Hi everyone. I am so bad….I was just reviewing my last blog and couldn’t believe it was posted last summer! Playing catch-up is something I swear I am never going to do, but guess what?? Here I am again, doing what I said I wouldn’t do again. And it isn’t like I haven’t had time to do it, just didn’t feel like it, life got in the way!
This past summer was rather challenging because besides having a “to do list” inside the house that is long enough to keep y’all busy, we also have a rather exhausting list outdoors too! Our yard leaves so much to be desired, but we have the wisdom now (obviously wisdom comes with age) to know we can only do so much at any given time. We made great headway though, considering we started multiple projects….cleaning and redesigning flower beds, weeding, weeding, and more weeding. Trimming back bushes, redefining the yard and parking places, installing our mailbox permanently, changing our deck entrance, getting all the screens and windows checked for leaks, damages or missing screens. So much more to do, but we will pick up this spring where we left off last fall.
This past winter we finally got around to finishing one of the spare bedrooms, creating a guest room. The bedrooms are not very big so creating as much usable space was important.
BEFORE
AFTER
We are now in the process of redoing the 3rd bedroom which is actually our creative space. There is a desk that Rob uses for his hobbies and an upcycled chest of drawers for storage. The other side is mine where I have my sewing machine, crafts and other miscellaneous “stuff”. We have just started it, doing it in between our outdoor projects. Pictures to follow when done.
Before we were able to get around to these projects, we had some issues that needed addressing. Rob had cataract surgery on both eyes the end of Sept/early Oct. All went well, and he has ditched his glasses at last. As for me, I had known for sometime that I was looking at 2 knee replacements and was never sure how I was going to accomplish that living in a motorhome. Well, unfortunately (motorhome being totaled) that decision was made for me since we are no longer wandering the country and have landed permanently. I had my 1st knee replacement September 20th. It went better than I had anticipated and was up and around in no time, thank goodness, because I had my 2nd replacement scheduled for December 6th. The surgery was successful, but I had a few setbacks. Major swelling and bruising, for one thing and I believe the swelling was due to an allergic reaction to the tape they used to change out my dressing. Oh well, after a couple weeks of PT, I was given the green light to continue my healing journey at home. I am back to normal, whatever that may be, and ready to tackle “the list”!
As I celebrated a milestone birthday this year, my children threw a party for me. It was such a blessed day to have the entire family together, (almost everyone, one son and a couple grandkids couldn’t make it) under one roof. It was a beautiful day so it was perfect conditions for the photographer could get some great family pictures.
My beautiful children
The gang
4 generations
And speaking of birthdays, can you believe our little Maren Mae turned one already. She is such an angel and keeps us all entertained.
It has been an adjustment being back in a stick built home as the list is never ending. Retirement does have many advantages though, like doing what we want, when we want. So eventually we know it will all be done, just no particular time frame as there is still so much to see and do. All work and no play makes for a boring life. We do have travel plans, although we have learned they are all tentative until it actually happens. First on our list is a trip to the UP. We always seem to go in summer or fall so we hope to go up in the spring while it is still cool and not crowded. Hopefully it will be soon. Weather will be the deciding factor. We don’t want any surprises by Mother Nature. We have made some long range plans for next winter. We are planning on spending 3 months in Arizona, hopefully January through March. We have found a campground that rents RV’s and we have reserved one in the southeast part of AZ. When April rolls around, we can take our time coming home, visiting along the way.
What kind of outings do you all have planned? Plans for vacations? Short one day trips? They are all good. Whatever it is, or wherever you go, it will be a welcome to spend time in, and with, nature. Bring out the backpacks, walking sticks, camera, water, and hit the trails. So much to see and do. And don’t forget to look up, it’s amazing out there.
No comments:
Post a Comment