We just had our roof replaced. We replaced it a few years ahead of schedule, but it had some wear on it that didn't look right. 

When the roofers removed the old roof, they found the start of rot along one side. No deep damage. Easy to repair at this stage. The roofer did so at no additional cost. 

The Husband and I are drawing up a list of big ticket items that we want to pay off before we make any big career changes. Replacing the roof early was one such expense. And a timely one as well. 

 

My husband is in the midst of an art project. We have several transom windows in our house—windows above windows that are about eight feet wide and a foot and a half tall. They let in a lot of light, especially later in the day. A friend suggested we cover the transom windows with stained glass, and my husband fell in love with the idea.

He went out and found a stained glass artist. She has been creating stained glass for years and has taught it at various schools and organizations.

Together, they are building large stained glass windows to cover our transoms. They’ve converted our dining room into a little stained glass workshop. Since Thursday evening, they’ve been hard at work and finished the first window by Saturday evening.

We invited a few friends over to help mount the stained glass in the transom. It was a bit stressful. While stained glass is tough, when a piece is eight feet wide, it’s easy to accidentally bend or break it. The four of us had to carefully coordinate as we carried it to its destination.

Of course, once we mounted the window, someone noticed the number “14” in magic marker on the back side. We had to unmount the window and tilt it forward while I reached behind to erase the 14.

Despite the stress, it turned out well in the end…

Politics... politics... So much of it of late. I try to keep my politics are simple. First, I vote. Second I donate to candidates in purple states. Third, I keep warm up relationships with those who may disagree with me. At this point I'm not under the illusion that I can stop extremists or the over sharing over of fake news. The least I can do is not burn down those relationships.

My friend Clem is thinking about flying to a purple state and participating in a door knocking campaign. I've volunteered for telephone campaigning in the past. Perhaps I'll do so again.

As I get to know my neighbours, I've realized that we are surrounded by a little COVID baby boom. There are half a dozen kids here that are around three and a half years old. All other children are in their mid-teens or older. 

Tuesday was National Night out. Our little neighborhood held a potluck in the street. We meet more of our neighbors, exchanged numbers and took notes. 

@bathwater... get well soon. My sister in law had Meniere's. It can be tough when it flares up. 

We had a house warming party on Saturday. It turned out well. I think about 50 people passed through our doors. We got to know some of our neighbors better. I hope we continue to build these relationships.

We have many leftovers in our fridge and shall be eating pasta salad for a few days. 

C2 has dropped by for a few days. Currently he lives in San Diego, and was a contractor for the military. His last contract was not renewed, so he finds himself without a job.  With his spare time,  he drove up to spend a few days with us. Now he is off to visit friends in Portland, Idaho and Denver.

Wonderful summer weekend. Not too hot. Not too cool. Ate too much-- had dinners and BBQs with three sets of friends. Exercised a healthy amount.

skin care

​I went to my dermatologist today. I am fair-skinned and prone to various skin anomalies. Nothing dangerous, but there's always some bump or growth that I want an expert to look at.

The dermatologist examined, poked, prodded, and biopsied various bumps and spots on my body. He also offered some advice: I am beginning to develop "old guy skin." The bumps and spots will become more common in the years to come, and I will need to be more diligent about regular checkups and sun care.

Sigh

Seattle is lovely this time of the year. Temperatures are pleasant. 

My husband's step father has passed away. The relationship between my husband, his mother and his step father was always strained. None the less, my husband is planning to attend the funeral. 

Sunday was a horrible travel day. Our trip back took ten hours longer than expected and had three delayed connections.

But, we are back home. 

Leaving

​Our week in the Valley is over. It was good to catch up with family. 

One of my brothers and his wife are staying with my father for two more weeks. He will help dad clean up the property, get it back in tip-top shape.

Dad lives on a lovely fifty acre bush lot. It takes alot of maintenance without which the trails and fences will vanish in the growth. Dad puts much effort into this, but, as he says, his body is constantly reminding him that he is eighty. So, this brother spends some extra time with dad each year to complete the more difficult chores. 

The Task…

Dad has given us a job. He has asked us to remove Mom's clothes and jewelry, to split the jewelry as we see fit and then donate or throw out the rest.

It's a little weird going through Mom's effects. She was frugal and never threw anything out. As her dementia advanced, she started saving papers and masks in plastic bags... so many masks buried under piles of clothing. 

It is heartwarming to read her old cards one last time. She kept them too

In the Valley

We are up in the Ottawa Valley for the week, visiting my family. Since Mom's passing last winter, this is the first time in years that we've been here and Mom's care hasn't been our main priority.

It's pleasant here. Temperatures are in the high 70s. Everything is verdant green, with many flowers in bloom.

Selling a house involves signing and initialing many documents. For previous houses, we've visited escrow companies to do this. This time around our documents are all esigned and remote notarized. 

Today, the husband is on the east coast for work. We just got off a video call with a remote notary. She verified our ids, walked us through documents and then had us esign them. Very convenient,. 

With that, our part of the paper work is over. I understand that the buyer has also signed and sent his funds to the escrow company. If everything goes well, our sale will complete on Thursday.

Monday evening,  we accepted an offer for the old house. It was a very good offer. Now all we have to do is pull out the staging and keep the plants watered before until the new owner takes over.

It's easy to be sentimental about the old house. It was a great place to quarantine during the pandemic. I hope the new owner takes good care of it. 

Our old house is on the market. There have been a few showings all ready. The old house has a video doorbell that lets us see and hear conversations around the entry. It is tempting to listen in to discussions.

Guests have been coming through our new house. An old friend of the husband is spending a few days here. I had some coworkers over last night. Our new house is much closer to where young singles live, so it's easier to host dinner and drinks for them. 

At our new home, we have rented the dadu. The renter is the daughter of a friend.

The old home goes up for sale on Thursday. It's clean and well staged. The photographer did a great job taking pictures.

Now we wait. 

We are over the hump when it comes to the move in. The house is more usable than not. Most of what remains can be sold or donated. 

Our new house has a dadu-- detached accessory dwelling unit-- a studio apartment above our garage. We will meet our first potential tenants later today.  

We've also invited our first guests over. A nice forcing function to get everything into ship shape. 

The past week has been a whirlwind. Despite juggling multiple projects, we managed to pull off a surprisingly smooth move. The movers worked tirelessly for 11 hours, ensuring that most of our belongings found their place in our new home. On Sunday, we enlisted the help of our cleaner and her sister to tackle the remaining unpacking and organization.

As we settled in, we faced decisions about what to keep and what to discard. Some knick-knacks and decorative items didn’t quite fit our new space. For instance, I questioned the need for my five-year service award from my old job when I also have a fifteen-year award. Perhaps it’s time to part with both? We’re considering donating or even having a yard sale.

Working from home during the pandemic, my husband and I used to claim any available space. Our makeshift offices lacked intentional design. Now, with this move, we’ve taken the opportunity to organize and transform our rooms into proper workspaces.

Back at our old house, we’ve completed painting, cleaning, gardening, and touch-ups. Soon, it’ll be staged listed for sale which should be next Tuesday.