See, even the cars are white...

I hadn't even noticed that. Snort.

One of my snarky Internet buds saw these pictures and wondered if the cars started out as colors and turned white after living there. OMG.

Why does Leisureville hate trees?

In my house hunt, I am seriously considering a house in Leisureville. It's a 55+ community in Boynton Beach with homes built in the 70's, mostly. The houses are sturdy, and very economical. "They" take care of the lawns, and paint the houses every 3 years, and the monthly maintenence is kept low because of all the volunteer work and fundraising, BUT they have -0 curb appeal. 1800 homes squeezed into a small space and each and every one of them is WHITE. Seriously white.
Here's the view driving down the street. What street? Well it doesn't matter it pretty much looks like this on all the streets. Trees, if any are situated well away from the houses to cause the least amount of work, and therefore the least amount of shade.

This house actually was the roomiest and nicest on the inside. It seriously looks bad on the outside front. The back is built out as far as the property allows, and get this, there is no back door. No way out in the back! As a plus, the house behind has a lovely trellis with blooming bouganvilla on it. Complete with exotic butterflies.

We're having a drought.

The lake outside my apartment is down and the trees look awful. In a lot of parts of the country you wouldn't be concerned with bare trees this time of year, but this is south FL.

That loud sucking noise is us, the people, sucking the ground out dry to put it on golf courses and such. Here we are, aren't we proud of ourselves?

Moving is a b*tch.

Even moving my office. My boss said go occupy the office near the front, where the people are. OK, now that I have been there some weeks I understand why he needs me there. There is just so much going on, and the clerks need supervisory support at all times. It is what it is. Plus my new office is quite visible to the public, so I can't just leave a lot of stuff laying about. (Just like my first 9 years as a reference librarian where my desk was out there all the time. I've come full circle.)

Last summer I moved out of my spacious 4 bedroom house into a 2 bedroom apartment with my daughter. I left a lot of stuff behind because there just wasn't any place to keep it. As it is there are boxes piled up in the corner of the living room, the ironing board and sewing are there too, and between my bed and the window is a pile of boxes and stuff 3 1/2 feet high. I'm downsized, but keeping in mind when I get my new house/condo I will have another bedroom and possibly a garage.

My office is similar, but different. I am moving into a slightly smaller office, but one whole wall is taken up with the security camera setup. So I am having difficulty emptying out the old office, trying to keep things tidy but I got a lot of stuff after being in that office 17 years. Old boss liked to keep stuff, new boss does not. Got it.

The person who will move into the old office is coming soon and I can't put it off any longer. Today is another big moving day for me. I will take a bunch of stuff home (to my stuffed apartment) and will just try to squash stuff into the new little office. Too bad I don't downsize my butt at the same time.

My whole library is moving in a few months. I'll get a new office at that time. New boss wants me to keep it clean. Got it. I want to, I really do. Gotta let it go, let it go, it is only stuff, it is only stuff....

House hunting!

I'm ready! Ready to start hunting for my new home, that is.

Goodbye to this pretty view:


Nina (my dear daughter of 23 years) and I have been mostly comfortable in our rental apartment for 7 months now, but as April 15 looms ahead (soon, real soon) I am reminded that I need a tax deduction. When I got divorced last year my ex-husband kept the house (with an enormous new mortgage), and he also got to keep the entire years worth of interest deductions. (And this is a guy that doesn't even claim all his income.)

So, in the next week or so I will be picking out a realtor and start doing all that involves. I know that the market here is a buyer's market and that suits me just fine.

I told a work colleage that I was looking and another one has been trying to sell me her house. It's beautiful, big and spacious and all that, but it is probably more house than I can afford, even with her reduced price. Real estate isn't moving here in Boynton Beach, FL, and I am hoping to use that to my advantage.

I have the money from my divorce settlement and some that I inherited from my Dad not too long ago. I don't want to be "house poor" like my EX, so, while I want 3 bedrooms and a garage, I also don't want to pay for stuff I don't want, like a big yard or being "gated". I am hoping to get something livable in Boynton for $230k or under.

No, I don't want to live in Leisureville. Although I did just turn 55 and I qualify, LOL.

What do you think? I'll be back to check in!

E.