So Much Going On!

I still feel I have things in hand but there is much going on - on three fronts; Glen Ellyn, Redmond, and Longmont. In Glen Ellyn the buyers is asking for things not in the contract, probably not a biggie but something to deal with. Paperwork for Redmond - Oregon Income Tax Withholding on the sale and some VA stuff. The appraisal is done on the Redmond house and is good. Going to the underwriter next. In Longmont the builder is refinishing the wood floors.

In Glen Ellyn packing continues and I am feeling good. Today I packed a wardrobe box with my keyboard, a quilt and our winter coats. I filled and sealed one large box and two mediums and one small with wall art and photos, books, knick knacks, and assorted other items. I filled a large flat art box with two large format pieces from the living room. Three large pieces to go. I am out of large packing boxes and feel I might need a few more. Today I took two goldfish to Melody for her pond. I wanted to take her three of four but the fish did not cooperate with me. They all went deep as soon as I started dipping. I might need a bigger, longer net.

I'm tired.

22 Days!

Home!

Sunday afternoon and we are home. We stopped in Davenport to join in the birthday celebration for Brady, so this added another night on the road, but it was worth it, though the cats might not agree!

 

Moving?

The Jordans have found a house they both agree on and like a lot. And it seems early on in the Colorado experience and feeling this may be the one to make them commit to leave Glen Ellyn. If everything comes together this could be ours. Lots of space, great for cooking and entertaining, and a wonderful, expansive view of the mountains from the bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs. I am amused that ten years ago on my birthday weekend we looked at and bought a 2006 Miata. Here we are on my birthday weekend looking at and putting a deposit on a house. The house is a bit more expensive than a Miata. Three bedroom, two and a half bath, a small loft upstairs, a small office downstairs, an almost 1,000 sf basement, small low maintenance lot, backs up to a greenbelt, three car tandem garage, the coolest master bath with a soaking tub, hardwood downstairs, very nice carpet upstairs, laundry room upstairs attached to master bedroom closet, lots of cabinet and drawer space in the kitchen. No double oven. Heck we can't have everything.

Changes

While trying to sleep last night I was pondering our potential move to Longmont. We don't have to move from Glen Ellyn, at least not right now, but I think we eventually might. Should we move now and where do we move? We've been in Longmont for two weeks and certainly like the weather, the people, and the proximity to the mountains. But should we make the move? Can we afford the move? How do we swing buying a house while ours might still be for sale? How do we handle the logistics of a move? So many questions.

The hardest part of the move is the move. And, for me, it is getting rid of all my accumulated "stuff", most of which has no meaning, it is just accumulated things.

Random Thoughts

Older homes have a narrative of the families who have lived in them and around them. Ours have a narritive going back to the 1920s when it was built. We know little of that narrative other tha. the 21 years we have lived here we know the Halquist family came before us and the Anderson family before them. Our 21 years here have been comfortable and the house has been filled with friends and family. We are still comfortable and content here.

Which brings me to thoughts on moving to Colorado. The cold last couple of winters here and my body's issues with that cold are what has prompted our looking into moving to Colorado. This is why we are renting a house for seven weeks in Longmont. If the weather is milder during those months and the sun is shining I may be more comfortable with my neuropathy. Sharon pointed out this week that we shouldn't make a move based on change for the sake of change and she is right. I have been excited about the possibility of change - a new modern home, a new city to explore, mountains to see, trout streams to stand in. But, we should look at what we might give up. Leaving friends behind, being 600 more miles from Kathy, Kevin, and Brady. For me that is somewhat offset by being 800 miles closer to John, Kristie, Avery, and Anika.

Today I used J&R Automotive in Glen Ellyn to replace sway bar links on Red. They have been in Glen Ellyn longer than we have and I have never used them for automobile service. I drove over there at about 7:15 this morning, dropped off the car, and walked home. They called shortly with an estimate and I had them replace all four sway bar links, front and back. Total cost $340. The same service from the Mazda dealer which I will no longer go to, $322 for the front and $522 for the rear. J&R was done by 9:30 and I walked back over there to get the car. Easy.

As I walked back and forth from J&R and our house I looked at all of the houses along the way. Some are in fantastic condition, some are not but, back to the first paragraph here, they all have a narrative. We will start a new narrative if we purchase a new home in Colorado.

Changes

Today I have been thinking about changes that happen when you move. New neighborhoods mean new grocery stores, new cleaners, new hardware stores, new doctors, new friends, new experiences. Changes in latitude and changes in attitude. We have been in Glen Ellyn for 21 years and everything around us is familiar. We don't think about how to get somewhere or where to go. We know. We just know. If a cat needs care, we know which vet to call. If we need service on our heater, we know who to call. If we need a new appliance, we know where to go. If we need dinner, we know where to go. In a new town, we have to discover those all anew. All of this came to mind while picking out a Christmas tree and wreaths at Hacker's today. They have become our go to for a ything related to plants. We will miss them, and all the other easy go tos in Glen Ellyn.

Halloween

Not much activity here at Casa Jordan for Halloween. We had a cold and rainy day and by sunset the trick or treaters were gone. We gave out a combination of kazoos and candy. The kazoos were well received. I sat by the front door, on the inside, played my ukulele and kazoo, Shelby watched the door, and we waited for kiddos. Sharon had that duty before I got home and she didn't see many kiddos either.

 

Health

Sharon has been going to Orangetheory fitness for quite some time now, and she is getting more and more fit. I suppose I was jealous and more and more concerned about my fitness and I began looking for ways to up my game. I've been biking regularly for over a year now and know it has helped me but I wanted to step it up. I chose to get a Polar heat rate monitor and focus on heart health. This is one of the keys with Sharon's visits to Orangetheory, they wear heart rate sensors and strive to stay in higher heart rate zone to improve cardiovascular health.

In the month I have been using a heart rate monitor while riding And targeted a maximum heart rate of 152. I can't get there yet because my legs give out too soon! I can however get up to and slightly above 130. I have been able to spend more time at heart rate levels 3 and 4 and I have seen my at rest heart rate fall from about 72 to about 62. My recovery time has improved also. In a short time I have seen visible results for consciously watching my heart rate as I exercise.

I am still enjoying my rides, getting in about three a week. I have been sticking with the Illinois Prairie Path going either east or west from Glen Ellyn. I can get on the path within two blocks of the house and simply have to decide which way to turn onto the Prairie Path. The crushed limestone surface means more rolling resistance than on pavement, dust when it is dry, and wet cement when it is wet, but in general it is good to ride on. There are the occasional asshat riders going too fast and not announcing when they are passing, and those that ignore cross traffic, and those that ride two or three abreast. But, the majority of riders and walkers and runners share the path with courtesy.

Life Without Our Maple Tree

I do miss the old maple in our yard. It was a friend for all of the almost 22 years we have lived here, but its time was done. Our back yard is transformed, and the west side of our house gets hotter now, but the birds at our feeder seem to be more abundant so I suppose it is not all bad. In the late afternoon we are still shaded by the maple next door and the back yard cools off nicely. I can sit in the back and observe the comings and goings of the neighbors and watch the doves come to peck. This fall and winter I will enjoy the warmth from burning maple in the fire pit and the fireplace. The old tree gave us plenty of wood for that. Different but good. I miss you!

Argh! Colby Is Ranting Again

Rant #1

Illinois bicycle laws - apparently rules are not for everyone. At least slow down for a stop sign and DO NOT ignore traffic signals.  Even Peg, one of my biking gods, argues that traffic signals are not for cyclists is traffic is clear. (Though her car's license plate surround says "Same rights, same rules.") She claims that biking is all about momentum. To me, that does not mean you can ignore the rules of the road. I will admit to rolling through stop signs unless there is a car coming. But, I wait for a red light to go green before I go at a traffic signal controlled intersection. Most cyclists have no idea what the rules are, and in fact know a dismal few of the rules hey should follow in a car.

Rant #2

Biking in downtown Glen Ellyn - posted signs say no bikes on the downtown sidewalks. I get off and walk my bike while having to avoid adults and kids who choose to ride theirs.

Rant #3

Prairie Path riding and walking etiquette. Single file please! Move over! Announce you are passing! Don't block the path! Cars, if you stop for a train, don't stop across the path crossing! Share!

Friends And Independence Day

Larry and Dave visited us for Independence Day holiday weekend. We had a very nice visit focused on shopping, eating, and drinking. We've been out to breakfast at Jucy-O and Butterfield's. We had a fabulous breakfast at home. We've had dinner at home and Bien Trucha. We've had coffee at Starbucks. We had cocktails in the back yard. Sharon and the boys had cocktails at Weber Grill. We've been to Steinmart and to Von Maur. I scored a seersucker sport coat and two shirts at Steinmart. Sharon and Larry both got great deals at Von Maur. Larry bought a wallet at Louis Vitton and he is VERY proud of it. They went to the iStore and Larry got a new iPhone cover and Sharon took over his old one. Today Larry and Sharon are cooking gravy. One of Larry's talents is making really good Italian gravy. It will be great.
We managed to not go to the Glen Ellyn parade or fireworks (though we could not avoid the noise from the fireworks and the cats did not like the noise at all.)
Last night we had a very tasty early dinner at Bien Trucha. Sharon and the boys had sangria and I had a Tomatesta made with tomatillo, lime, mint and smoky vida mezcal. Yum. I also had a Michelada. Wow, never had one of those. Kind of a Mexican version of a bloody mary - but better. We sampled a number of Bien Trucha's small plates and all were delicious. Bien Trucha is an extension of A Toda Madre - which will open its second restaurant in Glen Ellyn sometime this summer. I am excited for their appearance here. We finished our evening with a trip to Von Maur, ice cream at Oberweis, and then trash TV at home.

Biking

Almost a month ago I decided to get back on my bicycle and get some exercise. I've worked up from once a week to twice a week. From about five miles to about twelve. In fact, my time to do twelve miles this week was about the same as doing five my first week. I am feeling stronger and I have dropped a few pounds. Now to see if I can keep it up. I need to lose 40 pounds before our next trip to Spain so that Sharon will let me wear a Speedo.

I've been going east and west from Glen Ellyn on the Prairie Path. Going west I go to and beyond Wheaton. Going east I have gone past Hwy 83 and Salt Creek to Elmhurst. They are both interesting rides and each very different. West is mostly along the Union Pacific tracks with lots of train action. East is mostly through residential areas. The people I see on the Prairie Path are much the same, but downtown Glen Ellyn seems to have more unsupervised children. Of course there are also unsupervised adults who need to be curbed. It seems a big portion of the bicycling population, both adults and children, were never properly taught the basics of riding. They ride on the wrong side of the road or path. They ride on sidewalks. They ignore traffic rules. They assume that if they are on a sidewalk they have the same rights as pedestrians. As someone who is largely a rules follower, I find this behaviour aggravating.

My next adventures will extend past the Prairie Path. North along the Great Western Trail and south to some of the Forest Preserve sites along Butterfield Road and beyond.

Polar Vortexing!

For the second time this winter we are being hit with the effects of he polar vortex. This morning Sharon flew off to Denver, Colorado where it is tankfully warmer than here! Last time the vortex did its thing she was scheduled to fly to Cleveland and her flight was cancelled. This time her flight was a go - except for the fact that the toilet froze before they got off the ground and they had to change planes.

It was -1 degrees when we left the house today at 5:00am. Even though the sun was shining through most of the day, the temperature dropped during the day and now at 9:00pm, the tempertature here in Glen Ellyn is down to -8. We are supposed to get down to -18 by morning. Yikes!

I spent the day inside except for the trip to O'Hare and one trip out to bring in the garbage and recycling bins and to get the mail. And, I was thankful that I put plastic film up on the inside of windows and put up the last storm window yeterday. The house is chilly, but there are few drafts. I was thankful that Shelby wanted to cuddle on my lap when I was on the computer and watching TV. He knows how to keep warm and keep me warm. I can take this time to pull of income taxes together and other paperwork tasks. I need to finish laminate in the basement but it is even too cold down there at 60 degrees.

Bring on warmer weather!!!

 

Storm Wrap Up

Sunday I did the first house keeping since our days without electricity. Boy did we do a fine job messing the house. I couldn't believe how dirty the hardwood floors were - and the cats left me a fine mess of cat hair everywhere. The main rooms are presentable and now I can work on other things!

Yesterday, Monday, I tackled the yard and tried to make it look a little better. I think I'll be picking up twigs for months. Evey time I walk through the yard I pick up a handful of twigs that blew out of the maple trees and then a little later I find more and perhaps a branch in the bushes. I mowed, weeded, and watered also, the drought is not helping our shrubs and flowers. When even prairie plants that should do just fine with high heat and little water are looking bad you know you've got a bad drought going on.

The tree removal folks have not made an appearance - either from the village or the one we are using to take out the badly damaged maple. The limbs we have lining the parkway are slowly vanishing though. Folks have been scavenging firewood and have made quite a dent in our pile.

The insurance adjuster (or is that adjustor?) were here last Thursday but I have not seen anything from the insurance company yet.

We leave for China in two and a half weeks. July 27 to August 9. I am paying bills and looking at accounts to make sure we've got everything covered. Matt Olsen will be house sitting again. We've done the clothes shopping we need and have thought about what we are packing. I've got a pile of electronics and camera equipment collected on the dining room table. As usual we will have one roll-a-board each and one carry on. I suspect we will pack especially light for this trip because it will be so hot there. Light weight washable clothes, short sleeves and shorts. Plenty of shoes for me!

Glen Ellyn July 4th Parade

Hot down home fun for all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summertime Power Woes

This past Sunday at around noon a powerful thunderstorm came though the Chicago area. Our village, Glen Ellyn, was hit hard and our street took a lot of damage. We lost a large Bradford Pear tree in front of the house on the parkway. This one fell into the driveway and the street. Sue Reyes was visiting from San Diego and the tree missed her rental car by a few feet. The large maple between our house and the Metcalf's to the south of us was torn asunder, splitting in half. Luckily it fell directly east and right between the houses. Each house took a little gutter damage but nothing more. However, niece Kathy and grand niece Brady were visiting also. Kathy's car was right in the path of the tree, but miraculously, the big branches of the tree went on either side and above her car. We were able to cut her out with a hand saw and clippers. Her Prius had a few little dents and scratches on the hood. When I have access to my laptop to transfer some photos I will add them to the blog.

Lee came over with his chainsaw, and with the aid of neighbors we cleared the tree from our street and the driveway so that we can get in an out. During the storm as trees fell they took down power lines. One was in the street just two houses south of us. Today is Tuesday and we are still without electricity. Com Ed claims we will have power restored by 11:00 P.M. on Wednesday, July 4.

Being summer in Chicago it is warm - in the 90s all this week so it is a bit uncomfortable in our house. Sue had reservations at the Palmer House in Chicago as she was attending a conference. We sent Kathy and Brady with Sue for a night in the city. We stuck it out at the house Sunday night, and though uncomfortable for the first few hours, it did cool off and dropped into the 70s by morning.

On Monday I bought three bags of ice and pulled two coolers from the garage. I began the task of emptying and cleaning our refrigerator. It really needed cleaning! I see this as an opportunity. I tossed a lot of old stuff and pulled all the shelves and drawers out and washed everything. I found a bag of salad and an open Prosecco bottle, so took a break for lunch in the back yard under our almost intact maple. Later in the day I talked to Melissa Nachman who offered us their portable generator. Lee brought it over within an hour. It is running to keep our freezer in the basement going. I also used it to charge my phone and run a fan. The downside is that it is noisy and has to be refilled with gas every hour and a half.

Sharon and I attempted to stay at a local Comfort Suites last night. What should have been a ten minute drive to get there turned into an hour of driving for me. When I got there they had my reservation, but no wifi, no cable, no refrigerator, and a room next to the pool. I passed, called Sharon and told her to go home and not the hotel. We went to our favorite local Mexican restaurant and then home to our hot house. We both managed sleep, but uncomfortably and in different bedrooms.

I am now in place at the local Panera. An everything bagel, coffee, wifi, and life is good. Sharon is going to look into a hotel for tonight. Tomorrow we will go to the Glen Ellyn Independence Day parade. Kathryn Hudson has invited us to join her at her store on Main Street in Glen Ellyn. She is offering seating and bloody marys. Hard to beat an offer like this. Then tomorrow evening, we are having cocktails on the court. I'm going to smoke some ribs. Hmmm. I might need another cooler to keep them in tonight. Next stop Costco for ribs and cooler?

Heard while at Panera, "Do you actually have a plain bagel actually."

I went to Costco today to pick up some ribs for tomorrow. All the Walmart shoppers were there. I wanted to sing the Walmart song! I sat in the food court and watched people go by. I couldn't help but wonder if they thought I looked odd. After Walmart...uh Costo I bought a bag of ice and cold beer at Binny's. It was time to add some fresh ice to the coolers and fill the new cooler I got at Costco. It is a nice one, stainless steel and even has a bottle opener on it. Do you think the home owner's insurance will pay for it?

Kramer tree service came by and gave us an estimate on taking out the remains of the maple that went down between the houses. $2,194. I also talked to the insurance company who will be sending out an adjuster on Thursday. No update fro m Comed on power restoration but they are working in the neighborhood, slowly, but they are working. Power is back within a block of us, but not at our house.

I discovered water that I thought had been draining from the kitchen sink was actually draining into the dishwasher and then leaking out of the dishwasher onto the floor. I bailed the dishwasher and then mopped the floor. Then I took a wash tub we use for party beverages out into the yard with my iPhone and a beer, filled the tub with water and vegged in the back yard for a while. In the meantime I plugged the clothes washer into the generator and rewashed some things that had been sitting in the washer. Turns out the clothes washer does not like the generator power and I had to manually advance through the cycles until the things were done. Now I am cooling off and using power and wifi at the Glen Ellyn Library. I am ready for the Hyatt tonight and power back at the house tomorrow.

Final update. We had dinner with Lee and then went to the Hyatt. Nice room and cool! On Wednesday we went home, dropped off our things and started the generator. Then over to the Glen Oak for breakfast and cooling. We then walked a block down to main street to Knicker's where Kathryn Hudson had invited us to watch the parade. A great time. Then home, a side trip to Whole Foods for supplies. Sharon made sangria and we headed out to the court around 6:00 to eat snacks, drink sangria, chat with the neighbors, and wait for Com Ed. Com Ed fixed the power lines, replaced a transformer, and then we had power! There was much cheering from the court and we all went home to turn on our air conditioners. We are back in business. Three and a half days without power and 90+ degree days makes for stressful living. We are spoiled.

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