We have found an apartment. Thank God. Here is a picture of the outside. And here is our checklist from before, and how we did!!!!

*sunshine, and lots of it — check

*windows (to help with above said need) — check

*Air conditioning, because a year without it was NOT fun —check

*PARKING (This is one of the most important) —check

*more than a walk-in-closet sized kitchen —check

*bathroom that isn’t “old” or cracked or otherwise gross. (Jeff also is not keen on weirdly tiled sink, a commonplace in some places here) — check (although there is tile.)

*hardwood floors (I hate carpets, and Jeff also hates them from the dining area, and its seemingly all or nothing here) — check

*A landlord/manager ON SITE that speaks impeccable English. (We’ve have difficulties in the past.) — check

*something NOT on a hill, as Jeff DOES bike to work, and would be very appreciative if he could get to and from work in ease. — check

That being said, we’re looking mainly in the Los Feliz and Franklin Village areas, so we might not get lucky with the hill…We’ll see. Meanwhile, things we do not want:

*carpet

*a parking space that is exposed (Jeff worries about dings)

*A place that doesn’t pay water/trash (common place in LA, and some apartments we saw yesterday didn’t have the basics)

*a ground level apartment

*something too far from the 101

*A spot in an apartment complex with lots of children and/or college students

Also, we have created a “things that would be nice” column:

*A place that has an area to store a bicycle — check

*A pool

*An option for a second parking spot

*A bathtub and a shower without a door but rather a rod. – kind of check (shower stall and separate tub)

I was making my “Life to do” list I make once every two or so weeks and realized half the items on the list required their own lists. So here we go:

* Become a California resident

*Make a doctor’s appointment

*Make a list of Christmas gifts/people

*Chose a recipe for Thanksgiving turkey

*Map the oven plans for Thanksgiving day (to see who needs to have what in the oven when)

*Find an apartment

*Begin packing/tossing things from old apartment

*Figure out New Year’s Eve plans

*Send out mail

*Christmas card list — keep to under 40 people

*By “A Tree Grows in Brooklyn” for book club — due Thanksgiving

*Figure out what I can do to help Prop 8 be defeated.

*Dinner this week/next week

Those that are bold need their OWN lists.

Yikes. I’d better get started.