My gamble paid off. My anxieties are often heightened by uncertainty (not too profound) and I knew that finding a rental home was going to ease many of my concerns. When looking for a rental home, one that accepts cats and has room for an RV, and three children, the choices are quite limited. We saw a few standard 'in the neighborhood' kind of places, where we were unlikely to park an RV or anything else too unconventional. So when it came down to satisfying my urgent need to resolve the housing issue, there was really only one house that looked favorable, and I had to grab it without time for Geoff to see it. It was risky making the big decision on my own, and for the 2 weeks when I couldn't see it again and reaffirm my hasty choice, I was feeling like a gambling woman. Yesterday I showed my cards and came up with a full house, and everyone is happy.

We all went to see the place and get our key yesterday morning. I felt rather foolish, because I realized that on the original walk through I was so shadowed by the tenant that I barely looked at the rooms and never saw the kitchen or counted closets and bathrooms. He was a small, bearded man, with the look of granola and yoga all over him. His new age endeavors were diluted by his slightly paranoid portrayal of this "too noisy neighborhood." He actually motioned with his hand to his ear and raised his brows knowingly, when he heard a distant power tool happily at work in some neighbor's garage. His yoga wife's mellow demeanor was barely skin deep; she freaked when Alex set one foot on their area rug, "We never step on the white rug!" My son's huge faux pax caused both tenants to follow us closely for the remainder of the house tour. Still we have a happy ending, because the place is even better than I thought. The kitchen is very nice, and roomy. The home office is super equipped. There are plenty of closets, bathrooms, and cabinets, and the *Punatics took their white rug with them.

Geoff likes the place, and I am glad about this. It is set back in what actually does seem to be a quiet neighborhood, and there are many beautiful, mature trees all around. We are having fun deciding how to arrange our lives in the unusual layout; the kitchen and living room are upstairs, and one downstairs bedroom is better described as a workshop. I think we are well suited to living in this place; we'll have fun there.

*Puna-tics: Noun. The Big Island of Hawaii has a district, very near the Volcano, where expatriate Mainlanders migrate; they are in search of very affordable land, social freedoms, and excellent welfare and social services. "Puna" is the district and the "tic" is a play on words from the parasite, and the word lunatic. Punatics enjoy aromatherapy, colonics, powerful healing crystals, untouchable white rugs, assuming Native politics as their own, righteous indignation, and generous handouts from the state; they advertise heavily in Hawaii Island Journal - Home Page.