inevitably, one of the cats requires a vet visit within 48 hours of my return.

4. It's a good thing I had a sale pre-set to go and began advertising it last week. So far, it's been modest, but assuming I can actually get some work done this week amid a stream of constant interruptions (not even exaggerating a little), I will be putting up 40+ new pieces and that should be nice money if some of them sell.

movingsale copy


20% off of everything at Sihaya Designs, and 20% of all candles at Sihaya And Company. Yes, there are deals for combined shipping if you want candles AND jewelry. Yes, there are deals for combined shipping if you want earrings tonight and a pendant on Friday. Details are here.

5. I also had to unexpectedly buy a new computer battery & charger, because mine straight-up died last week. JFC, I feel cursed.

6. In the realm of cool-ish news, last week, I was dealing with the kind of insomnia that left me greeting the sunrise. So instead, I channeled it into a project: The Black Tapes Mysteries Resource. It was really neat when The Black Tapes tweeted it out to their followers. I've gotten a fair readership in a relatively short time.

Untitled-1


I think that's all that's fit to print. I desperately need a shower, so I'mma go do that before I lose my ever loving mind. Or cry. Crying is becoming more and more of an option.
sihayadesigns: (Star Wars: Han omg!)
My favorite coffee shop in all the world. A French café. Two chocolatiers. A wine store that carries Crabbie's. Artists' studios and shops that carry local artisans. A well-reviewed hair salon. Sushi. Tapas. Tacos. Amazing crab soup. Walking trails. High tea. A comic book store. A farmers' market. Yoga if I decide to learn. Awesome womens' clothing stores. Monthly celebrations that come with free drinks and discounts. Outdoor movies played on the sides of old buildings. Antique shops as far as the eye can see. A three-story fairy-themed store. Outdoor theatre. Pure Wine Café's chocolate pot de crème, which is potentially my favorite dessert of all time.

All within easy walking distance. In one of the most haunted towns in America. That has BEAUTIFUL tree-lined walks that are especially amazing in Autumn.

Y'all, we're moving to the promised land.
sihayadesigns: (Magic: Luna)
I haven't written much lately because I have been SUPER BUSY. Yesterday was packing day for all of the Sihaya & Co. Summer boxes, I just finished a big wholesale order for Twig the Fairy, I'm starting another for Faerie Mag, and it's wedding season, so we've had a different nuptial-related thing to do every weekend for the last few.

But. News. Exciting news.

The bank accepted our offer on a house we REALLY WANTED. If all goes according to plan, we will be moving to historic Old Ellicott City by summer's end.

The house is a 1/2 mile walk from all of my favorite places: my favorite date spot, my favorite coffee shop, a teahouse that specializes in high tea, and tons of little artists' shops that could carry my work. Oh, and a wine store. :)

We still have to do inspections/closing/etc all that jazz, but house is honestly so great. Doesn't look like much from the outside-- it's a townhouse built in the 20's, and the front could use an update. But it's 3 br, 2 bath, brand new carpet (which, sadly, we'll probably end up pulling up-- in my studio for sure, but likely in most of the rooms within a few years because there is hardwood under it that just needs to be refinished). The bathrooms are teensy, but one has a tub WITH JETS. It does lack closet space, so organizers are definitely going to be necessary for my studio space. But the backyard? Has a giant, new-looking deck and a frikkin' KOI POND.

I seriously cannot wait to live in a place a) that I love, b) where I can walk to things (!!!), and c) where I can grab a hot latte and ogle really pretty Autumn leaves and historic buildings.

EXCITEDDDDDDDDD.

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