Tag: rochester

New House

Location! Location! Location!

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saltellite map of new neighborhood with empty lots and a star at 5314 solstice place

We have a site! Specifically, Harvestview Third, Lot 7, Block 11 located at 5314 Solstice Place NW. After looking at existing side-by-side townhouses, we will purchase a new “villa.” This will provide independent living on one level with no-step entry constructed on a 50×100 foot lot. Interestingly, this parcel is slightly larger than our current property, with the added benefit of HOA provided lawn care and snow removal.

Given the already high-costs for construction materials post-Covid and mix in an unstable market due to ditzy rhetoric about on-again, off-again tariff threats and we thought the price of new construction might be unaffordable. But after weighing the pros & cons of 30+ year old properties in need of new appliances and remodeled bathrooms versus new construction with greater energy efficiencies and various warranties, we will build. Next step – choices, choices, choices.

New House

Looking for the right sized house

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light blue background with 3-D cardboard house, housekeys, and piece of paper

Our search for a new house has begun. With help from Alex Mayer, we are looking for the “right-sized” dwelling with living space on one-floor and maybe even a no-step entry. We have loved our quaint 100-year-old home in this well-established neighborhood, but we are ready to relinquish worries about exterior maintenance, snow removal, and lawn care to a homeowners’ association (HOA).

While there are a multitude of variables beyond our control, we hope the search will follow a steady linear progression: view homes for sale, make an offer, close on the new property, remodel and/or renovate to our taste, move, and then finally put our house on the market. We have already discovered that modern home shopping is certainly easier than 40-years ago. From the comfort of our sunroom sofa, we review online listings; dismissing one as too big or another as too small, all the while hoping for that Goldilocks “just right” dwelling. On a deep-freeze day last week, we visited a side-by-side townhouse on two levels – nice but not quite right. Today, with a sunny blue sky, we will visit another listing that just went on the market yesterday.

Late afternoon postscript – Today’s townhouse also falls into the nice but not quite right category.

Graphic credit: Alex P from pexels

New House

Stairs: A bane of elder life

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Geometric January: Square Challenge #5

Through the efficiency of eSignatures, we signed with a realtor last week making it official that we are house hunting. This final GeometricJanuary post reveals just one of the barriers necessitating this life changing move from our multi-story, 100-year-old house to a step-free environment, boasting all the modern-day amenities on one floor. The turning parquet stairs with four angular steps to-and-from the back door is the shortest of the house’s staircases. While geometrically appealing, these steps are, at times, difficult to maneuver. In addition, there are other interior steps between some of the rooms and the exterior approach up the berm to the front door has two runs of steps. The quirks of our old house on a small lot with insufficient space to ramp would provide a significant challenge even for This Old House thus making our decision to move the reasonable choice.

A shout of appreciation to BeckyB for hosting this month’s photo challenge featuring square geometric images. I am looking forward to her next quarterly square challenge.

Other items of interest

Tree Squares

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light pink and white apple blossoms
orange maple leaves against a blue sky
six snow covered trees on a hill overlooking a lake with ducks
large tree trunk with red dot
BeckyB squares logo

When you grow up the daughter and the granddaughter of carpenters, you appreciate trees and the lumber they provide.  Fond memories of tagging along to Kleiner’s Lumberyard while Dad handpicked boards to be planed accompanied by harsh noise without benefit of ear protection in those days long before OSHA required safety and the sweet smell of sawdust or sweltering summer days spent planting trees at The 40 – trees that have grown from seedlings as small as my hand to stately pines.

As BeckyB of Winchester’s Square Challenge moves into week three of TreeSquare, I wondered what photos I might have of these natural wonders, these organic composites of cellulose fibers which have graced our planet for more than 375 million years.  It turns out – not too many but enough to cover a year of seasons.

Tree locations ( although some no more):

  • Spring blossoms – St. Paul, April 2021
  • Summer loss – Rochester, July 2013
  • Autumn brilliance – Moldova, October 2018
  • Winter calm – Inseli, November 2012