Life without the Plasma TV

It's a beautiful picture..but no longer.  Our TV didn't make it to the new house, without some problems...the whole screen is cracked.  It’s a definite flaw and it simply will not work. Took almost two years to buy it and gone now...sometime in the twenty minute drive between the old and new house. I think the vibrations cracked the screen. The reality...it's quite and actually a whole lot more pleasant with out the noise. Time now for books, magazines, sewing and for other things that have been put on hold. I am simply enjoying it. Not that we are without a TV; no we still have three other ones.  The picture is not the same quality and perhaps time for change, less TV watching. Or being less focused on actually being entertained or entertaining ourselves..Profound. OMG…what have I become?

Good Byes and Moving Forward

The move is over!  After almost twenty-three years of living on East Tremaine Ave, we sold the house (closes on Tuesday) and moved to a rental house. OMG, its in south Chandler!  A new area to explore; can’t wait. Will call this rental home for the next three months. Hopefully a new home will be found, financing arranged and will able to move in by August 15th.  A tall order, but doable, if all of the pieces fall into place.  If not will find another short-term rental and move there.

Some regrets, though not many. It was time, long ago to move on.  Neighborhoods change, people move in and out, lose friends and it doesn’t seem or becomes a place you really want to live any longer.

The house is clean, ready and waiting for its new owners. A family of five including three boys, a 9 months, a 2 year old and a charming 4 year old will be living there.  That house will ring with joy, laughter and tears. It will be some one else’s home now.  After meeting Julie, who seemed so proud and happy to buy this home, it took some of the sadness out of this transaction.  They have been house hunting for three years, before choosing our home, what a privilege.  I know I am leaving it in good hands.

Now on to the next leg of this journey…house hunting this afternoon. Yeah.

The Road Less Traveled

"London Bridge” is falling down, falling down, falling down." Well, not anymore it isn't. And I was fortunate to spend a few days in this Arizona city. Though getting there or should I say, I was wondering if I would ever get there. There aren't any road markers on I-10, saying this exit to Lake Havasu or least I did not see any. So I just kept driving, but when we crossed into California, I thought we might have just gone to far. At the checkpoint, I asked the produce inspector...which way?  Am I headed in the right direction?  I received a kind of a blank look and was told, go to Blithe and exit at I-95 and head north. 

So head north we did, we are now on the west side of the Colorado River, on a narrow, poorly maintained road.  Not much traffic, barren landscape and signs that kept saying Needles 99 miles or Vidal 30 miles. Now who ever heard of Vidal California?  Not me!  But press forward we did, figuring there

had to be a point to cross over the river.  I do like traveling roads I have never traveled, but to be honest this time I was worried. We had left Chandler at 5:30 am and had anticipated getting to Lake Havasu before 9:30 so we could attend a specific workshop.

Vidal, how can I describe it…a little bitty place that time has forgotten, no gas station, a few homes and nothing else for miles.  It’s one of those place where you have been there, done that and never again.

Long story short after about 30 more miles we did cross the river at Parker Dam.  Interesting architecture…and was built in the late 30’s. 

The Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam that crosses the Colorado River 155 miles downstream of Hoover Dam. It is 320 feet high, 235 feet of which are below the riverbed, making it the deepest dam in the world. The dam's primary functions are to act as a reservoir, and to generate hydroelectric power. The dam straddles the border between California and Arizona. The reservoir behind the dam is called Lake Havasu and can store 647,000 acre·ft or over 210 billion US gallons.  I guess you could call this route, the road less traveled.

Even though we had this little side trip and after seeing some actual road signs we did make it to Havasu, though a little late.  Had a great time, enjoyed some good food, drank some delicious margaritas, toured a bit and met lots of ladies from other Arizona DAR Chapters and a few daughters from other states.

Next time though, I will be ready,  printed directions from Google or at least take a map of the state. You just never know when you need one. Can't rely on markers...though it was strange there wasn't a sign advertising Lake Havasu or at least an exit number. And we did make it home...this time we went to Parker, then headed east towards Wickenburg and then south for 10 miles to the I-10.

"Waiting Quotes

I needed some inspiration to help alleviate my lack of patience when dealing with the "Waiting Game".  Here are some quotes to clarify the word "Waiting".  For the next couple of weeks, more patience is needed to "wait".   Love the the last quote. Its about "Waiting"? Ask yourself whether the dream of heaven and greatness should be  waiting for us in our graves - or whether it should be ours here and  now and on this earth. Ayn Rand  We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us. Joseph Campbell  The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck. Ralph Waldo Emerson  Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. Carl Sagan  Ten men waiting for me at the door? Send one of them home,  I'm tired. Mae West  Oh to be so loved.

My New Shoes

New Shoes!  I enjoyed going to physical therapy for over two months to help relieve my Achilles tendononites problems.  The Achilles tendon is responsible for helping you lift off the ground with each stride and when injured or stressed, a mere walk around the block can be very painful.  When the tendon gets inflamed it is known as tendonitis, and when the tendons are chronically overused, it may lead to microscopic tears in the collagen matrix and causes a gradual weakening of the tissues. And this is what affected me.

These new shoes (Sketchers Shape-ups) are so nice to walk in and in fact really inspire you to walk by the way they propel you... they're very supportive and make each step feel as though you are as light as a feather. Thanks to my best friend, I now have "Happy Feet".

The Illusive Cardboard Box

The illusive packing boxes, where did they all go? It sure is hard to find cardboard boxes that haven't been shredded, mutilated or just plain unusable. Well, we hit the jackpot this morning at Kohl's. We were actually there to pick up some new socks for Grandma.  After entering the store, there they were, the boxes.   I asked the clerks if please, please can I have them.  Of course, take as many as you want she answered.  And yes I did, as you can see.  My car overflowed with boxes. My daughter sat on the roof cover and helped hold the boxes in.  After two miles of driving at 10 miles an hour, we safely reached home and we both sighed a sigh of relieve. From the laughter on our part about how silly we looked and the looks we received from passers by.  Just another memorable moment on our path to a new home.