Letting Go

Nearly 20 years ago we had this house built just for us. It was to be my grandmotherly family gathering house. Like most of life this plan didn't last long. After being there 6 years Jim took a job in Arizona. Next came work in Wyoming. During that time this house has sheltered 4 different sets of family, a daughter, a son, a sister in law, and a niece along with their families. We also rented it to a non related tenant for awhile. This was always done with the idea that I would go back to my house someday. 

As Jim nears retirement I have come to realize that I don't really want to spend my time caring for such a large place on three levels. We made a decision to let it go. The new owner is a niece that lives in an extended family way that makes this home perfect for them. I go back and forth about being sad to lose my dream and glad that we are moving on to what I think will be a better living situation for us. I do truly hope that this home will shelter my niece's family for many happy years to come.

It is theirs now. We signed our closing docs yesterday.

Back with more again soon. Take care and stay cozy!

Need the Ocean

I don't think this is the favorite time of year in the Phoenix area for anyone. We spend the months of July and August as well as parts of May, June, September and October trapped in our air conditioned spaces in homes, buildings and vehicles. I would be willing to bet it is not that way if you live in Outer Banks homes, Maine homes, Oregon or Washington homes. Or how about a San Francisco home? Didn't some one once say the coldest summer they ever spent was in San Francisco? I keep thinking it was Mark Twain but I am not sure. I guess I better go look it up. Cooler and closer to an ocean just sounds so nice right now!

Edit: I looked it up and Twain did not say that about summer in San Francisco although it has been attributed to him. The source is unknown.

I hope....

I really hope all my readers had a wonderful 4th of July. Ours here was simple but nice. We grilled some steaks, had potato salad, fresh corn on the cob and watermelon. That is one of my very favorite summer meals.

Later when the fireworks started I got the camera out to try for some nice pictures. A lot of them were duds of course but one of my own shots made me say wow how cool.

Take a look!



I had a lot of fun with lenses and settings. Can you tell? This picture is straight off the camera. No cropping or adjusting of any kind. Guess what my new desktop wall paper is?