While I was out mowing the grass for the literal 50th time this year my phone pinged for an upcoming message. I've been on high alert waiting for any movement on the sale of the house. Needless to say we've been on edge and feeling powerless since we've started working with this couple. So when I saw it was a text from Theresa and above is what I saw, which to me, could have been the beginnings of a Dear John letter...
But then I scrolled down and red those six words, "....and we're ready to move forward".
While it ain't over until it's over we're still alive, remarkably. We invited them over for dinner to sit down and finalize both sides before the lawyer draws up the one and only contract. Rather then have two realtors going back and forth with each party I'd rather have it where you sit down across from each other, be totally honest and transparent, and fair, and work out the details, couple to couple, seller to buyer. And then break bread and have a drink.
Kudos to them for being good buyers. They love the house, and want it, but that didn't stop from from not only doing the home inspection, but a separate chimney inspection as well, there's two of them with five fireplaces, and including a contractor to give them the skinny on the costs of getting what they want done.
The other night when the heavens opened up the water was pouring over one gutter like Niagra Falls. It's on the high roof and in a tough spot. Hard to get off the ladder and hard to reach down from the gutter line while sprawled out on the roof. My idea was for them to come over for dinner last night, when it wasn't raining, just in case one of those droplets of water, or a bunch of them, would find their way along a ceiling or into the basement.
So it raise a ladder on one side of the house to do an up and over to scale down to the gutter and leader that were clogged. As I perched over the gutter, looking down at a 30 foot fall, I thought, "What irony". Here I am ridiculously happy that we sold only to then haven fallen off the roof trying to clean out the gutter. Theresa wasn't around, and neither were the neighbors, so it would have been a lonely and slow death. But I survived my last trip up to one of the five roofs, three pitched, and two flat.
Before the good news and the Spiderman act on the roof I got a call from Maaco. "Your truck is ready". Music to my ears, what a way to start the day. So my 80 year old love of a neighbor gave me a ride into Trenton to pick her up. I don't have a name for her yet but soon will. And there she was in all of her 2004 almost looks new, from a distance, glory.
While my old iPhone and the different color profiles on my computer versus yours doesn't show the white very well, she is very white. And the somewhat tinted windows and black trim really pop. One of the things I liked is they took off the cargo racks on the roof and did them them over as well.
The only thing that looked shitty was the faded from emblem on the grill. I had painted my other trucks Chevy emblem so I went to work. With all the painting I've been doing I had lots of tape and paper around and a good can of spray paint.
After a couple of coats it was dry and it looked great. What also looked great was the roof and the hood. It was suffering deterioration after a 22 year old bad original paint job and a little spray paint cover up at home by the previous owner.
Well in the end I couldn't have been happier with the results. Now, it was a $1,600 pant job, and it surely isn't ready for one of those Barret-Jackson car collector auctions, but I'm happy. There's some overspray here and there and a little sloppy work around the doors on the inside, which I will make a return trip for them to fix, but it looks great.
Next up is a set of mud flaps for her to protect the body and paint from rocks and ashphalt. Then it'll be a big order over at Weather Tech for floor liners and seat protectors all the way around, which will run about $800, but so worth it. Hopefully our next home will be our last and this truck will be my last ride before my dementia kicks in and someone takes the keys from me. I'm into her for $6,100, not bad for a 22 year old truck with 120,000 original miles.
I sent over a text to the original owners for them to see her post-spa week visit. Vehicles that are designed for family use become part of the family, and we felt that with the owners when we bought it. Like a home, there are vehicles you hope go to a good family, and will be well cared for. I think they approve of how we're doing with their once family ride.
It's funny how I wrote more about the truck than the house, but trust me, I'm excited. And now the work begins to get rid of what's left, decide what we're leaving, and packing up the rest for the movers to handle. With the Suburban purchase we've decided I'll tow the Jones Brothers down to North Carolina for it's own facelift and let the movers truck our stuff down to South Carolina. Right now there's no tow bar on the Suburban so I'll get that done, and the trailer onced over, before the trip down south.
Things are gonna move fast, which may include buying a home sight unseen, with us depending heavily on our real estate agent. We got a place picked out so we'll see if that's one we're going to put an offer in on. Today another couple is coming to pick up our bedroom set they bought during the Estate Sale and the buyers are coming over to hash out the details of the contract. I'm praying for no hard rain.
And soon I'll be pulling out of Titusville and New Jersey, but first, and in just a little over three weeks, I been heading north to the Vineyard to finally find my first 2026 striped bass. But before that I'll have to find all of my gear, which could be anywhere and in any bin over at the storage unit. I might have to bum some stuff off the two Joe's or Abe when I get up there. No worries there, that's just the small stuff.