A 4th birthday celebration

and it wasn’t mine.  Well, I did have one, eons and eons ago, but I digress.  Trevor, Bill’s grandson, turned 4 on the 16th and his party was Sunday.  We traveled to Minot, about 1 1/2 hours north, to his grandma’s house, which just happens to be across the street from his house.  There were grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles, hanburgers and hotdogs, chips, salads, soda, wine and of course, CAKE AND ICE CREAM!  Everyone had a good time and he got lots of fun stuff and a few clothes (not much fun when you’re 4, but necessary).  His dad, Scott, got him a set of golf clubs and he has a pretty good swing.  We enjoyed seeing him and look forward to the next time he comes to stay overnight.

Can you tell that there was REALLLLY blue frosting?

Not much sewing getting done since I’ve been on vacation, then dogsitting.  Tomorrow I’m going home and I’m gonna sew, no matter what else needs to be done, like laundry, cleaning, ironing and sew on.

On another note, there was a showing on my condo Saturday evening.  The report I received today was that all the comments were positive.  They liked the improvements I had made and thought it showed very well.  the “lookers” are trying to decide between my condo and something new.  Keep your fingers crossed, please.

Thanks for stopping by…

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Anticipation to Trepidation

This is my second post today but I need to get this off my chest.  I have posted several times about my desire to retire in the fall.  As of today, my countdown clock says I have 186 days until I work my last shift.  I listed my condo last fall and it remains on the market today, with only one offer in December and it was laughable.  I have lowered the price $10,000 and still no one is looking.  I have taken new photos and had them posted on the real estate website.  Still…nothing.  I have had the realtor rewrite the description on the website in order to highlight some of the remodeling and updates that have been done.  Nothing! I cannot afford to give the place away; nor can I afford to retire if it isn’t sold.  What a dilemma.

I was counting down the days with anticipation, excited as I got closer and closer to 8 months, then 7, finally 6 as of tomorrow.  Now that I’m down to six months, I look at the number of days till retirement and dread seeing the number get smaller and smaller.  There’s no excitement or anticipation, just dread as I look ahead and see an economy that’s in the toilet, people losing their homes to foreclosure everywhere, the unemployment numbers rising and few if any people buying property.

Being a firefighter is a young person’s job; I will be 60 in 3 1/2 months.  This is a very physically demanding job.  There are issues here that are on hold because I will be leaving soon and there’s no sense stirring the pot.  However, I know that if I don’t leave, these issues will have to be dealt with and I probably won’t like the outcome.  I know it is time for me to move on.  I know the days will continue to dwindle.  I know spring will come, followed by summer (yeah) and then fall.  I know I will eventually retire, maybe not 6 months, maybe not 8 but sooner or later, I will sell my property and I will say goodbye to the fire department.  What causes me fear and anxiety is the uncertainty of when.  How much longer will I have to stay because I can’t afford to leave?

I know there is someone out there that will buy my condo so I’m putting it out to the Universe to bring them to me.

Thanks for stopping by…

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I hab a code, yuck!

I hate being sick.  Thankfully, I’m a very healthy person normally.  I would make a really bad chronically ill one.  I have been fighting this darn cold for a couple of weeks and thought I had it beat.  We went to visit Ella last weekend and she was a little under the weather…gunky eyes and a runny nose.  Guess I stopped taking the echinacea and extra vitamin C too soon.  Anyway, at least Bill and I are both infected at the same time.  I’m just glad that I have four days off to get better.

We are going into Boston this afternoon to see the play Dirty Dancing. Then we will stop somewhere for dinner on the way home.  Since we are both really stuffed up we probably don’t have to spend much money on food since we can’t taste much.

Yesterday I spent most of the day working on replacing the fridge in the condo in FL.  The renters didn’t have a working freezer.  Just my luck;  if it’s not one thing,  it’s another.  I was able to work with a wonderful guy named Tom at Lowes in Port Charlotte who found me a reasonably priced one that could be delivered today.  What a lifesaver.  It’s really difficult to deal with property located somewhere else, even though I have a wonderful management agency.   Then I met with the real estate people here and lowered the price on my condo, down $10,000 from October and will probably have to go lower.  Why do I do everything at the wrong time?  Buy high, sell low…that’s my motto.  Nothing like trying to sell property in the worst economy in 40 or 50 years.  That is why I’m destined to never have any money.  I can’t retire in October if I don’t get this place sold.  It was a very stressful day yesterday and depressing, too.  The box of nonpareils in the freezer did not make it through the day unopened.  *sigh*

The joke at work is…at least you have your health.  So no matter what the bad news is, that’s our reply.  It makes us smile and for the most part it’s true.  Now to get rid of this cold.

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Someone comes looking

The real estate representative called yesterday to advise me that they were going to show my condo today around 3:30. Well, I hurried home from work this morning and did my best to make the place very inviting. I put things away (in closets, drawers, under beds, in the attic) and did a little seasonal decorating. I will never find some of the things I “hid” even though I put everything exactly where I would be able to locate it later. I’m sure when I actually find something I’m looking for I’ll have to ask “why did I put it here?” Anyway, when I left I felt really good about how it looked. I actually like having everything put away although it doesn’t make it very easy to live here when I have to get everything out if I want to use it. It won’t last long this way but it sure looks nice. I didn’t really have to clean, I just had to unclutter.

I was told that the realtor would call me and let me know what the client had to say. I’m nervous on the one hand and excited on the other. What will be, will be…

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