It is January 1st. That is the traditional greeting amongst those who know me. I am sure it’s the same for all of you.
The traditional celebration for new year is going to another town and looking at houses for sale. I am sure it’s the same for all of you.
Well, we slept the hell in today. Usually up by 630, today I got up at 830. All others up at 930. I am sure it’s the same for you.
The plan for the day is to head to Auburn and look at houses. To live in. As a home. I am sure it’s the same for you.
Since Emily is slow as hell getting ready, we got it by 1145. On the road. Remarkably, there was very light traffic which I thought strange. It is a national holiday. And everyone up the hill wants to go down the hill. So traffic, right? Not today. Took only an hour to get to Auburn.
As is our habit, we met our agent Kary at her office. She is the only agent I have ever seen working on Sunday. Probably an atheist.
She has already mapped out where we are going. I already know what we are doing. Looking at homes. Duh.
We were off pretty quickly. We take her car so we can sit and discuss as we go. So our first stop was not so great. I could have stayed in the car. The house was strange, kinda weird and definitely not a place I wanted to be in very long. It was a flip, and they quit at a point they ran out of money. The backyard was a complete pile of crap. We both said no to the dress. I am sure it would be the same for you. Because you have fine judgment.
On to next house. Unavailable for living it turns out. Or at least living in. Turns out, the seller, a bank (watch out!) forgot to disclose it was sliding off its foundation. And all flooring had been torn out. And half a dozen 2×2 holes dug into the floor. And the concrete foundation was spreading. As I said, unavailable for living in. Next!!
We did a couple drive bys and those ended up being don’t get out of the car at all ever visitations. Some places are just plain awful.
Next! This one was nice. A little plain. Turns out, the hillside has slid down the hill and taken out the pool house. And pool. And it seemed quite questionable. To all of us. So it’s now a drive by.
Our last house got us out of the car. Go figure. We inspected the whole place, top to bottom. Front to back. Very nice and it could work. But after 39 minutes, two problems remain. First, close enough to Hwy 80 that you can clearly hear it all day. I presume all night. Second, very small two car garage with no room for another or even a small outbuilding. At least not conveniently. So, it’s a no.
Back to the office. We got some good news. There is another prospect for another day, on Stanley . Looks very good. We did a drive by. Not allowed in today. Funny thing, the house on Ellen we put an offer in, remember that? Offer accepted and will go if owner finds one. The owner of that house is looking at same one on Stanley. This is good news. If she takes Stanley, we get hers. Or, we could take Stanley. Works well either way. Fingers crossed.
We said our goodbyes and hit the hiway. Strangest thing happened, on a major national holiday, on a major national freeway, there was zero traffic. And we made the drive home in under an hour. Fastest time ever. I hope it’s an omen. A good one.
A good omen was my daughter got dinner started while we were out housing around. That’s a good omen. She marinated a Tri tip and we made salad and Emily concocted a mushroom, cheese potato thing which was really wonderful. She is always good for an off menu item.
I made everyone an Aperol Spritz aka double espresso to Frenchmen, and we sat and watched the news. And concurrently finished the dinner sides and watched the Tri tip grill. It was kinda busy. Had to make a second round of spritzes to keep everyone properly hydrated and keep them all going.
Dinner was excellent. If I forgot to mention , I added a few wood chips to the grill, so the Tri tip was smoky and good. And the side of Emily’s was wonderful. And all was very pleasant. A nice new year dinner.
Now we sit and watch bad tv. Which is kind of traditional. Or we watch news, which is bad. So fun.
I am going to bed.