Out With the Old; In With the New

Today I left my house for the last 13+ years for the last time. I was surprised about how unemotional I was about this "ending". I expected that after such a long time in this house I might be a bit nostalgic. But I wasn't.

I enjoyed my house but I don't know that I ever "loved" it. It was comfortable. It was a place I enjoyed being and inviting people to. But in all honesty it was a bit burdensome. It was big. It had a huge yard (and a wickedly steep ditch in the front yard that I used to be able to mow by myself).

But my knees aren't what they used to be and the house didn't "fit" anymore. I don't think I would have realized this if I didn't have this new house opportunity. I would have continued to enjoy the house and try to hire people to maintain the yard and flower beds.

But would I love to be there? No. I'm ready for a change. I'm ready to create a house that reflects me at this age. And it will be wonderful to downsize my outdoors/yard maintenance requirements.

So, today all my belongings are packed and moved into storage, the old house is awaiting its new owners (escrow closes Thursday) and I happily leave for the last time.

The "weight" of the old house is gone; the new house begins soon. Goodbye Amblewood Lane.

House Raising

This last week has been spent packing and tossing and wrapping and fretting. To get to my new house I have to move all my belongings into storage and close escrow on my old house. Everything is going well but it just takes time and lots of energy (and has anyone priced boxes recently?!).

The inspection on my house revealed that my master bedroom slab had sunk. It's been so hot that my dry clay soil just sucked my bedroom foundation down into the ground. An unexpected and unwelcome expense. But a problem that has to be resolved before the closing.

Yesterday the work was done to raise my slab. I was at work so my brother-in-law Randy attended the "house raising". It was a strenuous process of digging deep at several locations, hydraulically jacking the house up, adding new cement under the foundation and then filling the holes back up with dirt. But the hoped for outcome of a level slab under my bedroom was accomplished.

(It's going to be another hot, dry summer. So, friends, get those soaker hoses going around your house foundations!)

Now let's get this house closed. The storage unit is rented, the boxes are packed, the movers are scheduled and the house is scheduled to close next week; let's get it done. I'm weary from everything involved in moving after living in this house for 13+ years (how does one person accumulate so much stuff? A topic for another time.) But I'm ready for and excited about the next chapter in my life.

String Foundation

Today was exciting. It was hotter than h___! But I stood on my new lot under the cooling shade of the magnificent pecan tree and saw the footprint of my new home staked out before me. Oh . . . there's my front door. Welcome to my new home!

Its going to be a hot summer.  But the coolness today under the pecan tree was wonderful and will be life giving through this summer of building. The tree is so large that at high noon today the shade covered almost the entire staked house - and it had to be at least 15 degrees cooler than standing in the sun (and the breeze certainly helped).  I don't know how old the tree is but it already has had a long life.  I'm thrilled that I have been able to find a lot that has been sustenance to this tree for a long, long time and that I can now build a home that honors this grand tree; it will shade me and protect me through the summer while I watch my home grow.  And the tree will continue to grow because when I chose this lot I knew I had to choose a plan that kept the tree.  It is integral to my house plans and already providing me a cool refuge while I watch things progress.  This tree will stand guard over me and my home; it will majestically welcome my guests.  Let the building begin!

The Adventure Begins

I think it was a Saturday in March when my sister Nancy called me to come over to her house; she had something she wanted to talk to me about. I'm immediately curious and head over. In a measured and logical manner she walked me through a scenario that ended up with the plan to see if it might be possible for me to build a new house. Those that know me well know that I'm a home body and the thought of moving triggers a high stress response. Yet here I was thinking this idea of not only moving but building a new house was something I might like to do and I was cautiously optimistic.  There were several things to do before I could definitely make that decision.

Well - over the next several weeks (which with the benefit of hindsight seem to be only a few days) I determined I could sell my house for enough to buy a new lot and build a house and my lender said it was doable. I remember, upon learning that the numbers all looked good, feeling excited and anxious and ready to go.   And in a bit of disbelief.  I never imagined I could ever build my own home.  I'd dreamed about it but that was all it was - a dream.  Now it might actually be happening!

Nancy and her husband just built a new house. Nancy LOVED the process of researching and making decisions and making changes and in October of last year they moved into their new house. So I agreed to go down the same path with Nancy as my Project Manager.  She's going to do all the hard work; I'm going to make all the final decisions (and pay the bills)!

I'm going to build my house literally across the street from their house (across the street and over the levee). In Les Maisons Sur La Rouge, on Barataria Boulevard.

So the preparations began. I did some needed home improvements, listed my house and I now have a contract on the house. It's scheduled to close escrow on July 6. (An unexpected foundation issue has to be resolved next week.)  And I'm packing (and throwing away 13 years' of accumulated stuff)!  I'll be living with Nancy and Randy while I'm "homeless". (Turn about's fair play; they lived with me for a few months while their house was being built.)

So - the preparatory work and initial required steps are almost finished. Now on to the really fun part. I decided to chronicle this journey through this blog and with pictures. Here's the rendering of the house I've chosen and the floor plan (it will be reversed on my lot to accommodate the design of the lot and most importantly a beautiful, mature pecan tree on the corner of my lot).

I have lots of ideas, have poured over the plans long enough to be able to start seeing how it will look when it's finished and I'm ready to get started.  So - my current house closes July 6 and ground breaking will probably be 2-3 weeks after that.  I'll keep you posted! 

Seconds in Flight

I love taking pictures.  I have a passion for capturing moments in time.  I love looking at others' photographs and strive to perfect my skills to produce beautiful images.  

I've always been fascinated by wildlife - but animals (birds) in the wild don't pose.  You have to be at the right spot at the right time.  Added elements to capture skilled images are getting the right light, having the right lens, picking the proper exposure, using the correct aperture setting, selecting the proper white balance, etc.  But then there's the kicker - panning a bird in flight.  Birds never fly straight, they never fly close enough, they never fly slow enough - but sometimes you can get lucky.  

And on this day I got lucky.  I was watching this Great White Egret flying along the river.  I was practicing following him with the camera as he flew.  I was trying to focus and click images to practice getting a clear image and not just a blur.  Then, to my delight the egret dove at the river, caught a fish and flew away.  And - I captured those images.  Not expertly.  Not totally clear.  Certainly not close enough (I covet a powerful telephoto lens - way out of my budget at this time).  But good enough to be excited when I saw the results.

So - this was my first attempt.  I'll keep at it.  And hopefully I'll get that "perfect" capture - someday.  But for this moment - this matter of a few seconds - I'm happy.

Memorial Day

This is the first Memorial Day without my dad; he died in January.  I'm watching the moving PBS Memorial Day tribute which makes me miss him a lot today. Daddy enjoyed being recognized on Memorial Day and thanked for his service.

Daddy loved being a military veteran.  He proudly served in WWII and the Korean War.  As he declined in his last few years and forget recent events in his life he remembered with great pride and fondness his time in the United States Air Force.  Bachman was a military man, through and through.

Daddy loved being asked about his service.  He would regale us with "war" stories.  He could remember it like it was yesterday.  As I watch these proud American military men on this PBS tribute to our veterans, I know Daddy would have loved to be there, proudly saluting in his most military attention.  He loved this country and I can't imagine him doing anything else but serving when called.

Daddy, I miss you and I relive today, with great sadness and pride, the moving flag ceremony at your own memorial service.  Daddy, thank you for your service.

My Legacy

I haven't been too interested in my roots; I have a hard time remembering my childhood.  I think this mostly comes from my mother.  We were a military family and moved OFTEN during my childhood.  My mother was very efficient and only moved those things that we would need or use often.  So there are no "tangible" items to provoke memories of those early days.

I envy those people that have life-long friends; those people (other than family) who know them so well; who went to school with them from the very beginning. I don't have any of those (although I did just make contact with some high school friends from 40+ years ago from our high school in Taiwan - but that's another story).

But there's always been a "legend" in our family.  That's our Aunt Laura Crews. Technically she's my Great Great Aunt, but everyone knew her as Aunt Laura. Aunt Laura - our own, true pioneer woman.  In her early 20's she was determined to homestead land in Oklahoma when they opened the Cherokee Strip for settlers.  There was a race on September 16, 1893, when over 100,000 people prepared themselves to find a new home.  In those days it would have been proper for a woman to ride in a buggy or ride side-saddle on a horse.  Aunt Laura knew that wouldn't cut it so she made herself a pair of cullote pants and rode astride her horse.  She was one of the masses, that rode in a cloud of dust and homesteaded property.  Oil was later discovered on that property and after the initial hard years she lived a healthy, wealthy life until she died at the age of 105 (she was the last surviving pioneer who had staked a claim).  Although she never married and never had children, she did raise her brother's six children when he and his wife died.  My grandmother was one of those children.

Here's an old (circa early-1940's) and precious picture of my Aunt Laura:

Last weekend my sister Nancy, her husband Randy and I went to Enid, Oklahoma to "enjoy" our Aunt Laura.  Enid was commemorating the running of the Cherokee Strip and we just wanted to be there.  Little did we know that we would have such a wonderful and surprising time!  Two days there and almost every moment filled with awesome experiences.

This weekend has inspired me to consider my roots, to examine my heritage and learn more about this amazing woman and our family.  There are several stories to tell about this weekend, but I'll save those for separate blog entries.  This entry is to briefly introduce you to my Aunt Laura.  Aunt Laura, our matriarch; the person who didn't just think about doing something but DID it.  I'm finally interested and ready to learn the lessons she can still teach me.