Dreaming Defined

Since it seems all I do lately is dream about where I'll be living and what it will be like, I had to chuckle when I read my fortune cookie.

"A dream is just a dream.  

A goal is a dream with a plan and a deadline"

I don't usually put a lot into these things, but this one really resonated with me.  It felt like a spur to action and I took heed of its advice.

Searching through the several homes in Carriage Manor in Mesa will be easier as there are realtors involved and many to look at.  This is the park where my sister-in-law lives and we have stayed there before and found it very enjoyable, so it's one of the two contenders for where we will buy in 2017.

This winter we will be staying at Roadhaven in Apache Junction, not that far from Carriage Manor, but a bit closer to Superstition Mountain.  These properties are all individually owned as well, but each one must be contacted one at a time, which makes it more work.

The website for Carriage Manor usually has several photos of each property and it's easy to do a visual comparison.  The website at Roadhaven only shows one photo with a brief description.  If you want more info or to see extra photos you need to contact each person.

But since there are only about 15 properties we would be considering I decided to take action.  First I made a call to the office to determine whether or not there was a "pet section" we'd have to limit ourselves to.  No sense contacting people if I couldn't purchase there anyway.

Once I got the green light on that issue (the entire park was pet friendly) I set up a listing of all properties, their price and contact info.

Next I sent out an inquiry to each one that had email addresses.  There's only a couple that didn't show a price and had no email address.  I'll wait on these until later.  Now I have the ball rolling and can set up files on each response and hopefully par down the number of those we will actually take time to go view.

So, now I have a plan...with a deadline, so I'm not just dreaming anymore.

Long Live the Dreaming Queen...with a Plan

Online Dreaming

It's frightening how much time a person can blow browsing through Pinterest, I think I'm going for a personal best.

The best part about Pinterest is that for dreamers and schemers like me who are old and have failing memories, it's an easy way to find those ideas again.

I've started new categories with my garden ideas for the Minnesota homestead next spring.  I figure since it's on the river, it should be a fishing theme...yes?  I know I need permission to dig into the ground, but this would be a container so therefore it's okay.  Anybody got any old boats that no longer float?

There are new boards I've started for the Arizona dream as well, full of ideas of how to revamp an old kitchen since we will probably end up with an old unit down there.  It would actually be fun to paint cabinets, change hardware and see what can be done with some turquoise paint.   I like this style, but would probably paint the cabinets white.

All those Southwest colors are calling to me.   I may have to find a quilt book with southwest designs to play with.

But, in case you are worried, I have been working very hard at staying in the moment and cherishing my time left here in Ham Lake.  I want to the office the other day with our friends Norm & Ginny from next door and made it clear that they were to be given my spot with the gardens.  At least there will be someone on site to enjoy and appreciate them.

Now that our house hunt in Minnesota is over we can dedicate ourselves completely into getting the kids moved into their new house and all settled in before we roll southward.

There is a time to every season.

Long Live the Queen

Flurry of Visitors

There's usually nothing going on up here in the northwoods, but suddenly we have company...lots of company.

On Thursday night we had Christy and Dave over to visit and play cribbage.
  

Friday, Saturday and Sunday brought our friends Becky and Patrick from La Crosse up our way to camp and hang out.  They were lucky enough to be parked right next to the "farm" and couldn't figure out what the drumming sounds were all night long.  At first she didn't believe me when I said it was the emus, but then she heard them making their unusual sounds and was a believer.  I couldn't find anything on YouTube that would let you know what it sounds like, sorry.

Monday and Tuesday we had Ron and Kathy camping in Ham Lake to catch up with us.  We met them in North Fort Myers and I played pickleball with them, so of course they needed to go with me to the Andover YMCA on Tuesday morning to meet my gang.

This was the week that we were also trying to help the kids prepare for the move on Wednesday, so we were pretty tired out by this evening.

Tomorrow the moving truck comes to take it all away and we will go over in the morning to help with last minute hauling of stuff to the garage at their new place and cleaning up the house for the new owners.

Then our little family will be homeless for three weeks until they can move into their new digs.  Luckily they have good friends who have taken all four of them and the dog for that duration.  These kind of friends don't come easy and they are blessed to have this opportunity.

Sorry for the lack of photos.  Seems I get so busy enjoying the company that I don't think to take any photos of us...so you'll just  have to take my word for it that we really do have friends.

Long Live the Company Queen

The Planning Continues

Now that things are coming together, we are wishing we didn't have to wait until spring to move in.  There would be so many advantages to setting up before we leave, such as prepping the land for delivery of the trailer and being able to leave as much as possible in the new unit.   But alas, there is the renter there until the end of the season, so we'll just have to wait until next year.

Our plan, even though it seems to change day by day, is to enjoy one last swan song in See-More on the way down to Arizona.  Then after the kids visit is over in December, start looking seriously in one of the two parks in Mesa for a home during January through March 2017.  

It's funny how I always proclaimed I never wanted to own anything again after we sold the house.  Now we own one property and looking to buy another in Arizona.  Heck, we may still get a third one in Texas and have choices of where to winter, renting out the other one in our absence.

The timing is right since Left Brain is hitting that magic age in 2017 where he needs to start taking money out of the IRAs.  My job is to help him part with it.  It's not a new job for me, I've always been there to assist in the spending and buying as I'm so much better at that.

Long Live the Queen of Hope

Our Last Resort

The kids had invited us over to their house and as much as I preferred staying home and wallowing in my pity party, we agreed to go.

Left Brain suggested stopping at one more RV dealer on the way, said he'd found something online that looked interesting.  Groan.

I was so tired of having my hopes built up and then dashed that I could barely stand the thought of yet anything spin on this emotional rollercoaster.  But he persisted, so I went along for the ride, not expecting anything.

They only had three on the lot to look at, so at least this wouldn't take time.  He drove up and parked at one called the Resort.  Yeah right...this is our last resort I thought snidely.

And then we walked in.  It instantly felt like home.  I don't know how to describe it.  There was nothing particularly stunning about it, no flash and glam...but it just felt right.

The kitchen had a decent countertop area...ok...I like this.  And look, the island doesn't have a sink on it.  Just open usable SPACE. I can already envision cooking up here or using it as a cutting table for quilting.  Or setting out snacks for guests now that we can invite someone over...the the possibilities!

The fridge has an 18 cubic feet capacity - WOW.  The microwave is full sized, not one of those tiny toy ones they usually put in RV's.  The oven looks a bit small, but has four burners and an oven.  So far so good. 

OMG!  Is that an actual pantry?  I opened the door expecting the usual six inch depth of disappointment I'd seen in others.  Nope.  This pantry is wide and deep with pull out drawers on the bottom section.  Whoa!  There was some planning going on here.

The dining table and chairs are right by the window, near the kitchen and can actually be accessed.  Several of the other models we looked at had a little "wall" to define the space...as well as the functionality.

And then there was the area in the front window for as big a TV as Left Brain could salivate for.  Now I'll finally have a home for the sweet little glass house my friend Beth made for me five years ago on my sixtieth birthday.

On one side was a comfy couch that pulls out into a queen sized bed for company.  It doesn't show in the photo, but there is a ceiling fan over the living room area.

  The other side had two large swivel rockers that reclined and were oh so comfortable to sit down it.  The usual thing we've seen these days are theater seats, but I like the recliners as they allow for easier rearranging.  OMG...I can rearrange furniture again, at least after I unbolt everything. I think I'm in love!

We went down the hall and peeked into the bathroom.  The sink area was a bit small, but about the same space we have now.  They could have added some more storage in here, but the shower...that made up for any other faults the bathroom may have lacked.  Big...roomy...built in seats...oh yes.  The norm seems to be a small circular arrangement that even I would have a hard time not splashing water all over.

By the time we reached the bedroom we knew we had some real potential here.  The bed is King sized, which usually means it takes up every inch in the room, but this one had easy access up both sides.  Unheard of!

Plus each side had a window for good ventilation as well as a counter space large enough for our cpap machines...unheard of in any other models we've seen.  Oh, and there is a second ceiling fan above the bed.  Bring on that summer heat!  The area underneath this countertop is open and I could just see George picking this as his new favorite hiddy hole when the thunderstorms hit.

The closet was huge with a shelf across the top and hanging space the entire length. This will provide more space than needed for hanging our things and still have room for the vacuum cleaner as well.

The dresser was enormous and would easily hold our printer and a small TV for my enjoyment.  Yup, there's the cable hookup right there.  They were sober when they designed this unit!

Plus there is another window for cross ventilation.  We seldom turn on the AC and prefer the natural breezes. 

Good Lord!  There's a second closet on my side of the bed as well with nice deep storage, not to mention the four overhead cabinets above the bed.  This is great for those things you only need to access once a week or less.

Then, just for fun I lifted the bed and found a nice deep storage area underneath the bed as well.  We have room for a lot of stuff here!  Now we could actually play hide and seek in our RV.

We sat down with the saleslady and I gave Left Brain "the look".  He smiled back.  Then I explained to her that this would more than meet our needs, especially since they had just lowered the price on it...but it's too early.  No problem she said...if we paid for it they could hold it until next spring.  Whaaaaat?

We all but picked her up (she was a tiny thing) and ran back to her office to put down a deposit on our new home.

I sure hope I don't wake up and find out this was just a dream.

Long Live the Queen of Glee