Extra Special Times This Year

I have been blessed to have some very special times this year, surrounded by very stressful ones such as: being away from Kathy for months, managing multiple repairs and repair companies working on our house, and otherwise getting ready to sell it, packing up last possessions we had left at our house and shipping them to Maine, and otherwise preparing to make yet another long distance move, this time to Maine.  One was staying with my Dad for five weeks while our house in San Diego was being worked on.  I originally intended to live in our house while the repairs were being made, but all of the repair people convinced me that noise and smells and general disruption would not be pleasant, and they could all get their work done quicker if the house was empty.  Dad offered up his empty second bedroom, and so I stayed with him instead, and it worked out great.  

Right off the bat, he introduced me to one of his favorite steak places, which was a great way to start my visit.  It turned out he had several good places to get a steak.  Oh, there was the Chinese restaurant he liked, too, which was also very good.  It's been a long, long time since we spent any time together.  I still haven't figured out though, why I, a very infrequent beer drinker, spring for the better ones, while Dad, who can't have a dinner without a beer, sticks to Budweiser.  One of life's little mysteries.

I learned Dad's routine, reading the newspaper every morning (I picked up this habit from him early in life, actually, and despite the instant news updates available online, I still like to read a newspaper every day.  I hadn't been able to for the last year and a half, and really missed it.), repairing Village residents watches, driving other residents of the Village to their doctor or hair appointments, and the airport.  I even made some money when he accidentally double-booked and recruited me to drive.  I ate lunch with him and his friends at the dining hall several times, which was nice.  I went with him several times to his friends apartment for their afternoon cocktail.  He loves watching old movies and the occasional newer one (Shawshank Redemption, for example), war movies, Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy, and wildlife shows (he's been doing that all my life, no doubt a primary reason why I love nature. Thank God it wasn't baseball season:  Dad is a huge baseball fan, while I would almost rather watch paint dry. :-/  I remember him religiously watching games every Saturday when I was young, with Peewee Reese and Dizzy Dean calling the plays, and the Hamms Beer bear commercials/cartons.).  Another official village duty he has is feeding the koi at Lake George, as they call the little pond at the Village.  We also talked about issues around the Village.  It worked out great.  

The other wonderful opportunity that came my way was spending eight weeks living with Kelli and Jared and Henry.  How cool is that, living with your only granchild, being there every morning when he wakes up!  I was right there, so easy to take him to the library, on walks around town, to the Waterville Y Bouncy House, and other places, besides playing trains and reading to him, whenever he or I wanted!  We also roamed the MCI campus where they live, playing in the grass, looking for squirrels, watching for bugs, and looking and listening for birds (Caw caw!).  I'm not sure Jared and Kelli would describe it as wonderful, having to share their three bedroom apartment with another adult, but I had fun, and ready whenever they needed to go to a meeting, or a movie, or just out to dinner by themselves.  To live with my grandson, for weeks, how many of us get to enjoy that much time with our grandchildren?  It was an opportunity not to be missed, and I am forever grateful for the opportunity.

I've actually been lucky more than once since Henry was born.  Being out of work had its benefits:  even when we all lived in San Diego, I could come down on a moments notice to watch him, read to him, play with him, or take him the the zoo, which he always loved.

Yesterday was Faith and Brady's 10th wedding anniversary:  congratulations to them!  It's nearly impossible to believe it's been ten years since they were married.  They have both achieved much success in that time, and have much to look forward in the years to come.  We are very proud of them.  Keep up the good work you two.

Out of the Rain Forest, Still Living Rural

Four months since my last post is too long, especially considering all that has changed in our lives.  Here is a quick update:

We sold our house in San Diego, very successfully, thanks to our Realtor.  We sold it for $32k more than his initial estimate, and $52k more than the average home sold for in our zip code in the same month.  Wow, talk about exceeding expectations!

On April 24th, Kathy packed up the few remaining items still with her in Alaska, including the dogs, took a three hour ferry to Ketchikan, spent the night, then caught an Alaska Marine Highway ferry the next evening, and spent 36 hours sailing to Bellingham WA.  She then drove to Sea-Tac Airport, where Brady had arrived that morning, picked him up, and they drove across the US, ending in Boston.  They drove 3,051 miles in five days, without incident, not counting the one speeding ticket.

I took a bus from Augusta with Jared, and we met Kathy and Brady at the very cool, pet-friendly Liberty Hotel in Boston.  Jared was there on business.  The next day, we said goodbye to Brady, then stayed on for the weekend, to celebrate our getting back together after three looooong months, her birthday, and our 37th anniversary, phew!  We had a great time in Boston.  We even found the church steps where we spent a night, 38 years ago.

Kathy and I then drove to Pittsfield ME, where Henry was very glad to see his Nona!  We stayed the month of May in a bed and breakfast, which was located just steps away from the MCI campus where Jared and Kelli live and work.

Last but not least, we found a place to rent, and moved into a brand new place right on a Big Indian Pond, out in the boonies, but only 25 minutes from Kelli and Jared and Henry.  It's a beautiful place, lots of wood trim inside, fully furnished, too.  We have an amazing view, the birds are singing nearly from dawn to dusk, including loons!  We are still adjusting to rural life, even more rural than our home in Alaska, but with so much more urban amenities within driving distance.

Now, we are searching for jobs, besides enjoying Henry, and Kelli and Jared.  Henry has already stayed overnight with us twice, which is lots of fun.

Chasing Henry

It's been way too long since my last post.  The gap reflects my, and our, increasing unhappiness at living in a very small and remote village, in a rain forest, and the overwhelming distance from Henry, and Kelli and Jared.  Every time we left the island and flew south, it was harder to fly back:  the warmth, the sun, the restaurants, even simply the hussle and bussle of the city, felt normal, and so our very quiet, incredibly scenic, log-house home in Klawock became less and less fun.

So, we set about doing something to correct the situation.  Kathy got really close to getting a great job offer in Maine in November, but it fell through.  That's when we decided to just take the leap, that it is too difficult to get new jobs from 3,000 miles away, so we would just move, and the rest would fall into place.  

Living Room and Entrance

At the same time, with the housing market picking up finally and quickly, and so we decided the time was right to sell our house in San Diego. We contacted a San Diego neighbor who happens to be a Realtor, and boy, did we make the right first step:  he, and his wife, have been tremendously helpful.  I've never sold a house before, but it sure seems to me like they have gone way beyond the normal duties of an agent to help us.  We couldn't be happier with all of the support and help Kerry has provided, every step of the way.  We highly recommend him, whether you are buying or selling:  Electric Car Real Estate Guy

This was Henry's Room, now painted over, sadly.

This coming week is the big week, when we are finally ready to put the house on the market.  Kerry had several suggestions on things we could do to make the house more attractive to potential buyers, so we spent the last three weeks having it painted inside and out, including the kitchen cabinets, and having the carpet in the last four carpeted rooms pulled up, and all of the beautiful hardwood floors refinished.  We also had some landscaping done.  The house has now been nothing short of transformed!  It will go on the market this Friday, and Saturday and Sunday will be the first open house events.  We can hardly wait to see how prospective buyers react.  

Next, move to Maine.  I fly there next Tuesday, and will be staying with Kelli and Jared and Henry for a couple of weeks, re-connecting with my precious grandson, getting my bearings in yet another new place, and looking for a job.  Oh, and looking for a place to rent, too.  I'm hoping to find a solid fixer-upper that we can purchase at a bargain price, and then have it repaired and remodeled to our liking.  I'm still trying to convince Kathy this is a good idea.  

Kathy has remained in Klawock, bringing in the needed paycheck and health insurance, and providing for her clients, while continuing to gain the required hours she needs before she can apply for her license.  She is booked on an April 23rd ferry to Bellingham WA, but I'm going to do everything I can to get her 'released from the Rock' sooner.