Not my favorite season, but.....

I may be changing my mind.

Fall has never been a favorite of mine.  I am more of a spring and summer girl!  I like flowers and sunshine and warmer weather and not wearing coats.  I live breezes through open windows and the smell of grass just mown.

I like the freedom from the school schedule that summer offers.  I always enjoyed not having to fuss at the girls to do their homework or to study or to get to bed at a certain time because that alarm would ring earlier than any of us would like.

Some of that freedom of summer evaporated when I taught 15 summers for Purdue.  It really vanished when I went to Ivy Tech and it was expected that full-time faculty teach at least 50% in the summer.  I realized that the 50% contract was over and above my regular pay and was a nice addition to our bank account.  Plus the summer classes seemed more relaxed and successful than the normal semesters.

But still.....I liked summer best of all.

After retirement (and maybe even before that) I came to enjoy the harvest season.  There was a time before the girls when I would drive to The Farm, change my clothes, and go into the combine with Gary for the evening.

When the girls were in school, those days vanished because (recall the previous paragraphs) we had to do homework and get to bed at a decent time for school the next day.  Then they became more active in after school activities and sports and that time in the combine didn't happen.

When I went to Ivy Tech, it was worse because my schedule often included night classes or those that would run until 5:30, and by the time I got home, changed, and drove to The Farm, Gary would be finishing for the night

All that changed when I retired.  I could ride with him.  I could help in other ways.  But mainly I enjoyed our time together, the crisp fall air, the sound of the stalks being snapped off and the ears popping off, then stripped and the hopper filling with the dry kernals of corn.

We saw deer, we watched sunsets, and we were exhausted, but I felt once again like I was a Farm Wife, helping her farmer husband with the harvest.

Now all of that is gone too.  The Farm is in the process of being sold.  We are cash renting our land plus the land in the trust.  We sold all of our equipment at the end of August.  We moved to Colburn from Pulaski and the fields around us have been harvested.

And now I feel like I can enjoy Fall in a different way.

Saturday Megan asked me to go with her to do some shopping.  We looked at Fall decor at Kohls for the tables.  We went to a nursery west of Rossville and picked up some huge mums for just $6.  We stopped at an orchard for apples, cider, and pumpkins.

For the first time in a LONG time I was excited about decorating for fall.

As Gary and I have been cleaning out the blue bedroom and the garage, we found my collection of decorative wreaths and several have fall themes and colors.  I now have doors and a hook about the fireplace where they can be displayed.  Plus we received several mums for housewarming gifts last weekend.

I remember one time when Karen Whelan and I were talking about apparel and I said that I liked sweatshirts, sweaters, long pants, and boots better than shorts and sleeveless tops.  She said my modesty was showing through.  That may be part of it (plus I think my legs are ugly and my arms fat), but I do like the look of fall and winter clothing much better than that of spring and summer.

Slowly I am transforming to a Fall person.  I am not sure I can give up spring and summer totally as my favorite seasons, but it is getting close!

Bring on the changing colors and cooler temps, bonfires, and S'Mores, boots and sweatshirts!

Some Things Just Won't Change!!

With the move to the new house came several other changes.

New Driver's Licenses for each of us with the new address and a star so we can fly.

New Voter Registration (taken care of when we applied for the new address on our licenses - thank you DMV)

New trash pick up

New electric company

New gas provider

New body shop

New electrician

New internet provider with a new email address

New mailing address

New mail person (who is not regular since he/she picks up sometimes in the morning and sometimes in early evening)

But some things just won't change.

Our doctors.  SInce we have been going to Arnett Clinic, St. Vincent Care Group, Lafayette Podiatry, Lafayette Orthopaedic for many years, the only thing that is changing is that they are closer so no hour drive each way and that we can go alone, instead of both of us making the trip because the appointments will be followed by shopping and visiting with children and grandchildren.

Hair stylists - Gary likes Amy at Beauty Break    The only thing that will probably change is that he won't have the very first appointment of the day,  Today I had a cut n color appointment with Lindsey.  Jim Ketchen was in there for a haircut with Brandy, and he said to me "You are still coming all this way for a hair appointment?"  to which I replied "There is no way I am giving her up!" which is true.  Lindsey said that once you find someone you like, you tend to stick with them if at all possible and that is what I am doing.  Very true. Very, very true.  It took me a long while to find someone I like, that I can trust, that can fit me into her schedule when I need it, and who takes good care of me. 

Bank - even though we won't be able to go to the bank for cash very often, we will still keep our accounts with Karen at the bank in Medaryville.  No way would we ever change that.

Church - Much as I want to continue to attend services at Francesville, timing may be such that it is difficult at best to do so.  Finding a new church is not going to be easy, and my hope is that we can attend the same one as the girls so that we can worship as a family.  I hope that happens.

Friends - thank goodness for email, texting, and Facebook!  Keeping in touch is easier now that it was even several years ago.  Plus since we are so close to Lafayette and many of our friends travel to Lafayette for doctor's appointments, shopping, or dinner and movies, we should be able to keep in touch.

That's it---for now.  I am sure that as time moves along, there will be more changes, and things that just won't change.  

Change is good - for some things.  Other things just can't change no matter what!

The Daily Dumpster

Gary FINALLY found a dumpster for us to use and we FINALLY were able to set aside some days to work on cleaning out the blue bedroom and the garage.

Now the blue bedroom is kinda like the family joke.  Gary and I used to sleep in the blue bedroom until Megan was born, then we moved upstairs around a month after her birth.  That room then became the guest bedroom, then the catch-all for whatever we wanted to put out of sight. Soon it became full of boxes and tubs and the door was permanently shut to keep everyone out and from seeing the mess that it was in.

We have always talked about cleaning it out.  But that is always as far as it goes.  Just talk.

At one point we even thought about moving back downstairs and using the blue bedroom for just that, a bedroom.  But I liked sleeping upstairs, and the task to clean it out was just too overwhelming.

So we didn't.

But now with the move to the new house and putting the old house on the market for sale, the time has come.  It must be emptied.

What I thought would take just a day or two has evolved into what will be a three day project.  I hope.

We have pulled out boxes and tubs.  I have stood at the end of the dumpster and gone through the tubs and boxes, bit by bit for the most part, and separated what I find into trash, keep to take home, or put into a bag for Goodwill.

Monday we filled a dumpster with trash.  The white Escape was filled with bags for Goodwill.  The gray Escape was filled with stuff to bring to the new house.

Today was a repeat of Monday.

Gary and I differ in our feelings about Goodwill. Most things that are not coming back home he would like to just pitch into the dumpster.  He doesn't want to bag up anything and take it to Goodwill near Target.  My argument is that something are just still good and may be useful to someone else.  Someone may be looking for a tablecloth and here is one that is perfect for their needs---and they can get it cheaper than if they bought it new at Target or Meijer or Kohls.  Books. Same thing. A pair of books. Picture frames.   An iron.  A hair dryer.  A wok.  Wait..the wok went into the dumpster. Strike that.  And since I am making the trips to Goodwill to deliver the bags, it shouldn't matter to him.  Right?

The things that we are bringing home are mostly going to the girls.  There are lots of pictures and things that are full of memories for them.  Each one will receive a box or two of their own things that I retrieved.  Then they can decide what they want to keep and discard the rest.  Sounds fair.  Better than me making that decision and one of them being mad at me for throwing away pictures of their 4-H projects! 

Tomorrow we return for Day #3.  I hope the blue bedroom will be finished tomorrow and we can finish the laundry room too.  The next task will be the garage.  Ugh. I don't even want to think about that one!

Dinner and a Movie

Before Megan and Hilary were born, Gary and I used to go to dinner and see a movie very often on the weekends.  Sometimes we would see two and one time even three movies in one day/evening.  It made for a late drive home!

After the girls were born, those days came to an end.  We were so tired with teaching and farming and taking care of the girls and the house and grocery shopping that we just couldn't spend the time or energy to drive to Lafayette for a movie and dinner.  Plus I felt like since I spent all week teaching and away from them, that I really wanted to be with them as much as I could be.

Later the weekends became full of games and other school activities, and once more, we wanted to be home with the girls while we could be and before they grew up and didn't want to be with us.  Plus the video rental stores started, everyone had a VCR, and we had Movie Nights at home.

After the girls were married and had children, if we were in Lafayette the choice of whether to go to a movie or spend time with the girls and their families was an easy one.  The kids won every time.  The few times that we did go to a movie in Lafayette I usually felt guilty that I was missing time with Landon or Tessa or Cooper or Owen or Lynnlee or any combinations of the five.

It seemed like the only time we went to the movies was when we were on vacation.  We visited the theatre at Downtown Disney several times when we were in Orlando without the kids.  It became part of the New Year's Day tradition with Karen and Clay to see a movie in Gatlinburg or Pigeon Forge each year.

Now that we have moved and we see the kids on a fairly regular basis, the 'trips to Lafayette' are different.  We can run into town for dinner or lunch or even breakfast.  I can make a quick trip into Meijer for something AND use the small cart! Sometimes I even go into town twice in one day!

So tonight....I wanted to go to Lafayette for dinner and a movie.  We hadn't done that for a few weeks, plus I needed to get Gary out of the house for another reason---to be shared later.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Wings Etc by Meijer with Karen and Clay and it was good!  I liked the fish tacos and they were points friendly.  The place was not crowded that evening and we thought it might be a good place to go where we wouldn't have to stand in line for a long time.  We were right---not crowded.  No line.  Fast service.  Good food.  Reasonable prices.

Then I insisted on seeing a movie.  Nothing that I REALLY wanted to see was playing. In fact, nothing really sounded that good to either of us, but we finally settled on a movie called "A Simple Favor."

We went to the early show, starting at 6:40.  The theatre wasn't crowded at all- after all it was a Friday night during September and there were numerous high school football games being played which would probably take several people.  Also from experience I knew that lots of families take the kids and go grocery shopping on Friday evenings too.  Most of the patrons in the theatre were older adults, couples, and a few groups of women.

The movie was hilarious, in my opinion.  The plot was full of twists and turns and surprises.  Even though Gary said he fell asleep a couple of times for a couple of minutes, I didn't notice him nodding off.  He said when it was over that it was the strangest movie he had seen in a long time!

Two things made me smile tonight.

One was that we were able to enjoy dinner and movie and not have to drive an hour each way to do it.

The other was that we were able to enjoy dinner and a movie and I did not feel like I should have been spending time with the kids ----because I had seen all of them earlier in the afternoon.

And I guess another thing was the movie. It WAS hilarious.  No one would ever nominate it for any type of award for anything---but it was funny!

The Antique Gas Stove

One of the 'features' of this house, a main selling point, was the antique gas stove in the kitchen

There were four burners that had to be lit with a match.  There was a very small oven that had to be lit with a match.  And there was a broiler section that needed to be lit with a match.

Lighting things with matches, other than candles, was not something I wanted to do on a regular basis.

Plus I couldn't see baking items for Thanksgiving dinner and many Christmas cookies in that tiny oven.

Now granted...there was a double oven built into the cabinet area for the purpose of more intense baking or accommodating numerous dishes that needed baking.  But I still didn't want that antique gas stove.

So I listed it on several buy and sell sites on Facebook.

At first there were so many inquiries...and comments.  People thought it was beautiful, something they always had wanted, it would be perfect for their basements or a renovated kitchen.  But either the dimensions were not quite right or the husband didn't want it or it had the wrong kind of gas hook up with it.

There was a fairly serious inquiry at the beginning of the school year.  But it came from a teacher who had just started the new year and she never followed up on coming to see it.

However....the other day another inquiry came in.

This lady was very interested...to the point that she said she would buy it and wanted to pay for it when she and her husband came to look at it.  She just needed to wait for a few days to pick it up.

What we are doing right now is waiting for them to arrive.  I need to leave in 45 minutes for my WW meeting in Delphi, but Gary has strict instructions to not lower the price and to accept only cash, not a check.

I hope that this is a successful sale.  We really want to get the stove out of our garage.  We have other things that could go into that space.  Plus it really would make a nice appliance in someone's kitchen.

Just not ours!

Lagging Behind.....

You know, I had been doing SO well. 

I was totally committed to "Reading the Bible in 365 Days" and never missed a day.

I hit 201 days....... and missed 202.  By about 10 minutes.  By the time I was ready to read, it was past midnight and I missed the count for the day.

That was when we still lived on 550S.  But something deflated in me after that and I just haven't been able to stick with it.

Now granted, I have accessed the YouVersion app for 60 days straight since then.  But I haven't read the daily devotion and scriptures.

Why?

I just don't know.

We didn't have the internet so I couldn't read the three passages from the Bible on my iPad without internet connection.  I could on my phone, but it was just hard to do.  Then I remembered that I had my Bible close by, not packed away in a box, so I used it to read the scriptures and checked them off on my phone after I finished.

But still I got behind.

There have been days when I have just been too tired to read.  My eyes won't focus.  My mind is just tired.  I am physically exhausted.

So the Bible reading has gone by the wayside.

Not only that, but I started a new OBS with Proverbs 31 and I can't keep up with that either.

For some reason the chapters just seem so repetitive of books I have studied before.  Nothing really new, just the same things said in a different way by a different author.

I even volunteered to be in charge of the Take a Break Tuesday prompt for our private Facebook group with the OBS, thinking that would force me to be more involved.

Wrong.

I have read two chapters of the book.  I am using the leader's suggestions for the prompts I have done, and they must not be too interesting because NO ONE has responded to them.

Talk about being discouraged.

I need to go now.  I am reading Day 261 right now.  The title of the devotional is "God is Nice and He Likes You."  I had to smile as I read through the opening paragraphs because once again, there was a reminder of Mom.  She always told us that God would be so mad at us for our behavior, that He was disappointed in us, and we were such bad girls that how could we even show our faces in church. One of her favorite lines was "And you call yourself a Christian?" as she snarled insults at us.  Today's passages explain how much God loves all of us, He is good to us, and we are His precious children.  So different from what Mom threw at us. 

Have to get busy with my reading because .... I don't want to be 11 days behind!

Quick Trip to Michigan

You know, we have never really focused on Michigan as a destination for, well, anything.  Until recently.

Last fall we came home from Niagara Falls through Canada and spent a few days in Frankenmuth, Bay City, seeing the Ball Brothers in concert, having lunch at Stray Dog in New Buffalo.  Then in June we traveled to Mackinac Island with Megan and Matt and the kids, stayed at a resort close to there and made another stop at Stray Dog for nachos and fish tacos (Reuben for Gary) on the way home.

This past week we decided to drive to Michigan for a few days, just to get away from the packing, unpacking, sorting, pitching routine that had enveloped our lives for the past few months.  My intent was to finish cleaning out the house on 550S before we left, but that didn't happen.  Oh well.  The trip was a needed one, and off we went.

We left on Monday morning and our first stop was in St Joseph for an early lunch.  An Ivy Tech friend had recommended a place called Buck's Burgers and Brews, and it was a great place to start our adventure.  After lunch we strolled down the streets and stopped at several shops along the way, including a winery.  We checked out the lighthouse on Lake Michigan before we continued our journey.

Next stop was South Haven where we spent Monday and Tuesday nights.  The hotel desk clerk suggested that we go to the tourist information center for more information.  Armed with pamplets and maps we once again strolled the streets, checking out shops, restaurants, and wineries.

A drive to Holland the next morning found us with a repeat trip to the Windmill park.  It was fun to stroll around the grounds and enjoy the flowers, the birds, and the windmills on the property. 

One of the highlights for me was the stop at Crane's Pie Pantry and Winery, which seemed like an odd combination.  The restaurant was unique in that all of the seating was at tables that seemed to have been picked up at auctions or flea markets or yard sales.  None of them matched but they were perfect for the setting.  The tasting bar for the winery was behind the hostess stand for the restaurant and there was a bakery at the opposite end of the building.  My salad was great but the best thing was the Pie Flight that Gary ordered for dessert.  We sampled four different kinds of pies/cobbler with vanilla ice cream as an added treat to the warm concoctions.  It was great!

We stopped at few wineries both that day and the next and brought home a dozen bottles of different wines to try.

We also stopped at two orchards along the way for fresh peaches, apples, and plums. Another stop was at a garden center which specialized in tulip bulbs (that Sheryl for the tip on that one) and brought home around 60 bulbs to plant in our new flower beds.

Getting away for three days was just what we needed.  It is always good just to relax, refresh, enjoy some different scenery, try a few new restaurants, and of course, the wine tasting is always fun.

Rainy Days and Water!

We woke up to rain, more rain since it rained most of yesterday too.

Good night's sleep last night.  I am getting more used to the sounds and smells and lights in this house.  Gary always closes the bedroom door, but that makes me feel so closed in, if that makes any sense, so we compromised with a little slit of an opening.  He likes the doors shut because of the possibility of a fire spreading through the house.  We never shut our door in the old house so I am just used to that, I guess.  But it is getting better.

One thing I really do like is the master bathroom.  It is SO nice to NOT have to walk downstairs, through the fireplace room and the living room and into the hall off the dining room to the bathroom.  By the time I did that and returned upstairs, I was too awake to fall asleep quickly.  Now it is just a few steps and I am there. Plus it is really nice in the mornings - showering, drying my hair, getting dressed, and taking care of the normal morning routine - then downstairs and ready for the day.  I like it. 

Plus the water pressure and supply is MUCH better here than at the old house.  No need to wait for a while after flushing for the water to catch up.  We can start the washer and still take a shower. Or start the washer and run the dishwasher at the same time. Or Gary can use the shower in the main floor bathroom and I can shower upstairs and there is still water!

It's the little things.

FInally Feeling LIke Home!

Yes it is.

We moved all of the Big Stuff on July 28, and since then, the process has continued.

Forewarding address.

More rooms cleaned out at the old house in Pulaski,

Listing the house in Pulaski for sale.

Unpacking boxes, suitcases, and bags little by little.

Loading up both Escapes and the truck with bags for Goodwill and boxes for here to unpack.

Filling more trash bags with just that---trash.

Feeling more and more comfortable with our house, with the sounds, the smells, the lights.

Getting into the morning routine with our own bathroom which means showering, drying my hair, getting dressed in the same area, not carrying clothes downstairs to the bathroom and going back upstairs to finish.  It's the little things, right?

Using the dishwasher.

Enjoying the air conditioning on the hot, humid 90 degree days recently.

Getting a text from Hilary that Landon wants to come over and Gary hopping in the car to go to get him.

Megan asking if I want to go to Meijer and GFS with her after school while Dad watches Lynnlee.

Waving at the neighbors as we come and go.

I like it here.

We have Direct TV now so Gary is happy.

We have internet now so I am happy.

It was a good move. 

I don't miss the old house.

I am glad we are here.