A Possible Place And A Pal

I met the owner, Lawrence, at the condo he has for rent: two b., two b., two car garage, and some very nice extras, such as a brick-paved patio with a pretty garden and two large trees--grapefruit and orange. That alone made it enticing to me. It's in a quiet, yet very convenient neighborhood and there's a side entrance to the garage. The front door opens onto a pleasant, flower-lined walk and many of the windows look out on a grassy area. A full-sized washer and dryer is included and there's plenty of storage. The kitchen isn't bad and the stove is so brand-new that Lawrence pointed out the papers are still in the oven. There are some negatives: The bathrooms are both very dated--I'm not sure when the place was built, but maybe in the sixties--and the carpets aren't great.
Lawrence will rent it furnished or not and I think he'd like it if someone wanted the furniture. There were actually a few pieces that were very attractive, in particular, a small desk in the second bedroom. However, I have my own and didn't care for most of his, anyway. The maintenance fee, which covers lawn, flowerbeds, and all other outside maintenance, would be paid by Lawrence (I pay the same for my house in Jersey). What floors me is that he's asking only $1495, which is considerably less than I pay, and the place is at least three times larger. We talked about it--I had been very upfront about my lease running until September--and I said I'd talk to the office about possibly being released earlier.
I did, and was told I would have to give a month's notice and pay an additional full month's rent. Hmm...much as it kills me to part with money, I could actually handle that. I decided to e-mail my advisers--my four children--and get their take on this. As I was starting to write the message, it occurred to me: Do I really want to go back to gardening and decorating and cleaning and keeping on top of a fair-sized home?
Yes, I'd like a larger place, but maybe just slightly larger, not three times as big. I don't want to go through the hassle of changing my address, either. So, okay, I'm going to think long and hard on this. Also, I want Ellen to see it; I'll call her and Lawrence later to arrange a time.
As I had said I would, I called Marge at home. Fred answered and said she had been in Atlanticare since Tuesday. They found that she has four fractured vertebrae, clearly the source of the terrible pain she was in. As she hadn't fallen, I surmised they may have broken spontaneously--maybe Pat can enlighten me about this. Fred said that Eileen, Marge's daughter-in-law, was with her, but he gave me her number and urged me to call. I did, Eileen answered and said Marge was asleep. I told her I'd call back at 6:00 their time. Did so, Marge answered and oh, she sounded so much better than she had at home. She's still very, very frail, but is getting morphine and happy day, that's keeping her more comfortable. She said she had to go through some unpleasant tests and procedures, but at least, something is being done. She said Eileen had just left, and daughter Sharon was coming shortly. We talked for about ten minutes and I said I'd call back in a few days. I'm very relieved and hope this means she'll rally.
Went out and bought a nice piece of salmon for dinner and preceded that with a bowl of avocado, livened with lemon juice. It was the whole fruit and I just ate it with a spoon--very yummy.