Slow Summer

I have actually taken a vacation, went to a Mensa convention in Boston to see friends. Unfortunately, I came down with a cold, so I slept a lot more than planned, but I had some meds with me that kept it from being too bad. A friend and I drove up together, as she is now retired and wanted to visit family in the area, and her husband is still working. It was a good way to test her limits on driving alone. She now knows she can do it, but with 2 nights on the road to be safe. We had a good trip. On the drive back, we were able to reach Roanoke the first night, so had a house instead of a hotel – very convenient. The Boston hotel where I stayed overlooked the Charles River, and from the 29th floor we had a great view. We were able to upgrade to a Club Room, giving us access to the Club Lounge with a good continental breakfast and appetizers in the early evening, beverages, free wi-fi, and a slightly larger room. The three of us rooming together agreed it was well worth the additional cost.

Charles River, Boston

another view of Charles River

It seems like I’ve hardly been home – actually, over 6 weeks, I was home for 2. I hope to stay here for a while. The cats are still nervous when I leave the house.

I found, after a letter from the IRS and much tracking-down on my part, I made an important mistake on my return concerning my pension, so I owe them money – for past 2 years. One year’s I sent off and will deal with the other next month. Very unhappy, but it was my mistake.

With the house sale on hold for now, I am reconsidering what I will be doing for a bigger house. Sharon and I talked about the possibility of adding another dome wing to this, and rearrange some usage. I am very seriously going over this idea, as it would be much more affordable, and I really don’t need the rental income from this first dome, and it would take a while to re-cover my investment. So far I have not found any reason it would not work for me. In fact, by just adding a dome with living room, master bedroom, and bathroom, with a smaller mudroom to connect to the existing structure, I would save a lot of money. I would use current kitchen, laundry, turn tiny living room into a pantry, and bedroom into a guest room and craft room. I’m actually rather excited about this plan.

After all the rain one year, super cold the next winter, and now a fairly dry summer, after a heavy rain I found a couple more leaks in the dome – but they appear to be from normal house settling, and repainting latex over them should take care of it. I expect it to eventually stop settling, like most homes, even the house in Roanoke had a couple new wall cracks show up after a five year drought, and nothing worse in ten years since.

I am learning to use a smart phone – I got a refurbished model when I got a second phone with a South Carolina number. I like it enough that I seldom use the old phone. I do not expect to wait for my old house to sell, I will make the switch over soon, just need to work on letting friends and businesses know. They put out an app for the convention schedule in Boston, and I really liked having a listing that was updated regularly and fit in my pocket. I am a convert, but as a techie, I did expect that.