Year: 2024

Still working on catching my breath. I feel like I have been on a giant roller coaster these past ten days or so. We have had  2  or 3 ( I’m losing track although I think we have had 13 official showings and untold spontaneous showings ) but still no buyer. We remain very sad that the lady who had to cancel the purchase of our home is not buying it. She was perfect for this place. But life has suddenly taken her in a different direction. Deep down I hope that within the next year she will come back to our home.

Departure day is October 5th and that is whether we sell or not. I knew the date but just now adding it up on the calendar its  shows that that is only 37 days  🙄 Will we be ready? Colin will for certain, as will the RV and the Jeep. The last thing needed for the RV is to check the freon in the AC system and add if needed. He is doing that this morning and the same with the Jeep on Friday. Mechanically we are ready to go.

Emotionally we are more than ready to go. We really don’t want to have to come back here next year to sell. So keep your fingers crossed and keep sending out positive thoughts. Anything is possible in the next month. If the house sells we have some fun and exciting plans for next year.  If not we will keep on track with our current wonderful plans. The world is in upheaval and there is no way to know what the future will bring. Best to live in the here and now and enjoy everyday to the fullest.

I keep selling things on FB Marketplace and elsewhere. Yesterday we sold our rosewood credenza. That was a bit difficult to let go of. So we play a little game between us. If we don’t sell the house and come back here can we live without whatever item that I am selling. Little things are easy to part with, not so favourite pieces of furniture we have had for over 35 years. At this point we prefer to keep as much as we can to stage the house for selling but this particular sale will allow us to pull back the white leather sectional and open up that space a bit more.

Physically I am a mess. My eyes are not cooperating and I am unable to tell the time on my watch, use my iPhone, write or read nor use the computer. Never mind driving – I can’t even walk on my own. I am living in a fog. I ended up with a small corneal abrasion after the second surgery but that pain has finally passed. With so much to do before we leave and so little time I am very frustrated. I saw the eye surgeon last Thursday and he said it does take a full 6 -8 weeks to heal. I see him again tomorrow.

Even the dentist is conspiring against me. I haven’t had a cavity in over 5 years and yesterday the dental hygienist found 3 tiny tiny ones 😮 I know it could be much much worse. But snow on the Coquilhalla and at the Big White ski mountain yesterday!!  Yes yesterday was still August. I guess that is the sign of the times we live in.

 

 

 

The only offer we have had and our potential buyer dropped out. She had almost purchased all of our furniture, so it was a turnkey deal for her. It was perfect for us. Now we only had to keep sorting, donating and loading the RV. We were crushed when she dropped out. No need to go into all of the details and reasons. We tried but the deal couldn’t be saved.

This happened last weekend and we are still getting over the disappoitment. Nothing to do but keep pressing on.

Still leaving October 5th and still hoping the house sells before we leave.

I have been struggling with my right eye. It is fighting the non operated eye and seeing, reading and typing on the computer are difficult. I now understand why having both eyes done at the same time make for a much quicker recovery. Your eyes are both seeing the same thing. My eye condition is astigmatism which I also looking forward to not having to deal with.

In about 90 minutes I will be having my left eye cataract removed. I am so hoping for rapid progress. Colin had been great with the eye drops.

That is all the news for now. Looking forward to brighter days ahead.

I am home safe and sound and do not want to leave it. The procedure was not what I expected, no worse but no better and just strange. I experienced no pain at all. I did have 14 drops pre surgery, was very nicely cared for and even a weighted blanket to keep me cozy as I waited outside the OR. Dr. Monica Penny was my anaesthetist and did all that I asked to keep me comfortable and as much as she could in lala land. With her guidance I was able to able to walk from my recliner to the OR area. I vaguely recall the doctor pulling me up higher as I could not manage that. I needed to be wonky as I metabolized anesthesia very rapidly ( think of the dentist – they need to give extra as they work on a tooth ).

Anyway all went well. I slept all the way home in the car. Actually I slept until 7PM.  Colin woke me to give me the needed eyedrops. I wan’t hungry but he made me something to eat and we sort of watched something in TV, If I closed my left eye I could not see anything but shadows from the right surgery eye. It did not get better as the evening progressed .

Fortunately I was given a special bottle of what was called ‘comfort drops’ which I was allowed to use for 24 hours post surgery. I used them a few times and took a Tylenol about 6pm and again at 10PM. It felt like I had a piece of sand constantly irritating my eye. Most annoying.

I wore a clear eye patch to just protect my eye from any sudden movements from the girls. Colin said that they did not touch me but slept close to me as I rested on the bed.

Yesterday morning ( 24 hours post surgery ) I saw the surgeon for my first check up. He looked with the big microscope machine thingy into my eye and simply said ” excellent”. He said that the irritating feeling would go away and that I would have more vision every so many hours.

I had asked to have the right eye lense taken out of my eye glasses so that I had some vision. The doctor suggested that it might be better to go without any corrective lenses. So I am working with it this and that solutions. Almost impossible to use the computer.

This morning at about 2AM I work up to no as in nada pain in my eye. Such a relief. I slept from 10PM to 9:30AM. Obviously my body is rebuilding.

I can see better today than yesterday but really look forward to tomorrow and even more improvements.

‘Thank you for your kind words re Ena. My second eye surgery is next Wednesday the 21st and her funeral service in on the 23rd in Edmonton. It breaks my heart that I can’t attend.

So that is where I am at the moment my friends – in limbo. Give me a few days.

We must all learn to live each day to the fullest. None of us knows what tomorrow will hold. Personally Colin and I have had an extraordinary three days. Goods news on the home front but too early to share for certain.

But just a few hours before the home event I received an email. My longest and dearest friend Ena, whom I have known since the summer of grade six, who I went to junior and senior high with, the very special friend that we have visited back and forth over the years and well into adulthood. I met Ena’s children when they were very young and they were already trilingual! She had set backs in her career being a dentist to due a physical error to her made by a surgeon. Ena was always, kind and positive ( just like her mother ) and cared so very much about her family and those in her circle of friends as well as her Latvian community.

Ena was one of the main reasons I rejoiced in my almost annual trip to Edmonton to see my chiropractor ( and visit with her ) and before that she would drive me to the hospital to see my ailing parents. I was very fortunate to see her last September at our high school reunion. You can click here to read that blog post .However I knew something was off with her but she wanted the event to be fun and fluffy, no serious stuff. So the last time I saw Ena was last September. I could not believe my eyes when I received the email this past Sunday advising all of us, her school friends, of her passing this past Saturday, August 10th.

So a door closed on Sunday yet another is opening. I knew that Ena was giving me her blessing to move on in life. Yet I have felt her in my heart for days now. Folks reach out to your family and friends, be loving and kind. Life is much shorter than we know. I am 71 but dear Ena was only 70, she would have turned 71 this coming December 1st. I am happy to say the Ena did her best to live life to the fullest and I honestly believe that she was content and mostly happy. Rest in peace my very special and unique friend! You will always be a part of me, after all, you have been in my heart for 60 years.

I also received an email from an Isla friend telling me that her daughter was killed in an instant in an automobile crash on August 1st. My heart breaks for her and her husband and the rest of their very close family. Please everyone live and love everyday to the fullest.

Last Thursday I received a phone call from my eye surgeon. They finally finally had a cancellation. I have been waiting since mid May for one. So my right eye is being operated on tomorrow at 9AM. The left eye will be be done a week later on August 21st. What this means is that I will be free of my eye/medical obligations by October 3rd.

We are leaving here and heading south to Mexico on October 5th and plan to arrive on the Isla in the early afternoon of October 25th. Plenty of time to get settled into our Isla compound and with enough time to compete the renewal of our temporal by the end of October.

Things seem to be working out for us. Love you all and thank you for taking the time to read this post.

I thought that we had our last garage sale in early July. However as we kept going thru all of our “stuff” it became apparent that I would need to sign up with the parks already scheduled garage sale for August 3rd. Their advertising brings in a number of people to our park.

On July 29 I sold our 5 cu ft chest freezer for $130.00 and then started to add more items to FB Marketplace. By the 31st I ended up opening up the house for anyone in the park to come and see. Over the previous weekend Colin and I had thoroughly gone through both the RV and house kitchens and knew exactly what we were keeping. The forever stuff was in the RV and we kept just what we needed here at home and the rest was for sale.

Who has 4 potato mashers? And I never even make mashed spuds. I won’t get into all the brand new stuff we had to sell. In the end I did an open house all day Thursday and Friday for my FB Marketplace people and for those living here in the park. I only made $105.00 at the actual garage sale on Saturday. However I did extremely well for the entire week, more that expected and I was very happy with the outcome – close to 2 months rent on the Isla.

Because it was so hot with temps in the 100’s I set up the garage sale inside my home with things laid out everywhere. I called it an open house garage sale. Many took that to mean “an open house” and we had many many people checking out our home rather than the garage sale. Colin and I were both run off our feet talking to all who came. I personally knew of 5 sets of  people who were very interested in the actual sale of the house. A few thought it was the ideal location for their parents to downsize to.

We cleaned up within an hour after closing and the house looked presentable when I laid down for a nap with the girls. I think Colin was also resting somewhere when there was a loud knock at the door at 4:30PM. Long story short, it was someone we knew who lived here in the park who had their friends in tow and wanted to have a showing right then and there. We were rather overwhelmed ( and I was sleepy ). We asked them to look around outside while we made ourselves presentable and then Colin went outside while I picked up the house as best I could in five minutes. They were here close to 45 minutes and loved the place. However they were not yet thinking of downsizing as I discovered yesterday ( although the friends who lived here decided they should ). Much too soon for them. Bu just a few hours ago we got a request for showing late tomorrow morning.

Today has been quite the day and I must say that both of our heads are in a continuous spinning rotation. I received a phone call this morning from my eye surgeons’ office and despite denying me an earlier date for my cataract surgery they were calling to say that my first eye would be done on August 14th ( they had just had a cancellation ) and the second on the 21st!! Simply wonderful.  All the pressure of meeting my 6 week healing date and getting a post surgery eye check before we left was now going to work out. The timing and date pressure was off. We would for certain be back on the Isla in time to renew our Temporal Residency Visa by the end of October with time to spare in case of an RV breakdown.

Also today we spoke with both our financial advisor and our accountant re shutting down Colin Jewall Photo Studios Inc. permanently. It seems like I have been on the phone all day ( I also spoke with our lawyers office ) and made many changes to previously scheduled appointments. Then the call came in about having a showing tomorrow at 11:30AM. Of course we said.

I think it is one of the ladies that came to the open house Saturday as later in the afternoon, today, I saw her and her friend standing on the street and looking at our house. So Colin of course has had to stop the packing he was doing and proceeded to  remove the multitude of spiders and their webs from outside the house. Then trimmed and cut the lawn, vacuumed inside etc. Much more to do tomorrow am.

Fingers crossed for a great showing and an offer tomorrow or the next day. Like I said, everyday is full and often we have no idea how the day will go once we get up but it is always rather busy.

Forgot to mention that this morning the girls were attacked by two huge dogs, a Saint Bernard and a black Bernese Mountain dog. Colin was not even yet at the gate to the dog park when these two with their hundreds of pounds came rushing out the dog park gate and proceeded to chase Ciela and Carlie. In all the confusion Colin dropped their leashes and they were yipping, screaming and running as they were chased.  He called me, I called security. The owners were unable to control their dogs. Then we had to look for our girls. Found a block away but in different directions. They were terrified. Just another element to our hectic day.

Today I finally got fed up with the constant knocks at my door looking for our neighbours address. They are seldom home and have not had an address sign up for close to 2 years I finally taped a piece of cardboard in their fence next to the gate. I really should have written it in bright lipstick on their fence 😳

This pen is a FIRST EDITION Parker Duofold marble pearl black twist pen. Born in the age of Jazz and Art Deco, the Duofold reflects the opulence and iconography of its origins. It is a pen of exceptional character and distinctive appearance, exuding the quality and luxury of outstanding craftsmanship. this pen was made in the 90’s.
An alluring combination of shades of pearl veined with a rich, velvety black , crafted from lustrous, cast acrylic. Every pen has its own individual, unique appearance. 23k Champagne Gold Plated Trim. Manufactured in the UK. I am now selling the pen at a very low price of $250.00 I vaguely remember purchasing this as a gift for Colin.

Carlie is doing about 65% better. Her gut is reacting favourably to the ‘poop pill’. Meanwhile we are still dealing with her acid reflux – that is a work in progress. They are both getting so very much love from us that I am beginning to think of Ciela as a velcro dog.

Now that we have got thru all of our things ( well 85%) and for certain know what will be brought to Mexico with us, we are much more relaxed. Of course we need to keep pushing everyday to get it all done. But the pressure is off re our “things”.  So we are ready for the sale to go thru quickly but also prepared to leave the house as is until next spring. The house is the only thing left in the air and we can deal with that.

It has has been difficult not having any dates to work with. With my eyes now booked a few weeks earlier we are free to make departure date plans and to make travel reservations as needed. Actually I am looking for someone in the Las Vegas area being willing to take my Amazon deliveries into their home. There likely will be several. I got in trouble last October at the RV Park as my orders had come in earlier than expected and filled up the mail room before we got there. If anyone can help us out that would be vey much appreciated.

So we are busy but never does a day go by that I don’t think of you and keep trying to write a post. Hope this helps get you up to date. If you need a gap in the time line filled in let me know and I will do so for you.

One last thing, I usually get my bath bar soap ( the coconut aloe one ) here before we leave. Turns out that my face creme, that bar soap and a few other things are no longer coming into Canada – something to do with restrictions. So if anyone is selling Avon I can put my order in with you or if you have a relative or a friend selling Avon let me know. So the only thing left is to ask you which bath bar soap you recommend. We tried Dove and yuck is all I can say re the odor. Trying Ivory right now.

PS. Slight delay posting, one of our neighbours was just taken away in an ambulance. Self abuse with alcohol but he is alive 😥

 

That means that if we have been married 37 years ( and we really have ) that Colin has been married to me for half of his life 😎 Pretty neat, eh 😀

I have not posted many photos of late but I am surprised that no one has noticed ( not even those that see him here in the park every day ) that Colin has had his hair cut short again. This was my first hint to you.

Yesterday was the day I was going to get in touch with my eye surgeon to sort out my surgery dates and or possible options. Effective last Friday the entire office is on vacation until August 7th. Also the good doctor only operates on Wednesdays and the first date will be August 14th or 21st ( I don’t know why ). I am confirmed for one eye on the 28th and the other on September 4th. In the worst possible situation I will use both those surgery dates but ask the doctor to discharge me re the final eye on October 11th instead of October 16th, the official date. Unless he can do both on the 28th or possibly one on the 21st and the other as schedules on the 28th. We have no choice but to cross into Mexico on October 25th at the very latest.

I had hoped to see the doctor on the 14th of October ( only 2 days short of my required recovery time ) but that is the Canadian Thanksgiving long weekend. Just my luck 🙄 We can’t leave any later than October 16th re meeting the obligatory dates in Mexico re our residency. Otherwise we would need to start from the very beginning in 2025 and we would forfeit the monies that we have already paid.

Just a quick aside – many of you have shared your cataract surgery details with me and I thank you for that. Regarding the eye drops I will only have 2 different bottles to use which must be applied 4 times per day. One drop per bottle, seems simple enough to me.

So yesterday was Colin’s birthday and I always insist on getting a few surprises for him. He prefers to have Chinese takeout for his special meal and his cake of choice is an ice cream cake from Dairy Queen. Because of my failing eyesight I am no longer driving the car. So off Colin went to pick up his cake and take out Chinese. They are closed on Mondays! Ah such a disappointment. So I said to come back home and we would make something and we could do the take out later this week. At least he got his cake.

Such is our life these days, nothing is for certain and can change often during one day.

Even the weather is poco loco. We had a system come in about 10AM and it overpowered the heat and we even had a few minutes of rain. Seriously refreshing and the smell of the ions – wonderful. A few hours later we were back up to 104F!   Already so smoky here. Please no more ligheninlg strikes 😥 I read that there were over 1000 strikes yesterday.

This morning a fellow came along to purchase something from my FB Market place site. Sold! Another $400.00 to the Isla kitty fund. However he was stunned with our home and begged to come in and check it out. So we did a a proper showing both inside and outside and under the house. He is interested for himself as a summer home for his family as well as for a friend of his moving to this area. He asked all the right questions including being able to rent it out when he is not using it. So fingers crossed, toes as well if you can manage it, prayers and as many positive thoughts that you can manage 😎

 

 

 

 

Thank you for checking in on me. It has been quite the year for us.

Today it was 106F and hopefully the last hot hot day of the season. Thank goodness our A/C works so well. It seemed like a very long hot drive back from the US to home here but we managed it last Tuesday the 16th. We parked for only a few hours, unloaded and Colin then moved the RV back to storage.

It really was a great break being in the US. Only wish I hadn’t broken my nose just minutes before we left. Today I still have some  eye bruising and yesterday I had to mouth breathe. But I am healing and I no longer have rib pain so I can sleep at night.

Yesterday Colin pulled out ‘” for certain ” he says the final storage bins from under the house. Turns out that two of them were full of paperwork from my mom’s passing in July 2013 and then my dad’s passing in February of 2015. So I went thru many things I had not seen previously. It was a sad and bittersweet day. I am so happy that they are together once again.

Everyday Colin and I are sorting and tossing things. It seems never ending. The day we travelled home from the the US we had a showing and again the next day after we returned home. Everyone loves our home and wants to live here but I think that the fact that we are on lease land ending in 2046 is an issue for many, of course the lease will likely be renewed in the years ahead. So Colin spoke with our builder and for between 15 – 20 K he will move this house to within one hundred miles of here. The land may not keep its value ( if the lease is not renewed ) but it is almost certain that the lease will be extended so that would not be an issue. However by 2046, our home will be worth so very much more than it is now. Hopefully this information will help people to go ahead and make an offer.

Less than 24 hours after arriving home we had some wonderful friends from Maine who actually are only a few doors down from us on the Isla visit. A short lvist but totally wonderful. Not sure I took any photos. I will have to check. We had a lovely dinner at the Greek House here in Lake Country and the next day they found the Dirty Laundry Vineyard which had produced the wine we drank at dinner.

The vet in Wenatchee was lovely – in fact they have 20 vets on staff. The girls received and tolerated their rabies vaccine ( only a one year dose ). Such a fuss with this USA CDC imposed new ruling effective August 1st requiring all dogs to have been vaccinated by a USDA approved vaccine and signed by a USDA approved vet on the paperwork. There are less than 3 in all of Washington State. We are 98% convinced that we did what was required. Sadly the rules are unclear even to the approved US vets. Both a vet and an US border agent told me that this was all because of Canadian regulation – NOT TRUE! So we are 98% certain we are good to go. No worries leaving Canada and entering Mexico. My concern is leaving the Mexico border into the USA. There is no way we will leave our girls in Mexico on their own. Fortunately we are here until early October so there will be time to hopefully sort it all out.

Sadly Carlie was not well the day we left the USA nor the next day. We had had all the blood tests once we got back here in May ( $800.00 ) which basically confirmed that she was not digesting protein and has a chronic GI Issue etc, etc and had other enzyme issues. However she was perfectly fine so we just went day by day and then wham she was sick again. So her new meds should be here by Tuesday. Check out AnimalBiome.

Meanwhile we celebrated our wedding anniversary on the 18th, last week. Even difficult for us to realize that we have been married for 37 years. that is a great deal of time together, Good thing we love each other. Cheers to us! It was a very laid back quiet night at home with Italian take out. Replies to a few of your comments. We have established that there is not enough time for me to have my  second eye surgery on Sept. 4th and give us enough time to get to Mexico to renew our temporal.

So I will speak to the medical office tomorrow. Apparently they take 3 – 4 weeks off for the summer for the entire office – lucky them. My appointments are August 28th and September 4th. My only options are for them to do me August 21 and 28th or do both ey on the 28th.

It does not work for me to come back and do the one eye. I don’t think getting one eye done here and one is Mexico is a great idea as the lenses will not be the same. So tomorrow is my only chance ( before they go on a 3 week vacation ) to plead my case. I prefer surgery on the 21st and the 28th of August. Positive thoughts you all.

 

Yes I did. Last Wednesday July 10th. Gosh everyday before and after have been busy from sunrise to sunset ( huh, I never see sunrise but you get the drift ).

We saw the park July 1st parade here in Holiday Park and as always it was excellent. I was thinking about all my American friends on July 4th. I was tired. So much prep for the next garage sale. And we had a showing on July 1st. Lots of interest but no offers so we have dropped our selling price.

Saturday July 6th was our third and final garage sale.  Colin and I are both happy with how we have sold so many items and the house is definitely feeling lighter. Somehow I managed to sell 80% of my personal wardrobe. I was so happy on the Sunday, July 7th and that lasted for a few days. We did well on the garage sale. In fact between selling the golf cart, the two kayaks, the Lexus and the sauna and two unexpected small tax returns we will be able to live in Mexico for the next year or 2 without taking money from our savings. But between the three garage sales and my selling things online on FB Marketplace we made an additional $9,200.00. Facebook Marketplace is a ton of work as are the garage sales. But to us worth every penny. Fingers crossed that the house sells by the end of September.  If not we will be back here next spring.

Sunday, July 7th was the turning point for me ( and I think for Colin ). I was HAPPY, yes I am shouting happy. It has been a very long time since I felt so free and well – happy. We were certain that we were doing the right thing and were over the top ecstatic. Everyday I am selling something on FB. Actually I still have many new things to add. Yes we really did have a lot of stuff, but that was part of our very happy past. Now our life goal has changed and we are so looking forward to starting this new major step.

However my cataract surgery is getting in the way. Apparently I require so many weeks post surgery before I can be discharged. I knew that I had one cataract but not in both eyes which requires another full week here. We don’t have that time. I am on the waitlist for earlier surgery but it seems that the medical office is going to be on vacation and shut down for a few weeks. And surgery is only done on a Wednesday. So unless August 21st opens up, I am in trouble. Yes we can leave here earlier but we do have to be at IMSS in Mexico by a certain date the end of October or we will forfeit all we have gained towards our permanent residency and will be required to start all over in 2025. At the moment with my scrambled brains from my tumble I have no idea how to proceed but of course in time I will figure it out.

So back to last Wednesday. We had already planned to travel to Wenatchee, WA in the US in order for our girls to get the proper rabies vaccines – the proper USDA approved vaccine and more importantly to be administered by a USDA/CDC approved vet. We have been researching for many weeks. First of all there are very few certified vets to do this. In all of Washington State perhaps less than 15. And of course they require a USDA certified rabies vaccine. And then of course who is willing to take on new clients from Canada. We sorted it all or so we thought. The girls got their shots but we still need to come back before we leave the USA for Mexico to get the correct paperwork.

So last Wednesday, July 10th, we finished loading the RV. We had a plan. We had to leave the house in perfect condition for a possible showing while we were away. So I was in the RV in the storage yard putting things away in our RV while Colin dusted and vacuumed etc in the house. Very very very long story short, we were about 5 minutes away from hooking up the Jeep to the RV when Colin suggested a quick stop at our garden plot to pick up some lettuce. Not sure if I fainted ( it was over 100F ) or tripped. I ended up bleeding out for over 6 hours. The ER in Vernon was useless.

Almost 6 hours later we got back to the RV ( my nose was still bleeding ) and there was yet another problem. Something was wrong with the RV engine fan belt. . GOOD SAM was over 6 hours away. Colin called a very very very good friend in the park and he actually  left a meal with friends in Kelowna to get back to HP to help us. J fixed the problem and left to join his out of town friends  ( luv you ) and as we proceeded to hook up the tow car/Jeep there was another problem. Colin dealt with that. We left 6 hours late (stupid hospital) – in Mexico I would have been back home in an hour. The US border was quite suspicious of us arriving at 10:30PM.

We got thru and into an Oroville RV park ( remember we have no generator and it was over 100F ). Long drive the next day to where we are right now, Whispering Pines RV Park in Cle Elum, WA.  Fabulous camping spot. Saw the vet Friday, the 12th and I have been recovering in the RV.

Happy to say that I finally got out for a walk today with my family. So our vacation time here has turned into a recovery time for me here in the RV. Mostly I slept but Colin got quite a bit done on creating a more cozy home environment for us here in the RV. I have so enjoyed spending the past days here in my happy place. I hope that from October 8th and on it will become my full-time home but that all depends on my eye surgery.

So tomorrow July 16th we are driving back to our lake home in Kelowna. I would be happy to stay here until fall but I must get back to my home – it needs to be sold. Thank you so much for checking in, no sense apologizing for the past two weeks of no posts but that is my life right now!

 

Sadly the Oilers lost despite playing a point on game. Life happens. There will always be next season.

Who knew that when I mentioned last January/February that we had decided on a new and totally different path in our lives, that things would have become so confusing and time consuming?

Seriously did any of you have an idea that this would have developed?

We have made millions of minute decisions, thousands upon thousands of so so decisions and hundreds of insanely serious decisions. They all take time. Even the tiniest decision  –  what should I do with this precious memento from our life together or even a physical memory from before before we even met?

I can’t count the hours, certainly not the days nor the weeks it has taken us to get to this point in time.  We have had two major garage/yard sales ( another coming July 6th ). I sold a few thousand on Facebook Market Place.

Colin and I certainly had great taste back in the day. Pretty much everything is now called vintage, expensive vintage 😮 . A few weeks ago I had an epiphany – I also am vintage 🙄  But so are the folks around me and they aren’t going to pay vintage prices.

Then there is our beloved home here on the lake. Everyday we ask each other if we should just keep on as in years past and summer here. No, no, no! We both agree that this is our time. Time to make take a different direction in our future. Perhaps only for ten years or so but we both feel the need for a change and for the freedom this will being to us.

This is where the insanely serious decisions come in. Colin will be closing down Colin Jewall Photo Studios Inc. the end of August. Colin has been a professional photographer since 1983.  His previous career was in engineering. He is firm with his decision. I graduated as a registered nurse ( RN ) in 1973. Then I moved to working for Air Canada, I needed a mental change and the perks were great as I travelled all over the world. Then Colin and I met and wed and I became involved with his company for a while ( over 35 years ) then quit Air Canada. It is now our time, our time to no longer work 20 hour days, the moment to take time for ourselves and explore our freedom.

So the major decisions have been made. We will not rent out our home. If need be we will be back next summer to sell it. However we are purging, sorting and selling as if we will not be back here to Kelowna – which is our preference.

We have had a number of showings and tomorrow morning is yet another one. Hopefully this will be the one, the buyer who loves our home as much we do.

Our future holds so many possibilities and we have several plans as to what we wish to do. They are all off the charts and we can hardly wait.

The Universe keeps tempting us. This appeared in my inbox yesterday. So wonderful and tempting but we need a few free years before we commit. Now that decision took us all day to decide that no – just not right now. But oh such a sweet deal for for one of my blog readers. Check this link out on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/873553979751061/user/1157702888/

We have had so much to deal with day by day that we have both been overwhelmed. I regret not being able to share with you as often as normal. Often I fall asleep at the computer and then eat a meal Colin prepared and then go to bed,  The last few mornings I have have slept in to 10 AM.

So what we have to sell at the moment is listed online. That has taken a bit of pressure off so that I don’t have to be listing daily. We have met so many wonderful people through this selling. Yes we are selling everything as we don’t have extra room in the RV.  I was quoted $200.00 CAD for a 20 X 24 X 16 inch tall bin – PER BIN. Perhaps I am wrong but this seems like a lot to ship with a private citizen going from here to the Isla in a pick up truck.