Home Owners

We rented yet another truck and spent the day of closing moving. We closed at 9 and everything went well. We picked up the truck at 12:30 and moved our two storage units to the house. Loaded it into the garage and went to get the stuff from the apt.


This is the front of the house. There is a little pond to the right and gardens to the left. There is a wheelchair ramp now that we will removed in the spring.

T his is the back of the house. We are going to open the deck up and add a patio. The sun room on the left is Mike's favorite room.
Side yard
Back yard looking out to the open space with miles of trials. We saw 2 red tailed falcons soaring yesterday.

Loads of stumps that need to be dealt with.
There are some beautiful flowers and a vegetable garden too.
Inside needs work also. We bought the property for the yard.

This is the master with floral wallpaper. The open door is bathroom closed is closet.

See ugly!

So I tore it down and need to remove the glue that stuck to the wall.

This is the garage that Mike is cleaning up.

We look forward to settling into the house and making it our own.

Closing

We are still crossing our fingers that the house closes on Wednesday, October 15th. We had to go and purchase a few things that we knew we would need but were not looking forward to paying for. A washer and dryer, refrigerator, and beds. I love the fact that you can compare prices from home via the Internet and then go to one store. I think we got a good deal on the appliances. The dryer was free with the purchase of a washer. The fridge has a small ding in it but the magnetic photos I cover the surface will cover it and the price was made significantly cheaper because of that. I finagled a better price on delivery and was happy about that.

Then to the mattress store to see what we could sleep on. We went to a home store, Great Indoors, and discovered to our chagrin that everything we have purchased overseas can be bought right here (much more expensive though). Makes me sad that people can buy pieces from foreign countries and have no idea what they represent or signify. The labor of the piece, the religious or historical value, etc... I saw a Ramadan lantern for $70 ($10 in Egypt) that was labeled lantern and no one there seemed to know its history.

As we have not been in a home store for years we poked around and were shocked by the price of things. Mike and I both said; "We can make that" but the question is "Will you?".

We lay on bed after bed and feel like Goldilocks, this one is too hard, this one is too soft, this one is TOO expensive. Off to another store. We head to Mattress King and find the same mattress we liked for less. So we bought two...the other for company. We are not going to be like the people moving out who had separate twin beds.

We hope that we can furnish the rest of the place with the things we had in storage, what we bought over seas, and what I hope to find at antique stores or flea markets. I am addicted to HGTV and look forward to doing things myself.

We plan to rip off the wallpaper in the bedroom, remove the chair rail, and paint. Redo the bathrooms, knock out some walls, redo fireplace surface, remove a huge built-in that is old, dark, and ugly. I have enough to keep me busy for a while.

Cheers

Bruins VS. Avalanche

5 o'clock the phone rings, a friend offers us two tickets to the Avalanche opening night game. We are very excited because it is against the Boston Bruins. You know who I am rooting for! The game is at 7, Mike gets home from work and we rush off to the Pepsi Center. The Pepsi Center was completed and opened it's doors in October of 99. It hosts major concerts, hockey, basketball, circuses and ice stuff. It is really easy to get to as they made an exit for the center of Rt. 25.

We wait for our friends and grab a beer wondering why the place is not busier. We parked at 6:30 and the lot was empty, no lines for tickets, no lines for bathrooms, no lines for food and beverage. Our friends show up at 6:45 laughing telling us the game starts at 8. So we hang out and wait.

We head to our seats which are on the glass slightly to the left of the net. Bruins are defending this side first. I let our friends know I am rooting for Bruins and they wonder why they brought me.

Bruins just made a save.

Nice upfront action with the players getting slammed to the boards.

Oops, puck broke the glass, early intermission while they fix it.

Score is Bruins 4 and Avs 3. Sweet! The crowd around me does not like the fact that I am cheering for Bruins! I love being a renegade.

The Bruins win by one and the crowd is disappointed as it was the opening game. I am thrilled. I hope our friends invite us back!

It was a great night out on Denver.

Red Rocks

About a 15 minute drive from us is Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. It is a really beautiful place to visit. We headed there Sunday and spent about 4 hours. We read all about the history...so let me bore you...

Red Rocks is a geologically formed, open-air Amphitheatre that is not duplicated anywhere in the world. The Amphitheatre consists of two, three hundred-foot monoliths (Ship Rock and Creation Rock) that provide acoustic perfection for any performance.

In the early 1900's, John Brisben Walker had a vision of artists performing on a stage nestled into the perfectly acoustic surroundings of Red Rocks. Walker produced a number of concerts between 1906 and 1910 on a temporary platform; and from his dream, the history of Red Rocks as an entertainment venue began.

Ship Rock

Lots of different vegetation grows there from cactus to flowers. We were amazed at the variety of life in this desert area.

We walked the Trading Post loop which is an mile and a quarter walk through the interesting terrain. We saw rodents and birds, bees and butterflies but no rattle snakes :-(

Plants can grow anywhere! This is a rather large rock that is made of compressed sand, pebbles, and smaller rocks.

We decided to return home to watch football and we were glad we did. The snow, hail, sleet and rain hit behind us and lightning struck at Lookout Mountain causing the tv satellites to go down. Internet did not though!

Colorado Attitude

Ok some things I have noticed about people who have lived in Colorado for a while....

• they never roll down their car windows, they use A/C
• they stop for yellow lights
• they stop for pedestrian walks without any pedestrians nearby
• they give a car lengths space at stops
• they never open their home windows, they use A/C
• they let everyone cut in front of them
• they use their turn signals
• they drive the speed limit....always
• no one roots for the Broncos, cuz no one is from here originally
• they slow down to let you get in front of them NOT like New Jersey at all

I wonder if I will ever learn the patience that they exhibit here...old habits are hard to break. Mike and I are still use to walking into traffic and not thinking anything about it. I feel bad for the people we startle.

We are into Autumn and the weather in Denver is perfect for Mike and I. The temperatures are between 80 and 50. A nice range so that we can enjoy the cool mornings and nights and work turning the warmer afternoons. We have been going for long walks on the trails by the apt, reading lots of books, and dealing with a hopefully housing closing in mid October.

We put an offer on a place and after negotiations we agreed on a price. We did this via the cell phones and email as we were in Tennessee where Mike was helping to convert over a car dealership to the 4DP systems. When we returned we sorted through the gazillion documents that you must read, get a lawyer to interpret, and then sign in blood.

We had the inspection on Monday and that went well. No major issues that cannot be resolved. The inspector, Ron, was testing the natural gas fireplace. When it did not start he cranked the gas knob some more, crawled into the fireplace, lit his match and put it near the pilot. I bolted around a corner waiting for the house to explode. He did not come flying at us in a million pieces like in the movies but crawled out and said it needed to be serviced.

The house is a 1972 ranch style that has a bonus room over the garage. It has a master that is a good size and 2 smaller bedrooms. A smallish kitchen and a dining room and living room. Laundry on the main floor which is nice. A 2 car garage which we have never had, and of course a fireplace that we are looking forward to using on those blustery Winter nights. We need to do some wallpaper removal, painting, and knocking out of walls to give us that open concept we like.

The property is gorgeous. It is almost half an acre and backs to a green belt. A green belt is open space that is open to the public. We have a privacy fence that goes around the property, a garden area with a out building for putting and tools, a sun porch for Mike to be a lizard, a nice open and covered deck area. I look forward to tending the yard.

We are still waiting for some of the tests to come back: is the sewage line adequate after 26 years?, a survey to come stake the land so we know what is ours (has not been done since it was the only house standing here in ‘72), and them agreeing to fix issues from inspection. We are 75% sure we will actually close. Want to be in before the first snow.

The mountains already are getting snow and the skiing is predicted to be awesome. We bought our ski passes and just need the lifts to open. We are spending New Years slope side!

Not too much is happening. Missing all of our friends and family and wilol try to keep in touch better.

Tennessee here we come

Mike and I fly out to Tennessee on the 10th and back on the 15th. We are headed there for Mike's work and some fun. I am hoping to go to a rodeo, the Grand Ole Opry, and eat some grits (not).

We are still searching for the perfect home which is getting frustrating. The yard is either perfect and the house a pit or vice versa. We have found a maybe but not going to get my hopes up. We will let people know when we have actually closed on a home.

Octoberfest is the weekend following our return so that should be a great social event. Looking forward to meeting some locals and seeing a new section of Denver called LoDo (Lower Downtown).

I joined Curves and hope to be skinny soon. Trying to eat right and of course walk the beautiful trails around here. Wish me luck. Of course Mike is always supportive and motivating and of course he will loss the weight (not that he needs to) months before I do.

Everything else is well. Still working on back blogging but will let you know.

Highline Canal Trail

Mike and I walked the High Line Canal Trail today for the first of many jaunts. We walked for an hour and forty minutes on a beautiful day. The trail runs for 66 miles traversing major roads, horse farms, mansion looking estates, and wilderness. It was nice to get out and see some of the diverse landscape. The trail was level and in most spots crushed rock. It will be a trail of choice from now on.

Looked at houses today too, maybe found one we liked, looking again tomorrow.

Officially Colordian's

Well Mike flew out to Worcester on Saturday and we headed to CO at 10AM. We were over optimistic and thought we could make it in the 29 hours that Google map declared as the estimated time. We had our snacks ready to go and our CDs in the stereo. We drove and drove and drove and we felt like we would never leave the state of NY. Things did not look good as we drove for 8 hours in NY alone. We were all excited to hit the next state.

We made it to Toledo, OH and spent the night. The hotel was disgusting. A millipede ran out from the shower area and I freaked out. We called the neighboring hotels and none had vacancies. We slept in our clothes and did not touch anything. Up at 4AM we departed and again thought we would make it home.

The trip was easy to naviagate. 90W to 80W to 76S but the landscape was mostly flat, fields of corn, and acres of Brown Eyed Susans.

10PM we pulled for gas and there happened to be a Comfort Inn the room was $60 a night so we stayed. Great night sleep and again up at 4 and out the door. We made it to the Denver airport to pick up Mike's car and headed home. Unpacked the things that were antiques and the like. Dropped the CRX off at Goodyears for new tires and a complete check up, oodles of dollars later we headed to the deck for a beer.

We both ate something that made us sick and decided to wait to unpack the rest of the truck until Tuesday.

Slept late...7AM and headed to the Emissions testing center for the CRX. Basically you pay $25 for them to tell you that you are not blowing black smoke out your tail pipe. An additional $15 to tell us we really owned the vehicle! Rip off!

Over to DMV to register the cars and get our licenses. The car plates are 211 SHE and 212 SHE ugh! They did not like our Maine licenses because they had our middle initials and not our full middle names. It was considered not legal. Ugh back to the house for our passports.

Unloaded the Penske truck into a storage unit, unloaded the motorcycle, dropped off the truck and went back to DMV for our licenses.

We are registered to vote, have licenses, legal registration on the cars, and an apt full of boxes and antiques.

Goal for the week is to buy a house! Wish us luck!

Cape Cod

The Gill's spent a week at the Cape. Mike came for the weekend, and Ed for 4 days. Dad and Peg stayed until Wednesday and Mary's friend Kim and her 3 boys joined us.

Maggie's Pinata

Maggie and Missa made a pinata of an ant over the winter and she got to smash it while i was visiting.

Shipment

The shipment from Egypt has finally arrived in our flat! It landed in New York on June 26th, 3 weeks after leaving Alexandria. It traveled throughout the US for 7 weeks. The shipment has seen more of the US than the average American. Down to New Jersey, over to Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and Wyoming. You might say that it was just on route and of course you have to travel through many states. What happened to it in each state: it was unloaded, inspected, reloaded, then driven to the next city/state to start the process again. The shipment went west as far as it could before it had to be swapped out. Every one who wanted charged an inspection fee causing the cost to sky rocket. We should have had it delivered to ME/MA and drove it ourselves. That is what we are doing, on Labor Day, with the stuff still there.

Mike met the delivery people on Monday at 9AM and they dragged the 75 boxes up the 3 flights of stairs. Mike helped by checking in the boxes and looking for damage. It took a few hours and they were all exhausted and sweaty. Glad I am here in Massachusetts.

Mary's birthday in New York

Mary had never been to NY so we decided to head down for her birthday. We drove down and made good time as we cranked Bruce Springsteen and lost our voices singing at the top of our lungs.

We got there and checked into the Milford Plaza which was small, clean, and centrally located.

We walked to the Empire State Building, bought our tickets that would bypass the lines and headed in. We spent about 20 minutes in line getting through security, another 15 minutes in line to get our photo taken before I realized that is what the line was and maneuvered around it. We shaved about an hour off of the no waiting in line ticket, spend 30 minutes in line for the elevator to the 80th floor, spent 30 minutes in the elevator line to the 88th floor, spent 30 minutes in the get outside line to see the NY skyline. It was a nightmare of lines, waiting, heat, and grumpy people.

Here is Mary with her "I cannot believe we wasted all that time to get up here" look.

That night we changed into our theatre clothes and headed out to see Mama Mia. We had a cocktail at the corner restaurant which was an incredible experience. Mary ordered a glass of white wine as she does not drink imported beer. She got her glass of wine and tried it then handed it back to the girl and said yes that is good can you please fill the glass now. The glass of wine had maybe 2 mouthfuls and was $9.50. The beer, 12oz., was $5.50! Off we went to the show and loved it.

I meet Sarah for breakfast and then we headed to the harbor for a cruise. It was another day of waiting in line for a boat. We got in the wrong line at first and then into the correct line. Half way through we discovered that the tickets we had needed to be trained in to new tickets. I stayed in line and Mary swapped the tickets. As I was next in line for ticket check Mary joined me. We headed to the top of the ship for the sun and sites. After a long wait we set engine and spent 75 minutes seeing the sites.

skyline

Lady Liberty...Did you know that the Statue of Liberty was not meant to be in the US.

Bartholdi, the inventor, while on a visit to Egypt was inspired by the project of the Suez Canal. He envisioned a giant lighthouse standing at the entrance to the canal and drew plans for it. It would be patterned after the Roman goddess Libertas, modified to resemble a robed Egyptian peasant, a fallaha, with light beaming out from both a headband and a torch thrust dramatically upward into the skies. Egypt refused the inspiration so he built it for France to give to the US as a token gift.

Mary and Lady Liberty
Ellis Island is on the Hudson and it was the center of immigration. It processed 12 million immigrants from 1892-1954. They were asked 29 questions including name, occupation, and the amount of money they carried with them. Immigrants who were approved spent from 3 to 5 hours at Ellis Island. However more than 300 would-be immigrants died on Ellis Island while being held in the hospital facilities. Some unskilled workers and immigrants were rejected outright because they were considered "likely to become a public charge." About 2 percent were denied admission to the U.S. and sent back to their countries of origin for reasons such as chronic contagious disease, criminal background, or insanity.

Mural of AT&T phone

Macy's star??? Mr. Macy was a sea captain who became lost at sea and thought he was lost until a star appeared in the skies above him. He used that star to steer, and it guided him back to land. Once there, he had a star tattooed on his arm to keep that memory alive. He adopted the red star as a symbol for Macy's and it has been around ever since.

Considered the first skyscraper and NY's tallest building when completed in 1902.


Tiles in remembrance of 9/11 made by school kids.

Cross

Water collection on roofs

Sign in China Town