Cathy Chats

House Hunting to Boardwalk Empire with a mix of Coffee #humor

February 12, 2019 /
Visit Sandee for Tuesday Fun!


I’m getting a bit of late start to my random this morning due to low motivation.  Lately, I felt like I’m one step away from taking an immediate blog hiatus.  That wouldn’t be fair to you or me.  

What’s going on with you?  As for us, we knocked off five more houses in our new home quest on Saturday.  It is so difficult to find a house with a basement (finished/unfinished) that has a garage yet doesn’t require many steps or a mountain to climb in order to enter the main level.  

I kid you not nearly every home we look fails the latter.  Don’t builders think about not making it difficult on the elderly?  Think about it. young home buyers aren’t old but someday they will be and that poses a problem. True is these said ‘young home buyers’ aren’t thinking about getting old.  I mean that’s way off into the future, right?

That’s the wrong line of thinking.  I’m guilty of not even giving that sort of thing thought when we bought this home 39 years ago but now that we’re in the market for another place you better believe it’s at the top of our list. This became crystal clear to us as we watched the struggles of DH’s late parents going up and down stairs.  It’s really a scary thing and when you’re not around you worry about it.  That’s something we don’t want for us. We’re not old yet but it’s coming… one day.

 

This weekend we finally finished watching the HBO series on Amazon Prime, Boardwalk Empire starring Steve Buscemi playing Nucky Thompson (based loosely on Atlantic City politician Nucky Johnson).  Have you watched it?  

This is an excellent series based primarily around the prohibition era and mobsters.  The one name we knew that had a regular role in much of the five seasons is Al Capone played by Stephen Graham.  

For years, I thought Al Capone died in prison but that’s not true. In 1939 he was released from prison where he served several years on tax evasion charges.  According to Wikipedia, he was diagnosed with late-stage syphilis.  In those last years, the disease deteriorated Al mind to that of a  12-year old. On January 21, 1947, he suffered a stroke and just as they thought he was getting better he contracted pneumonia and a few days later suffered from cardiac arrest which he died from at his mansion in Palm Beach, Florida.  There are several other notorious gangsters in the series but none that knew by name. Perhaps another time I can talk about them.

 

Eugenia at BrewNSpew word/expression for this week’s Tuesday Chatter is “off-kilter”.

 

House Hunting
©2019 Cathy Kennedy

 

Interior walls spattered all wild

With crazy colors  that make me go “WOW!”

The screwy mess tells me someone is a wreck

Or perhaps just off-kilter in the head

As evident by their wacky, outlandish style

It makes me wonder how it will ever sell

 

 


I’m linking up taking a coffee break for some with Random Tuesday Thoughts with Stacy Uncorked and you’re invited to come with. Please stop in tomorrow to join my not-so Wordless Wednesday linky party!


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29 Comments

  • sandy

    February 12, 2019 at 11:46 pm

    That’s a cute poem! And those coffee owls are so cute!. I started watching Boardwalk Empire awhile back and must have gotten going on something else – I need to get back to it because I did enjoy what I saw. Ahhh house hutning – my houses have always “called” to me so it was easy – they would call when I was perfectly happy in the house I was in. The last one that called we lived in 37 years and loved it all – had weddings there and a funeral and many baby and wedding showers . I miss it in a way. It’s been 8 years since we sold and moved to the mountains – just renting now – not even sure I ever want to buy again – what a hassle selling. Good luck on that.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 13, 2019 at 8:37 am

      Sandy,

      Definitely get back to Boardwalk Empire. I hated to see it end. Selling this place isn’t something I’m looking forward to. Once we do make the move, we won’t be hard press to do anything with this place as it’s is paid for, other than annual taxes, so we’ll see what we’ll decide to do when we get to that crossing. 🙂

  • Birgit

    February 12, 2019 at 8:20 pm

    You are so right about building homes. Since I have had troubles for years with stairs, etc…I totally understand and I do live in a 2 storey home. I have a problem with the cupboards built up too high…I am not 7 ft tall! You will find a place and it will be right for you. I always think the best is a ranch style, no split level and a basement which we all have here.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 13, 2019 at 9:20 am

      Birgit,

      A ranch style home is simple but yet the best laid out floor plan for a home. We’d like to get a ranch that’s large enough so the rooms & hallways aren’t cramped. I don’t know how the elderly move around with walking aids if the rooms are too narrow, you know? Builders ought to think about these things for people of all ages. If we could find some land with a view but not streets leading to the property that will be difficult to traverse in the winter then we might consider building borrowing the price is just right. Sometimes I think that’s about the only way we’re going to get what we want. We’re open to the idea anyhow. Getting into cabinets are tricky for me, too. lol

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 13, 2019 at 8:42 am

      Mimi,

      There are a lot of houses on the market but unfortunately, most aren’t meeting our design & budget needs. It floors me to see the number of new subdivision, mostly very expensive homes, going up around town. I just imagine our city needing this kind of housing and yet it’s explosive! I will persist until said dream home is found, though. 😉

  • Jeanna

    February 12, 2019 at 7:59 pm

    My cousin recently sold a house that had a basement garage and went right into the house. If someone had mobility issues they could spend their time down their cuz it had a few couches and lounger, bathroom, laundry room, fridge, TV, stereo etc. Great in the summer. I don’t see many like that though.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 13, 2019 at 8:46 am

      Jeanna,

      We don’t have mobility issues now but it can happen as we age. The thing we find the hardest other than not finding a ranch basement is how the property is laid out or the entrance into the ranch style home. There is either a long sloping sidewalk or tons of steps to climb. Like I said, climbing isn’t a problem now and I hope it won’t be later but chances are favorable in 30-years we’ll be miserable making that kind of walk.

  • 15andmeowing

    February 12, 2019 at 7:32 pm

    Sorry about the house hunting. At 49 , I am already wishing we had a one level. It is such a chore hauling Christmas decoration boxes up and down the stairs. I loved Boardwalk Empire, great show. I read the biography of Nucky so I was a little disappointed in the ending, but it was quite fitting with the show.

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 13, 2019 at 9:05 am

      Ellen,

      I find it hard to tote heavy boxes around. The big change for me came after I entered my 50s. Now if I’m having a bad day lifting or opening things can be hard, not impossible, but difficult. So, you did read Nucky Johnson’s bio? The finale of the show was sad but one I half expected and as you mentioned fitting for the show.

  • Sue Bursztynski

    February 12, 2019 at 3:24 pm

    Sorry, that’s me as raventrack. It’s one of the reasons I hate WordPress – I tried setting up a WordPress blog years ago, it didn’t work out and the stupid login hung around for when I comment on a WordPress blog. Somehow it submitted before I was ready!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 12, 2019 at 4:24 pm

      Thanks for letting me know that raventrack is you, Sue! There is always something funky about one blogging platform over the other. I had a Blogger account in the beginning but moved to WP in 2014.

  • raventrack

    February 12, 2019 at 3:18 pm

    I can see your point. I live in a flat I have no intention of leaving any time soon, and I’m on the top floor! Not sure what I will do one day. But I have lived there for a very long time and the stairs aren’t too bad. The good thing for me living upstairs is that any potential burglar would have to come to the front door and there are neighbours living about a metre and a half across the hall. So I can keep my windows and balcony door open for fresh air. Houses here don’t often have basements and second floors are for the wealthy or for small “town houses”. A friend of mine lives in one of those and I have asked him what he will do when he gets old enough to have trouble with stairs – he has some ideas…

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 12, 2019 at 4:12 pm

      Sue,

      While I preferred choice is the main level with an unfinished basement with a garage on either level, we’re expanding the possibilities to homes with an upstairs as long as the master bedroom is on the main level. I reckon if regardless if you go down into a basement or upstairs to a second level you will have to do some climbing but hopefully when we’re too old to do it won’t be necessary to go those parts of the house. We need the added space to stash our stuff and for our children when they visit. This place we outgrew years ago but couldn’t do anything about it until now. It was too small to begin with but we didn’t know what we were doing when we bought it. All we wanted to do was to not pay rent but put our money toward something that would be ours. Doesn’t your flat have an elevator? That would solve the problem of stair climbing. 🙂

  • Brian Frum

    February 12, 2019 at 1:31 pm

    Yes, it sure makes sense for there to be a direct entry from the garage, it should be so complicated. Love the coffee humor, bean there, done that!

    • Cathy Kennedy

      February 13, 2019 at 9:23 am

      Brian,

      I agree, getting into one’s home shouldn’t be so hard but tell that to the builders! They don’t really care just as long as they turn a profit and young people just don’t think about these limitations like someone in her 50s. Hey, I’m really 30ish. That’s what my mind is telling me anyhow. 🙂

  • Sandee

    February 12, 2019 at 12:46 pm

    I hear you on the stairs. We have stairs and well, we didn’t think that through either. Oh well.

    Love your poem. Saw it over at Eugina’s this morning. Fabulous.

    Thank you for joining the Happy Tuesday Blog Hop.

    Have a terrific day and week. Love and hugs. ♥

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