It’s going to be a Busy few Months

Posted on November 9, 2014November 9, 2014 by Dusty Roads | 2 Comments

Hello again everyone. Work is beginning to slow down for the agents. It hasn’t for me yet because we still have a lot of closings in the pipeline. Once those are done my lull will begin.

In the meantime I had the representative from Home Depot out to look at my kitchen and give me options. I’d considered several local firms but they were really expensive. Then I saw a home that had been done by Home Depot. I couldn’t believe it. It was beautiful. I think of Home Depot as DIY but they have a whole crew for remodels and like my company, they are paid on customer satisfaction.

At first I was going to do a remodel and knock down a wall, pull out all the cabinets and so on but there was a hitch. The electrical panel in my unit wasn’t up to code. To do a remodel would mean redoing the electric in the unit. Very expensive on top of the remodel cost plus we’d have to pull permits for all the work.Work that requires permits can be tricky if you want to sell. I’ve run across that more than once when getting the documents together for a closing.

So option 2. Leave the wall, and do a “Reface”. It’s not much less than a remodel but it doesn’t require permits. I liked that idea better than adding an extra $10 K to the project so I picked out new doors, hardware, back splash, tile, counters and wrote a very big check. Still I can see what it will look like in my minds eye. It will be so different and I’ll be able to open the drawers without them cracking and breaking in my hands!

About a week after the salesman was out I got a call from the estimator. The salesman had measured but this guy was out to confirm the measurements and my choices of color, tile etc. Good thing because the wrong tile was on the order. We caught that and made the correction. This guy was very meticulous.

I’ve got one more appointment before they can start. The counter top people have to come out and make templates. They will be here on Friday. I requested that day off so I can get everything off the counters and round up the cats while they work and measure.

Once the work starts it is expected to take 1 week. They start on Monday and finish on Friday. I can’t wait!

It was a Cold but Sunny Day

Posted on October 25, 2014October 25, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Last Sunday was cold! Good thing it was sunny because if it had rained it probably would have turned to snow. It was windy too but that didn’t slow down Dawn and Alex, my guests with their mother at my company’s annual Customer Appreciation Event.

This year it was at Belkin Outlook Farm in Natick. The farm has apple picking, a play area with little animals and a train to get you around the property.

Each attendee got to pick a pumpkin and there were loads of pumpkins! The grape arbors are gorgeous even if they were past grape peak.

The company served a barbecue lunch with ribs, hot dogs and hamburgers. Well maybe we should call them cold dogs because in spite of the chefs best efforts the food chilled as soon as it came off the grill.

I don’t know if it was special because of the event or if they always feature an animal ride but this time they had a camel ride. Dawn was in line for that in a flash but Alex preferred the warmer inside of the Lego building.

It was cold enough that the battery for the camera died way too soon. The spare was in the car because I didn’t take the cold into consideration.

OOPS! But the photos I got seemed to catch the atmosphere and the fun.

Keene NH

Posted on October 20, 2014October 20, 2014 by Dusty Roads

My friend Nancy, her children and I headed up to Keene, NH for the annual Pumpkin Festival. Who knew a bunch of immature, rowdy college kids would steal the limelight. We didn’t see any of it. We heard the sirens, saw lots of flashing lights and ambulances but nothing else. As we parked our car the lot attendant said they didn’t know what was going on but that they had heard there was an “incident”.

They said be careful and have a good time. So that’s what we did. I’ll save my remarks about idiot college kids for another post. It won’t be a pretty one.

It was quite a walk from the car to the center of Keene where the pumpkins lined the Main St. Keene holds the World Record for most number of lit jack-o-lanterns on display. In 2013 the total was 30,581. Kind of mind boggling. I don’t know if they won this year but there were Jack-o- lanterns everywhere.

Near the Ferris Wheel the was a “Dome” of pumpkins being set up.

There were wooden shelves set up along the center of Main street where more jack-o-lanterns perched.

They surrounded tress, made rows along the curbs and piled against fences and jersey barriers.

Almost anywhere you could imagine there were carved pumpkins. They were even in the trees.

It was packed! There were quite a few Halloween Characters around who posed for pictures with the kids. One of the first ones and one of the best ones was Batman. He even had his car. He patiently stood by waving to the crowd and posed for pictures. Very nicley done Batman!

While Alex was meeting and smoozing with the caped crusader Dawn was doing her version of pole dancing. She was more interested in the metal handrail in front of the large brick building than pumpkins or Batman.

I had promised to go on the Ferris Wheel with Dawn but when we got to it the kids were more interested in getting a pumpkin to carve. For a $5.00 donation you got to carve a pumpkin that got counted toward the total. At our first stop where we made our donation the pumpkins were pretty soggy so we moved on to another stand only to find the same thing there.

Along the way we marveled at the creativity of the carvers and Dawn and Alex signed a cardboard wall with their names.

Finally down near the craft fair and food Alex and I located some semi solid pumpkins, Dawn was getting her face painted. The man helping us explained that the pumpkins are all hollowed out by volunteers before the festival starts. They begin the process 2-3 days before the big date so the pumpkins begin to go downhill in a hurry.

The sun was setting as we put the finishing touches on our Jack-o-lanterns and began to work our way back to Main Street for the Pumpkin Tower. The pumpkins spell out words, I think of the sponsors of the event, but it’s a pretty amazing sight.

Did they win again? I don’t know. I googled it but couldn’t find 2014. The other burning question is….Pumpkin , Fruit or Vegetable?

(The answer is Fruit)

Dino Land or Into the Fog!

Posted on October 16, 2014October 16, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Dusk was fast approaching. The twilight time when shadows lengthen and imagination runs wild.

We watched the “Great Pumpkin” wow the crowd and explored the exhibits tucked in the entry square and then it was time to take that first step.

Once you start down that path there’s no turning back. You enter the world of the dinosaur. Sounds wash over you like a wave. Birds calling, strange growls and grunts, some distant thunder.

Fog, misty, creepy fog clings to the trail and plants. Pumpkin displays and jack-o-lanterns line the path but you know there is more.

You can hear them, even sense them and there looming out of the gloom is your first dinosaur.

Jurassic Park in the northeast. A pterodactyl takes flight and a baby raptor bounces in the bushes waving his tiny hands.

They are all here. Allosaurus, stegosaurus, and triceratops. The Famous Tyrannosaurus Rex. More fog drifts past as the atmosphere deepens. More thunder and now there’s lightning.

You hear the rumbling almost before you see it. The great brontosaurus, traveling in a herd, stomachs growling like a bad case of indigestion. Thunder lizards!

Let you imagination soar. Go at dusk, not during the day. Experience the atmosphere. Imagine it. You’ve entered the land of the lost.

It was a Five Star Night

Posted on October 13, 2014October 13, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Or a two thumbs up or any other sign approval you can think of. It was just plain fun!

Edaville Railroad used to be a little engine that traveled around the cranberry bogs. The big deal was at Christmas when the bog was filled with holiday lights and a few rides led up to the train ride. Then a couple of years ago the owner announced he was selling out. Speculation was that a condo development was going in and the land that was home to the little railroad was needed for parking. Everyone was sad but then the real estate market crashed and now building a bunch of condos didn’t seem to be such a good idea. Suddenly an amusement park wasn’t so bad after all.

Almost immediately Edaville began to expand. It wasn’t the little Edaville Railroad any more. It was Edaville USA and one of the things that came to pass was Dinoland. Everybody loves dinosaurs so now there were dinos roaming the bog.

This year I noticed they had a big pumpkin spectacular called Pumpkins Aglow! I was hoping to get some nice pumpkin pictures so I planned to cough up the admission because I could use my tripod, something not allowed at Roger Williams Jack-O-Lantern Spectacular.

I was going to go alone but after a stop at Nancy’s house we decided to take the kids along. Oh my , what a great idea! Alex and Dawn had a fantastic time!

I expected it to be kind of tacky but it was not. It was very well done.

The kids wore costumes and the ride operators had costumes too and were handing out candy when you road their ride. Trick or Treat!

The rides are included in the admission price so although it seems expensive at first, it more than makes up for the initial investment. The kids can ride all night for free. Bumper cars, Ferris wheel, tilt a whirl, carousels, and of course the train.

But we had to see the dinos and that’s where Pumpkins Aglow was spread out. In the end I didn’t use a tripod. We went through twice , once at dusk and once at full dark. The dusk was better. You’ll see why in my next post!