"Life".....

I have not written for ages on this blog of mine, but for some reason I felt I might like to once again. 

When I began my blog, I had a houseful of people living  at our "then" house....two daughters, one grandson, my husband & lots of dogs & cats as well. Life was busy. We had just moved back to California from rural New York, & we had a big new house, lots of eagerness to get back to working as a decorator, not to mention putting together our own home after a cross country move. 

   As time passed we realized our life was changing a bit too?.....Our family life was wonderful, but the economy was changing, & in particular the housing market as a whole. Both my husband's appraisal business & my own decor business were affected greatly. Before long we realized we could no longer afford to keep our home, which had decreased in value to almost 1/2 of what we had bought it for, so not wanting to completely use up our savings we decided to sell, & because it ended up being a short sale, our financial situation was turned upside down as well.

    For  the next three years we downsized greatly, & became renters for the first time in our lives....but life was just fine. Maybe less money, but our family was healthy & blessed just the same.

    After a few years, we were yearning  again to be homeowners & even though money was tight we decided to purchase a fixer-upper in a small rural town about an hour outside of San Diego. And even though the house is dated & we have lots of projects we would love to take on eventually, purchasing this home & moving to the country has made us very happy.

   Also during this time, our home has become a bit more quiet. Our oldest daughter met & married a wonderful man, moving out with our grandson Andrew to make her own home... since then having two more children, with her 4th due in about a month. Our younger daughter also met & got married a great guy & also is expecting a baby any day, their first little girl.

   We also went from 3 big dogs & lots of cats, down to one cat, Maxx?.....Did I mention how quiet the house has become....

   We have lived in our home now 3 years. We have gone through lots of changes, which I have to admit took some getting used to, & to be honest. many good cries. It actually was very difficult for me. To go have a houseful of people, lots of work & sufficient money....to quite the opposite proved to be a challenge for me......The empty nest syndrome hit hard.

   Through it all though, I have come out the other end. Money is still tight, with both my husband & I working hard, but working hard at jobs we do enjoy....Our home is still in need of a many improvements, but we have made it very charming taking on easy projects we can do ourselves. Our children & grandchildren are doing well......& God willing we are all happy & healthy. Life is good.

   I believe the reason I wrote this "novel" today, was to begin fresh...a clean slate.  I felt I needed to clear the air, so I can go forward in a positive, productive manner. There is life to live & adventures to be had...& projects to tackle!....Hope you will come along with me.....Your friend, Heidi XO