Well, 2021 has come and gone. 2021 was a fairly good, albeit very busy year for us.
As I sit here on this dismal, dreary morning, I’m reflecting on the frenetic year gone by with a bit of amazement.
- Sold our house. Oh my. We bought our “fixer-upper” in 2007 and worked like crazy people making it into our vision. After the Trump driven restrictions on deductions on property taxes and mortgage interest, we realized it was time to start thinking about the next phase in our lives. And thanks to a card in the mail from Troy Spaunagle, it all came and happened in a two week period in February. God bless Troy. While our dealings with Realtors in the past have not exactly been bathed in glory, Troy came in and blew our socks off at first introduction, and then far exceeded our expectations. Thanks Troy, we appreciate your work.
- Seriously downsized our “stuff”. A large amount of the stuff we had accumulated over the previous 14 years was disposed of. As it was, our belongings filled up 2 28′ moving trucks so that gives you and idea of how much stuff we got rid of. “Hopefully” the next move will be easier as a result, George Carlin was definitely right about “stuff“.
- Haven’t found our dream home. Hopefully it exists, but you never know. We have had the opportunity to see places and homes in Virginia and Tennessee that were amazing in our search. At first we were worried that we weren’t finding what were looking for, but realized that finding what we didn’t want was an important part. A month or so ago a house outside of Warrenton popped up that ticked all the boxes in things we were looking for. We had seen a house in the development a couple of years ago and had always said if something else popped up we would jump at it. After touring the house, we did a short drive around the area, and there were some activities in downtown Warrenton that told us it was not for us. ‘Nuff said. So our search continues. The focus is on Williamsburg, but if the right house pops up in the right place at the right price somewhere around here, we will definitely consider it. We aren’t particularly optimistic though. We are off to see an open house in Leesburg today that meets many of the requirements and is in our budget. We are fairly certain the pricing is set to spur a bidding war, not unlike the one we benefited from. We’ll see.
- We sold and bought a car. It had become clear that my beloved Jessica, my 2008 Honda S2000, was simply not working for me anymore. I loved driving Jessica, she was a blast, but the logistics of doing so had just become too problematic. She was sent off to a very good home and we were glad. For while. A couple of months later, the itch set in for another convertible and I started looking for a lightly used Lexus SC430. The Lexus is definitely ying to the Honda’s yang, but I found a very nice one and we absolutely love it. We’ve put nearly 5,000 miles on it in the couple of months we’ve owned Scarlett.
Typically on New Years Day, I will “declare” the resolutions for the upcoming year, and today is no different “)
- In the past I’ve called this talking in traffic, but henceforth I’m going to call this “behaving in traffic”. It’s become obvious with the pandemic that the overall psyche of the populace has changed and a lot of people are just itching for a confrontation. And even more so on the road. Road rage is rampant and you see evidence virtually every time you go out. People driving very aggressively, dangerously, making obscene gestures, etc, etc, etc. The resolution on 2022 is to simply not engage. No antagonistic behavior, no nothing. BE.A.GOOD.BOY. I’m certain Melanie will appreciate it….
- The obligatory weight loss. Spending some 6+ weeks in Greensboro, NC has done has not been conducive to my waistline. I’ve picked up about 5 pounds from where I like to be, so in January and February to the goal will be to dispose of that.
- Profanity. I work with a gaggle full of retired Navy personnel. They have a very “limited” vocabulary. Unfortunately, I’ve picked up more than my fair share of it. Need put some of it down….
- The blog. Other than the hiatus while I figured out the formatting for this blog, sorry about that, I’ve been pretty good about regular posting. Looking back, it’s obvious I need to exert a little more discretion in the images I’ve posted as there are simply way too many. I’m doubtful anyone took the time to look at all of them. So, that will be the next challenge, picking the stars of the pack and presenting them along with a good storyline. In other words, try to be a better author.
- Find a place to retire. Natch. Actually this should be at the top of the list, for obvious reasons.
That’s all for now. Tomorrow (?) we’ll talk about a trip we took to in September to Chattanooga in the guise of a birthday/house hunting short vacation.
Until then, be well