Change Is Never Easy!

Sprague Lake - Rocky Mountain National Park

June, 2011

It's hard to believe that less than one month ago, my plans had me likely taking in this very view (minus the snow) on Monday, July 29, 2013.  The Sprague Lake trail is an easy, flat one-mile trail around the lake just inside Rocky Mountain National Park.  It's a great way to start the altitude acclimation process while drinking in the incredible vista.  We have two regrets about having to postpone the Colorado trip.  The first being the chance to visit during wildflower season.  That will be easily remedied at another time.  The second regret, however, has some finality to it.  For the third time (2009, 2011, 2013), we had rented Riverbend Retreat in Estes Park for our two week stay.  This wonderful cabin just feet from the Thompson River and an easy walk into downtown Estes Park (yet far away from the crowds) became "home" to us and we looked forward to many visits over the years.  But we learned earlier this summer that the owners had made the decision to sell the cabin and it has been purchased by someone who plans to make it their permanent home.  Existing reservations were to be honored, but we knew when bought the condo and cancelled our Colorado trip reservations, that our days at Riverbend were now just memories.   We love Colorado and still have much to explore there, but not this year.  

Finding and purchasing the condo all happened so quickly, I think we are both still a tiny bit shell-shocked!  Don't get me wrong - there are absolutely NO regrets.  I'm not sure when either of us have felt so strongly that we'd made a great decision.  But in the midst of purging, packing, establishing the vision of what will go where and working out a plan to make it all go smoothly, yesterday we just needed a break!   Bill took a long, long nap and I spent the afternoon catching up on some much needed blog reading time.  We are so grateful for the gift of time in this move.  I have to be so very, very careful not to lift too many boxes or work to long at one interval or I pay dearly the next day either in the form of complete exhaustion or very painful joints.  I'm trying to pace myself and stagger the activity between packing boxes for awhile and then sitting at the desk handling the business part of moving which can be totally overwhelming all by itself!

So here is the moving schedule.   Closing is set for Thursday morning at 9:30.  The remainder of Thursday and part of Friday will be for painting, cleaning and carpet cleaning.  We will have Friday through Monday to move and hopefully put away the things we have chosen to move ourselves.  Electing to move dishes, hanging clothing, computer equipment/tv, pictures and lamps is saving us a bundle of money and I feel more comfortable moving those things myself anyway.  The movers will arrive bright and early on Tuesday, the 6th to move all the furniture.  We will then have one full week to get settled in before Bill returns to school on the 14th.  The timing could not have worked out any better and we are so, so grateful for that!

We have only encountered one glitch I was not expecting and that is the fact that our landline telephone number had to change.  I had my suspicions from the beginning because our landline prefix is associated with a particular area of town that is a long way from the area we are moving.  Yet I kept reading info saying that if you remained within the same area code, you should be able to keep the number.  But it was not to be....FCC just would not allow that number to port to the area we are moving.  We tried everything and I've accepted it, but you know how it is.  We've had this number since 1984 and it's going to be tough for this old bird to learn a new one.  Unfortunately, we just aren't quite ready to go the cell phone only route just yet.  So communicating my new address AND new phone number info to all our friends, family and business contacts should keep me at that desk for quite some time.  On the other hand, with a new number, maybe it'll take some of these goofball salespeople awhile to find me again!  Oddly enough, I actually LIKE the new number.  It's catchy and easy to remember!

It'll likely be a couple of weeks before you hear from me again.  Once all this gets underway, I may not even be able to FIND my computer, much less turn it on and have internet!    In the meantime, enjoy a couple of additional pictures of my new digs.

 From my sun porch looking to the left is a lovely forested area.  To the right is a large meadow that eventually slopes down to the road.  I like both vantage points and expect I'll be spending a good bit of time staring one way or the other!

 

Moving Forward...Looking Backward!

Do You Like My new Digs???

July, 2013

Thanks so much for your support and feedback after my last post!  I was so excited to tell all my Blog Friends about our move.  I knew somewhere down the road I'd be writing that post, I just never imagined it would be this soon or would transpire in one week's time!  I can assure you that even though the reality of moving 14 years worth of "stuff" has set in, there has not been one single moment of buyer's remorse or doubt that we've made the right decision.  We are so excited and every time we drive by, we look forward even more to the day we move in.  Speaking of moving in, closing is still set for August 1 and we plan to move the following week.  Although the condo is move-in ready, we are going to paint the three bedrooms in colors more to our liking and why pass up that opportunity while the rooms are empty and nothing has to be moved or worked around.  

There is still the little matter of selling our current home.  We've had lots of interest and a successful open house was held this past weekend.  But it is an older home (73 years old) with the creaks and cracks inherent in purchasing an older home.  Since we didn't anticipate moving for at least five more years, we've kept it in the best shape we could and that should be to our advantage now.  It's just a matter of the perfect buyer coming around who wants this beautiful old Cape Cod just like we wanted it 14 years ago.  

It has surprised both of us that we aren't feeling a bit more nostalgic about leaving our house and yard, but we attribute that to the fact that we've changed along with our priorities and the joy derived from working in the yard and maintaining the house just isn't there anymore.  We'd rather be spending that time with friends, heading to the mountains or taking advantage of the many fun things to do in our community.  We see lots of weekend jaunts to explore nearby places in our future - time that has always been devoted to "house" things.  Perhaps in the back of our minds, we always felt that when Bill retired, we'd have time to do both.  But with retirement on the backburner for at least five more years, that plan went out the window.  It was one or the other and we choose travel/adventure over yard work/home projects!!

Did I mention my sun porch?

Storm door opens to a good-sized patio - door on the left goes into the breakfast room.

Do you like my kitchen?

Picture on the left is standing in the breakfast area.  There is a large pantry on the other side of the refrigerator and at the far end of the cabinets on the left is an entry into the dining room.  The door leads through the laundry area and into the garage.  This is at least twice the counter space I've EVER had and lots more cabinet space as well.  

As for the blog, please bear with me during this time both with posting updates and with commenting on your posts.  I seriously considered taking a "break" until we were moved, but just didn't want to.  The blog is important to me and I told myself I'd MAKE time to post something regularly.  Perhaps, I aimed too high.  I am simply exhausted most days purging, packing, dumping, recycling and taking care of the business details of moving.  So I read YOUR posts for awhile to stay in the loop, but do it quickly usually just staying in my reader so please know that I am here even if there isn't a comment from me on every post.  

As excited as I am about the move, I will admit there is a twinge of regret that I am not leaving this Friday on Summer Adventure (Part 2) which was a couple of weeks in Colorado.  This trip was totally planned and highly anticipated by both of us, but especially me as it was going to involve at least two visits with Blog Friends that were already confirmed.  I will miss that and hope to reschedule it soon.  And next time around, there will be no anxiety about who will mow the yard, water the plants and take care of the house while we meander around the country!  

Please tell me about the last time you moved.  Why?  When?  Local/long distance?  Would love to know your stories!

(If you'll share your stories, I've got a couple of really funny ones I'll share in my next post!)

IT'S OFFICIAL!! We're Moving!

One of the many Daylilies that bloomed in my backyard on Sunday!

June 30, 2013

Two weeks ago, if you had told me I'd be writing these words, I would've laughed at you.  Sure, we've talked off and on for a couple of years about moving into a condo closer to the college where Bill teaches.   We'd search for a while both online and by driving around.   We discovered that the complexes we liked never had anything for sale and the others held no appeal whatsoever.  We'd remind ourselves how much we loved our 73-year old Cape Cod plus all the hard work and love we've put into it over the last 14 years and convince ourselves to stay awhile longer.  We always knew we wouldn't stay forever.  As we grew older and closer to Bill's retirement, our priorities would change and we'd no longer want to have to worry with it while traveling.  We also knew that when the right time came, the perfect place would appear and everything would fall into place.  

And that's exactly what happened.  Two Saturday's ago, Bill very nearly cut off the tip end of his finger while trimming hedges on our front yard.  He was hot, frustrated and just flat didn't want to be doing that so he admits he was careless.  It was also the day we said to each other that we were tired of the whole home maintenance/gorgeous yard scene.  When he was out of school, we wanted to lock the door behind us and go, go go!  

A couple of days later, I did one of my random searches on the real estate web site, zillow.com, for a condo within a four mile radius of Bill's college.  Up popped a new listing in a small complex I had NEVER seen before.  Looking at the pics, I surmised (correctly as it turns out) that the complex had been developed by the same builder as the one we'd had our eye on for a more than a year, but there had been not one single listing in all that time.  Later that afternoon, I did a drive-by and loved everything about the outside.  Bill drove by on his way home, we looked at it the next day, met with our realtor the next morning to see how she felt about selling our house, looked at the condo again the following day, made an offer that evening and our offer was accepted the next afternoon.  The whole thing happened in five days!!  Neither of us have had one minute of second-guessing or regret since then.  We are both totally convinced it's the right thing to do and the right place for us to go.

Bill's commute will go from 26 miles one way to less than 4 miles.  The small complex of 43 units was built in 2004 and most are still owned by their original owners.  Ours was available because the gentleman's wife died in January and although he tried living alone, just couldn't make it work.  His children have helped him move into a place where he will have some help.  To be honest, it looks brand new.  We plan to paint a couple of the rooms, but we could easily move in without doing one thing.  It is all on one level, three bedroom, two bath, huge great room, dining room, the biggest kitchen I've ever had, breakfast nook and a sunporch to die for!  Also, a covered front porch with rocking chairs that will stay!!  It is an end unit so we have a grassy area on one side and a patio that you access from the sunporch.  From the sunporch, looking to the left faces a wooded area and to the right an open field.  It gives the sense of being in a very rural area, but you are less than two miles from the largest shopping/restaurant/entertainment complex in our city.  

To say we are thrilled is putting it mildly.  I don't think either of us had realized how ready we really were.   I know I hadn't!  Please send prayers/good thoughts that our house will sell quickly.  It is a jewel and there is nothing wrong with it at all.  We just hope someone will buy it who appreciates an older home and will love it as much as we have all these years.  Our agent, who is the same agent who sold it to us 14 years ago, loved all the things we had done to it, and made the statement, "if I can't sell this, I need to get out of the real estate business!"  That was very encouraging, but also made us feel really, really good!

So that's our news!  We will close on the condo around August 1 once again reflecting perfect timing.  Bill finishes teaching his summer class on July 26 and does not report back for fall term until August 14.  We will have over two weeks while he is off to get moved.  

Obviously, Summer Adventure Part 2 has been cancelled.  One more example of how we feel so certain this was meant to be is that our offer for the condo was accepted on July 24.  We had paid in full reservations for our two cabins in Colorado both of which offered full refunds if cancelled more than 30 days out.  We made it by TWO days, so I was able to get all money back.  Amazing!

No pictures yet, but we are meeting the home inspector this afternoon, so I'll try and take some inside shots for you.  Then it's into "purge" mode for the next few weeks.  I refuse to move anything that hasn't been used in the last year!  

What does your week look like?

Weighty Matters

Meigs Falls - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

June 26, 2013

Almost exactly one month ago, I wrote a post called, "There's Some Work To Be Done."  In it, I talked about the very slow weight creep that happens so often when we slip just a little here and just a little there.  I also mentioned that I was already a few days into my regular plan for shedding weight.  I am happy to report that just under one month later, about half of that weight is gone.  As is to be expected, the rate of loss has slowed dramatically and I expect it to take two months to shed the remaining pounds.  

I have not yet achieved the nirvana state where 100% of the time I can halt that little mind button that pushes me over the edge where I choose to eat something I know will trigger hunger and make a choice I really don't want to make.  Once I was back in the swing of things, the craving for "white things" left me completely and I've felt no desire for them.  But in the early months of this year and while on our trip to New York, it was like, "oh yeah, I'll have one (or three or six) of those."  Once I was able to flip that darn switch back, it's been smooth sailing!  

In addition to eliminating white sugar and white flour, I also made a conscious decision to eliminate all "nightshade" foods.  It is thought that those contain inflammatory agents and anyone with an inflammatory disease (in my case, Rheumatoid Arthritis) might do better without them.  I didn't write much about this earlier because it was difficult, but in January while in Florida, I experienced some major issues with heartburn.  Please understand that I'm not talking about your typical, "oh I hate too much pizza" heartburn.  This type of heartburn results in severe pain, asthma like symptoms and difficulty breathing.  Don't worry, this is well covered with my doctor - we know it is GERD resulting from more than 30 years of heavy anti-inflammatory medicine usage.  IT IS NOT CARDIAC RELATED.  I immediately stopped the anti-inflammatory, MOBIC, that I had been taking for two years and although I had some pain while coming off of it, surprisingly enough, I've been able to make it all these months with no anti-inflammatory medication.  I'm living on borrowed time with this because these meds are life savers for Rheumatoid Disease patients and I will likely not be able to tolerate them any longer.   So I am willing to try anything to see if it helps.  

Nightshades include tomatoes, potatoes (not sweet potatoes), eggplant, sweet and hot peppers and a few other things.  I'm o.k. with everything except the tomatoes.  I love them and with summer coming on, the thought of not eating little cherry tomatoes like candy hurts.  But so far, I've done it!  For over a month now, I've eaten nothing in the nightshade family of which I am aware.  And people, I can tell a difference!  Could it be simply the absence of any flare-ups in the disease right now?  Of course, but I honestly think I can see a difference because I ate a LOT of tomatoes all the time.  Let me know if you or anyone you know has eliminated "nightshades" from their eating, for what reason and whether or not it made a difference for them.  For now, I'm staying away from them and have even found some yummy substitutes for my beloved cherry tomatoes.

Thank you so much for all your well wishes and prayers for the folks about whom I wrote last week.  I am happy to report that little Zachary is doing as well as a little guy with his problems can.  His mom had a rough, rough recovery, but was finally able to go home from the hospital one day last week.  Earlier this week, they were able to hold baby Zachary for the first time.  What a celebration that must've been.  He now weighs 2.6 pounds!  I'll keep you posted.  

The memorial service for our friend who died in the horrendous fall is this Saturday afternoon.  Reading her obituary painted a beautiful picture of a life well lived and someone who held tightly to the love of family and friends.  We are encouraged to wear Hawaiian print or brightly colored shirts to the service and attend a potluck meal immediately following.  That is so, SO Karen!  I didn't see her that often - only at parties and such, but I miss her just knowing I'll not see her when I visit Bill at his college.  Bill is having a much tougher time.  Their offices were very near to each other and he interacted with her on a daily basis.  

In both cases, thanks again for your kind words.  They meant a lot to me.  

I will have some really exciting news to share in my next post.  There's lots going on in our life. A big change is in the works!  So check back the first part of next week!   In the meantime, don't beat around the bush.  Tell the important people in your life that you love them and tell them NOW.  You just simply never know what's around the corner.

Finding The Light!

Montauk Point Lighthouse - Montauk, New York

May 13, 2013

Last week was not a good week!  It did not begin well, but in light of the way it ended, the irritations that occurred at the beginning were quickly forgotten and totally insignificant.  Valuable lessons learned although being the frail humans that we are, we'll forget again!  

Wednesday evening at choir practice, I joked with my hiking bud about his being afraid he might have to miss his annual hiking trip to Mt LeConte because the much-anticipated birth of granchild number two happened to coincide with those very dates.  Little did he, his wife (also a close friend), or me know that about 4 1/2 hours later that same grandbaby would be delivered almost three months premature by emergency surgery and weigh in right at 2 pounds.  Life stands still.  I don't know what you do, but I pray for strength for them, for that sweet baby, his mom, dad, big brother and mostly, that I'll know how to be a friend.  Baby has stabalized (as much as a 2 pounder can), but mom is still having some problems.  

In the same hospital where mom and baby rest, I spent Sunday afternoon on another floor waiting with family and friends of one of Bill's colleagues and good friend of ours, while she made painful decisions regarding the life of her partner of many years.  The result of a horrific fall down a staircase inside a home they were visiting left that precious life unresponsive.  We love both of these people.  This level of pain is absolutely incomprehensible to me.   As we were driving home, I said to Bill, "we are driving home just like we always do, those people are walking into the restaurant we were passing just like they always do, but our friend's life will never be the same."  

I have strong hope, a deep faith and an unwavering belief that this life is not all there is and so do all the people about whom I've written in this post.  For me, finding the light is all about remembering what is important and what is not. New life begins at a totally unexpected time while we mourn a life that leaves us at a totally unexpected time.  Neither family would say they were "ready."  Life is not predictable - we'd all do well to remind ourselves of that every day and act accordingly!

In whatever way you do this, please hold both of these families in your thoughts and prayers!

It's a long and very winding road ahead of them!

Our journey to healthy eating is an important part of our life and we write here for encouragement and support.  I've found so much more than that in these last three years.  And never has that been more evident than when I sat down to write these words.  Obviously, it's not at all what I'd planned to write about today.  I debated not writing at all, but found that I wanted to share these things with you because you are my friends.   And I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart.

Celebrating Two Anniversaries - 36 Years and 3 Years!

From the deck of our "home" weekend before last - Maggie Valley, NC

June 1, 2013

For the fourth time since I began writing Gains and Losses, Bill and I have celebrated a wedding anniversary.  On June 4th, we woke up, looked at each other and said, "my gosh, it's been 36 years!"  I can't write any more or any better than the previous posts I've written on our anniversaries, so I'll just link back to them and if you choose to read them, you'll learn a bit more about us and our marriage.  I love to go back each year and read them because they are all written from different places while we were traveling.  Someone asked me what we did to celebrate this year and I just laughed and said, "Bill mowed the back yard while I sat on the porch watching him and finishing Mary Higgins Clark's latest mystery."  We consider our summer travels to be our "gift" to each other, so we don't make a huge deal about it on the specific day.  It actually felt odd being at home.  Neither of us could remember the last time we were at home on our anniversary!  But there was something comforting about mowing the yard and reading.  It is so "us" and just felt good.  It was a great day.  Here are those links....33 years, 34 years, and 35 years.

Another important anniversary occurred on May 14th.  That was the day, three years ago, that I paused with my finger hovering over the "publish" button for a long time before hitting it.  And when I did, Gains and Losses: Life Through Sharon's Eyes was born.  I began that first post with the words, "I love to write. I always have."  I did not have a clue what I was doing nor could I possibly anticipate the support, encouragement, joy and new friends it would bring into my life.  It was one of the best decisions I've ever made and I look forward to many more years of writing.  Thank you so very, very much to each of you who have commented, responded and become my "friends."  I still hope someday to say that I have a blog friend in every state.  That would fulfill a little girl's wish of many years ago to have a pen pal (remember those??) in every state.  

We had a quiet weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed a rainy Monday at home.  Most of the day was spent finishing a novel I was reading, catching up on blog reading and continuing to research and plan Summer Adventure (Part 2).  We will be spending two weeks in Estes Park, Colorado to finish hiking some trails that have been inaccessible to us on our May trips because of snow.  Since our time is compressed to just a little over two weeks, Bill will fly out to Denver so he can have maximum time in Colorado because he doesn't get all excited about long road trips like I do.  We'll acclimate to the altitude for a couple of days in Boulder, then move on to Estes Park.  

I, on the other hand, can take as long as I want to get to Colorado and home from Colorado.  And oh what fun I'm having working out that scenario.  I've got a tentative plan in mind, but would love any suggestions or ideas.  

Later this week, I will write a dedicated post covering the first week of my post-adventure return to healthy eating!  Week 1 was a resounding success resulting in what I think is close to the largest weight loss in a one week period I've ever had.  And no, no, NO - I did not fast, I did not starve, in fact, I ate 1200-1500 calories of good stuff every day.  But like I said, more about that later this week.

Talk to me today - What's on your mind this week?

There's Some Work To Be Done!

View from Purchase Knob - Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Maggie Valley, North Carolina - June 1, 2013

 

Summer Adventure (Part 1) is over!  Summer Adventure (Part 2) does not begin until mid-July although there are many adventures planned between now and then.  Whereas Summer Adventure (Part 1) was all about visiting New York City and discovering Long Island, Summer Adventure (Part 2) is all about hiking!  And there is some work to be done between now and then for me to be ready for that.

 

For those who've become my blog friends since 2011, here's the brief recap.   In 2006-2007, I lost 65 pounds and kept it off for a couple of years.  By 2010 (when I began this blog), I'd regained 30 of those 65 and was having a heck of time finding the motivation to lose them.  It was November of 2011 before the "right" plan found me and once I got started, it worked like a charm and by late spring of 2012, I was back at goal weight feeling great.  I remained at or close to my goal weight until early last winter and truthfully, I can't pinpoint exactly what happened.  Obviously, a little too much of this and a little too much of that!  

But I found myself "settling" for a higher weight than I wanted because it hadn't seemed to affect my lifestyle.  Clothes still fit, lengthy hikes were still mastered, energy level was good, etc.  But you know how that goes.....two pounds become four, four become eight and by the time we left for Summer Adventure (Part 1) in early May, eight had become ten.  

Then was when I made my fatal mistake.   The mindset I knew better than to adopt.  The one that said, "don't worry about it on your trip.  Take care of it when you get home."  And you know, in the end, I am lucky to have only gained five more pounds.  What I lost was much greater.  Too much of the white stuff (flour and sugar) put every one of those pounds on places I don't want them to be.   And too much of the white stuff reminded me not how much I craved those things, but how much eating those things masks the wonderful tastes of everything else.  

So the work to be done is not necessarily losing 15 pounds, but is remembering that I now eat in a different way and being thankful that yes, I may have slipped a bit, but it's actually a GOOD thing because it reinforced once and for all, that I want to fill my body with delicious and colorful fruits and vegetable, healthy whole grains and all-natural proteins.  I don't want to feed my body boring white things except on very, VERY rare occasions.

I am happy to report that all returned to normal last Monday morning and much, MUCH progress has already been made.  I'll be back at goal before you know it.  And I can't begin to convey how much better I already feel!  The best news of all is that it is just about time for all that wonderful fresh stuff to start rolling in.  You better believe I'll be at my Farmer's Market bright and early Saturday morning!  It's been a good week with Bill on board.  He'd found a few pounds as well.  We've had some delicious meals and have stuck pretty close to Cycle 1 of the 17 Day Diet which has become my standard for losing and maintaining.  And I know there'll be lots of love and support from you guys as well.

We had no sooner gotten our bags unpacked and all the laundry done than we were packing them again for a weekend in Maggie Valley, NC.  The Asheville Astronomy Club was sponsoring a stargazing event at Purchase Knob, one of the best places for an event like this I can possibly imagine.  We had tried to attend one last fall, but I was too late getting our reservation request in and all the spaces were filled.  I was promised I'd be notified of future events BEFORE they were announced to the general public and they kept their promise.  We had an amazing time - you wouldn't believe some of the equipment those people had.  They take their "gazing" VERY seriously.  Our most spectacular thing was being able to see Saturn and its rings with a clarity I couldn't believe.  Absolutely incredible!  

Bill is well into his first summer class and has a group of 21 students eager to complete Music Appreciation!! We are back into our morning walking routine and thoroughly enjoying being able to walk outside rather than in the mall where we were forced inside during the winter.  

We are anticipating a quiet weekend at home and have no plans to pack a suitcase again any time soon although with us, you just never know. 

 

What do you have planned for the weekend?