Completing the Condo
June 1, 2006

I have been busy, but that is no excuse for ignoring this spot. The puppy training is going fairly well, though Millie loves the comfort of throw rugs when she feels the urge to let go. She is the sweetest dog ever, and Mabel is tolerating the reduced limelight. There have been altercations, mind you- but Mabel is wearing a scabby lei from little pup’s teeth. We are working on it! I live in the dog run, saying “do business” or “good dog” as Mabel looks on remembering how she was totally trained in 12 weeks.

Last week we made our first trip to New Buffalo. We have a condo we bought impulsively when we were not really able to afford it, just months before WLS gave Steve’s slot to Larry Lujack and told him he was not worth what he wanted to do mornings, so goodbye. I found the mortgage letter last weekend, it obligated us to 30 years of payments in the $1600 range. What were we thinking? Three kids under 4, an unsteady job, and a fairly newly purchased home in Chicago. YIKES! I guess there was a symbolic element to the transaction: If we buy it, we will find a way to work hard and pay for it. It is 2006, and it is paid for.

The place was originally furnished via Spiegel outlet, relocated bad decisions, and leftover camp crap. It was quite a sight, but it was incapable of degrading, whether by sandy boy or wet dog. Last year we decided to upgrade the place, and we hired At Home With Nature- a design firm in Chicago and New Buffalo- to guide the process. Well, they took over every bit of heavy lifting: all problem solving, many construction challenges and artistic issues dissolved in their hands. In truth, when we opened the door last week, the transformation was so complete that I felt like a visitor! We are wiring the place up so Steve can broadcast there, enabling some long weekends or extended changes of scenery. We even got a sweet entertainment armoire from the Smithe brothers (we paid, don’t fret) for a big high def TV. Mike spent a considerable part of last weekend trying to procure White Sox games, so we should be all set. On a very indulgent and personal note, thank you to Susan Fredman, who owns the design firm, and Kathy Hoffman, who managed this project. We could NEVER have rectified the bad construction, leaking windows, abysmal water pressure, cheesy everything in a seamless October-May timeline. You are blessings!

To complement the new digs, and our intention to spend more time there, Steve and I went to Three Oaks, a town so all- American you expect to see Opie- and bought ourselves bicycles at Harbor Country Bikes. They are Electra Townies, which is funny, because we will never be New Buffalo Townies. They have 3 speeds, and both coaster and hand brakes. This was my obsession, so I was delighted to drag Steve into it. He shamed me by cycling 6 miles or so and burning 900 heart-monitored calories on Saturday. I, on the other hand, perused catalogs and debated whether to accessorize my new bike with a Hawaiian saddle and handgrips. Family says: NO. I say: OF COURSE.

I know it seems like I am idly bragging here, but I do not mean to be. It is a time when all my boys have flown from the nest, and it is time to look back and forward. Steve and I have extended our roots in Chicago by renewing this place. I like that. We were in New Buffalo when the infamous Feder headline: Feds Target Dahl appeared. We vacationed with the boys as they grew into men. Now it is time to make new memories- maybe grandkids will romp there. I still have the portable crib Matt slept in, waiting in the closet. I can get a kiddie seat for my bike.