The Answer

Last time in my weekend post, I included some pictures of four houses we looked at in Utah County on Saturday.  I realized, after reading the comments, that I never said which house was my favorite.  Here is the picture collage I had in my weekend post.  

The bottom house was by far the one that most of you, my blog friends, liked best.  I can sure see why.  It was a cute house on a nice street, however, the house we liked best was...

...this one.  It is 6 bedroom, 3 bath home with 3,123 square feet and a three car garage.  Obviously this is way more home than Charly and I would need as empty nesters, but it was in our price range and I think if it were three years from now, we would have made an offer. The home has plenty of room, the perfect size yard, and a three car garage which is something Charly would love.  The home is in a lovely neighborhood, on the east bench of a lovely town named Springville, in southern Utah County.  Perhaps best of all, it is about 3-5 miles away from these people. 💗

Obviously, a lot can happen in the three and a half years until I retire.  The plan right now is to sell this townhome that we moved to in 2019 and move back into the house we bought in 2016, which in about three miles away from here.  

We have been using that home as income property, but according to tax law, if we move back into the home and live there 2-3 years, we can save A LOT on our taxes when we sell it.  Why don't we just stay in that home when we retire?  It's a great house, that is quite large and has a lot of good features, but it was built in 1953 and we aren't crazy about the neighborhood it's in.  It is quite near (although not on) a very busy street.  The home is right across the street from the home Charly grew up in - and the home his younger sister still lives in.  I don't think she was ever very keen on having her big brother right across the street.  Go figure.  Anyway, very simply, we want to retire in a newer home in a different city.  Charly really wants to move out of Utah, either to a nice town near Sacramento, California or Colorado Springs.  We have family near both places - oldest son lives near Sacramento and my mom and sister live in Denver. I also have an aunt in Colorado Springs.  Our oldest son would not be happy (at least at this point - we hope and pray that changes) that we were moving closer to him, but my mom and sister would love to have us nearby.  California is a beautiful state with many nice people but it is probably at the bottom of my list.  California is hot and crowded and I like to be near mountains - really near mountains.  Charly likes California way more than I do. 

We also considered San Antonio, Texas, but it has fallen off of our list because it is far away, we have no family at all nearby, it's super hot in the summer and the property taxes would be killers on a fixed retirement income. Josh says he wants to settle in Utah, and our daughter, Tiffany, and family also seem to be settling here since they are building a new home in Utah County. Our oldest daughter lives in Virginia, and while we love her and her kids, Virginia is just too far away.  We go back and forth a lot on the best place to move, and we have some time to figure it out, but ultimately, we are praying for God to lead us to the correct place.  

All of this may be more information than anyone really wanted, but I have had several questions in the comments and emails, so I thought I would give an explanation, because we have been looking at a lot of homes in a lot of different places over the past few months.   It's always fun to look, and to dream.  

I have done a lot of moving in my life.  I have lived in 15 different places in 7 states (Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah, Nebraska, California, Illinois, Arizona), so I am used to moving and don't really mind it, although it is a lot of work and I am not as young as I once was.  😉

So there you have it - the whole story of why we keep looking at houses and talking about moving.  Thanks for staying with me.  I would love to know how many times some of you have moved in the comments.   Are you staying put now, or do you think you might move again?

Until next time,

💖Deb😊

"Happiness doesn't have just one address."

~Unknown

The Last Weekend of October

Friday was a training and grading day for teachers at school, and since my grades for the first quarter of school were all finished, I came home a bit early. When I got home, I indulged in a short nap, then Charly and I took a walk.  

It was a cold day, but the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining.  It was a nice day to be outside, with a warm coat on, of course. 

Friday dinner was our favorite Papa Murphy's Pizza with Asian Salad. 

Friday night, we relaxed and watched a little TV. We watched an old Perry Mason episode. We recently purchased the first three seasons on DVD.  It was fun to watch this show that I was one of my favorites when I was a kid.   We also watched a Dateline episode and I worked on more letters to voters while we watched.  

Saturday morning, the temperatures were in the 30s, but Charly and I bundled up and had a morning walk. 

After the walk, we went to a couple of towns in Utah county (the county just south of Salt Lake County) to drive by some homes there and see if we liked the communities and neighborhoods.  We decided that we really liked the community of Springville and will center our search for a retirement home there and in Pleasant Grove.   Can you guess which of the homes we looked at was our favorite?  There was one house I completely fell in love with, but we aren't ready to buy another home yet.  At this point, we are doing a bit of research to see which communities we like and how far our housing dollar will go in those areas.  Right now, we are not even sure we will stay in Utah when we retire. We are still considering cities in Colorado and California, but right now, it looks like at least two of our children and five of our grandchildren will be based in Utah long term.  There are so many things to plan for and consider, and the future is anything but certain, but it's always fun to look.  

We went back to our new favorite Asian place in Utah county for lunch. The food there is so delicious! 

We also went back to one of our favorite thrift stores down there, and Pioneer Book, our favorite used book store.  I was pleased with my haul of books for the day.  Now, I need to stop buying books and start on my "to read" shelf in ernest!  

Sunday morning was church.  

After church, I really took it easy.  I had a nap, did some indexing and worked on some cards for Letters Against Isolation.  

Later in the afternoon, our daughter sent this cute Marco Polo of her children thanking us for their Halloween cards and treats. This picture is really dark, so it's hard to see their cute faces, but we always love hearing from our grandchildren. 

Sunday dinner was brats and beans with mac n' cheese and green salad. 

After dinner, Charly and I went out for an evening walk. 

By the time we were finished, the sun was down and the moon was up.  It was a chilly but otherwise nice evening.  

When this post is finished, Charly and are planning to watch another episode of Perry Mason, then do some reading before bed. 

Weekend gratitude:

• Enjoying beautiful, albeit cold, weather
• Having a fun "day date" with Charly in Utah County on Saturday
• Finding another town in Utah County that is a retirement possibility
• Receiving a Marco Polo message from the grandkids
• Resting and relaxing on Sunday

Thanks for stopping by to share my weekend.  I hope yours was good as well.  Have a Happy Halloween and a good week! 

Until next time,

💖Deb🎃

"Smile often.  Think positively. Give thanks.

Laugh loudly.  Love others. Dream big."

~ Anon

 

Gratitude on a Cold, Wet Week

Another week is gone and it's almost the end of another month.  Time flies. There is always time at the end of the week, however, to take account of my blessings and join with my blogging friends over at Susanne's Space, Living to Tell the Story, for Friday's Fave Five. 

🎃 It was a cold and wet week, which was fine with me and many others around here who hope that we will get  a good snow pack to provide us with the water we need next year.  I am grateful that our rain and snow season is off to a good start. 

🎃  A couple of afternoons this week when we didn't have rain, Charly and I walked right after school.  This tree was on our walking route and it was still beautiful even after all the wind, rain and freezing temperatures.  I am, as always, grateful for autumn beauty and afternoon walks with my husband.  

🎃 On the cold nights we have been having, I am grateful for warm flannel jammies to keep me warm tonight.  This is a new pair I got last winter, and they are so warm, soft and comfy. 

🎃 I also got a brand new winter coat at the end of the season last year.  I paid $30 for a regularly $120 Eddie Bauer coat at a local sporting goods outlet at the end of the season. Even though it was a great deal, I wasn't sure I would like the coat until I started wearing it every day this past week.  It is comfortable, warm, exactly the right weight and a color that I love.  I am grateful to have gotten such such a great, high-quality, warm coat for 75% off!

🎃 I spent some time last week doing some more "reminder letters" for voters.  I have done 300 + voter letters and postcards because I am grateful for this country!  I appreciate the opportunity to help preserve our Democratic Republic and remind others to take seriously the responsibility to vote.

🎃 I love hearing from friends and family who are far away,  and this past week, I had a nice text conversation with a good friend from Arizona.  It was fun to catch-up with her.  I also had a good phone chat with my birth mom and then got this picture from my sister of her and  my mom having lunch on Thursday.  It is always good to keep in touch with those we love and I am grateful for the technology that lets me do just that. 

🎃 Speaking of technology, it was quite stressful when my classroom projector went out earlier in the week.  After attempts to repair the project failed, I was told I would have to wait, perhaps weeks, for an AV person from our district office to come and look at it.  I use my projector for my lessons and instruction every day, so I was so grateful when our librarian found an functional projector in storage at our school, and switched out the broken one for the one that worked. Now I can go ahead with my planned lessons that rely heavily on my projector. 

🎃 Thursday was my youngest granddaughter, Hattie's,  fourth birthday, and Charly drove down to our daughter's house to wish her a Happy Birthday.  They had a nice visit.  

🎃 Hattie loved the Elsa Doll we gave her, and I love this cute picture of this sweet four-year-old. Charly also took Halloween treats for all of our grandkids.  I am grateful for our grandchildren, and that Charly was able to see the youngest on her birthday.   This week was super busy for my daughter and her family, but we are all planning to get together again soon. 

Those are some of the things that made this past week a good one.  I hope things are good in your world as well. 

Until next time. 

💖Deb🎃

"When you are grateful,  fear disappears 

and abundance appears."

~Tony Robbins

Stormy Weekend

It was a cold and wet weekend here along the Wasatch Front, but it was still nice and cozy, despite the weather. 

According to the weather forecast around here, Friday was supposed to be the last nice fall day for quite a while.  A hard freeze, rain and even snow was forecast for the weekend.   We knew when we took our walk on Friday evening, that it would be the last one (at least for a while) in warm fall weather. 

I spent time Friday afternoon preparing my little container garden for cold winter-like temperatures.  I pruned my little fig tree, which is my favorite plant and the one I am most concerned about as we get freezing temperatures.  I read online that making a tent out of a quilt was a good way to protect the fig tree during the winter, so that's what I did.  You can see the striped quilt I made a tent out of.  I put my hydrangea and clematis plants under the table and put a blanket over that. 

When the cold rain began on Saturday, my patio garden was all ready with the fragile plants tucked away for the winter. 

I am getting ahead of myself however, because when I got up early on Saturday morning, the rain had not yet started.  We had another stunning sunrise, so I took a few minutes and watched the sun come up over the mountain from my front yard.  Here is what I saw over about 20 minutes. 

The sunrise was so beautiful and the peace of the morning was the best part of my day.  As I watched this stunning show of light and color, I thanked God for the opportunity to see it and all the wonders of His creation. 

We drove to Utah county again to look at more houses and more communities that we may want to move to when I retire.   We did not see any houses we really liked.  Two houses, one of which is in the picture, looked great from the outside, but inside they needed A LOT of work and updating, and they were at the very top end of our budget.  We also went to a couple of communities that we did not like, so we won't look at any more homes there.  Fortunately, we have a kind and patient realtor who knows that we are still in the research stage of deciding where we want to eventually move. 

While we drove, Charly and I listened to and finished the audiobook, The Power of Habit, by Charles Duhigg.  It was quite interesting.  I will review it in my October Reading Roundup. 

We got back home in time for lunch and met up with our good friends Jeff and Sandy at one of our favorite restaurants.  I had the "Bleu Bomb" which is a bacon, Bleu Cheese burger.  It was delicious and we had a nice long visit with our friends. 

By the time we got home from lunch, there was a steady cold rain falling. 

Charly and I turned on the furnace for the first time this season and spent a nice evening at home - my favorite place to be on a cold and rainy night. 

Because I had a big lunch, I had a lite dinner - grilled cheese sandwich with applewood and bacon salad and sea salt veggie straws.  

Sunday was cold and while we only got rain in the valley there were several inches of snow in the mountains. 

We went to church Sunday morning as usual.   It is always good to meet with, worship and fellowship with other Christian believers. 😊

In the afternoon, after a little nap, I worked on and completed more cards for Letters Against Isolation. These cards are going to the Life Care Center of Cheyenne, Wyoming.  

I finished up the last of 220 postcards to remind voters to vote in the upcoming election.  Charly and I have worked together on postcards to votes in Wisconsin and Washington state through two different organizations.  

We also marked and mailed our own midterm mail in voting ballots. 

Sunday dinner was Swiss steak over white rice with a power greens salad and blue cheese dressing on the side.   It was excellent. 

Plans for the rest of this evening include getting ready for work tomorrow, possibly watching a movie and reading before bed.   

Weekend Gratitude:

• Rain
• Productive Saturday morning in Utah County scoping out possible retirement  communities and houses.
• A very nice lunch and visit with good friends.
• A nice visit with our bishop (pastor) during our annual Tithing Declaration visit on Sunday.
• A husband who can calm and reassure me when I am worried and anxious.
• Much to look forward to. 😊

Thanks for visiting to share my weekend.  I hope yours was also nice and that the coming week is a good one for all of us. 

😊Deb💖

"To succeed in life you need three things:  

a wishbone, a backbone, and a funny bone."

~Reba McIntyre

 

Gratitude at the End of the Week

This has been a challenging week both at home and at school, so I am grateful for this opportunity to join with other blogging friends who link up over at Susanne's blog, Living to Tell the Story, to share the positivity and gratitude with Friday's Fave Five. 

😊 Monday was another SNAD (Student Non-Attendance Day) at school, so it was nice to have a day without meetings or training to grade and plan.  I am thankful for time to prepare meaningful lessons and assignments. 

😊I exercise in our basement every morning and now that the temperatures have cooled off, the basement is cold when I get downstairs, so I am glad we have this electric fireplace/heater to warm things up enough for me to be comfortable.  I am grateful to have a nice, comfortable place to workout in the morning before school. 

😊 I admit that many days when I get home from school, I am exhausted.  Often, I ignore the fatigue and push through trying to accomplish what I need to.  This week, however, I have been listening to my body and taking a few minutes to rest and relax when I get home before fixing dinner. I am grateful to be able to take a time-out when I get home to rest and regroup. 

😊 We have had beautiful fall weather here.  That may all end this weekend when a hard freeze and snow is predicted.  While mostly rain is expected here in the valley, the surrounding mountains may get up to 21 inches of snow.  I am grateful that we have had such a lovely autumn and also that we may get some needed moisture this weekend.  

😊 With our lovely fall weather, the fall mums out on my back patio have started to bloom.  I am grateful for flowers no matter what time of year.

😊 As we get deeper into the fall season, the sunsets earlier and earlier. As Charly and I have been taking our walks after dinner, we are often finishing up in twilight.  This was the amazing sunset one night as we were walking.  I am so grateful for beautiful sunsets that bless the end of the day. 

There is always more to be grateful for, but that's it for this week's Friday's Favorites post.  Have a good weekend.