She liked us, she really liked us!

Barring any weird complication (like say, J's company telling her they're going to fire him) we will be moving in to the new house starting on February first!

The woman who owns it has lived in the neighborhood since 1963 and has owned the one we're going to rent since 1971. The house was built in 1956 and has that great enormous living room and dining room setup that ranch style houses had back then. The bathrooms and bedrooms are pretty small but how much room do you need for a bed? There is a very big covered patio (probably about 5 times the size of our balcony) in the back yard and a big flat grassy area for the kids to play. There is a lawn service so we're off the hook for grass maintenance and I have the green light to container garden to my heart's content. The garage has an entire wall of storage cabinets and the kitchen, oh my. I can't even begin to describe it's wonderfulness. There is a *5* burner new gas cooktop and a lovely oven that is set into the wall next to it at a comfortable height for a grownup and out of reach of the little people. The kitchen cabinets are blonde oak as is the floor leading in from the entryway to the kitchen. All this for a hundred dollars a month more than they are going to charge us to stay in this moldy apartment.

I am beyond thrilled.