Sweet spaghetti sauce recipe, finally, and a paddling Pelican

A big WELCOME to our new Follower, Michael!  Thank you for following Me and My Dog.  We are anxiously waiting until we can sell (or probably lease) the condo and everything in it, and drive away in our future RV. Not now, but in the next year. Michael has four blogs on Blogger, so I'll let my readers click on your photo and see what you're up to.

Thank you for all your comments and support after my last post about meeting with my Realtor.  It's just so hard to wait, you know?  But... I have to be realistic, and now I have some numbers so I know where I stand.  I'll keep plodding along for now, and see what's up later in the year.

A while ago I mentioned making a sweet spaghetti sauce that I loved.  It was thick and sweet, just the way I like my spaghetti sauce.  One of my readers asked for the recipe, and here it is finally:

If you click on the picture you can print it out and/or just read it more clearly.  I did make a few changes:

1.  I prefer meatless sauce, so I didn't add the ground beef (meatballs would have been great, though)

2.  I increased the sugar to 2T

3.  I used real onions that I minced

4.  I added a little wine to taste - I always have some cheap white wine in the fridge to cook with

The comments for this recipe on-line were almost all thumbs up, but most had added or substituted things according to what they had in their kitchens.  So this is a very easy recipe to work with depending on what's handy.

Here's a video of a pelican Linda and Howard (RVDreams.com) shot on their paddle trip down the Chassahowitzka River in their Sea Eagle 370 Kayak.  If you right click on the video, one option is "share" so that's what I'm doing - sharing their video.  Hope it's okay with Linda and Howard.  I loved this cute little guy with his feet padding for all he's worth.  He looks like a wind-up toy until his wings start moving.

Thanks Linda and Howard. I loved the Manatees on your blog, too, but this little Pelican is just too cute!

That's it for today.  Have a wonderful evening, everyone, from Me and My Dog!  : )

Realtor results

I met with my Realtor, Doug, on Friday.  He inspires a lot of confidence and I AM confident that he really knows what he is talking about.

I'm including a lot of photos and some info here to document our meeting and my condo so if this seems like too much info, just scroll through fast.  I want to have this information and the photos where I can pull them up in the future.

We went through my condo room by room, he had a few comments, luckily very few.  The caulking between the brick wall in my bedroom and the ceiling needs re-caulking and he said a "color" would be better in the room, something soft, but not white.

 Master bedroom

I agree with Doug about the white walls - they are kind of stark looking (I've never noticed before) so I will paint them a warmer color. Only three walls. The brick wall I'll re-paint white. He said the color on the walls around the windows will make the white window frames and blinds valances "pop."  His son is available for $15 an hour to do the work if I want. 

Living room, dining room and front door/entrance area

Living room

 

Dining room

Galley kitchen

Back yard to the left

Back yard to the right

 Guest bathroom

Master bath dressing room

 Master bath

And that's it.  I love this place, it's the perfect size for me, great location near lots of shopping, restaurants, freeways. It's very manageable for a single person as far as keeping it up and taking care of the back yard/patio area. I'd love to keep it, and that's what's going to happen for now.  

Doug had a list of comps in the area, and it was obvious that I can't sell right now.  I put down 20 percent cash, and that's gone, and if I sold for it's value today, I'd have to come up with, probably, around $30K to pay off my mortgage.  That's not counting the approximately $14,000 in Realtor fees and other costs/fees to sell.  Obviously not going to happen.  These numbers are strictly based on the cost per square foot from the comps, and don’t take into account the location, condition, upgrades, view, etc., which bring the price up.

He said he feels we are right at the bottom in pricing right now, and in the next two to three years prices will slowly increase.  Five years from now we should be back to where I can sell and walk away with some cash.  That means if I want to retire I will need to lease it.  There really is no other option right now.  So at least I have that question answered - lease, not sell.

The good news is he feels I can get more than my mortgage payment in rent each month.  I'd be upside down a little because of my homeowner's association dues, but that's okay.  My monthly housing expenses when full-timing will be less than my current housing expenses, so I'd end up on the positive side.

Doug and his wife are also property managers, and he told me exactly how they work, how they prepare the property, find tenants, etc.  I was sitting there thinking, I could do this NOW.  Find my RV, move/sell everything, rent a small storage unit for whatever I want to keep, find an RV park to live in while I'm working, keep my car for now for transportation - I'd be living the full-time life in a few months!  I started getting really excited about doing this NOW.  One negative is that they charge ten percent, payable during the first month.  It would cost me almost $2,000 for the first year. 

Yesterday I found a storage facility nearby, and it looked good.  I went to the Camping World in town and looked a couple of Class Cs in my price range, and last night did a bunch of research on the Internet looking for RV's and RV parks in San Diego.  

I Skyped my daughter and talked to her about it.  Kristy is very positive about my plans, but I got the "devil's advocate" from her regarding the property manager, and whether this is a good time to do this.  I appreciated her thoughts, and her honesty.  It's easy for me to get too involved with the positive aspects and not see the rest when I get excited about something.  She had some good points.  I also talked to my son, Tom.  He had the same concerns Kristy did.  He felt that if I was going to be in the area, I didn't need a property manager.  Tom has property in Northern California, and he manages it from San Diego.  He said with Craig's List it's so easy to find tenants.  We belong to the apartment association through work, and I have already downloaded all the rental/lease forms that I would ever need.  Once the property is leased, there shouldn't be a lot of work, and he is right here to help out if needed. 

This morning when I got up I walked through the rooms and looked around.  I'm so comfortable here.  I've loved it since the first day, and every day for the last six years.  This is really tough.  I know most of you full-timers have gone through the same thing I'm going through now, so you know how I'm feeling.  Also a lot of you future full-timers.  You are probably going through exactly the same thing right now.  Or have, or will.

It probably  is too soon. I don't know what to do, and when I don't know what to do, I've found it's better to make the decision to "do nothing."  So, that's my decision for now.  I'm going to let things percolate for a few months, and then see how I feel.  With my Social Security starting this month, I'll be in a better financial situation every month I can wait.

When the time is right, it will be easier to make these decisions, but at least I have more information now.  I know what the condo is worth, what I can lease it for, I've done research on storage units close by and RV parks in the area, and I've looked at a couple more Class Cs.

I'll keep you posted.  I expect I'll go through this exercise a few more times before Katie and I are set free.

From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a great Sunday, everyone! :)

Blog ads, Realtor appointment tomorrow

Some of my readers made good points regarding having ads on my blog, and I'm taking it to heart.  You are right, I think, and for now I'm abandoning the idea of having ads on my posts to generate income. I don't really mind them on other people's blogs.  I just ignore them unless they catch my eye and I'm interested in the content, then I'll click on them.  I dont' mind generating a little income for you guys!  : )

One of my future plans is to add a second tab to the blog.  The address of this blog site is dewelldesigns.blogspot.com.  The Dewell Designs part is the name of my company.  I've used that name on and off for a few years when making cards, digital scrapbook pages, etc., and it will be the name of my company if I decide to have an Internet site for resumes, word processing, editing, etc. I had a business for 15 years, and supported myself quite well from my home part of the time, and from an off-site office about half the time.  I love working on the computer, have good skills in the word processing area, love the English language, and edit other people's work and websites.  I'm really looking forward to doing that again if it works out, and I can work from anywhere my RV home is parked.

So, if I do add that tab, I may put ads there, since it will be about a business.  It won't be the business website, but will be an overview with the link to my website. 

I can just picture myself sitting at the kitchen table with Katie by my side, in the middle of a beautiful forest (or maybe by the ocean) creating resumes and documents for my customers.  That's usually how I picture my future full-timing life.  Either that, or cooking in my little kitchen.  ONE MORE YEAR!

By the way, I have a Realtor coming tomorrow at 2:00 to take a look at my condo and see what it might be worth now, or in the coming months.  If the number is too low, I also want to know what he could lease it for.  I want him to see the bedroom before the leak is repaired and all the painting, etc., is done and it's back to normal so he won't have any questions about what he's selling or leasing and that the repairs were done correctly.

This Realtor sold the condo across the lawn from me.  The original owner, who was in her 90's, was moved to a care home, and it had no updates since it was built in the 60's.  The front was overgrown somewhat with bushes.  The Realtor, Doug, trimmed the bushes, removed some, and planted flowers.  When he was done, and he did the work himself and paid for it himself, the place looked 100 percent better from the outside. It sold quickly. 

The current owner has an out-of-town job and leased it a year ago. The tenant moved out after a year and it is now leased to the nice young couple I've mentioned before.  So, I'm thinking if I did want to purchase my RV sooner than planned, I could lease the condo and move into an RV park locally pretty inexpensively, and keep working and get used to the full-timing life.  IF the numbers work.

I'm excited about my appointment with Doug tomorrow - I'll let you know what happens.  Keep your fingers crossed!

From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a wonderful Thursday, everyone!  : )

Jerry Brown, blog ads, and weight gain : (

WELCOME to Cindi and Stumpy at RVly Every After!  Thanks for following along with Katie and me. I love your puppy photos, and am enjoying your new blog - especially your blogs about the RVs you're thinking about.  Maybe the same Small Class C type I'm going to be looking for.  Good luck to both of us - hope to see you both down the road. 

WELCOME to Wil Mosher - our new Follower!  Thanks for joining us, Will.  I hope you enjoy reading along as we prepare to sell everything this year, and hopefully purchase an RV to full-time in early 2012.  If you have a blog, let me know so I can follow along with you, too!

WELCOME also to the GYPSY G-MAS, Life on the Road!  I've followed your blog from the beginning and have always looked for your posts to pop up on my Blog List (no pressure!).  I really enjoy reading about your adventures.  I hope we meet up on the road some day; we can exchange "tree through the roof" stories. : )

We have a new Governor, Mr. Jerry Brown, in California.  I didn't vote for him, but have to admit I liked him the first time around, and have high hopes that he will do his best to fix all the problems in California.  I think that's how it should be:  no matter who you vote for or support, when the election is over, stand behind the winner.  I think we'd all benefit from that.  Especially at the national level.

  Governor and Mrs. Jerry Brown
39th Governor of California

Speaking of Jerry Brown, who ran against Meg Whitman, I did find out what happened to my Ad-Sense ads, and I think I know why I was dumped.  A reader who doesn't like Meg Whitman saw her ad on my blog and multiple clicked it a bunch of times, which was apparently picked up by Ad-Sense who investigated and canceled my account FOREVER.  Apparently if you are canceled due to invalid ad clicking, you can NEVER have an Ad-Sense account again.  That doesn't seem fair.  I didn't do anything wrong, and I am the one penalized.

I know that this person, who feels awful about the account being canceled, also made purchases by clicking on ads on my blog, and was just exercising a political opinion against Meg, who I actually supported.  This reader had no idea what the result of her clicking would be.  I was surprised to see a political ad on my blog, Meg Whitman was the only politician I saw advertising, but I guess she had so much money she was appearing everywhere.  Little good it did her, or me.

After seeing Tioga George's Income/Expense sheet, and seeing how much you can actually earn through blog ads, I may do some research to see if I can place ads another way. I know they can be a nuisance for my readers and apologize in advance if I do find a way.  I'd never earn what George earns, he has a HUGE following, but any extra income would be a help next year when I'm living on Social Security and probably little else. I just ignore the ads on blogs, unless it's for something of interest, then I do click. We'll see...

On that depressing note, I'll add another.  In 2010 I gained 8 pounds.  Ouch!  There was some discussion in the office today about weight gain last year.  There were four of us there, and we all gained from 8 to 20 pounds.  I know the fifth person in the next office, who remained silent on the subject, gained 15 pounds in the last months of 2010.  So, 5 for 5.  I sure hope 2011 is a year of better self control, less candy, and more exercising for me.

When Katie and I gained some weight three years ago, I put us both on a better eating plan, and we were walking a lot.  I lost my 20 pounds and she lost her 3 pounds.  Well, Katie is still thin and energetic and I'm not.  She gets two treats a day, maybe that would work for me?

Kind of a mish-mash blog today.  But, as I seem to be saying a lot lately, "It is what it is."

From Me and My Dog, Katie, have a great Monday evening, everyone! : )

January 1, 2011

1-1-11.  It's a new year, and I wanted to start out right and post on the first day of 2011.

I've been off work since Thursday, with family visiting from Vacaville and celebrating our whole family Christmas at my son's house on Thursday.

My daughter Kristy and her husband Matt, and kids Andrew and Lauren arrived Wednesday evening.  I don't how I'm ever going to keep track of what day it is when I'm retired.  I'm having a problem remembering what we did and which day while the kids were here.  : )

Kristy's family stayed with me, but we all met at Tom and Trish's house since it's a large home and had lots of room for meals, opening more gifts, the kids had lots of room to play, etc.

 Tom making the Eggs Benedict - a family specialty

The eggs were PERFECT, and the bacon crisp!

We had Eggs Benedict for breakfast at Tom and Trish's one morning - delicious!  Tom is a great cook and did most of the meal cooking, with everyone else helping out when needed.

Afterward we opened more presents and got lots of great photos for the scrapbooks.  The kids played and had a great time together.

Thursday evening everyone except me and my youngest granddaughter, Lauren, went to the Holiday Bowl. Lauren and I had a "girls night." I got some great one-on-one time with Lauren, but didn't spend a lot of quality time individually with the other grandkids.  They were so happy to see each other, the adults faded into the background the whole visit.  But I did get the next best thing, watching them all having fun and enjoying each other.  Lots of running, lots of playing, lots of noise, lots of fun.  I got lots of good photos of Lauren, here are a few:

Lauren, 3, loves to cook. We made chocolate pudding.

Lauren did her puzzle "all by herself!"

I love this photo. Lauren looks great in hats.

We had Christmas and everyone got lots of great presents.  I don't get all the grandchildren together very much during the year, so I lined them up and snapped.  They are so good about it:

They are such good "posers" except for Graydin - maybe next year : )

Another group shot.

Andrew, Kennedy, Lauren, Gavin, Graydin

Before opening presents.

Both boys like Star Wars - they loved this book.

Graydin loved his new chair!

Even Katie loves her new sweater.

Friday we all again met up at Tom and Trish's house. We ate Chili Reano, Chicken Enchiladas,  a huge salad that friends brought, beans and rice. Home made guac and sour cream - it was delicious.  Pies, boxes of See's Candies, and my home-made fudge completed the dinner.  Another great meal at Tom's house.  

We had an East Coast New Years with Champagne and Sparkling Cider, and a bit after 9:00 I drove home, followed by Kristy and her family.  They were up and on the road by 6:00 am this morning.

Katie and I pretty much took it easy all day today. The house is so quiet with everyone gone.  

We had a wonderful couple of weeks of holidays with family, and now I'm looking forward to 2011.  I wonder what it will bring.  Lots of good things for everyone, I hope.

(This is the year we're buying our first RV!)

So, on the first day of 2011, Me and My Dog, Katie wish you all a Happy New Year!  : )