Thursday, October 24, 2019

Still Here, Just a Little Distracted :-)

September 22 - October 17, 2019
Tombstone, Arizona and Yosemite, California

Like waiting for anything major in life, the time seems to drag until we look back and realize it really flew by. A month seemed daunting when we opened escrow, the days sort of ran together while we practiced patience, postponing those "fun" purchases was challenging. Then poof! we met with the owners who agreed to pre-closing occupancy and we're in our new place a week before closing. 

There's been more than just waiting too - we had a wonderful adventure with family back in California. Corey (our number three, Bill's number 2) and Christie got married at the base of El Capitan in Yosemite on October 6. We flew to Sacramento from Tucson on Friday, then drove four hours to Yosemite Valley. 

Having a small condo in the park, close to the cabins the rest of the family had rented, worked out great. It was just the parents and siblings so an intimate gathering of 12 people made for a relaxing weekend. 

Saturday we visited the wedding site and drove through the park. It took us over an hour to go less than a mile by the visitors' center, but with the surrounding views it wasn't much of a hardship. A short drive down the mountain to pick up a bite of lunch at the market was a nice break from the hordes. That evening we enjoyed BBQ at one of the cabins and tucked in early. 


Figuring out where the sun will be the next morning.

Crawling through the park traffic.

Much dryer than our last visit (this is upper falls without a trickle), still stunning.



Richie and Travis get the chicken and burgers ready.

Granddaughter Reese is due in November - momma Emily hams it up with daddy Travis.

Family time before the big event.
I am now a big fan of morning weddings! Sunday at 8:30 AM we were on a rocky beach along a bubbling river, surrounded by incredible mountains, sharing a lovely and simple ceremony with immediate family. The photographers made sure we were in the perfect spot, and it was magical. The couple asked that everyone be present and not taking photos during the ceremony so I'll share those when we get them.


Good friend and wedding officiant Matt with Corey in front of the beautiful natural cathedral.
Following brunch in the majestic lodge we all headed in different directions - us returning to Sacramento where we had dinner at my BFF's home. 


Christie made this darling jacket. Welcome to the family!

The lodge, not the BFF's house.
This was Tessa's first time flying and she did great. She waited her turn to go through security off-leash by herself, and made lots of new friends in the waiting areas. Southwest Airlines treated her like royalty, and we had the front row for all our flights (two in each direction). Once she laid down on her blanket, she slept through take-offs and landings. 


All comfy for the 90 minute flight.
The day after we return, we meet the owners at the house. After a thorough walk-through, and a few hard-to-let-go tears, we have the keys. We purchased it furnished but they went the extra mile in making sure we could comfortably just move in and have what we needed. The bed is made with fresh sheets, towels in both bathrooms, a set of dishes, shower curtain, etc, etc.....and best of all - a Keurig in the kitchen! 

We spend our first week taking care of priorities like satellite, a new king size bed, big TV, and recliners. Projects get started, but until closing we don't tackle anything major. 

The house is very livable, but it's dated and we'll be taking our time bringing it into the 21st century.     


Not surprising, most of the work will be in the kitchen. Yes, that's carpet on the floor!

We love our big island. The opening on the left into the living room will be twice as large when we take out the big pantry and move the frig to where that closet is in the corner. Probably change out those lights :-))))

The tub is wonderful and the commode is new - but have to lose those metal walls and update the sink and storage. 

The carpet is in perfect shape but will end at the dining room. There will be a more open feeling when we widen that opening and paint the paneling. 

I'm keeping the large built-in hutch in the kitchen, but the layers of shelf paper have to go! 
So we're in and enjoying cool evenings on our front porch with amazing views. What a blessing that it all came together (looking back) so quickly. 

Lots of excitement planned for the holidays both here and back in SoCal, but we'll mostly be here through the winter. Then back on the road!


Naturally we  had to share our first "house-cooked" meal with Anna and Donnie!
Next we'll take the motorhome for a weekend gathering of high school friends back in the desert where we grew up.




16 comments:

  1. Yosemite - such an awesome setting for a wedding !!!
    Looking forward to your posts as you enjoy creating you home!

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    1. Especially at that time of day - it was truly amazing.

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  2. What a beautiful place for a wedding—and a brilliant idea to have the ceremony early in the morning! It looks like such a sweet, memorable gathering with your family.
    We're excited for you guys that you've moved into your new home! Now the fun begins, getting to fix it up just the way you want. Well, maybe scraping off shelf paper isn't so much fun...I see you have your professional tools—hairdryer and spatula, LOL. Reminds me of the many months we spent renovating our little 50s cottage in Ashland.

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    1. Nothing but the very best of tools for those tricky jobs :-))) We've been working on stuff every day but also taking our time and appreciating the surrounding beauty.

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  3. Fluffabulkead! So glad that Tessa is free to move about the country on Southwest! Beautiful spot for a wedding. :). Can’t wait to see your house!

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    1. LOL!!! A new chapter in her crazy life! It's good to know she travels just as well by air :-) Can't wait for you to see it too.

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  4. Yay! You're back, we've missed you. We knew you were busy but......we want to see!
    What a beautiful setting for a wedding, and a morning one must have been just stunning.
    The house looks cute and painting that paneling will make such a difference. We did that in our first cottage and I couldn't believe how well it turned out. Looking forward to watching it change and become "yours"!

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    1. It was like a woke up one morning and thought "I haven't blogged in a long time!" Have to get caught up on reading them too. Bill's idea to paint the paneling, and I think it's going to look really good. Have to wait for the small remodel but hope to get that done soon.

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  5. What an awesome spot for a wedding!! Can't wait to see the photos. And we are so happy for you guys--looks as if you bought yourself a project--not quite as bad as ours but a project. Fun!! If you need to remove any wallpaper, and it might work on that shelf liner, I bought a wallpaper steamer when we started on this house and you are welcome to borrow it! Works like a charm!

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    1. Every time I think this place is daunting I think of what you two have accomplished just over the hill! It is definitely fun though :-) I may take you up on that steamer, this paper is old and multi-layered. And it would be great to see you too! I'll let you know :-)

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  6. What an amazing place for the wedding. Having such a small intimate affair makes the wedding extra special. Jessica's wedding on the beach in Florida was just family. I love that you were able to get your new home furnished. Sure helps out right away even though we both added and changed a few things. Yes! You got a Keurig, too. Enjoy your home. It looks wonderful. Can't wait to visit.

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    1. I loved the early morning light in that valley! The owners were so sweet to be sure we had everything we might need, knowing we were moving from the RV. Can't wait to share it with you too!

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  7. Didn't you mention that you've never been to Yosemite until just recently? Now you have a special memory to carry with you whenever you visit in the future! Reese is such a cute name. Being the first girl, she'll be spoiled for sure!!

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    1. Yes! Whole life in CA and didn't see it until I was 61 - so lame! Such a beautiful place, and a wonderful memory for our little family. Those boys won't know what to do with a girl - she'll have them all wrapped up in no time :-)

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  8. Oh, you're going to have so much fun making this place your own! Congrats!

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    1. We really are! As you know each project turns into four more :-))

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