Desert Rose Blooming in Arizona

Sunday, September 22, 2013

Retirement isn't for wimps....

Yesterday Larry & I went to a community with tons of garage sales about 10 miles from home. We took the pickup just in case we found lots of treasures to haul home. At one of the very first sales we discovered not one but two couches that match our favorite ones at home. We have actually now found this pattern four times in all! At this same garage sale we not only purchased the two couches but also a deluxe barbecue (which includes a side burner!) As we were loading up the two long couches the seller asked how far we had to travel and whether we would use the freeway or not. He said that because we wouldn't be on the freeway we didn't really need to use the tie downs. Larry thought the bungee cords would be enough because it was for show only and the seller agreed and laughed about it. I, however, was not so confident so on went the two ratchet straps and we agreed to come back later for the barbecue.

We spent the next two hours going from sale to sale finding treasures here and there. We got to one garage sale and Larry noticed one of the couches was missing! MISSING? Yeah. Gone! The other couch was hanging precariously over the tailgate so we hurriedly pushed it back in. We knew it had to be on the road somewhere but where? Retracing our tracks would take a miracle because we were in an area we had never been before! A quick prayer and we were on our way. We found out right away that we were on the wrong road with cars behind us and construction in front of us. We wanted to turn left but were forced to turn right. Had to go a mile or two down the road just to turn around. We finally got headed in the right direction and recognized an intersection we had passed through not 15 minutes earlier. There on the corner of that intersection was our couch that someone had gently picked up and moved out of the intersection - even placing the detached leg on the cushion for us. We parked, turned on the hazard lights and jumped out of the truck to retrieve our couch! Luckily another couple stopped and helped us to load our cargo. This time I secured our load more carefully using the straps across the top but also from side to side at the tailgate. If we could have only closed the tailgate we would not have endured all the drama but the couches were just a tad too long for that.

We were blessed in so many ways! To even find the couch again was the first blessing. That the couch didn't cause an accident in that intersection. For helpful hands who moved it off the road. For helpful hands who would not take a penny (or the $20 Larry offered to go have a nice lunch) for their timely help loading it back into our truck. For the couch to be whole even though there was a little damage. We could tell where it hit the pavement because on one arm was an 8" circle of black road rash with a tiny tear. It could have been a LOT WORSE! So grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who even cares about our couch!

Ouch! Damaged couch below and next two photos with throw over the damaged area.

We were able to get both couches safely home and into our living room. Below right is the undamaged couch. Below left is couch we already had. Last photo is of all three in our living room.

Sunday, September 1, 2013

Summer 2013 in Oregon and Washington

Tenajha and Rowen

Asher, Curtis, Rowen & Charity - cousins

Curtis & Asher - buds

Curtis, Rowen & Charity waiting patiently at the pool for it to reopen.

Larry's mom, Gwen, in a quiet moment of reflection.

Miss these flowers!

Loved that we could be there to celebrate Shari and Zach's wedding and reception!

Dinner fun with Asher, Jacob, Mandi and soon-to-be Aubrey

Monkey at play! (Asher)

Tam, David, Bev, me, Dawn, Richard - cousins reconnecting at Canby, Oregon
Dau Family Reunion July 2013

Cranston family reunion 2013 - first one EVER for this group! Oregon City, Oregon

Transformations in the desert......

Our new home. We left for Washington on July 2nd and on Friday, July 19th we got an offer on our double wide mobile home in East Mesa. We accepted the offer and on Saturday had two family reunions in Canby and Oregon City, Oregon. That night we stayed in Salem, Oregon and headed home early the next day. We arrived home Monday, July 22nd and finalized the sale of our home. We began looking for a new home on July 23rd. We had in mind two things: a fixer upper and to stay in our current neighborhood. Found a fixer up in the same park but it would have taken way too much time, money & effort to fix it up. Soooooooooooo...we found a home in another park in Mesa. Work began immediately and we were fortunate to find a handy man on craigslist.com. Carpet came out and laminate wood flooring went in. Larry & I painted the walls 36" up from the floor, changed some bathroom fixtures and cleaned and replaced others while Armando painted the kitchen cabinets, put a new finish on the kitchen counter tops, changed lighting fixtures in the kitchen, master bedroom, dining and living rooms, and refinished the tub in our master bath and the shower in the guest bath. Wallpaper, baseboards, and chair rails finished off the remodel. (Still need to do something with the guestroom walls and the laundry room - stay tuned!)

Here are before and after photos:

I have never seen a round kitchen before but I really love it now with the new look!

From family room looking north into laundry room with hallway to living/dining rooms on right.

From living room looking into dining room with hallway to rest of the house to the left of the far left China hutch.

Front door from near dining room.

Candy came to help - not once but twice! The first time was before we moved in helping to get the shelves lined and keep us organized among other things. The second time we mainly focused on wallpapering! This is rip and dip stuff and it is truly amazing! What a difference! Thanks Candy for all the love, support, and labor!

Family room before and after - little bit different angle though!

Remodeled - master bathroom. (Tub is now white but I didn't take a photo) Berber carpet or any kind of carpet in the bathroom is just not my idea of sanitary! That harvest gold tub is so 70's!

Here are some more after photos:

Remodeled - kitchen.

Remodeled - master bedroom.

Remodeled - north side of living room

Our new park has a catch and release fish pond which is also home to ducks, turtles and more creatures I am sure. We also have an enclosed dog park so Duchess can run free! They remodeled the clubhouses two years ago and spent a whopping $2 million. Love our new park!