no regrets

I come from a long line of ruminators. You’ve met the likes of us before. We’re the ‘if only’ people. If only I had said that /not said that/ turned left/turned right/stayed home/gone out/broken up with him/not broken up with him/had the perfect haircut/let my hair grow/worn that/not worn that/blah blah blah. I’m one of those woulda shoulda coulda kind of people.

I avoided one of those times last month. I learned just a few days before that Helen was putting her house (home of the Flower Man Jam) up for auction. I’d always pictured that someday I would live there.  Once the shock wore off I dismissed the idea thinking that there is no way that I could pull it all together to place a bid and I accepted it as fate, while mentally beating myself up for not having buckets of money in the bank.

Then I spent a few hours with Helen in her backyard that Sunday. I woke up Monday morning determined that I should figure out what my options were. I ran around my house like a nut and gathered up and scanned last year’s W2s and tax return, and my current pay stub.  I e-mailed them with a link to the auction and details to the mortgage officer at my bank.  I was in an off-site board retreat/planning session most of the day and didn’t realize that the e-mail to the loan officer had flipped back to me. I stopped at the bank on the way from the meeting to work and learned that the contact I had was long gone, someone had replaced him, that guy quit, and the “new” loan officer hadn’t started yet. I stopped at another branch of my bank and learned that the loan officer for that branch was on vacation. Again I decided that it must be fate and I mentally gave up on the idea (while wondering why the heck they didn’t forward bank e-mails to the new people).

Then I remembered that I had a mortgage broker from when I purchased my house. I shot her a quick e-mail and she responded immediately. In 36 hours she had me pre-approved for a mortgage, a heroic feat, really.

 It forced me to examine my current living situation and whether I wanted to let the double go to make the move to house Helen's. After crunching numbers I decided that untimely I wanted to keep the rental property. After almost six years I’ve got things manageable enough that renting out both sides would cover the cost of my mortgage loan, property taxes, and insurance – but not much cushion for emergency repairs or vacancies. Armed with the numbers, I decided that if push came to shove I wouldn’t sell the double in order to buy Helen’s house.

I was a Nervous Nelly, arriving two hours before the auction and was the first to register and get my bidding number. I let Helen know that I would be bidding and she gave me free rein to poke in the attic and cellar. The house is quirky and old – the ‘new’ part was added 123 years ago to an existing log cabin. It was really interesting to see the different foundations in the basement. Schaun was with me and he used his plumbing and electrical expertise to look at the mechanicals of the place. The plumbing is new, but the electrical “system” would need to be updated. The roof and decking looked great. I was smitten with the attic – as wide as the house with tall roofline and several windows. It almost doubled the size of the living space and I could picture myself with a chair tucked in the corner and the computer on my lap. I mentally upped my maximum bidding amount.

There was lots of ‘tire-kicking’ on the house and the auction company thought there would be some heavy bidding and I was hoping so for Helen’s sake. I was going in to the auction wanting the house, but hoping that Helen would get tons more money than I could afford.

As it turned out there were only two bidders, me and another guy. As I farm kid I am pretty comfortable with the auction process, but I’ve never been a participant in anything bigger than bidding on a potato fork or box of wrapping paper.

I took my seat on the lawn chair with the dozen or so folks – including Schaun and Dad – gathered in Helen’s back yard.

The auctioneer started out high and I was afraid to breathe. The auctioneer asked for an opening bid. The other bidder opened at $100,000, a mere $10,000 more than the in-in-head maximum.  Yikkes. I was pre-approved for more, so I bid $105,000. Gulp. He countered at $110,000. I bid $115,000. He bid $120,000. My dad was looking green in the lawn chair next to me. I went to $125,000. Dad was shaking his head vigorously back and forth. The other bidder offered $130,000. I started shaking my head no.

The auctioneer took Helen into the house for a conference and they came out and re-opened the bidding. I bid $1,000 more, he bid another $1,000, I upped it by $1,000, he upped it a thousand  to $134,000. I was out. Another in the house conference between Helen and the auctioneer and they came out and announced the house was sold to the other bidder.

I could have gone higher, but I would have had to sell the double and I wasn’t ready to do that yet. It was emotional and heart-breaking, but I gave it my best shot.

Dad, and Schaun, and I took Helen out to lunch and swapped stories and laughter.

I’m glad I tried, and you can bet that I’ll be first in line if the house ever comes up for sale again.

mum's is [not] the word

... at least for October. Remember when once upon a time, five years ago, when I posted all 31 days of October. I'm going to try that again.

I miss writing or at least thinking about writing daily and quite frankly need the distraction.

These beautiful mums belong to my dear mum - I need to get them to her, but I'm enjoying having them on my front porch. I'm sure a squirrel will be enjoying that pumpkin for a snack soon. Probably tonight.

See you tomorrow.

may shower [of a different sort]

Vintage wrapping paper

                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

My sweet cousin, Jessica is having a baby this summer. Which seems impossible, really, since  I was 18 when she was born. She and her dear husband live in Chicago and I don't see her nearly enough. 

The party was lovely - all of women first-cousins on Mom's side were there. I'm the oldest cousin and I'll admit to getting teary looking down the table and realizing what strong amazing women they've become - mothers, teachers, medical professionals, artists, business leaders - not a bad apple in the bunch! It was also fun to celebrate with Mom and my dear aunts. 

Mom gave Jess a beautiful statue and some Holy Water. My sisters and sister-in-law pitched in for a shared gift. We were semi-practical with the main gifts; monitoring system and music player, but I couldn't resist the Hello Kitty glitter lamp that was on her list. Can't introduce this little girl to sparkly things too soon. 

I bought a box of miscellaneous things at an auction of a distant cousin's estate sale a decade or so ago. There was a bounty of what is now vintage wrapping paper. I knew that Jessica would appreciate it so I wrapped the presents in the delicate paper.

I love having nothing on my schedule but church and the shower today. It's what I imagine Sundays are like for everyone else.

water anyone?

 500 Festival Princesses on the right, me (wearing three shirts mind you) on the left

As I said, I love participating in the Indianapolis Mini-Marathon. But this year I made a last minute decision to volunteer at a water station instead. It was a blast, although a long day. We started the morning at 5:30 setting up thousands of cups of water and ended around noon. I loved seeing friends run, or in a few cases limp by. It was fun to hang out at the Speedway, which might be the closest I get to it this month.


One of the big factors in my decision not to walk was that we were invited to the wedding reception of my friends Alan and Heidi and that I had to work at the Red Key later that evening.

The reception was lovely. It was held in the Normandy Barn at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. They first saw the space during the Farm to Fair exhibit. I loved all of the personal touches - the table decorations all had meaning. My favorite part of the centerpiece were the balls of white string made from the string that bundle the Broad Ripple Gazette - the paper that I write for and Alan publishes (and edits, sells ads for, and delivers).

All and all a lovely day in May.

i never did like math

Just because I'm tracking Weight Watchers points doesn't mean I'm making good choices. 

Deja vu all over again..four years ago I lost a bunch of weight. I found it in the last year or so. I started eating most evenings with Sweetie, who was working twelve-hour days rebuilding a restaurant. In retrospect eating like a construction workers wasn't such a good idea. 

I recommitted myself to Weight Watchers about six weeks ago and have lost eight pounds. Ten more to go. I know I'll feel better when the weight is gone, and more importantly my clothes will fit. Especially the new ones.

start your engines

Racing into May

We take the month of May very seriously here in Indianapolis. Not so long ago Indy 500 drivers and their crews arrived the first weekend in May and practiced at the track all month. Now the drivers and their crews arrive the week before the race and the qualifying is compressed into a few days. 

Indianapolis has figured out how to keep the spirit of the month even if the drivers aren't in town yet. The Mini-Marathon is the first weekend in May and is my favorite 500 Mile Race related event. There are 35,000 folks registered, making it the largest half-marathon in the nation. This is the 37th year for the race and I've participated in at least half of them. The last several years I've walked the 13.1 mile course with a camera and notebook reviewing the bands along the way, earning me by first - and possibly last sports byline.

Back in the older days of the Mini you could pick up your packet at a sporting goods store or a table set up on a corner downtown during the lunch hours. Now packet pickup spans two days and is held in the Convention Center. I enjoy picking up the packets and being part of the crowd. 

The serious runners can check out the latest technology in running gear, the fashion conscious runners can shop for hairbands, shorts and other goodies. I have just one goal when I pick up my packet: find the person with novelty photo opp. I have no shame when it comes to this sort of stuff. The 500 Festival team provided a copy of the actual wreath that will be given to the winner and real milk (which I was afraid that I might drop). 

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines! 

may[be]?

 Chez Pez, May Day 2013

Hello lovelies. I'm not even going to try to explain where I've been and why I haven't posted. The winter was long and snowy and cruddy. I've had snow day contingency plans for Second Helpings for years and finally got to test them this winter. I'm glad the plan worked, but the novelty wore off after awhile.  April was so soggy that it came only .01 inches from breaking the 120 year old record. 

As you can see from the photo of my house the Redbud trees are blooming and I still have the string of Saint Valentine's Day lights on my porch. I need to Spring the place up and put up the new porch lights and buy some flowers.

I'm challenging myself to post every day in May. One, two, three, go!