Among Friends

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

I really have to get my act together--and stay that way this time.

Not only am I tired physically, mentally, and emotionally, but I just about had a heart attack just now when I reordered my supplements.  They've gone up so much in the last few months that I'd better get healthy on my own because I won't be able to afford them much longer at this rate.

And I have to stay functional for at least a couple more years until Carla bites the dust.  No way can I inflict her on anyone if I'm not around.

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@geezerette 

I have mini-strokes when I see how expensive everything has become.  I've stocked my krill and probiotics and then I wonder why I even try to stay healthy.  I have patients in their 70s who have done meth and opiates all their lives and they're still surviving.  Look at Keith Richards.

It seems like I'm trying to stay healthy in order to keep working at a job that's probably killing me.

You have to stay healthy longer than that.  Cats can live a long time.  Don't be so sure that someone will take a cat off your hands.  Cat food might be $100 a pound soon.

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@just bee 

No kidding.  Dog food has already hit that price point.

I don't seem to have that kind of good luck with my cats.  Of course, the vets around here don't help any.  Cats are considered sort of throw-away pets I'm afraid.  

Even the head of the shelter has to be constantly reminded to showcase the cats as well as the dogs.  I've volunteered to foot the bill if my friend can talk him into installing some extended cat cages.  So far, no dice.🤬

But honestly, I'd love to kick the bucket before I have to deal with selling this place and moving.  I like the idea of a smaller place, but thinking about actually doing all the work to get one makes me ill.  I've decided I need to break down and actually buy a new car and that has me broken out in hives.  I don't know how I'd manage a move.

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@geezerette 

When I was in our neighbor's driveway watching our vehicles and all the family photos go up in flames in our garage, I thought that a fire was going to be the thing that would push me right over the edge.

But I remained eerily calm and kept my sense of humor.  Losing most of my possessions wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.  Living in a hotel was kinda nice.  Rediscovering Albuquerque and all its different neighborhoods and parks was an adventure.  Living in a rental in one of those neighborhoods was enjoyable.

I hate change but I survived it.

You will, too. :heart:

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@just bee 

That's kind of what I'm afraid of.

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@geezerette 

My coworker lived in her house for decades and said she'd die there.  Then all of a sudden she sold the place, got rid of everything and bought a new modern condo.

I fantasize about buying land and living in the middle of nowhere, away from everything and everyone.

BH laughs at me because he knows I struggle to drive less than a mile to Costco to buy something.  I want everything to be within walking distance.  Like, across the street, if possible.

Convenience beats solitude every time.

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@just bee 

We had a small house in the middle of town many years ago when we were "in between" houses.  It was wonderful.  We stored most of our furniture in the garage.  I could zip through it with a dust rag in nothing flat.  All the stores were close by.  I had so much free time.

I often think back about that time and wish we'd stayed in that house.  Shortly after we moved from there my father got sick and then my mother went downhill.  It would have been much nicer to drive two miles to their house instead of ten every day.

I don't mind the solitude here, and I'd probably stay around for a while if it didn't need so many repairs.  And I'm to the point that I don't even want a yard anymore, not even a small one.  I could handle the right studio apartment if I could take my cats.

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@geezerette 

If I croaked tomorrow, I think BH would sell this house before my body turned cold and get the helloutta Dodge.

I'd like to think if BH wasn't around I would be able to do the same thing.

I would like something smaller with less maintenance.

This house would be perfect for a family.  Kids should grow up in a house like this.

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@just bee 

It's funny you mention that.  

Some years after we had moved here, we were talking and OG said if it weren't for me, he'd only stick around here long enough to auction the place.  I felt much the same way.  So I wondered how the hell did we get here in the first place if we both felt the same?

Much the same thing happened with the dog.  It wasn't until after we got the current goofball that we both discovered neither of us really wanted another dog.  We were just missing our old dog.

For as close as we were for so long, there were a few very important discussions where we obviously got our signals mixed.

It's still a good seller's market.  And I think it will stay that way for a while.  Perhaps after your own WGD is no longer, you both might sit down and have a good 'heart-to-heart' and decide if you would prefer something else.

Prioties change over time.  Especially as you hit the second half of your lifespan.  And now that it's been totally redone, your place would be very attractive.

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@geezerette 

Especially with the landscaped front and backyards and the view of the Sandias, bosque and all the city lights at night.

The only thing preventing us from selling now is that we can't afford anything in another state.  BH was looking at property in Kentucky this week.  Hear that, @Brisky?

Prices are through the roof.  His mother's house in Colorado has doubled in value.  When she died, I worried that he would want to take over her house and move us there.

Now I wish he had.  There's a behavioral health hospital in Littleton.

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@just bee 

Chances are that any place you'd like to be, so would everyone else.  With decent internet service, half the population can work from home now so people can live in a lot of places they never were able to before.

And everybody seems to be on the move.  Even if they're just moving a few miles from where they are now.  And many seem willing to pay even more than list price.

The thing is, there's no perfect place.  The key is to be willing to live somewhere that no one else wants to live.  But even then, in today's economy even that place will be expensive. 

You do have a nice home you can enjoy after all the work and hassle you went through to get it that way.  You can sell and take your chances.  Or you can stay and take your chances.

You'll figure it out.  Even not making a decision is making a decision. 🤨

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@geezerette 

That's how we ended up here in the first place.

[geezerette]

@just bee 

Then go to where you both would want to be.  Maybe you won't be able to afford a house as nice as what you have now, but if you're both happy it shouldn't matter.  If you're enjoying your surroundings, you won't be spending much time at home anyway.

Like western Colorado?  I'll bet @Brisky will put you two up for a while.  You could sleep downstairs with Marigold.

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

@just bee 

Then go to where you both would want to be.  Maybe you won't be able to afford a house as nice as what you have now, but if you're both happy it shouldn't matter.  If you're enjoying your surroundings, you won't be spending much time at home anyway.

Like western Colorado?  I'll bet @Brisky will put you two up for a while.  You could sleep downstairs with Marigold.

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@geezerette 

When we were dating, we took trips.  Went to Arizona for spring training.  Drove north to visit my alma mater.  Flew to NYC and Boston.

Once we decided to leave California, we narrowed our choices to Albuquerque (company was moving there) and Pittsburgh, PA.

versus

Cowards.  We went with the choice that offered employment and covered moving expenses.

[just bee]

Our door guy, John, is here and he's mortified by how this door was installed.

[geezerette]

Geez Louise, I got distracted and almost forgot this.  Wouldn't be the same tomorrow...🤭

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

@just bee 

Then go to where you both would want to be.  Maybe you won't be able to afford a house as nice as what you have now, but if you're both happy it shouldn't matter.  If you're enjoying your surroundings, you won't be spending much time at home anyway.

Like western Colorado?  I'll bet @Brisky will put you two up for a while.  You could sleep downstairs with Marigold.

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@geezerette 

When we were dating, we took trips.  Went to Arizona for spring training.  Drove north to visit my alma mater.  Flew to NYC and Boston.

Once we decided to leave California, we narrowed our choices to Albuquerque (company was moving there) and Pittsburgh, PA.

versus

Cowards.  We went with the choice that offered employment and covered moving expenses.

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@just bee 

Albuquerque vs. Pittsburg?!  Oh sure, logical comparison. 🤔

If it's any consolation, Pittsburgh isn't exactly Nirvana.

Foolish children being practical.

[geezerette]

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@just bee wrote:

Our door guy, John, is here and he's mortified by how this door was installed.

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@just bee 

I hope he's mortified enough to fix it.

[just bee]

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@geezerette wrote:

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@just bee wrote:

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@geezerette wrote:

@just bee 

Then go to where you both would want to be.  Maybe you won't be able to afford a house as nice as what you have now, but if you're both happy it shouldn't matter.  If you're enjoying your surroundings, you won't be spending much time at home anyway.

Like western Colorado?  I'll bet @Brisky will put you two up for a while.  You could sleep downstairs with Marigold.

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@geezerette 

When we were dating, we took trips.  Went to Arizona for spring training.  Drove north to visit my alma mater.  Flew to NYC and Boston.

Once we decided to leave California, we narrowed our choices to Albuquerque (company was moving there) and Pittsburgh, PA.

versus

Cowards.  We went with the choice that offered employment and covered moving expenses.

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@just bee 

Albuquerque vs. Pittsburg?!  Oh sure, logical comparison. 🤔

If it's any consolation, Pittsburgh isn't exactly Nirvana.

Foolish children being practical.

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@geezerette 

But the Italian food is better.

[geezerette]

I'm off.  See ya!

[Brisky]

Sure, everybody leave when I read through your May posts and now your both gone! Oh, I guess I am late as usual....

I am guessing those hives in Ukraine might be gone by now!
I think the bees are in my backyard. I have plenty and also quite a few birds.

Went to see DD today and she is doing good. Did I tell you she has hair the color of Jessica Chastain the actress. I don't know if Jessica's hair is dyed or not. My daughter's hair is that natural light red though.
That color doesn't run in either of our families🤔

Did I tell you my grandmother lived to the age of 99. True!
Good physical and mental health. She was from Czechoslovakia and moved to Nebraska in the early 1900 hundreds. Fluent in Czech, German and English. They grew up on a farm with thirteen children. The whole family had long life spans...Don't know why? I wonder if it was genetics or lifestyle 🤔
Just rambling....

No career plans have come to me...yet.
No, Marigold isn't WGD yet. She has a long way to go still.
Ok, Brisk out for the night and will be back to ramble another day...
Hang loose everybody.....