The Idahoan Harts of Boston

I've been thoroughly pre-occupied by my new job, house hunting, car shopping, furniture shopping, moving in to new home, watching eclipses, lawn mower shopping.

Here is the house:

All told, I feel like we have been expert shoppers. We held out at the Toyota dealer until they offered $5k off a brand new 2016 Sienna to make room for soon-to-arrive 2018 models. Now they are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our 2014 Highlander from Manila and are talking like they want to make me a very good offer for it such that I could walk away with a 5- or 6-year-old Camry (or similar) without any debt (to accommodate my 7 mile daily commute).

Meanwhile, we got the house at about 5 percent below comparable per-square-foot prices in the neighborhood. It has an "unfinished" basement that is already framed, wired, and plumbed. So we can easily add two more bedrooms an entertainment room. We paid no closing costs and received a $5k cash rebate from the seller at closing, which converted one bedroom from old, hunter green carpet to new hardwood and bought a very nice washer/dryer set with enough left over for the upcoming purchase of a very comfortable couch.

I bought a Honda lawn mower. Brought it home, set it up. Pushed it from garage to grass, decided I hated it, returned it, drove to my parents' house, put dad's lawn mower in aforementioned Sienna, mowed my lawn for free. I don't like self-propelled lawn mowers but apparently that's all they sell in Idaho Falls.

We watched the eclipse.

It was better than advertised. The difference between 99 percent and total eclipse cannot be overstated. Whatever you were planning to do on April 8, 2024, change that plan and get to the path of totality. Worth it.

Michael likes his new backyard.

Indeed, we all love it. The peace and quiet of Idaho Falls is such a welcome contrast to the noise and crowded bustle of Manila. We just love it.