Boston and Back

So last week I made a quick trip to Boston and back to tie up some loose ends.I drove to New York on Tuesday and stayed with my cousins on Long Island.

As I headed north the rain slowly turned into snow, which got heavier on Thursday as I continued on to Boston. I have to admit I did miss the snow a little, so I enjoyed seeing it. It is so much more pleasant to drive in snow flurries than in rain. Of course that changes if the roads get icy, but I wasn't too concerned because at least up north they know how to take care of the roads when the weather turns icy. I was also, however, happy to leave it behind as I headed for home.

Thursday I arrived in Boston just in time to have lunch with my friend Kim. We spent the afternoon catching up on life, friends, and GracePoint (our church in Mass.). From there I went to our old Bible study with them that evening and got to catch up with lots of old faces (well it hadn't REALLY been that long). It was so nice to see everyone and let them know how we were doing as well as how much we did miss them.
The next day I got down to business dealing with the reasons I had come to Boston in the first place. I wanted to meet our realtor because we had been referred to her when we wanted to put our place up for rent and now we wanted to not only have it on the market for rent but for sale as well. I was hoping that meeting her would prove to be productive and it was. I felt very comfortable with her right away and was happy with how she was handling things thus far, especially communication since that had been the downfall of our relationship with our former realtor. We discussed listing the condo for sale and for rent and got all the paperwork together for me to take home and get signed. Overall it felt like an extremely productive meeting and we're hoping something happens soon with our condo. It's pretty much the last loose end that needs wrapping up now that I've finally found a job (Hallelujah!)

After my appointment I headed back to the condo to pack the car with the last bits of odds and ends that had been left at the condo. Certain items stayed because I needed them while I lived there the few weeks after we packed the POD, but before I left for Virginia. Then upon packing the explorer for the final move back to Virginia, not everything fit and I knew at some point we would need to come up again hopefully for a closing so a few items were left behind in the closets like the airmattress, a few decorative pieces that I didn't want to cram in the car for fear of ruining them, some pots and pans, towels and a small TV and DVD player. Thankfully everything left fit into my little Sunfire. Now we won't have to go back for things and can handle a closing or rental from here if need be which I figured would help since I was starting a job and Adam's work schedule tends to be pretty tight.Then it was time to plant St. Joseph. This is a Catholic tradition that my mom introduced me to. They make these miniature St. Joseph statues that you plant up side down in your home's yard and it is supposed to bless your house and help it sell since he is known as the helper. So we decided, why not give it a try since it could only help. I had two statues to plant. One got planted in this house plant as pictured above...see him sticking out...

...and this was the plant and St. Joseph's final resting place in the house.

Then I headed outside to plant the second in front of the condo. It was hard to find a spot that wasn't frozen over with ice, but this is where the second statue came to rest. We'll let you know how things go with the condo in the coming weeks.My last night in Boston I met up with another close friend, Colleen, for dinner. We had a great time catching up on the latest news in both our lives from her trip to Moldova to my new job offer.

The next morning I headed out just in time to miss a huge snow storm that was headed our way. It flurried a good portion of the ride home, but nothing to worry about. Half way through the 12 hour ride home the snow turned to rain and by the time I reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge things had finally dried up. Overall it was a productive trip that will hopefully provide great results as we hope our place gets taken care of soon. We appreciate everyone's prayers for the house sale and our patience through this process in such a tough market. Hopefully more good news will come soon!