Latest Photos of New Home

Looking from family room through kitchen to dining room.
Hallway to master bedroom is on right.


Looking from kitchen toward family room.

Master bath

Arne refers to this as the auditorium.
It's the master bedroom which is larger than we need.

Happy Mother's Day!

The best laid plans...After planning to have lunch at Olive Garden, we had to postpone it a week. Nick decided to work double shift. Hope he gets lots of tips! Aaron wanted to join us and had to work also. In the meantime, I spent the afternoon watching golf on TV and sifting through files and shredding papers we no longer need.

The week-end wasnt a total bust as I received a beautiful bouquet of tulips and Iris from Erik AND the gardenia plant that Arne planted for me many years ago finally bloomed.

New Home's Progress

47 Days...

We're 47 days away from the moving van with a lot of s*** (stuff) to sort through. We've started by going through papers. Arne found invoices from some of our old automobiles. Our '73 Ford Galaxy was a tank and only $4000. And to think what that beautiful white Corvette sitting in our garage cost...Talk about inflation!

This past week I interviewed two more moving companies, Graebel and Wheaton. Along with United, Bekins, and Atlas, we have enough quotes but which is the best company for our goods? We have to make a decision this week. We plan on packing most things ourselves and this will save us $1500-2000, more than enough to ship the Corvette, either on the van or by auto transport.

I played golf twice last week. On Monday, I had a 3-yard drive on the 17th hole. I kid you not...3 yards! It went straight up and off to the left into the desert. I still managed a 6 on this par 4. That might not sound too good to you but I picked up for an 8X on holes 12, 14 and 15 so 6 was much better than picking up AGAIN. I really had the yips. Guess that's why golf is a 4-letter word.

Yesterday, sister Marla took me on the Lost Dog Wash trail in the McDowell Mountains. It was beautiful scenery. I'm glad I got to try it as it will probably be the one and only time.

A gift in disguise

I just read that "This economic downturn is providing a gift in disguise for many young people. They’re learning that success has to be earned. Buying on credit isn’t free money, and a government that promises you everything will eventually come knocking at your door to pay the bill."

I thank my husband for caring enough to teach me to pay off my credit cards monthly, to retire the mortgage as soon as possible, to save for a rainy day and to only buy what I can afford. We tried to teach these lessons to our children. If they listened, they will probably make it through this deep recession far easier than those who overused credit cards and accumulated debt.

Our Great Adventure Begins

As of Tuesday, April 21, we became renters of the home in which we have lived for over 14 years. In less than two months, we will be on our way to Florida for a 180 degree environmental change.

March 22, Arne and I flew to Orlando and then spent a week at The Villages picking out what we wanted in our new home. It was a rather stressful week as so many things had changed since we picked things out last July. We were able to keep the lot we had picked out and are building the same model, minus a few things such as solar tubes, sound system, gas appliances and bird cage. We’ve been told there are few bugs in The Villages but EVERY home has a SCREENED-IN lanai (patio)...to keep out the geckos and patio stays cleaner. Yeah, right!!

For those who aren't sure where The Villages are located, here's a map. Look for the red star. Below the map are pictures of progress on our new home.

What a hike!

Saturday, February 28, began with a 7+ mile hike with Marla and 3 other friends. While we all vowed we'd never take this rugged hike again, I for one am certainly glad we did it. At the highest point, one of the gals noticed fresh mountain lion prints. A bit further and this same gal, perhaps a former Girl Scout??, told us that unpleasant smell was the cat spraying us. Not a comforting thought with safety so far away. And we had been concerned about being bitten by a rattlesnake. I'd rather deal with a snake than a mountain lion!

These pictures, taken by sister Marla, show the beauty of the area...Elephant Mountain trail in Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area north of Cave Creek, AZ. One picture was found on the Net by Marla. Guess which one. :-)





Could this cat be related to a kangaroo?



Above: Elephant Mountain did indeed look like an elephant as we got closer.