Thursday: processed Italian flat beans for freezer, made two loaves zucchini bread from new Cuisinart cookbook, was interrupted by various calls from son who has found a house they can't afford, thus,bread gets over processed and becomes brick pudding!
Friday: agree to provide financial backing to son until they sell their current teeny-tiny house so that they can bid on this other house---excellent location and move-in condition, prices will go up this coming spring and they will not be able to afford anything in this neighborhood! Those of you who do not live in a dynamic city have not a clue how expensive real estate is/was and why we agree to jump on this.
Saturday: six loads of laundry after the grands left and straighten upstairs and basement toys! Feed pets they accidentally left behind with garden harvest cherry tomatoes. Roast garden eggplant. Weed flower beds. Take photos.
Sunday: finally cleaned out the inside of my car, shopped for walking shoes for a fall vacation trip (a really neat one that I certainly deserve after this crazy summer), bought new luggage as mine broke, and shopped for food. Son calls and his offer is accepted. (Between vacations and real estate support watching money dwindle fast.)
Monday: changed master bedroom linens, paid bills online, drove up to the city and took a walk through with the son's home inspector on this "new" house, impressed with small house and location, depressed when returning to son's/DIL's teeny-tiny house in its NOT move-in condition. Tons of work to be done and they are not happy to hear us tell it.
Tuesday--TODAY: morning volunteer work on marine museum landscaping, then an hour at the art museum children's vegetable garden getting it wound down, then food shop for the grands, then trip up tonight or tomorrow to get them.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday: entertaining the grandchildren once again. picnics, museum trips, boat rides, hikes, puzzles, movies, cooking....whatevah!
Saturday: drive the hour up to drop off grandkids, head over to son's/DIL's house and begin hours of yard work, mulching, cleaning up old wood piles and leftover gutter grids, pruning back invasives etc. then head home. (There is not room in their house to sleep with all the wedding gifts.)
Sunday: drive the hour back up to finish yard work, look at prepping outside house trim for painting, plan for installation of a fence on one side of the yard to hide the neighbors backyard which they have turned into storage for their landscape business. (Hoping neighbors fix the large work truck with the flat that is sitting in their drive way and hoping we can get them to clean up their backyard peacefully as they are probably illegal both in having the business in the backyard and in living in this country!)
Monday: breathe and perhaps clean house and maybe just maybe get into an exercise routine once again(?)
Tuesday: start the yardwork volunteer schedule all over again! Looking forward to future long empty days of retirement somewhere/somehow.
ha. my wife loves her lists.....and good on you for helping you son too...its def not easy and my parents have done the same as i am sure i will for my sons as well....and yay on entertaining grands as well...
ReplyDeleteIt is so difficult to help our adult children. But we must. My parents helped me and their only request for reimbursement was for me to do the same for my own children.
ReplyDeleteLOL! Another similarity to my sister. She and her husband are helping their daughter fix her house up so she can re-mortgage after her divorce (to remove ex from the lease).
ReplyDeleteAnd...always making arrangements around watching the grand kids.
This is too spooky.
I can so commiserate about the amount of work that needs to be done to get a house into selling order. That's my plight right now. So kind of you to help out like that. And with your busy, busy days, I'm so amused that you took the time to arrange that photo shoot and feed those critters. ;)
ReplyDeleteHaving been in both your shoes helping and your son's shoes in acquiring a house, you have my heartfelt good wishes. I'm in the middle of a redo on my own house. The work does makes one sleep well at night.
ReplyDeleteSeattle daughter ans sil have lost out on five different houses ...multiple offers, pre-inspections and huge escalator clauses. Very low inventory here and I think potential sellers are enjoying their refinanced low low rates and deciding to stay put. ( my amateur analysis based on nothing) The real estate market is crazy here and prices going up every day. So glad your kids have found the right place and you can help.
ReplyDeleteSo pleased a home they like was found. Aware of costs as I have a granddaughter in New York, grandson in Washington DC, a daughter in Tampa and another granddaughter working for the season in Nantucket.
ReplyDeleteMom and grandma is so pleased to live in the country and cost and quality of life at this time is good and all I can handle.
Have done all you doing and they appreciate and will always remember. Take care and slow down when you can.
Lending money to family? Be sure to let us know when you're scheduled to appear on Judge Judy. Ha!
ReplyDeleteC'mon, admit it -- you wouldn't want retirement to be any other way. Time to rest will come.
ReplyDeleteGeeze....I thought I was busy.
ReplyDeleteYour life is seldom dull, I suspect. I look forward to hearing about your fall trip -- new walking shoes are exciting!
ReplyDeleteHousing prices in California have come up a lot lately, after the long decline. Multiple bids, lots of competition on a small inventory. How lucky the kids are that you are able to help. My folks helped me get into my first house and I'll be forever grateful.
You have me laughing. There are no long empty days of retirement. I'm still laughing. No lists here, I march and exercise while trying to do more. I do miss all the rest of my life, but this will do for right now.
ReplyDeleteWhew! I started out thinking about parallel lives because I just processed Italian flat beans too (the only bean worth growing) but you beat me by a mile!
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this, I think I need a rest.
ReplyDeleteI took in the list with one big glance and wondered if I should read it. It looked too much like my life! But...I read it and realized that it's all good...as they say.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work.