Broken heart

[Mahnarch]

OH, man.

You said you're looking to rent out your house in TX?

Do you plan to move back there in a few years, or no?

Being a long distance land lord is the last thing you want, man. Especially with everything you're going through.

Just sell it outright. If you plan to move back in a few years get something new.
You don't need to be pulling your hair out from D.C. when the water heater goes out or your tenants were arrested for selling drugs out of your house...



It's good that you gave/will give Mrs. P the info and such.

We hope *not* to hear from her any time soon (unless it's her chiming in to say 'Hi' and getting into regular conversation).

[Demona]

May 5, 2009 15:38:13 GMT -5 Pumpkin said:

Hi all. The Mrs. and I just got back from house hunting in the D.C. area. Thankfully we got a house to rent. I would have hated to have come away empty handed. I am going to be sad to leave south Texas, but it looks okay out east.

That's a good idea Mahnarch. I will give my board information to Mrs. Pumpkin so she could access the board in case in case I check into another parallel dimension---or dye my hair pink.

Circumstances have left Mrs. Pumpkin and I talking about what happens if I kick the bucket. I gets a bit macabre. I was kind of hoping that was still about 30 years in the future.....Well, with a little luck and a lot of caution and care, maybe it still will be.

I kind of wondered if I was going to answer the eternal question of what happens when we die earlier today. We have our house on the rental market. The week we were gone the grass really got long and weedy. The kid who was cutting our grass disappeared the last few weeks. I guess he had better things to do.

Anyway, I thought if I took it real easy, I could cut it myself.......OH CRAP, what a painful mistake! The back yard is about 65x110 feet. I would cut a row in one direction, stop, gasp for breath, then head back the other.

It got so damned painful that it took several hours for me to finish. I'd have to stop for 15 minute breaks and recover in the house under a fan. It didn't help at all that it was 92F and humid. It felt like I had a 150 lb pack on my back.

Then I had a falling sensation for a moment. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Then it stopped for about 5 seconds. When it kicked in again, it went B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B-B, real rapid fire beats for about 10 seconds. Then another 5 second pause before it started in a more normal fashion. I was just relieved when it started beating again after that last pause. So much for my lawn mowing days! I don't want to take a dirt nap yet.

I called Mrs. Pumpkin at work and said, "Hon, I think we better cancel our plans to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I don't think it's gonna work for me".....She was about to either come get me and take me to the ER or send for some help. I seem to be okay now, just incredibly exhausted. It's not the first time I have experienced that phenomenon. Just a little too exciting at times.

You should get a riding lawnmower, or maybe hire some neighbor kids to cut grass. Take it easy, we don't want to hear from her any time soon with bad news.

[Pumpkin]

We had quite a battle over whether to sell or keep the house.....I lost that battle. I didn't want the long distance landlord thing, so we compromised and hired a property management company to do our bidding. Believe me, I have thought about all the possible outcomes..... It keeps me awake some nights. It's a real role of the dice.

We are hoping Mrs. Pumpkin can retire in 9 years. We'd probably retire here in San Antonio and spend summers (May-September) in Minnesota. We lived there for 41 years, and most of our families are still there. I don't miss the winters.

I do miss the summers there. I just walked down to get the mail, about a quarter mile round trip in our little subdivision. It's hot and humid. I felt like someone was standing on my chest by the time I got back up the modest hill to the house--about a ten foot rise in elevation.

It was 97 with a 70 dew point yesterday. It damned near killed me when I went out for the mail and bring the trash bin in. If I could avoid summers here and winters up there, I would do much better.

Cutting the grass.....I am going to hire the same company one of the neighbors is using. It's just too freaking painful and scary for me to cut the grass any longer. And I'm kind of afraid I may wake up dead. one of these times.

I do have one good thing about all of this to share. Mrs. Pumpkin and I have been fortunate with her assignments to be able to travel extensively. We've been to 24 countries and 38 states in the last 10 years.

Like Phil said, we have lived in Louisiana, Texas, North Dakota, the U.K for 3 years, and soon the D.C./northern Virginia area. Even North Dakota had it's good points. It's all what you make it. We've been fortunate. ;D

My rambling point is, the glass is still half-full. Even if I meet an untimely demise, we have had a good life together---30 years of marriage this October--- ;D Sometimes I just need to have that perspective on it all. I'm just glad we could see all we did while I was still relatively healthy. I still plan on living to be 80, but my activities will be curtailed for sure. But I still have a good life. ;D

[Blastgirl]

We have an eerily similar concern that Pumpkin and his wife have had about the house.

I love this house. This is the only house I've lived in other than my Parents' home. Classic's Brothers sent a crew all the way out here to build this house back in 2000 and this is where we came to live upon getting Married.

That means we have grown from a young couple in our early twenties over eight plus years to a Family of four.

Classic has changed teams three times and we have managed not to move. We considered it and we have each offseason because there's always a chance moves of teams could bring him farther away. Our boys are still little and not in School yet and that makes this a less disturbing event should we have to move.

Our older boy may start Kindergarten this year it's up to us his Birthday is in November and that makes it so we have the option to send him to Kindergarten this year or next it's optional.

I would hate to sell the house because it was custom built by Thunderbird and his men for us. They would build us another one if we landed somewhere but I'd rather not if we can stay.

Pumpkin I think you are usually positive. I think you get worried sometimes when your Medical concerns change your lifestyle but that's a normal reaction. I still think you take a positive approach.

[Kimm]

Pumpkin get well and good luck with your move.

[fartinggurl]

Sorry to hear that you're ill, Pumpkin.

[Jason O'Lewa]

get well pumpkin

[Pumpkin]

Well, we got here to northern Virginia okay. I don't know how many more moves I have in me though. Unfortunately, it looks like we will have several more if Mrs. Pumpkin finishes her military career.

One good thing: It actually rains here! That may sound strange, the liking rain thing, but it hardly ever rained in San Antonio the last 2 years. It was either hot and dry or warm and dry. I like a little more variety than the historical drought in south Texas allowed.

We could always see the towering thunder clouds to our north and east, but they seldom made it into town. We were something like 33 inches below average for the last 2 years. That's a lot of water!

Here, it seems to rain and storm every day. I'm enjoying it.

[Demona]

I like rain too, and don't like when it's hot outside.

[Beangirl]

Hey Pumpkin, Glad you made it . What's rain? Sorry My Bad. Southern California has very little rain also . We have very little money either thanks to Gov. Arnold.. I am watching The Weather Channel right now. I nice big Tornado is heading toward Western Colorado! uh oh?

[Blastgirl]

It's interesting how different climates are. It seems that the Western United States at least the southwestern United States doesn't get a ton of rain. I guess that's why most of West Texas, Arizona and South California there's less grass and more of a rock hard ground too.

Maybe that's not true but that's the impression I get.

[Pumpkin]

Yeah, it is interesting how climates vary. In Texas, Houston has a damp subtropical climate. San Antonio is in that transition zone between rain and desert. If you go further west from San Antonio towards west Texas, you get into desert. West Texas is high desert and mountains.

Hey Beans, how big is the debt? I heard something like 20 million? Does the Governator have any plan to attack that?

[Phil]

I just read this a little while ago and I'm mentioned it in my youtube blog that is uploading right now.

[Kimm]

I cant imagine not having rain. We have had dry spells but not like that.

[Mahnarch]

Hey Pumpkin, Glad you made it . What's rain? Sorry My Bad. Southern California has very little rain

Yeah. I see your weather reports on the on the interwebs;

Weather Guy: "Today's weather is 85 degrees and sunny. BUT!, if you look at the radar.....THERE'S A CLOUD COMING IN OFF THE COAST!!!

Oh NOOOO!!! A Cllloouudd!!!
You're all doomed!!!


Pumpkin:


Where did you get that coconut?


...You found it?
Coconuts are a tropical fruit! This is a temperate clime!!



Are you suggesting that coconuts migrate?!! ;D

[aido179]

pumpkin, im so sorry I havn't been around to say get well soon. my brother had a major heart problem a couple years back. they didn't diagnose him until he was a day from dying, then the docters in the childrens hospital in dublin figured it out. he ended up getting defibrilised to get his heart back into rythm and with meds for a year he was back to his normal self.
he has gone ahead and won the connaght junior rugby cup with his school team, so he has gotten back to peak fitness. you know what this means? it means theres always hope. my bro was considered a dying kid when he was in. nobody can express the feelings of doubt and fear and worry that familly experiance but what I can say is I understand.
take it easy friend.

[Phil]

Wow aido179, I don't remember you mentioning your brother's condition before. How old is he now?

That's positive light to a dark prospective for sure.

[aido179]

yep. I thought I might have mentioned it before...it's something I don't like to remind myself about. He's two years younger than me, so that'd be 15.

oh yes. infact, give me a few seconds...