tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47949824132101167752024-02-19T00:01:53.833-06:00Distractable DownsizerChronicles of efforts to lighten the load at home. How many items can you have/like/need?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-64812755600664838812012-08-29T23:12:00.002-05:002012-09-07T21:44:09.895-05:00My Brother's and Father's Old Electric TrainsWho seeing such a title to a posting isn't hoping that these "old electric trains" are still available and planning to offer me "beaucoups of cash" for them? Please don't tell me - the trains are sold!<br />
<br />
There were 2 sets of 3 boxes each. One set of boxes contained the carefully glued and very detailed plastic houses, a train station, a hotel, a gas station with separate little gas pump islands, and even an oil refinery! These were sold by Kibri, a company in West Germany, in boxes for hobbyists to put together themselves. My Dad went into a second or third childhood with the Kibri trains soon after he retired. Dad had been a dentist, so he was good at working on tiny parts with his hands. He had done a beautiful job putting together the little houses. I guess he had some trains and tracks and had built one of those model train cities that hobbyists build. I don't remember seeing it, only that I knew it was a passion of his for a while. We had ended up with the three boxes of completed buildings. I remember that sometime early in the 15 years we have lived in our current house, I was going to try to sell off the train stuff, but my younger daughter had asked that I keep the little houses for her. I left them in boxes in the attic, and my daughter never touched them. She grew up anyway, but with not even the slightest sentiment or interest in the little buildings.<br />
<br />
The other set of boxes were in the garage lo all these 15 years! They contained what was left of what I considered to be my older brother's electric trains. I believe I was told (today) that these were 27-gauge trains, whereas the Kibri items were a mixture of 0 and some other small gauge. These electric trains were hefty, made of metal and plastic, with metal tracks that fitted together via a metal hole on one side and post on the other of each piece of track. I always liked how snugly they fit together! My memories of these trains from childhood are from 3 eras; one when my father and brother had mysterious male bonding over them, when I was very small and just occasionally got a glimpse of the big table in the basement where the trains were set up. This was probably when my Dad had bought the trains...for my brother, of course. Later, my brother did set up and run the trains by himself sometimes, and I sometimes played with the set up trains. Later still, I proudly figured out how to set up and run the trains by myself. I don't remember much about that part; I think the joy faded a little after meeting the challenge, because the best part of the trains was really my brother's involvement. My small Steiff stuffed animals could sit in or on one of the cars, or we would just pretend that there were people doing things in the train world. At the system's height, there were 2 "transformers" to drive the trains: the original one, about the size of a telephone of the '50s and '60s and then a new one what was more squared and that I think my brother might have bought as he matured into taking over the trains. Sometimes 2 trains would run at the same time, and we would use the track switching button to divert a train to an inner loop, just at the last minute before the trains would crash. We did not purposely crash the trains, at least I don't remember us doing that. I remember the chugging sound of the trains, the whistle that blew when you pressed a button, and which I sold in the batch today, and the smoke pellets made of a soft rubbery material, that smelled like nothing else. If I ever smell that smell again, I will know just what it is!<br />
<br />
Among my brother's trains was a box of tracks, a bunch of little switches and wires, a hand-operated plastic pair of intersection gates, 2 engine/tender sets, one slightly bigger than the other, a sort of crane car, my favorite box car with a little man in it and little rectangular metal boxes. When the box car stopped on top of a certain switch, the door would open and the little man would come out, pushing a little metal box out of the train car door. I never got enough of watching this! I sold the car today, complete with little man and 2 of the boxes. I guess there were originally 4 or maybe 6 boxes. There was also a set of 4 cars completing a once-considered-sleek aluminum passenger train. There were plastic strips running along the "windows" of the cars with black silhouettes of people on them. When the trains were in their prime, these cars were lit up from the inside, so you could see the people! There were some cars I never did find very interesting, such as one carrying what were supposed to be logs that didn't do anything. There were I kept only one car: a green rectangular car that just holds things. I have put my sticky note pads in it and it is sitting on my desk.<br />
<br />
This summer we had been focusing on the attic. So, I had given my (now grown up) daughter an ultimatum that she either take ownership the three boxes of Kibri buildings or allow me to find a new home for them. They were in my office to get rid of. Years ago, I had clipped a tiny classified ad from someone looking for model trains to buy, and I had talked with the guy briefly. I found the ad last week, but the phone number was no longer in service. I took some photos and put them on Craigslist for what I thought was a low price for the batch. A man answered the ad and told me that he deals in model trains. He was interested in the buildings, and when I mentioned that I had some other trains to sell, he suggested I get them all out for him to look at. So I got the trains out of the garage and dusted them off. Actually, they were well-packed and not very dusty. I phoned my brother to give him one more chance to claim the trains, since it had been quite a few years since we had discussed the old items that I had collected from among our parents' things but which had really belonged to him. He said he had been thinking lately of his old erector set and might like to see that again but that he had no interest in the trains.<br />
<br />
In preparation for someone coming to the house to look at all the train stuff, I spent some time looking at Ebay completed sales as well as model train prices on some hobbyist websites. I wrote up an inventory and noted the prices it looked like things were worth. On a dealer's website, I saw that dealers tended to pay about half the value for trains. I was prepared and had a top figure of the worth as compiled from the Internet and a bottom figure of what I hoped to ask for the batch. I was pleased with myself for spending the time I felt was necessary to do due diligence on these items that would not come round again.<br />
<br />
The baby-boomer couple arrived to look at the trains, and the man in charge told me in no uncertain terms that prices are down compared to any other time. He said his sales at the local annual model train show last year were less than half those of the year before. We had a nice chat about all things trains. He showed me that the Kibri buildings were from 2 separate sizes of sets - the doors to the buildings were clearly of two different sizes, some being about 3/4 of an inch tall and some about an inch. I can't help wondering whether my Dad knew about this. My guess is that he just liked the hotel and the train station and didn't care that they were created for differently scaled setups. <br />
<br />
When the dealer offered me about a third of my lower-prepared price, essentially about a sixth of what I had calculated as total worth, my greed was deflated. I wasn't too surprised, and I felt that he was being honest about prices. He suggested that although the sales prices listed on Ebay might not even be legitimate (you bid up my train and I'll mark it sold but not really sell it to you and then list it again under another name), I could probably get better prices if I were to go through the hoops of listing on Ebay. He even suggested I wait and contact him again later. I had mixed feelings during the negotiations. It was difficult for me, very stressful. Reasons to sell: I wanted to be rid of the trains, I liked the couple that wanted to buy them, and I knew I'd be stressed about having to list these trains on Ebay, especially since I didn't even have the capability to test the equipment to see whether it worked. I knew that selling an item in working order and cleaned up would bring a higher price, but I was afraid to use any solvent to clean the trains and I knew I couldn't make any claims as to their useability. Reasons to keep were at first just to see how well I could do on Ebay. The decision was evident to me when I began to fret about the possibility of these nice folks leaving me with all these boxes of stuff to repack and try to sell again later.<br />
<br />
I sold the trains to the guy for a little more than he originally offered. Then I was seized with the familiar and terrible anxiety of seller's remorse. Maybe I should have kept one of those very cool detailed old engines, made of 1950s materials, that are never to be made again! I could look at it to bring back the memories. Put it on a shelf, as if there will ever be an extra shelf in my home. Maybe sell it for beaucoups of cash at some later date. I had panic thoughts of offering the guy some money to buy back one of the engines. I really do prefer itemized sales; the package deal tends to have a life of its own. It was highly possible that this dealer really was offering to buy mostly those engines and would renege on the whole deal if the engines weren't included. I didn't want any of the train stuff badly enough to risk being stuck with all of it! I let him pack up the trains.<br />
<br />
The anxiety is passing, and my mind is slowly letting go of the trains. I feel a little raw, with a little sense of loss hanging on, as I have often felt when experiencing this kind of remorse. I wish the feeling hadn't happened. My daughters are very sure I won't miss the trains. They are very sure they will never have any remorse that they didn't keep the trains and sell them "to become billionaires" when they reach the age I am now.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-88828343923836836232011-07-28T12:02:00.003-05:002011-07-28T14:24:59.082-05:00Shredding Old MemoriesAm I shredding old memories or just reclaiming a cubic foot of space in the closet? I am shredding a whole file box full of old Discover and bank statements, from the 90s and early 200s. The whole credit card number is still on the individual receipts in this batch of papers - I wonder when they stopped listing the whole number? Right after the beginnings of identity theft! All those purchases! Lots of carbon copies of checks. Just saw a listing for Southern Rubber, where we bought tire inner tubes to use as tubes for our swimming pool. How many times I patched those things! Loved using them in the pool.<div><br /></div><div>There were checks to one daughter's middle school cafeteria and checks to one daughter's intermediate school. Long-ago stuff. One of the payments we regularly made in the 80s was to AOL Games. "You've Got Mail!" Checks to Geno and Kristi for euphonium and oboe lessons, checks to Food World and Bruno's in Birmingham, and checks from my editing job. All reminding me of times past, happy mostly!</div><div><br /></div><div>The shredder only takes care of about 3 inches of papers before I have to empty it. So I have all these plastic bags full of shreds of paper. What if I poured them all into the big recycling bin? How long would neighbors be picking shreds off their lawns? Well, I did decide to recycle the shreds. I put them into boxes. I have lots of boxes in the garage and attic...all part of my too much stuff. The boxes can help deal with the stuff!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-19182392874513982742010-08-19T12:51:00.001-05:002010-08-19T21:07:10.020-05:00What if I Took a Hiatus and Nobody Noticed?The title says it all! I didn't even officially get sidetracked. I just didn't accomplish anything for a while, and when I did, I didn't blog about it.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-47958130307841545712010-03-14T23:08:00.002-05:002010-03-14T23:32:11.929-05:00Downsizing - Helping Friends MoveVisiting a couple of friends who moved to a new house in December and are working on getting their old house ready for the market showed me some of the problems that I have in common with them. They have a full complement of household items and personal belongings in the old house, even though they have moved and are living fully comfortably in their new house. My friend has clothes from forever, and most of them are way too big for her. She has lost weight, mostly through illness. We are hoping she will become stronger but not gain back much of the weight. She has clothes from when she worked in the 1970s and clothes for gardening (meaning sloppy disposable clothes, and many clothing items that still have price tags on them. Seeing the price tags reminded me of my mother's stuffed closet with many brand-new clothes with price tags still on. When we first started working on the clothes, my friend said, "I have a bag for storage and a bag to take to the new house." I said, "How about a bag for giving away?" She did agree, and many clothes went into that bag! <br /><br />I saw my friend's pattern of acquisition as somewhat similar to mine. Getting things because they are on sale, keeping gifts received from friends, and keeping little things that are somewhat useless but difficult to throw away, because they are...nice. <br /><br />I helped pack the photos from a hall closet that had boxes and folders and bags full of photos. Well, not as many photos as I have in my photo closet, but plenty. We packed all the photos in boxes and placed them by the door. My friend considers them precious and wants to be sure to hand carry them to the new house, rather than having any helpers move them or putting them in one of their 2 storage lockers. I agree that the photos are precious. My friend's husband said, "We'll never look at these photos!" Then, a while later, when we were done for the day, another friend was taking photographs of all of us. My friend's husband said, "Let's take more photos we'll never look at!"<br /><br />I helped pack about 10 boxes of books. I am good at packing books! I was pleased to find myself so good at it. The books are my friend's husband's hobby. He loves to buy books and has thousands. He hopes to enjoy them during his retirement in a few years. Everybody was talking about how particular he is about the books. Someone told me to avoid packing the books, because he would probably be critical about anything I did that might damage any books. But he and I got along fine about my packing. He felt that I was packing the books in the same ways he tends to pack them. We are book collectors, who have packed many a book. We don't mind spending the time to find just the right book for the right spot in the box. I am not purposely building my collection of books now, but I am still buying books that I think will be useful to me.<br /><br />I was glad to help my friends, but I did feel a little guilty about working on someone else's stuff instead of my own unfinished business!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-17185043784518271632010-03-09T23:16:00.004-06:002010-03-09T23:24:47.054-06:00Distraction - Downloading MusicThe Pirate Bay, Bit Torrent Junkie...there are more, but I have used only these 2. It's just so easy, once you learn how to do it, to download music that you remember from forever. Music that you wouldn't buy but you remember. So you think of it, and you look it up on these sharing websites, and then you download it. Then you check your files and add it to playlists. And there you are listening to music and not doing much else, just like you did many years ago before you got so busy...<br /><br />Value judgments on this: Music is good for the soul. Music can be either a distraction or a concentration aid. But, I guess when you download some old song or some new song, listening to it takes a lot of your attention, especially if you are singing or working at memorizing the words to the song. <br /><br />Do I have time for music? Should I be doing something else? Hmm... Train is my new favorite group!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-21710695081761140232010-03-06T00:10:00.005-06:002010-03-06T00:50:58.252-06:00Downsizing - House Selling - The Realtor Makes the SaleAlthough I have had a house on the market for 6 months, I often forget about the tremendous downsizing coup it will be when it sells. In some ways, selling the house seems almost a passive activity. I don't feel like I'm doing anything toward downsizing every day, but really every day I have been working on selling the house; well many days I have had to do something about it.<div><br /></div><div>At first there was choosing the realtor. I set up interviews with (1) a friend who had recently taken classes and become a Realtor, (2) a Realtor at the location that had helped me find tenants when I used the house as a rental house, and (3) a well-established Realtor. The well-established Realtor cancelled our appointment, telling me she really didn't think it worth her time to prepare a presentation for me if I were interviewing others and might not choose her. I think she really didn't need the business of the small house I was selling, as she is quite successful and probably has bigger fish to fry. I chose my friend. The reason was that ever since she started the classes, she has been very excited about realty work. She had a good reference from another friend whose daughter she had helped find the perfect home to buy recently. I hoped her interest in her new job would compensate for any lack of experience she might have. </div><div><br /></div><div>My friend the Realtor "executed" our contract today! Presumably all will go according to plan, and the closing will be later this month! It has been a lot of fun working with a friend on this, and she has proven to me that she is pretty wonderful! She handled all my ups and downs, and there were a lot of them, as the house went through an extended "money pit" stage before we were able to sell it. I grumbled all through the fixing and "disclosures" and then the inspection. By the time the inspection rolled around, the house was all fixed up. But the inspector found "deficiencies" in every aspect of the house anyway, and I was newly annoyed. My Realtor listened and let me vent and then we went onward to the next step. </div><div><br /></div><div>One of my favorite parts of this is that I feel I can strongly recommend my friend's services to others. I like being pleased and then helping those who do a good job!<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-45749159408123376492010-03-03T22:50:00.005-06:002010-03-06T00:10:26.262-06:00Distraction - The Sale Starts in 2 DaysI seem to spend an inordinate amount of time returning things to stores. I keep the ready-to-return things on a small table, the top of a short shelving unit, along with my purse. The table is so nice and neat when there is nothing to return; then it has just my purse and maybe something I plan to take with me the next time I go somewhere. When there are things to return, the tabletop gets crowded and demands attention and feels to my eye much like a todo list. <div><br /></div><div>Today I did something I wasn't proud of, leading to a pair of pants being on the table. I thought about not doing it, but I did it anyway, mostly just because I could. Two days ago, I received a sale flyer in the mail for one of the stores I like, Kohl's. I received a coupon for 20% off of everything plus another coupon for $10 off. I went to Kohl's that day, as I was out on errands in the vicinity, and I knew of some undergarments that I had been planning to buy as soon as they went on sale. After finding the undergarments, I took a brief trip to my favorite department and oh dear, I found a pair of jeans that fit! When jeans fit, buy them! Words of wisdom! I think I'll put them in my "Things I Learned Today" column. At the checkout counter, the cashier pointed out that the sale had not started yet. The mailing had the dates of the sale on it, but I had just grabbed it and gone to the store without noticing. The sale would start in 2 days. I put back the undergarments, figuring I would come back and get them on sale. The jeans, however, fit so well that I decided to buy them at their full price rather than risk coming back to find them gone. </div><div><br /></div><div>Today the sale started. I was on errands again, so I stopped at Kohl's. I got my underclothes, and do you know what I did? I found another pair of those jeans! Actually, I found 2 pair, one the same as what I had bought and one in another color. They fit that well! I bought everything with the sale coupons. And...now I plan to take the new jeans back with the receipt from when I bought them at the higher price. </div><div><br /></div><div>I don't really condone this. But, I rationalize it by figuring that I wouldn't have bought the second pair of jeans if I wasn't going to save the money on the first pair, so Kohl's wins anyway. The lady in front of me today saved $100 by buying $300 worth of clothes. I saved $90 by buying $70 worth of stuff. Kohl's always wins! I know that, but it's fun to play. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-61224788923568539222010-01-30T17:44:00.004-06:002010-01-31T21:29:47.694-06:00Downsizing - EBay Sale<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">I sold something on </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">e</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">b</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC66;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;">y</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"> that I have been meaning to sell for close to 10 years! It was a ceramic Lladro figure. I always wanted to sell it and meant to because I felt uncomfortable moving such a fragile item from storage shelf to storage shelf! Finally I took the few minutes to list it. Actually, I had to list it 3 times before it sold, and I had to reduce the price twice. But, I'm glad I did what was needed, because someone now is happy to have the Lladro; and it is not broken, and I got good feedback from the transaction! "Exactly as described" was what the feedback said; that's good feedback indeed!</span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">There was one problem for me. When I sell an item, I want to be sure the buyer receives the item and accepts it before I leave feedback. I put a little card into my items that asks the buyer to acknowledge receipt by leaving feedback for me, and I say I will then leave feedback for them. But no; that's not the way things are "done" these days. Buyers expect you to leave good feedback for them as soon as they pay. And, I guess people also don't read the small print on the cards I send, even though it's just one sentence. But, if the buyer gives the seller a hassle after receiving the item and the good feedback, then the buyer already has the good feedback and the seller can get stuck with bad feedback. I think <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF0000;">e</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#3333FF;">b</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FFCC66;">a</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#009900;">y</span></span> may be changing their feedback system...again. Perhaps with the maturity of the website and the clientele, all the angles have been discovered and there is no way to keep everyone happy.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-16268320382360936752010-01-30T16:49:00.002-06:002010-01-30T16:53:21.701-06:00Distraction - Outer Things<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color:#FF6600;">Right in front of me is a Costco sales brochure for February. It's short enough that I can look at every item and decide whether or not to buy it. But it's long enough to take 5-10 minutes. Then there is a newsletter from a social group I belong to. I can look at it and decide what events to attend; 15 minutes. I actually also have to write an article for next month's newsletter because I am the Chair of a committee for the group; 30 minutes. That's close to an hour just for today's mail. And there was actually more mail...</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-85611376486591064772010-01-29T10:52:00.003-06:002010-01-29T11:14:52.732-06:00Distraction - The Holidays!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMGozLqNTpP7S20zqmjN-K37hn_HglTpp9OABwfF62RiRiGcUsns58JHmJF452KQEerB7v2g-eCE1Pl1huYhjSp9Xk4JREr29SmOiZrIG8Q8TNYVuzpBykhvRtkAeePZDzvPNM4sFBfA/s1600-h/P1010011.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; FLOAT: right; HEIGHT: 239px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432210811055419186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKMGozLqNTpP7S20zqmjN-K37hn_HglTpp9OABwfF62RiRiGcUsns58JHmJF452KQEerB7v2g-eCE1Pl1huYhjSp9Xk4JREr29SmOiZrIG8Q8TNYVuzpBykhvRtkAeePZDzvPNM4sFBfA/s320/P1010011.JPG" /></a><br /><div>I had thoughts and experiences about downsizing during the holidays, but I was too busy getting ready for parties to write anything! I had a smattering of parties among my local friends, plus my husband's work party and a party my brother was giving in NYC for his 40th anniversary. It was the New York party and the work party that distracted me. I wanted to look good for both parties, and I wanted to be warm in NYC. The goals turned into a fashion fiasco!<br /><br />I tried on everything I owned, and I found a dress I had bought on a lark in high school that I honestly thought was very weird back then but that I have always loved. I used to wear the dress with long boots, and boots are in this year, only with very short skirts. So, I bought a pair of short boots and shortened the dress to look good. I loved the outfit! But my kids said it might not be appropriate for a conservative party.<br /><br />So then it became all about the boots! I wanted to wear the cool short boots. So, to be fashionable, I would need a skirt just the right amount of short or a pair of skinny pants and a top that would work with them. I shopped and shopped and shopped. Mall, outlet mall, online, individual stores: everywhere! I shopped for skinny pants and tops, for dresses to go with leggings and short boots, and for accessories that would go with my standard "little black dress,."<br /><br />My dear friend, Linda, who is the smallest of them all, loaned me 2 black dresses that are a little big for her. One was a little tight and very short but provided a gorgeous, classy, and warm dressy outfit. The other was a little dull but comfortable and warm.<br /><br />After shopping, I had bought a bunch of things: pants, tops to go with pants, a jacket for my dress, purple patterned leggings... I tried everything on with everything!<br /><br />For one of the local parties, I wore my old dress with the boots. I got lots of comments and compliments. Some people immediately knew it was a dress from the old days; that impressed me! It was a lot of fun. But I decided to go more conservative with the other parties.<br /><br />I don't remember what I put together for the office party! I really don't! I was deciding up to the last minute, and I wore a short dressy jacket. I wore the boots, and I think I might have worn the skinny pants. It was not a standout outfit, but I felt like I looked good, respectable, and respectful.<br /><br />For New York, I went with my standard black dress with the new short velvet jacket I had bought, and regular shoes. I looked fine. People were fairly conservative there, as my sister-in-law had told me they would be. I looked fine and fit in.<br /><br />I like to fit in, though sometimes I like to stand out a bit!<br /><br />These clothing considerations were the biggest distraction and time-sucker of the holidays! I spent a lot of time cooking for parties and going to parties, too. It was a fun time! But, I can't help wondering what I might have gotten "done" if it hadn't been for my frantic fashion frenzy!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-41745159327760695732009-11-23T22:29:00.003-06:002009-11-23T22:36:47.635-06:00Downsizing - Another Wetsuit Down, Housefull of Stuff to Go<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nzYp_BPvRsROc3zRG-6bwx6EAQv_rzcnAs1Sbm-kypDYcmJ1ksy5TqY7SC9QR-i4aEkwsiTwaR819pvlUvgQejlZKlnbbxIN7iET_UQWPCJ-xuqAHr4gCfoLz2yat1R4vOYujTXfeJ8/s1600/Wetsuit+Front.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 182px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_nzYp_BPvRsROc3zRG-6bwx6EAQv_rzcnAs1Sbm-kypDYcmJ1ksy5TqY7SC9QR-i4aEkwsiTwaR819pvlUvgQejlZKlnbbxIN7iET_UQWPCJ-xuqAHr4gCfoLz2yat1R4vOYujTXfeJ8/s200/Wetsuit+Front.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5407524418922376402" /></a><br />The second wetsuit went to a guy who was working on his swimming pool (it's November) and had to get in the water. He told me his wife told him to just get in and not be such a wimp, but he said the water was very cold! He drove about 2 1/2 hours, arriving at 7:45 AM to meet me at the convenience store and buy the wetsuit. This was on the morning of the day when he had to get into his pool. He took the wetsuit without trying it on and later emailed me that it fit. I hope the wetsuit bought him enough time in the water to get the pool so it will be ready for next summer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-62410067126737584822009-10-31T16:00:00.001-05:002009-11-23T23:22:27.115-06:00Distraction - The Texas Book FestivalThe Texas Book Festival has become a seminal event for authors and readers. Thousands of authors, or agents, apply for just a few more than a hundred slots. Anyone who has a book published during the year is eligible. Two authors I was assigned to help had written a book about Davy Crocket's congressional career. Their book was released the day before the festival started! So, when they had applied to be in the festival the previous January, their book wasn't out but was scheduled to be published. Those who choose who will be presenting books at the festival have to choose among lots of unpublished books and many unpublished authors, hoping to choose those books that will be hits. I wonder whether Sarah Palin will be here next year. <br /><br />For a reader, it is fun to meet authors and hear the m talk about their new books. But it is also special to just be at the festival and see the crowds of readers. There are almost all full sessions at every talk in the festival, with some full of people in the back: "standing room only." There are always famous authors there, talking about their newest books. They get to speak in the large venues; the Senate and House Chambers and the auditorium.<br /><br />I like to volunteer as an "author escorted." This means I am assigned to lead an author or group of them through the maze of the Capitol building to get to the room where they were scheduled to speak. I make sure they and their entourage are comfortable and that everything is right for their talk. Then I lead them outside and down the Capitol lawn to the "signing tent," where they sign copies of their books for anyone who wants to meet them. There are usually a few fans who are getting signatures on a souvenir T-shirt or poster. <br /><br />The authors I have escorted have been many and varied. Most were humble, excited to be there, and very nice. The most impressive in fame as well as personality was Alexander McCall Smith. The Scotch author wrote "The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency" series as well as several other series, some short story collections, some single volumes, and lately an opera, many about or taking place in Botswana. Smith spoke in the House Chamber to an overflowing audience. He wore a full Scottish kilt outfit, with wool matching kilt and jacket. His talk was delightfully funny, and when he answered questions from the audience, he showed a wonderful quick wit. Then, at the signing tent, although he had a long line of fans waiting for him to sign books, often several per person; he stood and shook hands with every fan and then sat down to write "To Claudia" or whatever they wanted and sign each book.<br /><br />Three authors I escorted gave me copies of their books, two have exchanged emails with me, and one came to my book club and spoke. <br /><br />I always enjoy the TBF!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-66790819074024659912009-10-28T20:46:00.001-05:002009-11-05T14:07:22.726-06:00Downsizing - Trusting in Craig's ListThis afternoon, I had an email message from my recent Craig's list ad offering a used wetsuit for a low price. I was surprised, as I had placed the ad more than a few days ago; soI figured it would languish until expiring, as do most Craig's list ads after a day or so. But, I guess this guy searched for a wetsuit, and there weren't that many for sale; and the main selling point for him was that mine was a size small wetsuit. I called the guy and he had an Asian accent. He said he usually gets size extra small, and so he might want to try on the wetsuit. <br /><br />I felt that it wouldn't be very polite to ask him to meet me at a gas station and take the wetsuit into the rest room to try it on. So, since he sounded like the "nice" Craig's list type and maybe even there was a little Asian stereotyping going on in my head, I gave him directions to my house. <br /><br />Then I got a little nervous about it. Not too nervous, but I thought I should do something the smart way, since I was taking a risk. I called a friend and arranged that she would call me if she didn't hear from me after a certain amount of time. I guess there was just that comfort that at worst, my body would be found before it putrefied.<br /><br />The guy arrived! He was a very small person, smaller than me, and I was the one with the size small wetsuit! The wetsuit looked as thought it would be a little large on him, but he decided to take it without even trying it on. He might have been having a hard time finding a small wetsuit. He just wanted to expand his swimming. He was also going to get some gloves that have webbing, but he wasn't going to get any foot flippers. Have fun swimming, nice little guy!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-60085128056358484132009-10-25T13:01:00.003-05:002010-03-06T00:48:57.408-06:00Downsizing - House Selling - 2 Steps Forward?Selling a house simplifies life, but I'm not so sure. I'm selling a house I have been renting out for about 8 years. The rental business has had its ups and downs. It requires various amounts of time, without a dependable schedule, but has brought in monthly cash, usually on a regular schedule. Up - my first tenant was a young single woman taking care of 2 small children for a friend who was having problems; and my last was a man who wanted a place to have his 2 teenage daughters stay with him so he could help them graduate from high school, which he (and they) accomplished! Down - I had to evict a family and go all the way through with having the Constable put all their stuff on the lawn, where it sat for days in the rain before I could get enough garbage trucks out to clean it up. <br /><br />Selling the house will save me the time I have been giving to the rental business and will immediately give us some cash, but to me that adds decisions. Decisions, decisions, decisions! What to do with the cash, and what to do with the time! Nice decision to have, certainly! I do tend to be a "yes, but" person. So, I'll say but will we miss the income and tax advantages from the rental business. And if so, what will we do? To buy a new rental unit, we would have to use the cash from this sale plus incur a new monthly cash debt.<br /><br />For now, I'm selling. I want to be finished with this old house. It will be good for me to unload it - to downsize! <br /><br />It's not a done deal, but the house shows well. We have had some offers!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-21762864736575734202009-10-23T11:39:00.003-05:002009-10-23T11:57:33.999-05:00Downsizing is Easy with Craig's List<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEironYIgIDS3aPPuQ7GkcH7FHpPkABimnGX2xyTG59ZsM_nA4i1RcbyDazzEfwdP2nzmgRcDDr7mS025gq-5KEhtTP6Rki5dFxK1iiUoN0nULUm8iv4YdRl9VHIAAd-kdb78NagFRXdKvQ/s1600-h/Tree+Rings+%26+Posts.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEironYIgIDS3aPPuQ7GkcH7FHpPkABimnGX2xyTG59ZsM_nA4i1RcbyDazzEfwdP2nzmgRcDDr7mS025gq-5KEhtTP6Rki5dFxK1iiUoN0nULUm8iv4YdRl9VHIAAd-kdb78NagFRXdKvQ/s320/Tree+Rings+%26+Posts.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395839060471733378" /></a><br />We used these tree rings for a year or 2 to keep our robot mower from banging into tender new trunks of trees we planted. The rings protected the new trees and shrubs, but they caused the mower to get stuck a lot, and instead of having beautiful flowers planted in these rings around the trees, we tended to have stray grass growing inside them. Once the trees had become established, decided the mower doesn't bump very hard anyway, and we deleted the rings from the yard.<br /><br />The rings were so helpful and so strong that I was sure they would be great for reuse and would sell easily on Craig's List. I listed the 6 of them in the spring for $20. Nothing happened. The rings sat there on the driveway. In the fall, the rings on the driveway gathered a lot of leaves. I listed them in "Free Stuff" on Craig's List. Within minutes I had an appointment to meet someone to give him the tree rings. Within a few more minutes, I had 2 more inquiries.<br /><br />Downsizing=1, Moneymaking=0<br /><br />Cleaning up that corner of the driveway = priceless!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-758610658894795712009-10-14T11:57:00.002-05:002009-10-31T23:32:39.611-05:00Distraction - Hot Springs<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho74MFEBrn8ZaC9k-1g6XwIBbyMm1sa8mtL6tsZblVQD0ScWAJ0Ikd90WN26BEruRY2dD-4RGQFNQ0vaWHLaZHOpar3faSsonSeU0OfnbBcC4fH8ISnrbYVjieqcVoychSSRmls5RqkCY/s1600-h/101_3306.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho74MFEBrn8ZaC9k-1g6XwIBbyMm1sa8mtL6tsZblVQD0ScWAJ0Ikd90WN26BEruRY2dD-4RGQFNQ0vaWHLaZHOpar3faSsonSeU0OfnbBcC4fH8ISnrbYVjieqcVoychSSRmls5RqkCY/s320/101_3306.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5395864749538053730" /></a><br />We went on a vacation to Colorado, complete with soaks in hot springs in 5 locations! It was a wonderful time, with energetic mountain hikes followed by soaks in the hot springs. What a perfect combination!<br /><br />It's fun to compare hot springs. When I put the photos onto the computer, I realized that we didn't take photos of the pools! There were reasons for this! (1) It was cold outside, so when we went to the pools, we were in a hurry to get into the water rather than stand around with a camera. (2) The pools are wet and steamy, an environment not suitable for a camera. (3) We went to the pools in bathing suits and left our bags with towels and shoes by the side of the pool. So there weren't too many conditions suitable to cameras. However, if I had it to do over again, which I will certainly try to do, I would take the camera to the pools at another time fully clothed and take some pictures. You can go to the pools' websites to look at pictures of them. <br /><br />Hot Sulphur Springs, in ... Hot Sulphur Springs<br /><br />We went to these springs at night after a nighttime drive over Berthoud Pass (11,307 feet high) in a snowstorm. The snow didn't seem to be sticking to the road, but the temperatures were dropping as we drove. The hairpin turns labeled "15 mph" were indeed hairy in the dark and snow! So we relaxed that stress away in the springs. There were a bunch of small pools of various temperatures. We couldn't see the layout too well, as it was dark and not brightly lighted. The temperatures seemed to be accurately marked and there were pools of several very comfortable temperatures: we soaked very hot for a while, then a little cooler for a while. Hot Sulphur Springs were the only springs on our trip that had a sulphur odor. The odor wasn't disturbing during the soaking, although we could smell it. What was a bit annoying was that the smell stayed on my bathing suit throughout the trip, even after going into different hot springs every day and rinsing the suit every day. <br /><br />Mount Princeton Hot Springs, in Buena Vista<br /><br />We stayed at the inn/motel, which was one of the nicest on our trip. The room was large and clean and seemed somewhat new. I particularly liked the very large granite counter outside the toilet/tub area, where we could spread out our toiletries and coffee/water things. The pools are a work in progress and will probably be among the best when they are done. As of now, they are somewhat lacking. There is a large rectangular soaking pool that is hot enough but has no seats. There is a cool pool for swimming and families. They have a steam room outside, too, which is very warm and a nice touch that we didn't see anywhere else. And there are some springs along the river. The river springs are along the side of the river, but in the river. They are little areas where the river has hot springs. They're marked with stones. So you sit in a little stone-surrounded circular pool about 5' in diameter and about a foot deep. With the cold air and the sandy/muddy bottom of the river, we didn't find these pools appealing. None were very hot and none were very deep or even deep enough to stay warm. People seemed to be enjoying them, though. Another problem with these pools was that the pathway to access them without climbing over rocks was a long path that required walking in the cold air in a wet bathing suit for an amount of time that raised the bar high for the excellence of the river pools. As I said, more pools are being built, which should add just what Mt. Princeton Hot Springs needs.<br /><br />Cottonwood Hot Springs, in Buena Vista<br /><br />Cottonwood is one of the oldest and most famous of the springs spas. The motel is old. Reviews of the motel are mixed but mostly somewhat negative. We decided to stay there one night to see whether we would go back again. We...might go back again. The room was ok, not great. It wasn't really dirty, but it seemed old. The walls of the motel were thin. Because we were there off season, there was no one in the rooms next to us. I thought it was nice that the management set us up that way. So we had a nice quiet relaxing stay. There are cabins available, which we will certainly choose if we go during a busy time.<br /><br />Cottonwood has an interesting history. The part I liked is about the rabbits. The current owners seem to be a pair of sisters who have been there since the 1980s. When they first moved there, they attempted to breed rabbits for food. Not only were they psychologically unable to kill the rabbits, but the rabbits went forth and began mixing with wild rabbits, resulting in some legal trouble. Introducing a new species into the wild is not considered a friendly idea. So they built a cage (rabbit jail) which is still there but apparently was ineffective. Supposedly there are a lot of rabbits around. We didn't see any, but the rooms have stuffed toy rabbits, which I thought were a cute idea but which can be construed as dust-gatherers. <br /><br />The pools are right outside the motel. There is a very cold one not used much outside of summer, a luke-warm one that is nice for kids and for relaxing and cooling off after the hotter pools. There are 2 hot pools, one a little hotter than the other. We found the pools to be quite comfortable. They are nice and clean and in a lovely setting. There is enough room for having a quiet soak or visiting with other bathers. <br /><br />Cottonwood has an array of spa services, such as massage. They don't have bathrobes in the rooms, though!<br /><br />Wiesbaden Hot Springs, in Ouray<br /><br />Wiesbaden is a spa, with a spa atmosphere, though it is in the heart of Ouray, if a mountain town can be said to have a heart. Ouray is in a valley among tall rocky mountains (see photo at the top of this post), so most everything is in the city. There are mostly farms or more mountains on the way into and out of Ouray. Although we didn't stay at Wiesbaden, the rooms are probably nice. And, they seem to have bathrobes. Or maybe just the spa has the robes. Anyway, I saw robes, which makes it an upscale spa in my mind. <br /><br />There are 2 pools: one outside that is hot but not too hot, and very comfortable. It's rectangular and seems like a small swimming pool, with a seat around the perimeter. Inside is the vapor cave. It's a real cave. First you go through a door into the cave, which has all rock walls and has water flowing down one side. The ceiling is very high so it doesn't feel small at all. Then, you go through another door into the pool area. It's very dark in there. My glasses fogged up immediately, so I couldn't see anything. The pool takes up most of this room. It's very hot and steamy. One guest felt a little closed in, but we didn't. On the day we were there, someone had stopped the cold water hose or something, and the pool was very very hot. We couldn't stay in the pool more than a very few minutes at a time. We didn't realize that it was hotter than usual until later when we overheard someone talking about it. It was too hot, actually. I guess it's usually about 110 degrees. Should be very nice for those who like it hot.<br /><br />Ouray Hot Springs Pool in, of course, Ouray<br /><br />For our last soak, we decided we should go to the huge Ouray municipal pool, where my husband remembers soaking as a child. We didn't expect much from this very large and very public pool, but then we also figured it would have to be good to continue attracting people for so many years. The dressing room was very large, with lots of hooks and lots of private dressing areas with curtains. It was heated, which was especially nice for changing back into dry clothes after the soak. The pool had 3 large areas...not just large but huge. Each was at least the size of 2 Olympic-sized pools. The first was warm and had many children in it. The hotter pool was very comfortable. Not too hot but hot enough to heat you quickly on a cold day. In the hot pool, we found some inflow grates, where we could feel the hottest water coming in. It was nice to put our tired achy legs near this influx of hot water for a while, but the whole pool was hot enough to enjoy in any spot. The third pool was cold. I did not enjoy dipping into it, as I just don't enjoy dipping into cold water no matter how hot I am; but many people did.<br /><br />We were pleasantly surprised by the Ouray public pools. There was a lifeguard on duty, fully dressed including a coat, and carrying a hook and a ring life-preserver on a rope. These guard are good to have around but probably rarely need to get wet. The ambiance was pleasant, with some tourist visitors but obviously a lot of local people enjoying a Friday-night soak.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-33335846297127363062009-09-30T00:29:00.000-05:002010-03-06T00:43:56.893-06:00Downsizing - House Selling - The Curb-Appeal StageWith some advice from realtors, I decided what had to be done to fix up the house for selling. I didn't want to spend a cent more than would be necessary to get the house sold! But, I got some good advice and did a little more than I originally expected to do. <div><br /></div><div>Indoor paint, 2 shades. A light tan on the walls and a contrasting white on the trim. An extra wall in the kitchen needed to retexturized and painted. Outside, I had some rotting wood replaced. Didn't think I would do this, but it was near the front door and affected "curb appeal." It looks much better done! I decided to have the brand new deck sealed, even though people said I didn't need to bother. The deck looks so nice, and I don't want it to start weathering before I even sell the house. New carpeting, cheap but new. Hired a cleaning crew, even though the house was mostly clean. I didn't want to do it! Also hired a guy to wash the windows. I was on vacation the day he was there; and my Realtor took care of the admin details. She reported that he had a bad attitude. The windows look better but not great. Their age shows.</div><div><br /></div><div>The house looks great! The fixes are mostly cosmetic, but the curb appeal is definitely there!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-35050689080288999242009-09-21T20:11:00.003-05:002010-01-30T17:43:47.671-06:00Francis Goes Home to Houston<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfe0vcGkspgcZQgxWCfJGVwGSnMTUF3vNsD8oJX1cuVdzT4CsOF6JBi5IUWQ3dbi3GdofoYFYWCLGKNaAFdLZ1c5l75NGzwy8UQlqy2oYHqSOb7V8aZzeahZfdzF70L12J9A5HM52jBc/s1600-h/P1010038.JPG"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEfe0vcGkspgcZQgxWCfJGVwGSnMTUF3vNsD8oJX1cuVdzT4CsOF6JBi5IUWQ3dbi3GdofoYFYWCLGKNaAFdLZ1c5l75NGzwy8UQlqy2oYHqSOb7V8aZzeahZfdzF70L12J9A5HM52jBc/s320/P1010038.JPG" border="0" alt="" style="clear:both;float:left; margin:0px 10px 10px 0;" /></a><br />Francis is leaving tomorrow to go back to his home with my daughter. He has been such a sweet little fellow! His little face looks out from wherever he is, with bright eyes. When he first came here, the dog was away, and I was happy to have a little furry business. Francis had been upset at his home by the death of his cage-mate, Cyrus. Then the arrival of Jekyll the cat had frightened him quite a bit. He had been hiding most of the time. Francis was a comfort to me, and I think my attentions helped him to forget his troubles. He became very responsive, coming to his cage door whenever I go near, coming out of the cage and following my hand to wherever I would tap on the table. Sometimes, I would take him to the couch while I watched TV. I would put him on a big towel, and he would run around on the towel, hiding among the folds. Then he would lick my hand for a while. How tiny a tongue is there that likes/licks people? This might be the tiniest! I will miss Francis!<div style="clear:both; text-align:LEFT"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" alt="Posted by Picasa" style="border: 0px none ; padding: 0px; background: transparent none repeat scroll 0% 50%; -moz-background-clip: initial; -moz-background-origin: initial; -moz-background-inline-policy: initial;" align="middle" border="0" /></a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-12735565696202354982009-09-19T18:58:00.002-05:002009-09-19T20:06:15.491-05:00Reducing AnxietyHa! There's an interesting title for a blog post. There are books written about that. I am sure there is no succinct answer to the anxiety problem. More likely, there are as many solutions as there are anxieties.<br /><br />Today I am making a small step in minimizing my anxiety. I'm having a quiet day, mostly at my computer. I am downsizing my unread Google Reader subscriptions by reading some of them. Listening to some music on YouTube. Sending some friendly emails. I took the dog on two walks, one in the morning and one in the evening. I am not trying to get anything important done. It's a day of rest, meditation, and relaxation. <br /><br />Often on the weekends, I have seen other people in my family taking the day off for relaxing, napping, listening to music, watching movies, or reading. Most often, I do these activities for short times but after or before some sort of chore or endeavor. Typically while others would nap or watch TV, I would prepare food and/or clean the kitchen, research something online, work on some volunteer work I had committed to, or 'work' on just about anything else on my ever-long list of things to do.<br /><br />Not that I am always working and never relaxing. Not at all. I spend a lot of time not getting important things done. I get a lot of unimportant things done. I have a nice amount of social activity during my weeks, and I watch some TV and movies and other Netflix things.<br /><br />But it is rare for me to give a whole day to relaxation. <br /><br />I am enjoying it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-41128601455400784012009-09-08T18:00:00.000-05:002009-09-17T21:54:50.834-05:00The Dog is Back!Well, so much for downsizing the dog. She was depressed in El Paso without her grassy yard and her other comforts. El Paso has very little grass and it has sticky burs, which is the reason I think she didn't like it there. So when Husband A brought the truck, he brought the dog, too. <br /><br />So now I have Pi and Francis to keep me company. And now I have dog-walking every day or every other day and rat cage cleaning every few days and attention to pay to the two animals. <br /><br />Not a simplified situation, but I love the animals!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-61607692113144088212009-09-07T21:26:00.002-05:002009-09-19T22:27:11.957-05:00Car Go Round Results in Downsizing a CarDaughter E has been in Chicago with no car for 2 years. This was wonderful, but it got tiresome for her, and I don't blame her for starting to want a car. She wanted to move to a different apartment, one where she would be able to invite people over without having her bed and exercise elliptical machine taking up the space where chairs might normally fit in the living room. But to find a place like this near enough to the El would have been an astronomical rent. So she was wishing for a car.<br /><br />Husband A had more than 120,000 miles on his 2002 Toyota Prius and was impressed with new technology available in the new Prius. So, he came up with a plan. He would buy a new Prius, and we would give the old one to Daughter E. <br /><br />This plan was very fun and exciting. But there was a hitch. The way new cars are sold, usually you pick one on the lot and take it home. But with the new Prius, there weren't many or any on the lots. So, Husband A had to order a car. The dealers received lists of cars that were headed to their dealership from Toyota on the 10th and 20th of every month. That meant that we wouldn't know when Husband A's car would be available.<br /><br />Daughter E visited us for several weeks in August but had plans to leave to drive her new car back to Chicago on the 20th. Meanwhile, Husband A had my truck with him in El Paso. So he planned to drive it back to me when he was able to pick up his new car. We would be one car short as of August 20th. Upon hearing about the situation, my dear friend Carla offered to lend her old truck to me. They weren't using it much, so they were glad to have it off their driveway for a while. I was so touched I agreed. It would save me the cost of a rental car! After E left on the 20th, we learned on that no white Prius would be available for us on from the list the dealer received from Toyota on the 20th, so we would have to wait. The good news was that the salesman thought he might be able to trade cars among some dealers to get one for us before the 10th of September.<br /><br />The truck was 10 years old. It was big, a full-sized truck. I drive a small truck. I was uncomfortable about the possibility of breaking something or having something go wrong on my watch, so I limited my driving. I missed a few things, but it wasn't too bad. I did go where I needed to go. I didn't want to change the radio, so I listened to the UT NPR station all the time in the truck. This turned out to be a bonus; I heard lots of good shows and music!<br /><br />Finally, Husband A's car arrived and he drove my truck home and we returned the big old truck. So now we all have vehicles. The new car is great! Shiny shiny and drives great. It has a camera in the back so you can look at the screen and see what's behind you when you're backing up. All fun! I'm glad to have my truck back.<br /><br />Did we downsize a car? Yes. Did we add a car? Yes. I guess we came out even but ahead.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-1682208726179389072009-09-02T20:39:00.002-05:002010-03-06T00:28:45.955-06:00Opportunity to Downsize...A House!The tenant is out. The house is empty. It's kind of bittersweet to have it back. I guess once the tenant started failing to pay and I began thinking of needing to get him out; I started looking forward to getting control of the house again. But I don't want to be attached to it; there's nothing in that for me.<br /><br />I have decided to sell the house, for the following reasons:<br />1) I am tired of the hassles of landlording. I am somewhat disillusioned because although I thought I was providing a service and helping people, I realized that the basis of my interest was really financial and I was unwilling to provide much charity...just a little.<br />2) Because of the $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers, the size and price of home I have is selling well.<br />3) The house is getting old, and old things should be disposed of before they start breaking down (things, not people((I hope))).<br /><br />So I am starting to think about selling. There is a lot to think about. It's not like trying to decide whether to keep a bell or not! There are several places/ways to sell a bell, but not nearly as many decisions as there are involving the best way to sell a house.<br /><br />Which realtor, what kind of service to expect from the realtor and with that what kind of commission to be willing to pay. What repairs to do, how much to pay, who to do the work. Do the cracks in the wall mean anything needs to be done?<br /><br />Do I fix things or just get estimates and suggest the buyer choose their own paint and carpet colors? Do I get carpet that I won't have to pay for until the house sells? Or will they charge extra for that privilege.<br /><br />I have to get prices on everything. <br /><br />Meanwhile the high-school kid across the street wants to charge $25/week to mow the small lawn. And the worst part of that is that there is a small mower in the shed, but I don't have the kind of strength it takes to start it!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-77544286801266790042009-08-24T22:49:00.003-05:002009-09-15T22:58:29.434-05:00Oops, I Added a Pet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxmTs0Ekz04vo-1jc9Hv-baj6cR78TwtDuOLvk1G0X8iwujqhWBzDka35jNi-F6zAY4veflLLn5LAPFffYtn8q5vpHZf1yaLEyQfxz1x-OKojk7uM-G3bPHHVAYAkjfakRptJcjsKATs/s1600-h/Francis+visits+summer+09.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJxmTs0Ekz04vo-1jc9Hv-baj6cR78TwtDuOLvk1G0X8iwujqhWBzDka35jNi-F6zAY4veflLLn5LAPFffYtn8q5vpHZf1yaLEyQfxz1x-OKojk7uM-G3bPHHVAYAkjfakRptJcjsKATs/s320/Francis+visits+summer+09.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5381909664285205970" /></a><br />Francis the pet rat is here to keep me company! And I am here to keep him company! Francis is recently bereaved of his cage-buddy, Cyrus. Rats are very social animals. They rarely sleep alone when caged together; <span style="font-style:italic;">rat</span>her, they make a rat pile. Francis was also suffering insult added to this injury, in that cat Jekyll has recently adopted Francis' person, my daughter. Francis was terrorized and depressed, and I was going to be the only moving part to my house for a while, so it was only natural for my daughter to bring Francis to me for some rest and rejuvenation.<br /><br />I have Francis all set up on the table near my computer...but not attached to my computer. I don't want him running and chewing and peeing and picking up things on my desk; that would indeed be too distracting. He has his own table to spread out on when I am home and I open the cage for him. He has several boxes to play in, with little portals he can go through. He seems to enjoy my company, sitting still for petting and coming out from wherever he is hiding, when I visit him.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-12048529481254921542009-08-15T11:38:00.000-05:002009-09-06T07:57:44.862-05:00Down Dog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4I38DA9tuHZR9gg1uYfu2lYO54xFvof-guh-VQzdQYDMAF84rdOjT4ZK1Mu-J6cKBfN5WMTNM3IS5wM70p1jlNOw20j_bh0ThJ72XpSKfu8S8UHDXw-H04VIc8uwoaxhzZysaE0TitU4/s1600-h/Pi+face.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4I38DA9tuHZR9gg1uYfu2lYO54xFvof-guh-VQzdQYDMAF84rdOjT4ZK1Mu-J6cKBfN5WMTNM3IS5wM70p1jlNOw20j_bh0ThJ72XpSKfu8S8UHDXw-H04VIc8uwoaxhzZysaE0TitU4/s320/Pi+face.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5372476071301345970" /></a><br />Now I have downsized my dog. Supposedly, I am busy downsizing my collection of things; and I should be able to say here that I have such a momentum going of getting rid of so many things that the dog got swept out in the whirlwind. But that's not how it is. I have been so very slow about getting rid of anything, it's more like I owe some downsizing and so it falls to the dog. It's not really like that, either. <br /><br />Husband is working out of town in El Paso and has an apartment out there. We get 2 weekends together each month, out there or at home. We decided it would be nice for my husband to have the dog out there with him. She dotes on him, crowding in to lick his feet every chance she gets. She'll lick his feet for hours. I shove my feet in her face and all I get is maybe one small lick if I'm lucky and/or have been walking in gravy.<br /><br />So, daughter and I drove out there to visit and brought the dog and left her there. The dog gets a nice walk up the mountain every morning and gets to be with my husband all day at work in his office. What she doesn't get is her doggie door that opens onto our lawn...and me. I talk to her on the video phone each evening. She lifts her ears and cocks her head to each side trying to find the source of my voice. I think the worst for her is that there is very little grass in El Paso, particularly around the apartment complex and where they usually walk. My husband isn't sure that his coworkers really like having to greet the dog when she comes to jump on them every time they enter his office, but that, of course, is what this friendly dog likes the best! We're trying it out for a while.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4794982413210116775.post-61323748992059563672009-08-12T18:12:00.005-05:002009-08-12T18:25:51.771-05:00Distraction: Interim Before the Next ProjectThe carpet cleaning did get finished, with everything put away. A few choice items that were taking up space unnecessarily, eg, on the shelf that I did remove from the end of the couch, ended up in the garage for downsizing, and a few places got dusted. Everything looked great for my daughter's vacation. She is here from the big city Chicago for a few weeks. I am overjoyed about having her here! <br /><br />I always have downsizing on my mind, but I have a kind of stretchy mind, and right now downsizing is far toward the edge, kind of in a pooched-out place. I am taking a vacation and enjoying visits from both my daughters.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0