Real Estate

Ken has been roasting coffee for years, and for the last few I’ve been buying it.  I’m a bit manic about my coffee, I like it brought to me in bed the most, but that’s a rare commodity these days! There’s a Pavoni espresso machine in both my Portland & Maupin houses, along with a burr grinder and I’ve been known to bring it all with me if there’s any suspicion that your standards might not be up to snuff (especially for a multi-day trip). Ken’s lovely wife Kathy is part of an all-women’s group we both belong to called Skive (it’s English slang for knocking off work (or school) early and sliding out the backdoor). We meet once a month and have been doing it for over ten years now, ostensibly to talk shop, but really we like to drink good wine and catch up with each others lives. Anyhow, at some point Kathy turned up to a meeting with a bag of Ken’s coffee, beautifully packaged and the word BOLD on the side.  Intrigued I went on line, ordered some and then the very next day he delivered – so freshly roasted It was still warm and I’ve been drinking it ever since.  

A few months ago they both agreed that Portland was not where they wanted to be any more.  Kathy works from home and Ken could move his roasting equipment pretty much anywhere, so a place to retire to, became the focus. An emphasis on good internet connectivity coupled with an easy(ish) commute back into Portland if Kathy was needed for meetings and Ken to deliver his roast.  They had watched with interest my regular posts on Maupin life and as they dug deeper into where they might like to live it rose to the top of the list.  They sent me an email with their top ten list of needs, asking if there was anything in Maupin that even remotely fit the bill, and almost the same day a house came on the market just two blocks away from mine.  We all went mid-week to check it out and it did indeed fit the bill!  A bit of a fixer, definitely in need of an exterior paint job, some water in the yard and a new fence; the kitchen had the original Sears Roebuck metal cabinetry circa 1959 but the foundation was solid and we knew we’d found a winner.  An offer was written and within 4 days the house was marked as pending on the RMLS.  

Last week the keys were handed over, the fiber-optic internet was hooked up and Kathy was back in business.  Ken meanwhile had a LOT of moving to do.  The previous owners had left ALL the furniture and none of it was needed or wanted, so donation trips to The Dalles and the local dump became his new norm.  When I saw them last weekend, the talk was all paint colors, new kitchen cabinetry & counter tops, wood flooring and good use of space.  Ken thankfully was getting the roaster back together (because you know we are all beginning to run out!) and I’m wondering how long before we have a MaupinDarling roast!!   I can’t wait to see the finished rehab, drink the coffee and watch the sunset from their new deck!

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