Big Five-Oh

Wow, what a picture! I have to finish processing the photos from the camera so there will be more coming.

Our return trip took quite a while. I scoffed [really, I did] when Joni estimated we would be home by 8 o'clock as we drove out of Mendham just before noon. She was right on the mark.

We both have been working this week, so Henry has been with the MA grandparents. Apparently he kicked up a fit when they tried to put him in the car seat yesterday. Eight hours the previous day was enough for a while!

They took him up to Newburyport to Steven's restaurant and then shopped around a bit. Jim and Ellie are heading off to Phoenix this week. I think they are leaving on Thursday.

Not sure what we are doing this weekend.

For house updates, we had no follow ups from the condo open house Sunday. I drafted the rest of the $$ from the Ashland home equity mortgage today and put it into the savings account in anticipation of writing some big checks soon to pay for the closing on the new house in Reading. Our real estate agent called yesterday to let me know I go an insurance package - it was sent to the house in Reading instead of Ashland. He is going to forward it to the closing agent.

One More

Day of work, that is, before we head down to NJ. I was hoping to get the insurance taken care of today for the new house, but work was busy and I did not have time. I just put a reminder on the calendar to call tomorrow.

Not sure what Henry did today. He was with Nanni & Bubbie the last 2 days while Joni works. She flipped her schedule around to work Monday and Tuesday so she did not have to take vacation time this week.

I have some condo chores to do and then packing. I want to get a video of the finished updates to go with the before video. Yesterday I trimmed and painted some wood molding that needs to be installed on the outside of the door. All of the condo doors have a kind of picture frame molding on them and we are not in compliance {oh no!!}. Third chore is the other headlight on the Mitsubishi burned out and needs to be replaced.

Pop, I got the replacement at NAPA and the helpful counter person reminded me not to touch the glass part of the bulb. It is a halogen lamp that can explode if you get oil from your skin on the glass. The extreme heat from the 1 Gigawatt lamp causes the oil to turn to plasma and shatter the glass. Right?

Here are the Henry's:

Phone Phree

As part of our cost-cutting measures I cancelled the phone service at Ashland today. I also changed the coverage plan on Joni's phone to get more minutes and free calls to me, which will avoid the over minute charges we have been incurring. I also dropped the Boston Globe subscription - there is a 3-ft pile of unread Globes in the recycle bin. I also stopped my automatic contribution for my taxable investments and Joni dropped her Ashland gym membership. I still have to stop my gym membership and (here comes the bolt from the heavens...) my contribution to the church. The extra cash flow will be used to help cover the new mortgage and the additional equity loan on Ashland.

Sounds difficult, but I have run the numbers and other than having to eat mac & cheese 2 nights a week (store brand) we will be OK. Once the condo sells, we will be in much better shape.

Not sure what we are doing this weekend. J&H went to the Stoneham Zoo yesterday. The big attraction there are jaguar cubs. Unfortunately I have the camera in my bag so there are no pictures coming from the outing.

Today they called me from the Boston Aquarium. Again, I have the camera, so no pictures coming of this event either.

Saturday is supposed to be nice (birthday weather, Mom?) but rainy on Sunday.

Next week I have to get the house and title insurance for Reading and send a letter to the mortgage brokerage telling them all of the P&S conditions have been met. They also cannot find the stub from the down-payment check that I sent them a few days ago, so I have to send them a copy of that again. They said they wanted a copy of the check, but that has already be deposited in escrow when the P&S was signed.

OK, time for more Henry pictures. Henry's cousin Sarah helping out on the ivories:

Hump Day

Ah, Wednesday and everyone is working today. Henry is with Jim and Ellie all day. His world is changing today as we are securing the toilet lid with a kid-proof lock. I just hope it is not adult-proof too...

We are looking forward to spending time with the rest of the Holts for the 50th anniversary gathering.

Not much else happening. I ordered a copy of True Stories from Overstock.com today. None of the libraries in the local network have a copy. I might be able to get it a Bl*ckbuster, but for only $2.21 more I can have my own copy delivered. I also ordered stamps from The Post Office where you can get this series of motorcycle stamps including this beauty:
And now some more Henry pictures:

The Showing

We had 5 interested parties come to the open house. Two were from the building "looking for someone else". No immediate offers, but in the current market that would be a shock - and it would have made us question our asking price.

During the showing we went to breakfast at Bickfords. Then we went house hunting. We decided to tour some of the high-end open houses. We went to one in Wakefield that was just under $1 million. It was new construction, a block from the big lake on the "good" side. Neither one of us liked it all that much. It was a show piece, not a "livable" house.

The next one we looked at was a $780K, 4000+ sq ft home in North Reading. The owners had built an in-law in front of the existing 2-car under garage. This created a massive garage under the house that could hold about 6 cars. The in-law had 2 bedrooms, an office, laundry/bath area, and an open kitchen, dining, and living room area. I think there was another room too. It connected to the main 4 BR house on the first floor and through the garage/basement rooms. The main house was built in the mid-80's, the in-law was built in 2001. Open kitchen, floor to ceiling windows on the front, deck with above ground pool behind, and a finished basement.

The last one we looked at was a cute 2 BR cape in Reading. It had a lot of new updates and charm. Great house for a single or newly-weds. Only 1 BA, but it was possible to put in a 1/2 BA on the first floor. Single car garage, fenced back yard.

Saturday after we cleaned and arranged the condo in preparation for Sunday's showing, we went to the Salvation Army on Rte 1 in Saugus. Then searched for and found the Building 19 in Burlington. It had an annex with great furniture and carpets. Also surplus hardwood flooring. We cruised around there for a while and Henry made friends with a 5 year old boy named Hugo who showed him how to run around and climb the piles of oriental carpets. Must remember to go back there when we start shoping for furniture and carpets for the new house.

We finished Saturday with take-out pizza from our "new" local Italian restaurant in Reading, Cafe Capri.

Here are some mandatory Henry photos taken a week ago at Martins Pond in North Reading. Joni's photos make a nice action sequence of the littlest 'swinger'.

Open House - Part I?

Here is the link to the open house tomorrow. There are 8 photos on the listing.

Confidence is high after the broker open house that we will get some traffic. There is only one condo that is lower priced in Melrose with an open house tomorrow.

I made a video of the condo before we started the updates. I will make another tomorrow before we leave so we have a "before" and "after" history.

More Gloucester

By popular demand, more pictures from Sunday in Gloucester. I am reading - I mean I am LISTENING to a Linda Greenlaw book on fishing stories. If the name strikes a note in your memory, she was the fishing captain who was the last to speak with the fated crew in "The Perfect Storm". She sailed out of Gloucester during that time and has been working as a lobster fisherman with her father on an island off the coast of Maine. I read her other two books in previous years. I remember seeing her on Book Notes stomping for book about lobster fishing.

Here are a bunch of photos from that day:















The fishing vessels were docked at the Marine Railroad wharf where we parked the car. [Pahked da cah]

A Fool and His Money

In this case, the fool will soon im-part their money to us. I just got a note that our mortgage for the Reading was approved*! (* subject to a couple conditions including that we name our next child "be it male, female, or other Matumbwa Schenectady Champange of Beers Holt"). I think that was our second choice anyway.

Now all we have to do is get the home insurance pre-paid and a binder for the closing, title insurance for the mortgage company, utility transfer notices, measurements for rennovation work, proof of repairs covered by the P&S, and a firm closing date. Oh, and more money.

I just took a look to see if the condo is listed for sale and it is. The MLS listing only had 1 photo, but the listing realtor's page had more. Here is the link. The photos are all washed out. Maybe I should take some better ones.

Today I am dropping off 3 storage bins and the air mattress in Ashland after work.

House Beautiful

We (well, mostly Joni) did a great job cleaning, staging furniture, and de-cluttering the condo over the weekend. Henry spent Saturday with his Nanni, Bubbie, and Sarah. Honestly I cannot recall what they did together all day. After we spent the day cleaning, we called to see how they were doing and got clearance for us to stay out late and go to the movies! We saw Pirates and picked up H around 10:30. Liked the movie.

We got a good unintended laugh at one point in the movie when a sea monster called the Kraken is summoned to attack a ship. I have a surf music CD that has a song called The Kraken that starts with a sound byte from a B-movie where a mad scientist calls out "Let loose the Kraken!" We adopted the phrase and use it when we wake up Henry or turn him loose in the clean house. The Kraken in the movie causes only slightly more damage than Henry can. It breaks an entire ship in half and pulls it underwater.

Friday night I got to Jim's birthday celebration late due to traffic on 128. Everyone was having fun with Henry. Cousin Jake was chasing him around and then being chased. Jake thinks H is the coolest little kid, and with Jake's influence he probably will be. Sarah and Nicole stayed for a sleep-over.

OK, back to House Beautiful. Sunday we worked on cleaning and more de-cluttering. Paul came over at 3:00 and to the photos for the MLS listing. We only had to shift a few things around as he went from room to room. Even he was shocked to see how much we had cleared out and "staged" for viewing. It was like doing a photo documentary for Home and Garden, Southern Living, or House Beautiful. I felt like we should have been dressed up and posed as well. Henry slept through it all, even when we moved him from one bedroom to another during the photo taking.

After all the work, we decided to enjoy a dinner out Sunday. We both felt like having seafood, and since it was still late afternoon we took a scenic drive up to Gloucester. We ate at The Rudder in the Rocky Neck artist colony section. I think M,D,B and I went there when we spent the week at Long Beach a few years ago. We had a table next to the open windows overlooking the outside dining area and the cove.

During the meal we took Henry out to the dock off the outside dining area. He divided his attention between 2 swans swimming in the water and a 2 year old girl who was just as interested in him. We both enjoyed our dinners (fried calamari appetizer, haddock fish & chips for me, baked tilappia for Joni, and a shared hot fudge sundae) and the atmosphere. As usual, Henry got special attention. He had been "talking" with the family at the table on the other side of the window during part of dinner. When they left, the father came back to our table and offered Henry a candy. The hostess fawned over him, and the owner commented on his eyes and gave him packs of oyster crackers.

Today I have a small bookcase, a blue bin, a boxed cookware set, and a gym bag full of work clothes in the car for delivery to Ashland. There will be more bins coming as Joni continues to clear the closets.

I hope we get some action when the post goes up. I would like to have a busy broker showing on Thursday and plenty of follow-up from potential buyers.

Listed

Listed soon, that is. Joni signed the contract for listing the condo with Boardwalk Real Estate. The broker open house is scheduled for next Thursday. That means the first public open house will likely be next Sunday. They should be coming by to pictures next week to get the listing on MLS. I will send out the link when it us up.

This means we will be finishing the arranging and de-cluttering this weekend. I took more blue bins yesterday and a large kitchen stool and the humidifier today down to Ashland.

Tonight we are having Jim's birthday dinner at their house along with Henry and his MA cousins. Sarah, Nicole, and Jake are staying over with Nanni and Bubbie tonight. I think Stephen & Kim are having an adult night out.

I enjoyed the Car Talk CD that I got the other day so much...I got another one. This one is "Best and Second Best of Car Talk." Should be a bit of an uplift after I finish Tuesdays with Maurie.

No Hazards

Joni got the lab report back on the 3 samples of basement ceiling tile (there were 3 types of tiles used in different areas). None of them contain asbestos. They have 90% cellulose and 10% non-fibrous material. I think that is the same ratio as a Butterfinger candy bar.

The second test result was from the dermatologist. It took me 15 minutes to fill out the paperwork, 10 more minutes of waiting, 5 minutes to get undressed and figure out how to unfold and put on the paper Johnny, and 5 minutes for the full exam. No hazards on me, either. In case you are curious, I still contain 43% peanut butter and 57% non-peanut butter material.

The Henry pictures were taken 2 days ago, early in the morning when we were getting ready to leave. I will post more soon. He was with Nanni and Bubbie today.

We are supposed to sign our commitment with Paul to be our listing agent for the condo tonight. I have 2 more blue bins in the car to drop at Ashland tonight. Joni cleared off the book cases and has been working in the closets now. We should be ready for public showing soon.

MINI-me

I hope Diane takes a test drive of a Mini Cooper soon. I spent some time on their website the other day, built my own car, sent Di a MINI e-card, got a good laugh out of the MINI costume (it dresses your old car to look like a MINI so you can feel what it is like to walk out to your own new MINI), and made my own MINI Robot. Note the cupholder on the right side of the lower torso.

I like the look of the convertible with the top down best, but prefer the look of the hardtop to the convertible with the top up. The "S" model does look a bit sportier, but I think the plain coupe is plenty cool.

MINI-on.

Signed

The sellers signed the P&S today. We signed a marked-up copy last night, and 3 more just like it. Someone realized that the sale listing had stated that the fridge, washer, and dryer were included but no one put it into the P&S. We would have to get rid of the fridge, but the washer & dryer are newer and larger than the ones in Ashland. If they want to gift them to us, great. If not, no big loss and we don't have to deal with disposing of the fridge.

Sooo for those here on the north heat coast, I mean east coast, it cracked the 100 degree mark. I think a lot of people are staying home today. The Rte 128 commute was pretty mild this morning. When I went outside at lunch time there were a lot of empty spots in the parking lot and the traffic seemed light.

I have an appointment with a dermatologist tomorrow. They called to confirm and to say that the referral from my doc had not come yet. I called his office and left a msg on their referral line. Hopefully they will send it over before the appointment. They said they will not see me without the referral.

I finished the Car Talk "Why You Should Never Listen to Your Father About Cars" CD yesterday. Great stories!! The one about the daughter who 'melted' the Citation was hilarious. And the one about the father who keeps the mileage book was a little too real. I bought a special book just for tracking mileage and repairs after I got the Mazda. I have not considered asking Joni to do the same - I recognize my analytical side can be, um, anal.

I started "Tuesdays with Maurie" today and found myself getting a little verklempt on my way to work.

Big Money

Tomorrow is the day the P&S is scheduled to be delivered. Along with that is due a 5% down payment on the house. I had not heard back from the Credit Union regarding my request to extend my Home Equity. I called them this morning, got a busy signal, and promptly marched over there.

I had enough balance available in the existing loan to make the down payment, so I was pretty sure I could get the check for the signing. Turns out the loan had been approved a while ago and the closing was supposed to happen last week. The attorney firm had apparently neglected to call ANY of their closings last week. The manager at the credit union took over and was great. She had them schedule a closing in my office TODAY. The attorney rep just left and I have a big stack of signed papers.

There is a 3 day period for the loan to take effect. In the interim, the Credit Union manager issued a check on the balance of the old loan (if I failed to close) or an advance on the new loan to cover the 5% down payment. That covers tomorrow's payment. On Friday I will have the equity available to make up the remainder for the 20% down payment which is due at closing on September 15th.

I am now waiting for the P&S to come over the fax. I spoke to the attorney's secretary and she has the form and will be transcribing and faxing it to me. We need to sign it tonight as Joni is working tomorrow. I am a little nervous about the form as I have not seen a draft yet.

And what are Joni and Henry doing today? He is with the grand-folks for a little time while she heads over to the Reading house with our broker, Paul, and plays Hazardous Waste Testing Technician. She has instructions from a testing company on a procedure to soak, extract, and bag a sample of the ceiling tile. She will take it over to the testing lab in Woburn. The turn-around time is 6 days. They indicated it was unlikely that it would contain asbestos or at a level that requires special handling for removal. Even if it does, the removal job is not complex and would not fall into another Big Money item.

While she was there, the owners gave her back the completed list of questions we had sent them as a follow up to the inspection. All the answers were good ones (no oil leaks, fireplace used last winter, outside lamp post works and bulb will be replaced, doorbell chime will be checked and fixed). He also said they understood our concern about the possibility of asbestos and exposure to Henry and that they would pay to have it removed if it was detected!! That is exactly what we have added to the P&S so there should not be a problem with that condition. Whew!

Update 4:34 PM: The P&S arrived on the fax machine a couple hours ago. I faxed a copy to Paul. It seems OK to me. We are supposed to sign it and 4 more just like it tonight. Paul will take the signed copies and the check to the sellers to review. If they are OK with it, they sign and the check gets put into escrow until the closing.