I’ve applied at a handful of banks to get a mortgage to buy a house. To know what I can afford and what’s out there before getting my heart set on any particular piece of property.

Good afternoon! Snow flurries and 31 degrees in Delmar. ❄ There is a west-northwest breeze at 13 mph. 🍃. There is a dusting of snow on the ground. ☃ Things will start to thaw out at tomorrow around noontime. 🌡️

It shocks me to think I’m ready 🤯 but now is the time. I’m settling into my new position at work, it’s obvious my time is coming to leave my apartment 🏘 and move onto a house of my own, where I’m not dependent on my landlord for repairs or generosity in renewing my lease or not jacking up my rent. 📄

I’ve been saving and investing for years, building my career and skills, I should be able to take advantage of the mortgage and local tax deduction. Paying a bank 🏦 a lot more than my landlord is fine as it ultimately will build equity and will get me closer to the life I really want with some land, fresh vegetables 🍆 and stock. 🚜 I’m committed to my career and it no longer makes sense to rent a cheap moldy apartment, with everything worn out and falling apart, more so with the big rent increase and the loss of my previously wonderful and caring landlord. I want a place I can be proud of, bring friends and family to share meals with, have chickens and goats. 🐐 Maybe not off grid but with a wood stove and grid tied solar and a heat pump. Get an electric car eventually for commuting 🚙, try to get away from all that plastic. I have to live a good life while I serve as Director of Data Services in Albany for the next decade or two, which might mean I have to knock my dreams down a notch or two – still a big step forward from my moldy apartment.

This afternoon will have a chance of snow showers, mainly before 5pm. Mostly sunny 🌦, with a high of 34 degrees at 3pm. Two degrees below normal, which is similar to a typical day around February 8th. Northwest wind around 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 30%. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch possible. A year ago, we had light rain in the morning, remaining cloudy in the afternoon. The high last year was 55 degrees. The record high of 60 was set in 1981. 11.9 inches of snow fell back in 2003.❄

So that been my day, 📄 gathering documents for potential mortgage sellers and trying to find out more about the mystery LLC that bought up my apartment building who so far hasn’t provided a phone number or business address and wants to be paid rent through one of those cash apps. 🔎 I think I know a fair bit about the landlord’s mystery LLC from my research skills gathered as deputy in Regional Services and public records but what I’m finding is not good news 📰 even if the new property manager seems friendly in person. 🚧

Solar noon 🌞 is at 12:10 pm with sun having an altitude of 35.3° from the due south horizon (-35.6° vs. 6/21). A six foot person will cast a 8.5 foot shadow today compared to 2.2 feet on the first day of summer. The golden hour 🏅 starts at 4:50 pm with the sun in the west-southwest (248°). 📸 The sunset is in the west-southwest (254°) with the sun dropping below the horizon at 5:30 pm after setting for 3 minutes and 1 seconds with dusk around 5:57 pm, which is one minute and 17 seconds later than yesterday. 🌇 At dusk you’ll see the Waxing Gibbous 🌔 Moon in the southeast (139°) at an altitude of 70° from the horizon, 237,634 miles away. 🚀 The best time to look at the stars is after 6:31 pm. At sunset, look for snow 🌨 and temperatures around 28 degrees. The wind chill around sunset will be 17. ☃️ There will be a west-northwest breeze at 13 mph. Today will have 10 hours and 42 minutes of daytime, an increase of 2 minutes and 43 seconds over yesterday.

Tonight will have increasing clouds ☁, with a low of 19 degrees at 1am. One degree above normal, which is similar to a typical night around February 19th. Maximum wind chill around 14 at 6pm; Northwest wind 5 to 13 mph becoming south after midnight. In 2023, we had cloudy skies in the evening, which became mostly clear by the early hours of the morning. It got down to 19 degrees. The record low of -21 occurred back in 1973.

Looking ahead, there are 2 weeks until Read Across America Day 📚 when the sun will be setting at 5:48 pm with dusk at 6:14 pm. I read so many ebooks 📖 with that libby app. Including one about buying a house. On that day in 2023, we had cloudy, rain showers and temperatures between 41 and 35 degrees. Typically, the high temperature is 40 degrees. We hit a record high of 65 back in 1991.