Remainder of Summer 2010

We left home again on August 1st for Wyoming.

After 35 years of owning a house in Glenrock we have decided to sell.  The renters are out and it is time to put it on the market.

Imagine our surprise on arrival to discover that our house that the property manager had said was 'well maintained' was far from it.  We figured we'd have to replace carpet because it had been 15 years since we'd had put new carpet in, what we did not figure was that this 'well maintained' house would have dog urine all over; that the dog had been allowed chew the wood door moldings in the garage and scratch every possible wood surface in the house.   Add to that the dirty walls, non-functioning electric switches, bathrooms with faucets not working and tubs with years of hard water stains, etc.

I do believe we were duped by the property manager.  This property manager's advice on the amount of the rent was actually about half the going rate....and we were assured by her that these renters were 'taking care of the house'.  Not sure if the property manager and the renter were in cahoots, or if the property manager was simply bad.

Too bad we can't charge the property manager for the renter's deposit she returned.  It would have gone a long way toward cleaning and making repairs.


My advice on property managers (if you are an absentee landlord) is the go to their home and see how they maintain their own place.  That way when they say 'well maintained' you have an idea what THEY think well maintained means.

Anyway, we spent three solid weeks and many trips to hardware stores getting the house in move-in ready condition.  It looks so nice.  I really loved that house when we lived in it...too bad it is in Wyoming were the weather is less than ideal and the wind blows FAR TOO MUCH.

If not for our friends, we would have been up a creek for sure.  Thanks to our friends Doug & Carla (who provided us a place to stay until we could stay in the house, fed us, let us launder our clothes and loaned us an air mattress and tools); Jim and Thelma who loaned us a table, their lawnmower and lots of tools; and Ray and Charlotte who helped us tape, texture and paint the garage.


We spent many happy hours playing Farkle and visiting with other people in Glenrock that we had not seen in 25 years.


After three weeks the house was listed and we headed to Nebraska for some time with Larry's family.


When we returned to the house it seemed like every where we turned (even though we had already done so much) there was something else that needed to be fixed.  I swear, if the property manager had walked through the door she would have had her ears ringing.

Received some great advice from one of the flooring guys - if you want a shower floor clean without scrubbing and scrubbing with toxic stuff - use vinegar.  Just plug the drain, pour in the vinegar and let it sit for 8 hours....brush occasionally. 


After 2 months we headed back home....in time to participate in the Northern California Ride for Kids event on October 3rd in Fairfield.


Ah, home, good friends, great view, awesome bed.  Now, if we could just transfer those great friends from Wyoming to here all would be perfect!

Sleeping Buddies

A quick snapshot...and little blurred but you get the gist. Shadow had also been sleeping.

Still Organzing!

I know we downsized what we were taking on the recent trip...but unloading all of it, washing all the gear and clothing and putting everything away seems to be taking much longer this time.

I found two boxes of Hot Tamales that were ruined by my handy spray bottle of Renuzit...the bottle was empty but the trailer smells very good.

I do believe I am done with the washing and all the gear and clothes are put away.

House still doesn't look tidy, but I'm getting there.

The dog is supremely happy.  She not only has us home but she gets to go visit with Fred and Judy too.  Shadow is such a love!

Home Again

We returned home today after a three week motorcycle adventure.  It is good to be back home and relax.

We also are ever so happy to be reunited with our puppy Shadow.  She has been well cared for by Loren and Judy, but she obviously liked having us back home!