Wordless Wednesday

 

#(*&#*!$^#

It's after 7 p.m. here and the buyer's realtor has yet to respond to my realtor's request for a response on whether the conditions on the house sale can be lifted. As you can tell by the title, I'm not happy.

Let me back up a bit. As of Friday, I had done everything I needed to do, and they had arranged for and received the information on the house inspection. Our/their last hurdle was financing. Sunday evening I had a call from my realtor saying he'd heard from Josh (the other realtor), and an offer had come in for their property.

Woohoo, that means the financing should be a slam dunk! They wanted to know if I would agree to a change of the possession date to October 1st, rather the the 16th. I said no, because that would only give us a short window to find a place and arrange the move. As my realtor said, he didn't think that would affect the offer they were getting, they'd simply need to counter with the date. They did, and by the time I headed for bed, we'd heard they had a conditional offer in place.

But the morning brought the news that their buyers were unable to get a mortgage. As my realtor said, "how does a realtor sign an offer on Sunday night and then Monday find out his client has no money?" 

The deadline for lifting the conditions remained the same, that is today. So, at this point they are in breach of contract, and the offer they gave me is void. I can walk away now, or sit on it and hope they get another offer soon. They do have a nice property and there has been some good interest but.... 

In the meantime, we visited three more properties this evening. The first was alright, it's an older home that has been fairly well maintained. The electrical panel would need to be updated, there is no flooring or insulation in the basement - though it is a good solid basement - and, something I've never seen before, the eavestrough are drained into a pipe in the basement. On the other hand, the house is elevated and the likelihood of water is the basement is low. However, it has a huge yard and is a corner lot. More than C wants to take on.

The second property was a dud. We looked at it because it would have been a short walk to C's work, and has had a number of price drops. We found out why - the basement is a mess, the upstairs has serious structural issues, and that's as far as we went.

The third property is a contender. While it has no basement - it's built on a crawl space, it is a decent size, the kitchen was updated in the last 20 years or so, and there are three bedrooms. There are also two bathrooms, though the second one is simply a two piece tucked into the laundry room. It appears they moved the laundry to a stackable pair to put in the sink and toilet. It's a wee bit odd, and would be something C could have returned to the former layout. The bedrooms are a good size, though someone tried to be creative with the paint colors. Out back is a single garage that needs shingles on one side - it's clear there was an issue at some time because the plywood has been replaced. It needs eavestroughs too. For storage, there is a large new shed that was built not long ago. With a window and proper door, it reminds me of your bunky, Patsy. I think it is smaller though.

Again the yard is a bit bigger, but it wouldn't take much to remove what grass (and weeds) currently exist and have it xeriscaped. It does back onto a commercial building, so the chain link fence needs to be changed out for a better privacy fence. What really captured C, was the neighbour's homes are well maintained, it's in area of the city he likes, and there is a Tim Horton's within walking distance. :)

He's going to think about it overnight, and I have a feeling we'll have the realtor look into a valuation for the property, as we think it is slightly overpriced. I won't be surprised if we aren't into an offer by this time tomorrow night. Unlike the buyers for this property, we have a realtor who knows how to do things right.

Still waiting

Last Sunday, I took a drive out to my brother's acreage to drop off some camping gear. It's been in my car's trunk since early July! I stopped for a tea on the verandah and a visit. The little gnome from Wednesday was a gift they picked up for me on their trip to Iceland. R said he picked this one because of its knitted cap. Isn't he adorable? Iceland is on my bucket list and someday I'll get there...maybe I'll remember to tuck this little guy in my bag so he can visit too.

Monday was fairly quiet though I did have the appliance repair tech out to fix the refridgerator. It had begun leaking water into the bottom mount freezer and making some strange noises. With my recent string of bad luck, I was afraid I'd be buying a new fridge, but thankfully, it turned out to be an easy fix. The drain line had gotten plugged and frozen up. I'm not sure how that leads to water getting into the freezer but it did, and once the line was cleaned out and thawed out as well as the interior of the freezer, all is good. He used a small steamer, so everything was dealt with quickly, and the frozen food stayed frozen. It wasn't terribly expensive, but I did chuckle because the majority of the expense related to the service call. I would likely call around for a better price, if it were to happen again. I just remembered my brother had this same company out to fix the fridge at his son's home not long ago.

Tuesday, things were a little more exciting. I ran out to do some errands and when I got home there was a text from the realtor. The home inspection would not get done in time to meet Wednesday's deadline. However, the buyer's property is finally on the market (I think it is over-priced), and it seemed financing was not going to be an issue. I told the realtor, I was prepared to grant a short extension...perhaps the other realtor ought not to have gone camping this past weekend, and ensured their ducks were in a row. 

There were several text messages between the two realtors, one of which read: "to be honest for doing the home inspection as a formality we know that house is you see what you get so we're just really working on the other things but we will get you the extension and a couple hours I'm just driving right now." My realtor and I had a bit of a chuckle, over the lack of punctuation. This was in response to his text: "What's up? Seller is getting upset with the situation and lack of communication. She's considering not granting an extension at this point." 

Well, they did eventually get the paperwork to me, I signed it, and now we wait until Monday. The inspection was scheduled for Friday from 9-12. I am not looking forward to being out of the house that long with the cat, but at least the weather will be on the cooler side so I won't need to be running the a/c in the car. 

I got some housework done, and then pacing the floor decided to run out and drop the recycling off before hitting up Value Village to see what bargains I could find. I found a rubbermaid tote like the ones I use for cat litter, three pretty t-shirts, and a set of two shelves and brackets. All for $17 - I did well. 

My son made the call to a mortgage broker and made plans discuss the application with him on Wednesday as well. He attempted to complete the form on his phone but ran into issues, so we sat together after dinner and got it done. 

It rained on Tuesday morning, and I woke to more rain on Wednesday as well. It's nice to see, as I won't need to water the containers or the new lawn. But, the lawn certainly needed mowing when the sun returned.

I spent Thursday cleaning and tidying the house, and doing a bit of yard-work. It wasn't really necessary for the inspector, but I do know that the buyers will be here for a conversation with him so wanted the house to look good. Then, I got a text from the realtor - another realtor had been hounding him to let her clients see the house, and "may be willing to put in a back-up offer". I agreed to a showing at 5:30 p.m. They arrived late and were in and out in less than 25 minutes so I anticipate there will be no back-up offer. 

The house inspection was carried out on Friday morning. I left the house shortly before 9 a.m. and was able to return at 12:30. My son, C, has been having some second thoughts about the property that we viewed so we had made arrangements to see two additional properties on Saturday. However, I've had to reschedule, as our cousin Morley passed away this week and my brother and I are driving out to the funeral in a small town about 90 minutes away. 

Before I head out, I need to water the containers and do some deadheading. It's a bit cool out there at the moment, just 10C (50F), but we're expecting a high of 27C (81F) later in the day. I realized this morning, that it is nearly the end of August and we've yet to have an overnight frost. That's pretty unusual for us. Though we may not get a killing frost, we almost always have a chilly night or two. 

Since I've no photos from this week to share, I'll add this one that showed up in my memories from 5 years ago. He was character then, and still is!

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday funny

 

Or maybe, that's just me. :)

Wordless Wednesday

 

Waiting

Wednesday's photo was courtesy of my brother R. He used a scope and his cellphone to capture the photo of the hummingbird. I've never had any luck attracting them to this yard, while he has several that visit the feeder he has set up on the verandah.

Things slowed down some after the excitement of Wednesday. However, the refridgerater decided to add to it, developing a leak that was pooling in the bottom freezer. I called an appliance repair company, and they won't be able to come out until Monday (originally Tuesday but I got a call moving up the appointment. I really don't want to have to replace the fridge, but if it cannot be repaired I will have too. As I said to my realtor, mo' money, mo' money.  

I ran out to pick up a few groceries on Thursday, mostly the basics, eggs, bread, and some veg. But, I also needed Drano, because the damned kitchen sink started draining slowly. That fixed it, so no need for a repairman for that issue. 

The afternoon was spend outdoors or in the garage. I deadheaded flowers, watered containers and picked tomatoes. It sounds goofy, but I was happy to empty a couple of bags of yard waste into my new green bin. The pick-up won't happen until the week of Sept. 4, but I still have lots of room in the bin. The dirtiest job was washing down the garage floor - I'd swept it out, but oh my, the dirt that clings to it. I used the push broom to move most of the dirty water out of the garage and onto the driveway. Since the garage door was open, I took the opportunity to sit in the shade off the patio and read for awhile. I needed the break!

On Friday morning, I texted the realtor to ask about the house inspection. He tried to contact the other realtor, but heard nothing back from him. We also discovered that the couple had yet to list their property on MLS. 

I only spent a short time outside, watering the back lawn. Housework took precedence until mid-morning, when I was cleaning out the fridge and realized I had a container of blueberries that needed to be used up. I didn't have enough for a pie, and didn't to make muffins, so I looked up a recipe for a galette. It isn't the prettiest piece of pastry but oh my, does it taste good!

Saturday, we met the realtor at one of three properties we/I chose to view. The first one was the one C liked the best from the photos on the realtor website. It's a smaller house, but as he says he doesn't need anything very big. The main floor measures about 900 square feet and has two bedrooms, bathroom, kitchen/dining area, and living room. Off the front door is a lovely deck that has room for a couple of chairs and a table. The basement has been developed with a rec room, two additional bedrooms, a bathroom, and also contains large utility room with the laundry set, furnace, a/c and water heater. The back yard has been xeriscaped and contains a decent sized cement patio, as well as a single car garage. What impressed me, C less so, was the amount of storage in the house. It seemed that there closets and cupboards in nearly every room. Again, something he doesn't need, but this was clearly a family of five living in the home so it is currently being well used. There is some work that can be done, mostly cosmetic, though the windows will need replacing in a few years. We did learn that the shingles are being replaced next week and that would have been an issue that we would have raised in any event.

The second property looked good in the photos, but was a huge disappointment. It was clear that the renovations on the interior had been done by a do-it-yourself-er and not a handy one at that. As the realtor said, "just because you can drive to Rona, doesn't mean you should." The basement looked dangerous with cut-outs in the joists to hold pipes and other boards. A two story, we didn't even make it upstairs to see the bedroom spaces.

The final house was just listed this week. Photos looked pretty good, and the first impression on entering was decent. Though an older house, built in 1945, it had 9 foot ceilings on the main floor. The kitchen had been updated at some point with orange oak cabinets, and the main bathroom had also been updated. But the basement again, was less appealing. There was an unregulated one bedroom suite in the basement, a diy'er bathroom, and a laundry/furnace room that obviously had water issues. Both a fan and a de-humidifier were running while we were there. Again, we didn't bother to look at the garage and back yard. 

The realtor still hasn't heard back from the other realtor, but we know that conditions must be lifted by Wednesday. He assumes they are holding off as they are waiting for confirmation on the financing as they want to port their mortgage to this property. He thinks they'll have an answer by Monday. I can understand that, why pay several hundred dollars for a house inspection if the financing doesn't come through. 

So for the meantime, C won't be making an offer on the first house we viewed, at least until Thursday. While he can afford to go ahead, I want to be in a position to move as well. The dominoes just need to fall in order. Though it's a bit worrying, not knowing what is going on, I'm not in panic mode at this point. Ask me again on Wednesday. :p

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday funny

 

No more showings!

The showings continued throughout the weekend and into the week. By Tuesday evening we'd had 14 showings plus the open house. The open house saw twenty groups come through in about 90 minutes. There was a mix of people and comments. One woman complained that the main floor has a step up from the foyer and two into the kitchen/hall. "Why would they do that?" she asked. Two of the couples who went through had conditional offers on their properties - we hoped that one or both might return when the sale conditions were lifted. 

One of the more interesting visitors was the fellow who originally had the house built in 1987. Rick let the realtor know that he wasn't buying but was curious to see the changes made since he sold it in 1992. The sunroom and deck were new to him (they were installed by the previous owner in about 2009). He was pleased to see the work that has been done recently and was impressed on how well-maintained the house had been kept. 

However, the best potential buyer was a police officer and his wife. They currently live in a much larger (and newer) home in a neighbourhood not far from here. He is getting close to retirement and would like to downsize and, in his words, "be mortgage free". The realtor and he spoke at length and texted one another on Monday as well. They came back for a showing on Tuesday evening, or I'm almost certain they did. The realtor showing the house is the one he mentioned to my realtor on Saturday. I didn't see him, but I'm pretty sure it was his wife that was driving the grey truck that did a u-turn at the end of the block.

Tuesday was a stupidly busy day for showings. Initially, we had two booked, 2:15 and 6:45 p.m. Then a 4:30 got added and the 6:45 got postponed until Wednesday. I was happy because I was planning to grill burgers and watch Blue Jays baseball. Ha! Two more requests came in for showings at 4 and 5 p.m. Finally, another request for a showing at 6:30. We left the house just around 2, came home just before 3, and then left again about 3:50 p.m. We were able to come home briefly around 5:40, but were out of the house again at 6:20. I say we, because my son was home ill from work; while he takes his own vehicle, Saku (the cat) rides with me. I pulled into the driveway at 7 and found the realtor and her clients were just finishing up. Ooops! I apologized and hustled Saku into the house. 

If my math is right, Saku and I were in the car for over three hours. He's happiest when he isn't in the carrier and can wander as he pleases. If he's bored, he'll pester me for treats or sit on my lap and look out the window. But mostly, he tends to curl up, either in the back seat or the passenger seat and naps. Meanwhile I've been either knitting or reading to pass the time. I've finished one book so far, and are well into a second. The knitting hasn't been as productive.

Wednesday morning was quiet until just after 10 a.m., when the realtor called to ask some questions about a possible offer. It wasn't the police officer, but rather a family who were our 4 p.m. Tuesday showing. They have a property they are in the process of listing; it isn't on the market as yet. The realtor and I talked about it and because I don't have another property purchased as yet, we agreed that as long as the offer was reasonable, I'd proceed. I received the offer just after 1 p.m., while I was at stitch and chat. I reviewed the documents with him, and we countered only to limit the time to sell their property from Sept 30 to Sept 15. That gives them a full month, and since possession date is Oct 16, had we gone later, I'd have been packing like a mad woman those last two weeks. We can always give them an extension if they receive an offer within a few of days of the deadline. 

I'm not worried, nor is the realtor. Occasionally I go with my gut, and I have a good feeling about all this. The buyers loved all the things that others who viewed the property did not; the back yard, the sun room, the little shed, and the basement space. The inspection needs to be carried out by Aug. 23, which just happens to be my Dad's birthday. Sometimes, I feel that my parents still have a hand in what happens in my life. When we bought the house for D & Eli, the house was built in 1910 - Dad's birth year, and the front garden was planted with lilies - my mom's favorite flowers. 

I'm looking forward to a bit of time to simply relax and enjoy my back yard. Best of all, though, is knowing I don't have to keep the place spotless. I can leave out my knitting or my book, or even dirty dishes in the sink. 

Wordless Wednesday

 

A short'ish update

No offers yet, though we've had six showings over two days. Another showing is scheduled for noon and the open house will be held from 2-4 p.m. today. I questioned the showing for noon - could they not wait until the open house? My realtor responded that they want to check it out without the crowds. I presume this means he's expecting a busy open house.

We did get some feedback and some of it made me laugh, but there was some good stuff too:

"Buyers didn't care for the layout. And the kitchen was a bit dark with the sun room on there." 

That evening, I had the black-out curtains in the sun room closed because it was a warm afternoon, and I was trying to keep the sun room from being too hot. The sun room does block direct sunlight...but opening the curtains would have brought in some. 

"They liked the house but it's a bit tight for them. Shows very well."

This made me chuckle, as the size is disclosed on the website, but it also made me wonder how big their family would be. It was nice to hear the house shows well.

"My clients quite like the location but felt there would be too many changes they'd want/need to make to have it feel like their own."

My guess - they don't like the new flooring or the paint colour, or maybe the fact I don't have granite counter tops in the kitchen and bathroom. This is likely a couple who want a brand new house but aren't willing to pay the price it would require. 

"Very cute home that had been very well taken care of. I don't think this is quite what he is looking for but agreed better than other options he has seen. Nothing against the house just not quite the right location."

Another nice compliment, but again I have to chuckle because the location is clear. Maybe he'll change his mind on the location if the remaining properties don't come up to his standards.

It is somewhat frustrating, having people visit with no real motivation to purchase based on the size of the home or the location. Of course, having said that, C and I will be heading out this afternoon to look at a couple of houses that we don't think we'd actually want him to purchase. These are open houses however, not showings. The point of the visits, is to allow him to see what is available in his price range, and provide properties he can compare to the one he eventually buys. (No buying until I sell mine.)

The question has been asked, where will I live when the house sells? The plan goes something like this: C will purchase a property that has space for me. One we're most interested in has a developed basement with a living space, bedroom and bath, along with the laundry/storage/furnace room. I would live with him in that space and later he could have a roommate.  Then I'll help my daughter D find a larger place in her  community, with similar space for me. Once she's moved out, we'll list her house for sale. My goal is live part-time with both of them, for about 8 months of the year, and spend the other 4 months travelling. I'll do that as long as I'm physically able. I do know, at this point, I don't intend on purchasing another home of my own. 

I'm off to deadhead the plants, and clean up some debris in the yard from the wind. Have a great weekend everyone! 

Friday Funny

 

And we're off

I had forgotten how tiring prepping and maintaining a house for sale truly is. Monday was a very busy day, as I spent much of the day cleaning and hiding things away. I won't go into a litany of all that was accomplished, just a couple of highlights.

My bedroom was vacuumed and I pulled out the new bedding I'd purchased a year or so ago. (I figure the new stuff will have less cat hair than the current bedding). 

I went downstairs and tidied up the craft room, packing away some material and patterns. I found a box that will fit some of my larger pieces of wall art and photos so I started packing those too. The containers and boxes are neatly stacked and I hope the potential buyers can envision their own use for this room; an office, a playroom for the kids, or even a home theater. 

By early evening, I was exhausted so I picked up Burger King for dinner. Once fed and watered, I went out to water the back lawn, and did some dead-heading as well. Bedtime came early, and I was happy to fall into a freshly made bed.

Tuesday started bright and early, though much less busy. I started the laundry, had my chat with D, and ran out to get a few groceries. Once home, I got those unpacked and put away and had the laundry nearly complete when the realtor arrived at 11 a.m. We did a quick tour of the house; he had looked over the photos from 2019 before he arrived so I highlighted the changes that have been made since then.

We sat out in the sun room for nearly an hour and discussed current comparable listings, as well as properties that have sold in the last 6 months or so. There are currently only 12 properties that have the front facing two-car garage and are similar or larger in size than mine. I nearly fainted when I saw some of the asking prices - well, beyond what I would have thought. We settled on a list price above what I would have thought, and lower than his suggestion. I'm hopeful this will bring in more potential buyers. When he left, he asked me to send him a list of the work that had been accomplished since 2020 and an estimate of the costs. His final comment to me was, "don't do anything else, everything is perfect." 

I spent the afternoon responding to his texts and e-mails, reviewing the documents I signed on Wednesday, and finding potential properties for my son on the real estate website. We'd found one he really liked but once my realtor had looked into it, it was a no go. The property has been on the market for 1800 days (that's right, not 96 as the current listing suggests) - it's been on the market since 2019! The property has a concrete block basement, so our best guess is the basement is crumbling and the house would have to be raised and a new basement poured. No thank you!  I've since found six or eight properties that might fit the bill and we'll see the first one on Saturday at their open house, as our open house is also scheduled that day.

Tuesday was also an exciting day for Eli, but not in a good way. He's had a sore in his mouth for a couple of weeks. D had taken him to the dentist in their town, but Eli was having none of it, so they ended up at the ER where antibiotics were prescribed. The doctor didn't think it was an abscess. However, the antibiotics didn't clear it up and by Monday, he was a very sad little boy. She found a dentist in the next town over (the one in her town advised they would not see Eli again), and by mid-afternoon he was minus one tooth and the abscess was drained. They gave him nitrous oxide to keep him calm, though he did need to be held during the procedure. I spoke with her after they arrived home - Eli was in the background and as happy as could be, while D sounded worn out. 

Wednesday, I was up early again, and back at the cleaning. While my son is pretty good about keeping his room tidy, he never makes his bed.Since the photographer was expected later in the morning, that was first on my list. I also got the floors washed throughout the basement. 

Meanwhile, it was pouring rain! We need it, but my realtor wasn't as happy. He said he might hold off on the exterior photos until the next day.  However when he and the photographer arrived at 11 a.m. to take the photos for the listing, they decided to go ahead. 

I headed off to stitch and chat after lunch, and got the e-mail to sign the final paperwork - it's all done digitally now. Shortly after I arrived home, I got an e-mail with the photos. I'm happy with all of them, with the exception of the garage photos with my very dirty car. You can tell what I've been neglecting! I responded to the realtor and said, I ought to have moved the car out of the garage for the photos. Oh well, I doubt those photos will make or break a sale. (As it turned out, he agreed and those photos aren't part of the listing).

The realtor contacted me late this morning to let me know the listing was live for the realtors, and would be available later in the day for the public. You can see it here. Less than 90 minutes later, he let me know there were two requests for showings today. As he said, "hot start!"

So rather than wait until Saturday to post this, I'll do so now. I hope to be back then with good news! Wish me luck.

Wordless Wednesday

 

The heat is on

The photo on Wednesday was, indeed, the remains of the tree stump that the landscaper left behind. He wasn't able to get the stump grinder into the back yard, and I guess they decided not to try to chop it out. After the weeks it took to get their work finished, I wasn't about to argue about it.

My friend K had called on Saturday to catch up, and I mentioned I was going to go out to the farm and get an axe from my brother to deal with the tree stump myself. On Monday morning, she called and asked whether I'd be home that afternoon and a couple hours later, she and her partner J arrived with a shovel, an axe, and a sledge hammer.  Before they arrived, I had moved the gravel out of the way and dug out some of the dirt around the stump. J got right at it with the axe while K and I retired to the deck (and out of the way of flying wood chips). He stopped briefly to take a break, and then went back at it; after chopping out most of it, he used the sledge hammer, and voila, it was as you saw it in the photo. I told J he's my hero!

When that bit of work finished, we went indoors to cool off in the a/c, it was about 32C/90F and I know J especially needed to cool down. We visited for awhile before they left. I'm so appreciative of my good friends. I know it would have taken a lot more effort on my part to get that stump out, had I even been able to swing the axe properly.

The heat has returned this week, so Tuesday morning I was out early to clean up the wood chips, to fill the hole - I used the soil from the planter I had harvested the onions from, and rake the rocks back in place.

This photo likely doesn't look any different than it did in an early photo, but just behind the left side of the arch is where the tree stump was causing me much annoyance. 

The weed spray seems to be working too, as I'm finding less each day. (And yes, the lawn needs mowing again.) I'm back to watering twice a day, as there are spots that are dying back, so I've spread some seed on those areas. I'm not sure why I'm so concerned, as the last sold listing in my neighbourhood that my agent sent me photos of showed a dead lawn both front and back. 

Later that morning, I took a run out to Costco. I wanted to pick up two things, a container of Mr. Clean and some smart plugs. I got both, plus a case Friskies wet cat food, and Eli's Christmas gift. Unfortunately, the smart plugs don't work with the 5G internet connection I have so I'll need to return them to the store. I did wonder at how inexpensive they were on clearance and discovered at home, they work with a 2.4 gigahertz something or other connection. This time, I'll go to the return desk and avoid the rest of the store. 

From there I did a quick trip to Dollarama to pick up a some garden stakes - my tomatoes are falling over as the fruit grows, even with the tomato cages, and I needed some burner liners for the stove. Walmart was next and it was a very quick in and out of the store. About a week ago, I'd found Ben's Original Smoky Flavour Rice and Red beans on sale. We hadn't tried before so I bought a package; we had it with grilled Cajun seasoned pork chops and it was a hit with both of us. I discovered the store had low stock, but managed to find three packages for the pantry. It's so quick and easy, it can be microwaved or heated up on the stove (about 5 minutes) with two tablespoons of water. I use the latter method, as I think it adds a bit more texture to the rice. My son adds hot sauce and is a happy boy. 

I'm aware I could make something similar - though I suspect without the smoky flavour - but at the moment it's nice to have something that doesn't heat up the house while I'm outside using the grill. 

Wednesday morning, I spent a lot of time on Ancestry. I'd had a message from a young woman from the States asking questions about her great-grandfather as he appears in my mother's family tree. I went through the information I had and was able to share the connection - her 4XGGrandfather was the brother of my 3XGGrandfather. Her great-grandfather was born in Ontario, moved to Alberta in the early 1900's with his family, and then made the move to Washington State when he was just 19. He married and had three sons. 

This brought more questions, as she was curious about her grandfather Tom. I had some information I was able to share and the plot thickened. Tom married in 1955, had two children with his wife, but by 1958 she had filed a suit for divorce (due to cruelty). Sadly, she passed away in August of that year as a result of injuries sustained in a car accident. It took a bit of poking around in Newspapers.com but I discovered that their two daughters were apparently adopted by their mother's parents as both girls used their mother's maiden name when they married in the mid-70's. (I had their maternal grandfather's name from their parent's wedding documentation) 

Tom had left Washington at this point, and it appears he lived for some time in California, then later moved to Nevada. I had found a possibility that he may have married again, and my correspondent confirmed he did indeed re-marry to her grandmother. Armed with that information, I was able to confirm that marriage was again short-lived, from 1962 to 1966, and three children were born of this union, one daughter and two sons. He married once more in 1987, and passed away in 1997.

S told me, that her mother and uncles did not know their father and she was hoping to find more information. I pointed out that he had served in the U.S. army in the Korean war and perhaps the Veterans Affairs department might be able to provide more information. Her inquiries piqued my interest and I started looking at the other two brothers. Although I'd been able to find a fair amount of information about Tom, these two are far more enigmatic. I love a good mystery so made a note to return to this branch to do some more research another day.

Wednesday afternoon was stitch and chat, with just B and I in attendance. I do enjoy these one on one opportunities as we learn more about our lives. She mentioned living in a small town outside of Saskatoon when she was a young girl. Well, my oldest brother's first wife was from the same community - did she know her? It turns out she was a couple of years younger than my former SIL, but knew the family. It definitely is a small world. 

Thursday heated up quickly (34C/93F) by mid-afternoon. The next door neighbour was having their roof re-shingled that morning, and the noise was annoying. To get away from it briefly, I headed out to the thrift stores. D had mentioned that Eli was short of sweat pants. I found a couple of pair at Value Village and another pair at the Salvation Army store. I also scored another large plastic tote at the SA store. All in all, a good bit of thrift shopping. Better still, by the time I arrived home, the crew were cleaning up after themselves. With four guys on the roof, they made short work of the job.

On Friday morning, after my call with my daughter, I spent my time outdoors. The lawn was mowed, I spread some soil in the dying patches, added grass seed and gave it all a good watering. I quite enjoyed the watering time, with a good book and a cup of tea. Next up was trimming the edges of the lawn, deadheading the containers and cleaning up debris on the deck (from the flowers and the evergreen). After lunch I went out front and did the same, including sweeping the driveway. By the time I finished there was about a half large garbage bag full. The city is rolling out compost bins in the next few weeks and I'm planning to fill it up!

Today started off cool, at about 14C(57F), but it should reach 30C(86F) later today. I've been lazy this morning, in fact I'm finishing this post as I relax in bed....and it's after 8 a.m.! I did get up earlier to feed the cat and make a cup of tea. I'll head out soon to water again this morning, and my other big goal for the day is to go through the house and put things away. Like the toaster that sits out on the kitchen counter, the cat treats that can go back into the cupboard, the books and crocheting/knitting projects that are stacked on end tables, and the pile of items I've gathered up for D.....the list goes on. All of those things need to find hidey-holes to ensure the house looks uncluttered (it isn't really) and impersonal so that home buyers can imagine themselves living here. At least that's what the television programs tell me. I have to laugh, because the house I purchased before this one, had a tenant living in it. When we went for the first viewing, the small living room was crowded with oversized furniture, the laundry room had a pile of dirty clothing about 3 feet high, and the kitchen sink was piled with dirty dishes. I could see past all that stuff, and by the time the home inspection was carried out, everything was cleared out.

Anyway, rant over (at least for now - we'll see how the upcoming week goes). It's time to go out and enjoy a cup of tea on the deck while the water bill goes up. 

Perhaps I'll have more visitors to the bird bath to watch. There were two robins yesterday - they reminded me that it needed filling.

Have a great week ahead everyone!

Friday Funny

 

Wordless Wednesday