Tag: update

Midweek Update: Home Selling

The Portly Politico21 Comments

A quick update from yours portly today, as I’ve been hustling to get my house ready to list.  Last week, my pastor (who just started a carpet cleaning business) did a deep clean of the house, which, of course, meant I had to deep clean before he arrived so he could get to the really bad stuff.  My mind boggles at how much junk I have accumulated in just seven years.

This morning my realtor came by with a photographer to get pictures of the house, so that required more organization, especially involving the artful concealment of things no one wants to see in pictures of a home—trashcans, the stuff you keep on the back of the toilet, etc.  I was really pleased when my realtor told me that I’d done a great job getting things together.

Now I’m just waiting for the disclosure paperwork, and soon my little home will be on the market officially.  Selling that will be a huge boon for Dr. Wife and me.  We currently own three homes between us, which sounds like some kind of decadent dream, but it’s really a huge time- and money-sink.  My house, fortunately, is paid off, thanks in part to the best bank of all, The First Bank of Mom and Dad.  The value has more than doubled (of course, the value of the dollar has probably halved) since I bought it, so I should walk away with a good profit, which will help to pay for the hefty mortgage on the new house.

Shew!  But I digress.  Please be praying that my house sells quickly—and Dr. Wife’s!  She’s had hers on the market since right before the wedding back in November, and while she’s had some showings, she hasn’t had any offers yet.  We need that albatross dropped onto some hapless chump happy new homeowner ASAP!

More to come.  Happy Wednesday!

—TPP

SubscribeStar Saturday Post Coming Soon

The Portly Politico2 Comments

My apologies to readers—I’ll have a SubscribeStar Saturday post up tomorrow (God Willing).

We have been working nearly around the clock to get our respective houses packed and cleaned.  This past week I was routinely putting in five or six hours each night after work getting stuff packed, moved, trashed, donated, cleaned, etc.

My pastor has a new carpet and general cleaning service, and I had to the age-old task of preparing for the cleaner:  cleaning.  I was able to clean enough to allow him access to the deep stuff.

It’s amazing how filthy a house can get when inhabited by a busy bachelor over the course of seven years.  Yes, I take out the trash, clean the counters, wash the dishes, do the laundry, etc.  Dusting is my enemy, though, and when you have as much inherited and acquired bric-a-brac and furniture and just plain junk as I do, there are thousands of surfaces for dead, shed skin cells to fall.

Now my house is at a level of cleanliness worthy of selling, and I hope to get it listed this upcoming week (after Winter Storm Fern wreaks her havoc).

Needless to say, my planned piece about the attack on the Minneapolis church is on the backburner.  Dr. Wife and I had another busy day today, and after dinner and errands, I realized I didn’t have it in me to slam out a rant about evil Leftists.

That will come tomorrow.

Stay warm, my friends!

—TPP

Midweek Koi Pond Update II: Life and Death in the Pond

The Portly Politico10 Comments

This past weekend Dr. Wife and I visited our new home and checked on the koi.  We had unseasonably warm weather, which raised the water temperature just north of 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  That was just enough for the koi to come up when I spread (too much) food across the surface of the pond.

We did not get any pictures—d’oh!—but it looks like we have four or five existing koi in the pond:

  • A bluish one that Dr. Wife named Cobbler
  • A classic white and orange koi (Sherbet)
  • A white-ish one
  • One that seems black-and-yellow, although this might be Cobbler as well at a different angle
  • A more strikingly orange-reddish one

We also saw two or possibly three of the original population of ten rosy red minnows coming up to feed.  The others might have been hanging out below—or may have ended up as a snack for the hungry koi.  Gulp!

We did not see Milkshake or Brownie, the two younger koi we introduced the prior weekend.  I consulted with Microsoft’s CoPilot AI, which seemed to think that the two babies were playing it safe and resting down below.  That said, I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was wrong.

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Midweek Koi Pond Update

The Portly Politico8 Comments

I’ll be weighing in soon on the capture of the Venezuelan dictator Maduro soon over at Free Speech Backlash.  The quick version:  it’s the Monroe Doctrine, baby!  More to come.  —TPP

Yours portly has found a new obsession:  the koi pond that came with our new home.  I’ve been so passionate about tending to this pond, Dr. Wife bought me a book that is apparently the authority on all things koi (that link is an Amazon Affiliate link; I receive a portion of the proceeds from any purchase made through that link at no additional cost to you).

The previous owners constructed a very nice pond; from what I can tell from my research, they built a textbook pond for koi.  The problem right now is that the water is incredibly murky, so we can only see the koi when they surface to feed.  It being winter, our koi don’t eat often—they largely hibernate when the water temperature gets below 50 or 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  Currently, our water temperature is around 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

To that end, I’m looking to purchase some Japanese Trapdoor Snails (JTSs).  These snails are amazing:  they are cold-hardy, so they survive through winter; they give birth to live young, so they reproduce slowly, virtually eliminating the risk of overpopulation; and they are living vacuum cleaners for muck and algae.  However, Fishy Business in Columbia, South Carolina still doesn’t have any in stock.

I’ve been having late-night conversations with Microsoft’s CoPilot AI about stocking the pond, in addition to doing research on my own.  CoPilot brought up ramshorn snails, which I have read about as well.  Unlike JTSs, they lay eggs, so overpopulation is more of a concern; however, koi and the rosy red minnows I added to our pond will often eat the eggs and/or baby snails, so the population should stay in check.  I’ve ordered around twenty of them from a seller on eBay (apparently, you can purchase live snails from randos on the Internet) and will introduce those when they arrive next week.

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It Is My Birthday.

The Portly Politico8 Comments

Today is my 41st birthday.  Dr. Wife is taking me to our favorite local Italian place for dinner, and surprised me with a nice card and a cool LEGO set.  I spent the morning selling two big-ticket items on Facebook Marketplace—both of which have been dangling around my neck like an albatross for weeks—and we’ll be attending the swearing-in of new Lamar Town Councilmembers this afternoon (my term is done).

More updates to come!

Happy Saturday!

—TPP

TBT: Happy New Year from TPP!

The Portly Politico7 Comments

2025 was quite a year!  Dr. Wife and I often talk about how long the year felt, for good and for ill.

It was a year with many ups and downs.  Dr. Wife’s third year of residency has been brutal, but she is doing well as the co-chief resident.  My work schedule has been far more manageable, but financing and buying a house—as well as planning a wedding!—took up a good deal of my time in the latter half of the year (to Dr. Wife’s immense credit, most of the latter-stage wedding planning fell to her—she really nailed the fun details, things I would have neglected or not thought of).  My maternal grandfather passed away; several of her close friends and family have had personal and medical crises.

But we also got married—woooooot!—and bought a house.  We have great dogs and even better families.  We have immensely enjoyed spending so much time together over the Christmas holiday, even if we’ve been rocketing all over the Carolinas moving furniture.  We are excited for 2026!

What are your hopes and dreams for 2026, dear readers?  Leave a comment and let me know.  I think Dr. Wife and I primarily want to get moved into our house completely—and get her through residency!

With that, here is 1 January 2025’s “Happy New Year from TPP!“:

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Midweek Moving

The Portly Politico2 Comments

Dr. Wife and I continue our gradual moving process today with another big load.  This time, we’re heading from her current residence in North Carolina to our new house in South Carolina.

As part of this stage in our moving process, we stayed overnight at her parents’ new house in another part of North Carolina to dog-sit their precious pug:

Her parents gave us an[other] awesome recliner, so I decided to rent another U-Haul in their town to take advantage of our visit.

However, we ran into a bit of a logistical problem:  how do we get two cars and a moving truck down to South Carolina?  Alternatively, how do we get vehicles where they need to be without necessitating a six-hour-roundtrip drive to and from Dr. Wife’s place?

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Moving Saturday 1 of X

The Portly Politico2 Comments

I’ll have some classic SubscribeStar Saturday content up soon-ish, but Dr. Wife and I just got back from the first of what will likely be several days of moving furniture and such from our respective houses to our new home.  We managed to get all of the furniture her parents gifted us this summer, as well as some furniture I already had.  Additionally, we managed to unload some items at Goodwill.

We’re taking a minute to catch our breaths before indulging in some much-needed protein at the steakhouse.

Stay tuned for more!

—TPP

P.S.—We had a nice Christmas card from regular contributor Ponty and his significant other waiting for us at our new home!  It’s now festooning the mantle in our new living room.

Married Life

The Portly Politico19 Comments

Well, I’ve been married for a whopping eleven-ish days—and I love it!  Specifically, I love my wife.

Naturally, a good chunk of those days were spent living the sweet life aboard a Royal Caribbean cruise.  We went down to Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic and to Royal Caribbean’s private island, Coco Cay.  It was my first cruise and I loved spending all of that quiet, relaxing, unstructured time with Dr. Wife.

Now, it’s back to Reality for both of us.  Dr. Wife is finishing up her residency in North Carolina and I’m still at my school in South Carolina, so we’re living apart during the weeks until she wraps up residency next summer.  That means we’re delaying the usual first-year-of-marriage stuff, like adjusting to living together full-time.

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Memorable Monday^16: Thanksgiving Week!

The Portly Politico4 Comments

It’s hard to believe looking back at this post that Dr. Wife was Dr. Girlfriend around this time one year ago.  It’s wild to contemplate how much can change in a year.

Dr. Wife and I have this conversation frequently, especially when enduring some trial or difficulty:  it doesn’t last forever.  Indeed, things can change very quickly.  It’s also a reminder to enjoy the good moments—and with Dr. Wife, there are many of those!

We’re honeymooning, so I actually wrote this post while Dr. Wife was still Dr. Fiancée!  I’m thrilled that she is not the former.  I’m very thankful for her, my family, my friends, and God.

With that, here is 25 November 2024’s “Memorable Monday^4: Thanksgiving Week!“:

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