Spring?

Yes, this was taken this morning, 26 April. Sigh...

Going, going... Part II

First, if you didn't read Part I, scroll down.

Back? Okay, now for the plan.

We leave seven weeks from tomorrow. 12 June. That's the day for which I had originally reserved the truck however many months ago. One week from 7YO's last day of school. That was the idea. We will load that day and drive a few hours down to Madison, WI just to get on the road. That's one of the benefits of summer travel. Extended daylight. Oh, and the fact that we're not starting out on Friday the 13th? Just a little bonus!

On the 13th we will stop in Chicago for an early lunch with a friend from my Army days. We were roommates from December 1978-August 1980. Then it's on to Cleveland where we'll have dinner with one of my best friends from here at the university and her husband. She moved in 2004, but for the three years prior - once I moved into the neighborhood - we walked for an hour almost every morning, Monday-Friday. When it hit 0 degrees we reserved the right to cancel, but I think I can count on one hand the number of days we did so.

We'll spend the night of the 13th in Cleveland and then, on the 14th, head to Wellsville, NY. P was contacted a couple of years ago by B, someone who had come across P's surname - B's "maiden" name - on the web. Anyone in the country with that surname is descended from two brothers who came to the US from Europe. One brother came west, the other stayed in New York. They have corresponded here and there since, but have never met. So, we'll be stopping for lunch so that a New York "E" can meet a Midwestern "E." Then we'll continue on to Schenectady... where we know no one. Really! If my cousin were still alive we'd see her, but, alas, we lost her to cancer almost seven years ago...

On Sunday, the 15th, we'll head toward Boston and have lunch with a friend, L, her partner, and their twins who will have just turned 8. L and I are a couple of hours apart in age (she's older!) and have known each other since 1987. Although I visited with her on my trip to F'ton in January, the others haven't seen each other since 2004 when we all went to Family Week in Provincetown.

From there we'll drive up to Freeport, ME and spend the night. That will leave about 5 hours of driving on Monday, the 16th, and we'll be in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.

We will unload on the 17th and return the truck to Maine on the 18th. That gives us a day to spare for the unexpected.

Oh, did I mention that my mother flies out here on 7 June, will ride East with us, and spend a good part of the summer in F'ton? Well, that's for another post!

So...
28 April - 9 May - Classes
10-13 May - Tucson
14-17 May - Exams/Commencement
15 May - P's mother arrives
18-19 May - Ahhhh...
20-27 May - Fredericton
27 May - P's mother leaves
28 May - 6 June - Ahhhh...
5 June - 7YO's last day of school
7 June - My mother arrives
12 June - Leave for Canada

Now let's see how close reality comes to THE PLAN!

Stay tuned!

Going, going... Part I

Having a moment's peace, I thought I'd post a bit of an update re the - hopeful - sale of the house. When last we heard [insert radio mystery music]... The folks that made a verbal counter-offer that was allegedly pending their seeing the inside of the garage - these are the low-ballers returned - didn't show.

Then, on 15 April, their agent (L) contacted my agent (B) to say that he would be sending the amended purchase agreement; no comment about not having seen the garage. On the 17th they sent the signed amendment to the purchase agreement BUT changed the date to 26 May, Memorial Day. They had verbally agreed to 6 June. 26 May wasn't going to work because I'm still in F'ton, P's mother is visiting, and 7YO is still in school. B called L to see what, if anything, could be done around the date conflict. L then called back. It sounds like he essentially told his clients that the date they had written in wasn't what he and our agent had agreed to. I think he was annoyed with them. They wanted to know why the 26th wouldn't work and he apparently told them that why we couldn't really didn't matter, we couldn't, maybe we had kids in school, etc... Apparently they just picked that date because they will be here for the holiday weekend. L then told B that he expected to get a revised document that night - the 17th - or first thing the next morning.

Friday came and went. Nothing. No call. No email. Nothing. Then, after I about had a complete meltdown on Saturday, ready to cash it in, we went out and about for the day. Returning at 2:15, the phone rang. It was B saying that L had called, that he was "on his way" with the earnest money check and signed amendment. B was going into a meeting at 2:30 and said that she would call back before if he, indeed, showed up. The phone rang five minutes later.

She had the check and the signed amendment with a closing date of 15 June. We arranged to go to her office at 4:15.

But, she had had to remind L that the original offer still carried a contingency of the garage inspection. So, he called to set up a showing. The desk called to set it up and, because he didn't have his realtor's key, he wanted to know if I would mind being here to show him the garage. Mind? I didn't really want to meet the guy, but I would have crawled to the garage if that was what it took.

I sent my house guest, 7YO, and pup off for a walk. L showed up, checked out the garage, said he was satisfied, and off he went.

We went to B's office at 4:15, signed the papers, and left.

Today is Wednesday. This morning B received an email from L saying that he had faxed the amendment, removing the contingency, to his clients on Monday and had not yet had it returned. They also have to address the closing date because, as I pointed out, the 15th is a Sunday. Nonetheless, short of a medical emergency or some other catastrophe, we're pulling out of here on Thursday, 12 June. More on that in the next post.

So, once they return the amendment removing the contingency, if they walk, we keep the $5K earnest money and start over again. I'm, of course, three-quarters of the way holding my breath for the amendment. Then I'll only halfway hold my breath until closing.

Bottom line is that we sold for 91% of initial asking, a little over 95% of the reduced price. Cash sale, no appraisal required, no inspection requested. So, I'm not complaining at all. It's not what we'd hoped for, but in this market, we're more than fine with it. Now if I could just not be holding my breath!

Sold

Yes, it's true, we signed the purchase agreement late this afternoon. Barring the unexpected - which with these clowns wouldn't be shocking - we will pre-sign the week of 9 June and leave town on 12 June. I'll post more on this later, but I am so exhausted I can barely think. I'm going to go collapse now.

The Saga...

Picture this - it's Saturday morning. You have an open house scheduled for 2 pm. You're cleaning house, picking up. P returns from walking the dog and mentions that one of the downspouts has fallen off the house. Well, we can't get it fixed today, let's put it in the garage, you say. So, P goes to put it in the garage, in a way that it's not sitting there screaming, "Here I am, I fell off the house." Unable to do so because half the garage has boxes, toys, etc., she thinks, "Maybe I'll just lay it alongside the garage." Nobody ever walks by there because while it's on an alley, our access in from the street.

I'm sitting inside at the dining room table when P walks in, tells 7YO to be quiet so that she can make a phone call, says nothing to me and dials what I recognize as only being 9-1-1. She then reports that our garage has been "tagged." I thought I was going to have a heart attack, but when I realized that she meant the side of the garage and not the doors, I was actually relieved!

A couple of cans of some Kilz-like product later, it's not horrible. The garage could use some fresh paint anyway - if it ever warms up here - but the main thing is it now looks more like it's been primed, in general, not just covered tagging.

We had the open house, had a good turn out and then had a showing that was a second visit. They brought what appeared to be a set of parents with them, then, after the alleged parents left, the couple spent half an hour in front of the house talking with their realtor. So, will it turn into an offer? Who knows. The folks that made a verbal counter-offer that was allegedly pending their seeing the inside of the garage - these are the low-ballers returned - didn't show. We were not surprised.

So, the saga continues. Another day of getting everything "show ready." 7YO is NOT happy. Yesterday, in the car - we had to be out of the house with the dog and it was cold and snow showering - he said, "This was a horrible idea. Why do we have to sell the house?"

More as soon as it happens...

Immigration/Deportation

I don't usually like to post entire articles, but this one demands it...

April 12, 2008
Legal Immigrants, Until They Sought Citizenship
By JULIA PRESTON
(c) The New York Times

SELINSGROVE, Pa. — Dr. Pedro Servano always believed that his journey from his native Philippines to the life of a community doctor in Pennsylvania would lead to American citizenship.

But the doctor, who has tended to patients here in the Susquehanna Valley for more than a decade, is instead battling a deportation order along with his wife.

The Servanos are among a growing group of legal immigrants who reach for the prize and permanence of citizenship, only to run afoul of highly technical immigration statutes that carry the severe penalty of expulsion from the country. For the Servanos, the problem has been a legal hitch involving their marital status when they came from the Philippines some 25 years ago.

Largely overlooked in the charged debate over illegal immigration, many of these are long-term legal immigrants in the United States who were confident of success when they applied for naturalization, and would have continued to live here legally had they not sought to become citizens.

As applications for naturalization have surged, overburdened federal examiners, under pressure to make quick decisions and also weed out any security risks, prefer to err on the side of rejection, immigration lawyers and independent researchers said. In 2007, 89,683 applications for naturalization were denied, about 12 percent of those presented.

In the last 12 years, denial rates have been consistently higher than at any time since the 1920s.

Though precise figures are not available, an increasing number of these denials involve immigrants who believed they were in good legal standing, according to lawyers and researchers. Under the law, a number of grounds for naturalization denial can lead to an order of deportation, and appeals are more limited than in criminal cases.

“It’s no wonder there are so many illegal immigrants,” said Brad Darnell, an electrical engineer from Canada living in California who applied for citizenship but is also now fighting deportation. “The legal method is so intolerant and confusing.”

A legal immigrant since 1991, Mr. Darnell is married to an American and has two American-born sons. But after he presented his naturalization application last year, Mr. Darnell discovered that a 10-year-old conviction for domestic violence involving a former girlfriend, even though it had been reduced to a misdemeanor and erased from his public record, made him ineligible to become a citizen — or even to continue living in the United States.

Since 1996, when an immigration law overhaul first brought intensified scrutiny of citizenship applications, at least 85,000 naturalizations have been turned down each year.

The record year was 2000, when 399,670 applications were denied, one-third of those presented, according to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan research organization. More recent denial rates remain high, but have fallen from the peak because more immigrants have prepared with civics classes and immigrant advocates before applying to become citizens, researchers said.

In three recent cases in Florida, aspiring citizens thought their green cards entitled them to vote or register to vote before they were sworn in as Americans. When the immigrants reported their elections activities on their applications, not only were their naturalizations rejected, but they were also ordered to leave the country, according to their lawyer, Jeffrey Brauwerman.

In a current Florida case, a British-born businessman saw his naturalization derailed and was detained for deportation because he forgot to update his home address with the immigration agency, Mr. Brauwerman said. He was charged with ignoring a notice in which immigration examiners mistakenly accused him of a felony he had never committed.

In a case that drew Congressional attention this year in Illinois, Marin Turcinovic, an immigrant from Croatia, was twice denied citizenship because he did not show up at the immigration office to be fingerprinted. As his lawyer explained to no avail, Mr. Turcinovic was a quadriplegic, dependent on a ventilator and unable to leave his home.

Mr. Turcinovic died in April 2004 without becoming a citizen, creating an immigration crisis for his French widow, Corina, who had taken care of him. In January Representative Daniel Lipinski, Democrat of Illinois, presented a bill that halted her deportation.

Immigration officials say denials have increased in the last decade because naturalization applications are increasing. They note that approvals are rising as well. In 1996 naturalizations soared for the first time to more than one million, and they remained above 450,000 each year through 2007.

“Whenever we see a period when large numbers decide to apply, there tend to be larger numbers of people who are not ready or might not meet the requirements,” said Chris Rhatigan, a spokeswoman for Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Officials said the majority of denials went to applicants who failed a required civics and English language test or fell short of residency requirements. Those immigrants generally can try again.

But as the case of the Servano family illustrates, some denials come as a shock to both the applicants and the communities they call home.

Dr. Servano’s mother, five siblings and eight of his wife’s siblings became naturalized citizens, including one brother and two brothers-in-law who made careers in the Navy. His four children are Americans by virtue of being born here. He has been a legal immigrant in the United States for 25 years.

Following an outcry from neighbors, patients and local officials, Department of Homeland Security officials in December temporarily suspended the Servanos’ deportation. The Servanos and their supporters, including Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, are using the unusual reprieve to pursue new legal efforts to resolve the couple’s case.

For the federal government and for many Americans, naturalizations — the legal process by which legal immigrants become citizens — are a measure of immigrants’ willingness to join the society and embrace its civic values.

To become a citizen, a legal permanent resident must have lived in the United States more or less continuously for five years, or three years for the spouse of a citizen. The immigrant must demonstrate good moral character and allegiance to the Constitution, and pass a test of English ability and civics. Since 2002, citizenship applicants also undergo an extensive background check by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Applicants fail the moral character standard if they have been convicted of certain sex, drug or gambling charges or are “habitual drunkards.” They also can fail if they give “false testimony,” a term immigration lawyers say is subject to broad interpretation.

Dr. Servano and his wife, Salvacion, lived for years in the United States with no inkling they might have violated the law. They met in the Philippines when she was a nurse and he was a young traveling doctor. Her strict father insisted she marry, they said, but his family wanted him to wait.

In the early 1980s, their mothers came separately to the United States as legal immigrants and petitioned for residence visas, known as green cards, for Pedro and Salvacion under the category of unmarried children. But between the time the visas were requested and when they were issued in 1985, Pedro and Salvacion, hoping to escape conflicting parental demands, secretly married in the Philippines.

Unaware that their marriage could have violated the terms of their green cards, the Servanos settled in the United States. He completed a second medical residency here and began to practice in blue-collar towns where he made house calls and was known for attention to everyday ills. He and Salvacion married in New Jersey in 1987. They renewed their green cards punctually.

“My goal is to be fully functional and integrated into the society,” Dr. Servano said. They presented their 1991 naturalization applications without seeking a lawyer.

Immigration inspectors reviewing their applications discovered a record of their Philippine marriage. Accused of lying, they were ordered deported. In years of immigration court appeals, the Servanos had no opportunity to present broader evidence of their character, their lawyers said.

People in Selinsgrove and nearby Sunbury, Susquehanna Valley towns where Dr. Servano practices, were surprised to hear in October that the couple had received a final order with a November date for their deportation. Aside from his medical work, he and his wife had bought two blighted buildings on the square in Sunbury, refurbishing them with apartments and offices. Mrs. Servano opened a store, selling lottery tickets, homemade Filipino bread and DVDs in Tagalog, a Philippine language.

In November, more than 100 residents gathered in the Sunbury square for a candlelight vigil on behalf of the Servanos. Thousands of Filipinos in the United States have signed petitions supporting them.

“The fact that they want to displace and get rid of people we here feel are exceptionally good citizens quite frankly just doesn’t make any sense,” said Mayor Jesse C. Woodring of Sunbury.

The Servanos, huddled on the couch in their home in a Selinsgrove development, seemed numb at the prospect of returning to the Philippines.

“I live here, so I like America now,” Mrs. Servano said. “For 25 years we’ve been here; we didn’t even visit the Philippines. So it’s really hard.”

Their son, Peter, 16, an American, expressed his siblings’ anguish about being forced to separate either from their parents or from the only home they know.

“I want to stay here because all my friends are here, and I’ve grown up here, so it would be hard to leave,” Peter said. “But it would be hard not to go.”

Michael Gilhooly, a spokesman for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which handles deportations, said the Servanos’ removal had been suspended based on new information from Mr. Specter about their humanitarian role. Other immigration officials said the Servanos could recover their legal status by applying for new green cards as parents of citizen children.

For links to more stories on their case go here.

Recall Clearance Letter

I thought a diversion from real estate might be in order - though I hope to have news by the weekend. Things were going fine regarding the above referenced letter. I found the info on Honda and checked out the "Owner Link" website. I discovered that our car had had a recall in 1999. More on that in a moment! I then spoke with to a very nice and helpful woman at American Honda. Found out what I needed to fax to them to get the letter. Then I asked about the "recall" because I knew they couldn't issue a clearance if there was an outstanding recall on the vehicle. She said that I would need to talk with our dealer, they would have to address the "recall," notify American Honda, and that they could then send the letter.

I emailed with a really nice guy at the dealership. But, here's why recall is in quotation marks above... The "recall" is a problem with the driver's side Honda floor mat, which we never purchased. If we did have the floor mat, and wished to keep it, we would bring the car in and they would install a bolt that would keep it from catching on the accelerator. But, since we don't have the mat, we have to bring the car in so that they can see that we don't have the mat. Now, call me crazy, but what's to keep me from taking the mat out, going to the dealership, then putting the mat back in? I mean, obviously that would be stupid since they would be fixing it for free and eliminating a risk. But, doesn't it seem a bit ridiculous to have to drive up there so that they can look and go, "Oh, no mat" and make the notation in the database? Grrrr... Bureaucracy.

Fortunately we've got some work to be done before driving 2000 miles anyway and we'll just go sooner rather than later, but geez... So, once we can find half a day to spend at the dealership, we can get this one checked off the "moving stuff" list.

Hard to believe that two months from today we could be in Fredericton. I wonder, wonder...

A is for Anxiety

Well, we're into the sixth week of our house being on the market. The average in our neighborhood is right around two months. It has been some real ups and downs. Without all the boring details, we've gone back and forth with someone who is clearly interested but who, it appears, has an agent who doesn't understand the neighborhood, etc. We're only $6K apart, but I don't think we'll come to a "meeting of the minds" because he has them convinced, it seems, that they should get a HUGE discount for cash. Some discount, yes, but not what they have in mind. The good news is that we've had a flurry of showings this week and have two more tomorrow as well as an open on Saturday. All limbs and digits crossed.

This is really wearing me down. Between keeping the house sparkling clean and neat and just not knowing exactly when we're leaving, etc. I am losing my mind. Add to that dealing with the bank, realtor, and builder in Canada and I'm about ready to jump off the deep end. But, there are moments of progress and/or good news. I emailed with our Canadian attorney today and she's going to take a look at the construction contract gratis. I don't really think there's anything at issue, but a set of informed and objective eyes would be great.

We'd still like to leave mid-June, but we've figured out that if a 5 June closing/possession is what it takes, we'll pack the truck while 7YO is at his last day of school. Weirdly reminiscent of my high school graduation in Florida. I got home late that night and we left in the truck and cars for Ohio the next morning. I really want to be in Fredericton for Canada Day, but if it doesn't work, it doesn't work.

It's going to be a busy nine weeks or so. Although we've been weeding for over a year, we can't actually start packing until we no longer have to show the house. My office is looking very spare. I'll be going back to Tucson 10-13 May to take care of a few things for my mother before moving even farther away. P's mother arrives on the 15th. Finals, graduation, etc. all wrap up on the 17th. I'll be in Fredericton 20-27 May - partly for a conference, partly for house stuff. P's mother leaves the day I return. Then, depending upon when we are actually leaving - if we know by then - I'll return to only a week or so until we leave. My mother will be joining us at some point as she is driving East with us. It's going to be one heck of a spring here!

I thought I'd post some semblance of an update so there you have it! Can't wait until I'm posting that title: "SOLD!"

Fredericton

I'm remiss in my posting, but the week just blew by!

We arrived in F'ton on Monday evening, 17 March, and were met by our realtor and host, K. On Tuesday we had the most beautiful blue sky day. Perfect for our first stroll to the back of the lot. P and I wore snowshoes as w/out it was easy to sink to at least knee high. We met the builder and talked about the siting, etc. We also realized that if we position things right, and the property behind us remains empty, we have a bit of a view to the river. After picking up lunch, we went back to K's house and spent several hours with the builder getting questions answered, etc. Later that afternoon - at least I think it was that afternoon - K and her husband, H, occupied 7YO for a couple of hours so that P and I could look at flooring, etc.

On Wednesday we visited more stores, including the place from which we'll get the woodstove, and had lunch with the fellow from whom we may be subletting this summer. Then we visited the school that 7YO will attend. They call it "Little House on the Prairie with electricity." It has about 100 students, one class per grade, and is just down the hill from the property. 7YO has been attending a French Immersion school here and we debated his continuing, but that decision was made easier by the province's (unpopular) decision to cut early immersion. Perhaps I can post on that another time. What really upset me is that they are also cutting early core French so we'll have to find a tutor, lest he lose what he's gained these past two years.

We did a bunch of running around on Thursday; had to make a trek to Chapters, of course, but also found some building materials (e.g., tile) that we love. On Thursday evening our hosts invited a law prof and his wife, recently retired from the library where P would like to work, as well as a couple of others to dinner. When these guys do dinner it's a four hour event. No kidding. They are both professional and avocational foodies. As in January, it was awesome.

Friday was a holiday so we just hung out, packed, worked on housing info, etc. 7YO got to see more deer hanging out in the back yard and play with our hosts' dogs. I think he was just in heaven.

On Friday night we opted for a hotel so that we would be closer to the airport as we had to get up at 3:15 to make a 5:45 flight. We did so and while waiting at the gate the flight was cancelled for mechanical reasons. I about had a meltdown. But, they got us on a flight to Ottawa with a connection to Toronto, reasoning that we were less likely to get stuck on Toronto than F'ton. There wasn't another flight available from F'ton that day and with the weather there was a chance that the next morning would be problematic, too. So, by 10:30 am we were in Toronto. But, there were no more flights to Minnesota on Saturday so we stayed at the airport Hilton courtesy of Air Canada.

We went to a place called the Playdium so that 7YO could have some fun and then hung out at the hotel. But, the highlight of the delay was, as you likely have already seen, is that we got to meet Tom and Emilio of Canadian Hope! They drove out to the hotel and picked us up and off we went for brunch. Not that you have any doubts, but they are just as fabulous as I imagined they'd be. We're looking forward to being able to see them in the Maritimes this summer!

Our flight left around quarter to 5 Sunday afternoon and we were back at our house by about 7 Sunday evening. Not quite the 10:30 Saturday morning that it was supposed to be, but well worth it having been able to meet the guys.

This morning I had a meeting with my dean to talk about options for some distance teaching following my sabbatical and while I don't want to post details here, I am comfortable saying that things look promising for my being able to work for the university while remaining in F'ton. Fingers crossed. He's going to walk it through the VP's office, but doesn't imagine a problem.

That's about it for today. I'm exhausted! More as it happens!

Crash and Burn

Oh, where shall I begin?

Without posting details that are better left confidential, the first thing on my list would be to note that there was a job possibility in F'ton that evaporated. Not filled by someone else, but cancelled for bureaucratic reasons.

The second thing would be that I found out yesterday that I will not be getting any funding from one of the sources to which I applied. And, I'm more disturbed by process than outcome. I found the list of 2008 recipients on the web! But, I've heard nothing directly - not from the funding source and not from my nominator.

I'm actually okay with both of the above as I really want to take a real sabbatical and focus on the research project and have some time for my own health, etc., but the latter would have been nice.

I'm also still waiting for the bureaucracy to take care of the fact that my contract letter for an overload was never processed and, therefore, I was missing about $600 extra dollars from my paycheck. C'mon people.

Then, this morning, as P and I stopped for bagels, there were the headlines of both local papers. One, referring to the housing market, said, "Sinking Fast." The other said, "Credit mess means Twin Cities homes selling for less." Nice. So, here we are.

I have done incredibly well with the uncertainty of everything up to this point, but I'm now kind of hanging on by a thread. For some bizarre reason I keep thinking way more optimistically than is typical for me. But, yeah, I'm pretty much freaking out.

The good news, as I've said before, is that we can easily rent the house, though we'd have to refinance to do so. So, we'll see what the next month brings, but, man-o-man, I can't wait for it to be July so whatever happens has happened!

In her dreams...

Well, I have a few minutes before dashing out again so I thought I'd post a brief update.

We listed the house on Monday, 25 Feb. We had the realtors' open on Tuesday, the 26th. Between Wednesday and Saturday we had six showings. On Sunday, the 2nd of March, we had an open house. Seventeen groups showed up; good for this market and time of year. There was a repeat showing on Monday. On Friday, we got an offer - don't start clapping. She offered 13% below asking. Yeah, right. Not even in this market. Our realtor said that normally she would just say something like, "Thank you for taking the time to present the offer, but we're not interested." But, the market being what it is, she suggested we counter with what we would actually accept, telling her that was the best we could do. So, we did. And, we've heard nothing so I'm sure she walked/balked. Otherwise it was an almost perfect offer - cash, no inspection, etc. But, she did want a slightly earlier closing than we'd like. That we can live with - for the right price. But, since we're already losing money on the deal, we can only go so low. And, only 10 days into it, not a chance we'd take something like that. I'll refinance and rent before we get that screwed.

Just got a call for another showing tomorrow. So, we keep our fingers crossed and I watch my blood pressure go off the charts. Keeping the house "show-ready" with a black lab mix and 7YO is no easy task. It was -1 F this morning, "feels like -14," so not exactly the weather in which someone wants to go house hunting either. But, spring will be here someday.

Other than that, we're just waiting for a week from Monday when we leave for F'ton. Hope all is well in your world - and that it's warmer!!

Invasion

Rather than post a long comment over on their blog, I thought I'd post something here in response to the Leap Day post by Canada Calling.

On Monday, 2 October 2000, P called me at work to tell me that someone had broken into our home. We'd hired a friend, A, to let our dog out mid-day. She had walked into the kitchen via the side door and, knowing how neat we are, knew something was wrong. There was food on the counter and there were bags on the floor. She called P- from our phone - and P told her to get out of the house. We raced home and met A, as well as the police.

We didn't have a security system and - don't you know it - for the first time ever I had left a first floor, back of the house, bedroom window open. There were half-full duffel bags - ours - open on the floor. Clearly A had interrupted them and they fled the same way they had entered. I say "they" because I am sure that someone was playing lookout while other(s) packed.

Our insurance claim was for about $10,000. A lot for us. We both lost diamonds that had belonged to grandparents. I lost one grandmother's wedding ring, another grandmother's charm bracelet, my own charm bracelet from high school, class rings, and a baby necklace that I'm wearing in a photo taken when I was about a year old. We lost all kinds of other jewelry. Fortunately we were wearing our custom made bands at the time. And, my baby bracelet got stuck in the seam of the box and was still there, alone.

They didn't get to the family silver or my 35 mm. They didn't get the brand new TV/VCR. But, they got lots. And, they went threw our closets. Stuff was strewn all over our bed.

In addition to the jewelry, we lost the obvious - CD player, CDs, stereo receiver. We also lost clothing, a leather jacket, shampoo out of the shower, a hairbrush, a 500 count bottle of ibuprofen, food out of the fridge, a bag of Halloween candy... And, our luggage. They had to pack in something. They even lifted the tray of flatware right out of the kitchen drawer.

But, here's the weird thing. We had hundred of dollars of unopened baby clothing, toys, blankets, etc. that could easily have been returned to Target, etc. They didn't take one single thing that was baby-related. Some might say they were guys who didn't realize how much that stuff costs. I've always thought that a woman was involved - they did take women's clothing, hairbrush, etc. - and that that was where she drew the line. No baby stuff.

We had to chuckle - we had to - because we don't keep alcohol on hand, no cigarettes, no drugs, no weapons. They took a pizza out of the freezer and left it on the counter. It was vegan. We were glad that, once they realized we were GLBT - hard not to figure that out with a huge "March on Washington" poster hanging - they hadn't vandalized us just for fun.

Our dog was crated and they gave him a few Frosty Paws and dumped a small bag of biscuits in his crate. The cat was probably hiding. We were grateful they didn't harm our pets or let the dog out to run.

Between being obsessively detail oriented and really organized I had every little detail for the police report, claim, etc. We had been grocery shopping the day before and I even knew that they took a block of cheddar! But, even with all the jewelry detail and serial numbers, we never recovered a thing.

This was actually one of the events that put me on the road to being pretty anti-consumption or "it's just stuff." I had to be glad that our pets weren't harmed, that A wasn't harmed, that the house hadn't been trashed. Although I still wish I hadn't lost the family stuff, I can't take it with me. Right? Going to Mississippi after Katrina and clearing someone's house of everything she owned, and leaving almost all of it for the trash collector, was another pivotal event. It's just stuff.

Now, we have a security system, but we joke that there's nothing left to take. Of course that's not entirely true. But, it is true that we have no more grandparents' jewelry. Anything we have of value - that is capable of being replaced - can be replaced with a trip to Best Buy.

Let me note - I'm not writing this to say that such an event is a non-event. It's huge. Trust me - going to bed knowing that they had been rifling through the closet that afternoon was just, well, yuk. I thought I'd post this to let CC know that at least one other in our blog community knows what it's like. And it sucks.

In meeting with our builder I mentioned that I wanted double hung windows; the kinds with the little "locks" so that you can open the windows from the top. Small community or not, I don't think I'll ever sleep alone with a window open from the bottom. I haven't since I lived in Boston and experienced a break-in. Everything leaves its mark. Time marches on, but not with the windows open.

It's March!

I can't quite believe that it's March. We've had six showings of the house since Wednesday and there's an open house tomorrow. Fingers constantly crossed. Ankles, elbows...

It's been a couple of weeks of, "I can't complain." A good friend of mine from grad school had his childhood home, where his father still lived, burn to the ground. His father was gone at the time so he wasn't hurt, but lost everything. A friend from law school went into labor at 20 weeks and lost one of her twin boys. Then it stopped and she hasn't yet delivered the other. If he can hold on another four weeks things will look better. Little Samuel weighed only 10 ounces when he came. That afternoon another friend from law school emailed that her mother had had a massive stroke and wasn't expected to make it. They had her on life support while A and her husband made the 8 hour drive to be with her. So, all in all, even when yesterday I was having such a bad day, I just kept thinking about how it wasn't really that bad at all.

In other news, well, there isn't any. It's all about living in the "perfect" house - as in perfectly clean, perfectly organized, etc. Kind of how I lived when I was single. Ha, ha. But, no more.

Two weeks from Monday we head to F'ton. Looking forward to it, but I'm sure I said that already. Hope all is well with you!

Hate

I just don't know what to say.
Boy’s Killing, Labeled a Hate Crime, Stuns a Town

The memorial site for Lawrence King, 15.

Ahhhh...

I have about an hour more of touch-up painting and I have to get something for where the vinyl meets the carpet, but, except for a weekend of cleaning, we're done. We had the "Truth-in-Housing" inspection yesterday and there may be a few things we get asked to do, but nothing earthshattering. A lot of stuff is "grandparented" for a 90 year old house. E.g., we can't do much about the headroom on the stairs to the basement. But, ask me how annoying it is to have things identified that we paid someone to do! Oh, like the wrong kind of cap on a $3200 chimney. Grrr... But, painful wrist and exhaustion aside, the place looks great. After Sunday it's all about maintaining a level of cleanliness and order - and holding our collective breath.

In other news, we leave for F'ton three weeks from Monday. I sure hope the weather doesn't prevent us from reaching our destination. If we get stranded in Toronto I'm calling one of you! But, seriously, I don't care if we get stranded once we're there, but I do hope it's clear skies all around.

I can't believe how much has to happen in the next what I've taken to calling "hopefully-less-than-four-months." But, I just have to keep reminding myself to breathe. One day at a time, right?

Just watch for the posting that has me screaming, "Sold!!!" Fingers, toes, ankles, arms crossed.

Woo-hoo!

Greetings from the world of home repairs. The list is getting shorter. Porch light fixed. Check. Kitchen cupboards painted and installed. Check. Kitchen blind hung. Check. And so on. I have to admit - I can't believe how good the kitchen looks. Tomorrow I'll see if I can get the basement finished - though 7YO will be home most of the day, so it's a toss up. The only thing that it might be tough to finish by next weekend is some painting/scraping on the back porch. If only it weren't fast approaching zero - degrees that is! A month from tomorrow - weather permitting - we all head up to F'ton. Can't wait. It would sure be nice to go up there having sold the house, but that's not likely to happen in this market.

Well, just thought I'd post a quick update. More as it happens!

Update, or not...

No news. I'm still exhausted - caulking, painting, sanding... But, we are getting somewhere. Our bedroom now looks great. I really have to crack up at how great things will be, but how we never managed to do them for us to enjoy. I just called an electrician - to fix the porch light that has been out for-ever.

Both the builder and realtor in F'ton have been sick and dealing with snow/ice storms. So, no movement there either. I do have everything lined up with the lender, attorney, funds, etc. so that whenever we can move forward on things we'll be ready.

Things at work are hopping, too. I'm teaching an extra course and a half. P is working three part-time jobs; offers too good to turn down. And, it's still cold. But, if all were to go well we'd be driving from Chicago to Cleveland four months from today. We'll see...

So, just wanted to say, "hi" even though I've not much to add. Hope everyone is well!

Exhaustion

I am beat. Thursday I met with the guy who is going to do some repairs for us. Saturday we spent two hours with our realtor. This morning I woke up at 5:00, wide awake, thinking about how much I have to get done around here. At 5:30 I thought, "I can either lie here thinking about it and have a stroke or I can get up and get to work." So, I got up. I had to spend and hour and a half at the Home Depot-like store. Yuk. Then it was over to Target, home, lunch, drop P at school, take 6YO shopping, drop him at a birthday party, pick up P, back to the Home Depot-like store, pick up 6YO, stop at the grocery store, have supper, collapse. P did the bath/bed routine while I cleaned up and now I'm ready to fall over. Oh, yeah, tomorrow is back to work. A friend is coming to town Friday and on Saturday 6YO will become 7YO and there's a party. My head is spinning.

We hope to be able to get the house listed by the third week of February, but that all depends on how fast we can get the work done. The stuff we've been procrastinating about for years. P decided in August 2005 that she wanted to redo the kitchen cabinets. Not done yet. The porch light hasn't worked for years. Gotta fix that. I swear, this morning I thought, "The hell with it all, I'll just stay here." For about a second. And, we're still waiting to get the bid on the new place. Nervous as - fill in your expression of choice.

I can't believe that - if all goes well - we'll be sitting in Fredericton less than five months from today, Canada Day having come and gone. Keep your fingers crossed for us. So much has to happen between now and then, much of it beyond our control. Oy!

Okay, off to have some chocolate pudding. Comfort food.

Back from Fredericton

I couldn't post while I was in F'ton, but I wrote notes to post later. Here you go! More soon!

Saturday Night, 19 January
Greetings from Fredericton! I got up at 4:50 Saturday morning and started my trek to Canada. I caught a 7:15 am flight to Boston, rented a car, and arrived in Fredericton at 8:40 pm, Atlantic Time. Subtract the 45 minute stop at L.L. Bean and it took me a hair under seven hours to drive up from Boston. Just before and after the border, in Houlton, ME, I slowed down to about 40 mph and lost some time. The roads were a bit slick so, better safe than sorry. Otherwise it was clear, dry, and fast all the way up.

As I approached the border I was listening to a station of the Maine Public Broadcasting Network – Prairie Home Companion, in particular. That was a hoot. “Live from the Fitzgerald Theatre in Saint Paul…” – minutes from my house – and it was accompanying me into New Brunswick – Minnesota winter jokes and all. When I started to lose the station I switched to the Fredericton CBC station and one of my all time favorite songs was playing, Harry Nilsson’s “Everybody’s Talkin’” – you may know it from the film, Midnight Cowboy. Soon I heard Diana Ross’ “I’m Coming Out” and Patti LaBelle’s “Lady Marmalade.” Can’t think of better music for the last few miles into town. A quick stop for a Coffee Crisp and here I am!

Some might wonder why fly to Boston and drive. Well, mostly because of a really cheap ticket. Since I needed to rent a car once here anyway… If I flew into Halifax it would be a four hour drive and a plane change. If I flew into Bangor, ME it would be three hour drive and a plane change. At this time of year I prefer to avoid changing planes. Too risky in terms of cancellations, delays, etc. Flying via Toronto – also a change - was just too expensive. And, there’s currently – or at least when I booked the ticket - no air service from Boston to F’ton. The other reason was that I have an old friend in Boston so I figured if I made it to Boston and got stuck we’d just have a longer visit than lunch next Thursday! I like to drive; at least when the weather cooperates. A good car, good music, good weather – that beats a massage in my book. The footnote, of course, is that I hate driving in the dark and this time of year it can’t really be avoided. Add in those damn “Attention – Moose” signs and the anxiety meter goes way up. Nonetheless, here I am!

Tomorrow I’m scheduled to meet the realtor and the builder at 11 and discuss the house plan. Then, it’s something like meet the well driller, the re-design guy, see the actual house that was built according to the plan, etc. Can we pull this off? Stay tuned!

Monday, 21 January
Whew! Yesterday I met my realtor, K, around 11, and we had coffee and a delicious sweet bread courtesy of her husband, H, a German baker/pastry chef. We then met a well driller at the lot just to cover that base. Then we went back to her house and met up with J, the builder, and, after a chat, went to meet with the re-design guy. Then – insert drum roll – we went to see the house that had been built with the plan we had been considering. Long story short we rejected it. But, get this. The woman who lives there is a Ph.D. student in the department with which I’ll be visiting next year. Too funny! We then headed back to K’s where, with another friend of hers, we began a five hour feast. It was one series of tapas-like treats after another. Then, at the table, asparagus with prosciutto and a nice sauce. That was followed by a pea and ham soup that was out of this world. Then we had salad, followed by small pastries with a chocolate mousse-like filling dusted with confectioner’s sugar and accompanied by slices of blood orange. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten food like that prepared by a host. But, then, that’s what he does for a living. I made it back to the house just before midnight and collapsed.

This morning I spent some time looking at house plans and then went to meet with R, a guy who answered my ad on gayspaces.com. We had a delightful conversation – including his homemade cinnamon rolls – and, another long story short, it looks like we’ve got a place to stay this summer. He’s going to his cottage and will rent us his place. Coincidentally it is in the same block as the place we looked at last summer, one street over! Thus, it’s two blocks from the farmer’s market. It wouldn’t work for us long term, but it’s a perfect way to spend the summer! Dog friendly, large yard, downtown… Cool.

I also think we’ve got a house plan. More on that later. Today I also met with the guys at the university, two different mortgage lenders, a construction materials rep, opened a bank account, and picked up the papers on the land from our attorney. All in all a productive day. And, I was so glad I rented a RAV4 as it was snowing most of the day.

Wednesday, 23 January
This morning I had breakfast with one of the guys from UNB. I don’t want to write anything publicly, but I’m hopeful on a number of fronts. I then had a three hour appointment with the re-design guy and the builder. We have a house – well, a plan for a house! Whenever I can figure out how to do so, I’ll post it.

I’ll be posting details to Our Canadian Home when I can, but, in brief it’s 1428 square feet, one story with a full height basement for later finishing. We’re going as green as we can afford – it’s ICF construction – foundation and first floor – and will have a high-efficiency woodstove. Because of the ICF construction, we’ll be able to use that for heat much of the time, but we’ll also have baseboard heat - the norm in new construction, it appears. We’re going to get an estimate on putting in the things (e.g., pipes) that would allow us to add solar later without having to do anything but put the panels on and make the appropriate connections, etc. And, we’ll be adding a rain barrel. If you want to know more, check Our Canadian Home in a few days/weeks!

I didn’t get out of town until around 3:00 and drove as far as Freeport, ME where I spent the night.

Thursday, 24 January
This morning I left Maine and went to visit an old friend outside of Boston. I arrived just before 11 and left just before 3. It was great to catch up and so cool that we’ll be within driving distance. Her twin boys are about eight months older than 6YO. I’m now at Logan airport waiting to board my flight.

Last night I received an email from our realtor in MN telling me that the average listing in our neighborhood is now 100 days and suggesting we list in February rather than March. Lovely. So, I head home, the semester starting next week, with tons to get done at home. Fortunately, I’ve been weeding for a year so it’s really about repairs and some light painting, not days of weeding, sorting, removing.

As I often say, stay tuned!

Duty/Tariff

I'm sure this is out there somewhere, but I've not been able to find it. Does anyone know where the tariff schedule - I think that's what they call it - is located such that one can determine the duty on items that do not appear on the Goods to Follow list?

I know, I know - they won't search, etc. But, we may decide to bring a few new furniture items. Even with duty they would be cheaper to buy and haul and since it looks like we'll have lots of room in the truck... Anyway, I'm really risk averse, so just humor me. Or should that be "humour" me?

Thanks!