Sunday Salon - October 21st - Tale of the Sale of the Haunted House

or

or

My Tale of the Sale of the Haunted House

For the last (2) months I've been trying to sell my parents 100-year old (2) family house. Although my parents died 25 years ago the house has been occupied by various family members until recently. We had a quick offer who ended up backing out after the home inspection found some issues with the foundation as well as some other issues, but because it was "priced to sell" we quickly found another "cash" buyer who plans to rehab the house.  

We hired a company to do a clean out of the house, basement, shed and 2-car garages.  We followed the state regulations on smoke and carbon detectors to the tune of $260.00, but the fire dept still made us jump through a few more hoops before they would give us the required certificate for closing. But then after a  $50.00 check we got the certificate we needed.......good for JUST (60) days or we must jump some more. 

We were so happy to be closing by October 10th ----- but then they found some issues with the title that delayed the closing date. FORTUNATELY - the new buyers are investment buyers who agreed to delay the closing until the end of the month --whew ---The title issue has now been addressed and we should be good to close by the end of next week...yay. All the while I have been taking time off from work to make all these things happen, and have no vacation or personal time left. (I do have sick time though and this is making me sick:)

BUT NOT SO FAST we haven't closed yet!! Yesterday, my worst fear became reality. Since the house has been totally vacant for (3) weeks now, I've been going there about once a week to make sure everything was okay. Yesterday morning I arrived to find the back porch door wide open, and the (2) doors to the basement wide open.....any guesses why that might have happened?

Copper heating pipes (1/2) of them were cut out of the basement - they must have gotten spooked before finishing the job, and left 1/2 intact......Do you now see why we call this the "haunted house"? It feels like someone doesn't want this house to leave the family. It has been a (2) month nightmare with nothing....nothing.... going smoothly.

I do have a wonderful realtor who got her plumber friend there already for an estimate. They also secured the house in case they perpetrators come back to finish the job. When the police arrived to take a report, they said this is about the 100th case they have had in this city - all involving vacant houses with "for sale" signs in front of them or "new construction". 

We are hoping since the buyer will be rehabbing the house, that we can just give him a credit at the closing, and still close by the end of the week.....PLEASE wish me luck -- on a positive note I've lost 8 lbs since we listed the house in August -- yup when I'm stressed I eat less and clean more:)

Now for Stuff about Books

• I've been on a book purging frenzy - I've donated about 50 unread books that I no longer feel I will ever want to read, and since I've reached the point where I prefer eBooks to hardcovers (at least), there will be more on their way to the library book sale as well.
• I've become more of a minimalist the older I've gotten and seem to be annoying by clutter lately. I'm NOT a "neat freak", just don't like stuff everywhere.
• I have several reviews to catch up on: Winter of the World; Ken Follet (very good); Peaches for Father Francis; Joanne Harris (a fun read); Bartender's Tale; Ivan Doig (liked it a lot).
• Almost done with Stephen King and son Joe Hill's new book, In the Tall Grass (just 2-cds) and if i may just GUSH about Louise Erdrich's new and highly addictive book, The Round House (see my Tuesday - First Chapter ~ First Paragraph post) - it's awesome (about 1/3 through so far).
• Reading plans for this week - finish The Round House and In the Tall Grass; begin Beautiful Ruins (possibly on audio) and hope to begin The Panther; Nelson DeMille as well - 

Have a good week everyone and thanks for letting me rant:)

Saturday Snapshots - October 20th

Saturday Snapshot

is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books.

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. Please don't post random photos that you find online.

 

Country Apple Streusel Cake

Easy and Yummy

Comet's Tale; Steven Wolf with Lynette Padwa

Title: Comet's Tale: How the Dog I Rescued Saved My Life

Author:  Steven Wolf with Lynette Padwa

Publication Year: 2012

Publisher: Algonquin

Edition: eGalley  

Source: NetGalley

Date Completed: October/2012

Rating: 4/5 

Recommend: yes

I'm always a sucker for spirited animal stories so Comet's Tale seemed to be a good choice.  It's a story about a physically broken man and an abused greyhound.

The author, Steven Wolf, a once physically active former attorney, had no choice but to retire early at the age of 42, when he was stricken with a debilitating spinal condition.  Upon the suggestion someone he meets, he decides to adopt a retired racing dog who like many dogs of this breed, had been confined to a cage all of his life. The sad eyes of one particular greyhound, made the decision easy for him.   Comet, was the former racing dog, and little did the author realize at the time, both desperately needed each other for different reasons.

Once adopted, Comet, the shy, mistrustful dog had to learn the very basics of what most dogs learn as puppies.  Wolf had the patience necessary to teach Comet that not every human is to be feared and that there is a better world outside of the confines of a cage.  As if the two were meant to be together, Wolf's health condition soon takes a downhill turn after adopting Comet. Before long the author soon needs more help with very basic tasks that many of us take for granted. It is at this point when Comet is taught to perform certain tasks, like those performed by other service dogs. Before long Comet becomes a valuable and necessary part of his daily life -- it's a touching experience to read about.

It's one of those stories where some unexpected misfortune strikes, and a decision must be made. We can either be depressed and grumble about the "lemons of life", or act to make the best of the situation and enjoy the "lemonade" instead.  The author is a sympathetic individual, who was forced to move to the West (AZ) because of his health issues, while his family remained on the East Coast for work and school.  I liked reading all the details the author shared about the greyhound breed, even the sad details about life as a racing dog.

I was happy I had a chance to read this story, it was a nice break for all the fiction I've been reading, and it made me appreciate my health as well as my relationship with my pets all the more.

The Beautiful Mystery; Louise Penny

Title: The Beautiful Mystery

Author:  Louise Penny

Publication Year: 2012

Publisher: Macmilllan Audio

Edition: audiobook

Reader: Ralph Cosham (good)   

Source: Library

Date Completed: October/2012

Rating: 4/5 

Recommend: yes

Louise Penny is back with her 8th Chief Inspector Gamache and his partner Beauvoir mystery. This time instead of the charming village of Three Pines, the pair is off to investigate a murder at a 200 year old abbey.  The abbey in Saint-Gilbert-Entreles Loups, is a place where 23 Gilbertine monks now live and it appears there is a murderer among them, but who and why?

The abbey is also a place which hasn't had visitors in hundreds of years. The order once believed to be an extinct, is one where all monks have taken the vow of silence, the exception to their silence is the beautiful sound which results from the Gregorian chants -- sometimes referred to as "a beautiful mystery", or the "voice of God".

Initially I thought, this would be a sleeper when I read "vow of silence", but there is plenty to hold the reader's interest with this mystery.  I found the setting that the author created to be so cozy and contemplative despite the fact that a murder has occurred here. The descriptions evoke the peacefulness and solitary experiences in the lives of these monks.  It made the reading experience feel so cozy.

The great thing about reading Louise Penny's mysteries is that most of her novels have a cozy village setting, often Three Pine, but although this story takes place outside of that village, it's still a very good mystery.  Another great point about this author's mysteries is that although some of the same characters return, and they are well developed characters you'll enjoy, you can read these mysteries out of order and still be able to step right in and not be lost.  I've read most, but not all of the 7 previous books by the author and I would highly recommend this mystery as well as others by the author.

The audio book was read by Ralph Cosham, who does a great job.  I'm rating this one 4/5 stars as I felt the ending fell a bit flat - still worth trying this one though, especially for readers who enjoy a great setting.

First Chapter ~ First Paragraph Tuesday Intros

For today's First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intro, I'm featuring an intro from an eGalley I'm planning on starting soon. This author is one I could count on in the past, but this intro is questionable I thought?? What do you thing -- keep reading? 

 

Round House; Louise Erdrich

Harper Collins - October 2, 2012

"Small trees had attacked my parents' house at the foundation.  They were just seedlings with one or two rigid, healthy leaves.  Nevertheless the stalky shoots had managed to squeeze through knife cracks in the decorative brown shingles covering the cement blocks.  They had grown into the unseen wall and it was difficult to pry them loose.  My father wiped his palm across his forehead and damned their toughness.  I was using a rusted old dandelion fork with a splintered handle; he wielded a long, slim iron fireplace poker that was probably doing more harm than good.  As my father prodded away blindly at the places where he sensed  roots might have penetrated, he was surely making convenient holes in the mortar for next year's seedlings."

Feel free to join in by posting the opening paragraph (sometimes maybe a few ) of a book you decided to read based on the opening paragraph (s). Grab the banner and play along.

Mailbox Monday - October 15th

Mailbox Monday - the weekly even where book blogger share their recent acquisitions from the previous week (2 weeks in my case). I'm pretty sure October's host is Marcia.

• Flight Behavior; Barbara Kingsolver
• The Good House; Ann Leary (St. Martins Press)
• Bitter Brew; Knoedelseder (Harper)
• How it All Began; Penelope Lively (Viking)
• In the Tall Grass; Stephen King and Joe Hill (audio book) (Simon and Schuster)
• Low Pressure; Sandra Brown (audio book) (Hachette)
• The Yellow Birds; Kevin Powers (audio)(Hachette-Little Brown)

• I Captured the Castle; Dodie Smith (25 cents at a booksale)
• Duck, Duck Wally; Gabe Rotter (paperback swap)
• 70% acrylic 30% wool;  Viola Di Grado (Europa purchase)

Hope you received some great looking books as well.

JoAnne Harris Peaches for Father Francis Giveaway Package Winner

We Have a Winner

it's

Stacy's Books 

Congrats Stacy

(please send mailing info by email)

Thanks to all who entered!