I miss Skye

Since we moved into the new house Skye has had to stay at the other house.  The landscape guy doesn't want any dogs on the grass for a couple of weeks.  So I  have to go to the other house to see her.  She wants to come with me so badly.  She does the happy dance when I get there and then sad eyes when I have to leave.  I would bring her and just keep her in but the cats are here, and that just would not work 24/7. She would have the cats herded into a corner and they woudl have to fight their way out--I think Skye would get the worst of that fight. 

Only another week Skye--and you can come to the new house--promise!

                                                 Sigh~~~

At home

I have had several people ask me about the picture on my blog.  I took it in December,09 in Durnstein, Austria.  We were walking down that little cobblestone path back to the boat, when the mist in the air, the sun, everything was perfect.  It depcits the quaintness of the little village perfectly.

We are moved into the new house.  I never knew we had so much junk--one thing about it, it will make for a doozy of a garage sale!  One of my young neighbors, after looking in our garage, told me she loves to do garage sales and maybe I would like to participate---oh yeahhhh.

This is the living room.  It is pretty much in order--most of the pictures hung--some of Jim parents I still want to include in my black and white grouping.

There is actually a lot of landscaping--with two rows of shrubs--one high and one low--I guess they look bigger from the window :)

The porch.  We have sat out on the porch every night and had a neighbor join us.  Everyone is so friendly, since we have moved so much we have missed "connections".  I think we will have some here.  I have had wet hair every time I have met someone since I swim laps every evening.  They won't recognize me with my hair dry.

My welcome mat.  My college roommate, Janis and her husband John sent this to us for a house warming gift.  She is my dearest friend and the closest person I will ever have to a sister.  The rug has green in it that is just the color of the green in the house.  I love it!!

Looking into the entry from the living room.  It is going to be so much fun to decorate for Christmas!!

Another view of the living room. 

The dining room and our outside dining porch.  Surprisingly we have eaten all of our meals so far, outside.  It has gotten cooler and by evening is really pleasant.

We are soooo pooped from the move.  I don't know what we would have done if our daughter Erin hadn't deicded to come last weekend.  It was wonderful for her to help us and even more great to get to spend some time with her.

Moving week

Sooo much to do!!  Mostly I need to just throw things away.  We hope to be in by the weekend because we have a guest coming--we thought we would be in before now.  There are still some things that need to be done on the house--like baseboards up the stairway and few things still need painting.

Last Friday was "Dive in Movie"night.  The screen is huge and is put up by the pool so everyone can swim and watch the movie too.  What we discovered is that we will be able to sit on our porch and watch the movie--cool.  We seldom get to the movies.

I am most anxious to get the drapes and roman shades up I made.  They should all fit but it willbe nice to know that they all work out well.  I copied some contemporary drapes that I saw in a friend's house.  She has a  million dollar townhouse.  In the bath was the most beautiful wallpaper--uh only I found that it was not wallpaper at all but that the wall had been hand painted by an artist--wow!  The drapes turned out perfectly and I can't waitt o get them hung.

It will be so nice to get moved and have some order to life again.  This is our last move--except to the cemetery--someday.  At last I can nest and leave the memories of the old house behind.

Almost MovingTime

The new house closes in a week. I have been working on getting things packed--which is not an easy task with our current house on the market and showing.  I have more drawers filled with "stuff".  Just stuff.   I wonder why it ended up in a drawer instead of the trash.  We need to be as lean as possible since our new house is a third smaller than our current one.  So I am working at filling the dumpster.

The porch rails were put around the porch yesterday.  It makes the porch look so much larger--and now I don't have to worry about Jim falling off the porch.  For some reason he always ended up standing on the porch with his heels off the edge.  I dont know if he did that to scare me or for just the personal satisfaction of doing it.  As I figure it we will be moved in about the time school starts--which means the pool across the street will be fairly empty, to enjoy the last few weeks that it's open.

The cats have figured out that something is happening.  When Boomer sees us packing he starts army crawling around the house--like if we don't see him we won't leave.  He is the one who has lived in 3 states, 5 apartments ( he was a college cat for awhile) and now two houses--you would think he would have it down by now.  Yoda Beth could care less, she will follow us to where ever we put the food bowl, just like the dogs.

Vintage towhship is like going back in time,where the kids ride bikes and go barefooted, and the moms call  them in for dinner.  It is almost like we are moving to Mayberry.  We will be able to walk to the Bistro, plays  at the amphitheater, neighborhood activities in Founder's Park and soon lots of little shops. It is already slow paced in Lubbock but this will be even more relaxing.

Back in Time

The highlights of my childhood summer was going to Washington State. We started going when I was three. I had twin cousins, Peggy and Trish who were 9 months younger than me.  For part of every summer I felt like I had sisters. They lived three blocks down K Street from my grandmother.

It took us four days to make the 2,500 mile trip--one way. Along the way we always took time to see the sights. Dad, having been in WWII, drove almost entirely by landmarks, remembering the good restaurants and "Tourist courts" along the way. There were no chain motels like today except for Holiday Inns and their locations were sparse. The roads were almost entirely two lane roads--having a four lane divided highway was always a treat, no little towns to slow us down--but they were precious few. And there were those mountain roads--sometimes they were so scary that I would lie down in the floor of the backseat trying not to be scared. The trip was always an adventure. I remember Yellowstone before the big earthquake and before the big fire.

Now, 55 years after my first trip, I still enjoy going back to those precious memories of my childhood for a couple of weeks each summer. One year when Peggy and I got together I commented to my uncle, "When Peg and I get together, it is like I am thirteen years old again." My uncle--reading the paper, looked up and said, "More like nine!"

Me with my cousins, Joyce, Trish, Jo and Chris

Sandra, Ian and Uncle Del

Uncle Del, Auntie Pat, Romarie, and Katie

                                                       Uncle Del, Auntie Pat and Joyce                                                                                     

                                                                                                            Joyce and Trish in Leavenworth

Shirley

The Rieman-Simmons Historic House in Quincy, Washington 

                                                         Auntie Pat

                             Uncle Del                                      Karen, Jonathan, Christopher Michael and Chris

                                                                           The original Starbucks

Paul and Karin

Me, Paul and Joyce at the Pike Place Market

Thanks to my mom and dad I got to travel the west and make wonderful memories.