The best word to describe my life right now is 'fluid'. In my last post I mentioned a big camping trip to the West Coast. I was all packed and we were set to leave on Friday, July 7. I'd been watching the very fast moving housing market in northern Indiana for three weeks, when on Wednesday, July 5th, I happened to see a house 'for sale by owner' that looked like the house of my dreams at a price I could afford. What to do? It was a tough call, but I made the decision to scratch the vacation and fly out to Indiana last week where I saw the house, made an offer which was accepted - all in the space of 36 hours! I am excited, and nervous at the same time. It's a beautiful home in a newer development, but old enough to have wonderful trees and sidewalks and parks nearby. My brother went with me and it was so helpful to have another set of eyes (not to mention another brain) asking questions and helping me think things through. It wasn't until I saw two other homes in a similar price range, that I knew that this was too good an opportunity to pass by. One of the things that this house has, that Scarlett and Zak are going to LOVE, is a patio door that they will be able to look out of and see the back yard! We are moving from a house on the busiest street in town to the second to the last house on a dead end street in a quiet neighborhood! That, alone, will be quite a change!
I am now back in Minnesota where I have worked hard this week to get my house staged and start the long process of packing. Since I have plenty of time (closing isn't until the end of September and my house here isn't even being listed for another week or so), it is kind of fun because I have time to sort and downsize my 'stuff'. There will be a gigantic garage sale in a couple weeks. My biggest challenge is pacing myself, since I tend to be a 'full steam ahead' kind of person. My brothers and close friends are afraid I'll be all packed by Labor Day and then sit around for a month with nothing to do! So I'm intentionally building in some breaks - getting together with friends, day trips to the lake, and this week, taking in the Fargo Street Fair this week for the last time. As usual, Scarlett and Zak got plenty of attention and drank it up. Zak is good for anyone's self esteem and the lady pictured here, new to our community, said "Zak made my day" after he snuggled up to her for 30 minutes.
While I'm busy sorting, packing and carrying boxes, Scarlett and Zak are living the good life. They enjoy having me home all day, Scarlett spends a lot of time on the hardwood floor of the guest room (it's cooler there) and Zak is outdoors almost all day (sometimes up to twelve hours.) He just loves to watch the traffic and the people walking by. Lately we've had a black cat stalking the neighborhood. That crazy cat LOVES to taunt Zak and Scarlett. It hides in the shrubs next door, waits for Scarlett and/or Zak to come out, sticks its head out and once they notice it and start barking madly, it arches its back and hisses, which sends Scarlett and Zak into an absolute frenzy! Crazy cat. And a black one too! Zak doesn't mind the heat, and will often nap on the hot pavement of the driveway. I make sure I bring him cool water every hour or two. But now and then, I make him come inside for a while. His favorite place to nap IN the house, is just under the bed where it is cool and dark.
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| A new home for a fresh start |
I am now back in Minnesota where I have worked hard this week to get my house staged and start the long process of packing. Since I have plenty of time (closing isn't until the end of September and my house here isn't even being listed for another week or so), it is kind of fun because I have time to sort and downsize my 'stuff'. There will be a gigantic garage sale in a couple weeks. My biggest challenge is pacing myself, since I tend to be a 'full steam ahead' kind of person. My brothers and close friends are afraid I'll be all packed by Labor Day and then sit around for a month with nothing to do! So I'm intentionally building in some breaks - getting together with friends, day trips to the lake, and this week, taking in the Fargo Street Fair this week for the last time. As usual, Scarlett and Zak got plenty of attention and drank it up. Zak is good for anyone's self esteem and the lady pictured here, new to our community, said "Zak made my day" after he snuggled up to her for 30 minutes. While I'm busy sorting, packing and carrying boxes, Scarlett and Zak are living the good life. They enjoy having me home all day, Scarlett spends a lot of time on the hardwood floor of the guest room (it's cooler there) and Zak is outdoors almost all day (sometimes up to twelve hours.) He just loves to watch the traffic and the people walking by. Lately we've had a black cat stalking the neighborhood. That crazy cat LOVES to taunt Zak and Scarlett. It hides in the shrubs next door, waits for Scarlett and/or Zak to come out, sticks its head out and once they notice it and start barking madly, it arches its back and hisses, which sends Scarlett and Zak into an absolute frenzy! Crazy cat. And a black one too! Zak doesn't mind the heat, and will often nap on the hot pavement of the driveway. I make sure I bring him cool water every hour or two. But now and then, I make him come inside for a while. His favorite place to nap IN the house, is just under the bed where it is cool and dark.
