<p>S road tripped with a friend of his to the nook this weekend and coming from NYC was mostly excited to eat heartily in western NY compared to the prices he pays in NYC. He said the only problem was he had gotten used to the “white noise” of the city and found the absolute quite of the middle of nowhere a little scary if truth be told. While a busy weekend there, it’s still preseason and beyond the afternoon wedding or two, the place is still uninhabited for the most part. </p>
<p>I bought a new bike on Friday… picking it up today. Not a “great” bike, but definitely within a price point that I could live with, upright comfortable ride, and whereas the ones I liked the best to look at wouldn’t be great for the hills of the nook, I am hoping this one will make me happy. My other bike was a good 20+ years old and I think the gears finally gave way. Every time I tried to shift gears uphill the chain would fall off - not good. </p>
<p>We leave to visit D1 tomorrow night… cannot believe I haven’t give the girl a hug since her wedding weekend nearly a year ago - June 15, 2013. She made reservations at some hip place for us all to go out to dinner, but I think that’s the extent of “plans.” Still trying to find someone to feed our cat!! Hey NMN - does you daughter want to spend Thursday thru Tues living at our place? I would say Im kidding, but Im not. While our cat likes dogs, not sure the opposite would be true. </p>
<p>What a great group of cousins - and what good fortune - to have cousins who actually want to get together. One of older D’s first cousins (9 months older) will be in the city every day this summer, in training for his new bank job, and we are going to have to twist D’s arm to get her to invite him to lunch one day.</p>
<p>Speaking of, she is on a plane home from Budapest right now. She has had a great experience but will be happy to be back in the USA. I am really proud of what a good traveler she is…I could never have done the traveling she has done at her age, but then again, I had hardly been on an airplane at her age and did not go to Europe for the first time until I was 27.</p>
<p>H and I did a lot of yard work over the long weekend, but now at least I can enjoy the pool without the bushes nagging me to trim them, the weeds nagging me to pull them, etc.</p>
<p>D’s cousins split into two groups: the adults/near adults, and the kids. One of the reasons that we like the Thanksgiving get-togethers is that the kids all get along really well. Especially with an only child, I’m glad she’s got such a good connection with her cousins. </p>
<p>Moda – I had the opposite problem with noise. When we went to Athens and heard the constant horn-tooting and sirens all night long I had a terrible time sleeping. (My other advice: do not visit Athens in early May during a heat wave, at least not in hotels that follow a strict we-turn-on-the-air-conditioning-on-May-15th approach.)</p>
<p>MP – I hope D’s trip home is uneventful. I bet she’ll have some stories. I wonder how many you’ll be glad you’re hearing after-the-fact.</p>
<p>On Monday D put an offer in on a house. I little more than 2200 sq. ft. on 1/2 acre. It was basically accepted last night. Only issue is that the family that is currently living there has been looking but is worried about finding another house in a month. So for now it’s accepted but could fall through I guess if they don’t find anything. They have allowed them to not do the home inspection until they find something which is nice of them. We expected them to counter on the cost but the only thing was timing and that they wanted their washer and dryer. </p>
<p>Older D is home safe and sound. Older D and younger D should not really be under the same roof at this point in their lives. Older D disapproves of what younger D does and younger D knows it and thinks older D is selling out to the adults. I certainly hope that a bit of time away from home works its magic for the youngest nest fouler, as it did for older D.</p>
<p>Younger D’s senior awards ceremony was last night. I have said since elem. school that her class is just a bad class. About one quarter of the number of students participated in the ceremony when compared to Son’s and older D’s classes …maybe fewer. The Class That Doesn’t Care. The teacher who was the Emcee - who younger D had for a history class last year and didn’t get along with - told the crowd that she has about the prettiest voice anyone will ever hear. He only said something off script/special like that for 3 or 4 kids.</p>
<p>This is so funny that it deserves a post of its own. My undergrad’s Facebook page asked the alum to describe the most memorable moment of their own graduation. I posted that, unfortunately, it was not receiving my honor cords (I went on about the efforts we made.) Well yesterday at the office I received a lumpy package…yes, the Registrar of the U had sent a set of current honor cords, 34 years late (!), along with a letter apologizing and describing the steps that are currently in place to make sure everyone receives his or her honor cords. LOL…I literally laughed out loud. I am very seriously thinking of having younger D wear them to her graduation. </p>
<p>Officially the house D put the offer in on is 2238 sq. ft. and .48 or an acre. Going from a one bedroom with her, her BF and the dog will seem like a palace if everything works out. Has had some work done on it recently with a new roof, new windows, new kitchen and bathroom. She will probably want to put a fence up for the dog if it all works out but other than that it is really mostly move in ready. She will want to paint the 2 kid rooms as they are pink and purple! I see this as a very good thing as she is putting down roots, is only about 1/2 hour from us, and her mortgage will probably be less than her current rent!</p>
<p>The house sounds great, RM and so nice your daughter will be so close by.</p>
<p>My sons got their application accepted for the rowhouse they want to rent (with one other guy) in Columbia Heights so they will be moving in July. Unfortunately, rents are high and housing prices in general are steep there. </p>
<p>S1 officially gave notice yesterday to his employer that he was leaving. He said it was rough because he has been with the same employer since right out of college 5 years ago and they tried to talk him out of leaving. He is starting his new job in July and seems pretty excited. We (husband and I) are going to DC on Friday so will see the kids this weekend. Looking forward to it.</p>
<p>Yes, arabrab, He lives in DC now in Chinatown near the Verizon Center and will be moving to Columbia Heights. So just moving a couple of miles. My younger son is currently in Arlington but now will be in DC with his brother. It is nice that they get along so well and will be nice to be able to visit them in the same place. Not sure how long that will last, but I’ll enjoy it while I can!</p>
<p>In terms of time between jobs,arabrab,I don’t think there will be much if any. He is pretty key on the project he is on now and wanted to give them plenty of time to plan for his leaving. He does have a busy next few weeks though while he is still working for his current employer- most weekends he seems to have something going on-college reunion one weekend, out of town wedding another, a trip home another to attend an event a good friend is involved in, 4th of July weekend. So, he is very busy between now and starting his new job! </p>
<p>MP that is hysterical, so glad they sent them to you. maybe you should frame them. all this talk of DC makes me miss my D!. it is so funny they live so close to each other. iIwonder if they actually know each other. I might be a little offended if someone looked up my house price. I would not do that, but I suppose some people are pretty nosy. Congratualtions RM on your D’s house, she is moving along. Cant wait to see pics of NM D’s wedding. Sevmom i hope he enjoys his new job and Moda enjoys SF.i am sure i missed someone…
i ihave to write a personal statement, I am really struggling…</p>
<p>Sevmom, where in Columbia Heights will your son be living? S3 lives in Columbia Heights too (and S2 lives in Woodley Park, so they can take the Circulator back and forth to each other easily.) S2 and S3 lived together for two years (for S3’s last two years of college, and while S2 was getting his masters) and they loved living together. They would have been happy to continue living together, but S2 has somewhat of a bucket list, and one of the items on it was to live all on his lonesome for a time–and, as he is in a serious relationship, he realized that if he didn’t do it now, he might never have the chance.</p>
<p>H and I love that we are now living in DC. The prices are crazy, and as I posted above, my SIL and BIL are highly disapproving…like we have a choice in the matter of what to pay! As we are now empty nesters, with children living nearby in their own homes, we decided to sacrifice space for lifestyle. Five bedroom 3.5 bath house on half an acre to 1100 square feet…</p>
<p>Sevmom, contact me if you need anything!</p>
<p>MP, enjoy the cords…like they will now make up for not having them to wear AT the graduation. Something similar happened to my DIL–she was Phi Beta Kappa in college, and as her last name begins with the letter A, she was the first name on the list of graduates receiving PBK honors at graduation. For some reason, her name was cut off on the graduation program, so she does not have that as a memento of the occasion. However, her name was called during the honors portion of the ceremony, so it was not all bad.</p>
<p>KMC–we agree on a lot! Good luck to your son–he has a lot of big decisions to be making.</p>
<p>missy…very funny! Love that they followed through!</p>
<p>Graduation was very nice and I did shed a tear or two. So proud of D2. Several people remarked on how young she looked to be getting her MS. She and fiance left for Vegas yesterday to get ready for Bachelor/Bachelorette parties this weekend. D1 will fly out after work today. D1 and D2 don’t gamble so they plan on time at the pool, shopping and attending several shows. I know D2 went to see David Copperfield last night and the group will be going to one of the Cirque shows. </p>
<p>We had fiance’s family to the lake last weekend to celebrate his and D2’s graduation.We had lots of fun and really enjoyed getting to know each other better.</p>
<p>I am heading back to the lake within the hour. H will stay in the Cities as his company goes live with a new company wide software system.</p>
<p>kmc…It is so easy to lose yourself in planting! I picked up hanging baskets yesterday but I still have to do my containers here at home. I did get some finished at the lake. H and I separated about 50 hostas and planted them at the lake along with a few spruce trees, day lillies and ferns. Landscaping at both places is time consuming!</p>
<p>Count me as one of those people who loves the RESULT of planting and gardening, but not the actual working and doing required.</p>
<p>On Tuesday we had a rabbit just sitting in our back yard here at the beach. I finally said to H it must be a mother rabbit who just had babies and the nest was nearby. H refused to believe rabbits would be so seemingly stupid as to have a nest out in the open like that. Of course after Googling all things rabbit, the answer is they do indeed! So this morning I had a chat with the guy from the lawn service so he could avoid the nest. He was SO grateful to me that I told him – he said he had almost quit this job last summer because he had inadvertently driven over so many nests …</p>
<p>Very cool about the honor cords, mp. </p>
<p>I was sorry to hear of Maya Angelou’s passing. Anyone ever hear her speak? I was lucky enough to hear her at a Girl Scout National Convention in 1990. IMO, she really had a way with words. D would see her occasionally on campus at Wake Forest.</p>
<p>Thought I would check in. I have been thinking about you and your kids. S graduates in two weeks! I feel like I have been pushing a boulder up hill for 24 years but he is marching and his wife and son will be there as will many in her family. We will spend the afternoon and evening with S and wife and G’son near the Key Arena so we can all walk over in the morning. I arranged for all of the group to go to a Thai restaurant for a lunch celebration after.</p>
<p>H retires tomorrow! He will work part time but will no longer have his own panel of 1800 patients which will be wonderful. He will fill in for other doc’s so will come home and not have charting for two hours. </p>
<p>We are going to Banff in a few weeks. Looking forward to lots of hiking and canoeing, Then will plan a trip to Italy for the fall. </p>
<p>Too many thoughts to say to each one of you but am always cheering for your kids and their job search and housing search. Now S will be joining them. DIL took the MCAT and is working on her applications. </p>
<p>Envy you who have pools. So would love one. We live on a hill that drops about 60 feet from our deck so not possible. I also envy you who have lake cottages! I have wanted to live on a lake since I was 14 years old. Although I don’t envy you the mosquito’s and humidity…which is why we will probably never move to another state.
We may downsize in a year or two. It will be an interesting time. </p>
<p>Still not sure who saw that post of mine that ended up on H’s FB. It was so weird and so revealing. And I don’t know how long it was there but thank goodness I could delete it.</p>
I picked up hanging baskets yesterday but I still have to do my containers here at home. I did get some finished at the lake. H and I separated about 50 hostas and planted them at the lake along with a few spruce trees, day lillies and ferns. Landscaping at both places is time consuming!</p>