Summer in Michigan

It has been a fun summer so far! It has been punctuated by showing of my house, ending with a big exclamation point this past weekend -- an offer!

Jack and I were taking a little vacation up to Mackinaw Island when we got the news. We stayed in the rv for a night in Mackinaw City. It was during our stay there that we got Karla's text that we had an offer.

She asked if there were a fax machine available in case we came to an agreement. I checked and there was.

.

So the negotiations began. The initial offer was pretty low, the buyer was slow to respond to my counter, and I wondered if we'd ever come to a sensible truce.

We drove into town, parking the little car along the main drag. We explored the countless t-shirt and fudge shops, listened to a local band in the bandshell, and munched popcorn and ice cream. (Yes. I k.ow.)

So night passed, with my sleeping fitfully. Not only did I have the excitement/burden of this pending negotiation hanging over me, but the foul campfire air gave me asthma.

On Thursday we ferried over to Mackinaw Island. Our night at the Grand Hotel was fun. One dresses for dinner and the food was delicious and creatively prepared. Service was startlingly fast and friendly, to boot. Back and slowly forth went the negotiations. We had made arrangements with the hotel to get and transmit this fax, should it come, but it kept not coming.

We packed our bags and left them for the porter and headed out to rent bikes. We'd taken our own helmets, so we were ready. The bikes were $8/hour and so worth it for the splendid time we had cruising found the island. We discovered that everyone else goes counter-clockwise, so clockwise gives you far less traffic in the form of other bikes.

Upon our return, we waited some more in one of the hotel lobbies, walked around a little, and had some lunch at the little cafe in the hotel. Checkout time came and went, but they told us that we could still get a fax. But there was to be no fax.

Then it was time to head into town to ferry back. Our luggage was right where it was supposed to be, and we shuttled back to the koa on Shepler's shuttle.

Another night of smoke and asthma for me.

We decided to go on Saturday to Petoskey -- just 30 minutes away. This is a wonderful little town, lined with quaint shops, only a few of which we had visited when...the call came in. They had accepted my counter! We happened to be in the Ace Hardware which, yes, had a fax machine. I got the offer papers, signed them, and faxed them back.

We had a nice lunch at a healthy food market on Mitchell Street, before heading out to visit a couple of Jack's long-time friends in their lovely condo overlooking the beautiful bay. We had a good talk with them before we drove back for another smoky night at the koa.

And here we are, back at the River Mist house, enjoying our time and making lists as we pack for our upcoming move. Closing here will be just a little bit later than I'd have hoped. I still will need short-term financing to pay for the Indiana condo for the week till I get this money up here. Oh well. I look at all of the for sale" signs along my road and feel so very fortunate!

Location : 22000-22448 23 Mile Rd, Paris, MI 49338,

Back Home Again in Indiana

I have decided that, as much as I love the River Mist house, I want to move back to Indiana. So, since I can't just replant that house, Jack and I have spent the last few weeks in a house-hunting expedition.

I decided that I want to live in the Indy area, because I have always loved Indy. And I chose the west side, because my sister Annette and her family are settled here. It is also easier to reach for Jack's family, and a wee bit closer to Tucson!

I chose a condo just outside the city limits of Avon, in a development called Oxford Park. It is one of the Parks of Prestwick, located right near a golf course and country club.

The condo stands out because of its size -- 3004 sq ft-- and because of its versatile floor plan. I have not worked out exactly what all the rooms will be, but I know that I'll have a master suite and two guest rooms. The "forest room" with twin beds will be upstairs, while the other two will be on the main level. Each bedroom has its own bath.

There is an office with glass French doors to the entry and with large windows facing the road. This is likely to be my music room and library.

Just inside the front door to the right is an open room which would be suitable for a small sitting room, dining room, or even a game table. This room is divided from the next by a three-sided gas fireplace.

The main living area is bright and open to the kitchen and a sunroom. This will be where I'll have my tv.

The sunroom is large enough to make into another seating group. It is next to the breakfast room, which is probably going to be home for my dining table.

The galley kitchen is open to both dining and main living areas. There is a peninsula with a bar dividing the kitchen from the living room. The kitchen, while a little cozy, seems like it will be adequate. It houses a desk, pantry, double ovens, and solid-surface countertops.

The bonus area upstairs has, besides the forest room, a full bath and a large ping pong area.

The laundry room is quite nice, with an area for clothes-hanging, a folding table, and a place to iron.

Flooring in much of the condo is hardwood. The bedrooms are carpeted, and there is tile-patterned linoleum in the bathrooms. My view from the sunroom and breakfast room is a grassy slope which goes down toward the golf course. I guess that the condo has a golf-course view in the winter.

The neighborhood is very nice, with two condos in each building. Every condo has its own two-car garage. Sidewalks line the curving streets.

One good thing about the condo will be that I am no longer going to be responsible for my own snow removal or grass mowing. I'm going to be on city water and sewer. I will have cable access. I will be a short drive to all of the shopping I need in Avon and just a few minutes more of a drive to Indy.

Negotiations went smoothly, and my financing arrangements are being handled. Now begins the waiting period until my closing on July 29. So yay!

Meanwhile, we are going to leave Annette's today to return to River Mist, which is now on the market. I am hopeful that it sells soon, now that my new plans are in place!

Location : Frosty Rose Dr, Avon, IN 46123,

River Mist

People who live in special houses often name them. I believe a good name for this house on the Muskegon would be "River Mist" or its Norwegian or Welsh equivalent. :-)

Jack and I arrived here yesterday in the early afternoon after a 3-hour drive from Elkhart. The drive was not particularly easy, with both wind and rain pounding us, but we arrived without incident.

The house is lovely-- just as we left it nearly 9 months ago. It still smells like a new home, and there was no evidence of anything amiss. The folks who stayed here in our absence kept it up well!

The only weird thing is the weather. OK, I've never been in Michigan this early, true. But the oaks are still bare and it is 33° this morning!¡! Color me surprised!

Location : 22001-22999 220th Ave, Paris, MI 49338,

Tall corn

The RV park where Jack and I stayed last night used to be the Tall Corn KOA. In those days, it was modern, shiny and new. Now it's called Kamp Komfort -- a nod to its KOA roots. But it's showing signs of neglect. I think that there is still some dirt in the bathrooms which may have been left when ownership changed hands.

Sigh. The leaves that are green turn to brown and the life we used to have cannot be brought back. This life has its joys and its share of fun, but it cannot be the old life. I'm allowing a tear to fall for the Tall Corn KOA ...and for the times I had here before. Ily M.

Location : 1530 Julie Dr, Bloomington, IL 61701,

Tall corn

The RV park where Jack and I stayed last night used to be the Tall Corn KOA. In those days, it was modern, shiny and new. Now it's called Kamp Komfort -- a nod to its KOA roots. But it's showing signs of neglect. I think that there is still some dirt in the bathrooms which may have been left when ownership changed hands.

Sigh. The leaves that are green turn to brown and the life we used to have cannot be brought back. This life has its joys and its share of fun, but it cannot be the old life. I'm allowing a tear to fall for the Tall Corn KOA ...and for the times I had here before. Ily M.

Location : 1530 Julie Dr, Bloomington, IL 61701,

Tall corn

The RV park where Jack and I stayed last night used to be the Tall Corn KOA. In those days, it was modern, shiny and new. Now it's called Kamp Komfort -- a nod to its KOA roots. But it's showing signs of neglect. I think that there is still some dirt in the bathrooms which may have been left when ownership changed hands.

Sigh. The leaves that are green turn to brown and the life we used to have cannot be brought back. This life has its joys and its share of fun, but it cannot be the old life. I'm allowing a tear to fall for the Tall Corn KOA ...and for the times I had here before. Ily M.

Location : 1530 Julie Dr, Bloomington, IL 61701,

Canton, Mississippi

Yesterday was good. We very intelligently got the rv unhooked before the rains came to Baton Rouge. And when it rained, it poured and there was lots of lightening  and thunder! It didn't last long, though, and we were heading out.

We stopped early at a little church, Faith Presbyterian, in Baton Rouge, and their parking lot was fine for our rig. This church was special for lots of reasons, one of them being that they had really nice snacks for before and after church -- finger sandwiches, tiny pizzas, little cinnamon rolls, grapes, strawberries, blackberries...  I found the sermon tedious and mostly pointless, but the congregation was really welcoming and happy to have us there.

Then, well-fed with church snacks, we were on our way northward. It was an easy <4 hour drive to Canton, Missouri, where we ended up in a "worker bee" park.

I have nothing against working folks. I know that they run the world. But they also tend to start their day far earlier than I want to start mine. The first car left here at 5:00 am and there has been a steady stream since. Of course the roads in the park are gravel. And now, at 6, the people next door are outside talking, slamming doors, and coughing a lot. :-/

Location : 1437 W Peace St, Canton, MS 39046,

Baton Rouge

We have decided we love B R! Yesterday we went to visit and go up to the top of the magnificent State Capitol building. Although there were hundreds of schoolchildren all around, we were nearly alone at the top. And the children were quiet and very well-behaved. We were surprised!

We had a fine lunch at a place called Shucks, after finding a free parking garage behind the Belle Casino. Then we went the short walk to the USS Kidd - a retired but well-restored destroyer from WWII. We enjoyed our self-guided tour there, and the museum as well.

Weather has warmed and cleared,after a few days of somewhat chilly. Today will be 81°!

Location : 4, LA,

Lordsburg, New Mexico

We actually did make it out of Tucson, even though the "where is Janee now" hasn't updated. We stopped here attending the koa because we wanted to, but, even if we had wanted to go on, we would have been stuck here. Because of fierce winds and dust storms, I-10 is closed immediately east of here, all the way to Las Cruces.

Location : W Railway, Lordsburg, NM 88045,

Goodbye 2005

Today I did my after-tax-filing shredding party. This means that I moved all my 2011 folders into long-term storage, moved 2012 from immediate to short-term storage, and I took 2005 out of long-term and shredded all those papers.

Everyone has different ways of keeping stuff and different timetables for purging. Michael basically never purged anything. So when I was preparing to sell the house in Bloomington, I had to shred 50 + years of documents. I had the shredded going for literally days. So this one-year-at-a-time thing is a piece of cake. Fun, actually.

Location : E Centrepark Dr, Tucson, AZ 85710,