Complet Upheaval, major changes and a whole new world~~~

Well Sweet Things,

I think you thought I'd vanish, in a way I have.

There has been such changes in the last few months I'm still in a whirl.

Joe and I realized where is the perfect house.  And its the one right across the street from my parents that was being rented out.

I'll try and clear the confusion, this house is one my Dad purchased ages ago, fixed it up and rented it out, and he did this with other properties as well.

Last year Dad decided to deed over the properties to be divided fairly between myself and Sis with us receiving the monies from the rents---which went to repairs and taxes etc.  Dad did keep several for himself as income since they were paid off, and when he passes on they will be used as income for Mom.

Well the house that would be perfect for Joe and I is one of the rental one's and the people who lived in it, decided to move back east to be near the wife's family, so when their lease was up it simply went on a Month to Month and then they'd let Dad know when they were going to completely vacate it.

2 months ago Joe and I went over to the house, when we were visiting my folks, simply to find out what the family's status was, they were glad to see us because although most of their stuff was boxed and stored at a storage unit, they still had large items to go into a U-Haul truck later in the month but they wanted to show what they thought were concerns on the house.

Any house has wear and tear, and they wanted to be totally upfront with everything, and really in the grand scheme of things since they'd been living there for 12 years, naturally there'd be wear, so we went over everything carefully and said that Dad would go with them through the final walk thru.

Later that evening Joe said to me "Do you know that house is really what we're looking for."  And he was right.

We talked it over with Dad and Mom and they are thrilled at the idea of our moving in.

Ahh you ask, but what about everything else?  Joe's friend offered to buy out Joe's half of the property that they were doing the cars in.  We will get car transports for Joe's cars, and that will take a little time,  my house I'm going to be renting out to my friend Yoshi, she and her husband have been renting an apartment in Concord but it was so far away from work and Yoshi's Mom, so that my house would be a perfect answer, close but not too close, with several modes of transportation to the City.

I am keeping the Country property I love it too much to give up.  And we will continue to travel to it from time to time.

Joe has decided to completely retire, he has enough funds, and so do I, I'll be quitting my job as well.

Joe and Ted will be working on a car restoration work mini-business, I'll be helping Mom and Sis with their business, Dad will be busy doing the book keeping and paper work---Yes Dad is retiring  and Joe and I will be there when Dad has his cataract surgery to help out while he recovers.

I'll still be helping Heather with her education, I'm not so worried about her as she seems to be recovering from the lost of her grandmother and has a young man in her life, she has been selling her works and getting free-lance work while she is going towards her degree and pursuing a career in the field she wants to be in.

And in a way I'll still be traveling and Joe will be with me, Yes we have an Airstream trailer, and we're going to use it to look for items for Sis and Mom's business, patterns and things. 

We'll be looking into possibly a re-sale license to sell at various shows, or offer things to dealers for their shops. 

But will I give up the City?  No, it and the Black Bird, Sam Spade, the fog, the whole Noir of it will always be with me.  We will travel back and forth between my parents home and here, but now we will be in control of our lives, living our lives as we want to live, and enjoying it. 

At bit Retro, a bit Noir, maybe a bit Mad Men, but still our own  Fabulous lives.

I do not know when I'll post again, but I could not leave all you Sweet Things hanging, and dear Fram, I hope you are as happy as I am.

Kisses Sweet Things

Happy 2014!!!

Hello Sweet Things,

Yes, I am still here and there and all over the place.

Why?  Well now being an independent contractor for my type of work, I've been traveling, and working long hours as well, but that's one of the down sides of being independent.

Joe is not exactly happy about it but is being understanding.  He worries about me and I can understand that.

Seeing how 2013 ended and how 2014 has started in my part of the US my feeling is that it is going to be a very crazy year,  the lack of water here doesn't help, it's going to put a serious crimp on food prices.

And Hell HAS FROZEN OVER!!!   Did you hear about that Sweet Things?  

Well Hell, Michigan that is.    I had fun with that.   So if  Pig's start to fly we will be in trouble.

But today is my day off, and Joe and I are going to a Gun Show,  one never knows what one will find, no preconceived notions or expectations, just going for fun.   And I know there will be long lines at the Ammo counters.

Last time I went it was near the food concession and I asked "Is this the line for the Food?"  and they said no it was for Ammo,  the food line only had 3 people  (chuckle).  

I have been visiting my family and I am happy that they are in good health,  Sis and her boy friend are doing well  he has his own little business and Sis has been helping Mom with her financial side of her business in vintage and vintage style clothing, Mom has branched out a little doing period suits for men or tailoring them to the gentlemen to fit just right. 

Dad is doing well and is in good spirits, he'd like me to come down in a month or two to help him go over some papers,  he has discovered he is having a bit of vision difficulty, and his eye doctor said that Dad is developing cateracts,  so he may go in for surgery to remove them, he's a good canidate for it, his health is good, so we'll know eventually when the date will be set.

Joe and I are still looking for a house that's a bit larger than my place, but I think I'll rent my place out for a while before I consider selling it.  The house that I would have liked was taken off the market by the owners who decided not to sell. 

I still see my friends and we all try to get together,  we're planning to get together for Chinese New Year like always, and Joe and I plan on going to the Film Noir Festival in S.F.

We've been to my country house and it's holding up well, but I think this year it's going to need to be painted, I'll ask my care takers who would be good for the job.  Renting it out for weddings and small events as well as having the college use it for education is working out very well.   The local Historical Society still meets there when it's small meetings,  there has been talk of having fund raising tea parties there to help preserve other historical places,  so I'll need to go up for those meetings.  But I don't see any problem about it.

My traveling has slowed down quiet a bit, its either for work, to my folks, or my country place, Joe says I need to travel for fun.  So I need to think on that, some place we can go together, and enjoy.

Now Joe is teasing me, time to grab some coffee and a nosh then to the Gun Show.

Kisses Sweet Things