At long last, I can tell you about all the top secret things that have had us so occupied over the last few weeks. As promised, this probably won’t be nearly exciting as you had hoped, but before I spill the beans, here’s one more hint:

No, Ray Romano is not moving in next door, but Ron’s parents will be, so it will be a little like the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond here, but in a good way! Fun fact: Ron’s dad is forever getting mistaken for another famous sitcom actor. He does look an awful lot like Henry Winkler aka The Fonz, and routinely gets stopped when he’s out and about in public by folks who point out that he looks like Henry Winkler. Sometimes they even want to have their picture taken with this celebrity doppleganger. It’s such a regular occurence that around these parts we use the word “winkler” as a verb.

So, for something like a decade Ron’s parents have been looking for the perfect house around here. That didn’t quite work out, but when we learned the neighbor next door might be interested in selling his house, his parents decided that even if the house wasn’t quite perfect the location was.

This process actually started toward the end of last year. A surprise development this spring put the whole plan in jeopardy, and made for a far more interesting real estate transaction than we had initially anticipated. Long story short, another buyer had entered the picture. The good news is that despite the drama, this story had a happy ending, thanks in big part to an ace legal team, that also happens to be some good friends. Among the more interesting details of this transaction, at the time of the closing on this New Jersey home, the buyers were in Florida and the seller was in Alaska. Thankfully, everything went well and Ron’s parents are now the proud new owners of the house next door.

Phase 2, is making this imperfect house as close to perfect as we can get it, so that his parents can move back up to New Jersey from Florida. Right now that means taking measurements, drawing up floor plans and doing a whole lot of thinking and planning. It’s a bit like a puzzle. The challenge is to maximize the available space while also making sure everything is wheelchair-friendly, and I’m happy to report that we almost have everything figured out.

So, things are still a bit hectic here, but the future is looking bright. Hope there’s brightness headed your way as well!

— Alissa

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Weekly Inspiration

What I’m Reading: Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

What I’m Watching: Russian Doll

What I’m Listening to: “Poughkeepsie” The Lemonheads

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Find out more about my books at alissagrosso.com

Find out more about my digital art at alissacarin.com

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My apologies for the typos and such this post is almost certainly riddled with.