International Dinner for March: Ukraine

The Universal Yum country is Ukraine for March. We could easily have returned to the same restaurant where we experienced our Polish food, Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company, in January. A Ukrainian family owns Kramarczuk’s Sausage Company. Since the idea is to try different foods, we opted instead to visit Samarkand which also serves eastern European and central Asian dishes came up in a Google search for restaurants serving Ukrainian food. Samarkand is owned by a family from Uzbekistan.

The children opted for American food from the kid’s menu. Charlotte tried a bite of three dishes ordered by the adults to share. Neither child was a fan of the evenings’ fare; however, the adults enjoyed the meal!

Following are the photos we took of the food we tried along with descriptions. Megan, Jeremy, and I took photos.

We started with traditional Tandoor bread. All of us ate the bread. We ordered two servings as we did not if one $5.00 appetizer would feed all of us. One loaf was plenty! Joe finished the bread today for lunch.

Potatoes with mushroom was our second appetizer. By the time we remembered to take a photo we had eaten all but four or five bites of it. The serving was large enough to be a meal for one person. This dish is described on the menu as “homestyle fried potatoes and mushrooms fried with onions. Charlotte liked the potato part. The adults each had a second helping.

Jeremy opted for Beef and Lamb Shawarma. Joe observed that at least one third of the menu items reminded him of the food we ate in Egypt. 

Megan’s dish was Lagman soup. Soup made with bone broth, long beans, carrots, daikon, tri-color peppers, tomatoes, onions, celery, star anise, cabbage, and beef. Served with handmade, hand pulled noodles. Very flavorful soup! Charlotte tasted the noodles.

Joe went with the Assorted Dolma plate which consisted of grape leaves, cabbage, and peppers stuffed with ground beef rice, onions, and spices. Joe said the rice reminded him of the Iranian rice dish that his friend, Babak, prepares. I had a couple of bites of the cabbage roll. Megan ate the dolma.

I ordered a side of mashed potatoes which ended up being enough to feed the entire table. Joe finished them for lunch today. My main entrée though was Tuy Kabob. This is a Samarkand style traditional beef stew. There were no vegetables unless they were blended into the broth. The rich and hearty broth with large chunks of perfectly prepared beef was my favorite dish of the evening and was very filling. I could eat this dish every day!

Charlotte and her chicken tenders. The only downside to our evening was when Jeremy cut into the first chicken tender it was still raw in the middle. The other two tenders were cooked. Charlotte could not have eaten all three tenders – it was a lot of food. I was disappointed at the waiter’s response when Jeremy showed him the piece of raw chicken. We got a simple, “I am sorry.” No offer to return the piece or to replace it should we wish to take it home. 

 

Caleb ate chicken tenders.

We ended our meal with desserts. They had six items listed on their dessert menu and there were six of us...

Chocolate ice cream for Charlotte

Vanilla ice cream for Caleb

All six of us tried a bite or two or three of the other four traditional European and desserts. Shown in the photo (moving from front to back) we tasted Spartak a chocolate nine-layer cake, Napoleon, Medovik a traditional eight-layer honey cake, and Pahlava (aka baklava). Megan ranked Joe’s baklava recipe as superior to the Pahlava.

As we were finishing dinner, the musical entertainment for the evening was setting up to play. They had strobe lights that created designs on our table.

Our table was next to the stage area for the "live entertainment."

In the past we have taste tested and ranked the Yum box treats after dinner. This month we decided to wait as we did not leave the restaurant until 8:00 pm and everyone was tired. We will try to do the Yum box snack next weekend.

The April Yum box is from the Baltic states region which encompasses the three countires of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Cookies and Communications

Megan baked and decorated the most beautiful cookies for Easter. She gave us all a sneak peek and taste this afternoon. 

Joe measured the cookies for us: they are 3-3/4" long by 

3-1/8" wide at their widest points.

Not sure one can tell the size from the photo. She tried a different recipe than the standard sugar cookie recipe she has used in the past and she has changed up her frosting recipe as well. Joe and I both thought they were excellent. Joe immediately told her she should sell them! I was thinking the same thing and agreed. I am glad he said it first because I know sometimes when 'mom' tells an adult child something they may think it is just 'mom' talking. When dad (or in this case Daddy Joe) says it, it may feel more authentic.

Megan, Jeremy, Caleb, Charlotte, Pan, and Rufio went today for a photoshoot today. The photographer had done their wedding photos earlier this month (still to come). This shoot was to get photos of the kids and the dogs together. No, the dogs and Alto (the cat) did NOT attend the wedding. Megan took a few of her Easter cookies to the photographer as a thank you. The photographer told her she should be selling the cookies.

If Megan charges us for our cookies, I will let you know. I am waiting until she bakes cookies for the Minnesota Gophers (the football team, not like gophers you could find in your garden). 

I spent the good part of two hours today setting up internet service for our new home to start on April 19th and changing from AT&T as a phone provider to the new service. The same service will cost us about one-third of what we paid through AT&T for all the same levels of service. I was trying to find a communications company that does not give money to the Republican superPACs in support of former President Donald Trump and had no luck. Maybe if I am paying two-thirds less though it is less money they can hand over for political contributions. I did quite a bit of research on this and found that if you Google "most liberal cell companies" and "most conservative cell companies" the same companies pop up under both. This is where I also learned that there are cell companies affiliated with certain religious organizations as well. Makes my head spin. Ignorance is better??!!

Tomorrow's writing will be all about our international dinner out planned for this evening.

 

 

The Calm Before the Packing Storm

Joe and I treated Charlotte and Caleb to lunch today at Rockford Roadhouse, a new restaurant. It opened about ten days ago and has been crowded every day since then. We ate an early lunch around 11:15am and by the time we left at 12:15pm the place was filling up. Tomorrow night we have our Ukrainian dinner out.

Other than reading for a bit, scheduling our radon system installation at the new house for after we move in, emails back and forth with finance and title people, re-estimating our 2024 federal taxes, and helping Joe close out his retirement account at KingSpan, I have been relaxing. Relaxing is good. Tomorrow I am going to start emptying drawers and packing items we do not expect to use in the next three weeks.

This time I will not inventory what is in the new boxes I am packing. It is a short drive for the movers, and we plan to unpack everything. We are using Girl Scout cookie case boxes so we will know it is stuff we want to unpack first. We may even take those boxes over when we get the key on the 19th and unpack them the weekend before everything else arrives on the Monday.

I am looking forward to not living out of boxes!

Done Deal!

Yay! Escrow closed on the house in Woodland today.

It is a huge relief to have the transfer of ownership completed. We are grateful for Placer Title's Bev Juarez and our real estate agent, Susan Bovey, for getting everything done for us.

Also, to Kim Bullman for being a model tenant this past year and being flexible during the home selling process. She moved into her new Sacramento home this week.

The Atlantic reads my mind. An article popped up today, "How Not to Be Bored When You have to Wait" written by Athur C. Brooks. The premise is that people get bored standing in line or waiting for an event. Having a cell phone to play/read does not help the "wait." It can, in fact, make it seem even worse. The article has helpful tips on enjoying and staying in the moment, while waiting, to reduce anxious feelings. 

Joe took Caleb and Charlotte sledding this morning. One of the inflatable slides was torn so Joe had them slide on cardboard. He said they enjoyed the cardboard slides as much as they did the inflatables. I am not surprised. How many of us, as parents, enjoyed watching our children play with empty refrigerator boxes? Heck, I remember playing in refrigerator boxes! 

I spent three hours today copying and pasting Weathered Blog entries to a Word document on my laptop. I had not saved each entry after posting to the blog website. It ends up taking more time than I anticipated because I find myself unable to resist reading them. I am up to January 2024. I also am finding spelling or grammar errors so making minor corrections as I go on the website postings. How they got past me the first time is embarrassing. Live and learn.

Keeping it Together

One day closer to regaining what sanity I have left at this point in my life. Everything is on track for escrow to close tomorrow on the California home.

Our morning started with an 8:00 am appointment with a moving company for a quote, I had already done research into the cost of moving ourselves. While we could do it for about ½ of the price of professional movers, it would take us three times as long and we would be worn out by the end of the move. We gave the moving company manager a deposit and have scheduled the move for April 22, 2024. Local moves are less expensive on a Monday through Thursday schedule. We save about $300.00 by waiting until Monday.

I also called a local medical clinic in Saint Michael to make sure they are accepting new patients (they are) and to find out their protocol for new patients. There is no protocol, they said to call and schedule when we need to see someone for any reason. That seems much simpler than the hoops Joe had to jump through early in 2023 at the Woodland Clinic when we switched from Kaiser to Medicare programs.

We also researched barbers in Saint Michael. Joe has been seeing a guy in Rockford since moving here. Nice guy. However, Joe decided he does not want to drive to Rockford in the future for a haircut. He was paying $18.00 plus a tip here. There were two places that had high ratings (5.0 and 4.9 on Google – with over 725 reviews for each). The highest rated shop charges $30.00 for a standard ‘man’s’ haircut and the second highest rated shop charges $21.00.

While I was volunteering at the thrift store, people told me we needed to try The Hen and Hog, an upscale restaurant with a down home feel. While researching barbers, I discovered the restaurant is less than two miles from our new home in Saint Michael. With River Inn, our favorite local restaurant so far, just two miles in the opposite direction we will be situated quite nicely for dining out on occasion.

My plan for tomorrow is to notify California utility companies of the change in ownership of the house. That should keep me busy, thus helping me stay sane a while longer.

Crazy Making

I am making myself crazy. We learned today that escrow for the California house closes on Thursday - it was moved up by one day. This is good news.

The crazy part is that I am having difficulty keeping myself distracted from thinking about it. I know that thinking about it does not speed up any part of the process. 

Can one develop Attention Deficit Disorder at the age of almost sixty-eight? Reading, watching a movie, reading the news, NONE of it creates a distraction. I have two spreadsheets - one for the sale of the California house and one for the purchase of the Minnesota house - that are so fine-tuned and linked that a change in one cent on either one is automatically calculated on the other. For some reason, a spreadsheet makes me feel like I have control over the process.

The anxiety around this is silly. The rational me knows this. Have you ever been so fixated on an outcome that you made yourself crazy?

Mundane Monday

At the end of the week the house sale at 10 Southwood should close. Sometimes it feels like it has taken forever. Other times it is hard to believe how quickly the time had flown.

I stayed in the house today and read and napped. I did not sleep at all last night and so felt challenged to keep my eyes open today. A catnap here and there helped to keep me from acting mean toward Joe. He kept interrupting the little catnaps to ask me a question (which way does the shower curtain rod get hung up?) and to tell me about a windshield wiper part we can pick up at Subaru next week. I guess he did not get the memo that I was a bit on the crabby side since I had not slept during the night.

It may have been the coffee. I had stopped drinking coffee for about five weeks. It was not intentional. I just did not have a desire for any caffeine. Yesterday I had two cups of coffee. I should sleep well tonight since I am sleep deprived at this point.

The house buyer is doing a walk through of the 10 Southwood house tonight. I am trying to stay awake to hear how that went. I am keeping my fingers crossed that all is well.

Joe and I booked a trip to Alaska for August 2025. That is the only trip left on my bucket list. It will be a combination of flight, train, and ship. This is the first cruise Joe and I have ever gone on. Not counting Joe’s days on icebreakers and a three-hundred-foot research vessel in his early twenties when he worked for Scripps Institute of Oceanography. We anticipate this ship will be a little more luxurious.

That is all the news for now!

Snowing All Day

Today was a peaceful day. Joe took Pan out for a short walk this morning just as the snow started coming down.

It has snowed all day. The snow is beautiful, and everything is so quiet.

I took photos of the snow in Megan’s backyard at 7:00pm this evening. I especially like how the twinkle lights on the back patio are shining through the newly fallen snow. I also like the colors in the photos, as if they are old black and white photographs. As I watched the snow fall it hit me that two hundred years ago someone could have been looking out their backdoor at the snow falling. There has always been a sense of timelessness associated with snow in my memories of growing up in northwest Ohio.

Forecasts call for another foot or more of snow by morning with snow or rain all day tomorrow. I am glad Joe and I do not need to go outside in it to do errands. We can enjoy it from afar, safely tucked in the warm house.

7:00pm Twinkle Lights covered in snow.

Patio & Furniture covered in snow.

Looking out at neighbor's back yard and the woods beyond.

Looking out toward Megan & Jeremy's backyard.

More Fun in the Snow

More photos by Megan of the grandchildren and grandpuppies in the snow. These were taken yesterday (March 22, 2024) in the back of  Megan's home in Rockford, Minnesota.

Caleb, March 22, 2024

Rufio and Pan playing.

Pan loves running in the snow.

Rufio relaxes in the snow. Sitting this way is not

easy anymore as it causes pressure on the tumor on his heart.

Much more comfortable to do it with a pile of snow supporting his weight!

Close up of Caleb.

We were planning to grocery shop on Monday of next week; however, we decided to go today as a major snowstorm is expected on Sunday and Monday. Sunday is supposed to be snow starting at 10:00am. It is then expected to warm up Monday and rain throughout the day. That will be a lovely, slippery mess. Perfect time to stay indoors! 

Six days until closing on the house in Woodland!

A Snowy Spring Day

Charlotte celebrates Spring 2024 on March 22 after snow fell the evening before. 

Spring snow! Joe took photo of Megan's backyard.

Our car sitting in the driveway on this fine Spring day.

The grandchildren are out of school today for the start of Spring break. They were excited to start their day with sledding. Megan took photos and sent me the one of Charlotte. I cropped the photo and made it larger so you can see the expression on her face. 

Joe took the other two photos as Lauren (his daughter) has been asking to see photos the next time it snowed here.

Charlotte reached her Girl Scout Cookie goal to be in the President's Club. As of last night she has sold 1,000 boxes. 

 

Patience (or In Eight Looonnng Days Escrow Closes)

It started snowing awhile we were eating dinner at 6:15pm. With such a mild winter, the snow is welcome by most folks even if it is Spring.

Jeremy shared with us a paper Charlotte wrote recently about her hero. She chose her brother, Caleb, as her hero. It seems he saved her from drowning at one time. She ends her paragraph with, “he has saved me 10,000 times.” I thought that was the sweetest paragraph I have heard in a while.

It reminded me of Megan’s fifth grade essay on her favorite place. While her classmates wrote papers on Disneyland and amusement parks, Megan wrote about her home. She especially liked it the days the cleaning people came as the house smelled fresh. I know there is a compliment somewhere in her writing. I suspect she would still say her home is her favorite place to go. Hurray for introverts!

I started looking at what we will need to buy when we get moved into the new house. We have three guest rooms and five bathrooms that I want to furnish within the first month so that we are ready for guests. We have enough furniture for the rest of the house until we can figure out everything else. I am most looking forward to unpacking our kitchen.

Today all is quiet on the housing front. With the singing of the seller’s papers yesterday, we are finished except for the waiting until March 29^th rolls around when escrow closes. If I ever thought I was good at waiting, I have given up that fairy tale. When I am finished waiting for the Woodland closing, then we must wait until April 19^th (my brother, Todd’s, birthday) for the house in Saint Michael to close escrow.

Wait, Wait, Wait. I do not want to wait. I do not have a choice.

Today, I started and erased three different pieces for the blog. The first two pieces sounded angry and the third was whiny. I had to take a nap and sort out my crankiness. It helped. My goal in my writings is not to air all my grievances. Only some of them. The ones that are directed at someone because I am frustrated should never see the light of day. It is a karma thing. The last thing I want is for someone to start writing about me... I can catalog my own mistakes without someone else’s help.

Tomorrow will be better! And tomorrow we will be one more day closer to the 29^th.

Signing Paperwork and Quality Time with the Grandchildren

Joe and I met with a notary today to sign the seller’s paperwork for our house in California. That was a treat to have finished. Everything still is on track for a March 29^th closing date. Nine more days!

Megan came down late this afternoon to see if Alto wanted to come out of the bedroom. She left the door open, and Alto stayed in the room. No damn dogs for her!

After dinner, this evening, Caleb and Charlotte came down to visit Alto. Charlotte started itching within about ten minutes from just being in the room where Alto spends all her time. Alto tries to rub up against Caleb and stays clear of Charlotte.

Caleb and I sat in the room while Alto watched us, and Caleb watched her. Caleb taught me all kinds of interesting facts about mammals, arachnids, and reptiles. He wanted to know my favorite in each category. Then he would reel off the biggest critter in each category. I learned that a Daddy Long Legs is not a spider. I asked him how he knew all this stuff and he said, “I get curious, so I research what I want to know.” I love his desire to research and learn what he wants to know.

Charlotte is trying to finish her girl scout cookie goal. She is still about forty boxes away. Saturday is the last day for her to sell. Megan has her scheduled for a 7:00 am booth that morning. Charlotte informed us that she plans to get up at 1:00am to be ready. Nobody said much about that. Not anything we want to encourage!

We are all ready for cookie season to be over until next year. The season is longer for Megan since she does prep work before and ties up the reporting after the season ends. AS the cookie mom for her troop and as a co-cookie manager for the council, she has her hands full. This year to encourage the girls in her troop to improve their sales, Megan also attended booths with girls whose parents have multiple girls in scouts. Anyway, we are counting down the days.

The grandkids start Spring break this Friday. We will enjoy getting to spend more time with them. Snow is forecast so maybe we will get enough for sledding.

Terrific Tuesday - First Day of Spring

It is the first day of Spring. It was a sunny blustery day here. Snow is forecast for this coming weekend! 

Today we received new estimates on closing costs for both the home we are selling and the home we are buying. It was a day of tying up loose ends on both homes.

We are down to ten days on the closing in Woodland and then our house will belong to the new buyer. We will be meeting a notary tomorrow to sign the seller’s paperwork.

This afternoon we drove over to Hidden Gem Spa to pick up a body butter. I wanted Joe to see the property. With eight rescue horses on the property (three are ponies) it is quite impressive. That was our outing for the day. Joe spent most of his day watching educational YouTube videos. I was taking care of paperwork, budgeting, and copying blog posts from the Blogspot site into a word document.

Today was also the annual virtual meeting with our financial advisor. She brought up photos of our new home here and oohed and aahed along with us over all the features. As soon as she saw the kitchen she remarked, “Joe can bake a lot of cheesecakes!” Of course, we also covered our portfolio and discussed the impact of world events and the election on investment earnings. She is planning to send an article she likes about how the presidential election does not have as much impact on the market as one might expect.

After thirty years, Joe and I are still miles apart on some aspects of financial philosophy. I am thankful for every penny we have saved over the years, and I feel confident (a confidence shared by our financial advisor) that we are in excellent shape. Joe, on the other hand fears one major catastrophe could wipe out everything. Over dinner this evening he asked what would happen if he had to live in assisted living. I reminded him that he would have to be in bad shape and even then, he would not be on the street. He told me he did not want to live in a rundown place. I assured him he would not be in a rundown place. We finally had to end the conversation with our standard agreement: I will continue to be optimistic, and he will continue to worry.

Only time will tell which of us is right. Could be we both are. I just cannot wrap my head around Joe being in long-term assisted living. His dad lived in assisted living for about three years. That was because he was not able to take care of himself and his wife did not want someone living in their home to take care of him. It would have been too much for her given her lifestyle, which is not a criticism of her. She absolutely did the right thing for her and for him. Joe and I do not share the same lifestyle. We also will have room for a live-in caretaker should either (or both) of us need it. We can also sell the house and use the equity for nice accommodations. After all we cannot take any of our money with us when we die.

Where Does My Day Go?

Sometimes the day gets away from me. Today was one of those days.

Today was spent verifying information with contractors here in Minnesota as part of our purchase agreement and subsequent amendments for two repairs we requested, and the sellers graciously have worked with us on.

Radon is an important thing here in the Midwest. The highest permissible level is 4.0 p/Ci/L. The radon test on the property was forty. Ten times the permissible level. Exposure to Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer. Fortunately, the fix is to have a system installed which will happen as soon as we take possession of the property. Radon tests are not a state requirement; however, Megan came across this issue when she bought her house three years ago.

The sellers are also having two new retaining walls built and we were able to confirm the details with the contractor today. The contractor is trying to schedule this work before we move in.

We also spent time here on the phone with insurance people to confirm and get the homeowner’s quote finalized.

In Woodland, where we are the sellers, we are waiting for a local handyperson/electrician to complete a couple of minor repairs and the pest control company to fix a small dry rot repair under the house. Both new things that popped up since our inspections last February.

We are moving forward!

Since Joe retired again, he has been taking Pan for a six mile walk each day. They both enjoy the walks. Alto, our cat, continues to acclimate to her new ‘temporary home.’ We would like to set up an outdoor climbing structure/large cage for her when we move to the new house so she can get safe outdoor time.

All is good.

 

The List

About five days before we made the offer on 412 Butternut Lane SE, Joe wrote out a list of thirty things he would want in our new house. Having an actual list, instead of just a list in each of our minds, helped us to figure out what we REALLY wanted. It also helped me to get on the same page. I had three additional criteria of my own: Affordable, good neighborhood, and close to emergency services.

My personality is such that I kept focusing on the things Joe had talked about wanting in our new home at various times. I bundled all of those ‘wants’ together in my mind to create a perfect place for Joe. I wanted Joe to get everything he always wanted in the way of a home. A safe environment where he could have his hobby machine shop, a garden, low-maintenance, and a peaceful place to read to his hearts content.

Before the “List” and in the initial stages of home hunting, Joe would change his mind or shift his priorities as he encountered life in Minnesota versus life in California. The reality of our ages also began to take shape for him. What would an acre or two of land require in time and energy? Is that how he wanted to spend his time? There has never been a question of a shop, he is a fixer. He did begin to scale back in his mind what he really needed.

The last four homes we toured we used the checklist. Two of the four homes did not come close and had issues that were not on our list. The third house was closer to what we wanted then the first two. Then we walked into 412 Butternut Lane SE, and the list went out the window for me. Forgotten were all the times I thought we would never find a house when the time came, I KNEW this was our new home.

Last night I took out Joe’s house wish list and matched it up to 412 Butternut Lane SE. I was delighted to discover our new home meets all but three item on our lists:

               Rambler/ranch style with or without a basement – this ‘want’ was offset by the desire for a more open floor than the homes available for sale. We could wait for this for years. People suggested we build. Our house in Woodland would have cost us far more to buy the lot and build than purchasing the home we did.

               Heated garage – we can add this feature when it becomes necessary. Joe did not have heat in the shop he worked in over the years in Woodland. However, temperatures in Woodland were warmer!

               Fence for the dogs – we can add a fence or create a dog run in our yard. We do not plan to have dogs living with us, we do plan to have Megan’s dogs visit or stay with us when her family is out of town.

Add in the bonus features of the house that were not on our wish list and I can hardly wait for April 19^th when we get the keys.

Everyday I send positive thoughts and prayers out into the universe that the sale of the Woodland house stays on track for the March 29^th closing. That is only 12 days away!

Now I am writing a version of the 12 Days of Christmas in my head. Only it is the 12 Days Until Closing.

What Do You Have Way too Much Of?

What do you have way too much of?

Opinions. I have way too much of them. Over the years I have tried to not share them with everyone. This is difficult for me. That is what I should have answered to yesterday’s prompt. Other people hold their tongue and make it look easy. Or it is possible they do not have opinions?

I try to have informed opinions. However, informed by what is the question. Sometimes it is informed by research and sometimes by experience or gut. I often will research a topic, especially political in nature.

Yesterday I saw the following on Facebook. “My life isn’t better, how is your life better over the three years.” The question was directed at the Biden administration. This question was posted by a person enjoying a spring break vacation in France.

I have an opinion that goes like this: “You are coming from a place of privilege if you can afford to go to France. There are more people working and the economy is growing stronger, affording opportunity to people who are socio-economically disadvantaged. If you are in France for a week, you may find your dollar does not go as far as you would like. However, you have dollars to spend on something other than food and shelter.” “Can we do better with our economy? Of course we can. It is going to mean raising taxes on the top 2% of the wealthy in this country. Or getting the wealthy who are delinquent with their tax bills to pay them. Enforcement costs money.”

Wait, the topic is that do I have way too much of…

Opinions.

In my mind having an opinion requires responsibility. A responsibility to inform ourselves. We may not agree on a topic; however, we also do not get to name call or put the other person down because they have a different opinion. Even if we think their opinion in uniformed. They may have done research and with the same set of facts came to a different conclusion. We should be able to have a civil discussion.

Opinions are not facts though.

I like to bolster my opinion with facts. Why? Mostly a fear of appearing uniformed. And sometimes I can read all the facts and not necessarily come to the same conclusion as another person because my opinion is colored by my own belief system and experience. I recognize that and try to examine my own biases. I also try to give myself and others grace if their opinion is supported by facts.

Everyone is entitled to an opinion – and I am entitled to challenge it if there are no facts to support their opinion.

What do you have way too much of?

What is Difficult For You That Seems Easy for Everyone Else?

What is difficult for you that seems easy for everyone else? (Writing prompt from Delve card)

I have no clue as to what is easy for everyone else. Mostly, I have it in my head that there is nothing I cannot do if I am willing to put in the work. I know that there is someone who has put in a great deal of effort to learn how to do something and that to an onlooker it looks like they now do it easily.

I know through the years I have had supervisors tell me not to bother making my Excel reports pretty because they did not want me to “waste” time. When I demonstrated I could make my report look pretty with two or three keystrokes, they were amazed.

It is knowing what you are doing that makes the difference between difficult and easy. Putting in the work AND figuring out the tricks to doing it better and quicker has never been difficult for me.

Wait, that is not the question. This is not about what is easy for me that seems difficult for others.

That is the kicker.

There must be something.

Before retirement I would have answered “relaxing” is difficult for me and it seems easy for everyone else. That is not the case anymore! I have figured out how to relax.

In our family, I could answer “climbing stairs.” Everyone here goes up and down the stairs quickly and easily without using the handrails. I use the handrails.

Physically, I am the most limited within the family. I need to rest on walks.

Those answers feel like “cheats” though, I think there must be more that is difficult for me.

Something that addresses my mental agility or capacity. I have nothing.

Wait, I have it!

It is more difficult for me to find an answer to the question, “What is difficult for you that seems easy for everyone else” and that seems easy for everyone else.

P.S. I have not been drinking. If this seems like a weird topic – it is. I reserve weird topics for days that I think I want to write about more than the fact that we went grocery shopping today, or that Joe got new walking shoes (his other pair were three years old and getting holey), or that we bought Alto a climbing structure in hopes she will scratch it instead of the furniture, or that I talked to Andy at State Farm about home owner’s insurance, or Susan about the a new form to sign she sent on the house in Woodland.

Self-Care & Daily Update

Increasingly over the years I have discovered a stronger need for self-care than I did in prior years. I like the Self-Care Resolutions above. They help to keep me calm.

I find myself tapping into self-care a lot over the past week as we maneuver selling one house and buying another.

In other news, our house closing here has moved out to April 19th at the request of the sellers.

I have been getting insurance quotes and comparing them to determine the best package for our needs. Right off the bat we have all three insurance companies quoting different Dwelling Replacement Costs. Each tells me they cannot budge off that number, that it is based on what it costs to build the house today. This number is used to determine the base premium cost to us. Then there is the insurer with the 1% deductible of the insured amount for roof replacement due to hail and/or wind. We would pay $6900 out of pocket as a deductible for the number one reason people get a roof replacement – weather damage.

This is why I need self-care, to offset dealing with insurance.

Yesterday, Caleb came down to visit with Alto. Since Alto is currently confined to our bedroom, Caleb likes me go to see Alto as well. Caleb sat on the bed while I sat on a nearby chair. I admire what a patient young man Caleb is as he watches her and lets Alto take the lead. He sits quietly in the middle of the bed, looking and talking to me. Alto, meanwhile, moves closer and closer to Caleb until she is close enough to rub her head and body against him. He does not reach out to her; she moves to another part of his body and goes through the rubbing again. Alto repeats this until she gets bored and wanders off. Caleb talks to me the entire time. Totally ignoring Alto but he has a smile on his face that grows bigger when she “marks” him as her boy.

Charlote came down to read to me a bit ago. Charlotte has always wanted a kitten; however, she is allergic to their dander. Today, I introduced her to Alto. Charlotte and I stood inside the door. Alto was laying on the bed. When we walked in the room, Alto came to the end of the bed, and I introduced them. Charlotte stood slightly behind me as if she were prepared to make a mad dash. Alto just sat and looked at Charlotte. Alto believes she (Alto) is royalty and the rest of us are her staff. (Oh wait, we are!).

As we left the room, Charlotte told me that she was afraid Alto might leap at her. I assured her that Alto is not a “leaping at people” kind of cat. It was a brief introduction.

My moment of joy for today would have to be listening to Charlotte read aloud. I love the way she adds inflection to the sentences. She is at the age where it is still an effort. Sometimes she will read the sentence and then go back and re-read it with inflection. Those re-read sentences melt my heart. She sure knows the way to this grandma’s heart – treat those words right!

Fourth Grade "Music of America" Performances

Last night we had the pleasure of attending Caleb's Fourth Grade Spotlight on the Arts Concert at the elementary school. Next year, Caleb will move to the middle school which is for 5th through 8th graders.

The evening started with skits performed by students at six different stations in the school library/media center. Caleb was in a Pizza Delivery skit and did an excellent job of projecting his voice and staying in character. He played the man who ordered the pizza only to discover the delivery person had eaten half of the pizza during the delivery commute. 

We then moved to the auditorium and were delighted by performances of bucket drumming, world drumming, basketball rhythms, Gullah stick pounding, piano performers, recorders, cup passing rhythms, boom whackers, dancing, and choral singing. 

I enjoyed watching the children move freely about the stage as they prepared for their performances. Students helped each other with getting the materials they needed for each performance and enthusiastically cheered on their fellow performers. 

The theme Music of America included songs representing the Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, the Midwest and ended with "This Land is Your Land." A stirring performance all by itself.

I was so proud of every one of the performers. Watching them interact and support each other during the concert made me feel happy and proud.

Today was a day of connection, I had my second facial this morning with Juli at Hidden Gem Skin Spa. I enjoyed learning more about the products and the facial felt fantastic. After the facial, my cousin Eleanor and I had out monthly video chat which was fun. Later in the evening friend Kim and I held a Facetime chat. 

Mixed in all of this was more inspection follow-up and conversations with Susan in California and Anne in Minnesota.

We keep moving forward.

Inspection Reports - Light Reading

I spent my day reviewing inspection reports. The inspection reports for the home we are selling and the home we are buying.

Selling a home in California and buying one in Minnesota are different experiences. One is not better, just different. In California there is a pest inspection, a hazard inspection, and a home inspection. In Minnesota there is only a home inspection. Termites are rare here. They all moved to the warmer states with the snowbirds.

Reading the reports, making notes, and following up kept me so occupied for over half the day that I told Joe, “This is like having a job!” It was not a complaint, just an observation. I have a good understanding of the comments by the inspectors now. The house in Woodland is seventy-three years old on the original eight hundred square feet and the addition is thirty-one years old. Our house is in fine shape for its age. Most of the items are normal wear and tear. We will have a few things to take care of. Joe wishes he were there fix them. If the cost of a plane ticket is cheaper than the repairs, he may still do that.

The house we are buying is thirty-five years old, a baby in comparison to the California home. Most findings there are normal wear and tear. Joe looks at much of the inspection report as his “things to do” list after we move in.

My reaction to both reports initially – anxiety. Once I sat down and read the reports, line by line, I was able to work through the anxiety. Once that happened, I was grateful to have the reports. Fresh and critical eyes help to make sure both the buyer and the seller are protected. I want our buyer to feel safe and as excited about moving into the Woodland house as I feel about moving into the Saint Michael house.

This experience also brings home to me that I am not in control of any part of this process. We must rely on other people (agents, inspectors, the person buying or selling, and lenders). We recognize that each of them is doing their best to be fair and to do their job in the best way possible. Once I remind myself of this simple idea, I can breathe and let it go.

I have an enhanced respect for real estate agents. A good one is worth their weight in gold. Susan Bovey in California and Anne Monroe in Minnesota are gems. I deeply appreciate both of them for their advice, their work to keep things moving and on track, and their resilience in dealing with my questions.

My joyful moment for today is that we are leaving shortly to go to see Caleb’s class perform in a concert. I love listening to his class perform.

Aftermath

My cousin Joan, wrote to me this week, “Lots of good news from your family this week.” It has been an amazing week. And all of it seemed to happen so fast.

I thought Megan and Jeremy made the decision to get married two weeks ago, Megan told me today that they made the decision to get married eight days before Shasta was visiting. Which explains why she forgot her purse. I would have forgotten the groom.

We received notes and congratulations from friends and family about Megan and Jeremy’s marriage and the house we are purchasing on Facebook. Thank you all for your comments. I am serious when I say come see us! One of the things that we most appreciate is visiting with people and providing an oasis for them to rest and enjoy time in the area. On our grand adventure across the country last year, we were able to be on the receiving end of incredible amounts of hospitality. I want to be able to repay, and pay, the hospitality forward.

One of the things I appreciate most about our new home is that there will be nooks and crannies where people can go for privacy to read, meditate, or just have quiet time. I imagine little sitting areas of quiet throughout the house. We are in a cul-de-sac, so the traffic is mostly residents and their guests. For those requiring action you can cook in our kitchen or weed Joe’s garden.

And the kitchen! Oh my God, I cannot wait to cook in the kitchen. I have plans. Nothing like being without our own kitchen since last March to make me appreciate a kitchen. I want to bake. I may even experiment with making meals to freeze for busy days and last-minute guests when I would rather spend time together with them than cook or go out to dinner.

Someone asked about cleaning that big of a space. I am not too worried. We will not be living in every part of the house 24/ 7 so making sure we dust and tidy up before we have guests is doable. We already clean up after ourselves as we go along. Our ‘living space’ should be good.

I just looked around our flat and realized someone might think it looks a bit cluttered. Which is why I am excited about all the storage in the new house! There will be a place for everything. There will be more space than we have ever had before, and I am promising myself to not acquire ‘stuff.’ I think I can stay minimalist for a while.

I am still on cloud nine with a mixture of anxiety about all the things that can hang us up on either one of the closings. Part of that is because I cannot ‘control’ other people’s actions. I am trying to offset the anxiety with extra mediations and reading to distract my mind.

Wish me luck staying on an even keel!

Surprise!

On Friday, Joe and I toured four homes with our real estate agent, Anne Monroe. Split levels are extremely popular here in the region, so it was good to get inside the homes to see if a multi-level could work for us. All four homes we toured were 4-level. Each home and their stair system were different.

The first house was right here in Rockford and the least expensive of the homes we toured. The online photos did not do it justice. It looked better than the photos. Still, it would have needed about $80,000 to $100,000 to get it up to date. The small sized room and the layout made it feel like walking through a maze. After we ruled it out, Joe said it reminded him of the Winchester House in California.

The second house has been on our watch list for the past couple of months. Located in Greenfield about ten minutes from Megan and Jeremy. This house has one and a half acres of land with a chicken coup. We thought the asking price was higher than warranted given it also needs extensive repair work. The kitchen and dining areas are small, it has a great sitting area near the kitchen and a large family room we found appealing. The master bedroom is on its own level with an office area as well. The rest of the bedrooms need serious work. The house has a well and septic system instead of city utilities. We decided that would not work for us.

When we got back in the car, I discovered a new listing had popped up. It was in Buffalo about 16 minutes from Megan and Jeremy. Our goal has been to stay within 10 – 15 minutes of the kids in case they needed something in an emergency. The house has a slight view of Buffalo Lake. Anne had other appointments so she said she would try to schedule for us to see it in the late afternoon. This was the house we were touring when Megan frantically called about having left her purse at home with no time to get to Rockford and back by 4:30pm.

After running Anne’s blank check to the courthouse to pay the judge to perform Jeremy and Megan’s marriage ceremony, we were able to get back into the house to finish our tour. It had a staircase to one level that made me understand why everyone advised no stairs! It was horrendous. Narrow and steep with about fifteen steps. While it was the best house of all the ones we had toured so far and the price was right it did not feel like, “the one.” And those stairs ruled it out.

We had one more house to look at and while the chance that we would want it was slim, Joe thought we should tour it so we could rule it out for certain. Late last week this “coming soon” listing popped up that was in St. Michaels, about 15 minutes northwest of Megan and Jeremy. There were no photos of the interior; the description though was of great interest. A one-owner home custom built in 1989. That weekend we drove over to see what the yard looked like and ruled it out because we thought the yard might be too small. We could not get a good look at it though – it would be rude and scary for the owners to have someone walk around their home and into the backyard! The asking price was at the top of our budget, and we had said we would only use the top end of the budget if the house was an absolute, “Yes this is perfect for us.” The interior photos popped up earlier this week and I felt sad that we had ruled it out because of the yard.

 

I am glad Joe insisted we tour the home anyway – the yard could be bigger than anticipated. Anne had to make a quick stop, so we arrived at the house about ten minutes before her. Enough time for Joe to walk the property (our appointment started at 5:00pm and it was 5:10 pm – so the owners were not at home). Joe told me the yard would work for his needs (a small garden) and that in fact with the built-in sprinkler system he would have less work than at the other properties.

We walked into the house and that was it. The perfect house. Yes, it is 4-level; however, the layout is such that it is short manageable sets of steps to the various levels. The entryway, a half bath, the kitchen, dining room, living room, and sunroom are located on the main level. Only a step up to the front porch and a step up to the front door. Manageable. If one of us becomes disabled we can make the sunroom into a bedroom – it has sliding wood doors (pocket doors) to shut it off from the kitchen, Everything in this home is quality. Nothing is “make do.” Love and time have been poured into the home. After we finished the tour, I sat in the dining area while Joe walked the outdoor property with Anne. The house enveloped me in its warmth. I am in love. Joe appreciates that the house needs no updates or and we anticipate minor repairs. Two retaining walls are in the process of being replaced and if the work is not completed before we can move in, the current owners will put one and a half times the cost in an escrow account to cover the work.

Would he have chickens on this property? No. It is not fenced, and since it is in a neighborhood where each house looks well-maintained; they would not appreciate chickens.

As I am writing this narrative, we found out we are going to be the new owners! I am beyond excited. Now it is a matter of timing- that our house closes on March 29^th as planned. Our escrow on the house here is set for April 8^th.

This is the first time I have been through my own selling of a home and the purchasing of a home. Joe had bought our home before we were married in 1994. I have been through Megan’s purchase of her first home, the sale of that home, and the purchase of her home now. I admit I am feeling anxious that everything happens as scheduled.

Sometime after April, give us a bit of time to get in and settled, you all should come for a visit. We will have room! I will post the listing for the new house on my Facebook page (Facebook friends only) for those who (like me) are curious.

Taking a Break

We got home late from dinner out with Shasta, Jeremy, and Megan. Enjoyable dinner catching up with Shasta and hearing about the wedding from Megan and Jeremy.

It is late and this has been a busy week so I am going to call it a night.

Hoping to have more news to share tomorrow about what is happening around here. All the news that's fit to print.

Going to the Justice Center and We're Going To Get Married (Please Sing Along)

Megan and Jeremy Formo

Married March 8, 2024

Megan and Jeremy were married today in a simple civil ceremony at the Wright County Justice Center in Buffalo. Charlotte and Caleb were at the ceremony along with two of Megan and Jeremy's friends to function as witnesses.

This wedding will be a surprise for most everyone. Especially, given that I write about everything that goes on in our lives. So, it is only fair to get the back story on why the wedding happened today of all days.

As Megan likes to tell it, it all started with a cat. Our friend, Kim, has been keeping Alto since late last March when we started our road trip and then moved to Minnesota. Kim recently bought a home in Sacramento to be closer to her family. Alto had never really adjusted to Kim's cat, so we needed to produce a Plan B for Alto.

Plan B was to have Shasta, Megan's best friend from California, fly out to Minnesota to bring Alto to us. As soon as Megan knew Shasta and Alto would arrive today at around 12:30pm, Megan and Jeremy put the wheels in motion to get married so Megan could have Shasta as her witness. This has meant a whirlwind of activity from finding dresses (no conventional white for Megan) for Megan and Charlotte to suits for Jeremy and Caleb. Every day for the past week and a half we have had a flurry of packages on our doorstep for Megan and Charlotte to try on dresses. Then hunting down shoes, a photographer, flowers, getting the license squared away, telling Jeremy's family. 

I was one of the last to find out. Thank goodness for grandkids!

One night about two weeks ago, during dinner, Caleb asked something about a wedding. I asked, "What wedding?" Jeremy looked at Megan who was standing in the kitchen (possibly starting to clean up from dinner) and asked, "You haven't told your mom?" No, it.seems.she.had.not.told.her.mom.

Megan had talked to me in early January and told me they planned to get married in 2024 and that she wanted me to know it was going to be a private small ceremony with no family except Caleb and Charlotte. I understood how easily inviting people can get out of hand and I had no problem with not going. If there was not room for everyone in Jeremy's family, then Joe and I could sit it out. 

 So, we did. 

This is the part that gets tricky. Trust me Jeremy's moms (Shelly and Hilda) would have been happier to get the 4:05 pm call as we were touring a house in Buffalo than I was to get a frantic Megan: "I left my purse at home. I need my identification to get married and my checkbook to pay the judge." 

Me: "Dad and I are in Buffalo doing a home tour. Maybe they will take a photo of your drivers' license as proof of identity, and we could bring you the cash to pay the judge." 

(Keep in mind it would be at least a thirty-minute round trip to Rockford and back to Buffalo to get her purse for her).

Megan: " I can't leave the courthouse we have to be in there in twenty minutes. Why would I have a picture of my drivers' license? I can't pay cash it has to be a check! Do you have your checkbook with you?"

Me (who writes two checks a year): "No."

Our IMPRESSIVE real estate agent, Ann Monroe, is overhearing this conversation and offers that she has her checkbook and so we all three drive across town, arriving at 4:17pm (wedding is at 4:30pm) and Joe ran a blank check from Ann Monroe into the justice center. 

Talk about someone going the extra mile. Ann is now officially a member of our family whether she wants to be or not. Ann was also the florist for Megan and Charlotte's bouquets, and she had them ready with only four days’ notice. 

We, meanwhile, drove back to the house we were originally touring to finish checking it out. 

 All of this to say everything was perfect because what is a wedding without a snafu or story?

 We will get pictures soon and I will share what Megan allows me to share.