In-Flight

My sister called a while back and said she thought Mom was lonely. Let's go see Mom! So here I am in row 27(I like the aisle seat), and the middle seat is impossibly empty, on my way to Phoenix. Whoa yea, gimme some elbow room, I'm gonna blog!

What else am I going to do? I've done the crossword and someone beat me to the sudoku. So here it is, my first attempt at FREE inflight Wi-Fi about a plane. First off, an Allstate insurance advertisement.

Row 27 is way in the back. In the overhead, above my head, the semi-automatic defibrillator and my carry-on. Closer to the rear lavatory, last to deplane. No worry, No hurry.

My Carry-On

Last week Portland must have hosted a dog show. There are two well behaved, well groomed little doggies, in little doggie bags, aboard.

Typically, I get the spicy tomato juice. It's the only complimentary beverage most like a meal, especially without ice. It also compliments the small handful of complimentary sesame snacks which are slightly larger than a sesame seed. Not to worry, I'm looking forward to the tuna casserole Mom makes.

Blow up pillow? Fifteen minutes to blow it up for an hour and a half flight? Dude, wake up! We're about to land in the Land of Enchantment. Wait a minute, that's New Mexico.

Oh wow, there IS a guy driving this thing. He just announced that we're flying over Bryce Canyon and it's currently 60° in the Phoenix area. Almost there Mom.

And what's a flight without the screaming child? For me, it's music to my ears. My way of "paying-it-backward" with respect to those brave parents as I was one of them some time ago when Carli logged many miles as a small, wiggly child.

My Story and Photos

The mother and daughter playing patty cakes, giggles, on time departure, early arrival~~~Oh, the joy of travel.

Wish Book

This book sits on our coffee table in the living room. Every now and then I thumb through it, especially when I hear an interesting geographical fact. Sure, I could GOOGLE that factoid, but this ATLAS is here, in 3D, right at my fingertips. It's not an ordinary coffee table book, for us, it's our wish book.

Our Wish Book

In the last year or so, we've been following several travel bloggers, each with their own travel philosophies, strategies, and tips. Not to mention their Brand. Something Hali and I will soon reveal once we know what our Brand is. 

Recently, I've discovered the travel site BootsnAll. I like this site for several reasons but foremost is that this community of travelers doesn't categorize the various travel strategies as the best or worst but instead, gives you options, without the sales pitch.

They outline a 30-day long term travel plan with a course of action every day. After 30 days, you get a pretty good idea which direction you might go.

With BootsnAll, they cover the obvious like packing, budget, overland travel, etc. as well as the topics which will require some homework. This includes visas, vaccinations, and travel insurance.

The efficiency of slow travel makes sense, however there are many not so obvious issues to prepare for and, as a student of travel, do a little homework every day.

Passportsandpostcards.com

For us, part of the fun is planning, and essential, in determining our long term itinerary. One little problem we're facing is which page in this book do we open to first?

So many options.

Hosed and Torched in the Same Day?

I have three 50 foot garden hoses but only one small garden. Also in the yard are two outdoor water valves, just 50 feet away from each other. Why do I have three hoses? Thirty years of accumulation, that's why. Do I need three hoses? Well, I suppose a back up hose was a good idea-not any more.

Hosed?

Met a neighbor building a GREEN irrigation system in his yard. He needs any spare hoses. I have two spares but told him my goal of selling one thing a week. I gave him the better than the Dollar Store price for a pair of hoses. A mere buck for both. Sold $1~~~ A dollar towards my goal and the bonus of never tripping over three hoses in the yard again...

...I used this torch for a fairly simple plumbing project a few years ago. A plumber would have taken maybe an hour for this job which would've drained my wallet $150.

Torched?

Instead, I invested $20 for the torch, fuel, and igniter and DIM(Did It Myself). Took me and hour and a half crawling under the house. Since then, it's been sitting, unlit, in the garage. 

The same neighbor building his irrigation system took it off my hands for $10.

Some may say I was hosed and torched on the same day. Not me, I've got $11 more in my pocket, and less CRAP layin' around. 

Besides, had I hired a plumber for that simple plumbing project, I'd have felt hosed and torched-$150-OUCH!!

Many A Meal

We left the buyers of our house the option to purchase some of our personal belongings. That way should they elect to do so, they have no need to go find something that fits and we have no need to move it.

That was the beauty of this entire transaction. Both sides were REASONABLE. Both sides were negotiating from the same page. It's almost is if Hali and Chris(the buyer) read each other's minds. Both extremely detail oriented. Hali has been in the business a looooong time. She knows details

Here's what they wanted to take off our hands and into their new vintage home:

• The rattan porch chairs- yes, they belong on that front porch and, I must say, probably add to the curb appeal.

• The mobile kitchen island- again, perfect for that galley kitchen.

• The foosball table- must have been their mercy buy. It was well situated down in the Cave but was a beast to move.

Foosball Anyone?

• The extension ladder- okay, pretty hard to fit into a backpack.

• The push mower- Hali pushed that mower last summer from a curb alert into our garage, it's theirs now.

Finally, they wanted the dining room table. That old farmhouse table was going to be hard to let go. Let's negotiate.

The Negotiating Table

This table has been in Hali's family since the 30's. Spent several years in a barn in upstate New York before getting shipped to us in Oregon in the 90's. We've enjoyed many a meal on it. Spread it out to it's 8 foot glory on many Thanksgivings. Truth be told, that table looked great under the vintage light fixture in THAT dining room. It belongs in that house and will serve many more years there. In any case, it would have probably become a liability as we continue downsizing.

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So, the first handful of things we negotiated with Craigslist pricing. That included a couple TI's (throw- ins). The table, well, that was priced as a sentimental piece of Pope history, willing to let it go. The buyers didn't flinch. They too knew that old farmhouse table fits nicely in Ramona's house on Klickitat.

The hand written postcard from Beverly Cleary, a throw in.

Riding off into the Sunset

Today we hand over the keys to the new owners of our old house-5pm. With our bikes being the last things to move, I had visions of Hali and I riding off, cold beer in one hand, leash in the other (look, no hands!) into the sunset, the half mile to our new house.

     Riding off on a Glacier?

Instead, Carlos and I trudged the Woody bike, one cold bare hand, leash in the other, onto the half mile glacier to our new house.

It's all good. The Woody is back in its new house, with a cold one waiting for Woody in the fridge.

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New visions of the sunset in Costa Rica at Christmas, Pura Vida!

Keep Poland Weird

Walking the dog through my NEW neighborhood, I saw a bumper sticker that read, KEEP POLAND WEIRD.

Yea, we've all seen the KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD, the KEEP PORTLAND BEERED/BEARD, the KEEP PORTLAND WIRED, and the occasional KEEP AUSTIN WEIRD?? bumper stickers in town, but KEEP POLAND WEIRD?

I'm beginning to think this is a WEIRD neighborhood.

And I like it!

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Halftime Invasion of the Man Cave

We purchased this leather furniture when we bought our first house 24 years ago. I remember arguing with Hali that we couldn't afford the $1200 for it and would be better off getting something CHEAPER.

Da Cave, Man

Well, obviously she won that battle and I learned the difference between CHEAP and a GOOD VALUE.

After heavy use of this furniture both in the lodge room and in the Cave over 24 years in two homes, it was taken right from under me, during halftime of the NFC Championship game.

I sat in this CHEAP, but comfortable, office chair during the second half of the game. Next week we send it back to the conference room in Hali's office where it belongs.

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By the way, the Niners lost that game but after seeing the empty basement, I was the winner by selling GOOD VALUE furniture and $200 in the vault.