November 29, 2016

After my last post I received several messages from friends about my plans to move to Portland, Oregon.

I am not moving for at least a few more months.  I have sooo many preparations to make.  Besides, the nice weather season has arrived in Houston.  This is the best time to live in Houston.  I hope to move before the weather gets too unbearably hot again.

I just have so much stuff!  I have to sort through it all and keep only some of my things.

This past weekend I've been weeding through my clothes.  I just love clothes.  I take such good care of them that they seem to last forever (or until they somehow get too small).  I took 2 bags and 1 box full of my clothes to Goodwill yesterday. 

For the clothes that are  just too good to give away I use thredup.com, an online reseller. They decide what items they'll keep and put on their website.  The other items they donate to charity.  They also decide the prices and do the shipping.  It used to be that the company would send out "clean out bags" with a prepaid label.  All I had to do was fill up the bags and drop them off at FedEx.  They made their money by keeping the lion's share of the items' selling prices.  Now they want $9.99 per bag plus their share of the selling price. The fee is deducted from the seller's portion of the sales price or if that doesn't cover the fee they charge you via paypal.  Their policy change is very disappointing, but it beats pressing everything, putting them on hangers and hauling them to a resale shop or even worse, holding a garage sale!

Sorry, I've gotten off topic.  Once I decide when to make the actually move I will be sure to share it promptly.

November 24, 2016

It's the sixth anniversary of the day my life was forever changed.  My husband of 10 years fainted in the bathroom and became instantly and permanently paralyzed.  I've already written about what the 2 of us went through during the months that followed.

I was aware that life as I had known it was over.  I've recovered from the shock of his accident and I've even gotten over the shock of his later behavior.

But, I'm still mourning the loss of how my life used to be.  I was married to my best friend.  My mother lived with us.  I was never lonely.  Of course we had our ups and downs but overall we were happy.

Now I miss the  lifestyle.  We had a good relationship.  We took short trips frequently, played cards with friends, had real conversations, faced life's problems together.  I had hoped I could have a similar life again.  It's been 6 years and I have been trying to rebuild my life.

I guess I'm lucky that I had those happy 10 years.  I still hope to make a happy life for myself.  I've learned that I have to be independent.  I enjoyed sharing the responsibility of home ownership with my husband.  It's difficult to do alone.

I'm ready to give up owning a home.  It's so expensive and I worry about flooding, property taxes, roof leaks, etc. etc.  My plan is to move to an independent senior living apartment in Portland, Oregon.  My rent will cover a 2 bedroom apartment, 2 meals per day, covered parking, maid service and some entertainment.  I will have to give up some privacy, a roomy house and 2 of my cats.  But, I will be in a group environment and no longer alone.  My son, daughter-in-law and 2 grandchildren will only be 6 miles away from my apartment.

The other residents are mostly 10 - 20 years older than me.  But the years go by quickly and I'll be the OLD one soon enough.

In my senior years I hope to more fully explore my hobbies, especially doll making, do more exercise, explore the Northwest, go on an Alaskan cruise, travel and spend lots of time with my grandchildren.  I would also enjoy a part time job so I will be part of mainstream society.

The future looks promising.