Officially on the market ... and waiting for that very special buyer

Energy-efficient Solarium/Envelope, home built by Carl Hill. New paint, windows & doors & new carpet on the main floor. Newer kitchen, large fenced back yard w/fish pond. All appliances included, conveyed “as is.” This home is a gardener’s delight, with 400 SF 2-story solarium that offers expandable living space, located in popular subdivision, close to bus lines, convenient to shopping, schools, parks, dining and entertainment. Nice SE exposure.

I am doing some last-minute cleaning in the morning. Finally, after moving into our new house almost five weeks ago, the old one is ready to be sold. When I bought this house , I had a two-year-old daughter and a newborn son. Now ... I have a daughter taking drivers education and I am having heart palpitations as she practices on my baby -- my Mustang convertible. My son will be in high school in just over a year, and oh yeah ... there is also a third child, a daughter entering fifth grade. A lot has happened since 1994.

Kudos to my wife for everything she has done on the old house. While her degenerate husband was busy playing online poker, chatting, selling things on eBay, and generally goofing off, this workhorse wife of mine was remodeling the kitchen, including taking a chainsaw and redoing a breakfast island; putting in a laminate floor; putting in two bathroom floors; putting in two toilets; digging out and creating a small fish pond; stripping wallpaper in most of the house and repainting most of the interior rooms -- you get the picture. In case you are interested, I might rent her out. And I haven't even told you how good the sex was!

So ... for my wife (and my kids), this place was really home. As for me, I haven't nearly the emotional attachment to the house that the others do. I barely went in the beautiful back yard in the past several years and tended to see things through the eyes of the guy who footed most of the bills, managed the financial aspects, and generally failed to stop and smell the flowers -- figuratively and literally. I hope that things will be a little different with our new house.

In the meantime ... I am getting ready for the financial shock that will come August 1, the first time when both mortgage payments will be due. I've already told friends at work that they need to work out a rotation for buying my lunch until the old house is sold. I have high hopes that the house won't be on the market too long. Uh ... feds ... can you lower the interest rates for just a few months? I really need a buyer!

Of course, certain priorities remain top priorities. I am going to Las Vegas with my brother September 2-5. Anyone else going out over Labor Day weekend? If so, let me know. We can always donk a tournament or two together. Fair warning: My last two tournaments at Caesars, I chopped first and second and first through fourth.