Backyard Glamour Shots

This is what our back yard pond looks like in bloom.

So when all y'all come and visit (and we're fully expecting you will) we'll have the BBQ going, some cool beverages with sprigs of mint and scintillating conversation with this glorious backdrop.

That's All?

Our house in McAllen has been on the market for a little over three weeks and has generated (troublingly) little interest.

We're considering a reduction in price and will be throwing in our washer/dryer. The Quincy house is set up for gas appliances and ours are electric, so no go.

We decided to buy the w/d in Quincy, which will save us serious coin and save the seller the trouble of moving them (which was probably his aim all along. We're making him move out all his aquarium stuff and two dozen koi, so I can't blame him for wanting to move two fewer things).

Anyway, I was out in the front yard turning the soil where we plan to re-landscape and two vehicles pulled up to take fliers about the house and ask questions.

Both parties wanted to know the price. I told them the current listing price and said we're considering a price reduction and to call our agent for details. In retrospect, I should have invited them in to see it, but we've been kinda slobby this week and I didn't want folks to see it like that.

After they left, I ran inside to call our agent to give him a heads up. I hope he gets some calls. If so, the blisters I got from using the weed weasel without gloves will not be in vain.

Quincy's second floor

The captions work if I completely ignore what the "preview" looks like. That's intuitive. [Scratch that; they don't go in the right place no matter effing what.]

The nook for the bed.



The fireplace/hearth upstairs.



The entry to the master bath/walk-in closet. Has a built-in ironing board.



The laundry nook upstairs.



The upstairs loo with massive jetted tub. It's cool, but am I looking forward to scrubbing it?

Quincy's Insides

As promised, some photos of the Ogden house's insides.

The captions aren't going where I want them, so I'll just tell you what you're looking at in order of posting:

Original tiled fireplace and mantel. Downstairs bath. Living room with exposed brick walls. Entryway doors. A dark shot of the kitchen (stainless steel appliances--gas range, dishwasher, microwave. Dark wood cabinetry that has mood lighting in 3 colors. Seriously. Stained glass in living room. First floor bedroom (large). First floor bedroom, smaller with weird gas fireplace thingy.

If all goes according to plan,

We will be calling this home sweet home:



Tot Sq Ft: 2257
Tot Beds: 3
Tot Baths: 2.00
Family Rms: 1
Fireplace: 2
Garage: 3
Yr Built: 1902

Features & Info: Deck Covered, Entry(Foyer), Stained Glass, Storm Doors, Storm Windows / Bath-Sep Tub/Shower, Closet-Walk-In, Dishwasher, Disposal, Formal Dining, Jetted Tub, Kitchen-Updated, Master Bath, Range Oven Free Std

Remarks: Beautifully remodeled Turn of the Century Classic!! Curved wrap around porch, covered deck, luxurious master bdrm w/jetted tub/walk-in closet, new kitchen, tile, orig fireplace, detached 3-car garage w/loft, stunning fish pond w/waterfall. You'll never see this again! Hurry!!

What I've been doing instead of blogging

Mike and I went to Utah for MIL Sue's 80th birthday party. Got to meet Sue's sister & brother, longtime family friends and a couple of her grandkids/great grandkids we hadn't met before.

Mike got a job offer from Weber State University which he accepted. Hence, we are moving to Ogden, Utah this summer. Only took 2 years in South Texas to make a Utah move appealing.

After Sue's party Mike and I did a house shopping marathon over 3.5 days. Made an offer on a house we saw on day 3 and had the offer accepted by the time we arrived at the airport to go home.

That was Tuesday, the first day of major flight cancellations by American Airlines. We didn't know ours was cancelled, so we sat at the gate, bewildered by the lack of passengers for a flight that was supposed to be boarding.

We ended up staying in SLC overnight and put up at a hotel on American's dime, plus a $20 meal voucher.

A shuttle trip that should have taken 10 minutes from airport to hotel took over an hour and included 4 detours to pick up truckers in west SLC and people at the VA hospital by the U of U (but by then there were not enough seats for them).

Called friend Mel and she picked us up for dinner: Thai Vietnamese at Cafe Trang--yum!

After dinner, we checked online and found our rebooked American flights for Wednesday morning were cancelled, too.

Thanks to Mike's Gold frequent flyer VIP demi-god status, we were rebooked on Continental to fly out Wednesday morning at 5:30 am. Spent our $20 meal voucher at Starbuck's for breakfast.

I told my supervisor about our plans to move and she was GREAT about it. Loved my suggestion that the admin assistant move into my job; now trying to figure out how have us overlap.

Our cat sitter saw the For Sale sign on the lawn and we're starting to tell people about our impending departure (likely during the last week of May/first week in June).

I know I've bitched a lot about South Texas, but I find part of me is sad about going. It's grown on me and the people here are hospitable and good-hearted most of the time. I never got fluent in Spanish, but I did get radicalized on immigration and opposing the border wall after seeing the beautiful, wild country the wall would decimate and experiencing life on the border.

I'll miss teaching gospel doctrine, but I'm also kinda looking forward to being anonymous in a Utah-sized ward and not having 3 callings simultaneously. We'll also miss the lovely people we met at the local Community of Christ congregation.

Mike's going to miss his orange trees and fresh squeezed juice and sunny 70 degree winter days. Moving to Ice Scraperville puts us much closer to family, friends and has professional opportunities for us both, so we're willing to deal with some snow and ice. Who knows, we might become Winter Texans someday.

We'll look forward to having folks visit us in our new locale. Cross your fingers and say prayers that our house in McAllen sells quickly!

Photos Galore

Two karaoke virgins and a stand up comedian ham it up.




Burger Continental group shot. You slay me with the multiple bunny ears. But what's with the funny look on my face?