Looks like we may have a home bought....

After countless houses looked at, week after week of running up into the mountains and offering on several homes; today we had an offer accepted!!

Not bad looking! Lots of trees!! (obviously a listing photo)

 We have had quite a time! Got our Kia stuck on the first run. Have worked with 3 different realtors and each have had a great sense of humor! Running up and down the snowy roads laughing and telling stories, looking through home and after home. I've never "shopped" for a home before and we sure have learned a lot about the process! 

Still a fair amount of snow around yesterday

In this bear market the prices on all homes is way low, but that brings with it it's own problems! Most homes are either repossessed or are a "short" sale where the owner is asking their bank to let them sell for less than what is owed, with the bank getting the "short" end of the stick!! Either way it isn't a quick way to buy. The banks can take all the time they want to make up their collective minds! So it was very lucky for us to find a home all paid for and listed at a price we feel is a steal. AND to have the owners grateful and extremely happy with our offer!! AND for it to be almost perfect for us!

Ladies and Gentlemen, our view!

All in all it has been a blast! We have seen lots of homes, lots of beautiful views and met and made some very good friends.

Homcoming!!

On February 2nd my son, Sean, returned from his 2 year mission to Chile. All my family gathered including my daughter Jesse, her husband Mike and their daughter kadee. To say we were excited is an understatement!!

 Sean and another missionary both came out of Chile to Boise Idaho together. My family is on the left, the other's on the right.

 And here he is!! (hint: he's the one in the suit) 

Greeting Mom and Dad

 Felisa, Jesse, Sean and Chris. Jesse had the poster made.

The whole group! Glad to have him safely home!

Update on the house hunting

Well, we lost out on the first house we bid on. Since then we have looked at quite a few homes from Garden Valley to New Meadows, Idaho, about a span of 50 miles. Just spent today (Saturday) viewing 2 homes in McCall, 1 in Donnelly, 2 in Cascade and 1 more in Garden Valley, all in the Idaho central mountains.

2 of them stood out; 1 in McCall and the 1 in Donnelly. First, McCall:

The first 4 were off the web; the last shows the back yard today. This one is located near the end of a culdesac in a nice sub west of McCall proper. 

And then the Donnelly property:

3 buildings on a narrow and long lot of 1 acre. The middle garage has a fully contained apartment above.

But look inside the home:

This is one "stick out" looking at the outside of another, two on each side of the house. Different!

This one is a fair amount more than the first and the local is not as good. Coming home our Realtor called and advised us the McCall property, at the listed amount, would not be a short sale and would not need bank approval so could move quickly if we offered at the list price, which we did! Keep in mind the economy has all properties at or below half price; we are happy with the price of this home!

So now again the waiting game. But not being a short sale (where the bank has to okay as they will loose money on the deal) or a repossessed home where due to the economy again the bank owns the property and also stands to lose money, this is simply up to the owner to accept our offer. so we will see!

A home in the mountains.....

 My new wife, Sue, has always wanted to live surrounded by evergreen trees in the mountains. We have talked  about buying a place in the mountains later when we retire, but have realized NOW is the time. The prices of property are way, way low and so are the interest rates. Sooooo, we have spent the last 2 weekends looking at places to buy now!

The last one is an older home in good shape right on a river! It has a 3 car garage one of which will fit an RV, a small outbuilding good for crafting, gun room or guest room. We are bidding on it right now. The second to last is another one we are interested in if the other fails.


House hunting in the mountains is a lot of fun! And we have a real estate broker who is pretty much as crazy as we are! Wish us luck!

We must remember......

     My family and I have had a wonderful holiday time! All my siblings were able to get together (a rare thing) and it really made my mother's season. And it was cool for her to attend my first Christmas with my new family (we had deep fried turkey, ham and spuds!). And we are all very excited as my son will return to us on February 2nd from his 2 year mission to Chile!!

      But with the happy times comes a sadness. Tomorrow (Jan 3) is the 1st anniversary of our losing Sgt. Joshua Lengstorf in Afghanistan. He was my daughter's husband and father to their 1 year old daughter. He was more than a son-in-law; he was a son to me. I didn't realize this until he was gone. Be he and I hit it right off; we speak the same language and the times we had together, though few, were good. It hurts now like it did a year ago; it will hurt always. But at the same time I'm so glad I had those times with him. He was special, really special. He was one of those who looked to the needs of those around him. In his service to our country he truly was a "Soldier's Soldier". He was the type to take the point, to be out front; that's how we lost him. 
     Josh was also doing so well as a husband and father. That did not come from the start; Josh had to do some learning, as we all did, to go from me to we. He got to return for his daughter's 1st birthday and it was so cool to see him with his wife and daughter; they were a family. 


     "Josh, I know where you are; I know you are watching all of us. I know you want us to be happy. And we will be. But we will never forget you, and your daughter will know you always. As she grows she will learn of you from us and from your family. I promise this. See you later, son. I love you."

Another night in my sleeper......

Oh boy, some people want to hear from me. Here I am! Wow, does life ever slow down? Just when I think I've got a handle on it it screams and runs!! Let's see, now ready to get married (yes yes again, shut up K8!) have the marriage certificate in hand. Fiance is off on a scrapebooking cruise in the caribbean seas with her best friend. Son will come home from Chile in a couple months. Will leave this truck just before Christmas and become a "kept" man (and part of the kept is taking care of her 40+ goats!). Will try substitute teaching in Sue's school so we will go to work together! Um, let's see, what else? OH! Daughter is well along with her second child, due the first week in April. First child, Kae, is really using the terrible twos time! Love it!! 

Really, really looking forward to a home life with a really wonderful woman. Her 4 kids and I get along great and her one grandchild loves me. One of the things I have always wished I could do is learn to cook with spices and herbs. Sue is NOT a cook so this works out just fine, she will be the cleanup queen! 

Truly, I feel so blessed at this time in my life. Wonderful family, now a wonderful new family to add in; Sue and I compliment each other and we have taken the time to really get to know each other (that is something new for me...). Great friends online; Geri, still hope to make it for that lunch date! Kat, some day I will just walk in your house! Judy, Sue and I will be cruising the US and hope to barge into your space sometime! 

Thanks, everyone! You're the best!  (pic of Kae!)

Mild meanderings (behind the little animals.....)

     Growing up in a small Idaho farming community in the 70's was great! Living/working on our family farm gave me employment from the time I could lift and carry irrigation tubes. I can remember being paid a quarter an hour at about 6 years old.
     It was an easy, safe time to grow up in. By foot, by bike and finally with our own cars we roamed as far as each mode would take us. We had farm buildings, hay and straw stacks, etc. to play in; we had friends living across the road to play with. We had TVs but that was mostly an evening event. We had to much fun outdoors, some of it safe, some not so safe! I remember digging many tunnels and caves, playing in the canals and drain ditches, riding our bikes for miles around. But we grew up with a confidence seldom seen in the youth today. We drove trucks, tractors and combines as soon as we were physically able and proved early on that we could be trusted and responsible. This work and play taught us to be safe, even when doing unsafe stuff!!
     Now, my teen years were quite colorful as it was the early 70's with all that entailed!! Wish I had some pics to share (I think) of the clothes we wore then! We listened to the rock of Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Chicago, The Rolling Stones. We had black light posters, bell bottoms, harvest gold and avocado green and bongs. We said "far out!", "right on", "dig it", "gnarly", "groovy", and "let it all hang out"!!
      Drugs were an issue, and I still miss marijuana! But I realized that when I was under the influence of "maryjane" I might take anything else and quit all of it in my mid teens. Again, because most of us could be trusted we rarely let drugs or alcohol lead us to the crime much of our youth are involved in today. It was more of a social event rather than a way of life. It wasn't "cool" to be a junkie or an alcoholic.
     Even though my kids grew up in a small community and on several acres with chores and the like, and with NO broadcast or cable/sat. TV we still could not allow them the freedom I had growing up. But we did the best we could and our kids grew up always outside with their mother and I spending a lot of time with them in scouting, 4-H, camping, trips, etc. We had a lot of fun!
     Now I'm into a new way of life. Divorced and moved back to my hometown, driving long haul to pay the bills, and now with a wonderful relationship with a beautiful lady close by and her family to get to know and love. Life is good; it has it's ups and downs but with the right attitude you can weather anything and even find good in the bad. Love being around my Mom, brother and sister now, and having sooooo much fun with all my online friends!! You all are great and the fun is just starting!!  Right on!!