Hello all. It has been a long time since our last post. As this week will be the fifth anniversary since I, (Joel), retired it seemed like a good time to catch everyone up on our comings and goings and plans.
We have decided that this will be our last winter in Mazatlán. Janice has spent eight winters and I have six winters in this wonderful place, it is now time to explore some other winter options. Although Mazatlán has been great, life is getting shorter and we would like to have some other experiences before age and time take away our options.
Next winter, the winter of 2015-2016 is still up in the air. Our oldest Jelani has been accepted at all the universities he has applied to: The University of Washington, Louisiana State University and The University of Hawaii. His first choice is Hawaii, but I am sure finances, scholarships, grants, etc. will factor into where he will go. If he goes to Hawaii, we would probably go one to two months in Hawaii. If LSU is his choice we would spend a month in Louisiana and a month in Florida. These are just two options of many. We also might goes to San Diego for a month or two to house sit for friends if they need our help.
In May of 2016, I am planning to walk the Camino de Santiago. This is a 500 mile, (800 kilometer) walk that starts in St Jean, France, then you walk across the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain, through Basque country and ends up at a huge cathedral with many stops along the way in Santiago. I plan on taking approximately 40 days. If you are interested in this, check out the movie "THE WAY" with Martin Sheen. I plan on sleeping in hostels, dormitories and churches along the way. People from all over the world walk this and I am hoping to share the road with many interesting people. I plan on doing this alone and allow whatever is going to happen, happen. I will plan my trip to St. Jean and then my trip back from Santiago, but once I am on the trail I will go as far as the day and circumstances allow. I will journal the entire Camino walk. We are unsure at this point whether Janice will do this same trip by bus or taxi from village to village and meet up with each other every few days or if she'll stay back in Spokane and take a trip with a friend sometime before or after my trip on the Camino. We are at the beginning of our plans, and for the benefit of others planing their own pilgrimage on the Camino, I will blog the process I'm working on.
As this is our last season for now in Mazatlán, we are treating these six months more like a vacation and doing the things we enjoy most here including weekly trips to Stone Island, visiting our favorite restaurants, spending time with friends we won't get to see once we say our goodbyes to Mazatlán.
Over this next year, I'll be blogging on my preparation that will take place to get me to the Camino. I'll share about books I've read, videos I've seen, other blogs I've read which I hope will help others in this journey.
Buen Camino!
The Way
Monday, January 26, 2015
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Another Winter becomes History
We are quickly to the end of my 5th and Janice's 7th winter in Mazatlan. Usually, we spend six months, but this year it will end up be just over five months as we are going to work on finishing
up the remodeling of our Spokane bungalow.
On the first of April we will check into The Riu, an all inclusive resort to pamper ourselves before
we drive the five day, four night drive to Spokane. We will spend two days at the Riu. Beside stopping for breakfast with Daryl and Linda Miller in Arizona, we will drive straight through.
Both of us have been healthy with the exception for Janice having problems with foot pain. She will go back to the dr. upon our return to check again on this. It has been ongoing for over 2 years now with no relief. Walking for more then 10 minutes or being on her feet longer then 15 minutes and she needs to sit down.
On March 20, the biggest part of this post is that Joel had an unexpected medical change. Since his stroke from August 2011, he has had no feeling on his right and arm and leg. Luckily, it didn't affect movement. On March 20th, Joel was lifting weights in the gym when he noticed a pain in his right elbow. It took a couple of minutes to process that this was different. After testing the rest of his arm and his leg, he found that feeling had returned to his right side! Wow, 31 months without feeling and it all returned at once. Regeneration of nerves continues to happen.
Again, we have enjoyed the company of our friends from the US, Canada, other parts of the world
and of course, our Mexican hosts. we enjoyed visits from friends from both sides of the state of
Washington along with our nephew and girlfriend. He was the first member of the Bruce Whitaker
branch of the family to visit Mazatlan. Bothers Steve and Joel have represented the family in
Mazatlan until then.
When we came down to Mazatlan the end of October, we had planned on not returning to Mazatlan,
but trying some other place to spend our winter. It only took a few weeks for us to realize that
we enjoy our friends and the city of Mazatlan. We changed our minds and decided to remain in
Mazatlan. Also, after two years enjoying our wonderful view on the Malecon, we will be
moving to Centro, to be in the heart of the action. Our new place is a beautiful place just down the street from The Angela Peralta Theatre. We will have an open courtyard between our kitchen and
our living room. Janice will be able to walk to the Plazuela Machado, the Mercado, and
Olas Altas to meet friends, listen to music, etc. Joel will enjoy the new location as it is two block
from the Pau, Pau, for afternoon discussions of male culture over cold cerveza. It is also close
to the library, another Joel hangout.
Again, if you visit Mazatlan, our families and friends are invited to spend a few days with us and if you want longer there are great places to rent on a longer basis. As we will be right in the middle of Centro we will not drive to Mazatlan, but will fly back in the fall. Inexpensive taxis and buses, make
a vehicle unnecessary and many of our friends spend the winter without one.
Well, the winter of 2013-2014 has been a wonderful time to be watching the cold and snow
up north in our short sleeve shirts and shorts. We are looking forward to our summer in Spokane
and then our return to Mazatlan in mid-late October. Until our next posting, adios amigos and amigas.
up the remodeling of our Spokane bungalow.
On the first of April we will check into The Riu, an all inclusive resort to pamper ourselves before
we drive the five day, four night drive to Spokane. We will spend two days at the Riu. Beside stopping for breakfast with Daryl and Linda Miller in Arizona, we will drive straight through.
Both of us have been healthy with the exception for Janice having problems with foot pain. She will go back to the dr. upon our return to check again on this. It has been ongoing for over 2 years now with no relief. Walking for more then 10 minutes or being on her feet longer then 15 minutes and she needs to sit down.
On March 20, the biggest part of this post is that Joel had an unexpected medical change. Since his stroke from August 2011, he has had no feeling on his right and arm and leg. Luckily, it didn't affect movement. On March 20th, Joel was lifting weights in the gym when he noticed a pain in his right elbow. It took a couple of minutes to process that this was different. After testing the rest of his arm and his leg, he found that feeling had returned to his right side! Wow, 31 months without feeling and it all returned at once. Regeneration of nerves continues to happen.
Again, we have enjoyed the company of our friends from the US, Canada, other parts of the world
and of course, our Mexican hosts. we enjoyed visits from friends from both sides of the state of
Washington along with our nephew and girlfriend. He was the first member of the Bruce Whitaker
branch of the family to visit Mazatlan. Bothers Steve and Joel have represented the family in
Mazatlan until then.
When we came down to Mazatlan the end of October, we had planned on not returning to Mazatlan,
but trying some other place to spend our winter. It only took a few weeks for us to realize that
we enjoy our friends and the city of Mazatlan. We changed our minds and decided to remain in
Mazatlan. Also, after two years enjoying our wonderful view on the Malecon, we will be
moving to Centro, to be in the heart of the action. Our new place is a beautiful place just down the street from The Angela Peralta Theatre. We will have an open courtyard between our kitchen and
our living room. Janice will be able to walk to the Plazuela Machado, the Mercado, and
Olas Altas to meet friends, listen to music, etc. Joel will enjoy the new location as it is two block
from the Pau, Pau, for afternoon discussions of male culture over cold cerveza. It is also close
to the library, another Joel hangout.
Again, if you visit Mazatlan, our families and friends are invited to spend a few days with us and if you want longer there are great places to rent on a longer basis. As we will be right in the middle of Centro we will not drive to Mazatlan, but will fly back in the fall. Inexpensive taxis and buses, make
a vehicle unnecessary and many of our friends spend the winter without one.
Well, the winter of 2013-2014 has been a wonderful time to be watching the cold and snow
up north in our short sleeve shirts and shorts. We are looking forward to our summer in Spokane
and then our return to Mazatlan in mid-late October. Until our next posting, adios amigos and amigas.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Our Final 2 Weeks In Mazatlan For Our 7th Season
These last two weeks were our next to the last purging of our belongings here in Mazatlan. Since we are, as of this year, going to be spending half of our time in Spokane and half of our time in Mazatlan, we have sold, given, bartered, donated and thrown away 2/3 of our possessions. The rest is being sorted into 3 more piles. One guest room is being used for everything we plan on packing into our van for our return trip to Spokane. The main bedroom is now being used for gathering everything we are going to take to the new house we'll be renting 6 months a year (winter months of course). And finally, another trash area. Neither of us are pack rats. Especially not Joel. He is a true minimalist in every since of the word. Me on the other hand must have every gadget for the kitchen, every seasoning I might need for cooking, along with plenty of art supplies, cleaning supplies, toiletries that we might need. Well, I am using the 1 year rule. If I haven't used it in 1 year, out it goes.
We'll spend the next two weeks finishing our organizing process, bringing our Mazatlan belongings over to the house we will start renting the middle/end of October. We'll also enjoy some time with great friends we have here in Mazatlan. I have a couple more art classes to go to and Joel has another visit or two to Pau Pau's and Hermanidad's de Frijoles Y Cervesa. Brotherhood of Beans and Beer.
We'll take several days to drive home and we've already been making our reservations for the hotels along the way.
While we have been here in Mazatlan, the bungalow in Spokane has been having a few items done to it. New windows, exterior doors, opening between kitchen and living-room and some repairs on the kitchen ceiling and painting the ceiling. This summer will be another season of updates to the bungalow. We'll post pictures along the way. One of the first things we are planning is to work on our back yard. We'll put flagstone down for our patio, perhaps an arbor above the patio, enlarge our vegetable garden, plant berries; blue, raspberry and blackberry. And then of course, some flowering plants for color. We are both looking forward to getting back up to Spokane. We have new neighbors of ours we got to know and looking forward to getting to know them better.
We are also looking forward to seeing all of the grandchildren and "kids". We know they will be bigger and smarter than when we saw them in October. We've been remiss in our blogs this year but hopefully will have more "down" time and let you know how this 6-month on and off is going for us.
La Vida Es Buena! - Life is Good!
We'll spend the next two weeks finishing our organizing process, bringing our Mazatlan belongings over to the house we will start renting the middle/end of October. We'll also enjoy some time with great friends we have here in Mazatlan. I have a couple more art classes to go to and Joel has another visit or two to Pau Pau's and Hermanidad's de Frijoles Y Cervesa. Brotherhood of Beans and Beer.
We'll take several days to drive home and we've already been making our reservations for the hotels along the way.
While we have been here in Mazatlan, the bungalow in Spokane has been having a few items done to it. New windows, exterior doors, opening between kitchen and living-room and some repairs on the kitchen ceiling and painting the ceiling. This summer will be another season of updates to the bungalow. We'll post pictures along the way. One of the first things we are planning is to work on our back yard. We'll put flagstone down for our patio, perhaps an arbor above the patio, enlarge our vegetable garden, plant berries; blue, raspberry and blackberry. And then of course, some flowering plants for color. We are both looking forward to getting back up to Spokane. We have new neighbors of ours we got to know and looking forward to getting to know them better.
We are also looking forward to seeing all of the grandchildren and "kids". We know they will be bigger and smarter than when we saw them in October. We've been remiss in our blogs this year but hopefully will have more "down" time and let you know how this 6-month on and off is going for us.
La Vida Es Buena! - Life is Good!
Friday, January 17, 2014
OUT WITH THE "OLD" IN WITH THE "NEW"
Another transition for the two of us. We currently live in a condo we've furnished here in Mazatlan, but for various reasons, we are starting a sale of almost everything we own here and moving into a fully furnished home here in Mazatlan. Many things have sold already and picked up. The rest are the items we need to hold on to until March 15 for our own use. We will be selling the following and many small miscellaneous items. Please email Janice at
ms-lovie@hotmail.com if there is any item you wish. We can hold all items until March 29 for pick up, as long as it is paid for. We prefer US dollars and will even give a slight discount (DISCOUNT ALREADY NOTED) if you can pay with dollars, either by cash or PayPal. PayPal, use my email and just make a personal deposit into my account. Of course we will accept pesos, but then we will need to convert to US dollars and can't offer you the discount. Thanks for understanding.
Any questions please ask.
 |
| 5'7" x 8'4" Rug $60 or 800 P |
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| 4 x 6 Carpet $30 or 400 P |
 |
| Framed Mosaic Mirror $30 or 400 P |
 |
| Set of 4 framed Mexican Prints (1 not showing) $40 set or 525 P |
 |
| Queen Size Bed Spread, dust ruffle, pillow shams and decorative pillows $25 or 330 P |
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| Queen Bed mattress and Box Spring *rarely used as it was in our guest room $125 or 1700 P |
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| Adjustable Height Table Aprox. 3 x 4 ft $50 or 700 P |
Sunday, October 6, 2013
Sand in our shoes: Adjusting to our new summer home and winter plans for the future.
Just a short end-of-the-summer summary of our life here and around Spokane, WA. We bought and oversaw the beginnings of the remodel of a small bungalow. It’s been hard work on everyone’s part but the payoff has been good for both of us.
Janice planted a garden and flowers around the house. She also oversaw the installation of a pond.. We enjoyed lots of fresh vegetables from her garden. Fresh blackberries and hot peppers made for a great jelly that Janice just canned this past week. Joel had his daily work out around the outside of the house and as Janice says; “Joel, you never have to worry about getting in trouble to much again. You have earned a lifetime of get-out-of-jail free cards.”
We are also both giving back to the community by volunteering in a few different areas. Joel has volunteered at "The Cop Shop", which is a neighborhood walk-in place where citizens can talk to trained volunteers that help them make minor complaints, make concerns known and then the volunteers can explain the system. Joel and Janice both have volunteered at the Civic Theatre by hosting and ushering for "Joseph and His Many Colored Dream Coat" and "Les Miserables". Joel and Janice also volunteer to help with races put on by The Bloomsday Road Runner's Club.
We took a 7 day cruise from Vancouver, BC to Seward, Alaska with Janice's brother Ken and sister-in-law Ruth. Janice's brother Phil and sister-in-law Charla were in an accident the day before and were unable to make it. They are continuing to heal and were missed.. We then took a 4 day train trip up to Fairbanks spending a couple of days in Denali. This trip will be very memorable to us both. Such a beautiful area in this world. We also went to Lake Chelan for a 3 day trip for wine tasting with some great friends. One more noteworthy trip was to Missoula, Montana for a marathon that Joel ran. We took 2 of our grandsons with us for the weekend and had a great adventure with them. Joel has decided after running this complete marathon, that it will be his last one. He has now retired from marathon running.
October 24, we will start our drive to Mazatlan. We are going down the California coast and will spend a couple of days in Santa Barbara, former city of where Janice lived for many years. We hope to arrive in Mazatlan on October 31. We plan is staying until the end of March. After years staying in Mazatlan, we are making this our last winter there. We both enjoy Mazatlan, but as we know we have only a certain number of years left, and we want to spend our winters exploring some new places. We are thinking about Arizona, Texas, Florida, California, Australia, Italy/Spain and New Zealand. I think we have decided on the beach in the Florida Panhandle in the winter of 2014-15. This will allow us to explore the deep south. Some places on our list are in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and New Orleans. The bottom line is that if you want to visit us in Mazatlan, plan for this winter, and we hope you will.
Hopefully this keeps everyone up to date on the adventures of the Whitakers.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Joel's Thoughts on Our New Life Change
Our life in the slow lane continues to change. After spending most of the last two years in Mexico or in Europe, we are going to return to making Spokane, Washington USA as our primary residence.
Janice has already told everyone in this blog about the bungalow we have bought and her project to make it our home.
My guess that starting this fall we will spend April 1-November 1 in Spokane and then five months somewhere south away from the cold, northern winter. Unless there is a change of heart over this coming winter, it will be our last one in Mazatlan. We love Mazatlan and the wonderful friends we have made here. By the end of this winter Joel will have spent 4 1/2 years living in Mazatlan and Janice over 6 1/2 years as she came ahead and trail blazed while Joel was still working. We are anxious to check some of the other destinations that others have chosen for their snowbird lives. We would love to check out Arizona where we have friends that have wintered in Yuma, Lake Havasu, Phoenix, Tucson and Bisbee. We also would like to check out the west coast of Florida and Biloxi, Mississippi. Who knows, maybe even the Palm Springs area. If anyone has a suggestion, we will be glad to hear it.
Janice had been in Spokane since early May getting our new home ready. Joel and Janice drove up to Spokane and then Joel flew back to Mazatlan to stay out of the way of the remodel project, as that is not where he is gifted. (If truth be told, he was still needing more Mazatlan time) His contribution is the bookkeeping and transfer of needed funds. Luckily, at this stage of our lives we paid cash as somehow acquiring a mortgage at this stage of our lives did not sound pleasant.
The biggest change will for Joel to get into an American mind set. Joel loves the slow pace of life where a car is not required and eating out is affordable. Currently he can go to Pau Pau, his favorite hangout and nurse a couple of liter bottles of beer for the afternoon and be fed for around $6.00 that includes tip. Eating a full rack of ribs with salad, potato and coleslaw is $7. In the U.S. there are restaurants and bars that charge over $4-$5 for a 12 ounce bottle of beer, $5 - $10 for a glass of wine and $15-$25 for a dinner. Although our income is okay, if we want to escape the cold winters, we are going to have a budget in Spokane that avoids the regular eating out or getting a cerveza or vino that is easily affordable in Mazatlan. We will just enjoy more entertaining at home.
Both Janice and Joel are going to start re-entering Spokane life. Joel might volunteer at the local "Cop Shop" and the library. Janice is looking at volunteering at the local Civic Theaters. Also continuing setting up our home and oil painting. We are going to have a house warming on July 7 and we will celebrate Janice's birthday at the same time. On July 14th Joel will run the Missoula Marathon. Janice and our two grandsons, Jayden and Jaxson will come along to cheer him along for the 26.2 miles. We will also see Jackie, Jelani, Jordyn and Javin while in the Seattle area.In September we are going on a cruise along with Janice's brothers and their wives. We will go the inside passage of Alaska with a trip to Denali and then fly from Fairbanks to Seattle. Kenny is helping us with our gardening, lawn mowing and some other jobs helping him earn money this summer.
I am sure we will update this as our summer in Spokane continues and plans evolve.
Janice has already told everyone in this blog about the bungalow we have bought and her project to make it our home.
My guess that starting this fall we will spend April 1-November 1 in Spokane and then five months somewhere south away from the cold, northern winter. Unless there is a change of heart over this coming winter, it will be our last one in Mazatlan. We love Mazatlan and the wonderful friends we have made here. By the end of this winter Joel will have spent 4 1/2 years living in Mazatlan and Janice over 6 1/2 years as she came ahead and trail blazed while Joel was still working. We are anxious to check some of the other destinations that others have chosen for their snowbird lives. We would love to check out Arizona where we have friends that have wintered in Yuma, Lake Havasu, Phoenix, Tucson and Bisbee. We also would like to check out the west coast of Florida and Biloxi, Mississippi. Who knows, maybe even the Palm Springs area. If anyone has a suggestion, we will be glad to hear it.
Janice had been in Spokane since early May getting our new home ready. Joel and Janice drove up to Spokane and then Joel flew back to Mazatlan to stay out of the way of the remodel project, as that is not where he is gifted. (If truth be told, he was still needing more Mazatlan time) His contribution is the bookkeeping and transfer of needed funds. Luckily, at this stage of our lives we paid cash as somehow acquiring a mortgage at this stage of our lives did not sound pleasant.
The biggest change will for Joel to get into an American mind set. Joel loves the slow pace of life where a car is not required and eating out is affordable. Currently he can go to Pau Pau, his favorite hangout and nurse a couple of liter bottles of beer for the afternoon and be fed for around $6.00 that includes tip. Eating a full rack of ribs with salad, potato and coleslaw is $7. In the U.S. there are restaurants and bars that charge over $4-$5 for a 12 ounce bottle of beer, $5 - $10 for a glass of wine and $15-$25 for a dinner. Although our income is okay, if we want to escape the cold winters, we are going to have a budget in Spokane that avoids the regular eating out or getting a cerveza or vino that is easily affordable in Mazatlan. We will just enjoy more entertaining at home.
Both Janice and Joel are going to start re-entering Spokane life. Joel might volunteer at the local "Cop Shop" and the library. Janice is looking at volunteering at the local Civic Theaters. Also continuing setting up our home and oil painting. We are going to have a house warming on July 7 and we will celebrate Janice's birthday at the same time. On July 14th Joel will run the Missoula Marathon. Janice and our two grandsons, Jayden and Jaxson will come along to cheer him along for the 26.2 miles. We will also see Jackie, Jelani, Jordyn and Javin while in the Seattle area.In September we are going on a cruise along with Janice's brothers and their wives. We will go the inside passage of Alaska with a trip to Denali and then fly from Fairbanks to Seattle. Kenny is helping us with our gardening, lawn mowing and some other jobs helping him earn money this summer.
I am sure we will update this as our summer in Spokane continues and plans evolve.
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Buying - Remodeling - Nesting - Adding a new chapter to our lives.
Over the last year (2012/2013) Janice has been feeling a real draw back to Washington. Family is always important to her but it seems as the grandchildren get older, her desire is to see them more often and try to be around family more then just once or twice a year. How does one manage this when there is a unique draw to the warmth and friends of Mazatlan and where Joel loves spending his time and be closer to family and friends in Washington? Over the past several months there was more and more talk of some changes and choices we could make to both compromise to what we'd both like to do. Janice spent countless hours researching the real estate market and after some looking and negotiations, we found a small home in a lovely neighborhood at a great price. The great price however came with the job of a major remodel. Mostly some major cosmetic work. We managed to close and receive our title in a couple weeks, and the next morning began the job of remodeling the 1930 bungalow. It is what Janice calls her "Diamond In The Rough".
The house in on a corner lot and it's not in a gated community so there are no homeowners dues which would then include a gardener. With Joel in Mazatlan until June 30 (after we drove up to Spokane the beginning of May and he flew back after the papers were signed) Janice gets to take care of this yard which is pretty good sized. Janice planted a garden of about 10ft. by 10ft with tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, lettuce, 3 different types of peppers, zucchini and summer squash. Mowing the yard took over an hour and that wasn't even finishing it up with edging and watering. This can be enjoyable seeing a beautiful lush yard and garden, that I forget about the amount of work as we are now retired and have plenty of time to complete the job.
After a couple of realtors that left Janice feeling less then confident in their being the right match for us, Janice finally found a realtor that we will praise and recommend as long as the buyers or sellers are in the Spokane area and wanting to be treated with 100% professionalism whether you are buying a diamond in the rough or buying a mansion. Erik Dordal with Coldwell Banker Realtors out of the South Hill Branch is on top of the game. He ALWAYS answers calls, emails or text within 12 hours, usually less. His communications are always straight forward, he is knowledgeable about real estate, has contacts for all your home needs, and you feel when you are finished with the transaction that you've made a friend. We will be happy to give you his contact information should you find yourself needing it.
So the house we've purchased is a 1930 bungalow that is small. Both Joel and I have agreed though that in our time of life, this is all we need or want. There is a basement, but it is for storage primarily and currently holds our washer and dryer, otherwise the house is on one level. The floors were all carpeted. Under the carpets in the bedrooms and living room are hardwood that are being restored. The kitchen, hallways and bathroom are being tiled with natural stone tile. On most of the walls were wall paper that have been applied with something that was never meant to come off. This has been one of my workers worst nightmares. The kitchen will actually have wall board put on to cover up the mess and the living room the paper has been steamed off. At this time also the ceiling of both living room and bedroom had old-time tiles attached with some weird type of glue. These all came off and one by one, the glue had to be removed. The removal of the glue revealed many deep cracks in the ceiling and walls. The next 3 days spent was filling in all the cracks and resurfacing the areas. The last 2 days now has been texturizing the areas. While this has been going on, my other worker has been busy gutting and building back up the bathroom. Some pretty bad plumbing was revealed when the fixtures were taken out. New flooring now has been laid to prepare for the tile, the walls have had new wall board applied after all the plumbing issues fixed.
Almost every one that knows us good enough has asked us why we would by a home that needs so much work. The quick and simple answer is, Janice was up for the challenge of turning a 'rough gem into a diamond'. This place as all the makings of the 'almost perfect' flipper if the market in Spokane was good. As it stands, the market is fair, but that wasn't the purpose. Janice may never want to do this again, but another box checked off the bucket list and we'll have our summer retirement cottage all paid for and closer to family and friends in Washington. While I (Janice) is looking after all the details in Spokane, Joel is relaxing in the sun of Mazatlan and not having to help with these details. We've decided for us this is the way it works. I will spare all of you the problems and issues that comes up with taking on this kind of venture. As of today, I have not been able to move in yet but hopefully it will be ready by Joel and my 22nd wedding anniversary which is June 21st. Happy Anniversary Ducky!
After a couple of realtors that left Janice feeling less then confident in their being the right match for us, Janice finally found a realtor that we will praise and recommend as long as the buyers or sellers are in the Spokane area and wanting to be treated with 100% professionalism whether you are buying a diamond in the rough or buying a mansion. Erik Dordal with Coldwell Banker Realtors out of the South Hill Branch is on top of the game. He ALWAYS answers calls, emails or text within 12 hours, usually less. His communications are always straight forward, he is knowledgeable about real estate, has contacts for all your home needs, and you feel when you are finished with the transaction that you've made a friend. We will be happy to give you his contact information should you find yourself needing it.
So the house we've purchased is a 1930 bungalow that is small. Both Joel and I have agreed though that in our time of life, this is all we need or want. There is a basement, but it is for storage primarily and currently holds our washer and dryer, otherwise the house is on one level. The floors were all carpeted. Under the carpets in the bedrooms and living room are hardwood that are being restored. The kitchen, hallways and bathroom are being tiled with natural stone tile. On most of the walls were wall paper that have been applied with something that was never meant to come off. This has been one of my workers worst nightmares. The kitchen will actually have wall board put on to cover up the mess and the living room the paper has been steamed off. At this time also the ceiling of both living room and bedroom had old-time tiles attached with some weird type of glue. These all came off and one by one, the glue had to be removed. The removal of the glue revealed many deep cracks in the ceiling and walls. The next 3 days spent was filling in all the cracks and resurfacing the areas. The last 2 days now has been texturizing the areas. While this has been going on, my other worker has been busy gutting and building back up the bathroom. Some pretty bad plumbing was revealed when the fixtures were taken out. New flooring now has been laid to prepare for the tile, the walls have had new wall board applied after all the plumbing issues fixed.
Almost every one that knows us good enough has asked us why we would by a home that needs so much work. The quick and simple answer is, Janice was up for the challenge of turning a 'rough gem into a diamond'. This place as all the makings of the 'almost perfect' flipper if the market in Spokane was good. As it stands, the market is fair, but that wasn't the purpose. Janice may never want to do this again, but another box checked off the bucket list and we'll have our summer retirement cottage all paid for and closer to family and friends in Washington. While I (Janice) is looking after all the details in Spokane, Joel is relaxing in the sun of Mazatlan and not having to help with these details. We've decided for us this is the way it works. I will spare all of you the problems and issues that comes up with taking on this kind of venture. As of today, I have not been able to move in yet but hopefully it will be ready by Joel and my 22nd wedding anniversary which is June 21st. Happy Anniversary Ducky!
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