Never a dull moment...

     That is a very apt description of our life, especially these days.  A while ago we were asked to housesit for a friend and we readily agreed.  To be honest, we wanted/needed a break.  To go from a very quiet house inhabited by 2 people to a very busy, noisy lived in by 8 has been a bit of an adjustment and we were a bit frazzled so this invitation was most welcome.  We were staying in a very lovely, large home with the 2 cats or rather children of the home.  They are rather spoiled cats but well-behaved most of the time.  Our job was to take care of their food and water and keep them company, in return we had the run of the whole house including their cable TV which was a huge enticement to my hubby.  We were to be there for 11 days while the woman of the house was visiting her hubby who has been working out of the country.  It was a lovely vacation for us.
     A few days before our vacation was to begin my hubby had an episode of chest pain.  It was not harsh nor did it last long but my daughter and i decided he needed to go to the doctors and have it checked out.  i took him into the doctor and they did an ECG and checked him out.  They said that the ECG did not look bad but he should probably have a stress test.  So, the next week we went in so he could have a stress test.  After reading it we were told that while it didn't look bad he should probably see a cardiologist.  So on Wednesday of this week, we went into the cardiologists office for a consultation.  He said that while the tests didn't look really bad, he really couldn't tell for sure and the only way he could would be for hubby to have an angiogram.  He was available to do one on Friday of this week or sometime next week.  Hubby said "Why not get it over with?", so we opted for the Friday appointment.  (During all of this we are still taking care of the cats.) 
     On Friday, we went in for the angiogram expecting that there would be nothing wrong.  Au Contraire!  The doctor found 3 blockages and put in 3 stents!  We were very surprised.  Hubby spent the night in the hospital, came home today with several new medications.  He is feeling good and wondering what lies ahead.  We will have a follow-up visit with the cardiologist, a time of Cardiac Rehab and probably some dietary changes.  All in all, not a bad experience just an unexpected one. 
   i came home from the cat-sitting last night and Hubby came home today.  It is so good to be home.  In spite of the activity and noise around here, i am much happier here than at a very quiet house.  Things are continuing apace on our new house.  The septic has been approved, the building plans will be submitted this week and we will meet with builders to get their bids.  Lord willing, we could be seeing construction happening soon!  Hallelujah!!! 
i will leave you with a picture of an unblocked artery containing 3 stents, and hubby sunning himself before all of the excitement.

                           

i'm still here...

i have such a hard time getting into the groove of blogging.  i like the idea of it, but i fail in the execution.  :-( 
The past couple of months have been both busy and uneventful.  The work of getting our own home is moving forward albeit slowly.  Currently the designer is finishing up the plans and will then submit them to the county for their approval.  In the meantime, we will be talking to and getting bids from builders in the area.  Lord willing, the bids will come in at a reasonable amount of $$$ and construction will then begin.  If not, then revisions will be made to bring the bid down to an affordable level.  We have been here 4 months tomorrow and it looks as if a reasonable estimate of time to complete the building is at least another 4 months.  What is that saying by Robert Burns about "the best laid plans of mice and men..."?   Sometimes, the waiting is very difficult.  i had thought that we would be in our own home long before now and it wears on me that we are not.  i know that God's will is perfect but mine, however is now and i get a bit fractious every now and then.
Next week we will be housesitting for a friend of the family's while she is gone on vacation for 11 days.  Our main job is to care for her 2 cats and make sure they aren't lonely.  i am viewing this as a little vacation for us.  We will be living in their house the whole time while coming back here once in a while.  We will be able to live as we used to when we were the only ones in the house.  i am so looking forward to it!
In other news, my youngest daughter will be getting married in July near where we used to live.  All of us here will be journeying back there for the festivities and the youngest son will be coming in from China.  We will only be there for a few days but it should be a grand time!  Here are some pictures of some sights in the area.

 and a proud Grandpa with our youngest
grandchild!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Ho hum...

Things seem to moving at snail's pace around here; at least as far as getting our own home is concerned.  The septic system has been designed (costing a pretty penny!) and submitted to the county for their approval.  Once that happens we are free to dig the septic and prepare for a home, however we've been advised to wait until closer to summer to dig.  **sigh** Sometimes it is so hard to wait.  i firmly believe that everything happens for a reason and there is a reason even for this delay but i do get tired and frustrated with it all.
For the past few days, most of us in the house have been suffering with a head cold.  The Dad and Grandpa have so far escaped the bug and i hope they don't get it.  Men can be so difficult when they're sick.  :-)
i have been working on a quilt that i hope to use on my bed once we have a house.  It is using all Civil War era reproduction fabrics and is a Civil War era pattern.

This is what i hope it will look like when it is finished.  So far i have the center completed but not stitched together yet.
It has been a bit difficult adjusting to not having my own home around me.  i love living with my daughter and family but having my own house next door will be fabulous!
We continue to look for a used manufactured home to set here but there don't seem to be many available.  Many of the places that sold them have gone out of business and the ones that do haven't had many to sell lately.  We look on Craig'sList often and there are several listed there but many of them are in parks and cannot be moved.  We would have to live in the part if we wanted that particular home.  That is not in our plan at all.

3 Weeks

Well, we've been here for 3 weeks now.  Things are going well, but not quickly.  Some of the ideas we have had for buying/building our home have been discarded, some have been revised and some have been revisited again.  There is always more to a project like this than appears at the beginning.  **sigh**  Oh well.  We are enjoying living with our daughter and family.  It is wonderful having them around all the time and what's more, they like us!  They want us here! 
This is a picture of their house.  Our bedroom is the last window on the far side of the front of the house.   

The weather has been very agreeable since we've been here.  There has been a little rain, but not much and while it's cool, it's not frigid. 
Hubby and i have been driving around to see the area and he is learning the roads pretty well.  i still could get lost so easily; maybe when i start going places by myself, i'll get better at it. 
One of the more difficult aspects of this situation is one of knowing my place.  Before, i was the lady-of-the-house and i was at home alone for several days each week.  i had charge of our big old 2 story house and had responsibility for the finances and most of the every-day doings.  i did all the cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, etc.  And while i didn't always enjoy it, it was my responsibility and i did it.  Things are different now, and not in a bad way.  My daughter is the lady-of-the-house and takes care of the obligations thereof and that is fine.  She, like me, prefers to take care of her home herself and asks for help when she needs it.  They do not expect Hubby and i to do housework, yardwork, child care or really anything else around the place.  We get along very well all of us together here in the house, but i'm just not sure what i am supposed to be doing with my day.  When my children were little i so looked forward to the day when i could do what i wanted to do ~ sew, quilt, knit, read or do any of the myriad of things i had always wanted to do.  Now i have the time, but i feel guilty not working around the house.  i would add that there are 3 children still living at home and as part of their upbringing they do a lot of the household chores and i don't want to interfere with their training.  So, i have been doing some reading, computing, knitting and helping out when i can.  i think everything is okay with everyone here; i just need to adjust myself. 
i know that this whole thing is part of God's plan for my life, it just doesn't "fit" very well yet. 

Here are a couple of pictures of the lighthouse and the beach that is about 1 1/2 miles from our house.  The waves are not usually so high; a large tour boat had just gone by.  :-)

On the Road Again!!!

i started this blog to chronicle our move halfway across the country and also our adventures in living here and building our new home near our eldest daughter and her family.
     After having quite a time with our moving company,  (i do not recommend All State Relocation Services!)  the truck finally arrived at our home on Sunday, January 13th at 3pm.  The loading of the semi took until nearly midnight and at the end there were almost a couple of boxes left out.  A big thank you to our moving men who actually put 2 boxes in their sleeper to fit everything in.  We said good-bye to our Kansas home
a little after midnight and traveled about one and a half hours to my youngest daughters home to spend the night.
     Up and at'em fairly early and after saying good-bye to a grandson, granddaughter and daughter we left for Colorado and spent Monday night with my sister and her family south of Denver.  We slept in and ate lunch with them at a terrific Japanese hibachi restaurant then headed north into Nebraska.
     Arriving in far-western Nebraska, we dropped in on my mother-in-law who lives in an Alzheimer's unit of a nursing home, then went to my sister-in-laws where we would spend the night.  She gave us the use of her car to drive around town and visit my second daughter and her family with whom we had supper at Perkins that night.  We spent a lovely evening with them before we had to leave to get a good nights sleep before heading out early the next morning.
     Dark and early Wednesday morning, we tiptoed out of the house before our hosts were awake and headed northwest traveling through Wyoming into Utah and then up into Idaho.  We spent that night in Burley, Idaho and had a good supper before relaxing in our motel room. 

     Thursday morning found us eating a good breakfast at the motel before once more climbing into the truck to head off once again.  Traveling through Idaho, then into Oregon we saw such beautiful country!  Driving along the Columbia River in Oregon was one of the most breath-taking sites i have ever seen.  Just spectacular!!!  i didn't get any pictures, so you'll just have to take my word for it!  :-)  We arrived in Portland, Oregon about 5pm; crossed the river into Washington and spent that night in Olympia.  We were only about 3 hours from our destination but being tired out and it being nearly dark we decided to rest and finish the trip the next day.

     Friday we were up and out fairly early traveling the last leg of our journey.  We stopped fairly close to the end to wash the little car and the truck as they were both filthy from 4 days on the road.  Then we detached the little car from the pick-up and i drove it the rest of the way.  
       Arriving at our daughter's house about 2pm, Friday, Jan.18th, we were greeted by many screams of joy and hugs!  It was so, so, so good to be out of the vehicles for a while  after spending the better part of 5 days in them.  The pick-up and car were filled with such things that we would need until our belongings arrived and things that could not be put on the moving truck. 
     The following Wednesday, Jan. 23rd all of our worldly goods arrived by way of the moving truck.  We were so glad to see that truck!!!  Our 2 strong-as-an-ox moving men unloaded the semi with the able assistance of 2 of our grandsons.  It was cold and rainy but they had good spirits as they stuffed everything into the storage unit we had rented.  The unit is full to the brim!!!  i had expected to be able to access some of the things in there but that will not be the case for a while.  All of the boxes are at the back behind furniture, garage plunder and miscellaneous stuff.  i will take a picture of the inside of the storage unit soon.
     We have now been here for 2 full weeks and are settling in pretty well, i think.  Since this post is already very lengthy i will post later on our current and future living arrangements. 
              God's richest blessings on you!