NANCY DREW & THE REAL ESTATE ADVENTURE

Let's begin with this news. The appraisal on my house was scheduled this past Tuesday between 12 noon and 1:00 p.m. My bone density test was scheduled at 2:00 p.m., and the mammogram at 3:00 p.m. What a fun day!

A friend had given me the name of a house appraiser and said "hope you don't get him" but we have no control over who does the appraisal. Sure enough, he was the one assigned to my house. Even my realtor said she hoped for a less stringent appraiser because he was tough and didn't miss anything. So, obviously, I had to channel my southern charm but not make it too obvious. Three and a half days later I am again breathing because his report came in this afternoon. He appraised it at the listed price which is what the buyer offered. YEAAAA!

THE PLOT THICKENS:

I submitted an offer on a house Thursday that all three of us (son, daughter-in-law, and I) all really liked and felt it would meet our needs with some alterations. We were supposed to receive a response by 2:30 this afternoon. At 1:30 my realtor called to say they would need a few more hours and was that agreeable. Obviously, since this was the house we wanted I agreed to wait.

People One Should Be Honest With:

A. One's doctor

B. One's attorney

C. One's realtor

D. One's priest, rabbi, spiritual leader (relative, of course, to one's position on the guilt scale)

E. Everyone else at their own risk

Daughter-in-law and I became a little wary when we noticed on the disclosure that the seller indicated no pets had been on the premises, but Fido's food & water dishes were clearly in the house. We were not offset by that because we both have pets; it was the fact that he clearly hadn't paid attention to the questions.

One man was listed as the seller. Thankfully, my realtor started checking records. The man is divorced from his wife, and no where does his name appear on the previous purchase of the house, and no where does her name appear on the current sale of the home. Furthermore, there is no mention of the house in their divorce. He "says" he has power of attorney to sell the house, but I don't know at this point if he can prove it.

OH YEAH, there are liens against the house because he is behind on child support (we don't know if this is the most recent marriage, or a previous one) nor why liens instead of garnishment of wages. Anyway we seem to have opened a gallon sized can of worms. Well, somebody had to---right?

I think this will turn out alright if we have patience and can find out who can really sell this house and agree to the terms. But right now it's all up for grabs.

Here's the web site to see the house with which we're smitten. You'll probably have to copy and paste it into your browser as BlogSpot doesn't allow me to do links. Meantime we're packing like crazy, and the estate sale at my house is scheduled for Oct. 21-22.

http://www.coldwellbankerdowling.com/default.cfm/page/forsale/cat/display/mlsid/mls_shreveport/propertytype/residential/ml_number/N131467/referer/Similar%20Properties.htm

And a Happy Columbus Day to you too!

A VERY DIFFERENT LOOK AT ST. MARK'S

My adopted hometown paid tribute to a young man who lost his life in Afghanistan a week ago. It was doubly sad because his friend from high school, also a Navy Seal, died in the same shooting down of their helicopter. I didn't know him or the other young man or their families, but I know several people who knew one or both of them, so by extension I feel a deep sense of loss. And though I didn't attend the service, I did drive by to witness the tribute being paid. A nearby church, King's Highway Christian, offered their parking lot for the service time, and a two-block stretch for each of the four streets north of St. Mark's were blocked off for parking. Here's the newspaper's write-up.

http://www.shreveporttimes.com/article/20110814/NEWS10/108140336/Navy-SEAL-CPO-Rob-Reeves-honored?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

As I stopped at the traffic light at the main intersection next to St. Mark's I watched a young man in uniform, wearing a beret (sorry, I'm not familiar enough with Military uniforms to identify which branch) pushing a stroller with his younger child in it; following was his wife, also in the same uniform with beret holding the hand of their 3-4 yr. old daughter wearing her Sunday best on the way to pay tribute to their fallen brother. It broke my heart to think that someone else might be leading those children into a similar service for their parents sometime in the future.

I don't know what these wars are about anymore. How do we know what the objective is? How do we know when it is achieved or lost? How long do we just keep killing or being killed? What's the point?

Russia must be laughing and saying, "They learned nothing from what happened to us."

I do offer all my respect to those who offer their lives to protect and defend our country and hope those who command them hold them dear as well.

HOW'S THE HOME SELLING GOING?

In two words, NOT WELL! In nine weeks "on the market" the house has had five bookings for showings, but only four actually showed up. Two viewers felt my house needed too much "updating", one kept it in his top two and might come back, one liked it but wanted her son to take a look. Haven't had any re-showings for either of them. And I'm not sure what these individuals mean by updating. Are they talking about replacing the carpet, replacing wall paper with paint, or gutting the kitchen and bathroom? It's funny that when Jaz & I look at a house we look at it and evaluate how we would change it; we don't go in expecting everything to be the way we'd want it. Get a grip, Shoppers!

Of course, one has to factor in that we are experiencing, according to the weather guy, "excessive heat" with temps over 100 degrees for 34 days, one day behind Dallas. And then, of course, we have the Washington congressional debacle which can't make rational decisions and throws our economy as well as the rest of the world's into chaos. Everyone seems to be afraid to make a move of any sort. I am not afraid. Buy my house, and I'll go buy another.

I'm trying to keep the yard mostly green, though there are a few brown patches. So far we have not had a ban on lawn watering, but I expect that very soon. If the house were not for sale, I'd let it go now to conserve water and to keep the bill down. But, I'm a seller now, and I have to do what I can to sell the house. My realtor feels that the heat and the economy are deterrents as I do.

The realtor's company emphasizes keeping a welcoming, pretty plants entrance. Well, I did that but they've been burnt, so I planted new things last weekend.

The blue blooms are plumeria, but they seem to be burning out now. Boohoo! The white are lantana. I've cut back the begonia because they're being killed by the heat; hopefully, they'll come back.

Something that has weathered this terrible weather is a plant whose name tag has disappeared and it continues to grow and produces little red blooms though they don't show right now, but I really love it. It's such a soldier of a plant.

Mack is an added attraction. He wasn't asked to pose here. You can see he's not pleased with the weather either.

AFTER DAILY HOUSEKEEPING: How am I amusing myself once the house is showable? Well, I'm entertaining birds---numerous sparrows, a pair of blue jays, a pair of cardinals, a pair of doves, and on occasion house finches. I discovered that the finches eat seeds but also love nectar, and the hummingbird feeder that I usually have out in the summer was their greater attraction. Those little dickens could suck that pint sized feeder dry in three days. Therefore, I've left it dry for about three weeks. Unfortunately, I've seen hummingbirds on at least three occasions looking for a meal find a totally dry feeder. So sorry, hummingbirds. But it's refilled now. In fact, I have an aviary cafeteria. And those sparrows apparently know me and watch for me to refill the feeder and appear within a minute morning and evening once I fill the feeder. They also appreciate the water in the bird bath and additional pan of water I put out for them.

Occasionally there is an "Ooops" I don't really want to see. For instance, the blue jay which killed a lizard in a very brutal fashion and proceeded to eat it. At least he ate it; didn't just kill it for sport. It did spoil my lunch time appetite.

I'm reading a terrific book: THE VICAR OF CHRIST by Walter F. Murphy. This book was published in 1979, but I find it extremely contemporary because many of the problems it discusses are still with us. It also softens my take on the Catholic church because I find it is as ham-strung as our government is, just different perspectives. I highly recommend it. In fact, you do need to read it. It is a novel, and the premise that an American Korean war hero becomes Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and eventually Pope makes it clear that it is fiction, but it doesn't negate the relevance of the content.

My third diversion is needlepoint. My last needlepoint endeavor was when I lived in Terrell and had my house for sale there; when 9/11 occurred I stopped work on it as I couldn't focus anymore. Then when I moved the project was lost; to this day I can't figure out what happened to that Siamese cat I was working on. This new needlepoint project is one I bought at an estate sale for $6.00, and I think the original price was probably about $30. Anyway, it is very colorful but I really need bright light to see where the various colors go so I work on it in the living room with the shades up during the afternoon when it is very, very hot outside. I may not be doing a very good job, but it is fun. And when I move this time I'm going to make sure that needlepoint doesn't get lost. I don't really see it hanging in a prominent place in my new home; maybe in the closet. But it will still be a source of pride for "hanging in there."

FRUSTRATIONS/JOKES: I don't even know where to start on this one. Let's take this arbitrary beginning.

Who runs this country? The Congress of the U.S. or Wall Street? My reluctant answer is the latter. We didn't vote them into this capacity; however, they have taken over, they want no oversight, and they have none.

Why is Congress no longer functioning? Republicans, and/or Tea Party members of Congress, have so set their goal on defeating the President/Democrats that they are willing to sacrifice the entire country, all of us, and the global economy to win their point. What an empty victory that will be! To think one can cut spending without raising revenue is so stupid. My experience has been that I couldn't cut expenditures for food and housing for my family; I had to take a second job---and I did.

Every member of Congress who left leaving the FAA hanging with no finance should turn over his/her salary for this month of vacation to filling the national coffers, and if that causes them a shortfall then they should take a second job. Maybe they can handle the second job; they're not doing well with their elected positions.

Rick Perry is considering running for President. Dear God in heaven, he's worse than W. Surely our country has not dumbed down to a level of seriously considering him as the leader of this country. He's done sufficient damage to Texas; would anyone really want to give him the entire nation upon which to wreak havoc? I have more respect for the GOP than to think this could happen. Don't let me down, GOP.

Maybe I've covered everything, but probably not. I'll wake up about 3:00 a.m. and think, "I forgot to mention ..." But I need to bring this to a close and go to bed. I seem to wake up much earlier with this hot drought and propelled to do whatever I have to do early on then "cool it" from 11:00 a.m. on. Of course, by then it is already 100 degrees. I thought today was cooler (106 degrees)and it was; Jazz says I'm adapting. Probably right. Take care, Everybody.

A QUIET 4TH OF JULY

Very quiet, indeed. So quiet that I awoke this morning perspiring and straining for any sound at all. The power had once again gone off, and there was no A/C, no ceiling fan, no clock to let me know the time. A rather bleak start to the holiday, don't you know?

I dressed quickly and went out to mist the orchids hanging from my wonderful Japanese maple while planning a trip to Wendy's for a cup of coffee and some kind of breakfast treat. Thankfully, within an hour the power came on---SWEPCO magic--- and I didn't have to make the trip.

Did a few other chores related to trying to keep the house neat and tidy, but not as many as I should have. 100+ temps slow me down quite a bit.

This year the 4th has been quieted by a burn ban throughout the state, and a local ban on the sale or use of fireworks by private individuals. Every year since I've lived here the pets have really been miserable because fireworks were permitted one week prior and one week following a big holiday; this year they were spared.

The big public fireworks display down by the Red River was o.k.ed, so many people were planning and did attend. There are public stages down there where various bands and performers are scheduled. There are also food vendors and souvenir sales persons. Chillax, Jaz, and I went last year, and it was fun, but I didn't even consider it this year as we have had so much 100+ weather, such a drought, that I didn't want to be out there at all. The four of us did have grilled steaks at their house last night which was yummy. And am I glad it was last night.

So, here on the 4th, what happened. Thunderstorms actually moved into our area starting about 7:30 p.m. The big fireworks display should have been over by now, but I don't think it's even started. We haven't gotten much rain from this, but we have gotten a little, and we are most grateful for that. Thunder is still rumbling, and there has been plenty of lightening but not really the cloud to ground type.

I did look for my annual viewing of 1776 and called Jaz and Dagromme (sorry to have waked you) to tell them when it would be shown on TCM. Guess what? I recorded it this year; now I don't have to be beholden to the library or channels that might show it. It's mine for all the coming 4th's of July. YEA! I love that production. Of course, I'm the only person on this continent who still uses a VCR. What the heck?

To be very serious for a moment: The signing of the Declaration of Independence was a momentous event in history. Certainly I'm no authority or even a student of its gifts to us, but I intend to study it more closely and decide whether we are living up to its inspiration. Since our nation began in this way I think we should give it close scrutiny and make some choices. What do you think?

CRAZY CRAVINGS!

As you know the on-going project for a few months has been to get the house ready to sell. WELL, during the time when I was painting outside I began to have strange food cravings. I think it is related to doing repetitive tasks that are relatively mindless; therefore the mind tends to drift toward, "What's for dinner tonight?" There is no rhyme nor reason for these cravings; they just came with undeniable force.

The first one was for Stove Top dressing. Obviously, this is of no culinary significance, but that's really what I wanted, and I wanted it really, really badly. I gave in and picked up a package, and eased my pain.

The next craving that came was for vanilla ice cream (Blue Bell, of course) with cooled left-over morning coffee poured over it. Those little icy crystals are such a treat for the tongue. However, one has to really spread those portions out over a lengthy period of time, or one makes oneself sick to the tummy. I speak from experience.

The next craving that came was for cantaloupe; no doubt that was driven by May's warming weather and their appearance in the grocery stores. But I know that they appear much earlier than when they are actually in season, so I gritted my teeth and avoided them. One point for me!

Once the house was finally on the market (June 2) I was ready to celebrate. The downside is that once one gets everything "Ready", one doesn't want to mess anything up, and that includes cooking anything that might make odors in the house or mess up the range. So, what was I craving then? My fabulous sauteed liver and onions, of course! (If you haven't tried mine, don't knock it. Mine are wonderful.) Well, after a week, I said, "To heck with it." Bought the liver and cooked up this yumola treat.

Next I gave in to the lingering craving for cantaloupe. The one I bought is o.k.; the flavor is almost there, and the texture has a little farther to go as well. It was not a waste of money, but I'm glad I waited.

What is the latest craving? I gave in to it today, and for supper I had a BLT sandwich. Of course, that meant frying bacon and tonight or tomorrow morning I will have to clean the stove top because the photographer to do the virtual tour for the on-line ad for the house will be here at 10:00 a.m. Maybe I'm beginning to take this high exposure in stride. Or maybe it's dementia. Either way, I'm covered.

IT'S ALL SHOW BIZ!

It's so hard to decide on a title for this post because it will cover so much time, so many events, and a lot of work. My apologies for not keeping up with the blog; I have been critical of others for their lack of sustaining; now I'm guilty as well. So be it. MAYBE I won't cast stones in the future---but don't count on it.

First, I need to mention that our orchid society voted to host the national organization's spring show for 2011. I voted against this as did several others---we who are the worker bees. However, the vote carried by two votes. This occurred about 1 1/2 yrs. ago; the AOS (American Orchid Society whom we were hosting) recommends that a society start 3 - 4 yrs. in advance to raise the necessary money, make plans, etc. Did our society heed this advice? Of course not. Therefore, we have worked our buns off to bring all this about including monthly meetings of the "show committee" which I will testify were not all that much fun and were always at the time one would normally be eating supper. I left on several occasions because I had done my part and was too hungry to sit there any longer listening to the same thing we'd heard for four months running and the re-hashing of the same arguments over rather inconsequential "stuff."

We did bring it all together, and the show was a huge success according to all those who came from out of town. Here's a picture of our society members filling "goodie bags" for the registrants.

What was in the bags? Three strands of Mardi gras beads, decks of cards from the casinos as well as a pair of dice, little Tabasco bottles, a little vacuum bag of coffee from Community Coffee, a 2 oz. jar of Pepper Jelly made by one of our members, a little orchid plant ready for planting, and the usual note pads, pens, emery boards, etc. It was a nice collection of stuff. We did this loading about 2 1/2 weeks before the show. The bags are nice for "green shopping"; I've already used mine.

Dagromm, my Texas son, gave me two nights at the Hilton, the hotel adjacent to the Convention Center where the show was. I think being able to just go there, bathe, and fall down kept me going through the early part of the show. It was wonderful, because I really was too tired to drive the four miles home, much less get up early enough to make it back downtown for the next morning's early activities. Mack stayed with Chill and Jaz through the whole thing, and I'm grateful for that.

There was drama behind the scenes resulting in losing more members, adding to those we lost by deciding to host the show to begin with. So, was it worth it? I'm still undecided, but my inclination is to say "No." We'll see how it all plays out; however, I am not taking on any more responsibilities. Period.

On the Wednesday after the show the Interfaith Pharmacy where I volunteer moved from its tiny location to a much, much larger facility. We really needed to move, and I'm very thankful that it worked out. However, spending five hours cleaning the old place and organizing a portion of the new space put me right back to where I was at the end of the AOS show. . . needing to sleep for about two days straight.

In addition to this I decided about eight months ago that it was time to downsize and have less responsibility for home and yard. My plan was to sell the house and move to an apt. so that I wouldn't be responsible for plumbing, A/C, yard, whatever. I just can't do all of it anymore, and it is too costly. Then Chillax & Jaz suggested that I take the money from the sale of my house and use it as a down payment on something where we could all live, along with Oyster, of course. Initially, they would take up the payments on the new place, and when we balanced, I would kick in a portion. Well, that suited me just fine because as I age I'm occasionally frightened of being undiscovered in an emergency situation. My big stipulation is that we have separate living quarters and that I have my own kitchen; we have different hours, food choices, etc.

So, the big cleaning up, de-cluttering, sprucing began. Right now I have to say that my closets are the best portion of my house. Sorry, Goo, but the revered Pilgrimage shoes, went the way of the trash a couple of months ago, but I did take a memorial picture.

This was probably more traumatic for me than for you. C'est la vie.

The realtor whom I have decided to use for the sale of the house gave me pointers on getting ready to go "on the market." One of those was certain loan appraisers don't want to see any peeling paint. Well, my storage area behind the carport definitely had some peeling paint, and after power washing it (one of my orchid society buddies did that) it looked even worse.

Grim, isn't it?

So, in addition to the big show preparations, I was faced with de-cluttering and painting. Well, I have wound up painting about 85-90% of the carport and storage area as well as about half of all the window frames (outside). The deterioration is due to weather and sun. You don't really realize you're living in a dump until you want to sell it. Then the realtor gently slides the reality glasses on your nose.

Here's the storage wall now.

Jaz has been helping me take things to the storage unit I rented three months ago to hold things I'm either keeping or selling depending on where we wind up. She has also helped with grooming the yard, and I'm counting on her for the "final cleaning." That means the cleaning before the realtor comes to take pictures to go on the web. Selling a house has become very scary. It used to be that people knew how many bedrooms, bathrooms, sq. footage was available, and then they could come look and decide if this was the place for them. Now, they can look on-line and if they aren't really smitten they won't even come look. This was not the way I wanted to make my entertainment debut.

I'm doing the best I can, and I'll let you know the website if you want to see the house at its best. But you have to ask. Sorry, but I don't want you burdened with more than you want.

Take care, everyone, and understand that I have been thinking about you. I've just been swamped and still am. Keep your fingers crossed for me and the house sale.

THE KING'S SPEECH & DEJA VU

Ever since this movie was first publicized I've wanted to see it, but didn't until today, Feb. 27. Yep, the day of the Academy Awards. Remember, I saw True Grit in December during my fabulous visit with my daughter, and I loved it and predicted it would be nominated. The cast in TG was great, and the re-make terrific, and it is dear to me. However, as a retired speech pathologist The King's Speech had more than a little allure.

My trek to see Speech was definitely not in vain. It was more than rewarding; it was reliving a portion of my career. And it was not a painful experience. It was a joyful one.

Probably most viewers are drawn into the agony of the stuttering George VI, and that is understandable, and, certainly Colin Firth was outstanding in the role. How can one's heart not be wrenched by his struggle? And how can one not be moved by his perseverance despite the altering of all his perceptions of life?

However, my hero was Geoffrey Rush's character, Lionel Logue, because I had lived there. Stuttering, stammering, fluency disorder---whatever you choose to call it---is one of the most difficult problems to treat. And as I watched the movie I finally analyzed what I had done in my work. There were, of course, textbook solutions; but, take it from me, hogwash. One had to establish who controlled the therapy setting, get inside each person who stuttered (that is, find the memories, experiences-good & bad without judging anyone but seeing their effects), retain a sense of humor, and move toward one small goal at a time. One had to be the master, sometimes the enemy, then the mentor, and then the friend. And the therapist's role shifts among these venues from one encounter to another. I never knew which one was coming next. Instinct becomes the rule of the day, and it is exciting. I can't boast that every stuttering person I worked with became fluent, but I have one vivid memory of success.

As a public school speech pathologist I received a referral for a fourth grade boy who stuttered, the son of a prominent family in the neighborhood. His mom was big in the local P.T.A.; she referred him; her older daughter was also very successful in the school. Stutterers have unique patterns, and his, as I recall, was to hold the initial sound of a word for a prolonged time before completing his thought. Example: "Mmmmmmmmmmmy mother is bringing cupcakes today." And sometimes there were repititions of initial sounds: "C-c-c-c-an you come?" To summarize quickly let me say that he expressed feelings that he didn't live up to the family standard, and when I asked what he would most like to do he stated that he wanted to be on the school's annual talent show. What did he want to do I asked. Well, he was a very smart boy, but he didn't sing, dance, play a musical instrument.

In fifth grade he got his wish. His mother came to me and begged that he not be on the talent show, and I assured her he would be fine. He asked me if I would be there, and I asked him if he wanted me to be. He said he would understand if I had to be at my other school, but he would really feel better if I were there. I made sure I was there.

And what did he do on the big Talent Show? He was the Master of Ceremonies. He did a beautiful job.