It has been nearly two weeks since we arrived home from the Southwest & settled into what will now be a rather long bunch of months before hitting the road again in the Fall. I can see it is going to be a challenge coming up with new & interesting things once again to write about from now till then. I am going to have to reach extra deep into the old black top hat again in hopes of pulling out some new & lively rabbits.
I had mentioned awhile ago we had some important decisions to make when we got home & we just made one of them a couple days ago. We had received an email about 3 months back while in the Southwest from a couple in a nearby city nearing retirement who were very interested in buying our house/mobile. They like our area & they like the pine forest Park we live in. And, they had also seen the following photos....OUR DIGS.
The thoughts of selling our place is not new to us but we just hadn't thought a lot about it since the summer of 08. The email from the City couple set the wheels in motion again & we have been on a real roller coaster of indecision ever since. Personally, I am glad we received the email because it once again sparked discussion between Kelly & I about some possible new directions in thinking again. I am always inspired by new ideas & changes in thinking. Sure beats routine.
For 3 months now we have had endless conversations on, 'what to do.' Pros & Cons, Goods & Bads, Rights & Wrongs. We have been up & down so many avenues of thought pursuing logical answers. Sometimes we were thinking with our heads while other times we were thinking with our hearts. Being the common sense minded people we are it is difficult for us sometimes when the heart is saying yes to something but the mind is wagging a finger saying no!! So, it was with that kind of confusion in mind that we finally reached a long difficult decision this past Saturday to not sell our house....at this time.
For me personally there is a little bit of comfort in that decision but disappointment as well. My preference would have been to either move back to the rural countryside or to have hit the road full time like so many other very satisfied RV folks have. 
There are countless benefits to being Canadian but when it comes to spending longer periods of time in warmer winter climates south of the border there are problems. Snow Birding has worked well for us these past few years but may not work well for us in the coming years so we have been trying to lay some groundwork for future days. If I wasn't Canadian, Kelly & would have moved to either Arizona or New Mexico years ago. We just like the easier going laid back lifestyle of the old West.
Anyway, getting back to our house decision, we will bide our time for now & continue to remain open minded to any ideas or suggestions. In the meantime I am determined to begin ridding ourselves once again of as much unnecessary stuff as I possibly can this summer in preparation for some kind of change.. somewhere in our future:))
GROANER'S CORNER:(( You know you're in Arizona when ...
*You can say 110 degrees without fainting.
*You eat hot chilies to cool your mouth off.
*You can make instant sun tea.
*You learn that a seat belt makes a pretty good branding iron.
*The temperature drops below 95, you feel a bit chilly.
*You discover that you can get a sunburn through your car window.
*You notice the best parking place is determined by shade instead of distance.
*Hot water now comes out of both taps.
*You actually burn your hand opening the car door.
*You break a sweat the instant you step outside at 7:30 a.m. before work.
*No one would dream of putting vinyl upholstery in a car or not having air conditioning.
*Your biggest bicycle wreck fear is, "What if I get knocked out and end up lying on the pavement and cook to death?"
*You realize that asphalt has a liquid state.
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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
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Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.
Whooo boy!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever got lots of THINKS to THUNK about!
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Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
Whooo boy!
ReplyDeleteHave you ever got lots of THINKS to THUNK about!
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Karen and Steve
(Our Blog) RVing: Small House... BIG Backyard
http://kareninthewoods-kareninthewoods.blogspot.com/
some days the minds are just a 'whirlin'!..once you reach the right decision you will know it!..
ReplyDeleteIt is tough to be a Canadian and want to be a fulltimer..with that 180 day rule it does put the 'hammer down' on spending the winter in warmer places at least for any extended period of time..
I think decisions do get harder as time marches on. I don't have the 'Canada' issue, but I know I won't be able to drive this rig alone forever. I will be looking at some possibilities this summer, also. Shucks!
ReplyDeleteI think you made a very wise decision, even though you might (or might not) love living year round somewhere else. I really wish I had a "place to come back to", and while I enjoyed RVing in the 5th wheel, it was never "home" to me in the sense that my home in NC was. Maybe because I'm alone, but I could never think of an RV as "true home". I know lots of folks would disagree with that because they feel the opposite, and I'm glad for them. It just doesn't work out for me. You have a beautiful place in Ontario, and you really seem to enjoy sprucing it up and gardening work.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't it be nice if we could always be certain we were making the right decision? It wasn't so bad when I was 30. If I made a bad decision, I had many years to "fix" the error. Now I know that any decision I make will possibly be a "life-time" decision. No easy answers, but lots of possibilities.
ReplyDeleteGreat crocus photos..love 'em.
Craig and I rarely "talk" about things. I Talk. He doesn't listen!
ReplyDeleteBut somehow decisions do get made and after 45 years we make our way.
I'm not sure whch way is harder.
You'll know when the decison to move, or buy land or make some changes are right. It just feels different when the right opportunity comes along. But, of course, it is harder when there are two of you making the decision, you have to agree and someone usually compromises.
ReplyDeleteA person always feels better when there has been a decision or an action of some kind to take even if it's a frustration to have to "wait."
ReplyDeleteAl, you gave me some good advice to defer to what the Docs say (not sayin' I will)..It's probably best you and Kelly didn't JUMP into selling the house just now..But, believe it or not..I am like you..I LOVE the excitement of changing things up once in a while...step out of the box,..After all, who wants to ride a Merry Go Round forever..I want to get on a Roller Coaster once in a while..That's what life is about, after all!! The only thing we can be sure of in life is that is will change.
ReplyDeleteWe almost sold our place a few years ago, even had an offer and both of us were just sick at what we had done. The offer fell through and we were so relieved, called the realtor and took the place off the market the next day. We toy with the idea of being full time but just can't go there. Good luck with your purging of "stuff."
ReplyDeleteWhooboy - decision time. Good for you guys for finally making the decision. The time may come before terribly long that you will reverse it, but in the meantime, find peace of mind about this decision. Now, if you do your Ontario blogging the same way you have in the past years, we'll stick around and read it every day, loving every picture and almost every word!
ReplyDeleteWow your home is beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteWe are in the process of selling our home of 15 yrs.
This is not easy, but was necessary, as new opportunity is now in Texas
for us.
I love groaners today :)
phxmtnigirl
With your decision made, you can now focus on the daily activities that bring you comfort. OK, now it's time to fire up that Honda motorcycle and take it on a really, really long ride.
ReplyDeleteAh, Boy Al, We been that same route a few times and its gut bustin,,,,,but we made a decision or two and I always told Ms Pat, Lets do it this way then NEVER look BACK.......Ya gotta do what ya gotta do,,,,it will turn out fine.....Worked out that way for us. Hang in there....
ReplyDeleteIt always feels good to make a decision and relieve some of the stress of what the future holds. But as you indicate, it is for now. Very few things are cast in stone.
ReplyDeleteSo congrats on the decision.
I know nothing about the good and bad about being Canadian, but I have lived a total of seven years in a foreign country and there are definitely issues that come up over time with that experience. .
Al,
ReplyDeleteI am happy that I am not in your position and have to make the decision that you did. I certainly don't want you to think that you have made a wrong decision it is just regrettable that you were faced with making it.
It is one of the reasons that I am opposed to the Government being involved in my health care. Once that happens they have control of my life in so many ways, not just control of my health care.
You just do what you can do; best wishes on your future 180 day trips to the Southwest.
My tendency is to Jump and not look back. And poor Jim just kind of gets pulled into the mess with me. I must admit though that I have very very few regrets. But I also know that I am comfortable wherever home is. Be it the motor home or a small condo. I just know I don't ever want a house with a yard and stuff.
ReplyDeleteNow the point I really want to make - if your decision took away your confusion as to what you should do - then it is the right one. That doesn't mean you give up the right to change that decision tomorrow or next year or whenever. It's just the right one for right now.