Some interest in house but no offers yet

The house has been officially listed for about a week.  It has been shown a couple of times but the action seems pretty slow.  But, as they say, it only takes one right person.  So I'm hopeful.

Alan at the Hearst Castle

I am still in California.  Val and I went up to Santa Barbara and then Paso Robles for some touring of the wine country on the Central Coast.  It was very fun.  We also went over to Cambria and up to the Hearst Castle, which I hadn't seen for ages.  It is an amazing place. Here are a couple of pictures.  One of Hearst Castle and one of Santa Barbara Harbor where we were having lunch.

Val at lunch at Santa Barbara Harber

I'm so glad to be here and not at home in Texas where the brutal weather and lack of rain is taking its toll with the vegetation dying and the wildfires destroying large amounts of land and homes.  There is apparently smoke in the air all the time.  

House is on the market

Finally!! Here is the listing. Not sure it will work but the listing looks good. There will be a broker open house next week to show the house to area brokers. I am hoping that we will get some action. Lorrie has been working like crazy to be sure that the house and yard are perfect.

Val and I have been busy. We spent a couple of days in Denver visiting the Bedfords and Waldrons and going to a Rockies - Astros game. Rockies won. We also visited museums, botanic gardens and ate at some great restaurants. We have more friends and things to do in Denver but that will have to be at another time. We have also visited Boyd and Helen in Redlands and Ken and Maureen in Manhattan beach. This weekend we will have my long-time friend, John Gerber coming to visit and also Julie Woosley will be coming. So it is a busy time. We hope to take a trip to the Santa Barbara - Paso Robles wine regions some time in the next week or so. Just watched "Sideways" again to get ready.

Val is here

I'm settled back in Carlsbad and Val is visiting. We are doing a lot of things around here like the Zoo, a play and walking on the beach. Friday we will be at a Padres game (Craig has tickets and can't go). After the game we may go into the GasLamp district of San Diego where Craig and his band are performing. In spite of his hectic schedule and travels, he is dedicated to his weekly practice and the occasional Gig.

Last week we went up to Laguna to have lunch with a friend from Merck, Liz Stoner. Her daughter has been at Chapman University in Orange for the past three years and now is in Vet shool. Chapman moved to Orange in about 1953 and took over my high school campus when our school moved to new quarters. So I had 2 years of high school at the buildings that are now a part of Chapman. They have expanded a lot but he old buildings are still there and look great. We had a good time catching up with Liz.

This week we spent a day in Redlands with Boyd and Helen and went to the Redlands bowl where the Dallas Brass was performing. They were very good. Yesterday we came back from Redlands through Orange where we had lunch at a soda fountain with some of my high school friends. A "panorama" picture of the lunch attendees is here.

Meanwhile, Lorrie has been knocking herself out trying to get the house in perfect condition for a sale. Some remodeling has been done and the yard has been manicured. The realtors should be staging it as I write this. So I'm hoping for a quick sale--you gotta hope. Lorrie says it has never looked so good and I believe her. I'm rather glad I am not there to see the changes that have occurred.

Pretty busy

I am back in California for the rest of the summer, I hope. Lorrie is supervising the process of getting the house on the market including getting everything looking great for the sale. The realtors will be "staging" it soon. I hope it will sell. It is a lot of work for Lorrie. She is an expert in interior design (has a bachelor's degree in that from CSU) so she is perfect for this challenge.

Since getting back to California, I have been traveling some. I spent a week on the east coast First I was in Princeton, NJ for a meeting and then went to NY to meet up with Barry and Laura, my friends from Merck days. NY is warm these days. On the weekend, we went upstate to their country place which is near the MA border. It was much cooler and fresher there. We were joined by three other couples from Merck or ex-Merck. The so called "Old Farts Club". I hadn't seen any of these folk since I retired in 2002. So it was great fun swapping stories. Saturday we went to Tanglewood, the summer venue for the Boston Symphony, Sunday we went on a 6 mile hike before returning to the city. I was experimenting with a photo app on the iphone that allows for 360 degree panoramas. It is posted here if you are interested.

Hope my next post will be about all the imminent sale of the house.

Lots of progress, finally

I've been in Texas since July 5. Timing turns out to have been good. The flooring had all been placed and the finishing was happening that week. I have gotten agreement from the insurance company USAA to release the final payment. I think I have the bank's agreement also, but they are more difficult requiring all sorts of forms and stuff. So I hope when I return to California tomorrow, I will be able to find the checks in the mail to reimburse me for the repairs.

I am filling out forms for a realtor to help with the sale. There are some additional things to do to make the house more sellable and these are ongoing. I hope to have it on the market pretty soon.

Grandson Christopher accompanied me to Texas and has spent the time with his cousins, Stephen and Andrew. I think the heat and humidity has been a shock to him as it is to most people who wander in here from some place else. Texas has not only had record heat but also a severe drought so that many living things are no longer. People are wishing a hurricane or tropical storm would blow through (just kidding, I think). So I will be happy to get back to Carlsbad where the high temperature during the day is 6-10 degrees cooler than the low temperature here at night.

50th

Lots of thoughts today. You think that you are getting over the loss and sadness but then, occasionally, it returns. Plan to go to San Diego this evening for dinner with Barry--that should cheer me up. Will be back in Texas July 5-16. I hope the flooring is complete by that time and we can get the house ready to be put on the market.

In Cool California

Left Houston on June 2 and spent 3 days in Tucson with Ray and Julie Woosley, great friends for many years. It was a good time as usual. Arrived in California on June 6. My friend, Val, came out on the 7th and has been here since. She will be going back to Texas this weekend. It has been fun having her here. Val is a master gardener and has been helping to fix up the condo with its plants in pots on the patio and balcony. We are using the Darwin approach. If something can't make it, it gets replaced. We have been doing touristy San Diego stuff here, but there is still a lot to for Val to see.

The weather has been pretty typical "June gloom" with morning clouds and usually afternoon sun. This is a big change from Houston where the temperatures and humidity are about 100%. It will be a shock to go back.

We took a hike in the Torrey Pines state reserve. It is one of my favorite walks in this area. It is always interesting and beautiful. Here are a couple pictures. Some day I need to get out here earlier to see the California poppies that are wildflowers in the reserve.

Still problems with the house in Richmond. We have the wood and were getting ready to finish the job, but the moisture readings on the floor were still too high. So it looks like the plywood subflooring will need to be ripped up to let the concrete slab dry out. This will delay things further (and cost more). The nightmare continues... But the Sugar Land condo has come together nicely and is now very livable. Lorrie continues to monitor it and is also doing the decorating and furnishing. She is so sweet and helpful. I will need to go back to Texas some time to finish up dealing with the bank and insurance company about the house repairs. Probably will go in early July. Lorrie and John and their boys will be in California through July 4 looking at colleges. I will see them around the holidays.

We have seen Kathie, Craig and the boys but they have been so busy that we haven't spent much time with them. Craig travels to NYC a lot recently and Kathie has had some trips...leaving for Seattle this week. We will take the boys to the farmer's market today. This is something of a tradition in the summer. Sally used to take them every Wednesday and they pick out fresh produce for their family. Anything to get them to eat something other than fast food!

June 25 would have been our 50th wedding anniversary. My good friend Barry Gertz will be in town from New York and we will have dinner and a toast to Sally. Thank goodness for friends and family. Val and I went met Boyd and Helen in Temecula for lunch on Monday this week. It was great to see them.