June 22, Portland, Ore -- Is it Portland or is it me? Seems like when I'm here I have so much to do, so many friends to see, that I don't get half the things done I intended. I arrived late Wednesday afternoon -- too late, in fact, to make it to my pedicure appointment. Dang!! I forget how much longer it takes to do things when you're driving a 36-foot motorhome. (Also how hard it is to leave the Oregon coast when it's as beautiful as it was on Wednesday!) Fortunately I was able to reschedule for next week. So I arrived in Vancouver and got the car, leaving the rv at my son and daughter-in-law's house, and drove to Portland to meet my realtor. We had to sign yet another agreement. Since the inspection showed some problems with the siding, the buyer made another offer, reducing his original offer by $12,000, never mind that he's already gotten it for $10,000 less than asking, and it wouldn't have taken even half that amount to fix the problem areas. So we made a counter that at closing we would give him $5,000 to fix whatever he thought he needed to (since I'd have to fix the problems anyway before we put it back on the market). I had to sign that and then drop by the title co. to provide them a signature and some information.
Then I went back and got the rv, picking my son up from work on the way and doing a little shopping at TJs before then. Then I went to the rv park where I'd made arrangements to stay for a week. They were already closed and the site they had assigned me to was not long enough. So I looked for another one. Unfortunately, their sites were all back-ins with very little manuevering room to get back into them. Without a spotter I was not going to be able to back into such a tight space. So I went back to my son's (another "almost tears" moment; what do I do, where do I go??). I parked on the street that night. I drank my dinner (mango margaritas, thank you very much, with some homemade guacamole and chips so it was fruits and veggies, that's healthy, isn't it??) and went to bed. I had an appointment at 8 the next morning -- mass and then breakfast afterwards with a new friend. Since I was in Vancouver, I wasn't sure how long it would take to get to the parish so I left very early and had time to stop by the house and check email. My realtor reported that the buyer had told his realtor that if he didn't get $10,000 more off he was walking. My realtor said we could give him an additonal $1,000 back at closing for a total of $6,000. He agreed to that so she met me with the final forms to sign so I guess it's sold. Now I just need to sign the paperwork next week and then it will be a fait accompli. And good riddance -- not to the house but to this particular buyer. If he hadn't had all the financial stuff already in order I'd have sent him packing a week ago.
I stopped by the parish after my breakfast meeting and visited with friends there. I took Charlie to the groomer's and they were able to get him in. While Charlie had his "hair" done, I went to the credit union to get a short-term loan to pay for my new dinghy. Then Charlie -- smellling MUCH better -- and I met my brother Tom and his dog, Nick, Charlie's buddy, at a park in Vacouver close to Karl and Dee's. Charlie was so incredibly excited to see Nick. He jumped into Tom's car and we could hardly get him out.
I had a 4 p.m. meeting in Washougal to pick up my new car to tow behind the Mo. We went through the process of hooking up the car and unhooking it and then I took off with my new dinghy in tow. I ended up at a different rv park in Portland, right next to the Columbia River. It's a very nice park and was very easy to get into. It's very nice -- the one bad thing is it's right next to the air national guard based and the airport and so military jets and regular jets fly over at all hours.
I barely had time to unhook my dinghy and grab a quick bite before heading to see my long-time voice instructor. She is singing with me this Sunday night (since my other singing partner is getting married Saturday and will be otherwise occupied Sunday night). So we went over music, harmonies, etc. We taped it since I didn't know a couple of the songs. I listened today and remembered how much fun we had working together over the years. There was always so much laughter on our tapes. She is another dear person. I have been incredibly blessed by SO MANY good people in my life!!
Then I went to a pub my son and daughter-in-law like to go to Thursday nights -- they have trivia night. My son is amazing! I can't figure out how he got to be so smart. He remembers the strangest, oddest things. But then, he always did easily memorize all kinds of things: songs, commercials, movie dialogue . . .
So this morning I went to mass again (I was late this time), saw several good friends and chatted with them briefly. Then went to meet another good friend, my widow friend Barb. We had a wonderful visit. She has been seeing a great guy for months and we haven't had much time to catch up. This friend and I share the same birthday (although she is several years younger than me), and at one time our husbands were very good friends (they even made beer together once, Yerkenkotter Pale Ale -- I don't think it was was very good). They died on the same day of the month, though her husband died 5 months before John died. Barb and I have become very close since we lost our husbands and shared this experience of being widows. I am so happy for her that she has a good guy who seems to love her as much as she deserves to be loved.
I was SUPPOSED to meet with my trainer but I lost track of time so . . . Oh darn. I had time to run back to the Mo and take Charlie out of a short walk.
Then went to see my beautician, another good friend (Fran, who is the one who finally convinced me I should be doing this). We always have great conversations. I have been incredibly blessed by SO MANY good people in my life!!
Sunday I plan to see my friend, Shelli. And hope to see my friend Colleen sometime in the next few days.
Maybe it's the idea of leaving all these wonderful people who have been such gifts in my life that helps me realize how lucky I have been and to try to connect with them all while I'm here. But I plan to see them all from time to time and am sure I will return to this area someday. I just have too many ties here to ever leave for more than a few months.
So, it is Friday night and I finally have some time to just sit and vege and post in my blog. Tomorrow it's the wedding, but I haven't had time to get a gift yet so I need to take care of that. And laundry. Then I am meeting a friend for a movie (same friend I had breakfast with yesterday). So you see what I mean -- it's always hectic when I'm back in town. And I still need to transfer the car into my name, and get insurance, and talk to an accountant about where to register the vehicles and how to deal with the residency and tax issues, and other business things. (Fortunately, my friend Barb knows a good accountant . . .) Little by little things are getting done. There's still lots to do but I think I'll be in good shape for leaving August 1 and heading east for a couple months.
So, for now it's just nice to sit here listening to music and sipping some wine. Now it's time to take Charlie for another walk. He is feeling very neglected. And since he had a bath yesterday, he's kind of nice to be around.
TravelinLady
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