Notes from Spartanburg

I know it's been a while. Forgive me. It has a whirlwind of emotions, time and money 💰. Mostly money. Maybe we should call this "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly. Not very original I grant you but it sort of fits.

The Good 👍

It is so quiet. There aren't any sirens or talking or barking. After dark, hardly a soul is in the street. The house is the right size for now; no stairs but we have plans. We have a one-car garage which houses one motorcycle and with so many trees on the property and so many birds that live in the trees, we've had to wash the cars often. There are just enough closets but no real pantry but I've solved that problem by investing in wire shelving in the kitchen which is about 1/2 the size of the kitchen in Pawling. The weather is either warm and sunny, hot and muggy or pouring rain for about two hours which is followed by warm and sunny or hot and muggy. The sky is blue with tall, towering white clouds and the sunsets after rainstorms are gorgeous. Birds start chirping about 6am but no crickets surprisingly. Bonus - we peeled off the God awful Prego and discovered wood floors throughout. They need work but are definitely worth saving. Central AC is a lifesaver down here but there are times when we can open all the windows and get true cross ventilation. Shopping is okay but you must have a car and some stores are not here. You have to go to Charlotte for Nordstroms. And last but certainly not least, Everyone is so freaking friendly; it's exhausting.

The Bad 👎

We had to completely redo the plumbing and install a tankless water heater in the process. The original water heater and its replacement were totally rotted out. We have a minor mold problem that could escalate to a major mold problem without remediation. There is no dishwasher. I haven't had dishpan hands in decades. The two picture windows in the front and back are fixed. The house was built in 1957 when they had 50 inch fixed picture windows. They don't open. Privacy isn't an issue because of the trees but still. The house is solid but neglected. The realtor who sold it did some updates but the bathrooms need to be bigger, we need a 3 car garage and don't get me started on what I want in my new kitchen eventually. And downsizing is no joke - I thought we got rid of enough stuff. Nope, I still have multiples of things I either have no place and/or no use for.

We also lost a good buddy who you may remember used to come to our summer gatherings. His name was Michael Gibbons, a lovely Irish gentleman of charm and style.

The Ugly😨

Well, I've seen my first Palmetto Bug which is really a roach with a better name. The mosquitoes snack on me and the 🐕's and have even gotten Ed a few times. We have Orkin on speed dial. The front lawn is pathetic and will take a few seasons to get even remotely okay and the driveway is virtually nonexistent. Anything that sits too long gets cobwebs on it and the dust is unbelievable. Fresh air has helped dispell a lot of the mustiness but that continues to be a work in progress. There is also major road reconstruction going on🚧 which totally confused the GPS which we need because we don't know the area yet. Self-directed handheld devices (maps) help a lot!

But it is a fantastic adventure and we would do it again in a second (I think). I could go on but I won't. Keep you posted.