The Search Continues

We're still looking for that magical residence to call home. We'll have seen over 30 homes in the last 2 weeks (I've actually seen 8 less than Dena) by the end of today. It's exhausting. I don't think our criteria is all that picky, but we'll be renting, so we can't really make major changes if we don't like a bathroom or a kitchen. I will say that we've found some nice properties, but there has always been just one deal breaker. We're a bit emotional and edgy. If we're close to downtown, usually it's the lack of a shed to store my toolboxes, mountain bike, and other garage items. If we're out on the edge of town, we're too far away from amenities and social activites that might be within walking distance. We have a few more properties to look at this afternoon, so we're keeping our fingers crossed.
Saturday afternoon I'm going back to the BMW dealership for a test drive of the 120d. Last time we were there, they only had a 118d to drive, and it was really nice, but just didn't have a lot of get up and go. I'm also going to do some haggling, to see what kind of price I can get. The sales brochures have kept me excited like a little kid in a candy store. There are so many options! Just like the house, we'll have the car the entire time we're here, so we want to get it right the first time.
Last night we ended out in Cults (yeah, that's the name for the part of Aberdeen to the Southwest) looking at a house that is being remodeled. It's really exciting, but it's just on the edge of town, so it seems like it's in the country. Once again, almost perfect, except for it's location. We drove down the street to see just how far it was from the downtown area of Cults with some shops and grocery store, and driving down the street meant literally driving down the hill to get to the shops just under a mile away. Dena and I had a good laugh about the fact that I might never hear the end of her saying, "The whole time were were in Scotland I had to walk uphill with the groceries while it was raining." We drove further into Cults and it's really lovely. Lots of beautiful granite buildings, lots of rolling hillsides, and plenty of green vegetation. We stopped at a place called the Bieldside. I had a couple pints of Tenants, Dena had some bottled spring water, and we both ordered a couple of homemade pot pies. We talked and ate and looked out the big glass windows at the countryside and just had a wonderful time.