Wow. It has been a very quiet week for us. Here is a rundown on various items I’ve mentioned in previous posts.
Colds: Both of us are recovering (fewer coughs) but our energy levels are not yet back to 100 percent. After nearly 3 weeks of this, you would think we would be over it but we don’t recover as fast as we did 20 or 30 years ago.
Cats: One of the cats we had taken to the shelter, Fonzie, had to be euthanized as he was diagnosed with having feline leukemia, a fatal disease for cats and contagious. While not a “favorite cat” and just an occasional visitor to the feeding station, it was still sad to have his life end like that. The other cat, Cloudy Day, had a dental and is on a medical treatment plan for a urinary infection. She is not adapting well at the shelter, so is scheduled to return to us when her meds are completed. So much for that cat roundup.
Weather: We have had a few warm days (low 60s yesterday) but are looking at receiving 1 – 3 inches of snow by tomorrow (Sunday) morning. Wind has also been an issue with gusts hitting 40+ mph. On the other hand, a few tulips are beginning to show growth so Spring can’t be that far off.
House hunt: We are tentatively planning a trip to the Midwest in May. We want to check out some territories Pam has identified as potential retirement areas as well as visit family and friends. Pam is currently surveying Iowa along the Mississippi River, and found a house at 500 NW 1st Street Elkader, IA,
Brick house in Elkader, Iowa (Realtor photo.)
Another interesting town is Dyersville, Iowa, home to Ertl toys and the baseball field used in the movie “Field of Dreams.” Although somewhat out of our current price range, we both liked the property at 604 9th Avenue SW in Dyersville. The house hunt continues — southern Michigan is also on the current radar.
Work: I received a 3 percent pay increase and, while that does not sound like much, it was the maximum allowed by our County Commissioners (who control the County budget). At least it’s something; Pam is moving to part-time hours so we’ll have to see how the budgets work out under that arrangement. I finished the final tweaks on our intranet web page, a 70 hour project that turned out well and with which I am quite pleased. I am now configuring a new “ticket” system that will handle Help Desk requests as well as purchasing requests for the organization. It is a big project.
Speaking of projects: I am “older than dirt” it seems. A local lumber yard used to have a spring sale every year. Pam called them to find out when this year’s sale was scheduled, only to find it had been replaced by “Senior Tuesdays,” where I would qualify for a discount due to my age. Chagrin at being a senior citizen is offset by the savings but that doesn’t seem like an equitable trade-off. However, yard projects await, so I’ll take the 10%.
That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!
Pam’s Two Cents Worth:
I’m looking forward to Spring, this year in particular, as I’m interested to see how the 100 tulips I planted in the “Mary Lynn Memorial Garden” will bloom. We always experience two Springs, one here on the high desert and then another in the high country when we open up Sanderling for the season.
Hey [Tabitha’s mother] Deb, wanna weigh in on what it’s like to live in Iowa? Property taxes seem a bit high (a common thread in the Midwest). Politics seem a bit “red state” (another common thread in the Midwest, sadly…Fields and I are definitely “purple state” material).
Happy Trails.
What can I say about Iowa. Now that I am older the winters are colder! We had lots of 0° days and below 0° nights this year. Property taxes are about location. We do not pay over $500 a year where we live. We are definitely a red state. Maybe we can turn you red? But there are lots of things to see and do without traveling too far. So to sum it up it is home and the best state to live in. I sure hope you can find your dream retirement house. Almost all the Midwest states are similar so it will come down to where you can find that special house and land for retirement. My daffodils already have buds on them. You will have to post a picture of all your tulips in bloom.
Thanks for replying, Deb! Fields is a Liberal Arts major and I’m an English major, so we tend to see “things” in shades of gray and not black and white. While we are becoming more conservative as we age, I don’t foresee that we would ever be “red” in political terms. We do, however, live in red-neck ranch country out here in western Colorado so have learned to adapt. Your property taxes seem extremely low – are you in a rural area with a special tax overlay? I think our strategy would be to be able to afford to leave the Midwest during January-February-March so as to miss the frigid wind chill and “gray ice/snow” period I remember so well from my youth. One of Iowa’s strengths is that the terrain around the Mississippi reminds me of my childhood in the LaCrosse area. And there is no doubt in my mind the Grandma House I seem to be looking for is of Midwest design.
That would make me “even older than dirt”! Oh well, some days I feel that way…
From a personal perspective, I’d prefer Elkader to Dyersville (location rather than housing). Dyersville is a bit too flat whereas Elkader has the river, small bluffs, and roads cut through limestone hills.
The Dyersville house does have limestone building materials, hardwood floors, and what looks to be a converted barn (loft and large garage space), plus a nice back yard.
Elkader’s more of an interesting quaint small town — old opera house, etc. It also has several grocery stores and a small hospital, unusual for such a small town.
I’m thinking the Dyersville house will sell fairly quickly, as it’s near a larger city. Elkader will probably be on the market a bit longer, and may come down in price closer to local averages…
So, one trip in May, and not in July then?
Felicity decided to fly to Madison in early May to visit a high school friend, so we looked at the calendar and decided to try to get in-an-out before “skeeter season” and rendezvous with her in southern Wisconsin. Toby is close enough, so will swing over to South Bend and into lower Michigan as well. That way we’ll see both kiddos. Probably finish the time driving up to LaCrosse and then down the Iowa side of the Mississippi on the way home to Colorado. Appears we will not be going far enough north for me to see your lake house, but maybe we can do Friday fish the Friday before Mother’s Day weekend in the LaCrosse area, if you are back from Florida.(?) No we will not be back in July. Fields has a local motorcycle group trip that conflicts.
Just a Three/four week trip== Should be back middle of April–Let us know–we Will be there