We started our house hunting yesterday, and the entire family was very excited about the first home we saw. Hopefully this is a quick process.
155 thoughts on “April 30, 2015: Good Hunting”
Good news, Philo. Should probably look at a few, though... I was "good" with a number of the places we checked out (Look how unique this one is!) We had to see ours a couple times to realize how much we liked it.
We'll certainly look at some others (not that there's a ton in the area... we're a bit limited by geography). And this first one would require much work. But it hits all of the must-haves and many, many of the wants for us.
Having gone through the selling/buying process a couple of summers ago, I'm always curious about other peoples must-haves & wants. Would you be willing to share?
When I was looking (7.5 years ago), my needs were pretty simple: three bedrooms, an unfinished basement, and a decent yard. Made it pretty easy to be satisfied.
My wants/needs were different 7.5 years ago too (no kids yet). The most recent purchase process, wanting to buy a home we'd be in indefinitely, was much more thoughtful and thus the lists became much more ... uhm, comprehensive...
These were the most important things for us:
-Four bedrooms
-Two or more bathrooms
-Good-sized living room, family room & kitchen
-Good schools
-Safe Neighborhood
-Big yard or close to playgrounds (preferably both)
-Transit options/commute/proximity to family & friends
-Unique home (character)*
A big one for my wife was "NO updates necessary" - she would not consider buying a place that needed updating. She wanted to move in and decorate, not move in and renovate, and she was willing to expand our price range accordingly.
*i.e., not cookie-cutter, but not weird either.
Four bedrooms is a lot of bedrooms. Fortunately, I told my wife early on the two kids was the absolute max (though when we bought the place, the plan was no kids, so three bedrooms was a resell tactic), so three beds is the right amount.
I desperately wish I had the money to do my basement, though. We need a second bathroom something fierce. i am really, really happy I built that deck (thanks ch). I spent 2k and gained 7k in value. I might actually not be underwater anymore! Also, decks are stupidly relaxing in the spring/summer.
It's technically four, but the fourth is pretty small se we use it as an office.* Also, it's on the main floor and the powder room (half bath) doesn't have a shower so we end up putting guests in the basement to sleep (futon) and point them to the 2nd bathroom (the one I share with the kids) for showers, etc.
*we don't really use it - it's set up as the office: desk, shelving, file cabinets, etc., but most of the laptop work is done at the kitchen table (me) or family room couches (my wife).
"NO updates necessary" is what you think until you discover that something's alive in there.
Our big need was more space: Old kitchen was a galley and cooking was never fun. Our bedroom barely gave us enough room to get around the bed on both sides.
More space has made making improvements tolerable. We can work around construction rooms without completely ruining regular life.
Four bedrooms was necessary, and we got five: one in a basement suite.
We thought that a two-shower master bath was completely ridiculous, but my goodness is it great for bathtime for two young children of the same gender: Efficiency without fighting!
Also: central air and sash windows. EAR wanted a second floor and a deck.
I wanted to remain close to a wild space, and probably eaves smaller than 4'. (I never put out bird feeders before we moved, because I'd never have been able to see the birds.)
I also wanted a partially-unfinished basement. That didn't happen at first, but with time and fungus, I got it.
We wanted a master bath...but I didn't realize just how happy it would make me having my stuff remain in the place where I left it. My cup, my toothbrush, my towel...none of them disappear anymore.
Also, grownup-sized toilet. It's the (not) little things, sometimes.
The master bath was on our list as well, as well as an attached garage. The biggest thing we were looking for was to get out of town. We're still at our old place, and likely will be for quite a while, but sometimes I get so sick of being surrounded by other people constantly.
I actually really like having 5 bedrooms, though, and it would have been a requirement if we had moved.
The biggest thing we were looking for was to get out of town.
This was my location preference, but wasn't even on my wife's radar ... she wanted Woodbury!
I'm still a bit shocked that we ended up pretty close to my preference (and nowhere near hers) in a tiny city that feels like we're out of town. We only have two neighbors within 300 yards of our house.
The trade off, I think, may have been that while we do have a master bath with a whirlpool tub, all I get to do in there is use the shower.
My list of "musts" for this apartment was "two bedrooms so we'd have a place for guests and to get away when I need my alone time". Other than that it was a bunch of "would likes": the bigger the better on the kitchen, heat included, parking would be nice, walking distance to bars, deck/patio.
Really, as long as I have a place to go when I want to be alone, I can make it work. I learned that from the last relationship. This place we're looking at has a bedroom and 9*7 "den" which should serve my purpose nicely.
Oh man, I remember when I had places I could go to be alone. Damn weiner kids.
🙂
I have tons of places to go to be alone ... but I have to either wait until the wiener kids are in bed or leave the house to accomplish said task.
I hear that. My alone time has been from 10:00-3:00 at night on Fridays and Saturdays. I miss the curling season.
I know a way to get some time alone. I learned the trick from my dad.
Cheaptoy's lack of a second bathroom complicates things though.
Hahah, I have a recently toilet trained three year old. Even that tactic doesn't work.
Put the training potty in the unfinished basement for emergencies like that.
It isn't so much the location of the training potty as it is the strange need to come into the bathroom when someone is in there taking their morning constitutional. Its the main reason why, Monday through Friday, I do these things at work. I'm half tempted to drive in to the office on Saturdays and Sundays....
morning constitutional
So that's what our country's foundational document is named after?
Unconstitutional
Now has a whole new meaning.
...hole new meaning...
Even I'm groaning at that one.
When my wife and I bought our house three plus years ago, pre-kid, our requirements were two bathrooms, two-car garage, open floor plan, and we really didn't want a fireplace.
When we can afford our next house, we will probably want three bathrooms, a three-car garage, a fenced-in back yard, and a mother-in-law suite. And, everything has to be finished.
Yeeeessssss to no fireplace. My wife wanted one but I was steadfast in not wanting one, even gas. Nothing dumber than forcing your hand on living room layout than a fireplace.
Every fireplace we saw seemed to get in the best place to put the flat screen. Plus, I've never enjoyed the highly concentrated heat of a fireplace. I much prefer a furnace.
I lived in an apartment with a fireplace that had a space above it for a tv. That was perfectly ok, because it was a small ass apartment so there was no real room for furniture anyway. That it was a gas fireplace, and gas was included in rent, meant it got a ton of use in the winter. In a house, though, I 100% agree with you.
TVs shouldn't be that high up on the wall, though.
In a small apartment, no. But my current tv location is about as high on the wall (because wall-mount, so damn wiener kids don't knock it over) and it works because the living room is big enough.
We put our tv above the fireplace and it worked really well with young kids. They always stood in front of the tv but I could see over them.
Plus fewer fingerprints!
In our old house, we had the living room with fireplace as a sitting area - television was in the unfinished basement.
In our new house, we have the living room with fireplace as a sitting area - television(s) are in the family room and finished basement.
My wife doesn't care for wall mounted televisions, so both are on stands and susceptible to damn wiener kids.
I love the fireplace, but my wife always complains about the faint smoke smell in the house after it's out. As a result, I don't get to use it as much as I'd like to. I put together a fire pit last fall and I'm out there a lot (so many trees and resulting dead branches, it's almost as much a necessity as a pleasure).
I'd rather have a fire pit than fireplace. Hard to get a proper inferno going inside.
two words: gas fireplace
no smoke, no wood / firestarter, and easy on/off -- ours is even ventless
Next thing you'll be telling me to get rid of my Weber!
I joak of course - the first house we owned had a gas fireplace and I really enjoyed it. I'm partial to the wood burning setup myself, but mostly because I'm stubborn and nostalgic by nature.
So what you're saying is let the NL pitchers hit!
How old is your kid again?
2. He can't reach our TV, but that's because all of the boxes are in a shelf below it and we've taught him to leave them alone. It's mounted. I'm just saying if the TV is above the fireplace, my next hurts.
We have a fireplace. It has never been used because the chimney needs some work. We thought we'd use that room as a play area but nope, it's barely used. It does help the fireplace is in the "family" room and we have a separate living room.
We're vacillating between buying a starter house and a longer term thing.
In a longer term we'd need:
- Move-in ready
- 4+ bedrooms,
- 2 baths, at least one of which is reasonably sized but not over-big
- space in a kitchen (though layout is less important),
- big yard size
- safe neighborhood
- good area in the home for the kids to have friends over
We want:
- character (this house we looked at... wow. So much good character),
- 2 car garage,
- something we can improve/renovate (probably a little too much of this in the new home... when does "lots can be done" become "not move-in ready"?)
- ability to host family/friends on overnight visits
- playground proximity (can be offset by yard)
The one we're currently excited about hits all of these things, but that renovate issue might be a little too big to overcome. Depends on price we can get, really. Also, the number of volunteers who want to come scrape paint.
I could probably be persuaded to help. How far a drive from Glenwood or New Ulm are you?
Glenwood: .5 hours.
New Ulm: ~2.5 hours.
Truth be told, I suspect my father would just move in and work all day, every day, if he could.
So, if I help, it'll be built off a Glenwood weekend.
Lead-based? That stuff tastes way better.
yarp.
I hate to comment here, but I think we have more square footage closed off and unused than you are all looking for in a house, and that's not counting the unfinished basement and an empty stall in the 3-car garage. Yeah, it didn't originally seem that big when there was a teenager in the house.
When we get to that point, sometime in 2032, I'm sure we'll reevaluate our needs.
This, only 2032 should probably be extended (not an announcement, just vague plans).
Heh. We haven't started getting rid of any of Kernel's really feminine baby/toddler stuff yet, even though my wife keeps proclaiming that, "Two's enough." and "Once it warms up, we'll have a garage sale." I have no doubt that only 6 months removed from pregnancy, she's still pretty certain that we're done. If that stuff lasts in our house another 6 months, I might begin to question her resolve.
Two isn't enough... You gotta learn how to play zone.
Agreed. In my mind, 3 is easier than 2 was in almost every way. Just a few weeks ago, I took all three to the zoo without the wife and had a blast. I'd never imagined that sort of thing with 2 when they were the ages of my younger two now.
Bedtime too is easier. Once you get to critical mass, peer pressure starts to play an influence. As long as you're diligent, that can be a positive!
you people are nuts.
I agree with hj. There is no way in hell I could handle another infant period.
Get that vasectomy now, then....
I always thought I wanted to have five or six or ten kiddos running around.
We have two and that may be is probably enough.
We may have more and that'd be fine too, although I am looking forward to sleeping more than 4 uninterrupted hours per night again sometime soon.
It takes all kinds, but coming from a big family was awesome. Philosofette was one of 6, so a pretty sizable family there too, and we want that experience for our kids too.
Oh my God. The noise. That's all I can think of.
Of course, that's not a criticism of your outlook. Different strokes for different folks, and I glad you and the 'Ette found happiness in the larger family size. But man, oh man that does not sound like the life for me.
I had one sibling and minimal extended family and the house was mostly quiet and that's the way I like my life now. But one thing changed when I became a parent. I actually now like seeing babies and young toddlers at restaurants and their noise doesn't bother me. Pretty much anywhere except a play/movie. I used to hate being around all kids, all the time. Now they're cute. Funny, that.
The noise is part of the appeal. 🙂
The noise. That's all I can think of.
The noise by far is generally of laughing and giggling. So yeah, there is a lot of noise of a happy toddler and it's a lot of fun.
Yeah, I can't imagine calling it "noise." Though to be fair, I've always loved kids.
I pretty much need silence on demand. There have been times when I've not spoken for two or three days, given the right circumstances. "Noise" to me is any sound I'm not making myself.
Which obviously differs from all the parents in the thread.
The place we're looking at is 900 sq ft and I feel like a goddamn Rockefeller.
I feel ya. The tiny two bedroom we rent feels huge. Probably because it has a garage I can hang out in.
Free next time you walk down the street past Dozier you'll see some new sod which I hope will help with all the dust we get in our place.
Our first apartment together (in Roslyn VA) was 600 sq. feet. We upgraded to a two bedroom when we moved to SD -- all of 850 sq feet! Seemed like a lot of space at the time. Our first house was ~1,500 (plus a basement, but not guaranteed to be dry), second house ~2,700, and current house ~2,300. With the Girl almost done with h.s., we are starting to think about downsizing....
It hasn't even been that long since we closed on the house (less than two years) but I've already forgotten most of the things. My recollection:
Three plus bedrooms on the same level
I think two plus bathrooms
Good schools (chiefly grade school)
Bus to downtown St. Paul; downtown Minneapolis a plus
Space, whatever that meant
I do know the next house will have some adjustments to that list, chiefly more move-in ready.
We wanted: character*, location**, neighborhood (location meaning in Mpls or inner-ring suburb, neighborhood meaning accessible to lots of things to do and places to go). We hit the trifecta and if/when we ever outgrow this place, we'll probably move to another house within a mile.
*Sheenie inherited a lot of furniture from her grandparents, and we wanted a house where all the stuff from the 19th century wouldn't look out of place
**I cannot overstate how much I had to get out of St. Paul
Go ahead, give it a try. I liked St. Paul...just not the part I lived in.
When you live in a parsonage, you don't have to worry about any of this stuff. Which, of course, has both a good side and a bad side. Fortunately, the parsonage we currently have is very nice.
We'll probably be looking to buy in the next year or so, so we've been talking a lot about this sort of stuff. She wants move in ready (or not much work) and I'd like a couple of years worth of projects. So we'll see where that ends up. After being in DC for so long I forgot how much I missed working on stuff.
After being in DC for so long I forgot how much I missed working on stuff.
Dido.
I replaced my fuel filter today. It took less than an hour, but it was super satisfying.
The offer of bike maintenence help stands, if you want something else to work on.
I'm ready. Actually heading down to dsm this weekend. I'm sure we can find some "maintenance" time this summer.
Of course a discussion about homes would open up on a day I can't participate. The neighbor's condo sold 20 months ago for 260k, and was renting for ~3000 grand a month. The owner got pissed with the condo association when the condo fees didn't cover the wind damaged gutters. She decided to sell, and listed the 3 br, 2 bath condo for 399,000 (holy shit batman!). The market is crazy in Nola. C. R. A. Z. Y.
It sold under asking, only 389(!), and to a nice looking couple. Turns out they bought the condo for their daughter. Okay. But, wait there's more. The daughter is going to be a sophomore in college. Her two friends are sharing the joint. Awesome.
Dr. Chop and I have worked our whole lives and won't likely be able to afford a house in this hood, and here comes NY money and speculation to totally eff up our chances. Dude. I'm pissed.
Assuming she put 20 pct down at $260K, $129K profit (less transactions costs, of course) on a 20-month, $32K investment [err, $52K; math is hard] is pretty damned impressive.
Sorry if I just made you throw up in your mouth, meat.
Thank goodness for house shopping in out-state MN. That is absurd.
Sheenie's grandparents house on St. Charles Ave a few blocks from Tulane sold to a couple in their twenties a few years ago whose parents paid for it in cash.
did they bring it in a suitcase, or a grocery sack? That would have been cool.
Effing eff. Uh. Dude. We've given up on the Dream the West Bank here we come.
The thing that comforts me about these very-expensive-house stories is that I can be confident that the people buying them are the most productive and moral people in society, and therefore deserving of the rewards. That's how the economy works, right?
I'm sure this will shock absolutely no one but the parents who paid cash were from Texas.
Setting aside the issues associated with this name, this is like a dream come true for NDSU athletics. While big brother in Grand Forks can't get past a nickname, little brother has surpassed them in every conceivable way (save that niche sport that we don't play in Fargo). NDSU was never going to get where they wanted to go unless they were the undisputed number one program in the state of North Dakota. Now, they are and will be for as long as UND fights about that name.
Aaron Rients sounds like a f***ing moron.
Aaron Rients' plan after his University of North Dakota graduation in December was to get a job at a local accounting firm, find a nice girl and start a family, but with his school looking at replacing its former Fighting Sioux nickname soon, he's having second thoughts about staying in Grand Forks.
"It's stupid that it means this much to me but really, just the thought of being something else doesn't seem right," he said. "I'd have to look at that new logo all day if I lived here."
At least he knows that he's a moron.
I'll give him credit for being a self-aware moron. But seriously, the absolute last thing I've ever thought of since I graduated college was my school's mascot. (Or hell, my school in general.)
What the heck is a "Johnnie," anyhows?
Better than aping the blue devils....
It's someone from a MIAC school!
My teams were Auggies. (Which is probably something different than Augustana's Augies.)
EAR's teams were Katies (Wildcats wtf?) or Tommies is she wished to care about men's sports.
I know Oles and Gusties, too.
It's like Gardy made up all of the MIAC nicks. Except for Carleton. The men are Knights. Only the women got stuck with the even-less inspiring "Carls."
Hamline is the Pipers -- not the Hammies 🙁
Macalester went with the college founder's first name: Scots.
Internet research tells me that there are other uninspiring names in the conference:
Bethel Royals
Concordia Cobbers (not sure, this might be a Gardy-type nickname)
St. Ben's Blazers
St. Mary's Cardinals
RE: Blazers... That's the official name, but darned if they aren't really the Bennies. Which fact causes consternation for some administrators and others who embrace the official.
I was wearing one of the cheap "Bennies" shirts that are sold on campus and got some funny comments related to this.
I always liked those shirts. Mostly I liked folding them in a way that the second 'n' and 'e' were obscured, and then blocking out the bottom round part of the first letter.
This reminds me of something a professor showed us once... If you move the bottom line in the 'B' over one spot:
ST BENS --> SIRENS.
My Dad's HS was the Bulldogs. Mom and Dad's college was the Bulldogs. All three of us kids were Bulldogs in HS. The little bother and I went to the same college, and were the Bulldogs, but a different college than our parents.
Yes, the Fighting Eelpouts! I may have* drank from that cup in Plums Nieghborhood Bar and Grill one night.
*Most certainly did.
I know what "Hoya" refers to, but I'm still not sure what a Hoya is.
The wife and I have had some funny conversations about this.
In Latin?
Sadly no.
I grew up a Falcon and a Dragon, and Runner daughter was a Warrior (yeah, logo change), Tiger, and Triton. While not affiliated except by proximity, I'm most pleased with the SLU Billikens.
I don't think Augustana (I went there) were ever called Augies. Augustana are the Vikings. Augustana is often called Augie. For some reason they had a mascot (retired after I left) called the Augie Doggie. Probably because of the cartoon.
In my defense, Augustana Athletics URL: GoAugie.com
The Golden Gusties, thankyouverymuch.
(I think they were the Lions at some point, but I'm not going to bother to research that)
yarp.
Diminutive toilet.
My school is thinking about changing their name to "ESPN's Darling"*.
*Not actually true, we have the best ND nickname possible, topped off by a unique local pronunciation. BIZUN.
We're in the process of finalizing our lease. The company, which previously was ok with the lady just graduating and still getting a job locked down, has come back and said we need a co-signer. Not a big deal, both our parents are willing, but we could have gotten started on that days ago if they'd just been more upfront. (More than that, I have the feeling the partivular person the lady has been is touch with is a tad incompetent.)
Ifslashwhen you have a real problem with your landlord, you know someone who has practiced landlord/tenant law in the state.
From what I've gleaned the lady showing the apartment was the actualbuliding owner (it's just 6 units in a house - looking thing, not a big complex) but she has a managment company for all the day-to-day stuff and she herself doesn't know the intricacies. But yes, it pays to know the right people. Gracias amigo. *wink & finger gun*
An incompetent person at an apartment rental company? Unheard of.
I occasionally curse owning a home, especially when I think of how great it'd be to move back to MN, only to remember that it's gonna be awhile before I'd be able to sell. But not dealing with those companies makes it all worth it.
I'd love to have my own house, except for the lack of mobility. I'm a wanderer, but I would love to have more control over my living space. It's a tricky dichotomy.
(Also the fact I can't afford one, but that's beside the larger point)
You're but a wanderer, you're the wanderer.
Anyway, you absolutely need to come down to Madison next winter, now that you're close enough to drive, for a spiel. drinks (and lodging, if you don't mind small children) are free.
I'm pretty sure you could afford to buy your own home, magoo. In fact, isn't that you???
I must just have one of those faces, because I can kinda see it.
Man, the TSA can go right ahead and f*** themselves.
Heading through security in Detroit, I was ushered through the TSA prpre-check line. Normally this is a good thing. When i passed through the metal detector, I was "selected" for additional screening in the body scanner (a big f*** you shout to those this). naturally, they had no one attending the body scanner, so I had to wait way longer than should have been necessary for someone to come over. After going through the thing, I had to wait, along with the guy in front of me, for someone to come "tap out" the guy at the metal detector to come pat us down because they brought over a woman to run the scanner despite three of the four lucky people getting scanned were men.
Moral of the story, take your chapstick out of your pocket and your hat off if you have to go through the pre-check line.
How dare you try to wear a cap and carry chapstick aboard an airplane! May as well have been carrying a full-sized bottle of shampoo or a water bottle!
To be fair, they didn't get bent out of shape about either, it was just that the chapstick showed up as "something" in my pocket during the scan so they had to check. I was mostly just annoyed by the staffing disorganization.
I'm getting my revenge by drinking Bell's Two Hearted and Makers Mark in the airport bars.
They're getting their revenge by $erving you Bell's Two Hearted and Makers Mark in the airport bar$.
small price to pay though
True, although the two hearted was only $7, which is cheap for an airport.
The two doubles of makers Mark, on the other hand...
Morning game alert: Rochester is hosting Columbus right now. The game is in the second inning.
Sheenie is in LA at a conference. I had no idea just how much getting the Valet out of the house in the morning is a two person job.
This is the greatest response to a minor league game notification I have ever seen.
Because trying to get small children out of the house is, in fact, enough to make one forget how to properly operate in a comment thread.
Werd to that.
True. My head has been spinning all morning.
This whole thread is delighting me.
(Says she who was mostly on her own getting two boys out the door and to daycare this morning and very nearly missed the bus but successfully sprinted to it while wearing shoes with 3" heels.)
I was going to say... just wait until you have 2. Or 3. 3 is crazy.
I liked the way Zee put it:
We have 3 kids now. That means we've switched from man-to-man defense to zone.
When you get to four, you have to get them to play off each other.
If they ever organized, EAR and I would be toast.
I actually prefer two kids who can handle certain things themselves (e.g. getting food into their mouths with at least a 60% success rate) to a single baby young enough to require direct supervision at all moments as well as bottles that need proper cleaning, storage, and transport.
I'll drink to that. We recently went to a birthday party and both our kids were able to play well enough without constant supervision that I was able to drink plenty of the host's beer without worry. Couple more years and I can send them down to the park by themselves and sit on the deck drinking.
Absolutely.
At 11.75, CER washes dishes every night. HPR dries.
She can help out a lot with the little girls. So close to full-scale babysitting.
(We're having her take a class in the summer before we completely let her. For now, just short walks around the neighborhood for EAR and I.)
We often have to remind her she's not the mom, making executive-type decisions when we're right there.
HPR at 9.25 will often make breakfast.
Yeah, we're definitely into giving chores to the boys. Junior unloads the dishwasher and Trey loads it each night. We also share lawncare duties. Junior mows, I trim the edges and Trey blows off the sidewalks and driveways. They also are in charge of emptying trash cans in the house when needed and they do their own laundry. Junior is 13 and Trey will be 10 in June. Wow, both double digits. Scary.
Since moving to the in-law's farm, Aquinas has legit chores, such as feeding barnyard animals.
I like this.
I vaguely remember when I could get kids to do chores. With the Girl, I finally gave up. She's incredibly stubborn and argumentative (wonder where she got that?) and always always always did such a crappy job mowing the lawn when I could finally get her to do it that I just surrendered and went back to doing it myself.
She's incredibly Machiavellian about not doing chores. Every ask turns into a pitched battle. That's serious commitment on her part.
"If you do a job poorly enough, they won't ask you to do it again."
If Junior tried to pull that crap on me, he would be out there doing the lawn all night until it was done right. Of course, I can imagine it's a lot harder to do that with a girl. For instance, my older sister never once in three years of high school walked the three blocks to school. I on the other hand rarely got a ride. I didn't get my license until I graduated . My sister got hers right away at 16 and either drove to school or was driven by one of my parents.
there's definitely a double standard. The Mrs generally won't engage to call the Girl on her b.s., where I was able to do so with the Boy. But their personalities are very different. He was willing to bend; she is not. Some fights just aren't worth winning.
No response to this yet, but I thought I would share the good news:
@AaronGleeman Twins minor league team K/9 pitching rankings:
Rochester 1st
Chattanooga 1st
Ft. Myers 10th
Cedar Rapids 1st
#itscoming— Darin McGilvra (@SoCalTwinsfan) April 30, 2015
So, had a follow-up appointment with the orthopedic doctor, and the verdict is in: hip replacement
:-/
My dad has had it done twice (both hips twice) if you want any advice.
I remember when I was about 15 and I asked my grandma what this weird metallic decoration was on the wall in her foyer. She told me it was her old artificial hip.
I've been told that manufacturing process is much better now, and there's a real good chance that this will last. I'm much more optimistic that having this done at 53½ will be worth it since it makes recovery so much easier.
No doubt about that. My dad first had then since about twenty years ago, or so. They told him the second go round that they would last for the rest of his life.
Ugh. Keep us posted, Rhu.
My mom has had both of hers done, with the most recent now about a decade ago (she's 80). Huge, positive impact on her quality of life.
My FIL just had that done about a year ago, and after years of pain but fighting the surgery he said it was the best decision he's ever made health-wise.
My mom had both knees and both hips done over the last few years. She's 63½ now. Seems to have helped her a ton.
Sorry to hear that. Hang in there. You will be in our prayers.
Good news, Philo. Should probably look at a few, though... I was "good" with a number of the places we checked out (Look how unique this one is!) We had to see ours a couple times to realize how much we liked it.
We'll certainly look at some others (not that there's a ton in the area... we're a bit limited by geography). And this first one would require much work. But it hits all of the must-haves and many, many of the wants for us.
Having gone through the selling/buying process a couple of summers ago, I'm always curious about other peoples must-haves & wants. Would you be willing to share?
When I was looking (7.5 years ago), my needs were pretty simple: three bedrooms, an unfinished basement, and a decent yard. Made it pretty easy to be satisfied.
My wants/needs were different 7.5 years ago too (no kids yet). The most recent purchase process, wanting to buy a home we'd be in indefinitely, was much more thoughtful and thus the lists became much more ... uhm, comprehensive...
These were the most important things for us:
-Four bedrooms
-Two or more bathrooms
-Good-sized living room, family room & kitchen
-Good schools
-Safe Neighborhood
-Big yard or close to playgrounds (preferably both)
-Transit options/commute/proximity to family & friends
-Unique home (character)*
A big one for my wife was "NO updates necessary" - she would not consider buying a place that needed updating. She wanted to move in and decorate, not move in and renovate, and she was willing to expand our price range accordingly.
*i.e., not cookie-cutter, but not weird either.
Four bedrooms is a lot of bedrooms. Fortunately, I told my wife early on the two kids was the absolute max (though when we bought the place, the plan was no kids, so three bedrooms was a resell tactic), so three beds is the right amount.
I desperately wish I had the money to do my basement, though. We need a second bathroom something fierce. i am really, really happy I built that deck (thanks ch). I spent 2k and gained 7k in value. I might actually not be underwater anymore! Also, decks are stupidly relaxing in the spring/summer.
It's technically four, but the fourth is pretty small se we use it as an office.* Also, it's on the main floor and the powder room (half bath) doesn't have a shower so we end up putting guests in the basement to sleep (futon) and point them to the 2nd bathroom (the one I share with the kids) for showers, etc.
*we don't really use it - it's set up as the office: desk, shelving, file cabinets, etc., but most of the laptop work is done at the kitchen table (me) or family room couches (my wife).
"NO updates necessary" is what you think until you discover that something's alive in there.
Our big need was more space: Old kitchen was a galley and cooking was never fun. Our bedroom barely gave us enough room to get around the bed on both sides.
More space has made making improvements tolerable. We can work around construction rooms without completely ruining regular life.
Four bedrooms was necessary, and we got five: one in a basement suite.
We thought that a two-shower master bath was completely ridiculous, but my goodness is it great for bathtime for two young children of the same gender: Efficiency without fighting!
Also: central air and sash windows. EAR wanted a second floor and a deck.
I wanted to remain close to a wild space, and probably eaves smaller than 4'. (I never put out bird feeders before we moved, because I'd never have been able to see the birds.)
I also wanted a partially-unfinished basement. That didn't happen at first, but with time and fungus, I got it.
We wanted a master bath...but I didn't realize just how happy it would make me having my stuff remain in the place where I left it. My cup, my toothbrush, my towel...none of them disappear anymore.
Also, grownup-sized toilet. It's the (not) little things, sometimes.
The master bath was on our list as well, as well as an attached garage. The biggest thing we were looking for was to get out of town. We're still at our old place, and likely will be for quite a while, but sometimes I get so sick of being surrounded by other people constantly.
I actually really like having 5 bedrooms, though, and it would have been a requirement if we had moved.
This was my location preference, but wasn't even on my wife's radar ... she wanted Woodbury!
I'm still a bit shocked that we ended up pretty close to my preference (and nowhere near hers) in a tiny city that feels like we're out of town. We only have two neighbors within 300 yards of our house.
The trade off, I think, may have been that while we do have a master bath with a whirlpool tub, all I get to do in there is use the shower.
My list of "musts" for this apartment was "two bedrooms so we'd have a place for guests and to get away when I need my alone time". Other than that it was a bunch of "would likes": the bigger the better on the kitchen, heat included, parking would be nice, walking distance to bars, deck/patio.
Really, as long as I have a place to go when I want to be alone, I can make it work. I learned that from the last relationship. This place we're looking at has a bedroom and 9*7 "den" which should serve my purpose nicely.
Oh man, I remember when I had places I could go to be alone. Damn weiner kids.
🙂
I have tons of places to go to be alone ... but I have to either wait until the wiener kids are in bed or leave the house to accomplish said task.
I hear that. My alone time has been from 10:00-3:00 at night on Fridays and Saturdays. I miss the curling season.
I know a way to get some time alone. I learned the trick from my dad.
Cheaptoy's lack of a second bathroom complicates things though.
Hahah, I have a recently toilet trained three year old. Even that tactic doesn't work.
Put the training potty in the unfinished basement for emergencies like that.
It isn't so much the location of the training potty as it is the strange need to come into the bathroom when someone is in there taking their morning constitutional. Its the main reason why, Monday through Friday, I do these things at work. I'm half tempted to drive in to the office on Saturdays and Sundays....
morning constitutional
So that's what our country's foundational document is named after?
Unconstitutional
Now has a whole new meaning.
...hole new meaning...
Even I'm groaning at that one.
When my wife and I bought our house three plus years ago, pre-kid, our requirements were two bathrooms, two-car garage, open floor plan, and we really didn't want a fireplace.
When we can afford our next house, we will probably want three bathrooms, a three-car garage, a fenced-in back yard, and a mother-in-law suite. And, everything has to be finished.
Yeeeessssss to no fireplace. My wife wanted one but I was steadfast in not wanting one, even gas. Nothing dumber than forcing your hand on living room layout than a fireplace.
Every fireplace we saw seemed to get in the best place to put the flat screen. Plus, I've never enjoyed the highly concentrated heat of a fireplace. I much prefer a furnace.
I lived in an apartment with a fireplace that had a space above it for a tv. That was perfectly ok, because it was a small ass apartment so there was no real room for furniture anyway. That it was a gas fireplace, and gas was included in rent, meant it got a ton of use in the winter. In a house, though, I 100% agree with you.
TVs shouldn't be that high up on the wall, though.
In a small apartment, no. But my current tv location is about as high on the wall (because wall-mount, so damn wiener kids don't knock it over) and it works because the living room is big enough.
We put our tv above the fireplace and it worked really well with young kids. They always stood in front of the tv but I could see over them.
Plus fewer fingerprints!
In our old house, we had the living room with fireplace as a sitting area - television was in the unfinished basement.
In our new house, we have the living room with fireplace as a sitting area - television(s) are in the family room and finished basement.
My wife doesn't care for wall mounted televisions, so both are on stands and susceptible to damn wiener kids.
I love the fireplace, but my wife always complains about the faint smoke smell in the house after it's out. As a result, I don't get to use it as much as I'd like to. I put together a fire pit last fall and I'm out there a lot (so many trees and resulting dead branches, it's almost as much a necessity as a pleasure).
I'd rather have a fire pit than fireplace. Hard to get a proper inferno going inside.
two words: gas fireplace
no smoke, no wood / firestarter, and easy on/off -- ours is even ventless
Next thing you'll be telling me to get rid of my Weber!
I joak of course - the first house we owned had a gas fireplace and I really enjoyed it. I'm partial to the wood burning setup myself, but mostly because I'm stubborn and nostalgic by nature.
So what you're saying is let the NL pitchers hit!
How old is your kid again?
2. He can't reach our TV, but that's because all of the boxes are in a shelf below it and we've taught him to leave them alone. It's mounted. I'm just saying if the TV is above the fireplace, my next hurts.
We have a fireplace. It has never been used because the chimney needs some work. We thought we'd use that room as a play area but nope, it's barely used. It does help the fireplace is in the "family" room and we have a separate living room.
We're vacillating between buying a starter house and a longer term thing.
In a longer term we'd need:
- Move-in ready
- 4+ bedrooms,
- 2 baths, at least one of which is reasonably sized but not over-big
- space in a kitchen (though layout is less important),
- big yard size
- safe neighborhood
- good area in the home for the kids to have friends over
We want:
- character (this house we looked at... wow. So much good character),
- 2 car garage,
- something we can improve/renovate (probably a little too much of this in the new home... when does "lots can be done" become "not move-in ready"?)
- ability to host family/friends on overnight visits
- playground proximity (can be offset by yard)
The one we're currently excited about hits all of these things, but that renovate issue might be a little too big to overcome. Depends on price we can get, really. Also, the number of volunteers who want to come scrape paint.
I could probably be persuaded to help. How far a drive from Glenwood or New Ulm are you?
Glenwood: .5 hours.
New Ulm: ~2.5 hours.
Truth be told, I suspect my father would just move in and work all day, every day, if he could.
So, if I help, it'll be built off a Glenwood weekend.
Lead-based? That stuff tastes way better.
yarp.
I hate to comment here, but I think we have more square footage closed off and unused than you are all looking for in a house, and that's not counting the unfinished basement and an empty stall in the 3-car garage. Yeah, it didn't originally seem that big when there was a teenager in the house.
When we get to that point, sometime in 2032, I'm sure we'll reevaluate our needs.
This, only 2032 should probably be extended (not an announcement, just vague plans).
Heh. We haven't started getting rid of any of Kernel's really feminine baby/toddler stuff yet, even though my wife keeps proclaiming that, "Two's enough." and "Once it warms up, we'll have a garage sale." I have no doubt that only 6 months removed from pregnancy, she's still pretty certain that we're done. If that stuff lasts in our house another 6 months, I might begin to question her resolve.
Two isn't enough... You gotta learn how to play zone.
Agreed. In my mind, 3 is easier than 2 was in almost every way. Just a few weeks ago, I took all three to the zoo without the wife and had a blast. I'd never imagined that sort of thing with 2 when they were the ages of my younger two now.
Bedtime too is easier. Once you get to critical mass, peer pressure starts to play an influence. As long as you're diligent, that can be a positive!
you people are nuts.
I agree with hj. There is no way in hell I could handle another infant period.
Get that vasectomy now, then....
I always thought I wanted to have five or six or ten kiddos running around.
We have two and that
may beis probably enough.We may have more and that'd be fine too, although I am looking forward to sleeping more than 4 uninterrupted hours per night again sometime soon.
It takes all kinds, but coming from a big family was awesome. Philosofette was one of 6, so a pretty sizable family there too, and we want that experience for our kids too.
Oh my God. The noise. That's all I can think of.
Of course, that's not a criticism of your outlook. Different strokes for different folks, and I glad you and the 'Ette found happiness in the larger family size. But man, oh man that does not sound like the life for me.
I had one sibling and minimal extended family and the house was mostly quiet and that's the way I like my life now. But one thing changed when I became a parent. I actually now like seeing babies and young toddlers at restaurants and their noise doesn't bother me. Pretty much anywhere except a play/movie. I used to hate being around all kids, all the time. Now they're cute. Funny, that.
The noise is part of the appeal. 🙂
The noise by far is generally of laughing and giggling. So yeah, there is a lot of noise of a happy toddler and it's a lot of fun.
Yeah, I can't imagine calling it "noise." Though to be fair, I've always loved kids.
I pretty much need silence on demand. There have been times when I've not spoken for two or three days, given the right circumstances. "Noise" to me is any sound I'm not making myself.
Which obviously differs from all the parents in the thread.
The place we're looking at is 900 sq ft and I feel like a goddamn Rockefeller.
I feel ya. The tiny two bedroom we rent feels huge. Probably because it has a garage I can hang out in.
Free next time you walk down the street past Dozier you'll see some new sod which I hope will help with all the dust we get in our place.
Our first apartment together (in Roslyn VA) was 600 sq. feet. We upgraded to a two bedroom when we moved to SD -- all of 850 sq feet! Seemed like a lot of space at the time. Our first house was ~1,500 (plus a basement, but not guaranteed to be dry), second house ~2,700, and current house ~2,300. With the Girl almost done with h.s., we are starting to think about downsizing....
It hasn't even been that long since we closed on the house (less than two years) but I've already forgotten most of the things. My recollection:
I do know the next house will have some adjustments to that list, chiefly more move-in ready.
We wanted: character*, location**, neighborhood (location meaning in Mpls or inner-ring suburb, neighborhood meaning accessible to lots of things to do and places to go). We hit the trifecta and if/when we ever outgrow this place, we'll probably move to another house within a mile.
*Sheenie inherited a lot of furniture from her grandparents, and we wanted a house where all the stuff from the 19th century wouldn't look out of place
**I cannot overstate how much I had to get out of St. Paul
Go ahead, give it a try. I liked St. Paul...just not the part I lived in.
When you live in a parsonage, you don't have to worry about any of this stuff. Which, of course, has both a good side and a bad side. Fortunately, the parsonage we currently have is very nice.
We'll probably be looking to buy in the next year or so, so we've been talking a lot about this sort of stuff. She wants move in ready (or not much work) and I'd like a couple of years worth of projects. So we'll see where that ends up. After being in DC for so long I forgot how much I missed working on stuff.
After being in DC for so long I forgot how much I missed working on stuff.
Dido.
I replaced my fuel filter today. It took less than an hour, but it was super satisfying.
The offer of bike maintenence help stands, if you want something else to work on.
I'm ready. Actually heading down to dsm this weekend. I'm sure we can find some "maintenance" time this summer.
Of course a discussion about homes would open up on a day I can't participate. The neighbor's condo sold 20 months ago for 260k, and was renting for ~3000 grand a month. The owner got pissed with the condo association when the condo fees didn't cover the wind damaged gutters. She decided to sell, and listed the 3 br, 2 bath condo for 399,000 (holy shit batman!). The market is crazy in Nola. C. R. A. Z. Y.
It sold under asking, only 389(!), and to a nice looking couple. Turns out they bought the condo for their daughter. Okay. But, wait there's more. The daughter is going to be a sophomore in college. Her two friends are sharing the joint. Awesome.
Dr. Chop and I have worked our whole lives and won't likely be able to afford a house in this hood, and here comes NY money and speculation to totally eff up our chances. Dude. I'm pissed.
Assuming she put 20 pct down at $260K, $129K profit (less transactions costs, of course) on a 20-month, $32K investment [err, $52K; math is hard] is pretty damned impressive.
Sorry if I just made you throw up in your mouth, meat.
Thank goodness for house shopping in out-state MN. That is absurd.
Sheenie's grandparents house on St. Charles Ave a few blocks from Tulane sold to a couple in their twenties a few years ago whose parents paid for it in cash.
did they bring it in a suitcase, or a grocery sack? That would have been cool.
Effing eff. Uh. Dude. We've given up on the Dream the West Bank here we come.
The thing that comforts me about these very-expensive-house stories is that I can be confident that the people buying them are the most productive and moral people in society, and therefore deserving of the rewards. That's how the economy works, right?
I'm sure this will shock absolutely no one but the parents who paid cash were from Texas.
Phil - right.
UND boosters are not gonna go quietly into that good night.
Setting aside the issues associated with this name, this is like a dream come true for NDSU athletics. While big brother in Grand Forks can't get past a nickname, little brother has surpassed them in every conceivable way (save that niche sport that we don't play in Fargo). NDSU was never going to get where they wanted to go unless they were the undisputed number one program in the state of North Dakota. Now, they are and will be for as long as UND fights about that name.
Aaron Rients sounds like a f***ing moron.
At least he knows that he's a moron.
I'll give him credit for being a self-aware moron. But seriously, the absolute last thing I've ever thought of since I graduated college was my school's mascot. (Or hell, my school in general.)
What the heck is a "Johnnie," anyhows?
Better than aping the blue devils....
It's someone from a MIAC school!
My teams were Auggies. (Which is probably something different than Augustana's Augies.)
EAR's teams were
Katies(Wildcats wtf?) or Tommies is she wished to care about men's sports.I know Oles and Gusties, too.
It's like Gardy made up all of the MIAC nicks. Except for Carleton. The men are Knights. Only the women got stuck with the even-less inspiring "Carls."
Hamline is the Pipers -- not the Hammies 🙁
Macalester went with the college founder's first name: Scots.
Internet research tells me that there are other uninspiring names in the conference:
Bethel Royals
Concordia Cobbers (not sure, this might be a Gardy-type nickname)
St. Ben's Blazers
St. Mary's Cardinals
RE: Blazers... That's the official name, but darned if they aren't really the Bennies. Which fact causes consternation for some administrators and others who embrace the official.
I was wearing one of the cheap "Bennies" shirts that are sold on campus and got some funny comments related to this.
I always liked those shirts. Mostly I liked folding them in a way that the second 'n' and 'e' were obscured, and then blocking out the bottom round part of the first letter.
This reminds me of something a professor showed us once... If you move the bottom line in the 'B' over one spot:
ST BENS --> SIRENS.
My teams were Cougars, Gophers, Lions and Fighting Eelpouts.
My Dad's HS was the Bulldogs. Mom and Dad's college was the Bulldogs. All three of us kids were Bulldogs in HS. The little bother and I went to the same college, and were the Bulldogs, but a different college than our parents.
Yes, the Fighting Eelpouts! I may have* drank from that cup in Plums Nieghborhood Bar and Grill one night.
*Most certainly did.
I know what "Hoya" refers to, but I'm still not sure what a Hoya is.
The wife and I have had some funny conversations about this.
In Latin?
Sadly no.
I grew up a Falcon and a Dragon, and Runner daughter was a Warrior (yeah, logo change), Tiger, and Triton. While not affiliated except by proximity, I'm most pleased with the SLU Billikens.
I don't think Augustana (I went there) were ever called Augies. Augustana are the Vikings. Augustana is often called Augie. For some reason they had a mascot (retired after I left) called the Augie Doggie. Probably because of the cartoon.
In my defense, Augustana Athletics URL: GoAugie.com
The Golden Gusties, thankyouverymuch.
(I think they were the Lions at some point, but I'm not going to bother to research that)
yarp.
Diminutive toilet.
My school is thinking about changing their name to "ESPN's Darling"*.
*Not actually true, we have the best ND nickname possible, topped off by a unique local pronunciation. BIZUN.
We're in the process of finalizing our lease. The company, which previously was ok with the lady just graduating and still getting a job locked down, has come back and said we need a co-signer. Not a big deal, both our parents are willing, but we could have gotten started on that days ago if they'd just been more upfront. (More than that, I have the feeling the partivular person the lady has been is touch with is a tad incompetent.)
Ifslashwhen you have a real problem with your landlord, you know someone who has practiced landlord/tenant law in the state.
From what I've gleaned the lady showing the apartment was the actualbuliding owner (it's just 6 units in a house - looking thing, not a big complex) but she has a managment company for all the day-to-day stuff and she herself doesn't know the intricacies. But yes, it pays to know the right people. Gracias amigo. *wink & finger gun*
An incompetent person at an apartment rental company? Unheard of.
I occasionally curse owning a home, especially when I think of how great it'd be to move back to MN, only to remember that it's gonna be awhile before I'd be able to sell. But not dealing with those companies makes it all worth it.
I'd love to have my own house, except for the lack of mobility. I'm a wanderer, but I would love to have more control over my living space. It's a tricky dichotomy.
(Also the fact I can't afford one, but that's beside the larger point)
You're but a wanderer, you're the wanderer.
Anyway, you absolutely need to come down to Madison next winter, now that you're close enough to drive, for a spiel. drinks (and lodging, if you don't mind small children) are free.
I'm pretty sure you could afford to buy your own home, magoo. In fact, isn't that you???
I must just have one of those faces, because I can kinda see it.
Man, the TSA can go right ahead and f*** themselves.
Heading through security in Detroit, I was ushered through the TSA prpre-check line. Normally this is a good thing. When i passed through the metal detector, I was "selected" for additional screening in the body scanner (a big f*** you shout to those this). naturally, they had no one attending the body scanner, so I had to wait way longer than should have been necessary for someone to come over. After going through the thing, I had to wait, along with the guy in front of me, for someone to come "tap out" the guy at the metal detector to come pat us down because they brought over a woman to run the scanner despite three of the four lucky people getting scanned were men.
Moral of the story, take your chapstick out of your pocket and your hat off if you have to go through the pre-check line.
How dare you try to wear a cap and carry chapstick aboard an airplane! May as well have been carrying a full-sized bottle of shampoo or a water bottle!
To be fair, they didn't get bent out of shape about either, it was just that the chapstick showed up as "something" in my pocket during the scan so they had to check. I was mostly just annoyed by the staffing disorganization.
I'm getting my revenge by drinking Bell's Two Hearted and Makers Mark in the airport bars.
They're getting their revenge by $erving you Bell's Two Hearted and Makers Mark in the airport bar$.
small price to pay though
True, although the two hearted was only $7, which is cheap for an airport.
The two doubles of makers Mark, on the other hand...
Morning game alert: Rochester is hosting Columbus right now. The game is in the second inning.
Sheenie is in LA at a conference. I had no idea just how much getting the Valet out of the house in the morning is a two person job.
This is the greatest response to a minor league game notification I have ever seen.
Because trying to get small children out of the house is, in fact, enough to make one forget how to properly operate in a comment thread.
Werd to that.
True. My head has been spinning all morning.
This whole thread is delighting me.
(Says she who was mostly on her own getting two boys out the door and to daycare this morning and very nearly missed the bus but successfully sprinted to it while wearing shoes with 3" heels.)
I was going to say... just wait until you have 2. Or 3. 3 is crazy.
I liked the way Zee put it:
We have 3 kids now. That means we've switched from man-to-man defense to zone.
When you get to four, you have to get them to play off each other.
If they ever organized, EAR and I would be toast.
I actually prefer two kids who can handle certain things themselves (e.g. getting food into their mouths with at least a 60% success rate) to a single baby young enough to require direct supervision at all moments as well as bottles that need proper cleaning, storage, and transport.
I'll drink to that. We recently went to a birthday party and both our kids were able to play well enough without constant supervision that I was able to drink plenty of the host's beer without worry. Couple more years and I can send them down to the park by themselves and sit on the deck drinking.
Absolutely.
At 11.75, CER washes dishes every night. HPR dries.
She can help out a lot with the little girls. So close to full-scale babysitting.
(We're having her take a class in the summer before we completely let her. For now, just short walks around the neighborhood for EAR and I.)
We often have to remind her she's not the mom, making executive-type decisions when we're right there.
HPR at 9.25 will often make breakfast.
Yeah, we're definitely into giving chores to the boys. Junior unloads the dishwasher and Trey loads it each night. We also share lawncare duties. Junior mows, I trim the edges and Trey blows off the sidewalks and driveways. They also are in charge of emptying trash cans in the house when needed and they do their own laundry. Junior is 13 and Trey will be 10 in June. Wow, both double digits. Scary.
Since moving to the in-law's farm, Aquinas has legit chores, such as feeding barnyard animals.
I like this.
I vaguely remember when I could get kids to do chores. With the Girl, I finally gave up. She's incredibly stubborn and argumentative (wonder where she got that?) and always always always did such a crappy job mowing the lawn when I could finally get her to do it that I just surrendered and went back to doing it myself.
She's incredibly Machiavellian about not doing chores. Every ask turns into a pitched battle. That's serious commitment on her part.
"If you do a job poorly enough, they won't ask you to do it again."
If Junior tried to pull that crap on me, he would be out there doing the lawn all night until it was done right. Of course, I can imagine it's a lot harder to do that with a girl. For instance, my older sister never once in three years of high school walked the three blocks to school. I on the other hand rarely got a ride. I didn't get my license until I graduated . My sister got hers right away at 16 and either drove to school or was driven by one of my parents.
there's definitely a double standard. The Mrs generally won't engage to call the Girl on her b.s., where I was able to do so with the Boy. But their personalities are very different. He was willing to bend; she is not. Some fights just aren't worth winning.
No response to this yet, but I thought I would share the good news:
So, had a follow-up appointment with the orthopedic doctor, and the verdict is in: hip replacement
:-/
My dad has had it done twice (both hips twice) if you want any advice.
I remember when I was about 15 and I asked my grandma what this weird metallic decoration was on the wall in her foyer. She told me it was her old artificial hip.
I've been told that manufacturing process is much better now, and there's a real good chance that this will last. I'm much more optimistic that having this done at 53½ will be worth it since it makes recovery so much easier.
No doubt about that. My dad first had then since about twenty years ago, or so. They told him the second go round that they would last for the rest of his life.
Ugh. Keep us posted, Rhu.
My mom has had both of hers done, with the most recent now about a decade ago (she's 80). Huge, positive impact on her quality of life.
My FIL just had that done about a year ago, and after years of pain but fighting the surgery he said it was the best decision he's ever made health-wise.
My mom had both knees and both hips done over the last few years. She's 63½ now. Seems to have helped her a ton.
Sorry to hear that. Hang in there. You will be in our prayers.
Heck of a trade there Flip, heck of a trade. I feel sorta bad for K-Lub.
At least Love got the "never been to the playoffs" thing checked off
He's never lost a playoff game!
For all you space nerds, MESSENGER just crashed into the surface of Mercury after a (much) long(er than expected) and fruitful mission.
(idea/picture stolen from comment section)