A Letter from the Buyer

From: diane hammer
Date: October 7, 2009 6:00:34 PM MDT
To: Daniel Lane
Subject: Re: Greetings from Colorado

hi dan! thank you so much for the detailed email. yes, i just love your house!! everything about it!! thank you SO MUCH for selling it to me. it will be a perfect retirement home. the loan process, etc., is going very well. i'm just waiting for a settlement cost so i can wire to title company, as well as package to sign. i looked at a total of 44 houses! most in castle rock area. yours was the first one i looked at in parker. i immediately liked it as well as the town. i looked at 4 or so more houses in parker, but knew that yours was the one i wanted. my furniture will look perfect, as i have collections from almost all over the world. the loft will be turned into the Africa room!! i will eventually finish half of the basement into a room that could be used as bedroom or game room with contemporary shelves, recessed lighting, and whatever, and wall off the other half for storage.
i wanted to live in CO after i made my first visit to aspen/vail in 1973. my brother lives 40 miles away in lakewood. he is the CEO of the colorado railroad museum in Golden. have you been there? his house is on a dead end to a hiking trail on green mountain. needless to say, he has a gorgeous view of denver. by the way, where does the bike trail in the back go? castle rock? do you mow the strip out the gate, or does the county/community? do you use the community pool or clubhouse? are there many community-sponsored activities?
here's a bit of background on me: i just retired from the AF after serving my country 32.4 years. my last assignment was special duty at the US embassy (as operations coordinator) in abuja, Nigeria for 2 years. it was definitely an eye-opening experience working with the local nationals and state department! our office (defense attache office) was understaffed and was joint service. anyways, i think i could have really enjoyed the position, had the working conditions been different, or at a different location. there was never really anywhere to get away for the weekend as we had numerous travel restrictions, etc. with that, though, i did manage to take vacations and travel to zambia (victoria falls), and go on an african safari to the northern serengeti of tanzania, a trip to zanzibar (a wonderful island off the tanzania coastline), and a 50 mile backpacking trip to the highest, most remote point in nigeria. good think we had porters to carry
our stuff, or i would have never made it...! also a couple of conference to garmish, germany and madrid, spain were a good chance to get away.
i had my retirement ceremony at hanscom AFB (about 16 miles from boston) which was my last duty assignment prior to going overseas, on 7 May 2009, then flew down to bradenton, florida, where i currently am living with my dad. my mom died on 9 august of lymphoma. i was actually househunting in CO when she died, so my brother and i immediately flew back. so, i've been helping my dad with various matters, as well as spending time with him. he has early alheizmers disease, unfortunately, and i have noted a decline since returning home. so, i'm not sure how long he will be able to manage on his own. he's 84.
i plan on staying here through the winter, so, yes, to answer your question, you can stay there through jan 9/10. in fact, you can stay there as long as you want to or need to! you are also really doing me a favor by being in the house and looking after it. i really appreciate that. the lease that my realtor has is ok with me. yes, any kind of sign or diagram of herb garden would be great! i enjoy gardening, myself, and plan on having flowers, vegetables, etc. (your tomatoes look wonderful!) i'm sure it will never look like what you guys have done, though! i love the patio cover! by the way, what do your utilities run on the average in summer/winter? did you use your fireplace with blower very much? the grill is great--especially hooked up to gas. do you start it like any other gas grill with a tank? i appreciated you giving me a couple of those items from my wish list. the prices you gave me on the other items is fine. thank you very much.
i'll send you a check, if that's ok. i really like the kitchen set. it looks so nice with decor. i have a square-round glass topped table with 4 cushion-type chairs that i will put in the dining area, as well as a @ 7' X 7' handcarved teakwood stereo cabinet that will fit perfect in the living room.
if there is any cleaning solutions or the like that you don't want to dispose of, please let me know. do you happen to have any leftover paint? what kind of paint is it?
i understand you will be moving to hawaii. what island? i have been to oahu 3 or 4 times, i think. do you have a place over there? good luck with your move! if there's any helpful tidbits of info you think i might like, please feel free to let me know.
looking forward to more communication. and thanks again.

diane

Ideavirus.com

Once again Freeman hooked me up, he sent me a link called 10 Bestsellers: Using New Media, New Marketing, and New Thinking to Create 10 Bestselling Books. As part of his marketing plan, I got a free book called IdeaVirus by Seth Godin. It is a really innovative way of marketing that will help Dan and I make our way in Kauai. Give it a watch, it's long but inspiring. It gets your mind opened up and thinking! Another site I found inspiring is The Next US Stories. They are travelling around America, video taping innovative folks who are finding new ways to make a living in this market. Here is a quote from the web site "The Next US is a journey into the heart of America to find those who are thriving while supporting high standards of community, sustainability, ecology, and cultural evolution."

I love you Jon! Thank you for all your support, I really appreciate all the nuggets you find - while persuing your own dream - and share with me! They keep the dream alive, the fire going, the ideas coming.