Mark Ogden, the broker from Sotheby's who is handling the sale of Becky's dad's house on Sequoia Drive in Pasadena, had set Tuesday as the day to consider the expected first wave of offers on the house. There were three offers. All necessary folks got on a conference call Wednesday morning to consider the offers and decide on the next steps. At this point we don't know how that will turn out. We should know more in a couple of days.
Immediately after that call, Becky and Lucy took off for a hike up the steep Bill Williams Mountain just outside town. It's an 8-mile round trip, which was more exhausting than they anticipated, but they were very happy they did it.
While they were gone (most of the day) the dogs and I hung out and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. At one point, we took a walk around the neighborhood, stopping to talk to Tawny, a lady from "the Valley" (Phoenix), who is building a home just down the street. We had a nice chat, and Ramsey and Kelsey were well-mannered the whole time.
Becky made sockeye salmon for dinner, which was delightful.
Thursday morning, early, Becky and Lucy took off for the 55-mile drive to the Grand Canyon, planning to take the shuttle from the Bright Angel trailhead to Hermit's Rest, and hike back along the 8-mile trail back to the Bright Angel trailhead. They got back just in time to head for the Red Raven restaurant in Williams (our favorite). After the usual wonderful dinner, we walked around town a bit, showing its dazzling sights, then watched the nightly staged shootout on the corner outside the restaurant.
Early Friday morning, Becky, Lucy, Ramsey, and Kelsey went for a short hike to what used to be a local lake. It has now dried up and become a lovely meadow. Lucy left at 11:00 AM for Flagstaff, to meet a friend with whom she will spend the next few days camping at the North Rim. We had a great time during her visit. She is welcome back any time.
Late Friday morning, Mark Ogden sent out the news that two of the three original people who made offers were still interested after receiving our counter offers. It's getting exciting. We later learned that one of the two had actually made a new offer and that the other had decided to drop out. The new offer---which was accepted Saturday morning---was more than five percent over the asking price. The buyers are a couple of recently married (though not necessarily fresh-faced) professionals from the San Gabriel Valley. He is a scientist at JPL and she is a doctor at the Glendale Adventist Hospital. Near the end of the negotiations, they wrote the Shelton family a lovely letter introducing themselves, explaining how much they liked the house, and asking for permission to buy the family's former home. Very touching. And convincing. Assuming all goes well, this should be a nice transaction for all concerned.
Our dinner Friday evening was a cooked chicken (cold) from Safeway. We just carved off a few pieces and ate them Tom Jones style, standing at the center island in the kitchen. Completely classless. We then forgot to put the rest of the chicken away, and either Ramsey or Kelsey, or both, ate the whole thing, bones and all. We have heard that chicken bones are bad for dogs, so we will have to watch them closely for a few days.
The Friday night redbox movie was Run All Night, the latest Liam Neeson thriller.
I thought it was a little too violent and complicated, but I suspect it will do all right. Saturday and Sunday were very relaxing. Just puttering around, a lot of reading, and a few projects. The major one was putting up our hummingbird feeder, which took all of three minutes.
I never got out of my pajamas. The Sunday night redbox movie was Clouds Of Sils Maria, a European film with Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart, that was both uninteresting and seemingly pointless---unless it was to show that people in the entertainment business are completely self-absorbed.
As of Monday morning, the dogs have shown no signs of internal distress, so we seem to be out of the woods regarding their chicken caper. We decided to get out of town for a few hours, and headed for Sedona. We made the round trip without stopping for anything but bathrooms---for us and the dogs---and it was a lot of fun.
I think this may have been my first time going to Sedona through Oak Creek Canyon without being at the wheel. As a passenger I saw things I had never seen before, and realized just how beautiful that drive is. It's also steep and curvy, so we came back the long way, avoiding driving up the canyon.
Tuesday was a nothing day. My highlight was finishing James Patterson's Cat & Mouse, which I've been struggling through for several days.
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