Changes

This week was all about changes, in lots of different ways. One way we notice change is when we see something or someone only occasionally over a period of years. For several years, we’ve tried to get together with all the past Golden Bell volunteers who are within driving distance of each other in Arizona in the winter. It’s a different group from year to year, with the constant being LeRoy and I and Dale and Judy Foster. They come all the way from the Kansas City area! Actually, they have been spending a month or so in Arizona in the winter for several years, so they aren’t far away. This year we were joined by Jere and Sue Bates who live in Prescott, AZ. They were at Golden Bell the first year we were. We remember them so distinctly because they were married the same exact day we were, July 10, 1965. We’ve been married one hour longer! It was good to see everyone again.

Back home, the curtain project in the 5th wheel is finished! I was able to use the last scrap of fabric and get matching curtains for the bedroom. That room needs to be painted, but that’s going to wait until fall, along with the rest of the flooring. LeRoy got carpet in the bedroom and the slide opposite the kitchen, but the hard flooring is a fall project, too.

When we bought this property in 2017, there was an ancient travel trailer on the lot next to us on the east. No one had been living there since the owner died in 2014. Her children disagreed over whether or not to keep the property. One daughter wanted it, the other wanted it sold as we understand. Last year they finally came to an agreement and one daughter and her husband have come several times in their trailer to clean up the property. This winter they told us that they had sold their house in California and were preparing to buy a double wide to put where the old trailer was. We have been watching the progress with interest. Our neighborhood is being improved! The first thing they did was take off the awning.

Then they had to work under the trailer where the floor was falling out to shore that up for the moving process. The duct work had to be removed but the box underneath stayed. We were wondering between us whether it would get very far without being knocked off.

The new house is on order, but with the time frame given until delivery, we probably won’t see it until we come back in the fall. In the meantime, the lot is almost empty and looks so big!

I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to home decorating. I’m not very good at knowing how to achieve a desired outcome and it’s often easier just not to decorate. I’ve never been much of a crafter, either. My friend Laura is all the things I’m not in both regards. Her home is beautifully coordinated and decorated and she finds and finishes cute Pinterest projects. This time, she needed a little help so LeRoy helped her turn two chairs and a wall hanging into a really sweet bench for her front porch. Isn’t that cool?

My list of “must be done before we leave for Kansas” things is growing. LeRoy has a count down calendar on the white board in the garage, so it’s getting real up in here! Wish us luck!