phoenix, i hardly miss you

has the baron mentioned that she and the husband once lived in phoenix, az? they lived there from 2004-2006, and reader, those were LONG years. phoenix is good for gardening, but not much else as far as the baron could tell. they picked their house based on it's affordability rather than it's location... it was their starter house, after all, and - coming from san francisco - money was tight. the house, on west willow avenue, was $130,000; at the time, the sum staggered the baron. over time, and especially after the purchase of their maryland home, 130k began to seem reasonable, so reasonable that the baron and the husband decided to keep the west willow house as a rental property. 'maybe we'll use it in the future,' they said, 'and anyway, the market in phoenix is tanking. may as well keep it, right?'

they found renters pretty quickly, and for the past two years things have run fairly smoothly (though the husband will shake his fist in the air and bemoan the state of their formerly beautifully landscaped yard). four weeks ago, though, the renters gave notice that they had bought a house and were leaving. sigh.

the renters left the house in rather poorer shape than they found it. the landscaping IS an issue - not only for the work the husband and the baron put into it, but because a dirt front yard will make the house harder to rent. also, the carpet - newly installed by the baron and the husband four years ago - needs to be replaced. this information, about the state of the house, comes second hand to the baron and the husband from their property management company. the husband will fly to phoenix next week to suss it out for himself... and to meet with contractors to spruce the place up.

the baron, this morning, was thinking about that house and about all the work she and the husband put into it. about how they thought it was their forever home, about how they customized it for themselves, with crown molding and new bathrooms. this was, of course, before things fell apart. for a time, though, it was a happy and hopeful place. the baron has decided, in her reminiscing mood, to post some pictures of that house. reader, bear with her.