July 2011

[lynn]

it looks like we're winding down, and nobody bothered to open a discussion today, so i thought i'd just set up a thread for this month, and let whoever wanders in, whenever, post to it.  if our moderator wants to do something differently, you'll doubtless hear about it.

after realizing that i didn't need to move to MI, i'm going to Staunton, VA, the last week of this month, and thinking to plant myself there for the rest of my life.  no other roots yet, other than that's the home of the state's premier mental institution, altho' i've never (yet) been there.

the remnants of Independence Day week must be going slowly, since nobody's been here.  

yeah, i don't want to sign off tbd completely, but i realize that facecrack is taking over and all the follow-ons to TBD are slowly fading into oblivion.  still, i'm grateful for the people that Robyn's creation let me connect with, and i am glad to have that facecrack thingee so i don't lose track of my online friends completely.  

if nobody else starts in August, we can just sign off.  i'll be on the road that month.

[CWO3ROBBIE]

Morning RRC,

I'm hiding today. I pushed it pretty close to the limit yesterday. But, think I have now recovered.

two weeks till Pburg.

[rhb1]

Good morning!  Stay as cool as can be today.

[lynn]

good morning, RRC, Robbie and Richard!  some days, i think about referring to you collectively as the ThreeRs, but each of you deserves your own name!

Robbie, sounds like you came close to heat exhaustion yesterday.  please be careful!

puttering around, putting the remnants into boxes today....

[realteal]

Hi everyone. R U cool? Hope so. While much of the country swelters, it's been much cooler here than last year. One week it was in the low 80's! High 90's this past week. Same, Richard?

Good to see you.

Yard work calls.

[lynn]

hi, rt!  hot here, but it's been thundering for a few hours, just no actual rain or visible lightening.  still, that's cooled it off about 20º so i won't complain!

am about as "done" with packing as i can be until monday morning, when it's time to pack the coffee pot, the bedding and the last of the utensils.  a few more clothes to go in my suitcase, and the rest will get stuffed into a laundry hamper, LOL!

[rhb1]

No RT much different here.  It's been in the mid to high 60s with occasional rain for the last couple weeks.  Today it has reached 80 so far.  Forecast for 87 tomorrow then back to low to mid 70s most of next week.We went garden supply shopping this morning, I edged the lawn with a foot edger and a brand new string trimmer then mowed.  I didn't cut up the garden hose or the power cord so it has been a good day.  LOL

[rhb1]

Lynn I am betting you will be happy when you are able to settle down in your new apartment in a new town.  I meant to mention to you that my brother and his family lived on the north end of the valley in Winchester for several years.

[lynn]

thanks for your good wishes, Richard!  and thanks to the others who've wished me well too, not to ignore the rest of you.

i well understand that i'll be just as happy as i want to be....  it's a pretty part of the state, and once i settle in and meet some people, that'll help a lot.  

if your brother lived near, then you've probably seen it.  Winchester was one of the early places i looked at, but they don't have a decent pool there, and rents weren't much lower than DC metro, surprisingly -- that's commuting distance to DC, whereas Staunton isn't (yet).

[rhb1]

I have not been to VA.  That's right isn't it.  The closer to DC the higher the price to live.

[thallygal]

hi all,

was beautiful here in prineville today, we lounged in the pool and played in the hottub...one more day then to florence and to begin my long drive home...richard maybe next year...looks as if star might even make it that long....we have had such a good time, so many wonderful memoires mad, inbedded in my heart..

hope everyone who is going to pa has a wonderful time, wish i could be there, 

[CWO3ROBBIE]

Richard, Lynn, Lived in that area for over 20 years, 7 in Harpers Ferry, 2 in Ashburn, and 16 in Leesburg. But we lived in three different places in Leesburg. 11 years in one house. Longest I've ever lived in any one place.

Up until the price of gas got so high, it seemed like anyplace within 100 mi of DC was commuting distance. The further out you go the cheaper the house prices. In 81 when I moved to that area, the cheapest place I could find to buy was $84,000. It was a two bedroom crackerbox in Pimmit Hills.

I passed, and bought a place near Harpers Ferry, WV. 1& 3/4 acres with two story house and a large detached cinderblock garage for $62,000. It was about 46 miles to work in McLean, VA. But there were three of us living up there so we took turns driving. After 7 years I got sick of the drive. It got more congested every month. We moved to Leesburg in 87. Bought a house for $141,000. Sold it 11 years later for $162,000. Bad timing. Just before the real estate run up. It was valued in 2006 for $400,000. 

In 2005 and 6 I was a Real Estate Appraiser. I did a number of houses in Winchester VA and Charlestown, WV.  They were being bought by commuters who could not afford anything closer. I'm talking houses in the $300-$350 thousand range. Last time I was in Charlestown, a number of them were empty.

I would love to live in the DC area, but there is nothing there that I can afford.  

[rhb1]

Wow Robbie you have been quite the nomad in the past.  No wait you  still are!  LOL  I don't know the specifics about my brother's house purchase/sale.  He was retired, his daughter was a research librarian, and his wife was an event planner prior to her death.  My brother and niece moved to the Northwest about 3 years ago.