So busy, so much to do here

Sorry sorry sorry! I have been absolutely gulping down Munich life in my last weeks here. First of all the weather has been extraordinary – California temps with beautiful New England style fall color. Unlike in CA, you know it’s gonna end, so I have been walking and meeting friends and sitting outside for coffee, etc as much a spossible.

And I had been extremely busy with the LIA club, our annual Fair is the forth Wednesday of November. We sell secondhand clothes and books, and make handcrafts and baked good to raise money for the charities that we support. This meant cleaning out my closet here, I decided anything that wasn’t flattering was going out – because I’d put it on because I had it. But some of my stuff had gotten too big for me. (Thanks again, Mike – the BEST personal trainer in Munich.) I finally was able to get rid of the expensive black blazer I had bought at Nordstrom years ago – high quality, looked great on me except, it was faced with something white and when I put it on, I could see little white threads working their way out onto the black. Kind of like being covered in cat hair, without the fun purring in the lap part. So, the blazer was too big so I could get rid of it! Yay!

And, we worked and worked on making beautiful handcrafted items – I loved the sequined Christmas trees we made, tiny things – maybe 4 inches tall. Each one took 300 sequins – and 300 pins with a seed bead on each. Took four HOURS each! But they were very pretty and sold very quickly. My fingers have just about recovered from pushing in all those pins.

And I have been buying this house in Rochester. Why is it that the buyer does all the coordinating for all the various parties involved, yet I’m paying them all? The mortgage broker emailed me asking me when my close was to be. I wrote back saying I was waiting for him to tell me when! And there were a set of casually mentioned successive shocks. “ ..details about the process and, oh yes, you need a cashiers or bank check for the closing.” Ummm, I’m in Germany.

So there was a scramble to find FedEx here, and miracle, Logan had used a Mail Boxes Etc. that’s just up the way, and they do FedEx! So I sent a big check from my American bank to the lawyers, to deposit for me and they will generate the required check. All good, except that the girl at the counter didn’t quite know how to do the FedEx, and I too helpfully pulled off the top sheet for myself – including the little barcoded tracking number things. So, 4 days later when I went to check the shipment online, it wasn’t in their system. Aaargh!! But 12 hours later got email form the lawyer saying they had indeed received the check. Phew!

Then, someone casually mentioned, oh you need a power of attorney, I knew that (I’m not going to go there for the close) but it of course it needs to be notarized. I’m in GERMANY! Panic, to find someone (and I was evolving a scheme to FedEx them to Roch to a good friend who is a notary and have her send them to the lawyer) but it turns out the US consulate here does notarial services from 1 – 4 on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Good thing too, as it was Thurs morning when I realized we* needed to do this and Logan was going out of town for work the next week. So we spent a couple hours waiting at the highly-secured US consulate that afternoon.

* We are buying this house together, I could do on my own but having had no documented income for the past coupla years the loan on my own would have been a point higher interest rate. So we’ll buy together and split it out when we sell the house in CA.

Now the latest is that the mortgage broker changed the loan 3 weeks ago to get a lower interest rate, good, but failed to ask me or let me know about it, bad. I found out from my lawyer when the paralegal emailed me & said “I see you have a new mortgage.” Whaaat? So I had to contact the insurance agent to give her new info for the homeowner’s policy, and request to get a copy of the commitment letter from the new bank. Hooked up with a great and sympathetic woman at the mortgage broker’s office, she has been very communicative. So she emailed me the commitment letter, and I read it, cool. Completely ignored that part about signing & sending it back until prompted, last week when the excellent paralegal at the closing company mentioned they needed them (the lawyer uses them to orchestrate the closing in New York state, in CA it’s a title company). Logan’s out of town, another panic, but when he returned we signed & faxed them.

Then, the new mortgage bank took a look at all the paperwork, and decided that the appraisal forms used for the first bank were not acceptable, so this week they called for their appraiser to go out to the house & use their forms. Except, the sellers were out of town and no one had a key. … Well, the sellers are back now I’m told, so I should hear later today what’s going on!

I have more to write but the lovely Renu called this morning, and I’m meeting her in town to vicariously shop. And I’ve gotta run!

Here’s what I need to write about to catch you up:
Visit to London, Leonardo, ‘Wicked’; shopping with the devastatingly beautiful Marcia; Judi’s amazing skills, dinner party for 22!; and the antici . . . pation is over, the Christmas markets open today.

Hoping for a cold, foggy morning tomorrow to finish up.