“Patience”

I have very little of it. I like instant gratification. That’s why I knit with big needles…you can see progress quickly. However, those stitches are awfully loose with big holes in them. The scarf made from big needles may be decorative but the wind will whip right through it. So it just goes to show, patience truly IS a virtue and the results are better and longer lasting.

“Ewe’s not fat…ewe’s just fluffy!”

I swear…ever since I made the decision to sell the house I’ve been eating everything that I normally stay away from. My new rule seems to be “If it’s not nailed down, it’s fair game!”

Stress eating has always been my nemesis. Sweet, salty, and fried things sing a Siren’s song, tempting me and leading me down a familiar path. Comfort foods. Food you don’t need that feeds a monster inside…uncertainty, fear, insecurity. The trouble is, once that monster is awakened, it is NOT easy to cage him again.

“Stormy Weather”

I spent yesterday helping Daughter #1 with her house and the kids. At the end of the day, we went to the Apple store to get a phone reset then went to dinner. Everyone was hot and tired and the kids were grumpy. It was raining really hard and when I came back to the trailer I noticed it was parked in about three inches of standing water. I walked through it then realized the power cord to the trailer was laying right there. That was somewhat disconcerting. I called my son-in-law’s parents inside and they came out, disconnected the power cord and we moved it to the high ground and put the connection under a bucket.

“My Little”

Someone small came to visit overnight in TOW-Wanda! We snuggled in after supper and visited and played games and read. She is Nana’s buddy!

This is the most important reason for moving here. My family. I lived here for two and a half years when Mr. Virgo and I moved from Pagosa Springs. I really didn’t get to spend this kind of quality time with the kids and grandkids then because I was so busy focusing on him. It is such a blessing to have this time with my family.

“A gift from my sweet man.”

Mr. Virgo was generous to a fault. I had to be careful what I said I liked because I would end up getting it. But really, a lot of times I didn’t need it…nor did I want it. You can LIKE something…a LOT, without necessarily wanting it. This was sometimes the case with Mr. Virgo’s gifts.

He showed me a bedroom suit once in a catalog. He asked if I liked it. I told him I thought it was gorgeous. And it was. But it was also WAY too big for our bedroom and more money than I had ever spent on a whole HOUSE FULL of furniture in my life. And…three weeks later there were three large crates of furniture in my driveway. I didn’t say a word. The man worked hard for his money, he didn’t drink or run around. He deserved to have a comfortable home.

Letting go of this house is a bittersweet affair. It was my first home I owned all on my own so I have been very proud of it. Yet, it is the home I shared with Mr. Virgo and his memory is around every corner. We refinanced it just five months before he died, which gives me a mortgage until I am 90 years old…not something I am willing to contend with. So, off she goes. Prayers for a buyer who loves it as much as I did!

“I Did It!!!”

I spent so much energy wondering how on earth I was ever going to get this house in shape to put it on the market. I whined. I cried. I complained. But, I persevered. And I got it done. Thank you to Hannah and Denise and Hunter for the time you could give me. Thank you to my neighbors for popping in when I needed a little muscle to move things around. Thank you God for having faith in me! The house is listed, the St. Joseph statue has been buried and prayed over. I’m sleeping in today!

“Happy Birthday to my Beautiful Self!”

Mr. Virgo made a huge deal over my birthday because he knew how much I loved it. Birthdays are meant to be fun and celebrated with abandon because you’ve made it through another year. I was so sad on my birthday last year because Mr. Virgo wasn’t here to celebrate it with me. It came and went with little fanfare. I think I got a card. The girls at work got me a cake. My kids called. I cried all evening.

“Collect things you love, that are authentic to you, and your house becomes your story.”

My story is packed away in boxes stacked neatly in a 10x10 square. I chose my treasures wisely, selecting those with the grandest of stories. My great-grandfather’s bowler hat and walking stick. I remember when I was very young, my grandpa would play a tune on the fiddle and Grandpa Richardson would dance a soft-shoe across the back porch. I have my grandma’s churn and treadle sewing machine. My grandmother’s radio.

“Our Handprints in the Driveway”

Handprints in wet cement. Something so few of us have the privilege to do….to build a house from the ground up. Then comes the fun part…filling it with love and laughter and family, and turning it into a home. That’s what we did, the Divine Miss H and me. We anxiously waited for the day they poured the driveway. We put our hands in and celebrated as if we were getting our stars in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theater. She was 10.