25 December 2016 Christmas

Merry Christmas to all!  I hope that all our friends and loved ones had a truly happy and blessed Christmas.  I'm sitting at my desk in a house that went quiet about 8 hours ago as the kids left to spend a week with their dad.  It has no tree, no lights, no decorations, no festive music, and no children, but I am content.  We had a very nice Christmas indeed.

We decorated cookies for Family Home Evening this week.  I made far fewer cut out cookies and other treats than I usually do, but we still were able to enjoy decorating what I did make.  On Tuesday we had Young Women's and Activity Days.  The girls decorated graham cracker houses and Arlo came caroling in the neighborhood with me and the youth.  We had a very nice time and I was grateful for such lovely weather.  Wednesday was our last day of work and school and there was quite a bit of excitement in the air.

Arlo came home with a beautiful bird house that he made me.  The preschool took a field trip over to the high school where the wood shop class helped the kids build and paint their own bird houses.  They were much nicer than I was anticipating and very sturdy.  Arlo had a great time. 

In the evening I got to work on wrapping gifts as it's been piling up on me.  I pulled out all the hats that I made this year and it was quite an impressive pile.  I certainly have some new favorite patterns!

 Thursday morning we were up pretty early and decided to have an adventure.  We went to Denny's in our PJs and had a fancy breakfast with hot chocolate.  Even I went in my jammies!  We got cleaned up and dressed when we got home and set out delivering our Christmas gifts and cookie platters to our friends and neighbors.

When we were done we headed up to the Phoenix Zoo.  We had a great time!  They were having a Lego exhibit and the kids got a kick out of finding all of the Lego animals around the park.  The Orangutan's were in rare form and we got to see them right up by the glass.  It was such a treat.  The Zoo was almost completely empty so we had it all to ourselves.  About the time we were getting ready to leave, at closing time, a ranger came around and herded us all to the back area of the zoo saying that there was a possible shooter in the parking lot and that the zoo was on lock down.  We had to stay in that area for about 10 minutes and then they let us go to roam the zoo, but said the gates were locked and we couldn't leave until it was all clear.  It meant we got to spend an extra hour in the zoo and enjoy zoo lights as they were coming on as it was getting dark.  It became a rather fortuitous turn of events.

When we were done with the zoo, we drove back to Mesa and had dinner at our favorite place, Organ Stop Pizza.  It was delicious and the organ music perfect as always.  We really enjoyed the Christmas music!  After dinner, we went to the Mesa temple and enjoyed the temple lights.  It was such a lovely time.  We stopped for ice cream before the long drive home.  I'm grateful for the ability, time, and means to provide these great and fun experiences for the kids.  I'm quite aware that many single parents don't have the same opportunities and blessings that I do, and for that I am grateful.  There is also a certain amount of drive on my behalf to make sure that my children have as many of the same experiences and family traditions and outings as their counterparts that come from more traditional families.  It's not easy to manage three kids alone all the time, but the value in spending time together as a family is worth it.  They deserve so much and at the very least the best of what I can offer them.

Friday we had a leisurely morning and then met Nana and Grandma Lo at Cracker Barrel for lunch to celebrate Grandma's 90th birthday.  We all really enjoyed the food (Grandma is from Oklahoma so Southern cooking has always been a welcome addition to our family culture).  It's not very often I get to have Chicken Fried Steak and Okra with cornbread, oh how I love fried okra!  We did a little last minute grocery shopping when we were done.  In the evening we went to the movies with Nana and saw "Sing"...it was OK.  The kiddos went to bed when we got home and I stayed up and got all my gifts finally wrapped!

We watched movies and played and relaxed on Saturday morning until it was time to head to Nana and Papa's for our traditional Mexican food feast and gift opening.  My paternal Grandmother was born and raised in Sinaloa so while we had Southern Cooking for Grandma Lo's birthday, we enjoy Mexican food on Christmas eve as an homage to my Nana who I miss so much.  We had tamales and tacos and enchiladas and lots of other goodies and then the kiddos put on their PJs and we opened our stockings and gifts.  We got lots of great things and after all the presents were opened, Papa brought out his gift for the girls, the guns we bought earlier in the month.  Felicity got her own .22 rifle and Helen got a .410 shot gun. Since I got a skeet set and new shot gun for my birthday, I think we will have lots of fun playing with our new toys in the coming year.  I got Arlo a Daisy Red Rider BB Gun to open when the sisters opened their guns so he wouldn't feel left out, he was pretty excited about it.

Felicity was not feeling well (I think she has strep...again), so we left at about eight and came home and cuddled together on my bedroom floor and watched "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" as we drifted off to sleep.  The kids woke me up at about seven this morning and we took our traditional top of the stairs Christmas morning photo.  The kids opened their gifts from me and some from friends and were pretty excited.  We had pecan rolls and hot chocolate for breakfast and then their dad came and got them at about 10:20.  I took a nap and have crocheted and putted around the house this afternoon.  I have the week off of work and no kids...so I'm thinking an adventure of my own may be in store!

I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ.  I am thankful for this time of year to think on His life and influence and try to resolve to be more like Him.  To reach out to others, to be more kind, more charitable, more forgiving, and more humble.  I've been doing a lot of pondering and praying in the last couple of months as I've decided to let go of things and step out in faith and trust with my life.  I feel like I can be more consistent in doing what is right.  I feel I need to find a way to be more humble and gentle in my interactions with others.  I know I need to have more faith that my Father in Heaven has a plan for my life and it's one of happiness.  I am in the crucible of learning as I strive to have patience as my well-meaning and righteous desires and prayers go unanswered.  I'm excited to put 2016 behind me and to take a very broken heart and a striving-to-be contrite spirit into 2017.  Again Merry Christmas to all!

18 December 2016

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…except at the Davidson house.  It’s really strange not to have the house decorated or a tree up, but I’m also grateful for a little less pressure on myself to be constantly doing.  We did have a pretty busy week, regardless.

Arlo got to have a special birthday outing with Nana this week.  They went to the mall and he got to pick out some goodies.  He had a fun time and felt special.  I usually make a photo calendar for Christmas to give out as a gift and this year I got some photo props and thought I would do a silly calendar.  The kids really enjoyed playing with the props.  Instead of trying to do the whole thing in one sitting, we’ve been taking a few photos here and there.  The down side was when I went to get out my good camera and found that I had packed and stored it.  Drat!  Good thing the cameras on phones have come a long way in the past few years I guess.  If you’ve seen some of my programs, invitations, cards, ect.  you know I enjoy dabbling in graphic design a bit.  These are by no means masterpieces, but they were fun!

We took the young women to Winterhaven on Tuesday night for mutual and I paid to take the kids with me since we probably wouldn’t have another opportunity to go.  We bought hot chocolate, kettle corn, and rode on a flatbed through the neighborhood.  It was so much fun and the kids had a great time.  I would pay to do the ride through again in a heartbeat.  We’ve tried walking through before and the kids get bored, tired, and looking for a bathroom too quickly.  This allowed them to see most of the lights condensed into about 45 minutes, it was perfect.

Wednesday night we had our 9^th annual Davidson Family Gingerbread Family Home Evening…except not at my house, and there was no FHE lesson, and no singing…so really we just got together with Melynda and Mindy’s families and decorated gingerbread houses.  The family home evening event is one of my very favorite traditions, but this pared down version was perfect for this year.  (Hopefully the 10th annual will be back in full swing and at our new house!) We had dinner and decorated houses while enjoying hot chocolate.  The kids had a great time I think, and I’m so grateful to Melynda for letting me use her kitchen for the mess this year.

One of the gifts Arlo picked out with Nana at the Disney store for his birthday was a storm trooper helmet that has a voice modulator.  The kids have had so much fun playing with it.  I caught Felicity wearing it in Arlo’s bed, reading out loud to herself through the voice modulator.  It was pretty kooky to hear!  Having kids sure is a fun adventure.

Thursday night Felicity had her first band concert.  It was a bit of a surreal moment, actually.  How am I old enough to be attending band concerts…that I’m not playing in?  She was so excited though.  I have to applaud the school and music directors for the way they organized the holiday concerts.  They had the choirs go from 6:00-6:30 which gave enough time for them to clear out the auditorium and empty the parking lot in time for the 7PM band and orchestra concert.  They allowed about 15 minutes for the orchestra and then 15 minutes for the band and they were done in 30 minutes.  It was the perfect amount of time for this age group.  It gave the kids the concert performing experience without overdoing it.  The way they split things up also helped in teaching the parents audience etiquette.  It made it so that it would have been impractical to try and leave after their child performed instead of staying throughout the program. Felicity was so proud of herself, and I was proud of her too.  We went and had celebratory ice cream after the concert.  I’m excited to start this part of parenthood (I think).  It’s amazing to me how quickly it has gone.  It seems like childhood lasted forever when I was the kid, now, I blinked and I have a ten year old who will be in MIDDLE SCHOOL next August.  I pray I’m doing a good job, because she won’t be mine for long.

I worked on Friday, and at lunch time went into Tucson with my dad to pick up one last Christmas gift, this one for Helen.  We went to Second Amendment Sports on Pima and it was a neat little shop.  Really nice guys working in there and we got exactly what we needed.  I almost wished we had gone in there first instead of driving up to Cabela’s a couple of weeks ago.  The kids went to their dad’s for the weekend and I did a little bit of shopping.  I feel like I’m finished with Christmas gifts for the kids, I just have a few gift cards to buy and I need to finish up my candy baskets.  And I'll be ready!

 

I stayed home on Saturday for the most part, making a couple trips to Walmart and one to Tucson when I had a craving for Chipotle.  I crocheted a hat for Felicity’s gift exchange at school.  I finished my baking, now I just have to decorate the cut-out cookies.  I did some cleaning and some other crafting, it was nice and quiet.  Sunday was also nice.  I attended my meetings and subbed for the eleven year old Primary class.  That’s usually an age where I’m at my best, but a couple of the girls were challenging and that was frustrating.  I like to be able to jump in without any prep and teach them  something new and not make it a wasted hour, but I had to fight them a bit to get them on board with my agenda.  Oh, well, can’t win them all.  When I got home I put on comfy clothes and put a couple church movies on while I started my wrapping.  I always forget how long that takes, and I wasn’t even putting fancy bows or ribbons on anything!

I have three days of work next week and then the kids and I are off for a couple of weeks.  I’m hoping I get my treat baskets done in time!  I won’t lie, I’m really looking forward to putting 2016 behind me.  It has been one stressful, difficult, and painful year!  That's not to say that I don't recognize that I am still very blessed and have much to be thankful for, but I’m fervently praying that the new year has many good and happy things in store for us.

11 December 2016

I can't believe that we're only a couple of weeks away from the Holiday break!  We had a fun week.  On Monday we had Family Home Evening and as our activity we went birthday shopping for Arlo.  He got to pick out his very own pair of real boots at Boot Barn.  He was excited, let me tell you.  He decided on the first ones he tried on, but not before trying on EVERY boot in his size!  He is so adorable I can hardly stand it, it's his saving grace for those days when he tries my patience.  We had dinner at Chipotle, our favorite, when we were done.

 As expected, I started to feel a little draw toward Christmas merriment.  So later in the week I took the kids to have their portraits done. When I made my Christmas gift list, there were quite a few ideas that were going to require pictures, so I got a Groupon and took the kids to the Picture People (who I personally have always had good luck with).  My kids are either photo rock stars or a picture nightmare, I usually don't get in between. This was a rock star trip, every single picture they brought out was gorgeous.  Usually I make custom Christmas cards, but to save myself the stress and time, I bought my Christmas cards from the photo shoot and with my deal they were very reasonable.  I have copyrights to all the images, so I can make a myriad of other gifts from them as well.

 We had an open house on Wednesday and on Thursday.  We got a couple people come see the house Wednesday, I don't know how productive the open house was on Thursday. We had a Relief Society Christmas activity on Thursday.  My mom came and it was very nice.  I had been asked to sing Oh Holy Night in a trio and I felt like it went fairly well.

 Arlo turned five on Friday, how is that even possible?!  I'm not sure, but it happened.  He took a tin of assorted popcorn to class to share with his friends as his treat.  We met Nana at Chuck E Cheese on Friday evening and we had pizza and cake and played games.  It was fun.  

So, in the spirit of being swamped and not wanting to make life anymore complicated, for the first time ever I bought my child a cake.  I did take said cake and adjust it slightly so it was the batman cake that he really wanted.  He's such a boy and I sure do love him!

 Friday morning I had the bug guy come for our bi-monthly spraying, then I met with the home builder to hammer out some details on the home I want to have built.  It's coming along.  I still need to get some questions answered about the property.  It's a pretty complicated process.  I missed my visiting teaching appointment and the ward Christmas party, but it was a good Friday just the same.  We stayed home and played on Saturday.  I had some grocery shopping and cleaning to do.  I also made some Christmas ornaments and got the rest of my shopping done.  At the end of the evening we were all snuggled in my bed to watch a Christmas movie together.

Sunday was nice.  We went to church and enjoyed our meetings.  We had a nice, low-key afternoon.  I started baking a few Christmas treats.  I was lucky enough to have help in the kitchen.

Here's my big boy.  I sure do love him, even though he's a pill sometimes.  He has the most tender heart.

04 December 2016

 And just like that, the Christmas Season is upon us.  I don't feel like a Scrooge, but at the same time, I don't have plans to decorate or put up a tree since we are trying to sell the house.  I also haven't given much thought to decorating Christmas cookies or our annual Gingerbread FHE.  I may decide that I don't want to forgo all of the things I normally do, but for now I'm content with the lack of business to get things done.  We had a very nice week.  Our house got plenty of online looks and saves, nobody came by though.  Monday we had Family Home Evening and Felicity chose going to Burger King as our activity.  Ok, one dinner I don't have to make this week I guess.  While we were waiting for our food, Felicity was showing us the old "take off your thumb" trick, Arlo's expression was priceless.  He was terrified, excited, curious, and concerned all at once...I've never seen anyone fall for that one before, it was hilarious.  Felicity showed him how it worked pretty quickly.  It was entertaining for sure.

Tuesday night I got to attend Activity Days with the girls since they had a mother-daughter night.  It was fun.  Wednesday I went out to some property I'm interested in with Melynda.  We walked around for quite awhile and figured out the layout.  It's seven acres with a well and septic, there are some questions and concerns and I'd probably need to negotiate on the price, but I was intrigued at the very least.  It had incredible views and the biggest Jackrabbits I've ever seen in my life!

Thursday morning the house was on the Realtor tour, local real estate agents tour the most recently listed houses and leave feedback.  The house looked great and we were out and ready for school and work on time.  I dropped the girls off at school and then when I got to the parking lot of the Early Childhood Center, Arlo threw up all over himself and the front seat.  AHH!  I ran him inside the school to get him a little cleaned up.  I managed to run him home and get him in the bath and re-dressed before the tour started.  We ran to Walmart and tried to clean the inside of the car.  Well, this was not the day I was expecting!  So Arlo and I had an impromptu day together.  We went to Boot Barn and Arlo tried on boots since he'll be getting a new pair for his birthday next week.  We went to Reid Park Zoo and had such a great time just the two of us.  Arlo said he wasn't feeling well again, so we headed home.  Sometimes unexpected changes in plans lead to a fun day.

I met my real estate agents at the property Melynda and I walked Friday morning.  We found the property markers, and it was actually a little bigger than I had thought.  I set them to the task to get me some more information such as specs on the well and information the easements to the property and any that anyone else has through it.  I'm hopeful, it felt much more promising when I walked away on Friday!  I also did some more home tours of the manufactured home builders this week and feel very strongly about a particular floor plan and builder.  I think it will be perfect for us.  It's really exciting to see things start to fall into place.  The timing and finanacing of all this will be the real test to see if it comes together.  It's a lot to work out, purchasing land, purchasing the home, having the land improved so that the home can easily be built, building the home, and none of it can start until my house is under contract...so we may be homeless for a couple months at the beginning of the year!  I know that I'm doing the right thing and the whole family is so excited, so I know it will be OK.

I had dinner with Mom and Dad Friday after the kids went to their dad's.  I decided to take myself to the movies when I got home.  I went to see "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them".  It was like a visit from an old friend, I loved it.  Setting it in the United States and the 1920s was fabulous, you get those gorgeous sets and costumes and yet it was still very much the wizarding world that I love so much.  The story was great and I would say my only complaint was that Eddie Redmayne was a little hard for me to understand, but that may have been more about my hearing than his British accent.  Surprisingly the audience in the theater detracted from the movie too.  Nobody but me reacted to very clear references to things that most Harry Potter fans would understand or find funny.  I was taken aback that audience participation is important in a movie theater setting, but I felt a little alone in my amusement (my kids would have go it!).  Whatever that means I guess.  The other downside is that the girls wanted desperately to see it and I told them I would see it first and let them know if I would make an exception for them to watch it.  Sadly, it deserves its PG-13 rating, it was too scary and intense for them.  Maybe when VidAngle has it we will revisit the idea.

Saturday morning I picked my dad up at 9AM and we drove to Glendale to do some Christmas shopping at Cabela's.  We were able to get one of the two things we were looking for, so it was a good trip.  I hadn't planned to go shopping Saturday, I had actually planned to do some things around the house and then go to the temple.  I didn't want to miss my opportunity to go to the temple since it had been longer than I normally like since I had been, so I turned around after I dropped him off and drove back to Gilbert.  I really enjoyed my time in the temple and was so glad that I had decided to go afterall.  Lucky for me that my car gets really good gas millage.

I had a quiet Sunday which was nice.  I took the opportunity to bear my testimony in Sacrament and enjoyed the remainder of my meetings.  I practiced a Christmas piece with some friends in the afternoon, I was asked to sing in a trio for Relief Society Christmas activity.  I got caught up on my blog posts and then drove into Tucson to pick up the kids.  I'm thinking it will be a more quiet week coming up, but we will see.  I wouldn't be surprised if I started to think about cookie baking and gift making after all and get my self engrossed in that...time will tell I guess!

27 November 2016

1092 W. Vuelta las Verdolagas

We did it!  From seeing a house online that got me thinking that I could just step out and get the house on property that I have always wanted to having my house listed for sale all happened in the matter of a few weeks.  Monday morning my realtor came over to take a look at the house.  He seemed impressed with the cleanliness and that it was very showable.  We discussed pricing and the market and decided to price the house on the high end.  Since I don’t have anywhere to go immediately, we thought this would be a good strategy.  If someone wants the house for full price, great!  I can find somewhere to go in the interim while I find our new place and I’ll make some money.  Otherwise having the price on the higher end allows us some negotiating room since I have a limit to what I can sell the house for and be able to pay it off.

We signed the initial paperwork to get the ball rolling and I gave him some idea of what I’m looking for in terms of our new place.  I am excited.  It is liberating to finally just saying “I don’t need to wait for someone to come do it with me”.  If I want a house on four acres and goats and pigs and chickens and turkeys, I’m just going to do it.  I’m capable.  In the past few weeks I’ve been an electrician, a plumber, a roofer, a landscaper, an interior designer, a painter, a drywall repairer, and a myriad of other things on top of my regular duties as mom, chef, chauffer, nurse, nose-wiper and oh, yeah, software test engineer.  I can do it.  I won’t lie, I’d prefer to do it with a companion at my side, I still hope and pray that’s in the cards for me somewhere, but I’m not putting my life and dreams on hold while I wait for that.  The scene from Tangled where the barroom full of ruffians sings about their dreams keeps coming to my mind.  The rough and tough bar patron tells Rapunzel “Go. Live your dream”.  That’s me.

Tuesday we went to dinner with my mom and dad at Chuy's to celebrate my birthday.  We had a great time.  We didn’t have any extra activities this week which was nice.  I continued to work on a few extra things around the house.  It’s going to be hard for me to just stop!  I sanded and re-stained the stairway banister, and oh my, is it beautiful again!  The cat had scratched it up pretty good and with just $5 of stain and 30 minutes it was in tip top shape again.  I cleaned the cabinet surfaces and got them all shined up, I had forgotten just how much I loved them.  I also put together a “New Homeowner” book from an idea I got on Pinterest.  I listed all the upgrades to the house (many of which I had forgotten about).  I also composed pages about the neighbors and the neighborhood, the typical utility expenses, the schools, and some of the seasonal perks.  Things like how many of the neighbors decorate for Christmas, how great the grass and tree are in the summer, and what the neighborhood is like for Halloween.  The realtor said I had a promising career in real estate if I ever wanted an employment change.

Wednesday morning I met the realtor to look at a property near Indian Kitchen and Mission.  The land was garbage: rocky, hilly, and right next to the neighbor’s house.  The house was pretty run down and smallish.  Sigh, not right for us.  It got me to thinking that what I really feel like I should be doing is looking for improved land and building a brand new home.  So I went into Tucson and looked at houses at a manufactured home builder site.  Wow!  They really were nice homes and well within my price range.  It’s starting to look like I can get 4+ acres and a new home for less than what I paid for our current home.  I may be switching gears to looking just at land.

 We had a very nice and quiet Thanksgiving over at my parent’s house on Thursday and enjoyed time with them.  Friday we spent time around the house, the kids played outside since that was really the only place to run wild and free. 

 I ran some errands and went grocery shopping.  Felicity came with me and really cracked me up.  She was engrossed in her latest book and decided, at ten years old, to ride in the buggy while I shopped so she could read her book.  They put in the key safe, dropped flyers off, and posted the house online.  We are officially for sale!

 We had a lovely Sunday, we attended Sacrament meeting and Arlo was so good.  I sat in Primary second hour with Arlo and he enjoyed learning “Picture a Christmas” and actually sang.  I slipped out to get to Young Women’s which I enjoyed.  

After church we drove into Tucson and visited Grandpa Gene.  We played dominos for about an hour and then went to Nana and Papa’s for dinner.  I wanted to keep the kids out of the house in case someone wanted to come see it.  So far we’ve had about 50 people see the house online and 5 people save it as a favorite.  I’m hoping to get on the realtor tour this week and hopefully set up an open house soon.  I’m just going to see where life takes us.

20 November 2016

So I am living off of caffeine and energy drinks, but it looks like I’m going to make the schedule I devised for myself!  We worked diligently in the evenings on the house, mostly painting (which takes stinkin’ FOREVER).  I updated the paint in the girl’s room, touched up the paint in Arlo’s room, and completely painted the upstairs bathroom, hallway, and family room. 

 Monday morning I decided to tackle one small project before heading to work and painted the decorative shutters on the outside of the second story.  Then, since I had the right paint out, I thought I would quickly touch up the front door.  I realized that I could actually paint the security screen and that it was easier and looked better than just trying to clean it, so what was supposed to be a quick 15 minute project before work turned into a couple of hours, but, the front door, trim, and security door all got a fresh coat of paint and man are they beautiful!

We had mutual on Tuesday night and decorated boxes for Thanksgiving dinners that would be going to families in our ward.  I painted well into the night and did some cleaning.  I also replaced baseboard in the dining room and my closet.  I’ve done lots of spackling and hole filling.  It was actually really rewarding to paint the pony wall upstairs and see years of grime and dirty fingerprints and pencil and crayon disappear.  I’m actually sad that I didn’t take the time to fix up the house more while we were living in it.  I think I kept telling myself that I didn’t want to waste time and money when I knew we were meant to stay here forever, but here I am spending the time and money and not getting to enjoy the outcome as long!

(Sorry the video has no actual video...I'll fix that eventually)
 I painted the stairwell this week which required some courage (to get up on the ladder) and some ingenuity to paint the cut-in on the wall that is the height of the house.  I invested in a handy-dandy extendable paint roller thingy and man did it come in handy!  Felicity teased me when I taped a paint brush to the end of it to paint the thin line between the wall and the ceiling, but it worked and she had to eat her words of discouragement!  HA! 

 I had to prime downstairs over the dark paint, so that meant that if felt like I painted everything twice.  The kids helped me in the evenings and that was fun to do it together.  They are getting excited about their “ranch house” as they are calling it, although it’s hard on them to have everything in disarray.  I caught Arlo lining up all of our boots in the garage, trying to maintain some sense of control and order.  I think they understand the end goal and are excited enough to be patient with me as I uproot their home. 

The carpet cleaner came on Friday and I worked in the laundry room while he cleaned the carpets.  I had wallpaper to scrape off and yellow paint to primer over.  They did a great job and for $180 I had the whole house done.  I kept up the painting and staging through the weekend and by Sunday night had everything but the kitchen trim done. I plan to get up early Monday morning to finish before the realtor shows up to see the house at 10AM.

I noticed that the original house and property I was interested in went up by $17,000!  It looks like they made some necessary repairs to the roof (I saw the estimate, and it was only supposed to cost $6,000).  My realtor did some digging and found that the private well doesn’t produce enough water for the house in the summer, there is no cistern or holding tank to have extra water hauled when the well is under-producing, and the well is not even on the property.  The owner of the house would retain ownership of the well because it’s on the property adjacent which she also owns but is not selling.  Furthermore the well is not registered with the state and the whole thing got really fishy really quickly and I don’t feel positive about the house at all anymore.  And that’s OK!  I’m really just going with the flow on this and seeing where we are supposed to end up.  There will be something better for us.  This letting go and seeing where life takes us thing is freeing…a little (a lot) frightening, but freeing too!