Month: August 2019

Time flies. It’s been a couple of weeks since my last post so I thought I’d better get with it and publish some updates.

702 Main

The Iowa retirement house purchase moved ahead with the appraisal accepted by the bank. Right now we are looking at homeowners insurance, which must be in place by time of closing. (We’ll pay the insurance premium as opposed to having an escrow account that pays it.) Pam is also filling out paperwork for the local Elma Co-op (our source for LP gas), internet options, and establishing electrical service in our name. Contact was made with the “bat boys” to get us on their list for remediation work. A handy man has been secured to help put up a catio and assist in installing fencing for a dog run. We are in the process of opening new checking and savings accounts at the local bank — the same one handling the mortgage.

At home

And the packing continues. The house stereo is packed along with several more household items.

Pam is doing some painting, both in the house and on the south side of the garage where the paint has faded. The new paint looks good!

I did some work on the back deck, adding some wire to replace the wood slats I had removed earlier in the year. Pam thinks the wire, and painting that went along with the install, looks much more modern than the old picket fence arrangement.

The Lot

I rented a U-Haul trailer and moved the Ford 8N tractor up to The Lot. I hope to use the 8N to move the chipper around The Lot – but – it also moves the tractor off our yard and will be one less item to have to transport to Iowa.

Other activity included bringing home the last logs from the Aspen Grove, transport of a load of burn pit wood, and filling two bins of chips for landscaping use around the house (on the parking pads where the Scout, Honda, and tractor used to sit).  I managed to fell a few dead trees and cut some brush on the area I call the Grassy Ridge. This work is slow-going due to the steepness of the terrain. Lots of breaks taken as I worked this area!

Truck maintenance

The F-150 truck had been making an engine noise for a few months. I thought it was the alternator that was replaced a while back; nope, with the help of a neighbor the noise was traced to a faulty idler wheel that keeps tension on the belt that runs the power steering, alternator, and air conditioning compressor. New parts are on order. There are four idlers in total in the system so I ordered replacements for all four.

Given the relocation and trailer-pulling demands that will be put on the truck in the coming few months, and the fact that it has over 195,000 miles on it, I thought it best to replace all the idlers (three wheels and a tensioner) rather than risk a breakdown somewhere along the way (like Nebraska or South Dakota). The belt itself was replaced along with the alternator so I didn’t think it was necessary to order a new one.  Cost was not excessive, less than $65.00, and it will take an hour or two for me to install the new components. That will be one of my tasks this weekend.

Moving On

It is hard to believe September is nearly here. We close on the 16th, which means it will soon be time for the first trip to Iowa. There will be closing and delivering the first load of “stuff” to the house and getting started on projects there. I have vacation time approved from mid-September going into October; in three weeks, we hope to move Pam, the house pets, garage cats, and the bulk of our belongings to Iowa. After those trips are completed and I return solo to Colorado, I shut down The Lot for the winter around the first week of October. Busy, busy, busy….

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

As I keep multiple balls in the air, both at home and in Iowa, let’s hope my aging brain is up to the relocation task. It certainly is a Type A project of the highest order.

Happy Trails.

There is news on a couple of fronts from last week. Here are a few items.

House Purchase

The appraisal for 702 Main in Elma, Iowa came in and just squeaked by. The bank is satisfied with the appraisal and our offer, and will finish our loan application shortly. We did have to send in updated documentation in the way of my last couple pay stubs but just for background; we has sent stubs earlier and these new ones are just a current update. It looks more and more like the retirement house acquisition will go through and we are now planning on closing September 16th.

Stuff gone

This past week “downsizing” efforts, to decrease the amount of stuff to be moved, took on new life. Our 2001 Honda was donated to Colorado Public Radio — they came and hauled Old Bessie Lou away. The car had 412,000 miles (plus!) on the odometer; we have been commuting in it since 2004. That Honda Accord has been our most reliable car ever. (Close second was the Toyota Tercel we drove back in the 90s.)

I sold my 1976 Scout II that I had owned since 2002; it went to a neighbor. While I will miss it, the cost of moving and lack of storage on the Iowa end pretty much made the decision to sell somewhat obvious.

With more downsizing needing to be done, moving along two vehicles was a good start.

Around the house

Pam continues to pack stuff, and has started working in the garage. That will be a challenge as there are numerous boxes and shelves to go through. Pam ordered colored dots to mark boxes. In the photo below the dots are shown, along with a list of rooms and colors assigned to them. (OCD?…or “CDO” in their correct alphabetical order.)

I was able to get the load of firewood (brought home from The Lot) cut and stacked along the driveway. Our friend Kathy will be by to pick up the wood later this month.

This load had some larger than normal trees in it and Kathy may need to split some of the bigger pieces. By the way, the steel item holding up the left end of the pile is the grill guard for the Oliver OC-3.

The week ahead

Packing will continue, along with sorting and getting rid of stuff. One big packing chore will be the two stereo systems I have, one in the house and the other in the garage. Packing a 10-inch reel-to-reel deck is a real challenge, but there are two turntables that will need special attention.

We have mede up a list of “stuff to fix” before we can list the house, and those projects , primarily concerning the two decks and some painting, will need to be undertaken soon.

And so…

Life goes on with the normal attention to cats, dogs, yard work, vehicle maintenance, and now actively preparing to move. We’re quite busy!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

Additional tasks at hand: finding an insurance agent in Iowa (mortgage insurance), locating appliances we need (gas dryer, refrigerator) at Iowa stores, contacting the Elma clerk to establish utility and garbage service at closing, signing up for LP [propane] delivery, transferring vet records to an Iowa animal hospital, firming a date for bat mitigation. I’ve already scheduled a handyman for a few days the week after closing to assist Fields in building animal enclosures.

Some items need to be ordered/purchased: washing machine (it appears the model we prefer will need to be purchased in CO and transported in the box), replacement slipcovers, bath rugs, small microwave, additional flat screen TV, heavier two-wheel moving dolly. I’m sure that list will grow in the next month.

One topic of discussion – what to do with the super-king water bed this move. It is huge and heavy. Can parts of it be recycled???

Happy Trails.

There are several projects going on; here is an update on the major events of this past two weeks.

House Purchase

We are in a waiting period. The property appraisal has not come back to the bank yet so we are waiting on the bank to finish our mortgage loan application. We did hear that the current mortgage rate has fallen to 3.125 percent and may drop a bit more if the Federal Reserve makes another cut later this year.

Sorting and winnowing projects keep moving along. Pam has removed much of our wall art and packed everything in boxes with ample amounts of bubble pack, particularly for the odd-shaped stuff that does not fit into boxes very well. There is still much to go through.

The Lot

The weekend of August 3rd I made a trip to The Lot to bring home a load of firewood and another load of ‘burn pit’ wood. I was able to fire up the chipper and process two piles of brush, one on Birdhouse Ridge and the other in the corner of the Aspen Grove. Except for some firewood left over after the trailer was full, this finishes the major work in the Aspen Grove for this year. (I need to spread the chips generated this trip and bring home the last of the firewood, both relatively small projects.)

Next up, and started this trip, is to work on the upper end of the Grassy Ridge. While not as thickly covered with dead and fallen trees as the Aspen Grove, the terrain is steeper and trees and brush need to be carried further as access for wheeled vehicles gets more limited. The work will be slow going.

Each time I go to The Lot I take some chipmunk food, generally odds and ends of bread products. This time I had some cherries from our cherry tree.

The chipmunks are fun to watch, and this time of year they are stocking up for the winter on seeds from various grasses and so are very active. I did not see how they reacted to the cherries but bet they had a fun time eating the fruit I spread out for them.

This summer has been wetter than normal and the pine trees are producing a bumper crop of pine cones.

This weekend Pam and I did a short overnighter to The Lot. Pam had only been to The Lot one other time this year; plans were to do only a few light chores — to bring back a bin of wood chips to use around the house and to clean up a bit of the Grassy Ridge. These two items were accomplished, along with a bit of driveway clean-up, between light rain showers.

The weekend marked our 45th wedding anniversary on August 10th.

This week it is back to work during the day for me, and beginning to cut firewood and pack the garage in the evenings. Plenty to get done!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

I would say 45 years of marriage is a very, very long time.

Happy Trails.

Here is an update on the home buying process.

Elma House

As I write this we and the sellers have come to an agreement on price and a closing date. (September 16th.) Now we are waiting for the bank to finish processing our loan application. Part of the process includes getting an appraisal done on the property, ordered by the bank, and that seems to be moving along OK. We were lucky to get on the appraiser’s list quickly. The appraiser had a couple of other properties to appraise in the area and 702 Main will be included as part of that group instead of ending up on the bottom of a “To Do” list. The bank will let us know how the appraisal went and the status of our loan application once they get the results.

Around Home

At home Pam is packing stuff and planning trip schedules and what goes where when. It is quite likely that I will make the trip back for closing solo while Pam stays with the animals in De Beque. I will take a trailer full of non-essential stuff, such as the John Deere lawn tractor, my motorcycles, and other bulky and large items that can be stored in the garage for the time being. (I also have to take some tools.) While I am in Elma I need to get a dog run built, if only temporarily, and get the appliances we need (washer, dryer, refrigerator) installed. The bat remediation people will have to be there to do their thing, and we hope to hire a local handyman to get started on the other projects that need to be done before we move more stuff.

In particular, Pam wants the utility shed (which is about 4 x 8 feet) set up as a place for the outside cats to use. This involves building a cat patio , or catio, on the side of the shed. The cats would be able to go into and out of the shed at will but not be free to roam a strange neighborhood.

We hope the appraisal goes OK and the house will qualify for the loan amount we are asking for. The Fed just dropped interest rates and we hope to lock in a historically low rate which would help the retirement budget. Much needs to be done at both locations before the move happens but we are moving forward!

Colorado

I-70 west of Glenwood Springs, where I work, is built through a canyon. Last Friday a heavy rain caused mud slides that closed both the east and west bound lanes of traffic.

I didn’t know if I was going to get home from work Friday evening. However, the State Patrol gave the Sheriff’s Office permission to take a convoy of 5 cars through the mud-impacted area. Those of us in the Sheriff’s Office who had to go west to get home ended up in two of our transport vans (10 people each) and three private vehicles, all 4-door and all full of people. I rode with our HR Manager who lives further west than I do, along with two other people in the car.

I arrived home at around 9:30 PM, about 3.5 hours later than normal. The east bound lanes were opened by Saturday afternoon but the west bound lanes (only one) did not open until Sunday morning. Pam and I made a trip to Glenwood later in the weekend to retrieve the Honda which I had left in the parking lot at work.

This kind of messed up the weekend plans. The Honda needs an oil and filter change and was not at home, and going to The Lot was questionable because I didn’t know if the return trip would be possible. So it was on to Plan B which involved doing some work on the motorcycle (replacing a broken speedometer cable and burned out dash light bulb) and getting some yard work done. The Sunday trip to Glenwood included stops at Tractor Supply Company to get pet food, and I stopped at Wally World to get a few items. We also decided to treat ourselves to an ice cream goodie at Culver’s, a pretty special stop for us given my Type-2 diabetes.

Speaking of Motorcycles…

The quiet weekend gave me time to work on a new Gallery using photos and video taken at our Owner’s Association motorcycle rally held in Durango earlier in July. For any who might be interested, take a look at my Durango 2019 gallery. There is a link to a video clip at the bottom of the page as well.

A few more photos of the Magnolia Mill were added to my Wheeler Lake gallery as well.

Conclusion

Anticipation — mixed with a little dread — about the Elma house purchase, work on projects and maintenance items, a bit of an ice cream treat, road closures…it was quite the week!

We will continue to work on sorting and packing and getting rid of “stuff” we no longer need or want. Life goes on. I have projects to do at work and will begin to move more duties to my assistant who will take over my spot once I retire. Stay tuned for more updates as things happen.

Pam’s Penny

Some of the stuff departing the house this week was in a pile of shredded documents from the two-drawer file – past taxes, bills and notes from years past. O-u-t.

Even though I have been packing and sorting and throwing “stuff” out since April, there still seems to be a bunch of items to go through. Next up – the garage.

Happy Trails.