Looks like we've sold our house in California. On the market less than 24 hours, and we got a full-price offer--no haggle, no fuss, no muss. Now we have to step on the gas hard to clear the place out. The paperwork for the North Carolina house, my son calls it the "Castle," is moving along smartly--we have some excellent realtors, genuinely excellent.
I have been checking on veterinary hospitals, boarding kennels, and gun stores near the new place. All signs are good. Also looking into North Carolina's concealed carry requirements, and they aren't bad; not too onerous, anyhow. The cars start to ship late next week, and we should be in NC by November 7. I will head back to California after Thanksgiving and put the doggies into my Silverado, and drive across country with them. I just can't put them in the cargo hold of a plane. My highly nervous Akita would have a total meltdown. Can't do that to him. The peregrination continues . . .
A lot in the news, some of which won't get the play it deserves. More and more is coming out about what a sleaze Jim Comey was as head of the FBI; the Russian collusion seems to have been between Hillary and Moscow, and more and more is coming out about that, too. Hollywood continues to implode and like Saturn to devour its own children. A wondrous and wonderful sight. All good stuff.
The best news is the systematic destruction of ISIS, just like Candidate and President Trump promised. To those around the world who doubted it, it makes a difference who is in the White House. ISIS & Co. are very good at killing unarmed people, but don't do well when confronted by well-trained people who shoot back. They are being shown for the miserable, brutal cowards they are.
As ISIS disintegrates, there seems to be less and less of an excuse to take "refugees" from the Middle East. I would think that many, many of these "refugees" living lives of "desperation" and dealing with "Islamophobia" in the West, would be right now packing their bags to return home . . . No? What is Britain, France, Germany, Austria, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, etc., going to do with all that empty housing and unspent dole money? The world wonders . . . .
Back to my boxes . . .
Hope you like NC. Are ya' gonna be in the mountains?
ReplyDeleteI've got a cousin who divides her time between Boca Raton FL & Hendersonville NC, and who has pretty much just decided to go full time in NC. She loves the NC mts., which she thought she'd be sharing with her husband, but was widowed several years ago. She finds much peace there, in the NC mts.
Good call on not shipping the dogs. I checked a German Shorthair Pointer in to American Airlines in Lima as live baggage. She was apparently put into an unpressurized hold and did not survive. Better to drive the dogs to NC.
ReplyDeleteMy sister shipped a cat in a move from NY to CA. It never made the plane, having escaped (from a "sealed" cage) into the airport, where it sneaked around and suffered a lot until it fell out of it's hidey-hole and was caught. They had to euthanize it. I'll never ship an animal.
DeleteGood SIR! -
ReplyDeleteWe are standin' by to greet You and Mrs. D with Open Arms. NC is a "shall issue" state - fill out the papers, pay the $$$ - and you will be Good To Go. No worries. Plus - your NC Concealed Handgun Permit substitutes for an NCIS check when you want to buy. Show it to the seller, give him/her the $$$ ... and walk out with a new sidearm on the spot. Lots of Reciprocity with your NC Permit as well as NC being an Open-Carry State should you choose that. NC is Class III / NFA friendly also. In addition, you can get your Ammo (and wine/liquor) shipped right to your new front door - no questions asked (but maybe an adult signature from time to time).
By Golly sounds like the Ol' Days when the Air was Clean and Sex was Dirty!
Welcome in Advance to your new House, Sir. 'Twon't Be Long, You and Mrs. D will Make It a HOME! Happy For Ya'!
If you desire direct contact, pop smoke here and I'll get you that info.
In the madness of "Common sense gun laws". In Oregon an Oregon Carry Permit no longer functions as a NCIS check, it only moves you to the top of the line. In fact my FFL C&R doesn't even work on relic weapons if I buy them in Oregon. Every purchase must have a NCIS check, and as such, a $10 fee, and you have to either provide or purchase a breach lock or you can't leave with the firearm.
DeleteThat's just Wrong! Sad ... and Wrong ...
DeleteMad,
ReplyDelete"ISIS & Co. are very good at killing unarmed people, but don't do well when confronted by well-trained people who shoot back. They are being shown for the miserable, brutal cowards they are."
Yeah, Ive been waiting for a relatively modern combined arms force to smash them in the mouth.
One of the things Trump's done so well is taking any accusation they make and turning it back on them (getting people to finally talk).
Have fun as a Tar Heel.
Whoda thunk just changing an L to an S ... ISIL to ISIS ... would have made such a difference! And in just ten months! People with open eyes have to realize the sinister game that Obama was playing. It is too bad it will take years for historians to sort this all out. Let's hope that Ken Burns is not in their vanguard ...
ReplyDeleteGood choice in trucks Mr. Dip! I drive a Silverado myself. I had no idea that there were or are so many Tarheels on this blog...current, former and soon to return. Nice company.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on the move out of CA, and good choice on the dog transport. Good news is once you pick up I-40 in Kingman, AZ you won't have to turn until you hit NC. On the topic of leaving CA, we are in a bit of a dilemma. Been out here 9 years (midwest transplants) and currently reside in a very small town (pop 10,000) 35-40 miles outside one of the major CA metro areas. It's a great place, tucked away in the foothills, full of conservatives and 2A supporters. The kind of place where people still ride horses around the outskirts of town. We love it here and are hesitant to leave. But we like you have been appalled at the direction this state has been and is headed. To leave or not to leave.....? Any advice from anyone welcome.
ReplyDeleteIf you think you're reasonably safe from wildfires, perhaps stay a bit longer? I don't suppose anyone is reasonably safe from earthquakes or Democrats.
DeleteIn your shoes I think I might try to guess when I could get the best price for the house I'd be selling. It would be unpleasant to feel trapped in California by a house price collapse. Or maybe ask yourself when the chickens will come home to roost on the subject of public sector pensions.
Thanks for the advice. We sold the house 18 months ago and are renting. Didn't quite top pick the market here, but close. So reasonably mobile at the moment.
DeleteI once tried to persuade my wife that we should sell and rent. She demurred.
DeleteDearieme, It is always possible, of course, that there could be another upturn in the property market. Lacking that, the Dip has hit the sweet spot. Prices are tipping in parts of the country, e.g. Texas, and we are glad we are renting. There will still be a couple of years before they start down, again, but, again, reception on my crystal ball is not static-free, although, yep, their timing was just about perfect.
DeleteThat "Unknown" is probably Michael Adams.
DeleteIf you end up in the Triangle, check out the Triangle Shooting Academy, 30+ indoor lanes...
ReplyDeleteDear D'Mad,
ReplyDeleteThe drive is long, but it is clearly the right thing to do. I hope you'll have company on the road (other than the furry friends), and have selected good places to stop and relax with a decent meal. (I'm way, way off the route, or I'd scout a couple of locations for you.)
Second, with regard to boxing up stuff, I've always found that the boxes that beer or wine come in best: sturdy enough, and don't end up too heavy to lift due to the volume constraints. Now, of course you need to properly obtain such boxes ... and in the process ease the stresses of packing .....
Green Bear
Kinda sad to hear that the kurds have been pushed out of kirkuk and now deprived of their oil revenue.... But that's the point... things that are sad can happen on the media stage without necessitating some knee jerk policy response. That's called conservatism.
ReplyDelete- reader #1482
Welcome to The Old North State.A few comments:
ReplyDeleteYou have found the BBQ, but which kind of sauce to use. I say always choose the vinegar sauce.
Where ever you live, you will find a range. People like to shoot. The range I use is outdoors with multiple ranges. There is a 5 year wait list to join. like I said, people like to shoot.
You need to decide which college team to root for. UNC (with it's self-inflicted scandal), Duke (Dookie's suck), etc.
People here are generally great, although way too many Northerners are moving here and keep voting like they did "up north."
If you are ever in Chapel Hill, I'll buy coffee if you wish...at Caribou, not Starbucks.
Ah Chapel Hill...the proverbial puddle of red gravy in a sea of grits :)
ReplyDeleteJesse Helms referred to Chapel Hill as the North Carolina Zoo.
DeleteHey Mr. Mad,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you would talk about Guatemala. That seems to be in your wheelhouse.
I just watched this video by Judicial Watch and they say to look out for Guatemala.There is a soft coup underway involving the former Obama ambassador, the UN and the left.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=868&v=piUBfX2WNTU
The info about Guatemala is 2/3rds of the way through the video. I found it compelling.
I know no one better than you to make a comment.Please do so.
Welcome to NC! As the official state toast has it,
ReplyDelete"Here's to the land of the long leaf pine,
The summer land where the sun doth shine,
Where the weak grow strong and the strong grow great,
Here's to "Down Home," the Old North State!"
I am so happy to hear that you sold your place and are moving! We have been working to get our house ready to sell for over a year now. (And have talked about doing this for several years). We have the outside painted and are making progress but it's hard when you can't afford to hire people to do it for you. Then we will be in the boxing things up mode like you. Fortunately my husband has decided it's okay to throw things away.
ReplyDeleteDon't know where we'll wind up, although he wants to be on the ocean here in WA state. I'd prefer to be elsewhere as it seems a lot like CA used to be and is headed down the same road.