It is just three weeks

It is amazing how much we have changed in the three weeks since the house has sold.  we are both very busy planning and doing.  I have been working on an investigation for PCC.  the extra money will be nice because we are going to be spending so much money on our trek and then the cruise.  but I am finding that it is enjoyable and fun to do a little work. 

It is also a challenge to be planning so many things at once.  I am trying to think about what to pack for the trek and also, because there is so little time between, what to pack for the cruise.

In the meantime, Bob is doing phenomenally well.  He has more and more energy and is really enjoying getting some work done - and it is hard work.  the deck is finished.  we just have to power wash it and stain it.  we will do that when the fence is finished.  Paul and bob are working on the fence today.  It should be done today or tomorrow. 

then a Memorial day barbeque, finish my investigations and begin packing up Betsy for the trip.  hard to believe we leave in a little less than two weeks.

busy

We have been very busy the past week.  We are doing a whole bunch of things at once.  Bob is working on tearing down the old fence and putting up a new one.  He is also working on enlarging the deck.  Finally he is working on repairing a few of the items on the rv that need work. 

I have been working on cleaning the rv and helping Bob.  In addition, I was contacted by one of my old clients to start doing some investigations for them.  That will be some nice money and I like doing investigations, but it will be time consuming.

In the midst of all this, we were visited by a nurse practitioner doing a wellness check through our insurance company.  Everything was good except that my blood pressure was a little high.  After monitoring it for several days I agreed and saw the doc and started taking blood pressure meds.  The blood pressure went down immediately.  Since I had the pressure cuff out, Bob started taking his blood pressure and it is really high.  So, he sees a doc today.  busy, busy.

Getting better every day

Am feeling so good.  Yesterday I heard my husband say "It won't get done sitting here."  It is something that he says all the time.  But for the last few months I have not heard it at all.  He did not have enough energy to get things done.  Yesterday he hung the storm doors for front and back.  Today he worked with a neighbor and removed the entire old fence.  Tomorrow they will put in the new posts.  He was a little sore this morning, but in great spirits. 

I spent my day killing the weeds in the yard.  Then I went on line and bought our tickets for the train ride up to Seattle.  I also made arrangement to get Betsy washed while we are in Gillette at the rally.  Then Bob and I sat for a while on the deck in the sun.  It is a beautiful day. 

I am also working on losing weight.  Down over 3 pounds already.    Seven pounds to go to my goal.  <Sigh>  It is all good.

we only own one house

The sale went through.  It was finalized about a week ago.  I expected instant relief, but the relief was not instant.  It is taking some time to change my ways of thinking.  More important, I have to learn to live in the moment and dream.  I did not realize what I had been doing before, but now when I start to think of something in the future that I have planned, I start to say to self - careful, it may not happen.  I got so trained to worry about things.  So I have to retrain myself and let myself be excited about what is going to happen and what I have planned. 

We have been busy enjoying and trying to move to the next stage..  We got the money on Friday of last week.  On Sunday we had a small celebration barbeque.  Then on Monday we left in the rv for a few days in Pendleton Oregon.  we stayed in an rv park at a casino and had a good time.  We even won money.  We are planning a 5-6 week mini trek beginning in mid June, and then an Alaska cruise with little sis in august (over her birthday).

In the meantime, things have been busy.  We came home on Thursday and Bob ordered the materials for enlarging the deck, redoing the rotten fence, and new storm doors.  I got my new glasses.  I made an appointment for pedicures for Bob, Stef, and me and Sunday (mother's day).  Then a nurse practitioner came for a "wellness" visit.  We are both doing fine, except my blood pressure was really high.  (It may have been high because I was getting impatient with how slow she was and how long this was taking.  We had planned to go to a movie and by the time she left we missed it.)  But I know that I am about 7 pounds overweight and have not been eating very healthy.  So this was my impetus to start on the correct diet and lose weight.  Day one has gone very good. 

I also decided that I was drinking too much wine (about 2 glasses every night), and that I was relying on the alcohol to get me through some of those bad times.  So, beginning on Monday (after the celebration barbeque) I decided no alcohol for two weeks.  It has not been a problem without alcohol, but I do miss having something at night to drink after dinner while we sit and talk.  I got some sparking water with flavoring in it and that gets me by as long as I put it in a wine glass. 

So things are looking good!!!!!!!

waiting is hard

So we have reached a deal for the sale.  The question is now whether the buyer will get the loan.  The apprasail was today.  We won't hear until Monday.  Bob is taking an afternoon nap.  He says that his stomach really hurts.  We don't know if it is something wrong or just the stress.  If it is still there after the deal is finalized, we will have to go to the doctor.   Waiting is hard.

Maybe this time

Ok.  Another sale.  this is the sixth time.  this time we have gotten through the inspection period.  This sale requires a bank loan.  We are now waiting on the assessment of the house to make sure that the buyer gets the loan.  If that happens, then we have a sale.  fingers crossed.  for both myhealth and Bob's.

Next steps

They accepted our counter offer.  Inspection is scheduled for today.  fingers crossed.

ok. let's try it again

On the market for 4.5 days and got another full price offer.  Hope this one sticks.  fingers crossed.

back on the market

Well, the basement is now waterproofed.  They did a very good job.  We went through it with the realtor and decided that we should not try to finish the basement, but to leave it as it is so that buyers can see what was done to waterproof it.  That makes it easier.  today I cleaned out the toilets and sept the floor.  Tomorrow we sign off on the waterproofing and the house goes back on the market.  Fingers crossed.

waiting

The last three weeks have been hard, but we are getting better.  We have made arrangements for a company to come in and waterproof the basement.  It will be guaranteed not to leak and the guarantee will transfer to whoever buys it.  So now we have to wait for them to come and do it.  When they are finished our realtor will clean up the basement and put it backon the market.  She figures that it will be about March 15.  I am hoping this time it works.  Fingers crossed. 

In the meantime we are trying to keep busy.  Bob has decided to make bread again.  He is good at it and it is really yummy.  He is also making a chest of drawers for my make up to fit under the bathroom sink.  It will be really nice when it is done.  But Bob is having a hard time working on it.  He reguarly has days when he feels too bad to work and just sits until the nausea passes.  I think it is nerves, but who knows?

I have been exercising regularly and trying to stay within my weight limitations.  The exercise helps with the stress and the weight.  And I enjoy it.

Bob wants to plan a mini trek for this summer - if the house sells.  Again, fingers crossed.

It is hard

Well, not only did we not sell the house, but there is a major leak in the basement which is going to cost significant money to fix.  we don't really have the money, but it is somehting we have to do.  so we will do it.  In the meantime, I am seriously worried about Bob.  this has been very hard on him.  He is already having troubles because the medicine he takes for his neuropathy has a side effect of depression, and this is not helping.  so we are keeping busy and trying to laugh our way through this.  I keep telling myself that we are extremely lucky and haven't really had any difficulties for a long thime.  this is just to remind us what it feels like when it is tough so that we can appreciate it when it gets better.  How is that for seeing the glass half full?

I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up.  The deal fell through.  We still don't know why.  Back to the drawing board.

Maybe?

Is has been a very hard six months.  We were so disappointed that the house did not sell.  Actually, we were disappinted that the inspections derailed the two sales.  Both Bob and I were feeling a lot of stress.  It was caused by worrying about finances and trying to keep our spending down so that we could support two houses.  We were also worrying about the vacant house and what might happen to it.  fianlly, I was worried that Bob might get sick if we had to stay here.  It was the kind of stress that just gnawed at me.  And, I had to admit that I loved that house so much and was disappointed that other people did not seem to love it also.  I would not let it get to me.  I held it in. 

Well, we checked the house before we put it back on the market and there was some water in the basement.  So Bob and Mike redid the entire curb and drain system, then Bob and Mike, and I cleaned and repainted the entire basement, including the floors.  It looked pretty good.  As we finished I went into the kitchen and explained to the house why we had to leave and move elsewhere.  I told the house that we had loved it and that it was really hard for us to move.  But, it was time for a new family to enjoy the house.  The house needed to have life in it and laughter and joy.  So I asked the house to please be warm and friendly to people who were coming through it.  And I said goodbye.  It seemed weird, but it felt like the right thing to do.

The house went back on the market on Tuesday.  On Thursday we got a call that there was an offer.  It turned out that it was a full price cash offer.  We accepted it (duh).  They want to close in two weeks.  So now we are sweating out the inspection.  I thought that I would be relieved, but the stress right now waiting for the inspection is terrible.  This is happening fast enough that we might be able to go to Phoenix.  I am trying hard not to get my hopes up, but it is hard.  We should hear soon.

Sigh

It has been a difficult couple of months.  We had two different offers on the old house, but they fell through because of incompetent inspections.  We finally paid for our own inspection, but the summer season was over.  We have had lots of people viewing the house, but no offers.  I feel like our life is on hold until we can get that finished.  And it is expensive to keep maintaining both houses.  Thank heaven I got a little work and we got some extra money to pay for some of the stuff that we had to do.  Now it is just sit and wait.

In the meantime, both Bob and I really like our new house.  It is smaller and easier to take care of.  I am still getting used to some things - like the smaller bathroom space or the smaller sinks.  I had a hard time finding some of the winter stuff.  I still have not found my really warm winter hat.  I had a challenge when it came time to reset the clocks and had to get out the directions for the heating system and the coffee pot.  But it is feeling like home.

We still have not put up the mezzuzah.  I was waiting until we sold the old house.  But we are getting very settled here and I think it is time.  Bob and I have decided that we will put it up while my sister is here, even if we have not sold the other house.

We still don't know for sure what we are going to do for this winter.  Bob is already starting to feel the effects of the damp weather.  It is not cold here, but it is damp and he has a head sniffle - not really a cold.  We will see.  With any kind of luck we will sell the old hosue and be able to go to Phoenix.  If not, we will figure something out.

With all of the worry about the sale of the old hosue, I have not been doing as well on the weight.  I have been putting on a pound here and there.  I have been exercising pretty regularly, and now I have to do some portion control or it will get out of hand and be much harder.

Other than that, things are going well.  I have gotten used to using public transportation and really like it.  In fact, last week, I drove to the school district offices and had to come back during rush hour.  I think it took longer than it would have if I had taken MAX.

Sigh.  It will get resolved sooner or later.  I just wish it would be sooner.

It is all starting to come together.  We have enough of the house done so that we can live in it.  We accepted an offer to sell the old house.  Our new sofa gets delivered tomorrow.  Soon we should have the venetian blinds for the dinig room and the bedrooms.  Then we can start working on making bob's shop what it should be.  It is happening so quickly.

I haven't blogged for a long time.  In that time Bob and I bought a new house and moved into it.  The house is much smaller than the old one.  The living space is pretty nice, but there is much less storage.  So, I had to get rid of a lot of stuff - and so I did.  The good news is that a friend was having a yard sale for charity so I donated all the good stuff to her.  Then the big stuff was picked up by Salvation Army.  Then after we moved I realized that I still had too much stuff so we made a few trips to Goodwill.  When we tried to move the garage and the shop there was so much stuff.  We took two trips to the dump.  It does feel good to have less stuff - but there was a lot that we had to do before we could move in.  We bought a Tuff Shed and had it built in the back for Bob to use as a shop.  We built a pantry in the basement.  We extended the deck so that it is large enough for our outdoor furniture.  We bought an IKEA island for the middle of the kitchen and put it together - that was a real challenge.  We had to put on a shower door.  We had to put together and install cupboards for the bathroom.  Then we had to put together a lot of IKEA bookcases and a couple of IKEA chairs, and an IKEA cupboard for over the washer.  We are becoming IKEA experts.

We now have enough stuff in and unpacked so that we are starting doing things like putting up the curtains.  Putting up pictures will be a real challenge because I don't know where they should go.  One thing at a time.

Our new neighborhood is much more city.  The area that we lived in before had been part of the county until 1986.  There are no sidewalks and things are pretty far away.  This area has sidewalks that are stamped 1914.  There is lots of stuff that is walkable and lots of stuff that is very close.  There is a very busy street two blocks away, but I don't notice it most of the time.  I was worried about crime, but it does feel pretty safe.

We have very nice neighbors who have already been a help in getting stuff done around here. 

The big surprise for me this morning was that I was sitting eating breakfast and saw the streetwashers come by.  I have lived in Portland for over 30 years and have never seen the streetwashers in my neighborhood.  Nice.

The best part about our new house is that it is only 3 miles from my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson.  They can drive here in 10-15 minutes.  On the fourth they biked here.  (It took less time to bike than to drive to our old house.)  More Nice. 

Getting tired and settling in.  Looking forward to being comfortable in the neighborhood and the house.  (Also looking forward to selling the old house.)

We are moving

I haven't blogged for a long time.  In that time Bob and I bought a new house and moved into it.  The house is much smaller than the old one.  The living space is pretty nice, but there is much less storage.  So, I had to get rid of a lot of stuff - and so I did.  The good news is that a friend was having a yard sale for charity so I donated all the good stuff to her.  Then the big stuff was picked up by Salvation Army.  Then after we moved I realized that I still had too much stuff so we made a few trips to Goodwill.  When we tried to move the garage and the shop there was so much stuff.  We took two trips to the dump.  It does feel good to have less stuff - but there was a lot that we had to do before we could move in.  We bought a Tuff Shed and had it built in the back for Bob to use as a shop.  We built a pantry in the basement.  We extended the deck so that it is large enough for our outdoor furniture.  We bought an IKEA island for the middle of the kitchen and put it together - that was a real challenge.  We had to put on a shower door.  We had to put together and install cupboards for the bathroom.  Then we had to put together a lot of IKEA bookcases and a couple of IKEA chairs, and an IKEA cupboard for over the washer.  We are becoming IKEA experts.

We now have enough stuff in and unpacked so that we are starting doing things like putting up the curtains.  Putting up pictures will be a real challenge because I don't know where they should go.  One thing at a time.

Our new neighborhood is much more city.  The area that we lived in before had been part of the county until 1986.  There are no sidewalks and things are pretty far away.  This area has sidewalks that are stamped 1914.  There is lots of stuff that is walkable and lots of stuff that is very close.  There is a very busy street two blocks away, but I don't notice it most of the time.  I was worried about crime, but it does feel pretty safe.

We have very nice neighbors who have already been a help in getting stuff done around here. 

The big surprise for me this morning was that I was sitting eating breakfast and saw the streetwashers come by.  I have lived in Portland for over 30 years and have never seen the streetwashers in my neighborhood.  Nice.

The best part about our new house is that it is only 3 miles from my daughter, son-in-law, and grandson.  They can drive here in 10-15 minutes.  On the fourth they biked here.  (It took less time to bike than to drive to our old house.)  More Nice. 

Getting tired and settling in.  Looking forward to being comfortable in the neighborhood and the house.  (Also looking forward to selling the old house.)

I am a size 8

We are definitely settled in.  It has been a while since I posted.  At first I did not think that there was anything to write about.  But things have been happening.  My sis was here for a week.  She is in some great pain and tried not to show it.  But I could tell that almost everything that we did was hard for her.  We did do some fun stuff.  We went to an local art show on the streets of Scottsdale.  We went to an olive oil mill.  We went to shopping a lot.  We also sat here.  We watched dvds.  We started a jigsaw puzzle.  We sat by the pool.  I did go and exercise every day almost.  she went the first two days and then they told her that the free pass did not work if she did not have an Arizona driver's license.  Bob was angry, but I understood.  So sis used the bike here one day.  We ate out a lot.  that was a problem because she is trying to lose weight for the biggest loser set up at her office.  (she did lose a few pounds here, but not much.)

After she left I went for a walk with a neighbor here in the park.  We walked to the shopping center a mike away because they advertised a Farmers Market.  Not like any farmers market I had ever seen.  No fruits or vegetable.  It was all salsa, olive oil, etc.  I did get a free massage.  We then walked through the shopping center and stopped in one of my favorite stores - Coldwater Creek.  I told the clerk that I had lost some weight and was looking for some casual pants.  She found some and asked my size.  I told her that I did not have a clue so I took in size 10 and 8.  I tried on the 10 and thought that they looked good.  The clerk suggested that I was really an 8.  So, to make her happy (we are fuuny making clerks happy aren't we?), I tried on the 8.  It looked great.  Wow.  It feels really good.  I am still trying to lose a little more so I will not buy much more, but it is nice to have some pants that do not hang on me.


Yesterday I walked with the neighbor again and just had a great time talking and walking. I do miss that when I am here. 

Tonight we are going to meet nephew and niece for a nice dinner for niece's birthday.  It will be a nice day.  and a nice week. 

Nothing much happening

We are definitely into a routine now.  Slow starting in the morning.  It is chilly and it takes a while to get the coffee made.  Then I walk to the clubhouse and get the paper, make breakfast, read the paper, read my email, do the dishes, and get dressed to go to the health club.  I am meeting a lot of the people in the classes.  It is a great way to make friends.  there is one woman in my classes who always has to sit down during the class.  she looks pale.  Reminded me of when I would get low blood pressure.  So I finally got up the nerve and told her that she might be experiencing low blood pressure.  She already does have low blood pressure and never thought about this.  the instructors told her she wasn't breathing right and her doctors thought it might be a heart issue.  I told her to drink coffe or cola before she came to class and that it would raise her pressure enough if she has the same problem that I do.  Once she started thinking about it she agreed that it probably was the problem, so she will try it.  Interesting. 

Then back to the rv.  Bob and I did our exercises, I showered, we ate lunch and then off to the audiologist to check Bob's hearing aids.  He is doing really well with them.  They are much better than the ones that he had before.  He can hear me in a restaurant and in groups of people.  He also does not feel completely stopped up all the time.  That is in addition to being able to talk on the phone.  The audiologist did a few adjustments that made them even better for Bob.  Then stopped on the way home for groceries.  We do have to be very careful.  It is so easy to buy more than can fit into my refrigerator or freezer.  We stuff it in though. 

Then I called Verizon and complained that my modem is not working.  I have tried everything and said that it was time for them to take this one back and send me a replacement.  All of the other folks around here who have Verizon modems do not have the problems that we do.  The replacement is supposed to come tomorrow.  I certainly hope that it works better.  (Although this one seems to be working okay now.) 

Then time to go into the sun and finish my novel.  Not a bad life. 

He can hear

So today Bob and I went to pick up his new hearing aids.  They are much newer technology and are better able to do things like allow him to talk on the phone and they can tell which direction a sound is coming from - and they can discriminate some of the background noise.  So far so good.  He seems to like them.  The problem is that his left aid has not worked for the last three years, so his left ear is not used tog etting any noise.  He is having a hard time with all of the noise that is now coming in and it is tiring him.  The audiologist warned us about his and said that it will take a few days for him to get used to this.  If he does, this will be wonderful.  He can hear so much better now.  We talked about how he couldn't participate in conversations and that made him feel really old and disabled.  Now that he can hear better, he can participate in conversations and be young agin - well almost young. 

The other news is that my nephew is in the hospital.  He and his wife met us yesterday to go on a hike,  We had barely started and he said that he couldn't keep going - he had had a headache for a week and it was just terrible.  So he and Bob went back to the car - we had come in two cars.  The pain got so bad that Bob drove him to our rv and strongly suggested that he go to a hospital.  He tried to see if it got better if he slept a little.  It didn't - and he started vomiting.  this morning he finally went to the doc and got a CAT scan.  It turns out that he has bilateral subdural hematomas.  They are going to do another CAT scan tomorrow and decide if they can just let the blood dissolve or if they need to drill holes to let it vent.  Send good thoughts his way.

Other than those two bits of news, all is about the same here.  Betsy is great.  The weather is getting warmer.  I am really enjoying the classes at the health club that I joined.  We are doing a lot of reading.  And we are really looking forward to my sister's visit in less than two weeks. 

Retirement is wonderful.