House Progress

I drove by the house yesterday afternoon to see if any progress had been made. There was a huge stack of wood - actually, wall panels - that was sitting in the front of the house. At first I thought it was all the lumber required to frame the house but when I looked closely at the stack, I discovered that they were completed wall panels and other wood treatments required to assemble the home. It is like a huge Lincoln Logs kit, but of wall panels and arches. I guess the new techniques make it easier to build the homes when they have all the panels constructed and just need to place them on the foundation. I took a couple shots of the wood stacks:

Now that the wood is on site, the rain is suppose to arrive and stick around for a few days. That will most likely result in a short delay before we see any of these panels put in place. Of course this will be one of the wettest winters ever since we need dry weather to finish the house. All of the framing is scheduled to be completed by March 13 when we have a pre-drywall meeting with the Construction Manager.

Today we will travel to Scottsdale to complete the paperwork on the refinancing of our Jeep. As mentioned, the Credit Union that is financing our new Ford Escape is also refinancing our Jeep - at a terrific rate of 3.45%. I can't ever remember car financing at that low rate.

There is a huge RV Rally - The Camping World/Good Sam Annual Rally- being held at the Phoenix International Raceway over the weekend. It is a huge gathering and show and we talked about going, but with the house now in our immediate future, we may not attend. Our plans to downgrade to a smaller RV are on hold right now...

Can't Win

We took the Escape into the dealership yesterday to have the scratch properly repaired - which they did. It looks like a brand new car now except for one thing - we took a rock on the windshield on Wednesday, and now we have a pretty "star" in the middle of the passenger side of the front window. We can't win. That would have been repaired yesterday along with the scratch except the individual that does those fixes was not working yesterday and we would have had to leave it for another night.

The experience at the dealership was almost as good as the initial experience. My Advisor wasn't in so there was a slight delay in writing up the work order and the car rental office had a small line so I waited for about 15 minutes there. Otherwise, it was an excellent and smooth experience and I am still impressed with their organization and treatment of the customers. They do a great job handling the number of customers that they have each day. When Josie and I went to pick up the vehicle at 5 PM, I showed her a picture that was hanging on the wall behind the cashier that was a Time Magazine cover that showed the Bill Luke Dealership as the Dealer of the Year in 2013. The nomination was made by the Arizona Automobile Dealers Association.

TGIF. Josie has her final work day of the week and then we have the weekend off together - wow, two in a row. There are some things we would like to do to begin searching for necessary items for the new house. Although we won't buy anything, we would like to get a line on costs and where we might find the best deals. Next weekend is the annual Home and Garden show at the Cardinals Stadium so we will definitely go there sometime next weekend. I'll try to line up some places for us today...

Consolidation

There are several monthly expenses that will disappear when we move into the house - storage, mail forwarding fees, RV travel expenses and site fees. Other expenses will be cut dramatically - namely, our gas bill since we now have two economical vehicles. Of course there will be new expenses associated with the home, but I'm trying to consolidate our expenses as much as possible. Yesterday, I took the first steps to consolidating our car payments. The Credit Union (TruWest) that is financing our new Ford Escape has a much better rate than the company handling our Jeep that we purchased last year. They will consolidate our loans at one location and we get a terrific rate on both that saves a lot of money each month. We will also consolidate our insurance once we get into the home.

Speaking of the new car, we will take it back to Bill Luke this morning to have the scratch properly repaired. I hope that I have the same, positive experience I had last week and can get in and out without any long waiting periods. We will have another free rental for the use during the day and I will return it this evening when I pick up our car. This time, we are taking only the one car and I will drop Josie at work on the way in, and pick her up at work at the end of the day on the way home.

If I get a chance, I will stop by the house and get an update on construction progress. Hopefully, they can begin framing, assuming all of the inspections on the slab are completed...

Taxes Filed

The rain arrived as forecasted yesterday. We didn't get that much for the day - .10" - but it was enough to make it cool and basically miserable all day. We are suppose to have a couple nice days before seeing more rain on the weekend.

I did get the taxes done and e-filed. We paid a small amount on the Federal return, and get a small refund on the state return. That is not so bad. The main thing is that they are done for another year.

I went to work at Sam's Club from 3:15 until 9 PM last night while Josie had her normal schedule for the day. I stopped by the new house on the way into work to see if any more work had been done and there hasn't. I did see about 3 or 4 green stickers on one of the plumbing posts so the slab inspections are done and we should see framing work started any time now. We should see rapid progress from now on.

Just a side note - we had a call from the minister at the church we attended on Sunday. He is wanting to sit down with us for about an hour to talk about the church and he is already pressuring us to join. That is a no-no. We don't like being pressured into joining any church and want to take our time trying other options and giving a church the chance to satisfy our needs before making that kind of decision. We were not that crazy about the service on Sunday and will give it another try when they have the regular Pastor giving the sermon instead of the assistant we heard on Sunday. Besides, we are not regular church-goers and enjoy the freedom to attend churches of our choice. There is another Lutheran church not too far away that is on our list of churches to try in the area...

Rain in Forecast

It figures that now that the slab is poured for our new home that it would rain more than usual so that the framing would be impacted. It rained yesterday, rain is forecast for today and again on Friday through Sunday. It hardly ever rains here so what gives? The Field Manager said we were a few days ahead of schedule, so maybe we can stay close to the time frame for completion.

There are many things that we need to get done between now and mid May. Arrangements need to be made for our fifth wheel along with deciding what to do with all the stuff we have outside on our site. Except for the gazebo and fence, we will try to "recycle" the rest of the goods - blocks, artificial grass and furniture - and find a use for them at the new home. The projected completion date for the home falls exactly on our contract expiration date for the RV site. To renew for any period of time to accommodate delays in construction would be costly.

Our plans for the summer are also undecided. We would like to return to Jackson, but that means closing on the house and almost immediately preparing it for summer without us. We would also have to stay in a suite at the Lodge as we have no way to take the fifth wheel. Our summer plans in Jackson could rest with their decision to put us up in the Lodge as part of our compensation, similar to the arrangement we had with the RV space behind the Lodge.

Add all of the furnishings that we need to complete the inside of the new house, and we have our work cut out for us. It is a nice situation to have to work through, and we are looking forward to the challenge...

New House

We can now make the announcement of what we have been keeping a secret since just before Christmas. We pulled the trigger on a new house and are confident that it will be completed by the target date of May 15.

When we arrived back in AZ in October, we really concentrated on trying to take advantage of the recovering housing market and the interest rates which have been hanging around at historic lows and are about to begin climbing once again. In order to actually do anything, we had to fatten our savings account by working full time and selling the truck to get as much cash as we could. None of this could happen if we 1)- couldn't prove to the mortgage company that we could afford it, 2)- couldn't gather the required cash for a down payment and to close, 3) couldn't convince the mortgage company that we are going to settle in the area and keep our jobs, 4)- couldn't sell the truck for the amount we thought it was worth. It is about as close now to a sure thing as we can get, so it's time to share our joy with everybody.

I'll try to give the best description and update of progress to date that I possibly can. Starting with a floor plan of our new house which, in our contracted configuration, is 2150 SF and a four bedroom plus den home. The floor plan is below: (click on the photo to enlarge)

We will actually have three bedrooms plus two dens. The middle bedroom will be turned into a den for exercise equipment and will not have a front wall, but be open into the hallway. The photos below will show the main living area and we chose the options that would give us an identical look to the model home. Starting with the view as you enter the home at the front entryway:

 and with a different look at the kitchen:

and a view from the patio sliders into the main part of the house:

While visiting the home site on Saturday morning, we met our next door neighbors who built a swimming pool at the same time their home was being built and they took us on a tour of their home. They are really nice people - from WA state - and this is a shot of them standing on the deck of their pool:

Although a pool is not in the immediate future for us, we have not eliminated the possibility entirely. We'll wait and see how the finances go.

We met George and Cheryl at the Haymakers Restaurant up the street form the home following church and we took them to see the model and our actual home site following our meal. Patty was informed of our plans on Saturday and was the first to know. Our house is just a slab right now, but will soon begin to look like an actual home. Here is the current view:

Our lot backs up to the wash and we will never have a home behind us. We will be updating everybody on the progress and about more features and events as we go along. We already have a pre dry wall meeting scheduled on March 13 with the Field Construction Manager and we have already had our first meeting at the site just before they poured the concrete for the slab last week.

There is so much to show and describe, but now that the cat is out of the bag, we can keep you posted with up to date changes and events.

How's that for a surprise???

Enjoying a Down Day

It was just one of those days that we anticipated - relaxing with nothing scheduled. The only thing we did of any consequence yesterday was drive to Fry's to do a bit of grocery shopping and that was the extent of our day. Every now and then, and following a stretch of long working days, it is nice to do nothing. We watched TV - The golf tournament and a couple westerns - and Josie did a little crocheting.

We are going to try a new church today - the Cross of Glory Lutheran Church - which is located in Peoria not too far from George and Cheryl's house. We contacted them and plan to meet for lunch following church at a nice place where we previously met for dinner a few months ago. We haven't seen them since Christmas dinner, so it will be nice to get together again. They will meet us following their church service at around 10:30 AM.

Today may bring a couple surprises as we plan to do something this afternoon that we haven't done in many years. Stay tuned...

Taxes About Done

I just about finished up on our taxes yesterday. All that is left is to review everything for errors and to make sure I got all of the deductions we are entitled to. This year, as expected, we owe a small amount, but we also get a small refund from our Arizona State taxes which almost makes us break even for the year. Last year we had a refund of a few hundred dollars, but we made more money this past year. At any rate, it is a huge relief to have them almost done.

We get to enjoy a whole weekend off together this weekend. It is the first one that we can remember for a long time, so it should be a nice couple of days. Unfortunately, the weather is not going to be the best but when we consider what's happening in the Midwest and back east, we are grateful. We are sorry that Patty and her family are suffering through the frigid weather in Chicago with no end in sight. So far, we have nothing definitive planned, so we will just see what happens...

Impressive Service

I must say that my first experience yesterday with the Bill Luke dealership service department was very impressive. I arrived at the dealership at around 7:55 AM to have the scratch (or dent) repaired on the hood of our Escape. I was met by my service advisor who reviewed the details of the scheduled service and then was whisked into the onsite Enterprise Car Rental office where I did the paperwork for the free car loaner for the day. I picked up the 2015 Dodge Dart and was out of the dealership and on my way home in the rental car at 8:05 AM. It didn't end there. I received a call at 1 PM saying the car was ready to pick up and that they weren't happy with the results of the repair and wanted to reschedule another appointment for next week to do it right. See, the write-up on the repair order did not indicate that it might require body shop work to knock out the dent, so my advisor informed me that the individual that does that job was not in yesterday and If the touch-up didn't do a satisfactory job, they would reschedule the work to get it done right. That is what happened. I went back to the dealership, returned the car loaner, and was taken by golf cart to the parked Escape and was out of the dealership within 5 minutes. I spent a total of about 15 minutes at the dealership which is a first. Normally, we have to sit around and waste a couple hours in the waiting lounge. I hope I get another good feeling next week when I return to have it done again.

I spent the rest of the day doing taxes and have probably completed half of that chore. I hope to get more done on that today. Josie has her final day of the week at work today and has the weekend off. We hope that we can enjoy some down time and relax over the weekend...

First Evaluation

The most significant event yesterday was my first performance evaluation - 90 Day Evaluation - at Sam's Club. It lasted about 20 minutes and I scored 100 percent which is OK by me. It didn't carry an increase in pay with it as they don't provide pay increases until they do the 1 year evaluation which is generally conducted at the end of nine months - that is October for me. At least they aren't going to let me go anytime soon.

It was a long day at work and I arrived home at 3 PM while Josie worked her normal 8 to 4:30 day. We are getting closer to decision time about our plans for the summer and we hope to have some direction on that in the next couple weeks. There are some irons in the fire that will make it very clear, so hang in there for our plans.

I will take the new car into the shop this morning for the scratch repair that was promised to us when we bought the car. They provide a loaner car, so I will be back home for the day and return later this afternoon unless I hear from them that the work was completed earlier. The agenda for today includes more work on the taxes so the day is pretty well laid out for us...

Taxes Started

The target for yesterday was to begin entering the data for our taxes. I accomplished that, but a little at a time. The year 2014 was pretty good for us which means that our taxes will most likely be higher this year, so I'm not in a real rush.

While taking some time out to make a quick trip to the store, I spotted three burros along the side of the Carefree Highway. They have been very elusive this year and this is only the second time I've seen them since October. By the time I stopped and got out to take a photo, two of them had disappeared over the hill leaving just this one for the photo:

We keep hearing them during the night, but they stay away during the daytime.

I have to be at Sam's Club at 7 AM this morning which makes for the very early posting of this entry. Actually, I need to be there at least 15 minutes prior to opening to prepare the coffee cart for the Plus and Business members that shop between 7 AM and 10 AM before the Club opens for all business at 10 AM. I work until 3 PM which is a long day for me. Josie has her regular day scheduled today which is from 8 AM until 4:30 PM.

There will be another early day tomorrow for me as I take the new car to the dealership to have the scratch repaired that they agreed to do when the deal was signed. They give a free loaner car for the day which is nice. So, until tomorrow, have a great day...

Weather Review

Last year at this time we were going through a record dry spell where we hadn't had any measurable precipitation for 57 days. We've had the rain this year - about once every 14 days or so - but this year is the year of the stronger winds. Once again last night we rocked-and-rolled through some pretty strong gusts and the winds are continuing this morning. We have the winds here every year, but there are more days of higher gusts this year. We had one stretch a few weeks ago where we had 5 consecutive days of wind gusts exceeding 25 mph. I'm not sure what is creating this phenomena, but it makes for less sleep at night.

Josie did our laundry and I did some computer work to get our taxes lined up. I also watched the Pebble Beach Pro-Am on TV this year where - speaking of weather - they had fabulous weather every day of the tournament for the first time in a long time. They usually get at least one day of fog, drizzle, winds or some other weather disturbance to make the play more difficult. This year it was perfect each day. That part of the country is so beautiful and the good weather only enhances the play.

It's back to work for Josie today and I return to work tomorrow with a full day at Sam's Club. I ordered a sunshade for the new Escape which is expected to arrive today and I also scheduled an appointment for Thursday to take the car back to the dealer for a touch-up on a scratch that is on the hood that they agreed to repair as part of the deal. It is the only blemish on the entire vehicle. The only other item we want to take care of is to have a hitch put on the vehicle so we can have the flexibility to take our bikes and/or other small, utility trailer needs. That will give us both vehicles with the same flexibility along with 4WD.

There is also that other chore hanging out there that I am dreading but need to address soon - the taxes...

Partial Day

The big rush at Josie's shop is over. She only worked a half day yesterday and has today off. My schedule is also light for the next several weeks as Sam's Club has tried to schedule my days around the Aramark activities which are also winding down. It appears that we will not be working the spring training schedule this year as Aramark has all the merchandising positions filled and neither one of us wants to work the food concessions again this year. There are so many things to be done around home that I am taking the extra time to catch up on neglected tasks.

There is a lot of balloon activity recently and we aren't sure what has triggered it except that maybe the balloon companies have changed their location for launching and/or landing. Yesterday, Josie captured this shot of the sky filling up with balloons:

We counted 10 balloons in that shot and Josie said there actually were a dozen as a couple of the balloons couldn't be seen in the shot.

Today is one of the rare days where we both have the day off from work. Josie will do some laundry and I will probably get more stuff together for our taxes. Not very exciting. We have neglected our site outside over the last several weeks as a result of our schedules and not feeling up to par. I will have to get some of that work done also. Other than that, it looks like an ordinary start to another week...

Busy Valentine's Day

It has changed for Josie on Valentine's Day which is normally a whirlwind, super long day. It was very busy all right, but she was off work by 5:30 PM. The entire week leading up to the big day yesterday was filled with mostly days of normal hours except for a couple days where she worked, maybe two extra hours. That is a far cry from Valentine's Days of old where she would work 20 hour days. The times have changed.

I would have probably worked as a driver on the last two days if I felt better. It was a challenge for me to get through the one day I worked at Sam's Club - Thursday - and I would have had a hard time working in the frenzied environment at the shop and delivering flowers. I am beginning to see improvement and I must say, it has been a long time since any cold took this much out of me. It probably was a combination of being run down from the heavy Super Bowl schedule and not eating properly.

Josie goes into work today from 9 to 1 PM to handle late orders and probably any returns and swap-outs from yesterday. She can then look forward to a normal schedule until probably Easter and definitely Mother's Day. There are lots of things we need to accomplish during that time. Starting with my doing the taxes. There are other activities that are heating up and we will deal with those as we go along...

Prep for Valentine's Day

Josie actually got off work at a decent time last night - 7 PM - and she had put in about 10 hours for the day. That is not an unusually long day for the day before Valentine's Day. I can remember, and I'm sure Josie does better than I, Valentine's Days where she worked 20 hours to get ready for the big rush today. It is probably a combination of the downturn in the industry, not having a manager's position and working in a shop where there may be an unexpected surge that they will not be prepared for today. It should be an interesting day for her today, and I hope that it doesn't get out of control at the end of the day. This is the first big holiday the shop has had without the departed Alex, the general manager and the glue for the organization.

Other than that, there isn't much to report about yesterday except my cold is still hanging on. There may have been some improvement yesterday, but it is not going away fast enough to suit me...

 

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY !!

Early Results

If the first tankful of gas is any indication, the new Ford Escape should do what we expected. While out picking up our final paychecks from Aramark for our Super Bowl work, I filled the tank at Sam's Club. It only took 10.7 gallons after the full first week of use and that translated to 25.6 mpg. That was done mostly on side roads and city streets, so it will only get better. We weren't sure how accurate the tank gauge would be, so we filled it with a quarter of a tank still showing. It cost a total of $21.50 to fill.

For some reason, the cold symptoms seem to get better during the day, and get worse during the night. Every morning I feel like I just came through a thrashing and I know it isn't the medication. I'm taking the same thing before bedtime and during the night that I take during the day. Go figure. At any rate, it is a very slow process of improving. I expect to wake up any day now and feel cured.

While picking up our mail at the office yesterday on my way home, I also grabbed a new rate sheet for the resort. They have raised the rates again - for the second consecutive year - and it is getting more and more difficult to justify the annual rate. Last year it went up 15%, and this year another 5%. Unfortunately, many folks will not swallow the increases and will move on. We will most likely call this our final year here also. Wait for further word on what our plans for the next year and foreseeable future hold for us...

You Can Leave Now

That's the message I have for this cold that just seems to want to hang around. When I was a smoker - before quitting 16 years ago - I had a good reason to expect a cold to hang on. I have gone through a couple boxes of Theraflu along with Josie who appears to have some improvement in her battle. I had to go to work yesterday at 3:30 PM and it was a struggle to make it through my shift that ended at 8:30 last night. Most of the medications only provide about a 6 hour period of relief, but I have been feeling the loss of the impact of the medicine after about 4 hours. I guess I'll just have to hang in there as there really is no other option.

I have a busy day scheduled today with a trip to Surprise to pick up our final Super Bowl checks at the stadium, deposit them and get a haircut while I am there. I will also gas up the new vehicle for the first time and I am anxious to see the gas mileage we are getting so far. Josie has been mostly traveling the city streets as I-17 is almost always backed up, so the mileage should be accurate for a "normal" commute for her. The tank is only 15+ gallons, so even though we will fill it as usual about once a week, the total gas should be less as the Jeep has an 18+ gallon tank. Both of those gas tanks together don't match the truck's main tank of 38 gallons and I had an auxiliary tank on the trunk of 50 gallons to make a total capacity of 88 gallons. I didn't fill both tanks very often.

The schedules from work are posted on both a board in the break room and online where any Associate can see his schedule. It turns out that the two schedules rarely match and I find myself calling the warehouse to confirm my working schedule. Yesterday was one of those days that I was not scheduled to work according to the online schedule, but the in-house schedule did have me scheduled. Sheesh! I thought I was suppose to work today. Instead, I'll enjoy this day off to continue the recovery process...

Little Relief

I'm beginning to think that our colds are being traded back and forth. Neither one of us sounds very good in the morning. We are going through Theraflu and Dayquil and cough drops like it is our main course. Actually, that is probably another reason why the colds are lingering - neither of us has been eating properly since before our Super Bowl activities. That is very difficult to do when we are both on busy schedules, but the last few days have been sedentary ones for me. I don't know what else to do except keep doing what we are doing and eventually the colds will work their way out.

We have about decided that neither one of us will be working the spring training schedule this year. It seems that the merchandising jobs are filled and neither of us wants to go down the path working in the concessions again this year. Last year was not as much fun as the first year, and there is no reason to believe that changes have been made to make it that much better. Besides, Josie has a full time schedule now at the flower shop, and I can work several days a week at Sam's Club, if I want to, in order to stay busy and earn some extra cash. Maybe we will visit the stadium to see a game during the spring training schedule to visit some of the nice folks we worked with over the last couple years. Some of those people also are not returning for the same reasons.

I received the last of my 1099's and W-2's for 2014 so it looks like I have everything I need now to start the taxes. That is a priority for the next week or so, along with shedding these colds...

The Cold Process

There is a saying that my mother used to use regarding colds - it takes 3 days to get it, 3 days to have it, and 3 days to get rid of it. I think that I am in the middle 3 days as it doesn't seem to want to go away. In fact, it doesn't want to improve that much either. Josie is probably a couple days ahead of me as she is beginning to feel better and sounds a lot better than I do.

Josie had her first experience driving the new vehicle to work yesterday and the verdict is good. She loves driving it and it looks like it will be a winner for us as far as comfort and economy. I heard from the new owner's credit union yesterday and the funds should arrive today to complete the deal.

As I wasn't feeling real spry yesterday, I spent a good part of the afternoon outside reading another book. While sitting in our gazebo on this beautiful day, I heard, and then spotted , this power glider that at first seemed like he was going to land right here at the resort:

Just as he got overhead, he veered to his left and went on to probably land at the small glider airport down the road from us:

I haven't seen too many of those this year so it was nice to finally get a view of one.

It's more nursing of the cold today and attempting to get rid of the congestion and soreness. This has probably hit me at a better time than Josie's hit her. She has to deal with the long days working while trying to handle the symptoms. Maybe today will be the turning point and we can both be in the final 3 day period and get rid of this nonsense...

Slow Recovery

We went for a drive in the late morning to give Josie a chance to familiarize herself with our new vehicle. The destination was Walmart where we needed to pick up a few items and we also stopped at Michaels where she picked up some yarn. She is now happy with the choice and will begin driving it to work today. I knew that it would be a good fit for us but she had to get on board with the choice before taking over the wheel for commuting with it to work.

All day we both suffered with our lingering sore throats and coughs. it was off and on Theraflu and Dayquil all day. Even during the night last night we were both up and down several times with the nagging cough and had to take more medication. I hope it doesn't hang on for too much longer. I hate to waste so much time sitting around and nursing a cold, but who feels like doing anything when your coughing all the time and have a fever and a sore throat.

I will be in contact with the credit union today regarding our new vehicle and the fact that we saved more money by using the dealer's financing. Also, I expect to hear from the credit union of the new truck owner to inform us that the monies have been overnighted to settle the deal. High on the list of things to do - when I begin feeling better - is taxes.. Ugh!! Maybe being sick isn't so bad after all...

Farewell to a Friend

It was time to say farewell to the F450 King Ranch truck that was my friend for over 10% of my life. The new owner came just before 9 AM yesterday AM to pick it up and drove off with his wife following in their second vehicle. This is the last shot (into the sun) of the truck:

It will be replaced with a new chapter and new experience with our 2014 Ford Escape:

It is very economical and a highly rated vehicle by both Consumers Reports and Auto Trader. The Ford should get about 50% better mileage than our Jeep and will be the vehicle that Josie will use to commute to work each day. So far, she hasn't driven it, but will get her first taste today. At any rate, we now have two vehicles that will save us lots of gas money.

Josie's shop decided to close for today which gives her an unscheduled day off. Both of us are struggling with congestion and sore throats that we believe we picked up from Josie's manager. I spent the entire day yesterday resting and taking Theraflu and Dayquil to help with the symptoms. I could hardly speak at all yesterday and it was a real strain to communicate with the new truck owner yesterday morning. We don't get these colds very often, but they sure take a lot out of us when we do.

Aside from getting Josie familiar with the new vehicle, today promises to be another recovery day for our colds...

Found The Car

I waited around for the FedEx package to arrive yesterday morning that contained the final paperwork for the truck sale. It arrived at 11 AM and I contacted Josie at work to inform her that I was on my way down to see her so that we could take the papers to the bank to have our signatures notarized. Prior to that, I had finalized our financing for the replacement vehicle through our credit union at SunWest in Phoenix.

Josie and I went to the B of A around the corner from her shop and wrapped up all of the signing and notarizing. The paperwork included a guarantee from the buyer's credit union that the funds would be overnighted as soon as the paperwork was received. I dropped Josie off back at work, went to the local FedEx office to send the package, and then went to Bill Luke Chrysler-Jeep-Dodge in town who is probably one of, if not the largest, dealer in town. He had many vehicles that would satisfy our criteria, so that's where I went. I arrived there at about 1 PM and didn't leave until after 5:30 PM. After looking at probably 8 or 10 quality used cars, I selected a 2014 Ford Escape with 31K miles on it, drove it, and we negotiated a final price that came within $750 of my target price. I also changed to the dealer financing which was a better deal for us and knocked another $1K off of the purchase price. I will get some shots of the vehicle when we have some daylight.

The new owner of the truck called during the day and is scheduled to pick up the truck this morning. I ordinarily wouldn't release the vehicle until the funds were deposited and cleared, but with the credit union guarantee and the amount of time I've spent communicating with him, feel confident that he is a nice, honest individual. He is in the same boat that we were in as he is left with only one vehicle until he gets the truck.

We have gone full circle now with the sale of the truck and the replacement vehicle. I hope we aren't sorry we made this decision, but I know that 30 mpg on our second vehicle will pay much better dividends than the 12 mpg we were getting on the highway with the more expensive diesel fuel and the truck. I will miss it...

Spinning Wheel

We are under a little pressure to find a replacement vehicle for the truck. It turns out that the truck will be turned over sooner than later to the new owner as he has his financing all wrapped up and we expect to receive the money next week. His credit union is overnighting the papers to us today to sign, and we will turn those around and overnight them back. Monday should be the funding day. I agreed to let the new owner take the truck after I see the paperwork and have a guarantee that the loan will be consummated next week. He is without wheels except for his wife's car and they both have jobs and need two vehicles like us. Right now, there is a "spinning wheel" with about 6 or 8 models on it and where it stops, nobody knows. I'm leaning toward any of these models that I can find the right deal on - Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4, Ford Escape, Subaru Forester or one of the other small, SUV's that are economical. A requirement is that it must get at least 30 mpg highway mileage among other requirements. Today is the day I research the availability of these in the area.

We drove around to a lot of places yesterday doing necessary chores. Josie had a doctor's appointment to have her foot checked. She will go to a Podiatrist for further treatment. We then picked up our next to last check from Aramark at the Surprise Stadium and also picked up blank calendars for February and March where we are to indicate our availability for work. I'll take those back today. We then stopped at Sam's Club and Walmart to do some shopping and returned home at 3 PM.

Josie and I both are dealing with colds that we got last week. Josie thinks she got hers from her manager, Kathy, last week while she handled her phone when the manager went home sick. I got mine from Josie. Of course, both of us handled lots of money last week at the Convention Center so that could also be the culprit. At any rate, we are both trying to nurse the colds while staying busy...

Running Around

I spent the entire day running around while Josie was at work. I had to pick up the title to the truck which was at our credit union at a (near) downtown location and then had to go to the MVD (Motor Vehicle Department) to get a temporary plate for the truck. The Florida registration expired on my birthday, and I couldn't renew it in Florida because I have Arizona insurance now. I certainly was not going to pay for a full year's registration in AZ and get an emissions test when I only expect to have the truck for another 30 days, at best. I waited 2 1/2 hours at the MVD to pick up a 3 day temporary tag which I discovered I could have printed out at home for a dollar. The next stop was to fax the title to the credit union of the new buyer. In between all of this, I was in communication with Wholesale Warranties to cancel the truck extended warranty and get a refund from them. That was finally wrapped up by 4 PM. Once the paperwork is complete, the new truck owner will take possession and we will get our money.

The truck will have to be replaced with an economical, smaller vehicle that we can use as a commuting vehicle. Each of us has the need for an economical car for our jobs. It won't be a brand new vehicle, but we hope to get one that will give us at least 30 mpg and have low miles. Probably a 2012 to 2014 model of something. The research for that vehicle starts today.

I received a call from Aramark asking about my availability for February and March. We have already, tentatively, agreed to work during Spring Training if we can get into the merchandising area so that we don't have to do the concessions again for a third year. We are waiting on that response.

Other than that, it's just a plain, busy time for both of us. Josie has the day off today to go to the Doctor's office to have her painful foot checked, so we will be out and about again...

Normal Schedule Again

Josie went to the shop and worked her normal day and I did a 6 hour shift a Sam's Club to once again get back on our regular schedule. Well, almost. I will work only one day per week at Sam's Club through March as I plan to work for Aramark through that period. I also have to complete our taxes and finish up the truck sale which is going forward. Josie is struggling with a cold that has set in, and she is not feeling 100% at this stage of her Valentine's Day marathon schedule.

In some ways, I am sorry to sell the truck but it has turned out to be a nice savings account. In October, 2007 when I purchased it for around $63K, it was designated a once in a lifetime purchase and a vehicle that would last the rest of my life. At that time, diesel fuel was around $3.50 per gallon, and the thought was that the prices would go down. Instead, diesel went to $5.00 per gallon and has been hovering around that number since about 2010 until recently. The price is still about $1 higher than regular unleaded, and is too expensive to be driven and used as an everyday second vehicle. It has held it's value very well and will be sold for over $38K which is an excellent resale for a seven year old vehicle. To buy the same vehicle today, equipped the way ours is equipped, would be around $80K. Gas prices are once again on the rise - faster than they went down - and we are anxious to replace it with an economical regular unleaded vehicle. Gas went to $1.77 per gallon at Sam's Club yesterday and just last week it was $1.63. Here we go again.

That means that the fifth wheel will remain in AZ for the foreseeable future. We have talked about acquiring another, smaller trailer to use for summer travel and we may still go that route. Also, the interest rates are still low and this appears to be a great time to take advantage of a recovering housing market. That is another option that we have been seriously looking at. It will all work itself out to be, hopefully, the best alternative for us in today's economy...

Still Bummed

The entire Super Bowl experience was a real exciting and unique opportunity for us. After hearing about all the records that this Super Bowl set, we are fortunate to have been so close to all the activity and the game itself. We are still bummed over the outcome, but time will heal our sour taste of the finish to the game. We still believe that the Seahawks are better than the Patriots and they just plain gave away the opportunity to add to Super Bowl History with a repeat win. There is no reason to believe that they will not return again next year, especially with the team knowing that the victory slipped away, and a payback will be in order.

I had chance to catch up on some sleep yesterday and also catch up on some chores and ignored household activity as a result of our long schedules last week. Josie had to go into work with just a few hours sleep but made it OK and said she felt fine all day. I did capture a shot of the balloons that filled the sky yesterday afternoon:

They may have been filled with Patriot fans having a final celebration before heading back to the north pole in Boston. Speaking of the north pole, Patty sent photos of the outside of her home in Naperville that revealed her situation:

She said they would probably dig themselves out by Spring.

I am getting very close to making a deal on the truck which is a sure sign that some changes are on the horizon for our long term plans. We have some options that we are considering that depend on making that deal, so we will let you know when events take us to decision time.

Both of us will work today as I also return to Sam's Club for my first day back since the Super Bowl activities began. Josie now begins her Valentine's Day schedule which is, of course, like a marathon. She will not see a (scheduled) day off from now until after Valentine's Day. It is that time of the year. I also need to finish up our taxes this month, so both of us are on the fast track to who knows where...

Disappointment

Our day at the Super Bowl was a lot different from our expectations. To start with, the day in general was much longer than we anticipated, and we worked a total of 16.5 hours, arriving back home at almost 1 AM this morning.

The way the day started should have been an omen for us. We checked in at the Coliseum in Phoenix, received our uniforms, got on the bus for the ride to the stadium, went through security at the stadium and arrived at our kiosk at around 9 AM. We waited for somebody from Aramark to come by and unlock our station while we admired our location. It was, what we thought, the start to a very pleasant and happy experience. Our kiosk was finally opened and we set everything up for the big day. This is what our kiosk looked like with Josie in her uniform:

and this was the view we had from either side of the stand:

It wasn't going to be a very happy experience for us.

A group of three men showed up just prior to our setting up the kiosk and told us that they were scheduled to work our station. They were from another subcontractor and not part of Aramark. At first, we thought they were only going to sell game programs from in front of our location. Wrong. A huge argument ensued between the managers of this contractor and Aramark over who was responsible for operating the kiosk. To make a long story short, the kiosk was double booked and we ended up being booted out of the kiosk and directed to work in the Team Store. Needless to say, we were totally bummed, and this became a sign that the day would not go as expected.

During the entire day and throughout the 16.5 hours we worked, we only had one half hour break for lunch. We did not get to see the game at all except for what we could see on the small TV monitors within the store, and we never had a chance to see any live action during the entire day. Josie and I both assisted customers on the floor in finding the right piece of clothing in the right size.

The bus ride back to the coliseum and our vehicle was not an easy task. The lines for contract workers was so long it took an hour from the time we arrived at the rear of the line for bus boarding until we finally got on one of the buses. This is a view - both in front, and in back of us - while waiting for the buses:

It was a terrific game that we worked and everything about the game was great except the outcome. One bad (and stupid) play with less than a minute to play cost the Seahawks their second consecutive Super Bowl title and it is a tough pill to swallow. We are both dragging this morning and Josie has to go to work at the shop and work her normal hours today. The entire experience was one we will never forget and I will probably reflect some more on the day after I recover from the disappointment...

Madness

Everybody that is coming to town for Super Bowl is here. The downtown area was pure madness yesterday. We started our shift at the NFL Experience on time shortly before 9 AM and with the exception of about a 20 minute break to have a couple slices of pizza that were brought in, we worked non-stop until 5 PM. Josie and I each figured we did around $30K worth of business at our registers alone, with another shift following us. One of the Aramark manager's came by at about 3 PM and took a stack of 100 dollar bills from each of our registers. There were 16 registers covered during the day even though the line move steadily all day, it was almost a 1 hour wait to get waited on.

We were very happy to end our day and the madness became even more evident when we left the building to walk to the Light Rail to catch our ride home. The line to get into the NFL Experience was two blocks long! It wrapped around the entire Convention Center. This is what the line looked like as we exited the building:

The walk from the Convention Center to the train stop took forever. There were so many people on the streets in this part of town that we actually had to wait for people to clear at some of the street crossings. There were the usual protesters and bible toting extremists:

and just plain sightseers and folks having a grand time:

We eventually made it to the train stop where the Phoenix Metro line had placed extra cars into service - 6 on each train versus the normal 3 cars - and the number of trains were tripled to where a train arrived every 5 to 8 minutes instead of about 20 minutes. The crowds were surrounding the station:

 

We guess that the ratio of Seattle fans to New England fans was probably 15-1. There was every imaginable piece of Seahawks apparel that people were wearing:

We saw several people that we knew during the day- including our personal Physician, Dr Sodhi from Surprise who was there with his son - and a fan from Bellevue WA that we rode the train and chatted with on the ride into work who was only coming in to pick up his Super Bowl Tickets but got caught up in the excitement.

It is finally here - Super Bowl Day - and we are scrambling to get ready to leave at 6:45 AM to meet the group that is working the game at the Coliseum in Phoenix. We will get checked in through security there, get our Super Bowl Uniforms and ride a shuttle to the stadium.

Enjoy the game everybody.

G O   S E A H A W K S !!!