CREATING NEW DREAMS

So - we've definitely decided to sell … or trade … our vehicles for a new vehicle.

A new life.

A new dream.

A new home.

All the {new} things need a new vehicle.

We are living a new present, and are forging a new future.

A new life that has nothing of the old in it.

But, this newness does not come easy - or cheap.

We both are learning to fully let go of the past and fully embrace the now and the near future.

'Cowboy Take Me Away' song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aX4HhvWOGk)

Over the weekend, the furnace decided to go squirrely: it needed fixed (1) it was freaking cold without it, despite the space heater and fireplace (2) anyone who buys this house will expect a properly functioning furnace.

The {fix} was spendy … I will expect a new buyer to understand that the asking price we are solidly fixed on is fair, given that I have updated everything the previous owner refused to fix before Bob & I bought it. Whoever buys this house will get a smoking deal.

Given this morning's $$$ drain, the asking price is more than fair on our end. And I pray God that nothing else freaks out before we can move out.

Felton's Heating finally arrived; half an hour overdue.

Felton's Charges - I really need that high-end house listing price to come through.

I dolled up while the guys tore into the furnace - Holland and I planned on hitting car dealerships, looking for a vehicle we could reasonably and easily tow behind the motorhome. Our vehicles are listed on Craig's List … but if we can trade them both in at the same time for a reasonable trade, we'd rather buy a vehicle outright without touching the house sale $$$$$ left over after buying the motorhome. We'll be holding that money in the bank for emergency expenditures, that will surely crop up at some point, as we travel the highways and byways.

I also sent Shay a text asking that closets and drawers are off limit to the people traipsing in and out of our house; we came home after the Saturday house showings to locked closet doors in the master bedroom, and drawers that had been snooped into. NOT OKAY. There is no reason for that. The closet space can be assessed just by looking at the double-wide doors, and it's just plain rude to snoop in closed dresser drawers :-(

My left foot is still healing from adhesive wounds (apparently I am severely allergic to Band-Aid adhesive), so I'll be wearing my hiking boots quite a bit until the skin heals.

Going for colorful sparkle today.

Face on … Sparkly 'Cream' for browline; glittery 'Totally Tubular' turquoise eyeshadow; sparkly 'Navy Blue' for outer eye accent & 'liner'; Glittery 'Winner' middle eyelid accent color; Auburn Eyebrow Gel; 'Cobalt Blue' Mascara; 'Neutre Enflamme' Cream Blush, & 'Pink Quartz' Lipgloss.

What is behind closed doors (and in drawers) is private - we are still living in the house.

After the furnace was fixed, Holland and I boogied. We saw a Ford Maverick that we liked … but the sales rep said that it was not for sale because "the State bought all the vehicles on this side of the lot": 2 years ago - ALL GAS GUZZLERS! Apparently {the state; aka politicians} also prefer fuel operating vehicles over electric vehicles they are forcing down the public's throats. Another NOT OKAY moment.

We also saw a Chevy Colorado 4x, and Holland could sit in it very comfortably. It is white - we prefer red. Tomorrow we'll drive across the River, and into Portland, to see what the car lots there have to offer.

GLITTERING

Today was a glittering day from start to finish 😉

I had a hair appointment today (yes, it is Sunday; but I am relaxing my Sunday routine for a while) in Castle Rock – the hour was available, so I jumped at it. I wanted to have my hair tidied before the busy holiday season bumped me into 2023.

I would be joining friends for a shared lunch afterwards, so I dressed for a day out-of-house.

Glittery 'Gentle' for brow, & 'Glory' for eyelid.

Mascara & Lipstick to match my blouse.

Face in place ...

The verdict is still not conclusive, concerning the fate of this blouse in my closet ...

I had some spare time; so, I read a few pages of my current Read and drank a cup of coffee, before I walked out the front door glittering from head to toe 😊

Slipped Clive into my purse to keep me company. LOL

My 15 y.o. White Christmas Cactus is in full bloom.

My 20 y.o. Pink Christmas cactus is lagging behind.

Finally on the road, and crossing Woodside Drive from Coal Creek Road to Westside Highway, I saw there was high wind damage all along the route.

The road, and broken greenery, was shimmering with the recent rainfall.

High wind damage on Woodside Drive; off Coal Creek Road.

Thankfully the fallen trees that littered Delameter Road, had been sawed into manageable pieces, and laid alongside the road for wood beavers (firewood for those willing to go get it). When I got to Castle Rock, I really didn’t have that long to wait: and I was pretty much “in and out”. I just had the top hair layered, bangs cut back, and side hair feathered a bit Easy-peasy 😉

Waiting for a haircut ... and a timely message.

Haircut done & no time to style it; Man! It's COLD!

Leaving Castle Rock, I decided to add extra miles to my drive to visit my friends. My hair didn’t take long to whip into shape … and there was no hurry to get to lunch: I had time to dink around.

So, that’s what I did.

It’s been months since I’ve frittered a Sunday away with a Sunday drive. It felt good.

Sparkling waterfalls created by the runoff of overfilled streams, and saturated forest floors, flashed as the waters crashed to the rocky drainage beds alongside the roadways.

The Columbia River was perilously close to overflowing its banks at County Line. I’ve never seen the river this high, here – Bob may have, but I never have. It was a little unnerving: the mighty Columbia River is a greedy river, and it can do a lot of heavy damage in a short period of time.

Drainage water on Eufaula Heights Road.

Holiday Mishmash on Stella Road - off Harmony Drive.

Waterfall on Abernathy Road; ALWAYS PRETTY.

Waterfall on Mill Creek Road.

End of Mill Creek Road - end of the line, for me.

 High water at County Line Park; the Columbia River!

The 'little green man' at the Park Host’s space, tickled my funny bone. LOL

I did eventually get to my friends’ place, and enjoyed good lunch fare, and good company from 1 to 4 PM. These guys are great – all four have adopted me as their sister; and that’s good for all of us 😊

Tomorrow, is time spent with my gal friends … three of which are related to two of the four guys mentioned above. They are all a hoot. I am thankful they are all in my life: we all balance each other out. We are Family.

On my way to lunch, I had passed over the patch of roadway near Stella that the County has been working on (laying a drainage pipe), but I hadn’t really paid much attention to it (thinking the lack of activity was due to it being Sunday) … but I paid closer attention on my return drive that way, and noticed that it was finally finished. YAY!

No more road delays.

Whether the busy work actually keeps the hillside from sliding into the River remains to be seen …

Hallelujah! Road work on OBH at Stella is done; you can barely see where the road was torn up.

This is supposed to {stabilize} the hillside? Hmmm.

When I turned off Ocean Beach Highway, onto Germany Creek Road, I got a nice surprise!

Bob always liked watching elk - he would have got a bang out of seeing this herd; who knows ... maybe he was riding a cloud overhead and did see them ;-)

What a surprise, rounding the bend on Germany Creek Road ...

A pretty impressive herd for a young buck; 15 ct. cows.

The Bull Elk may have been young, but he was not stupid 😉

He knew how to herd his harem – and he knows how to keep them safe, too: he cleverly planted them in a human's yard, where they would be safe from hunters’ bullets and arrows: he was doing all he could do, to keep his herd protected 😉

And I smiled, thinking of how Elohim cares for my welfare; and how Yeshua protects me. Every day – all day: no matter what the days throws my way 😊

GLITTER IS MY SIGNATURE COLOR

I got a text around 8:30 AM, that my new glasses were waiting for me to pick them up. I hurried up and got ready to go collect them 😊

I dressed accordingly – the new eyewear was glitzy with glitter … so was my makeup, and clothing. If I had glitter hairspray, I would have used that too.

My inner flamingo was coming out in full force, this morning 😉

Eyeshadow of choice, today - 'gentle' for browline & 'likeable' for eyelid; it is very glittery.

Blue ‘liner’ to match my jeans; also packed with glitter.

Peachy - white tube – lip gloss; glittery.

Gold studs on my gold-threaded top; I sparkled from head to toe, today 😊

Rubyhorse – ‘Sparkle’ song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53xIJbzo-QA)

I’m a big bottom-big boobed woman … with a very short torso; so, it looks like I have no waist at all: people stare. When I was younger (and thinner) that didn’t matter: tanks tops and short shorts gave the illusion of an hour-glass shape with definition – people could see that I did, in fact, have a waist. Sort of. But at 65, baring my midriff would be ridiculous, and pointless: my sliding-south-boobs would hide my waist 😉

What people can see now, is my face. Thankfully, that is holding up; for now, even if my teeth are crooked. Bob loved all of me, as imperfect as I am: and Bob was an very handsome man 😊

I decided with the dawning of 2022, that I was going to make having fun the main focus of my life: I’m 65 and looking at the downslope of life, and I am going to pack that short amount of time with fun, fun, and more fun. I’m not going to be doing outlandish stunts … but I am going to give more freedom to my bohemian side.

Colorful, boho style clothing (I’m old enough to afford cruising trendy Thrift Shops, and young enough at heart, to get a kick out of wearing it again), glittery makeup, and glitzy eyewear is a start. And even though people tell me I look younger than I am, I’m smart enough to know that I am loooong past 20. Or 40. Or 50: I will not get swept away by recklessness to the point of ridiculousness as some widows do.

But, I do intend to have fun!

Bohemian Style After 60

(https://sixtyandme.com/is-it-ok-to-embrace-bohemian-clothing-after-60/)

Walking out the door ...

I had a wait in the car for a bit when I got downtown (refused to wear a mask inside) … and there was a wait in the optometrist’s office (while the Contact’s order was scrapped, and $$$ refunded me – they kept half).

I played a game of Woodoku.

I hadn’t had anything to eat before I left home, and I was hungry; so, I asked my SIL if she’d like to join me for lunch, on Commerce. Merry has done so much for me these past 3¼ years. I wanted to let her know I appreciated her.

When I showed her my new glasses, she didn’t bat an eye – but she did laugh with me when I said, “they look very elton john, don’t they? I can’t stand his music, but I do like these glasses. They are almost as outrageous as his always were.” That is the type of person I want in my tribe 😊

Timely message; leaving Country Folks Deli.

The eyeglasses case is pink.

I swear – I’ve never had so much pink in my life, in my entire life!

If Bob is looking down on me, I’m sure he is as shocked as I am at how suddenly my tomboy lifestyle has been turned on its ear; and morphed into a pink haze of femininity.

I’m getting used to it now, but for a while there I was kinda getting freaked out wondering who the heck this New Me is.

My life is going 'pink' at turbo speed.

And I’m also thinking, that if Bob is paying any attention at all to what I am doing down here on Earth, he is howling with laughter as I wear my new glasses … after all, Bob had a hand in my choosing them 😉

These new glasses aren’t as colorful as the ones Bob inadvertently {chose} for me about 5 years ago; just before we bought this house. He pointed them out to me as a joke, but they spoke to my gypsy soul – and came home with me.

I still burst out in laughter every time I think of that moment, and the total look of shock when Bob realized I was actually going to buy them and wear them 😊

Bob inadvertently started the whole 'bling thing'; LOL

I can’t wait to show them off to my Lexington friends, Friday morning!

I can already hear the hoots of laughter 😉

Pink Floyd – ‘Shine On, You Crazy Dimond’ song:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWGE9Gi0bB0)