The summer of 2020 has been challenging for everyone. We’ve been asked to mask up, wash rinse and repeat, stand six feet apart, and stay home. Ruth and I have followed the directions as prescribed but still managed to keep life interesting. In June we explored homes in Holland and Saugatuck because two of our “California” kids were considering moving to Michigan. We kicked the tires on a half dozen homes and reported our findings to Mike and Kate. While we were out and about we explored condos for ourselves. If the boys and their families were going to be on the west side of the state, that would be a good choice for us as well. In the end Mike and Kate decided to stay put, and we didn’t find anything that suited Ruth and my needs.
In between house and condo appointments, I worked in the yard. I trimmed trees and bushes, laid out sixty bags of mulch, thoroughly cleaned our three decks, expanded a rock garden, rototilled the beach three times, re-stacked the boulders on our lake front retaining wall, hired a guy to power wash the house, hired another to sealcoat the asphalt driveway, and I W-D-40’d all the squeaks I could identify. The place looks the best it has since my child laborers moved out.
On August 7th, we started to spend our kids’ inheritance and bought a new pontoon because we decided that we’d remain “at the lake”. Ruth named it “The Kids’Money“. On August 21st I purchased a new dock because the old one looked shabby next to the new pontoon. Five days later I spoke with an old friend who had purchased a summer home in Canadian Lakes so he could be closer to his two children. His decision got us rethinking our path. A couple of days later Ruth and I explored the area, and on September 8th placed an offer on a condo. They accepted our offer the following day.
We interviewed realtors on September 14th and 15th, listed our house for sale on the 18th, accepted an offer on the 20th, and by the 26th, the house sale fell apart. We’ve had a dozen highs and lows over the past several weeks. This week we’ve had new people look at the house, and a man across the lake has inquired about our pontoon. Excitement abounds! And we’re not done yet.
After purchasing the dock we learned a bit about Mangus Strongbeard.
TBC