Monday morning, we realized that our feeble attempts at dieting so we could fit in our clothes for our river cruise in France starting later this month had produced no results, we decided to follow the South Beach Diet for a few weeks---starting Tuesday! South Beach has worked well for us on occasion since we first tried it more than 10 years ago. We'll see how it works out this time around.
After making that momentous decision, we headed for Flagstaff to a doctor's appointment for me. It's merely a periodic follow-up, so there's nothing to fear. On the way, we noticed that one of the beautiful meadows along I-40 had its wildflowers in bloom due to the recent rains. Magnificent sight.
Tuesday morning we took Ramsey and Kelsey to the local vet for their regular shot regimen. Since Ramsey is often spooked by vet visits, Becky drugged him beforehand. He was very good as a result. He was also a bit shaky on his feet. It was kind of funny to watch. He essentially slept the rest of the day.
By Tuesday afternoon the Cordova people had not yet returned any of my three calls that started Saturday, so I contacted another mobile RV repair company, A-1 Mobile Service. We were having very nice (dry) weather and thought it would be a good idea to take advantage of that. John, the owner (and, I assume, the only employee) returned my call immediately and thought he could come by Wednesday afternoon to assess our leak problem.
There was a Purchase Contract page that needed to be signed. We stopped by realtor's home to sign the page. Danielle lives in the same neighborhood where our new home is located.
Wednesday, our home loan paperwork arrived, and we spent the next several hours working on that. We hadn't bought a house in 15 years and had no idea how much the paperwork requirements had changed. Apparently, most of the new stuff came from the housing meltdown in 2008. I also contacted Progressive, the insurer for our truck and trailer, and asked about their also insuring our home. The agent, Tammy, was terrific, and within a few minutes we had a very nice quote by e-mail.
While all that was going on, John arrived and (we hope) fixed a number of areas where water could have leaked into our trailer. He seemed to be very competent, and, though he charged an arm and a leg, we were satisfied. We'll see how we feel when the rain returns this weekend.
Thursday morning we dropped off the dogs for the day and headed for the house to meet the inspector and the appraiser. Both were thorough and comforting, although the appraiser noted right away that the square footage of the house had been overstated somewhat by both the broker and the county tax records (on which the broker had relied). Apparently, the mistake was made many years ago, and the appraiser thought we could probably get the tax assessment reduced a little for the future. At this moment, we are not concerned about the difference, but when the appraiser calculates its exact magnitude we might have a different view.
Friday, the inspection report arrived---all 39 pages of it---and was very positive. There are only a few items that need to be dealt with. That afternoon, we watched Railway Man, with Colin Firth. Very strong film, well worth watching. Thank you, redbox.
We're still pure after four days of our diet.
Saturday was a busy day. It started out with the "Cool Country Cruise In" in downtown Williams. We took the dogs for a walk down the main street (historic Route 66) where the cars were all parked.
It was fun, as these things always are. The cars were all the way from Ford Model As (circa 1930) to '60s Corvettes.
We then went to see the Williams Municipal Airport, which we've never seen before. It's a nice-looking facility for a scarcely-used place. (We've spent a lot of time in Williams over the years and have never seen or heard an airplane.)
When we got back to the RV park, we noticed a new arrival---a magnificent Prevost motor home with a matching trailer. Wow!
We then met with Danielle at her home to go over the inspection report on the house.
Sunday was a hiking day for Becky and the dogs. They hiked home from the reservoir at Buckskinner Park, located on the edge of Williams. We then watched two marginal redbox movies---Need For Speed and Divergent. Neither was any good (judged by our taste, anyway), but we watched them, nonetheless.
Monday was a Flagstaff day. Becky had a hair appointment and the dogs and I went along for the ride. I stopped at Wal-Mart for a few items. Then, to kill a little time until Becky's hair was finished, I headed for the great dog park in Flagstaff. On the way there the rain started in earnest. It was not encouraging. Just when we arrived, the rain stopped, thank you. We spent about ten minutes there, and the thunder started. That took care of Ramsey. He started moaning and acting weird with one of the dogs. We immediately got back in the truck and headed for the salon to pick up Becky.
On the way back, I dropped off Becky and the dogs for a walk home from the nearby McDonalds. A tourist who saw them ran over and wanted her picture taken with the dogs. She had been a long-time Dalmatian lover. Of course, Becky, Ramsey, and Kelsey indulged her.
Later in the day, we took the dogs for a walk around our anticipated new neighborhood.
The rest of the day was spend dodging the rain and listening to the non-stop coverage of the death of Robin Williams. Too bad. He was quite a talent and by all accounts a very nice man.
Tuesday was a full day of rain, so we just huddled with Ramsey and Kelsey mostly. Remembrances of Robin Williams dominated all of the network news programs. It was a bit much, but he really was a genius.
We had called John from A-1 Mobile, asking him to come back because we were still getting some water leaks when it rained very hard. He stopped by on Wednesday and tried to solve the problem. His solution was to apply silicone sealant to every possible opening. We'll see how that works.
That night we watched Locke from the redbox. It was a very strange movie that took place entirely in the protagonist's car---with him on the phone while on his way to London. But we watched it all the way through.
Thursday, we went on a 43-mile loop through the Kaibab National Forest (mostly on dirt roads still drying out from the recent rains) stopping at White Horse Lake and the JD Dam. This is certainly beautiful country.
At the White Horse Lake campground (which has 99 nice campsites, the vast majority of which were vacant---probably because school started in all of Arizona this week) we had a nice talk with the camp host.
It drizzled all night Thursday night, but it was so gentle we had no noticeable leakage..
Friday's redbox movies were The Raid 2 and Bad Words. The first one was an Indonesian martial arts movie that Becky rented for some unknown reason. She couldn't finish it; I did out of some sort of self-loathing.
Bad Words, starring Jason Bateman, was actually fun.
Other than that, the day was filled with dog walks and cooking for Becky. I loafed, as usual, after making a reservation for a U-Haul trailer to transport our belongings from Los Angeles and Las Vegas to Williams if and when our house purchase is completed.
Saturday was strangely productive. I looked at the U-Haul situation again, and determined that the reservation I made on Friday could be improved a lot. Hint: Don't do a one-way rental; they are substantially more expensive. I cancelled that reservation and made a new one, picking up the trailer here in Williams instead of Los Angeles, saving at least $140.00. I then visited the U-Haul location and discussed a bunch of technical issues with the manager. Very comforting.
We then went to the hardware store and picked up a few things, including a tarp to put over our (possibly) leaking air conditioner while we're gone for a couple of weeks.
Sunday was the day I dread every year---preparing our income tax materials for our accountant. (We always file in October. It's been a successful strategy for more than 30 years.) It feels so good when I finish that task.
The redbox movies on Sunday were Cesar Chavez and Blood Ties. I didn't watch the first one. Blood Ties, with Clive Owen and Billy Crudup, was excellent. Bloody and profane, but excellent.
We still haven't heard from the Cordova people. It's now been two weeks since I placed the first of three calls to them.
Monday was a day to make small preparations for the scheduled moving of our rig to the side of our prospective house on Thursday, where it will rest while we are on our France adventure. Thank you, sellers, for the accommodation. Monday night we started to watch Frankie and Alice, a psychodrama starring Halle Berry. I gave up after a few minutes since it was too slow for me, while Becky stayed with it until she fell asleep. Not a great movie.
Tuesday morning was time for The Great Weigh-In. After 14 days on The South Beach Diet, Becky has lost seven pounds and I have lost ten pounds. Yippee!!!! We'll see how long that lasts on a two-week cruise in France. We parked the dogs at the Railway kennel so Becky could spread her clothes all around the rig, preparatory to an initial packing. (A re-packing took place early the next morning.) In late afternoon, I spent 20 minutes packing my bag for the first and last time. That evening, we had wine (a nice Chardonnay with our Pesto Chicken dinner) for the first time in two weeks, as allowed by The South Beach Diet. It was yummy.
Wednesday was consumed with last-minute preparations for our vacation. (How do people who are already retired take a vacation? A vacation from what?) At Danielle's suggestion, we went to the house to assess whether the gravel base at the north end of the house would support the rig, given the amount of rain we've had lately. We were satisfied. We didn't even watch a redbox movie that night.
Thus ended the last day of this stay in Williams.
You're correct that things have changed due to the housing meltdown. It's to ensure that people are able to pay their homes so that less foreclosures happen. Checking out the details was also the right step, so you would know what you're getting. I hope the entire process wasn't stressful for you guys, and that you were able to close in without worries. Take care!
ReplyDeleteBarry Sutton @ Iron Point Mortgage