Playing "Ketchup"

Do you like my play on words? :D Anyway, after 2 very frustrating days of trying to figure out why I can't send pics to my blog, I gave it a break. I found a forum talking about Picasa and apparently I wasn't the only one having the problem. The program was down for a week and then up again for a day or two, before it went down again. Ugh. I pulled my hair out for those 2 days for nothing. Needless to say, I'm kindof gun shy to check it. I will eventually. -_-

Last weekend Al and I attended the RV show in Boston. We went on  Saturday, and so did everyone else.. We got bags of campground brochures, and travel brochures. Makes for some good winter reading, in place of seed catalogs. There are some truly beautiful 5th wheels available. With that said, they aren't for us. After seeing them, and as gorgeous as they are, I can honestly say, the coach is a better  choice for us. The coach provides the comfort and space while traveling with the pets and us. We are self contained and can stop for a nature call or make a meal without difficulty. There are advantages and disadvantages of each, so it's a personal choice you have to make on your own.

After reading other RV blogs and further research, it looks like our choice of making residency in SD is out. The awesome affordable health care act has put a crimp in our plan with their requirements of proof of 6-9 months of residency. Bah. Its not just our plans, but many other Rvers, too. I bet anything this was just a small piece of the plan..Darn health care providers are crooks to begin with. This makes everything SO much more difficult. Now Al and I are having to rethink our strategy and lose the SD part of our trip in July. That part is easy... We may hang in Chicago a bit longer and on our return trip I was thinking of traveling to Columbus, Ohio to check out Jack Hanna's zoo. :)) I always loved that show and him. Lol.

Just a reminder : there's 1000 bucks up for grabs to the person who refers a buyer for our home.. The referral actually has to be the buyer" . :))

That's it for "ketchup".

Picture Fail

Well, I have no clue what the heck has happened to my phone... It won't send pictures to the blog. I've tied and tried.. SO for those interested in seeing pictures of the house that will be officially for sale come March 1st, I will have them posted on a FB post.  It's a great neighborhood for kids. The schools are close, too. You have Downey, or Baker. Downey is a small older elementary school where as Baker is 2 years old, quite large and has grades K-8.  Baker is within walking distance while Downey students take busses. Middle schools are Ashfield or East. Both are within walking distance.

And I have decided to up the ante... If  YOU send us a referral whom buys the house, we will give YOU $1,000 as a Thank You!  Who can't use extra money? :))

This offer is only good until March 1st, 2014.  This is our way of trying to avoid using a RE company. If  you think you know someone who may be interested, ask them to bring a pre-approval letter. This will act as their ticket to being a serious looker, and we avoid wasting time. We would love to be able to save time and money selling ourselves, So by all means send us your serious potential buyers. If we can keep from paying a commission we may be able to make a couple of bucks. However, if we have to market with an agent, their commission will eat up 6 percent off the top.... :-/. 

I'll have the FB post done by 8 PM this evening.  Appointments can be made by calling. All information will be on the post. House isn't spotless yet... But who's is?  :D

Preparing To Sell House

Well, Happy New Year! With the cold and snowy weather, we've been concentrating on organizing and cleaning up the clutter that has accumulated in the house. It is something that should be done to stage a home for selling. Clean. Clean. Clean.

I was a real estate agent at one time, so I know what needs to be done to get the house in "selling" mode. Uncluttered counters, neat closets, dust free, stink free and basically tidy and neat.

I've started with the kitchen... I have quite a few small appliances I store on the counter. I moved some of those to the basement. Washed down the cabinets. They sparkle! Dusted the crown molding, dusted ceiling, and cleaned off the fan. Boy was that dusty. Yuck. Washed the kickboards under the cabinets. Tomorrow I'll get the area where the dogs crates are....dusty and cluttered on the crates. I use the top of the crates as a catch all.:( The dogs don't get crated anymore but do go in them daily for one reason or another. I haven't decided if I'll break them down completely when the house goes on market.

March 1, 2014 is my tentative marketing date, at the latest. Anyone interested? I'll post pics next blog...We have a 6 room 2 story colonial type house with 2 and 1/2 baths. Laundry on first floor. 3 bedrooms. Master bathroom. Full basement. Above ground round pool, only 2 years old.  A great Man cave and a small shed. Garden area in the back yard. Glass top stove, french door refrigerator, wall microwave.Total sq. footage is just under 1600. House is 10 years old. Very well insulated. Use less than 400 gallons of oil per heating season. House in Brockton,  on Abington line. Awesome neighborhood. Very kid oriented. Quiet street. 284,900.00

Pass this info around... As an incentive, we will give 500.00 to the person who brings us the buyer. If you want more info or a private showing, contact me through my email and put house in the subject. ddflanagan@ comcast.net

I should have pics by next post.

Third Time is A Charm

So we didn't find the hidden treasure on our second try.. Darn it. Even after Al thought for sure he knew where it was by looking at pictures online. Fail. That did it. I suggested we go buy a handheld GPS used for geocaching. Checking prices out, we finally picked one. We chose a GARMIN eTrex20 to help us out with our new hobby. Al preloaded the coordinates into the Garmin which allowed him time to get familiar with it. 

SO off we go, back to the park to find this darn thing.

Walking......

Searching the woods. After nearly 30 minutes of figuring 

out how to actually read the GPS., we THINK we're on the right course finally. 

Sweet success.!

We signed into the log and left our treasure. This cache was a pen swap. We left a "Cake

Connections" logo pen  and took a "Boars Head" pen. Thrilled with the find, we chilled out for a few minutes before heading back .... this was labeled an 

EASY one.

Uh oh... We have a problem.... In our rush to find the cache, neither one of us remembered to put in our starting points...:( Ugh. We get back on the trail... But soon are in a quandary to which direction to go. Nuts. Well, with the grace of God, while we were standing around trying to figure out what to do, a couple walking their dog come through, :)) We shared our adventure with them and they told us to follow the stone wall to find our way out! Thank goodness the weather was warm. it took nearly an hour to find the geocache and another 30 minutes to find our way out of  the local park. :)  I have to pee.. 

 

Celebrating our adventure, we went to the local pub,  went to the bathroom, ordered a beer, and some 

nachos.

What a great day!!