Just indulge me... I'm feeling homesick

My dear friend Farmlady, over at Over Good Ground had a wonderful blog post a few days back... ( I missed it, until she brought it to my attention this afternoon) and after reading it and reveling in the photos, I've been so homesick that I could almost cry.

To think of Farmlady travelling the same roads that I long to travel again, and for her to see the sights that I ache to see again... well, it makes my heart glad.
Because I know without a doubt, that she understands just how much I miss "home"...

Because she lives there.

New Melones Lake

Natural Bridges - upper cavern

Main Street - Hwy 49, Angels Camp

Fourth Crossing

California Mule Deer

Angels Theater - the only show in town!

Mountain Misery - Ahhh, the fragrance!

Getting ready for the Calaveras Frog Jump - the street is decorated like this every year.

New Melones Lake


California Blue Jay

On Wednesday nights, Mike's has the best "all-you-can-eat pizza!

Melones at sundown

Band rotunda, Murphys Park

Decorations onHwy 49, just before the Calaveras County Frog Jump

Natural Bridges... a few miles out of town, and an absolutely wonderful place to swim!

Murphys... just down the road from where I'm moving to.
This is "Home"....

My Mama didn't raise no fools!

Heck... my Mama didn't raise no fools!
She just raised an idiot.

I posted this as a little ol' message on "Face Book messages" a few days back... and I've gotten a fantastic response - in spite of my wording!

Work Bee / Garden Party / Sausage Sizzle

With all the rain we've had lately, as well as the flood damage, my garden's gotten totally out of control... and I need some help with it.
The weeds, grass and vines are everywhere, and at my advanced age, I sure as heck can't do it all on my own.

So y'all are invited to a "work bee - garden party - sausage sizzle" on Saturday, the 5th of February!
Sounds like fun, eh?!

Bring your favorite tools, (weeders, secataurs, trimmers, rakes, children, etc) and I'll provide all the sausages, beer and soft drink you can handle - And we'll have a ball whipping this place back into shape!

When: Saturday February 5
Where: My place
Why: Because you love me.

RSVP asap... Because I need to know how much food and drink to buy, because I wanna keep ya happy! ;)

So next time, I think I'll take a little more time to proof-read and edit... which will hopefully stop me from calling people's children "tools"...

At least in print, anyway.

And before I forget.
You're welcome to bring your least-favorite children.... as well as your favorite ones.

I won't tell 'em, if you don't.

Just so tired...

I don't know what's gotten into me lately, but I've been so tired and stressed, that it's an overwhelming effort to even put one foot in front of the other.

My house needs cleaning... seriously. But I just figure that dusting is a waste of time, since it's back within a day or two... and to tell you the truth, I would rather conserve my (rather limited) energy for something more productive.

The problem is, I don't know what that is.

It's certainly not scrubbing the shower, or doing the dishes.
It's not doing yard work... and I can't even get excited about the tomatoes that are slowly beginning to ripen or the peppers that are now prolifically producing.

I look at all of it and just think "meh".

I do know what it stems from, (the house in California) but since that too is out of my control for the time being, I guess my only option is to have more faith, and work on having a bit more patience.
But I wonder if I even have it in me anymore to do either of those things.

I've finally - after a lot of thought and prayer - decided to just say "bye-bye" to the little house next door to my son - and go for the manufactured home on the kids property, option.
What I want, and what I can realistically afford are two vastly different things, and to be honest, I think I got so worked up and excited about the first option (buying the little house) that I just didn't look at the bigger picture.
Yeah, IF the bidding had come in low enough, it would have been a workable plan.
Definitely.

But since it didn't, I know that God was letting me know that this wasn't to be.
I just couldn't accept that at the time... and I wailed and railed against it for weeks.
But I've accepted it now, and it's now time to buck up and move on.

But that's easier said than done... you know?

I know that my son is working on things on his end.
And I know too, that with him working full-time and having a missus and 3 little boys to care for, in addition to doing all his necessary "stuff" as well, that he has bigger and better things to do than inform his overly needy Mama of every little detail, or phone call, or trip to the planning department for permits and such.

It's just that it's so hard to play this waiting game, and to not really know what's going on.

Last August, I took a giant leap of faith and quit my job in preparation for the eventual move, (though I'm still working part-time, privately) and I started in on tidying up this place, so that I could get it on the market.
At that point, I was figuring on being out of here by the beginning of the year, but y'all know how those plans turned out.

And with one thing after another seemingly falling through, it's getting harder and harder to maintain this place - let alone make improvements - with next to no $$'s coming in.

Will the manufactured home (if it all goes through) be ready by March?
By April?
By June?
It's the "not knowing" that getting me down.

Moving house is a major life-changing decision at the best of times, but to do it from this end, virtually blind and not really knowing what's going on on the other end... well, it's just damn hard - you know what I mean?

So s'cuse me, but I'm tired.... so I'm gonna go work on that "faith and patience" thing some more.

facebook

Don't know if any of you are interested, but I can be found on
facebook. (<<<--- click here)

All you have to do is send me a friend request... and if you tell me who you are, (which is extremely helpful, considering my tendency towards doofus-ness) I'll add you forthwith... okay?

I'm such an addlepated doofus...

It's recently ( and repeatedly, I might add) been brought to my attention that I haven't filled any of you in on the additional and/or latest status of the house I bid on.

Several of you have commented on the fact that I haven't updated y'all at all since the post
"I'm still blue in the face"
And as well, a few folks ~namely Miz Becky @ Becky And Her Babies and Miz Nancy @ Southern Blessings ~ have sent me numerous emails... wanting to know what was going on regarding the little house in Murphys.

So I apologize for keeping you in the dark - especially after all your sweet prayers and good wishes.
I could have sworn that I said something on the blog, but I guess in fact I just posted it on facebook and shared it in a few private emails.
Me bad...
But I told you before, that I needed a minder - now didn't I?

Well, you can at least un-cross those fingers and toes and other assorted body parts now.
At least temporarily, anyway.

We're still waiting.
Unfortunately.

It seems that with the Christmas holidays and all, the real estate agent for the winning bidders has been a little slow in getting back to us.
Now, I don't really believe that it's because of all the houses that she's been selling for Christmas, so methinks that she's just not very "on the ball", as it were...
Although she did pop around to my son's house a few days back, asking him to show her the septic and leach fields, and now - on behalf of the owners - she wants to get a surveyor in.

So the waiting game continues.

But... I keep having this niggling thought in my head.
I told you that I was praying that the house would someday be mine, right?

Well, it seems to me that my losing the house was a pretty clear and resounding "no" on God's part ...
And even though there is still a chance that it can be mine, I keep thinking that God wouldn't have me lose out by $6,400 dollars, just so I could turn around and later pay a higher price.
I don't believe God works that way.

And even IF the owner and agent decide to take a loss, and sell it on to me for far less than they paid, if God really wanted me to have that particular house, why would he let the bidding go so high, knowing that I need every last penny for renovations?

If I was really really meant to have it... wouldn't it have gone for around $25,000 in the first place?
And wouldn't the other guy's agent have gotten a flat tire, or neck boils or something, on the way to the auction ... so that he couldn't outbid me?

So the "waiting game" continues... but I'm not sitting around on my cute little butt.

We're also looking at transportable homes, and Josh has found one that I'm absolutely drooling over. With a master bedroom suite, 2 additional bedrooms, a mini-bar and a wood-burning stove, as well as a huge deck. Room for guests, (and I hope to have a lot of 'em) as well as space for the grandsons to whoop it up a bit, while grummie sits on the old front porch swing and casts adoring glances at them.
When I don't have guests, that is.

These transportables are all homes that could easily be set up on a small portion of Josh and Becky's land for far less money than what this other place would potentially cost me. (including transport, as well as all set-up costs, such as permits and hook-ups, utilities and the like)

I could even place it basically 15 feet behind the other place (the one that I didn't get) and I would still be far enough away for privacy... but yet still near enough to get the occasional morning cup of coffee ~ personally hand-delivered by my lovely family.

So there ya have it ~ in a nutshell.

To be continued...
(eventually, anyway)

It's not working yet...

Well, I had high hopes for the New Year - not to mention my New Year's resolutions... and even this early in the game, it looks like it's a losing battle.

See, this year, I vowed to be more organized... so that I could find the time to do things that were important to me.
Stuff like catching up on blogs, and getting around to posting more regularly.
Things like getting out in the yard and getting the veggies fertilized, not to mention doing something about the waist-high weeds that are quickly becoming a tangled jungle out there.

I vowed to get the Christmas tree down by January 2nd, and get everything - including the ornaments - boxed up properly, so it would all be ready for the moving van.
Which also needs to be scheduled, since it's going to take at least 6 weeks to get from this end to the other.
Which also means sorting and packing and tossing and giving away my possessions - most of which I look at now and think "what in the hell was I thinking?" when I bought that?

None of that is getting accomplished.
Not one iota.

The Christmas tree is still standing in the corner... mostly devoid of ornaments, but I still have the lights to do.
The ornaments are piled haphazardly on the table, awaiting sorting and boxing.
And the stinkin' cats made off with the tinsel rope a couple of days back and I haven't even bothered to go looking for it.

The refrigerator needs a good cleaning out, but I keep using the excuse that I want to wait until garbage bin day - which is 3 days from now.

The laundry needs doing, but I keep using the excuse that I want to get the laundry room tidied and sorted through first before dragging the clothes baskets out.

Hell, there are even towels on the clothesline that have been there since at least 2 days ago... but I'm just using the excuse that they're just getting well aired.

Excuses, excuses, excuses...

I need a minder.
I swear I do.
Or at the least a cattle prod... and someone to administer it to my hiney.

Pity no one gave me one for Christmas.