From Drab to Fab

I am taking credit for neither today's blog post title, nor, more importantly, finding this beautiful space we are now calling home. We can thank David for both, and we have done so with gusto. Apparently last evening they were walking Ginger behind our unit, and saw we were having company, so didn't stop. I was just so happy this morning I sent him a text thanking him for once again, finding a home for us, and he replied..."it is awesome Mom, from drab to fab." I will take that as a compliment any day of the week!

Don't get me wrong, I loved our home, but I now see the wisdom in change. All sorts of folks said that to us, "change is good." I am so loving the lakeside and all that goes with it. Meaning shorebirds and ducks, including this Momma Wood Duck and her little clan.

Plus, I love seeing the clouds reflected in the water. Further, there are so many tropical plants everywhere you look; I've never had a bird of paradise in my garden, but now I have one out my back door. Plus, I don't have to take care of a thing outdoors! Woo hoo! I've been doing yard work for the last 50 years and now I'm thankful someone else will be having the pleasure.

Speaking of back doors, here is Baxter in his new "back yard."

I'm not sure if it will get me in trouble or not, but I've put two folding chairs outside, what I'm going to call, from here on out, the sunroom.

Where Mr. Peck is now napping, I might add. He worked tirelessly to whip our new home into shape, and now he is doing the same with his paid work. His next project is remodeling an Earls in Bellevue, WA; Monday morning he is flying out there to have a look at the space. Accommodating his travel schedule is the reason we moved almost two weeks before closing, which is only six days away. Remember how I went to the retirement party for Judy and I told you she was a beloved teacher for so many years? Well, when I was chatting with the woman at the title company, she started to ask me if I was related to....interrupting her I said, "why yes I am." Nearly 40 years old, she explained that she had Judy at Edgewater, not only for a teacher, but worked on the yearbook with her as well! That is not the first, and undoubtedly won't be the last time I've been asked if we are related. I once had a young man tell me that he earned a "D" in her class, but she was still his favorite teacher. :)

So, I got the bathroom all tidied up.

That lamp is merely there because I had no other place to put it! We went from having a linen closet to a whole bunch of cabinets that are now storing linens. During the upcoming week I plan to go through our clothes, finding wintery stuff to ship to the office in Vancouver. Let's hope we don't need it too often!

Hibiscus blooming lakeside:

And here's that neat looking juvenile Little Blue Heron. I sound all official with this name don't I? Thanks to Candy who identified it from an earlier post. I can't get enough of this little one who I see daily.

I seriously cannot believe I am typing this while sitting in front of this massive window. My table remains messy for now.

Pictured is only half of the window which is nearly six feet tall with views of both water, grass, tropical plants, and loads of trees. We've talked about how everything came together so well, for which we are ever so grateful, and here's another example. One hard decision we had to make is leaving our massive staghorn fern in the tree at home for the new owners, however, if you can believe it, not only did someone attach one to a tree lakeside, but there is a huge one hanging within eyesight! Simply amazing.

Everyone is anxious to see the new place, so when Bill and Roxanne asked if we wanted to go out Friday night, I suggested they might want to come over instead. More art on the walls since Monday.

This morning I did a tiny bit of exploring and came across the start of ,what I suppose I'm calling the creek, behind David and Michelle's place. Lovely, with a bonus adult Little Blue Heron.

Mostly we are all settled, aside from me going through the box that contains our former kitchen "junk drawer," which is a task that will require me to be in just the right mood. It's the little things isn't it?

yours truly,

Gail