Mon Jan 27 07:52 EST 1997
Weekend Update - January 24-26

I had a doctor's appointment on Friday afternoon.  As you know, we have
been waiting impatiently to hear about the loan status of the people who
have indicated that they want to buy our house.  As I left, I told my
wife that I'd like to see the "For Sale By Owner" sign down when I
got back.  (Don't ask me how one sees something that isn't there.)
Sure enough, when I returned, the sign had been torn down by the kids
and I ran into the house and asked, "Really!?"  Word had come that the
toughest hurdle in the process had been overcome.  The banker called
and said, "Now I *can't* tell you its a done deal, just yet, but when
would you like to do your paperwork?"  We had him over that evening
and filled out our applications for our loan, *JUST IN TIME* to meet
our commitment to the owner of the house we want to buy.  If all the
low and easy hoops are jumped through, we should be moving on Friday,
February 28 and Saturday, March 1.  I'll coordinate the help and thank
you ahead of time for your kind offers!  :-)

Mandy and Jessie went to "Festival of Life" at Eastern Nazxarene College
and won all sorts of awards for their areas of competition.  We are
very proud to have such wonderful kids.  They'll be going on to the
regional competition so Grandma and Poppy will have visitors again.

On Saturday, I puttered around and even took a rare and very plesant nap.
That evening Joy and I went to a meeting.  At the meeting was a friend
who manages a moving company who told us that the they were called to
move Bill Parcels to New Jersey on Wednesday of this week.  His company
was booked but he got the scoop while the national media speculated that
he was gone.  He did what he came to do, which was get the Patriots into
the Superbowl.

We did watch the final three quarters.  I think my wife and Emily would
make very good football fans the way they rooted desperately for the
Patriots.

A lot of work is ahead to move but this will be glad work compared to
the work of wondering "when or if."  Like the Superbowl Champs interviewed
on TV, we give the credit to a God who blesses His children with gifts
that will be used to His glory.  We're very RELIEVED and the excitement
is building.  When the closing date is set, there will be no holds barred
on the excitement!

Mark
  .+*+                .....Cadence Design Systems, Inc.
 ***+*+.        __..'''    270 Billerica Road             A house is made
.*+*+**.   _____[]_        Chelmsford, MA 02184           with hands.
'**++**.  /___/\___\    ^  (508) 446-6451     ,
 '*I*'.::/___/__\___\  /*\                    \_0__,      A home is made
 ..I *..: |[] [] []| .:/*\                      M         with hearts.
 ######==################### ._/__=_.          .|\.
 -------------------------- 'O====O='   metcalfe@cadence.com

Mon Jan 27 09:17 EST 1997
Extra Addition: Picture of the house attachment

Attached to this email is a picture of the house if you can read GIF images
from your email (or download it and bring it up in an image viewer).

We've spent 11 glorious years in the Repulican State of New Hampshire,
but times have changed and too many [liberal] people escaped Massachusetts
into New Hampshire, changing its "Live Free or Die" motto to "Give Me
and Die."

I had to look for a job south of the border and with the MA income tax,
a house in MA made more and more sense.  But the final straw that sent
us southward was that New Hampshire now has a Democratic Governor while
Massachusetts has a Republican Governor -  the whole world has been
turned upside down.  At least now I'll get to vote against Ted Kennedy
and John Kerry! Bwa ha ha ha ha !

Mark
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metcalfe@cadence.com    Cadence Design Systems, Inc.   Phone: (508) 446-6451