NICKELS and DIMES

This morning (Weds) was a snow day.   After two days of two hour late start days.  Portland only gets snow once or twice a year and it just cripples the city.  The boys played outside for over two hours and when they returned, chaos reigns.  Even though there is a nice warm fire in the living room, I had to come into my sanctuary due to the noise level.  Thus the blog begins!

It's not over until the fat lady sings, but a traveling notary met me at Starbucks to sign the closing papers.  Granted, I have not sold a house for ten years but what a joke ... and NOT nickels and dimes.

The HOA wants $286 for "processing fees".  I have an email into them to see exactly what this is.  All they do is change the name on Lot 14!  We do have a binder full of CCRs and bylaws and rules ... but they are all posted online.



THEN Document Services of Maui charged $505 for HOA documents.  The same ones that are online and available for a ream of paper?

Next is an "estimated" cost of $200 for a mobile notary fee.  WHAT?  I could print the 30 pages, take them to my bank and have them notarized for FREE.  And she was an hour late and spent another hour telling me her life story.

Then all the other nit picky things ...$365 for 10 minutes of termite inspection.  $575 for 40 minutes of land survey.  Conveyance fee, escrow fee, title insurance, deed preparation, etc.  All these nickels and dimes amounted to $40,000.  Incredible.

The last and final beef is the closing is February 28 (they zap the money from the buyer) but I don't get the money til March 5.  Who gets the interest on that????

PROs and CONs of HAVING ROOMMATES

The tides are turning.

The five of us spent two full weeks in a 950 sq ft home with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms (and an outdoor shower).  We put the boys in the guest room as it is the darkest (light blocking shades).  The parents let them listen to a book for 30 minutes and then the iPad becomes a white noise machine and a BIG digital clock.  They stayed in their room until 8:00 am because Mr. Second Grader can tell time.

The parents got the master suite and I slept on the oversized sofa in the great room.  Very comfortable EXCEPT I had no privacy.  Which may have been a good thing.

Everyone pointed out how LOUDLY I snore.  My daughter got my attention and asked me to get checked out for sleep apnea.  She showed me a list of symptoms from Mayo Clinic

Symptoms

The signs and symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apneas overlap, sometimes making it difficult to determine which type you have. The most common signs and symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apneas include:

• Loud snoring
• Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which would be reported by another person
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Awakening with a dry mouth
• Morning headache
• Difficulty staying asleep (insomnia)
• Excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia)
• Difficulty paying attention while awake
• Irritability

Apparently I have all of these.  (Although I don't think I have the last one ....)

They had two closed doors between us and she had to come out and check on me when I stopped snoring.  Most nights while we were there.  I don't have difficulty falling asleep because I take Ambien.  But I do feel like I have NO energy as well as all of the other symptoms.

Mr. Ralph had sleep apnea and was supposed to wear a CPAP.  It was a process of trial and error until he finally got on the little one with just nose pads and a hose.

(yet another reason for not dating!)

With a little research today, now it seems they have CPAPs without a hose!  

I'm calling my Dr to get the testing arranged and hope I can start out with the smallest unit that gets the job done.

Kate also gave me a lecture on my 8 week old cough.  I think I just do the coughing in the morning and evening but she and Jesse think it is all day long.  I'm going to take an over the counter antihistamine or Flonase for a week or two (although I will bring it up with the Dr) as I think it must be old age sinus drainage.  I remember both my parents using tons of tissues and sneezing and coughing in the mornings.

But if you really want to scare yourself, just Google "old age phlegm and coughing".  I'll say goodbye to my readers now ... it must be cancer!

The turning tide ... the children advising the parent to get their health checked.

NOT AWKWARD

ENOUGH, ALREADY!

Mother Nature!  Please take your medication!!

Friday night before departure, we had to stay at a hotel because of threat of snow (we got four inches)

Monday we had a snorkel trip to Molokini on a boat with slides and trampolines!  The weather was too choppy and the captain should have called it off and provided a refund. It was a bouncy choppy 50 minute trip to Molokini and only one other boat was there .... no people in the water. Sooooooo .... he took us to a secret spot.  No one else was there either.  Very choppy but the four of them got in.  The fish were too deep to see.  They were in the water for ten minutes max.

I wrote to the employee with whom I booked, back and forth and back and forth finally he offered 25% off.  Not good enough so he offered an afternoon trip to Coral Gardens (free) and they had a blast.

Last night was the special luau at The Grand Wailea.  Just as they got their food to the table, Mother Nature gave them a huge dump of water.  Fortunately, Grand Wailea offered a re-do or a refund!  That's the service I expect.

This is Tuesday around noon and it's been pouring rain since about 7am!  We are going to spend an hour or two finishing work on the garage.  Realtor found a guy with a truck for hire and he is coming after we leave to take a load or two to the dump.  Followed with the carpet cleaner and the grand finale .... a deep clean.

But despite the wind, the grey and the cooler than usual temperatures, we've had lots of sun breaks.

Weather permitting, we are having a fun family photo session at the beach.  I have a small urn of Mr. Ralph and so he will be in the photo with us.  Then sprinkled along his favorite beach.

SPECIAL VALENTINE(s)

Relaxing after boogie boarding with Momma

Really ... all four of them are out there.  

Wicked ocean made it bad for snorkeling.

Yes, they still bring their "soft" friends along

Making a fort with Jenga blocks ... 

on another rainy day

Big brother getting flipped by a wave!

THE END OF AN ERA

Pegasus has struck me again.

Our flight to Maui was Saturday morning at 8:40 am.  Portland weather people were predicting a Snowpocalypse during Friday night.  We adults had already aligned so many things prior to flying ... jobs, dog sitting, prescription medicines, condo checker, mail stop, etc.

I decided we best spend the night AT a hotel near the airport ... and leave the minivan at the cheap far away parking.  My surprise to the grands was having a place with a pool.  A saltwater pool at that.  The three of us had an early (6pm )dinner so they would be ready to swim after the kidults did all car parking/shuttle bus nstuff.  I had a room with a King bed and a sleeper sofa so we had a slumber party and the kidults could go walk in the snow (they take a walk every night after the boys go to bed)(for the silence, I'm sure).

Unfortunately, Gramma snores so Braeden left the king bed and went in with Deacon ... and they both got up at 6am!  Our flight was delayed til 9:25 so we got to have a leisurely breakfast and catch a later shuttle.  Boarding was again delayed but only by 15 minutes.

Once we got to our seats, boys all in a row and the two ladies elsewhere, Alaska announced they were having trouble keeping the plane de-iced.  We sat on the plane for TWO HOURS (oh, don't worry, complementary water!).  Despite having very numb buns, we finally arrived on our sunny island.  (we packed new coloring books, maze books, new legos and lots of treats, and screens ... the boys were totally entertained.

I was not.  I think I am finished flying.  It's too much hurry up and wait, my bum is growing and the seats are shrinking.  I resent emptying my purse and my carry on and taking my shoes off and on (I wore my flip flops through the snow to avoid that headache.

Methinks Pegasus has it in for me!

LIVE LOVE SPOIL

Those three words are the essence of my grandmotherhood. 

Just living with these two little characters is fun and fulfilling.  I get to witness everything without filter, most of which the parents would rarely tell me if I were living elsewhere.  This morning big brother was feeling puny ... wicked cold and a headache.  When little brother got up and heard this ... he went and made him a toaster pop tart and a glass of milk.  Those two are thicker than thieves!  So caring about each other.  Most of the time.  

The other 10% of the time it's screaming and snatching something from the other and on occasion, pushing or hitting.  The parents have asked me to not interfere unless there is blood or if one of them comes to me.  Let them learn to work it out.

I do spend a lot of my time in my room.  Chatting on the phone, using my laptop, listening to books, folding laundry, playing scrabble and doing the crossword puzzle. In the afternoon I get myself out for some reason or another.  After, I help (supervise) B with his homework or have him read to me.  In the near future, I will be driving for either the Adult Center or the local Village that is opening in June.  Transportation is the first thing elders need to have assistance.  I love my Honda Odyssey and am happy to drive, and even wait if it's not more than an hour.  Usually something I can do during that time.

Love?  Every chance I get.  D is going through a LOVE phase with books and being read to.  I am learning how to play boy games with Legos.  We all like Board games and even Mr. 5 year old knows how to play a lot of them.  Sometimes I bake a little sweet treat.  Or help them do a recipe.  They even like cleaning projects!  We play grocery store, restaurant, zoo, library and garage sale.  They both love treasure hunts where I leave clues for 5-6 stops before they get to the surprise.  Mr. 5 made a "movie theater" in their bedroom, put the iPad on the window sill and even brought in snacks.  

Spoil?  Yes, I do.  Every single one of them.  And every day they each thank me.  Even when a boy is not happy with me ... they aren't to the point they don't want me here.  After B goes to school, if a parent is not up when D gets up ... he creeps into my room, puts his cheery little face near mine and whispers "Gramma ... do you want to play with me?"

Oh yeh, buddy.  I do!

SCARY THINGS IN THE NIGHT

My realtor texted me to say my former tenant came to my Maui house at 3:00 AM.  Yes.  AM!  Yes.  FORMER.

Luckily, the Realtor's daughter was there (she was staying over to let the Terminix tech in the next morning).  Former Tenant acted like it was no big deal to show up in the middle of the night, but I bet she was surprised someone was there!  She claimed she left a box of clothing in the garage which she needed as she was flying back to live in Portland for a while.  Told Realtor Daughter she has been living in her car.

Thank goodness Realtor Daughter is a poised and wise young woman who could stand up to the narcissist witch.  She allowed her to take one box of clothing.  And informed her to call ahead of time and she or her Mom will let her in.

Former Tenant left Portland, Oregon after her mother died in 2007 and left her $500,000.  She left her two daughters, each a single mother of one child.  As you can imagine, she has bad relationships with the kids as well as her only sister.  She's been alcohol free for 15+ years but the twenty years before that (formative years for her girls) was just a blur.  Recently, she started smoking marijuana.  OK for some people ....

When she first arrived on island, she was a babysitter with a Maui service with ties to big fancy hotels.  After a while they stopped calling her.  Hmmmm.  She talked about part time jobs so she wouldn't spend down her money, hoping it would last a lifetime.  Maui is filled with part time jobs ... and even Uber but she never got it together.  Then when Trump came into office, she took all her money out of the stock market. 

Honestly, looking back I think she might have borderline personality disorder (one of the most common types).  People with BPD tend to have disturbed ways of thinking, impulsive behaviour and problems controlling their emotions. They may have intense but unstable relationships and worry about people abandoning them.  

And now, unfortunately, she has become depressed and paranoid (marijuana use?).  I hope when/if she gets to the mainland that she gets some help.  

Her rage is deep and I set it off by deciding to sell my house.