Well it finally arrived .. our first big snowstorm, wet and white. The Weather Channel is predicting a 100% chance of snow until Thursday morning so I expect we'll get 7-10 inches by tomorrow. That's ok .. no place we need to go or leave the house for; at least we're not stuck back east in an airport! Our poor dog Dudley has to go outside occasionally and he is not happy about the white stuff falling on him.

Baby kitten Chloe had her first experience with the snowfall when she stood over by the breezeway screen and a gust of wind blew snow all over her; she spent an hour licking and getting the wet stuff off her fur coat.

Heard that southern California is going through another bout of heavy rain. Hope you're all staying safe and dry. Best wishes for the New Year to all. Liz

Catching up

First snow this year 10-29-10




Thanksgiving dinner clockwise from host-dudley. Steve, Debbie, Liz, Bill



New knee WHEEEEEE!


Chloe is green! She is sure to jump inside these shoppingbags... even when we're trying to empty them.

Chrismas Lights

Merry Christmas with this old video... I love it :)
(need sound)

Christmas Morning:

First job of the day was capturing the tiny mouse who had managed to get into the breezeway and then the cats caught it and brought it into the house so they could play with it. Capture was successful and he was released outside where he belongs. Mission accomplished!

The dog played with the cat's toys and the cats ignored everything. Just like a cat! The sun is still shining, what a blessing. We decided we could never live in the Pacific Northwest, we are sunshine people. Ours will be a quiet Christmas day this year as Ron recouperates from his knee surgery .. coming along better every day.

We wish all our family and friends a very Merry Christmas. Liz

Sun!

Man it has been a long wait. I think we had been without sun for 12 consecutive days.
Along those lines I wish to thank all of my freinds and rleatives from Southern California who were considerate enough to wring out the clouds before they got here... damp. We've had nothing but light rain. No cloud bursts or flooding at all... so we owe you. :)

Ron and Liz

Pacific Northwest

It has been drizzly here for four days
No sun
I am going mad!
Sun me!
Sun me!

Gardening in the winter

Getting my winter vegetable garden in.
enclosed and heated along the side of the house

Broccoli, cabbage, bib lettuce, and romaine lettuce are seeding now indoors.
I'll direct plant some carrots.

Ron

Got another new knee

Glad to get this done.
I need to be able to ride my bike when it warms up.

No to Facebook

I am bailing out of Facebook... for reasons of self control coupled with social non-conformance coupled with a feeling of big-brother-weirdness which I cannot yet explain. Maybe someday I can get some needed couch time. In any event I am the captain of my own yadda yadda

Ron

Southern Utah Property

For George

There are many cheap homes and cheap lots here... even poverty housing south and near the res. But that is not all there is. There are high end properties too although what may have been high end before the bubble burst is just ummmm... "medium end" now. Everything has changed.

For example there are two acre improved lots going for $25k now that where selling for $40k in 06/07. A small home on small lot selling for $140 now was selling for $200k in 06/07. Secluded acreage with trees didn't drop as hard but is still not worth anywhere near what they were in 06/07.
There are a lot of people still asking too much. Hard to let go.

Rons's rule: A house is "worth" what it sells for.

Retirees come here, buy land, and put a house on it. I would guess they average on the $400k plus side but it's just a guess.
Many retirees here would rather live in say a $600k home on ten acres of PJ forest than live in an elbow-to-elbow city town home of the same worth. That includes us since we exchanged a Newport Beach town house for our place here (but were not lucky enough to sell it at the bubble high). Those who sold out and moved here in 06/07 are pretty happy. Others are not. Pretty much like the rest of the USA.
The draw? Besides the availability of seclusion (something many people cannot understand the need for) there is the draw of the Grand Staircase landscape . Kanab is situated on the first step of the staircase, the Vermilion step. Bright orange red cliffs running for hundreds of miles. We get used to it but visitors are always taken by the beauty of the cliffs that surround us. Nowhere else in the Southwest can you get these views without being packed in by neighbors all seeking the same small view.



Land is not cheap. The Ranchers long ago converted their grazing leases to real property and began selling them off, 100 acres at a time. Land with culinary water and power accessibility is at a premium within 10-15 miles of town.

The following is a sampling of recent housing and land listings (click on links):


Small three bedroom on 1/3 acre near town
$149,000


Very typical small home in the city
$205,000



Some nice new homes in developments
$265,000


Large three br in town on 1/2 acre lot
$359,000


Pretty home in Kanab Creek Ranchos
$430,000


11.3 acres in the Ranchos
$567,000



Real Nice two bedroom, on 25 acres east of town
$1,125,000


3 br home on 37 acres. Land makes the difference.
$1,175,000



Pretty 150 acres near town unimproved
$3,000,000



Three miles down the road from us.
$3,500,000

So you can see the offerings run the gambit from cheap to pricey just like almost any other area in the United States. Nothing special here unless you like land, nature, geology, and seclusion... then things can get pretty special.

Ron