Sunday, July 24, 2011

Our Big News... The New House!





Well folks here is the story...


Eve sent me an email which simply said, "I love this one." The email had a link to a house for sale... we had figured that it would take us about 5 years to save enough to be able to move into a new house. (We were currently renting a house.) So I was a bit surprised... but I told Eve that we should go look at it... if for no other reason than to get an idea of cost, interest rates, etc.

Eve called up to see about it, and they said that we needed to be pre-approved for the loan... I guess to keep people from wasting their time. We filled out the paperwork just to see where we were... and within a day or so they wrote back that we were approved. That was very encouraging so we set up a date to view the place.

Eve was totally in love with the place... at first I wasn't sure... but I warmed up to it once I started to look around... and the garage would make a very nice workshop... so that was a real plus. (It is slightly larger than my old garage in St Louis.) We put in a bid and it went very well... we needed about $7,000 (4,875 Euro) as a down payment. That was going to be a bit tough to come up with... but we figured that we could do it somehow. Then the lender looked closer at the paperwork... asked us a few questions... and told us that the property was in a RURAL area. Well that really surprised me... there is a swimming pool only 1/2 block away... and a golf course at the end of the road... RURAL area?

Apparently... the old lines on the map had not been changed for decades... because of that little line... we were eligible for some sort of government program... so we could get it for ZERO down payment. (Wow! I know!)

We couldn't pass that offer up... so we went through the loan process... it's official now... we go to closing on Friday, July 29 and start to move on Saturday, July 30. Life is seldom boring around us... so just to make things interesting... I got an email the next day that said that I have classes for work... and needed to fly in on Sunday, July 31st for the week. We have to turn in the keys the following weekend... so it is going to be very busy here on Saturday!!!

Eve and I are packing things now... Saturday we will cram as much as we can into a truck and start bringing as many large things as we can to the new place. We really are fairly lucky... it is only 1.3 miles (2.1 km) away. We will need to get all the big stuff over there Saturday the 30th so that Eve can move everything else while I'm away for work. (She is really going to be tired by next week!)

Once we start moving there will be pictures and videos I am sure. We are putting out the HELP! request to all our friends for next weekend (July 30/31)... it's a tight schedule... but I think we can do it with some help.


Here is some info on the new place...

Subdivision : Plum Creek, Kyle, Texas 78640
County : Hays
Price : $160,000 USD 111,400 Euro
Size : 1892 SqFt 175.7 Sq Meters
Year Built : 2000
Lot Size : 0.177 Acres 716.3 Sq Meters
Stories : 2
Bedrooms : 4
Full Bathrooms : 2
Half Bathrooms : 1
Garage : 2 Car, 20 x 22 Ft 6 x 6.7 meters












































As soon as we get moved in and have the chance... we will post pictures and video with details on the move. We are very excited about this... so wish us luck, or even better... if you can help with the move we would really appreciate it!

The house came with all the appliances... washer, dryer, stove, refrigerator, etc.. so we don't have to move any of that. (Yeay!)

Monday, July 18, 2011

July - Lots of things going on.

This has been a very busy month for Eve and I, she is working on several major artistic projects with her sandblasting and I have been doing some traveling again. This month I went to Jackson Hole, Wyoming to do a survey for work. The actual job only took a couple of hours to perform which left me with almost an entire day to explore the area. Having never been there before, I decided to take the ski lift up to the top of Snow King mountain to see the view. If you get out there I really recommend that you do that... it is really nice up there, and there is a great trail that you can walk. It starts at about 7,800 feet above sea level and goes to 8,000 feet. Here is a short video that I made of the trip... some of it was recorded with my new smart phone. I didn't realize at the time that if I share video (live stream) it records in a much lower resolution... so some parts are smaller.

The live streams are online at: http://qik.com/askjerry/videos if you are interested.

Jackson Hole, WY




Back in Texas Eve and I decided to spend some more time back in San Marcos and she tried out her new wetsuit. She has always had a problem with getting cold... so this was the perfect solution. We had no sooner got home than my friend Wolf called and asked if I wanted to go swimming. Since Eve had mentioned that I carry on more like a 16 year old than a 51 year old... I jumped at the chance to show off, have fun, and make another video. For those of you who thought I was kidding about swimming under the rapids, I wore the brightest shirt that I own so you could actually see me do it... enjoy!





The fun and excitement doesn't end there however... my daughter Rebecca had another child... my first grand daughter... so now I have three grandchildren plus Eve's grand daughter for a total of four grand kids! (Wow!)


This is Karmin, she was born July 1st.



Here is Jody, Rebecca, and Karmin all doing very nicely.



Josh (left) and Colby (right) love their new sister.



And here is the whole happy family!

Unfortunately I had to work so I haven't been able to travel out to New Orleans for a visit yet... but I am hoping to be able to visit before too much longer.

Eve and I have a huge project going on... it's all top secret until we know for sure... so stay tuned for more information! We should know in the next week or so... keep your fingers crossed for us!