Adjusting the WooHoo just a little

As we delve into these uncharted waters clarifications come to light. Basis is only the house not the land it sits on. I have to subtract $108,000 for land value. I took it off our assessors page for the county. But I will check and see what is selling for empty land in our neighborhood also. I figure they wont ding us if we use the assessed value, which is pretty close now to our market value, probably more.

Now, I just have to go back in our last five years of records and pull any receipts or bills for improvements, appliances, landscaping to start a file on basis for the house. If you haven't seen my garage at the moment and the fact Tom took all the piles of papers from our office and added them to the garage in a big toss, during our ready for house showing clean up. It is somewhat a daunting task. But now that I am not working I will have time on my hands. What better way to fill it than to tackle the papers in the nightmare that is my garage. Ack.

We are now current on our house mortgage. It is removed from the market. But if some one wanted to make us an offer for what we owe, we would probably consider it. The tenants take possession August 1. Primary on our list of things to do now is closing on a house and move prior to that August 1. I would like to be out ASAP, once school is over. The tenants will be coming in a week earlier to paint and replace carpets.

I am told I will want to check their color choices. I was thinking as long as they don't add more carpet I am OK. I already know they didn't like the lime green paint which makes me less worried about their color choices.

Tom is off traveling for his new project. He is loving his work. The flexibility and ease of the project appeals to him. He started in boilers and now he is back in them. He came home all excited one day because he had climbed through a boiler for the first time in years. To him it was like when the kids get a new Bionicle or Lego set fresh out of the box. I have a hard time imagining what the boilers look like from his descriptions as I have never had the privilege of getting a mill or plant tour.

He describes these vast empty rooms with pipes running along the exterior walls and ceiling. Scaffolding and ladders are used to reach the top. The room itself is the boiler, with the fire lit in the middle of the floor? I keep wishing he would give his boys a tour of his different mills so they would not feel as I do, lost in an alien world. They are just now old enough. For safety most plants require a minimum age of 12 to 14 in order to tour the facilities. It is a dangerous place if you are not paying attention.

To me plants are dangerous. I could get run over by a huge truck or a moving part could crush me if I step out of a safety zone. You are expected to be aware of your surroundings and anticipate your own safety. To Tom a plant is one big toy box or a gigantic model to be put together not with glue and tweezers, but with welding tools and hammers. I can see the appeal.

Men like race cars and the feel of a little danger. I like a more sedentary life style, warm, fuzzy and nurturing. My projects are on a smaller, simpler, scale, with a practical bent. There is enough excitement recently in my life. Now I am off to tackle the papers in the garage.