Greetings to you all!

The 4th of July is near, and the heat is on! We will be gathering our family around us as we plan food, pool activity and anticipatory fun. Just returned from the Emerald Isle in North Carolina. It harkened back to the days when our kids were young and we spent our vacation with my wife’s brother, Dave, and his kids, all together at the Hatteras Outer Banks. We were together again but without all our kids. Just Nathan and his brood and Dave with his daughters Kate and Taryn and their kids. We made some great memories with perfect weather, perfect ocean, and perfect company. The guys all had a tasting tour at a local distillery and partook of the wares. Katie was so kind to drop us off and pick us up just in case it was needed. Good stuff and good times. I was able to bring home some fine “award winning” spirits that I can savor for a long while.

My hip is doing well, almost back to “normal” as the ultrasound guided shot proved to be successful in all but eliminating the inflammation and accompanying pain. I am still a little wary of pushing my luck with resuming my “hill” walks, but I am feeling good enough to risk it.

The Market

Seeing a bit of a slowdown in activity as intertest rates approach the 6% range. Buyers with enough cash assets may consider “buying down” the

Rate to maintain affordability. Still, it is a busy time with few properties available and plenty of buyers trying to secure homes, anticipating even higher interest rates and no relief in pricing. It is a little less competitive and writing offers without requiring inspections is becoming less common.

Prince and Princess Report

The Emerald Isle vacation was a great opportunity to do some bonding with our new Princess Lissy (Elisabeth). She was such a delight, and I had many opportunities to hold and cuddle. We have designated monikers for Nathans’s trio: Sissy, Lissy and Kissy. Ben can’t keep away from his beautiful sister and is kissing all over her all the time. She has yet to be offended by this activity and has grown quite use to it.

We were away from Jimmy and Rosie for three weeks as they were in the Dominican Republic before we left for our vacation. We had a sleepover upon our return to make up for lost time. Poor Rosie has been nursing constant congestion for quite a while and upon checking with a specialist discovered tonsils will have to come out. She is scared of course but has been promised the remedy of lots of ice cream.

Home Front News

Grass growing has slowed so mowing has as well. I am running out of excuses to get back to the painting of the office windows.

The man cave shelves are done and filled with most of the movie collection.

Thanks to Nathan, the cave is adorned with synchronized back and side lighting that changes to match the TV picture. It has the effect of immersing you in the video experience. The kids love it.
It doesn’t stop there. I have installed seat shakers that blu tooth connect to my subwoofer to “shake” the theater seats to the any bass sounds 200 Hz or less that are generated. Pretty cool. Leo and I will be watching the first two Guardians of the Galaxy movies in anticipation of the release of Number 3, scheduled sometime in July. The shakers will add a cool dimension to the viewing experience.

Yes, I am a geek, way too late for me to change my ways!

I can live with the derision. Until Next time,

Greetings to you all!

THE MARKET

It’s not new news to tell you that the rates are up into the 5% range and likely to go farther. I have been selling real estate a long time and it does not panic me to see this kind of rate, but it is disconcerting for those who have been looking for a home and thought they were going to get a 3+% mortgage. This is a significant increase! Given that the housing inventory continues at record lows, prices continue to escalate. I expect this will have a couple of effects on buyers. One, the change will adversely affect the affordability and price range of the potential properties. Two, it will increase the motivation and speed at which a buyer must act to avoid even higher interest rates. They are coming. The only weapon the Federal reserve has, to combat the rabid inflation rate rise, is to raise the rates. The huge influx of cash to the system with the spending spree of the past year has lit that inflation fuse and it is going to be difficult to stop without some pain.

Prince and Princess Report

The past weekend was a fun time with Uma going to Rehoboth with Claire for a girls weekend and I had the chance to spend some quality time with Leo. That boy has been lifting weights as part of this training regimen for football. He is getting ripped! He was successful for the first time in defeating me in Miniature golf.

We had a blast at Jimmy Mack’s. Even though I was several strokes ahead in the second match, he scored a hole in one in the last hole to nullify my victory and score a free game! We have an agreement that scoring a hole in one supersedes any score. So, I was beat twice! I don’t know what the girls did but we had a ball. We had a great meal at Central Family Restaurant and capped off the night with a super hero movie, viewed from the cozy comfort of Pampy’s theater room/man cave. The 2nd Dr. Strange movie is going to be released May 6th. I have to talk with Leo to see if he wants to check it out. Maybe we can see it at an IMAX.

The pool will be opening soon, and I am looking forward to lots of time with all the grand kids there. All except Jimmy and Elisabeth can swim. I am hoping Jimmy will have increased desire to join the fun. Ben will be a good influence, they are best buddies and I expect he can goad Jimmy into a more enthusiastic approach to his learning!

Home Front News

Mowing has begun, the second cut will be tomorrow. Although I don’t particularly like to mow on Sunday, when I am bagging, I am able to put the clippings out for pickup for Monday morning. It is inconvenient and smelly to have it sit around so Sunday is the ticket.

Golf league begins this Tuesday, some rain in the current forecast but I hope it will not stop us. I have been out to the driving range, trying to see if I can improve my swing (and to see if I can still have a swing) I am looking forward to weather that will allow me to get back to walking “the hill” as well as more chances to bike. The little I have been able to ride so far, the E-bike proves nice to have. I can use the pedal assist or not. I use it as little as possible to force myself to work.

Paint jobs are on the horizon as I have windows at the office to complete. I probably should clean up the shutters on my house. They are looking a little shabby and need washed up, maybe Armor All'ed or clear-coated. I am not looking forward to getting up on a ladder. The support posts at my patio are looking bad and probably in need of replacement. Not sure I can pull that off.

Until next month,

Greetings to you all!

Winter seems to be making a last, bold statement before we can have the warm temperatures come to stay. I did have a chance to hit some balls at the driving range last week. Temperatures are up again in the next few days, I hope to stay!

Less masks, restrictions waning, looks like a new normal is on the way, about a year too late.

The Market

Interest rates are on the rise, climbing into the 5% range. One of the few fixes for the spiking inflation is for the Fed to increase the Federal Funds rates. It has begun and I am expecting rising rates as a trend in the coming months. It does put additional pressure on buyers to find a home, getting squeezed at both ends as competition for few properties pushes prices upward and rising rates push payments up. Finding a property sooner rather than later is the play to make if it is possible. Concerns of recession are looming. I have little confidence in our government to make decisions that will help. So far, they have set us up for “stagflation” the dilemma we found ourselves back in the 70’s: high inflation, slow economy, higher unemployment. I am still hoping for the best as we remain quite busy. I am still believing the market will remain pretty strong for the year.

Prince and Princess Report

New Princess, Elisabeth, is doing great. I have had a few chances to hold her. It brings back so many memories of all the other grandkids as well as the days of our own babies long, long ago. We have brought out the baby toys packed in the attic. All of them old, harkening back to our first born. As Elisabeth grows out of them, we can say goodbye to them. Likely no more babies for me to spoil.

We dragged out boxes of toys that were tucked away in the attic. So many “new toys for Jimmy and Ben who are thrilled to have such a treasure chest of “new” toys. They all belonged to their daddy’s, so they are 30 years old. About 10 boxes and/or bags of “stuff” came out of the attic. Stuffed animals, Happy meal toys, Ninja Turtles, wrestlers, Legos, blocks and more. It was like Christmas in March. Ben and Jimmy are having a ball. They play so well together. Ben told his Mama at bedtime yesterday that he had so much fun he didn’t want to go to bed. Sleepovers continue for Jimmy and Rosie. Looks like the month of April we will have them Tuesday nights. Uma is already shopping for bathing suits for the kids. They are anxiously awaiting the swimming season. It is going to be a great summer!

Home Front News

The lawn mower is out for blade sharpening and adjustments.

I expect it back next week, just in time for the mowing to begin. The lawn was aerated the end of the season and the grass looks like it is a lot thicker. Already had a lawn service treatment.

Looking forward to getting in some bicycling. My Story bike is decked out with a mirror (I discovered I really needed it) and a holder for my Iphone. I added a tool bag to keep the tools that were sent with the bike. I am working on arranging for a 26 oz Yeti gulper. The engineering could be a problem. If nothing else, I can keep it in the insulated carrier bag, transferred from the Schwinn.

Shopping at the Refindings store I found “Nipper”, the RCA Trademark fox terrier. It was damaged, his right front leg had been broken and glued back on. Not a great glue job fix, but I mixed up some plaster and joint compound and patched it up. A little air brushing and it looks presentable. A nice addition to the Theater Man Cave. He stands about 13” tall and looks great overseeing my turntable.

Golf league is only a month away. No new equipment on the horizon, not that anything would really change my game. A youth elixir would be great, but I couldn’t find any on Amazon.

Until next month,