Author: admin (Page 29 of 66)

This will be a long post, covering several topics including the house hunt, trip to the midwest, my Georgia motorcycle rally, weather, and a few health issues. I chose to post by topic rather than by chronological order as some topics covered different days and Pam was house-hunting while I was in Georgia, making timelines difficult to keep straight.

House Hunt

The main goal of the trip was to check out houses Pam had been monitoring online over the winter. Once we had arrived at Becky’s place (Pam’s sister’s house) Pam used Becky’s car to drive down to Northeastern Iowa to start checking out houses. Suffice to say most were a disappointment, but one was worth a second look.

The best features of this house are that it sits very close to the Mississippi River (overlooking the Mississippi River Wildlife Refuge), is bordered by farmland on one side and by a riverside park only a few yards away on the other side of the access road. The house itself is on the small side, on a small lot, but does have a first floor bed and bath along with a laundry room, all features we have been looking for. In addition, many of the systems have been upgraded, including central air.

Drawbacks include a very tight stairs (with a 90 degree bend) to access the upstairs bedrooms, no 2nd floor bath, and part of the attic had recently been cleared of a bat infestation. Most of the rooms were very small and lacking storage space. There is a full dry basement that could be used for storage and work areas, though, and the basement also has a rudimentary bath and shower.

The place includes a single car garage and a couple of buildings that could be used for storage or work shops, with the addition of larger doors to allow for getting equipment in and out.

One other house deserves mention; it was a Queen Ann/Victorian place in Elkader, Iowa. Nice house, but very small yard, no garage, very close neighbors, and covenants galore. Pam liked the house for its interior woodwork and charm, but the negatives of the lot and location pretty much removed the place from serious consideration.

So, while the New Albin place is under consideration, Pam will keep searching the on-line listings and we may be back for another house-hunt visit this fall. Watch this space.

Georgia motorcycle rally

While Pam was house-hunting in Iowa, I took the truck, trailer, and bike to Georgia to attend a motorcycle rally being held in Kingsland. I met up with a friend in Atlanta, where I parked the truck and trailer and joined with a couple other Atlanta area riders and we proceeded to ride our bikes to Kingsland, a distance of about 372 miles.

Unfortunately, in Atlanta I had tripped and hurt my left elbow and forearm, making riding somewhat painful. More on this later on the medical news topic.

Riding in southern Georgia was pleasant. I saw white egrets, cotton fields, pecan orchards, cypress trees, huge logging operations, old towns, and learned something of the geology of the area. Almost all homes had wide porches and many had no chimneys. Quite a few had ponds, as the water level is quite close to the surface. Palm trees further south mixed with a type of yucca plant; I knew I was in the south!

A couple of stops worth noting were Jekyll Island and the Okefenokee National Wildlife area.

Jekyll Island has a long history including some big money spent on vacation houses. I enjoyed getting out on the Atlantic ocean beach and viewing some of the historic homes.

The other stop was at the Okefenokee National Wildlife Area, part of the larger Okefenokee Swamp. The highlight of this stop was seeing a couple of gators.

All told I put just over 1,000 miles on the bike this trip. Then it was time to head back to Wisconsin and reconnect with Pam to hear her house-hunting news.

Weather and Medical

Both of us had some medical issues this trip. As I mentioned earlier, I had fallen and injured my left elbow and forearm, making riding somewhat painful. While better at this writing, I still have some pain and lack a normal range of motion – but – the arm is improving.

Pam had what appears to be a gall stone episode where a stone may have blocked the outlet port causing her intense abdominal pain. She had trouble sleeping and eating for a couple of days. Luckily this happened when she was at Becky’s place and could lie low for a few days.

I arrived back from Georgia just as winter storm Wesley was really gathering steam, dropping 5 – 7 inches of heavy, wet snow in central Wisconsin. So it was that we hunkered down and recuperated at Becky’s place for a few days until it was time to begin our trip home. By then both of us were feeling better (although neither one of us was at 100 %.)

The Trip

In general, we are really really tired of driving across Nebraska, although we did see a large flock of Sandhill Cranes on the return leg, something new for us. The truck logged over 5,000 miles and another 1,017 was put on the bike. Pam added a few hundred miles to Becky’s car, so both of us were on the move most of the time. The weather for the outbound and return legs was pretty good but that winter storm in the middle of the trip was nasty. Gasoline prices ranged for about $2.48 per gallon to a high of $2.95 (in Wisconsin) per gallon. I added 1 quart of oil to the truck for the trip.

The dogs – we had all 3 – took the trip in stride and settled into Becky’s place very well. Two of the dogs, Blondie and Bru, stayed with Becky while Pam was out and about with JoJo. One advantage of older dogs is they have a lower activity level and they slept a lot of the time. Of course, having their own mattress to sleep on made for pretty deluxe accommodations!

Home again

Once home we had a range of chores to be done, including picking up the accumulated mail, doing laundry, mowing the lawn, and the cats had to get used to having people in the house again. A grocery run was in order as we had “eaten down” much before we left so we needed milk, fruit, cat supplies, and a whole bunch of other food stuffs. Knowing this would be the situation at the end of the trip, I had taken extra days off to recuperate.

Conclusion

Some good and some bad came from this trip. We made contacts with another realtor and viewed a home with potential. I saw and rode in part of the country I had never visited. We had an excellent visit with Becky and I visited my mother. We saw the sandhill cranes for the first time. On the down side, there was endless Nebraska (It’s Not For Everyone). We both had some medical problems that reduced the comfort of the trip. All in all, it’s good to be home to enjoy the spring plants and weather.

Pam’s Two Cents Worth

The retirement house hunt will be re-evaluated. The houses I visited in our current price point are full of other people’s deferred maintenance. Questions I had about properties listed through the winter were answered, generally in the negative.

Ill health is never pleasant, during a trip less so. One of the inconveniences of aging, I suspect, and something that will need to be factored into the future travel dynamic.

My sister really put on a show of hospitality for both of us and the dogs. If only the Midwest weather had followed suit! In addition to spending time with my sister, I also was able to schedule lunch with a previous teacher from my high school days, and a classmate I’ve been monitoring for over a year on Facebook.

Back in the high desert of Colorado, spring has arrived and I was delighted to see the Mary Lynn Memorial tulip bed is producing extremely well. I sure could have used Mary on the house hunting expedition, though. Still miss her.

Happy Trails

Spring is here. We have our first flower blooming:

It isn’t much but enough to give our spirits a lift! With rising temperatures the lawn is starting to green up as well. I may have to mow soon to level out some of the tufts that seem to appear every spring.

There is little new news this week. These transition periods between seasons are pretty quiet. Once outside chores start to pick up and the gardening season begins I will have a bit more to talk about. It will soon be time to open Sanderling too.

I will be traveling to a cycle rally the next few weeks, so there will not be another post until near the end of April.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

I love Spring.

Happy Trails.

After doing maintenance on the Kawasaki Concours, I went for my first motorcycle ride of 2019.

The maintenance had consisted of getting a new front tire, battery, and brake pads. In addition, oil and filter were changed to get the bike ready for the riding season. After checking tire pressure, and bringing the rear tire up to standard, I started the bike, put on my leather jacket, helmet, and gloves, and headed north out of De Beque for a short 25 mile cruise.

The day was a perfect spring day. Blue skies, very few clouds, temperature in the low 50 degree range. I kept the speeds low, 45 – 50 mph, to let the bike warm up and make sure all systems were working OK after the winter of non-use.

It felt good to be back on the road again. The only thing to watch out for is gravel on the road, particularly on corners, left over from winter sanding or spring washes. Thankfully the road had very little debris on it.

After I returned home I started on another project, re-painting the bed of the utility trailer. I had to scrape off the old paint and put down a new layer.   I also plan to repaint one wheel which has developed a few rust spots.

The trailer had not seen a lot of maintenance for the last two years, other than new tail lights. The wear and tear of hauling firewood, and the fact that the plywood bed is old, had left the trailer looking a little sad. Now is a good time to freshen it up a bit.

Today’s chores include changing the oil and filter on the Honda. It promises to be another good day and maybe I’ll take the ATV out for a spin later on.

That’s it for now. Thanks for  looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

I’ve been checking on the National Weather Service’s map that monitors water levels – above is the Midwest area. Nebraska – Iowa – Wisconsin all experiencing flooding from minor to major. We’re due for a return trip in April, guess we’ll see what potential retirement properties are in flood zones.

Happy (and dry) Trails.

It’s essentially early spring here in western Colorado. Tulips are starting to poke greenery above ground, some grass is starting to grow, and tree buds are beginning to expand. Daytime temperatures, still below normal due to recent storms, are reaching upwards of 50 degrees and nights are beginning to stay above freezing. Not every day, of course, but more and more of them are fitting this pattern.

We had quite a bit of rain last week. This has erased all the local snow, except for a few small and stubborn spots of ice that lay in deep north-facing shadows. Even they’ve shrunk significantly. The dogs are going outside a bit more, especially Jo.  Jo doesn’t mind a bit of mist in the air, unlike the divas Blondie and Bru.

The High Country, generally above 8,000 foot elevation, received snow while we saw rain. Several avalanches, mostly unplanned, closed I-70 through the mountains several times. A couple of slides made national news when they buried the interstate under more than 15 feet of snow.

CBS News Clip

The only direct effect this has on us is delays for mail and goods heading east or coming from the east. When the interstate shuts down, there are no good alternative routes for heavy traffic to use. Semi-trucks just park until the road is open again. This includes food and fuel trucks as well as delivery services such as UPS and FedEx. Luckily road crews are used to this and generally manage to get the road open in a few hours, although one larger slide closed the road for more than 7 hours.

I’m gearing up the Kawasaki motorcycle for another year of riding. This year the bike needs a new front tire, battery, and rear-wheel brake pads. These items have been ordered and should arrive next week. I hope to attend a motorcycle rally being held in Kingsland, Georgia, near the Florida state line line, in early April. Plans are to trailer the bike to Atlanta, stay with a friend there, and ride the rest of the way to Kingsland. This will be my “big trip” for the year.

The new dishwasher is working well. We just need to get used to new loading patterns and figure out where the larger pots and pans fit without blocking water flow to the upper rack. Amusing how quickly we get set in our ways, even with dishwasher loading.

Our daily routine is work, internet house hunt, some packing. I did get out to rake the lawn yesterday and Pam is removing layers of mulch in the flower beds. Dogs are outside looking for sunny patches grass. Heavy winter jackets have been replaced by lighter gear. I open the garage door from time to time to get some fresh air circulating through. Vernal Equinox is this month!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

I’ve recently been enjoying from afar the house hunting activities of my high school friend Julie “Nick” Nickles as she retires from the State Department and settles in Sarasota, Florida. Florida is a different housing market compared to the Midwest, but the process is the same. For the first time in decades, Nick will have all her “stuff” in one place. She traveled the world with State representing the USA, working numerous hardship postings – India, countries in Africa, Romania, Bangladesh. I’ll miss all those exotic postcards from across the globe. Welcome home, Nick.

Happy Trails.

Although we have never had it tested, we have hard water. The residue builds up, particularly on dishes and cookware.

Over the last few months it seemed to be getting worse. Dishes were not getting as clean as in the past. Looking over the dishwasher it became apparent that the washer was limed up. Time for a new one.

This project spiraled into a major PITA. I had originally purchased a scratch-and-dent unit that, when I got it home and began to unpack it, had internal damage not visible on first inspection. Back to the store. (70 mile round trip each time,)

The shop gave me a discount on a new Bosch unit but did not have the color (black) that Pam wanted in stock. Ordered one in.

Back to the store to pick up the Bosch a few days later, after calling to confirm it had arrived. Store personnel had trouble finding it but eventually did locate it. Handed me a receipt. Got home, wrong receipt. Called next day. “We will e-mail you a copy of the receipt.” Two days later, still no receipt. Called again, received a receipt in a matter of minutes.

OK. Saturday morning, begin the install. Remove the old unit after turning off the power and disconnecting the water inlet and drain hoses. Hmm…water inlet does not look to be long enough to connect to the new machine, which has the water inlet further to the front of the machine. Broke the old plastic shut-off valve trying to remove the old water line.

Off to Grand Junction, which has the nearest hardware store. Bought some new fittings and hose. Returned home, fought to get the remains of the old valve removed. During this time water to the entire house is shut off. Dug out the Dremel tool with cut-off wheel and finally removed the valve.

The rest of the job proceeded OK. Installed the new (all metal) valve, water line, drain hose, and reconnected the electric. Pam is reading the operating manual. Machine does not take liquid soap, only “detergent tabs.” I had not bought any. Machine came with a couple samples which will get us through the next couple days.

It turned out I used the tool I purchased when I was working on the “shower from hell” last year, a SharkBytes crimping tool and crimping rings. Although the new water line uses threaded connections, the new valve had to be attached to the existing plumbing using the SharkBytes compression fittings.

So, now more than a week after I started this project, we have an operating dishwasher again.

Here are a few photos taken during the replacement process:

Pretty much the “excitement” for the past week.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

Note to self — when ordering replacement appliances at the “new” retirement house (whenever/where ever that might be), pay for delivery, install and testing.

Happy Trails.

Yesterday (Saturday) we finally received some snow, enough to cover the lawns, driveways, and sidewalks. At that, it was only about 2 inches or so but enough for me to get out the John Deere garden tractor and blade and do some plowing.

The snow was light but, due to the past warm weather, there was a layer of slush on top of paved surfaces. The snow, instead of coming off the blade in a steady flow, came of in chunks.

Snow was in the air most of the day but stopped accumulating by mid-morning as the temperatures hovered in the low 30 degree range. Not a bad day, but one where inside activities seemed to be a better choice. Here I am reading a book with a couple cats keeping me company:

That is London by my leg and Cirrus on my lap. My cup of tea is on the side table and Bru is napping on the couch in the background. It was just a good day to relax.

Today will be “chore day” as I will make a small shopping run and get fuel for the cars. So far the day is bright and sunny but more storms are coming later today (Sunday) and lasting through Tuesday.

This past week I had to change a headlight in the Honda; the low beam bulb on the driver’s side had burned out. To make the repair I had to remove part of the inner fender liner. These newer cars don’t make maintenance easy! I am still using the headlights on the commute in and sometimes on the way home, depending on the weather, so I need to have the lights working. This was not a difficult job but still a pain. I broke a couple of the plastic rivets that hold the liner in place; one of my stops today will be at an auto parts store to see if I can find replacements.

You may notice a change in how these posts are made, starting with this one and going forward. Photos will be closer to full-size but you can still click on them to bring up a larger image. This is due to a new editing program I am using. (The new editor is called “Gutenberg”.) It should be easier to insert photos, photo galleries, and videos using Gutenberg but a few changes from past practices will be involved.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

When one’s big excitement for the week is the half hour to the grocery store and the half hour back, nothing for the blog there.

Happy Trails.

There are a few things to cover this time. First up, this humorous photo of a dog playing with a sprinkler inside the house caught my eye. Dog is having a great time. Good thing the floor is tile, though.

Pam continues to do some packing. Below is her doll collection waiting to be carefully boxed:

The biggest problem, when we do get ready to move, is how and on what schedule to relocate the animals. That will be a real challenge, particularly the cats.

Taxes are done and sent off to be processed. We will get some money back from both Federal and State as Pam’s unemployment-to-retirement dropped us into a lower tax bracket. Refunds will be a first for us in over a decade; we’ve always had to pay at tax time, both Federal and State. I’m always glad when that task is over for the year. (Pam filled out the short form. Retirement time has its advantages.)

I-70 through Glenwood Canyon was closed for most of a day due to rockslides this past week.

Both east- and westbound lanes were closed. Eastbound opened first, followed by one lane westbound after many hours of work. (View above is of the westbound lanes.) Some of the boulders had to be split with dynamite into manageable sizes. All repairs, including road surface damage, will take a few weeks. Yes, we have a few travel challenges that are unique to western Colorado!

Fuel prices have dropped, as they normally do every year at this time. We are paying around $2.10 per gallon for regular. It would be nice if prices stayed that low but, sure as spring temperatures, prices will go up in the coming weeks.

Weather has been mild with lows in the teens and twenties and highs in the upper thirties and low forties. Storms are common, though, this time of year and conditions can change rapidly. A few mornings have had traffic moving at about 25 mph instead of 65 mph through canyon areas where the sun does not hit the road until late in the day. A few more storms are forecast for the upcoming week, but mostly rain as temperatures will not fall much.

As for my weekdays, routine is the word.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

I’m packing.  Exactly where and exactly when relocation occurs is still a mystery. (One thing I do know, moving expenses are no longer tax deductible.)

Happy Trails.

After a stretch of decent weather, today has turned a bit nasty. Rain mixed with snow pellets, driven by gusty winds, makes this a good day to stay inside.

I had tried to get out for my daily walk but mistimed the incoming storm and got soaked as a result. I returned home early, changed into dry clothes, and am sipping on a nice hot cup of tea as I type. At least it’s not below freezing, although colder temperatures are on the way later this week.

Both of us are [still!] recovering from colds, which seem to be hanging on much longer than normal. Hopefully the next week will see us over this bad spell. Below is a photo of Pam relaxing on the glider with London on her lap, JoJo getting a tummy rub, and Cirrus sitting on the cat post. Note Pam is holding the TV remote control. This is not Pam’s normal posture but recovering from the household cold has limited some of her energy.

The Midwest house hunt continues, but online listings are down this time of year. The houses we are gravitating toward are in small towns; we’d like to find an appropriate retirement house on some acreage close to town. One with room for my toys and the dogs to run in a fenced area.

Pam has started packing our infrequently used items, such as holiday glassware. She says it gives her the feeling of forward movement toward relocating, with that much less to dust in the meantime. I picked up ten U-Haul small boxes ($1.07 each with tax) and retrieved a box of bubble pack from the garage attic to help this project along.

I raked the lawn yesterday. Leaves had blown up along the fence lines, making the place look a bit messy. Today’s wind may reverse some of the cleaning but the lawn looked good for a day! I was surprised to see the town’s compost site, where I drop off leaves and grass clippings, still being used by several residents.

The groundhog Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow which is supposed to mean an early spring. I sure hope this is the case!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

Scotland weather today. Memories…

Happy Trails.

Tax and cold season has started. I missed a couple day’s work this past week due to a bad cold which, unfortunately, Pam picked up from me and is now suffering through.

For the life of me I can’t see any reason for phlegm. Or mucus. Nasty stuff!

Tax season has begun. We are starting to get various statements and tax notices (property tax) for our home and our lot. We will get a break this year on our home property tax due to a “Senior Exemption.”

Our annual property tax is around $257.00. This year our payments will be half of the normal amount:

We don’t know how the county can afford this credit, but I had applied for it last year since I turned 66  in 2018. (Property owner has to be over 65.) While the savings of $128.00 per year will not be a windfall, it’s a psychological boost. Just think: Property taxes of $128.52 per year!

No wonder Midwest property taxes look so high to us!  This comes while Pam is house-hunting, and one of the things she checks is taxes on the various properties. Not only is our Colorado tax rate very low compared to other states, the 50% reduction is unheard of. Most of the Midwest properties Pam has viewed have tax burdens of $150.00 per month on up to several hundred dollars per month. This has to be accounted for when we calculate potential monthly payments, to determine if we can afford a specific property into retirement or not.

As a side note, property taxes on The Lot (seven acres in Park County) have gone up every year and are now approaching $100.00 per acre. Our tax bill for The Lot is considerably higher than for our home in Mesa County. This tax increase is mostly due to recent referenda passed relating to fire protection and emergency response services in Park County’s rural areas.

Income tax preparation will be a bit different this year due to Pam’s retirement in 2018. The State of Colorado offers an exemption for a portion of retirement income — plus our gross income will drop; we should be in a lower (we hope) tax bracket. We’ll have to be sharp to claim exemptions we now qualify for to minimize our tax burden. Another retirement challenge!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny:

Temps are not below zero, at least.  Almost inevitable that when Fields has hacking coughs around our fairly-compact square footage, I will get whatever he has — no matter how much I clean door knobs, light switches, cupboard doors etc.  Murphy’s Law.

Happy Trails.

 

Our oldest dog, Blondie, is writing today’s blog. Here’s what she has to say:

Dogs that live in the Fields household have a pretty good life.

After all, our humans care for our every need. Have to get up at 3:00 a.m. to go outside? No problem — just whine until Pam wakes up and takes you out. Hungry? Breakfast in the morning, snack in the afternoon, dinner at night. Diet is a mix of dry dog food (ordered online from Chewy) and canned dog foods. Occasionally cooked green beens and sweet potatoes (fresh, of course) add some variety.

The biggest stress is deciding where to sleep. Will it be couch #1, Pam’s bed, or couch #2? Do we have to whine to “encourage” a human to move a cat so we can sleep where we want?

You see, all is not roses. Sometimes, when we’re outside, we have to bark at the door to be let back into the house (if the door concierge is slow to respond). When there is a lot of foot traffic on the sidewalk, Pam won’t let us in the front yard to bark at everything we see. Jer works, so his at-home time is limited, time he could be spending playing tug-of-war with me or petting us. Sometimes we have to howl the song of our people. <sigh>

Then there are those trips to the vet and groomer. Bru just hates them even though she looks so much better after her hair has been cut. I don’t need to get my [short] hair cut, but my nails are less saber-like after the groomer’s attention. Jo looks much sleeker after her appointments. I guess we have to tolerate medical and grooming attention.

Thinking about those summer trips to The Lot —  Jo enjoys them if she is given the freedom to run. There is enough space to let her greyhound blood let loose and she runs at top speed. Bru and I tolerate these four-hour-each-way trips.  The car offers some good sunny sleeping spots, but mostly the  benefit is getting away from those darn cats for a while.

Yep, a dog’s life in the Fields household is pretty darn good. Food, grooming, medical care, travel, a yard to run in, things to bark at, places to sleep, companionship. Now if the cats would quit sleeping in my spots…

Back to Jer to finish this post.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Two Cents Worth:

After I finished painting the quilt square, I started working on what I call my “hearts” project.  My challenge was to use only sewing items I have on hand – fabric, trims, buttons, quilt batting – to make a bunch of cloth heart ornaments for a holiday tree this coming December.  I ordered an artificial tree from Balsam Hill during their off-season sale; maybe we won’t want to cut a fresh tree every year. The artificial “heart tree” could stay up until Valentines Day, if we have a house (by this December) big enough to leave it out.

Projects are what I do to pass the cold winter away.  That is, when I’m not the door concierge, or getting up at 3:00 a.m. for doggie potty breaks…

Happy Trails.