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Post by Mac78 on Mar 3, 2016 14:26:21 GMT -8
Hello Everyone!
It has been a while since I have been here. The last few months have gotten away from me. The past 4 months have been very sad for me and my family. My sister passed away the end of October from cancer. She was only 58. She was a few days away from her 59th birthday. The day of her funeral, we had to take our family dog Jackie whom we had for 14 years, to the vet and have her put down. She had a mass around her heart and got up that morning and could not breathe. It was time. It was a terribly sad day. Then about 4 weeks ago our family dog Holly, who was 18, she had a seizure and had to be put down. It has been rough. There were 7 girls in my family and it is hard to believe there are now 6.
I am still working in medical records in a long term care facility. I like it, but not the politics of it. I can not wait for Spring to get here. We have had a very mild winter with only a few snows, and lots of above 40 degree days. Not our typical winter here in NW Ohio.
I hope everyone is doing well. I promise to do better and get on here more often. I certainly miss how we used to all chat away. Have a great March!
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Post by shabbychick on Mar 10, 2016 18:21:53 GMT -8
Marie,
I'm so sorry about your sister. I can't imagine how hard that must be for you. And then to lose your beloved pets as well. That's awful. I hope you are surrounded by people who help you through this awful time. How are your kids doing?
I'm glad you're still liking your medical records job. I remember how much you wanted to get out of child care. Office politics, though, what a pain in the butt. I can totally sympathize.
I'm about halfway through my master's degree right now, but I'm totally ready to be done. Reading and writing take up almost every spare moment, and my job is already busy and stressful enough with all the new teacher evaluation stuff.
I turned sixty last month, so I think a lot about my mortality and the things I hope to accomplish before my life ends. First on my list is buying a real house while I can still enjoy it. I hope to do that this summer. That means that as soon as my current master's class ends on the 31st of March, I'll be spending a lot of my free time replacing things that have broken in the last year like my garbage disposal, my closet rod, and the bathroom fan. Plus I'm still trying to get the flooring installation finished that I started a year and a half ago. My nephews have promised to help me with it the first week in April when I'm on spring break. That will be a load off my mind for sure. Then I need to paint. I'm also going to look for a new job, still in education, but in a different district. I think it's time for a change.
I hope life gives you time to be on the Board more. I do miss chatting. Take care.
Shabbychick
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 11, 2016 13:43:08 GMT -8
Hello everyone! This is a ghost from the past:) vintagegirl is back. Marie I am so very sorry about your sister and your sweet dogs. My heart and thoughts are with you. I have missed all of you so much, and thought of you constantly. Well so much has changed in my life. I retired, sold my home in calif, moved to lincoln county, nevada and bought a home on 20 acres. Did all this in 4 months!!! Health has improved and I am far less stressed. We live about 7 miles outside of caliente, nevada. Bought a great little house on the top of a mountain on 20 acres. We love it. So quiet and peaceful and our dogs love it. Very small community. Only 1900 people live in caliente. Very small town with no traffic lights, one gas station. 2 cafes and a pizza parlor, dollar store and small hardware store, and one small grocery store. Next big town is about 90 miles away (cedar city, utah). Weather is great. No smog, high about 80's in summer and 20's in winter. Some snow, but not too much. Although we did get hit with that huge winter storm and got 4 feet of snow. We were snowed in for 5 days. County plowed our road up to our house, but had too much snow on our property to get out. We got our tractor delivered last week, so if we get another storm we will be able to plow out. I plan on being on the board from now on. Sold most of my stuff with our house so had to start over. Have found some great things up here. Went to a garage sale this morning and found 4 fire king tulip nesting mixing bowls for 20 dollars!!!! Plus got some great yard art. Will try and post some pics this weekend. Glad to be back!
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Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
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Post by Linn on Mar 11, 2016 14:21:26 GMT -8
Marie I'm very sorry about the loss of your sister and your sweet Jackie and Holly. I hope you are doing okay. Hugs Welcome back VG! It's been a long time and it' so nice to see you posting again. We live in a very small town also and love it. I love the wildlife and the countryside. Big city is only about an hour away but we don't venture there very often. Too many people and too much traffic for my liking. Shabby best wishes on getting your master's and finding a house. You will know the house when you see it and everything will fall into place.
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Post by shabbychick on Mar 13, 2016 7:22:34 GMT -8
VG and Linn, it's so good to see you two on the board. I'm glad your health has improved, VG. Your new mountaintop home sounds wonderful. There's a small town on the other side of the Cascades I'd like to go live in. It's not too small...it has a university...but it's not big like Seattle. And it has more sun and fewer trees, both of which I'd welcome. It's just a matter of finding the right job. There are always fewer jobs for librarians than for classroom teachers. I might eventually get back into the classroom full time instead of the library, but that needs to wait another year or two until I finish my master's. I can't do both, though many younger people do. I've spent so many years dreaming about a perfect home, but I know that if I don't get my act together and actually take the chances that allow me to get away from where I am now, it'll just remain a dream. This is where being single sucks...there's no safety net. Not that I want to marry. I actually really like being single and independent, but growing old on one salary is scary. Spring has sprung where I live. We've had the wettest (but not coldest) winter on record, but the mild temps have everything blooming. My tulips have already bloomed right alongside the daffodils. Those usually don't come up till April. All the trees are budding. It's beautiful. I am enjoying the rain, though, because it prevents me from going outside to work on the potted plants in my courtyard when I need to focus my attention on grading papers and studying. Do you guys ever poke around on the Apartment Therapy website for inspiration? They have some fun house tours of really small places. It's interesting to see how people make those tiny little homes work for them. It gives me hope.
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Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
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Post by Linn on Mar 13, 2016 12:32:43 GMT -8
Hi Shabby! Spring has sprung here too and it makes me a little nervous because we could still get a late frost and when that happens it's pitiful to see the destruction to all the living green things. We've been here almost 11 years and it happened once. It really was sad looking. I like to nose around the Apartment Therapy website and was in there yesterday looking around. I especially like the before/after pics and articles. There's some interesting stuff to be found on there. I like to look at the tiny homes too. Our house is small and it gives me decorating ideas plus it's just plain fun to look at. I hope everyone is doing well and enjoying the spring-like weather!
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 13, 2016 16:54:10 GMT -8
Hi linn and shabby:) I hAve not gone on the apartment website. Will have to give it a try. Spring is on the way here also. My bird feeders are full of all the native birds. Have also seen a lot of the less desirable wildlife, like scorpions!!! We are right in the midst of range land and alfalfa farming and they have already started tillng the fields and will be planting soon. There are also a ton of baby calfs. They are so cute. Since we are range land we always have quite a few cows on our property if we leave our pasture gates open. They are gentle but they make a mess. Really looking forward to summer. Weather is normally in the 80's and low 90's with cool evenings. But they also get summer lightning storms. Will have to get used to that. Shabby it was scary for us to take early retirement, but we do not regret it at all. I think it was the best decision ever. It certainly helped that we left calif and moved to a much more affordable area. Our house here is actually bigger and way more property than our house in calif, but cost much less. For the first time in years we also have 2 bathrooms. We also have a completely open concept and I love it. Our 2 guest rooms are very small and will only accommodate a double bed and dresser (barely). But we really only need room for when our daughter visits. Hubs turned one of the rooms into a tv room, as we don't like to watch the same shows. Just got done doing some yard decorating. Will try and post some pics soon:)
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Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
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Post by Linn on Mar 14, 2016 19:49:36 GMT -8
VG I know what you mean about California. We have relatives out there and it is sooo expensive! We live in SW Missouri and real estate plus the cost of living is so much better here. Plus no heavy traffic in this small town and since I have no sense of direction I can't get lost here! Some flowers are blooming and some of the trees have leaves. It will be so pretty before long. I doubt we will even attempt to plant anything. My hubby and I have brown thumbs. We try but we've managed to kill most everything we've planted. Pathetic. I'm glad you're enjoying your new home VG and would love to see pics.
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 15, 2016 15:11:33 GMT -8
Linn I have not posted pics on here in ages. I will give it a go and see if I can make it work: This picture is a child size cabinet that I found in the town next to me. I put it in my master bathroom. Attachments:
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 15, 2016 16:00:30 GMT -8
Yippeee the picture worked. I will post some more pics tonight or tomorrow of my new house and my new decorating style
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Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
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Post by Linn on Mar 15, 2016 17:54:20 GMT -8
VG -what a sweet cabinet! It looks so pretty with all the lovely things you put on it. I'm looking forward to seeing pics of your new home
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 16, 2016 8:48:52 GMT -8
Thanks Linn here are some pics of my house and the surrounding ar ea Attachments:
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 16, 2016 8:52:10 GMT -8
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Post by Vintage Girl on Mar 16, 2016 8:55:16 GMT -8
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Linn
Full Member
Life is not about waiting for the storms to pass ... it's about learning to dance in the rain
Posts: 208
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Post by Linn on Mar 16, 2016 14:59:09 GMT -8
VG - What a great house! I love the way you have decorated it - inside and out. It is so welcoming and cozy looking. Thanks so much for posting pics!
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