Simply Norma

Ventured out tonight in the first snow of the year for the St. Paul area.

Had to wear my boots which I haven’t had to wear in years.

So far, there are some things I really like about Minnesota.

I like not having low-flow shower heads.  Showers are quick because the water pressure is great.
I like that the first snow was slushy.
I like that drivers drive slow.
I like that there is more sun.
I like that people seem to be more trustworthy — the apartment complex did not ask us for identification when we filled out our application nor did the mortgage broker.

I like that there is sufficient heat in the restaurants that we’ve gone to.

Things I don’t like — my best friends are in Seattle.  Wish I could have the best of both worlds.

Our first couple of days in Minnesota were spent finding an apartment, a bank, pre-approval for a house loan and checking out some communities of potential places we can buy a house.

Finding the apartment was easy as we had checked in with a complex before we left Seattle.  The new complex takes care of renting your furniture for you also.  A nice touch.

We looked at 3 apartments.  One had recently had the carpet shampooed so I wasn’t sure if that was the hint of an odor that I smelled.  The second one definitely had had a smoker in it so was out of the running.

The third apartment, although not yet cleaned, looked very nice.  Two bedrooms, two baths facing south.  It also faced the highway but since we’re not opening our windows much in the winter here the noise shouldn’t be a factor.  Even standing on the deck, it didn’t sound too bad.

Walking to get to this apartment also smelled like someone was cooking Puerto Rican food.  Hmmm … a friendly neighbor perhaps.

Today we woke up to lots of snow on the ground.  They predicted it and it happened.  Quite different from Seattle where they predict a rainy day and we have sunshine.

The other difference is that there is lots of sunshine here.  At least so far.  We’ve been told that it is unusual for it to be this warm (in the 40’s) this time of year.

I’m so thankful to God for His watch over us as we traveled here.  And for our finding an apartment so quickly.  We would have preferred to rent a house or a townhouse but wanted to get into something right away so we wouldn’t have to worry about it.

We slept in today although we had checked for churches to attend.  Our bodies were just plumb tired and from what my mother tells me “you are not young anymore.”

Ouch!

The move has finally happened.

The drive from Seattle to Minnesota was mostly uneventful except for a few things.

When we first left Seattle, we ran into a lot of traffic on I-90.  Then lots of clouds as we went through the mountains.  But then the sun came out so beautifully as we went past Ellensburg and to Spokane.

Perfect weather.

We stopped in Missoula, Montana for the night at one of our favorite places, the Best Western.

We have stayed here in previous trips and the rooms are always extremely clean and spacious.  And, they have fresh cookies in the evening.  Always a plus.

I kept forgetting about us losing time as we headed to the Midwest.

The next morning we left a little late.  At 4 p.m. we wanted to continue driving to Bismarck, North Dakota but it started raining and got real dark with snow predicted so we got off the road to look for lodging.

Unfortunately, the 2 hotels we went to were full.  Apparently, oil has been found in Dickinson, North Dakota and although we were still in Montana (Glendive) the majority of the hotel rooms were booked by the oil people.

We managed to stay in a motel but it was less than expected.  I felt happy though that we were able to find a place to stay.

The next morning we drove to Bismarck where we took a break at Starbucks.  We received a call from our brother-in-law to see if we were going to stop in Fargo on the way to the St Paul area.

Yes for sure!  We were happy to stop in and see two smiling faces.  We made ourselves omeletttes and drank some freshly brewed Folgers (mountain grown for better flavor!).

Then I had a piece of homemade chocolate cake.

I think I need my brother-in-law to come be our chef.  🙂

After we left I decided to try to drive the rest of the way.  Unfortunately, the weirdest thing happened.  It started to rain and it got so dark.  I was not able to see.  It seemed like I had night blindness.

I had to pull off the rode and let my husband drive.  I’ll have to get my eyes checked to find out what is going on.

In reading on night blindness (if truly that’s what it is) I read that one of the causes could be a lack of Vitamin A.  It can also be caused by dry eyes which I started having as we drove across the country.

It was unbelievable to me though that it rained the whole time we left Fargo until we reached Woodbury, Minnesota.

Well, we’re here.  Safe and sitting in an Extended Stay hotel.  We move to “permanent temporary” housing on Monday.

All the goodbyes that can be said have been said with the exception of one son who will be staying behind with the house until closing.

Bags are packed.  Floors vacuumed.  Bathrooms clean.  Ready for inspection day tomorrow.

All in all, a 29 year stay in the Seattle area has gained us friends who will always remain true to the end.

Life is so unpredictable.

It wouldn’t be so hard if I didn’t have people on both sides of the country who were so special to me.

But I do.  I am blessed and will continue to thank God for His goodness to me.

For a few years, I have had the privilege of knowing an older woman whose children don’t pay much attention to her.

I’ve become her durable power of attorney and about 3 or so years ago, we found an adult family home for her to live in as she was not able to care for herself safely.

When I visited her a couple weeks ago, one of the caregivers commented on how they felt bad for her as other people had family members who would come visit them and take them out but no one from our friends’ family would visit.

My friend has onset dementia and is slowly going downhill.  It will be hard to be far away and not be able to pop in and see her.  After awhile she may not recognize my voice on the phone.

I took care of all of her funeral arrangements a few years back.  But still …

It’s just not right that people should be so alone.

In talking to other people, it seems that a lot of people really live “alone” lives.

I then think of all my family and friends and how blessed I am.

So, the house has been on the market now for about 9 days.  Many people have traipsed through and we received a job offer.  We have counter-offered and are waiting to see if it’s accepted.

Having to leave your home every time someone wants to view it gets rather intrusive.

Can’t remember how many coffee houses I’ve been to and how many cocoas I’ve had to stay away from my house while someone else is viewing it.

For all 3 open houses, I have prayed that we would have sunny weather in Seattle and my wonderful God has obliged.

Yes, I know it may sound narcissistic of me to think that God has changed the weather for me.  But since all good things come from God, I must give Him the credit.

Now the time is coming when we have to say our goodbyes to people who have been in our lives on an almost daily basis.  Friends who have become family.

It will be harder than when we moved to Seattle and said goodbye to family in the Midwest.  These friendships have run deep into our hearts.  No longer can we call them friends but family.

Today I spent most of the day cleaning and staging our home so that the photographer, who comes tomorrow, will be able to take some really good pictures for the website that our real estate agent will be creating for us.

It’s a little hard to live in a house in this manner though.  Even though we are using our own furniture for staging, the house feels bare — stripped of all the personal pictures and items that make it our home.

But, that’s exactly what we have to separate ourselves from — this is not our home anymore, it’s a house that we are selling.

I was fortunate to have a friend come over and help with a lot of the cleaning.

And, I’m also fortunate to have a husband who also helps and doesn’t seem to mind when I act like a dictator.

Life, as it is.

Madness!  Today was window cleaning day and going room by room to make sure everything looks right for pictures Monday.  Gotta sell this house!

I made it through 3 rooms.  Not bad.

But I got frustrated after I received a call from someone to let me know that important obligations would not be met.

That seemed to throw me over the edge and I felt depressed and sad.

I didn’t stay in that mood for very long though — God being who He is, I received 2 calls shortly thereafter and they helped lift my spirits.

Later, while making dinner I decided to make pumpkin pie so that I could help deplete our cupboards.

All was going well — uh, no, I guess not.  I made the pie crust from scratch only to find I had packed the roller.  So, I got creative and used a can of Ravioli.

It worked okay but the pie crust seemed rather thick to me.  It did fit perfectly in the pie plate though.

Next I combined all the ingredients and popped the pie in the oven.

Started working on dinner again and — oh, what are these eggs here for?

Oh no!  They belong in the pie!  Out came the pie after 10 minutes of baking.

I quickly added the eggs in and stirred.  Would it work?  We’d know later.

The pie was supposed to bake for 35 minutes.  Hmmm … not ready yet.  Added another 10 minutes.  Nope, still  not ready.  Added another 10 minutes.

Out it came.  Looked good.

After dinner, I had the first piece of pie since my family thought by now that I was a little wacky.

Tasted good.  The crust was a little thick but overall not bad.

Then my son, who just came home from being out of the country, bit into his piece.

“I think I just got a chunk of ginger.”

Oh well.  Trying to bake without the proper utensils and in a hurry doesn’t work too well.

Life as it is.

Today is carpet cleaning day.

That must mean that most everything is put away and in its place.  Not exactly.  Just moved from one room to another.

Will go room by room now to make sure each room looks “right.”

It’s amazing how many packing boxes one needs.