Going to California for a while

Gradually recovering from the China trip. It really takes a while to readjust to all those time zones. But now thinking about going to California as was our wont for the summer. This is first time that I will be leaving the new condo and I need to try and think about what I need to do to get it in shape to leave. Should be a lot easier than leaving the house. I know I will need to come back here at some point when all the repairs are done to get the house on the market and also to try and get all the money from the bank and the insurance company. If you have ever had a disaster to repair, both the bank and the insurance companies make it as hard as possible to actually get it done, even when you have had approval for all the funds needed. First, the insurance company has something called "recoverable depreciation" which in my case is about 20% of the total funds. So I have to get the house repaired, show that I actually paid what was estimated, and then get that money released. Second, the mortgage company, in my case Wells Fargo Bank, takes the money that the insurance company has approved and puts it in an escrow account, and then releases it a little at a time, based on the amount of repairs completed. So you have to pay for the repairs up front to get the money. No wonder so many people have not gotten what is owed to them after hurricanes, tornadoes and such. If you don't have the resources to pay for most of the repairs yourself, you can never get the money from these guys. Anyway, enough of that rant.

I have honed down the pictures I took in China to a still large collection. For those who are interested, you can see them here. I hope you enjoy them. There are three short film clips near the start of the photo collection so try and play them if you can. It was useful to go though these pictures and relive that most wonderful trip.

Back from China

Just returned from a great trip to China. I went with Judy and Joel Bedford from Denver whose son and his family live in Beijing. So it was like having an almost native tour guide to help us.

We started our trip in Beijing with its magnificent temples and the Forbidden City. On the anniversary of Sally's death we were at the Temple of Heaven and had a toast to Sally.

We then took a train to Tibet passing over areas as high as nearly 17,000 ft before arriving in Lhasa at a lower (about 14,000 ft) altitude. A little headache early on but Diamox for a day helped keep it from getting bad. In Lhasa we saw the Potala which is the palace of the Dalai Lama. He has been in exile for the past 52 years in India. Tibet is quite different from China. The language is different and the people seem to live a simple life, unlike people in the cities in China. It doesn't appear that the Tibetan people could stage any kind of uprising and yet Lhasa is patrolled by armed chinese military, some in full riot gear. Possession of a picture of the Dalai Lama is a prison-able offense. Lots of wonderful sights and wonderful Chinese food. In Tibet, the food is influenced by India. The main meat in Tibet is Yak. I had a yak steak and a yakburger. Joel wanted to open a franchise for the "Big Yak" to compete with MacDonalds.

Everything is so old. Many structures date to 400AD. The great wall was initially consructed in about 250 BC. We saw parts of the great wall in disrepair and parts that had been reconstructed. Very impressive.

In the "cultural revolution" Mao tried to destroy many of the temples and monasteries. He even destroyed some the great wall. The Potala was spared. It is said the the loss of life under Mao was greater than Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin. But Cultural Revolution sounds so much nicer than Holocaust and people don't realize what really happened!!

Chinese Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism are fairly different, I am told. Tibetan Buddhism is referred to as Lama-ism by the Chinese. Buddhism came from India and then spread through Tibet and China. I'd like to learn more about this fascinating religion and plan to do some more reading on it. I guess that is what defines a great trip--the desire to learn more after you have gotten back.

Meanwhile, the house repairs are partly done. We are now waiting for the arrival of the wood that should be here by the end of this month. We had a successful estate sale while I was in China.

House problems continue

I hate to bum anyone out, but the water damage at the house is worse than originally thought. It looks now like the entire wood floor (about 2000 sq. ft.) will need to be replaced. On the bright side, there will be an entirely new floor and new finish so that will make the house look better for a sale. Also, the drywall and ceiling repairs are all complete. So I hope we can now get started on the floor (takes at least two weeks to get the special wood that we used).

Everything at the condo is nearly done, hooray. This has take longer than I expected also, but it is worth it.

Off to China and Tibet in about a week and a half. Exciting.

Finally things coming together

It seems like everything is finally falling into place. The water damage in the house is about ready to be repaired after the insurance company approved the estimate. So I hope that by the end of this month, it will be repaired. The estate sale is now delayed until early May. Then it will be trying to get the house in shape to put on market.

The condo finally has TV, a phone

(281-491-7982), DSL and a security system. Pretty much everything is done. I'm hoping to have my life back (famous line from BP CEO) pretty soon. Walked along the lake in front of the condo and saw this yellow crowned night heron--he just came almost up to us. I had a bird app on the iPhone and played the

sound and I think the bird thought I might be a good mate.

I head to China for a couple of weeks beginning the last day of this month. I am going with Judy and Joel and it should be exciting.

Some slow progress

I finally have the bids and the insurance company assessment of the damages so I can now get started on the repairs. At least there is light at the end of the long tunnel. I hope they can get started right away so that we can move forward with the sale.

Also, I now finally have TV. I don't think I commented too much about this, but it has been another minor ordeal to get it. Comcast came out almost two months ago to install cable but they first needed to pull a cable from their distribution box to the house. In the process they broke the string they were using to pull the cable through the conduit and at that point they were stymied. At least four guys came out with supervisors and they said they couldn't do anything to supply service to the house. I mean this is Comcast that has enormous resources and they can't figure out what to do!! This is their business for God's sake. So I called the contractor who has been doing some work here and he came out and we pulled another string by using my shopvac and sucking it through the conduit--took 5 minutes. We then bought a lot of cable and pulled it through--no problem. All in all, maybe an hour including going to get the cable. If we had had the cable, like Comcast, it would have taken total maybe 20 minutes. And Comcast couldn't do it. I wish I could go with another provider, but ATT doesn't service this area with U-verse (some sort of deal with Comcast I am told). And DirecTV couldn't figure out how to connect the dish to the cable on the roof. So I'm stuck with Comcast, but at least I can now watch the news.

So things are gradually happening, and that gives me hope that someday I can get back to a normal life. By the way, my new address is:

1356 Lake Pointe Parkway

Sugar Land, TX 77478

Cell: 281-414 2426 (Unchanged)

Landline: 281-491-7982 (New)

Email: alannies@gmail.com (unchanged)

There is room here for guests so please visit.

Things could be better

As last reported, I was just back from Mexico and feeling pretty good about everything. It was a really great trip. However, Lorrie went by the house after we got back and I got this call that there had been a major problem. While we were gone, the water heater in the attic had leaked with water coming through the ceiling and eventually onto the hardwood floors in the hallway coming in from the garage. The wood was ruined. So what to do?? I contacted our original builder (he has been so great over the years) who said to call ServPro a company that deals in these kinds of mishaps. They came with a truck full of equipment--vacuumed out the water, tore out dry wall and ceilings, dug up the floor and left dozens of fans and dehumidifiers running. It looked terrible, but at least something was being done. Then called the insurance company who suggested a restoration contractor who came out took pictures and measurements and submitted it all to the insurance company. Our original builder (Randall Carr) also came out and did much of the same and will give me a bid. It took about a week for the house to dry with the guys coming every day and taking measurements. So now it looks like someplace in Dresden after the bombing. I am now awaiting word from the insurance company about what they will cover. The wood that needs to be replaced had been specially ordered from New England, originally--wide plank maple flooring. The main great room in the house didn't get wet, thank goodness. So it goes.

Finally getting a phone and internet at the condo.

Still no TV cable (long story). So there is some, albeit painfully slow, progress. Anyway, I am hopeful that all will eventually come together. Sometime

s I wish I were on the beach in Akumal--another picture here for your pleasure.

Busy, Busy, Busy

It's been a while, hasn't it. A lot has happened and I haven't had much internet access for the past month except by my iPhone. The move has happened and I am living in the new condo. It hasn't been entirely smooth, but good enough.

So while I was up with Craig and the boys at Winter Park, Lorrie and Kathie were working like crazy figuring out the move. The packing was done in a day and the move the next day. They also unloaded a lot of the kitchen stuff and my clothes. In addition they went a got some new stuff for the condo where it was needed. When I returned I came to the condo and spent my first night in the new bed in the new bedroom. There are still boxes full of stuff everywhere and I can't find a lot of things, but gradually it is happening.

Then on Saturday, March 5, Judy Bedford came and stayed here.

She came to help with the antiques that she had bought with Sally. Lorrie has moved a lot of the stuff to the new condo and has it displayed on a giant bookshelf that we had built in the family room. She thought that Lorrie and Kathie had done a fantastic job and it brought back a lot of memories for her. We had a good cry and then moved on. Judy is taking a few items that had special significance for her and Sally for her condo in Denver. Judy left on Tuesday, March 8.

Then on Saturday, March 12, I joined Lorrie, John and the boys for a trip to Akumal, Mexico. This great place is on the Yucatan peninsula south of

Cancun and south of Cozumel island. We stayed in a condo on the beach. We were on the fourth floor so we had a great view of Half Moon Bay. A picture from the balcony of my unit is in this message. It was a thoroughly wonderful vacation. We snorkeled, swam, and did nothing much. We ate out mostly and it was mostly good. We survived without any adverse effects by being careful about the water, etc.

Now I am back home, amidst the chaos. One problem that has occurred is that I do not yet have a phone, cable or internet access. The cable company was going to supply all three as they did at the house, but when they tried to pull a cable from the outdoor box, the string they were using broke. So now the cable is only partly pulled from the source. They don't seem to be able to figure out what to do. This is Comcast, not a tiny company, and they can't figure out how to run a cable to a new condo??? Ridiculous. Anyway, I will now call ATT and see what they can do. I am mooching off my neighbor's internet access for now (with his permission). He has cable.

Still some activity here. The elevator has been installed but needs finishing. There are still some little details to be finished in the office. But mostly everything is done and now it is up to me to finishing unpacking and organizing. That will take a while---maybe quite a while.

One more thing. On April 30, I will be joining Judy and Joel Bedford on a trip to China. We will be spending time initially in Beijing where Charles Bedford and his family are now living for a few years. And then we will take a train to Tibet and fly back. Charles is part of the Nature Conservancy and is helping to set that up in China. I'll be gone until mid May. Then in early June, I plan to move to California for the summer. I haven't had this much going on in my life ever, I don't think.

Being busy is good, but maybe this is too busy.