Just Go With It.

I promised myself I wouldn't whine about the snow again today.  It started snowing yesterday afternoon, continued thru the night and is still coming down at 9 am. And it's April 23.

That kind of sounded like whining, didn't it?  Ok, so my whining reminds me of a quote I read recently:

"I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on Earth. Then I ask myself the same question."
*Harun Yahya*

As much as I yearn to live near the big blue ocean 

and aspire to live that quote ~ and I do in my head ~ in real life it's not practical.  Gah.  I hate being practical. 

The mister and I have jobs, we have a home, we have four-legged people with fur, we have elderly parents ~ all of whom depend on us to be there when they need us.  We have responsibilities.

I'm the lucky one who can do what I do from anywhere in the country.  And although the mister can access clients from anywhere in the country, he also needs to be available to be on site physically when needed.

I am realizing that at almost 60 some of my dreams may have to remain just that ~ dreams.  My days of changing things in my life every three or four years are gone.  We know now that - providing we are fortunate to stay in good health - we have about 15+ years to work like hell and bank it.  We are the type of people who will never "retire" because we love what we do.  But someday it will be nice to slow the pace a bit; take a little more time off to spend near my beloved oceans.

So I had a bit of an epiphany this morning. The quote "Bloom where you are planted" is so cliche and a bit saccharin for my taste but it's kind of where I'm at.  

And I could be in worse places. Denver is a cool city

We are a short drive from the gorgeous mountains I moved here for 39 years ago

And at the end of my street I have space to wander 

I'm a two hour flight from the Pacific I love

So for the next few years we will feather our nest and make our home completely ours, exactly how we want it.  (Finally)

We will make a concerted effort to balance work and play more

And remember that life can change in a heartbeat.  And when you make plans, God laughs. And everything I just wrote could be irrelevant tomorrow.

See?  I still thrive on change.  Gah.

The "New" House

We're coming up on another anniversary. May 3 will mark six years in what we still call our "new house."

And it will mark six years that I have not painted a wall, not bought a drape (we have blinds, of course, but they're basic); I've barely hung art or rearranged furniture. 

It's a great house.  So I ask myself why I am so hesitant to make it my own.  It took me about eight years to finally make our old house ours, too. And then we sold it two years later. Maybe it was all those years living in rentals ~ trying to decide where we finally wanted to land.  Maybe I'm still waiting to land.

And the funny thing is I love design. I love decorating. I love color. Had I taken another turn I would have enjoyed trying my hand as an interior decorator.

Maybe it's because we fluctuate between wanting to live a little more urban 

and wanting to just pull up stakes and move to the ocean.

Wouldn't a combo of both be lovely...

And it doesn't help that our friend - who we already know will be our realtor when we decide where we're going next - keeps telling us "It's a really good time to sell now. Your house - in your neighborhood - has really gone up in value."  

It comes back to my personality I think ~ always looking for the next thing. Meanwhile I'm not enjoying what I have right now.  I seem to thrive on change and if I'm constantly changing there is no "now."

Whoa, this is getting too deep for a Friday morning.  But there's a little lesson on living in the present.  (You're welcome.)

We know this isn't our forever home and I'm always thinking resale value (thanks Tim the realtor for always being in my head)... but I am feeling a little more ready to settle in.  A friend reminded me that (1) changes I make to the house might actually enhance the value (they probably would); (2) nothing I do can't be undone; and (3) I've already been here six years and could have been enjoying some really nice color and design for six years had I acted sooner.  I could be here another six or twelve ~ so relax!  And make it your own, Cindi, she said.

Let's see what the summer brings.

I Left My Heart...

A few years ago my son and his wife left one coast (Brooklyn, New York) for another coast (San Francisco, CA) and made that beautiful City by the Bay their home.  Having had the opportunity to visit them several times I can honestly say I totally get the lyrics to "I Left My Heart in San Francisco."  Just as they have, I have fallen in love with San Francisco.  

So when a friend shared this video last night I recognized so many places and I am missing the ocean and all the unique flavors of that incredible city...

View as large as you can and as loud as you can.  It's... magic.

The quality of the cinematography on vimeo is better as it is in HD:
San Francisco by Air

"Leaving San Francisco is like saying goodbye to an old sweetheart.  You want to linger as long as possible."  *Walter Cronkite*

"One day ~ if I do go to heaven ~ I'll look around and say,'It ain't bad, but it ain't San Francisco."  *Herb Coen*

To be where little cable cars climb halfway to the stars... 

*Sigh*  Magic.