The View Challenge - November

We have been quite busy getting ready for our community garage sale coming up Saturday. We have enough to sell for the whole neighborhood. I really don't know how we could accumulate so much in just over six years when we moved to this house. We had gotten rid of a lot of things when we moved here but I think items have been growing in our closets while we weren't looking. As you know, we are planning on moving to Belize and realize we cannot take everything we own with us. Houses there for the most part are smaller than here in the states and do not have the storage space we have here. Plus, we want to simplify our lives as much as possible. I may regret getting rid of some of the things I am parting with later but for now, I am biting the bullet and just doing it.

Thadd has been busy making minor repairs to the house and doing some painting outside. He painted the concrete driveway and patio as the old paint was all chipped and ugly. The outside doors needed repainting (they are all white and you know how hard it is to keep that clean), and some of the vinyl windows in the Florida room needed replacing.  He is going to tweak the landscaping then we feel the house will be ready to put on the market for sale. Please wish us luck as we can't move until we sell the house.

Here is my view for November. Big brother Henry with little brother Spencer. Henry loves Spencer.

Henry helping Mommy drink her protein milk shake. His eyes just melt my heart!

 

Spencer and a pumpkin pillow

 

 

 

 

 

 

This evening as the sun set, the skies turned the most beautiful shades of red, yellow and orange. I only had my phone to take pictures with but I wanted to share them. People were standing outside of their houses just gazing at these marvelous skies. My phone camera doesn't really do them justice.

 



 

I have been reading where some of you are having cooler, wet weather as winter creeps in. We too have had milder weather as it has only been getting into the low to mid 80's during the day and into the low 60's at night. Our Bougainvillea is loving this weather. It had just about stopped blooming when it was so hot but now is back in all of its glory.

Take care everyone! xxxx

Bonus Week from Viv

This week Viv has given us the poem "When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple". I am very familiar with this poem as my Mom had a framed copy of it hanging on her wall. She loved the color purple and so do I. Here is the poem and our challenge from Viv.

When I Am an Old Woman I Shall Wear Purple
By Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple
with a red hat that doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.
And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves
and satin candles, and say we've no money for butter.
I shall sit down on the pavement when I am tired
and gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells
and run my stick along the public railings
and make up for the sobriety of my youth.
I shall go out in my slippers in the rain
and pick the flowers in other people's gardens
and learn to spit.

 You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat
and eat three pounds of sausages at a go
or only bread and pickles for a week
and hoard pens and pencils and beer nuts and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry
and pay our rent and not swear in the street
and set a good example for the children.
We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.
But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

The poem and the Dream Board gave me the idea to challenge you to think about what you would like to do or where you would like to be in the future.What do you think?

It doesn’t have to be when you are old, just in your future, maybe even tomorrow or next week. A dream holiday, a different house, new car, anything really. Perhaps also you could take photos this week of works in progress, family, crafts, something in the home or at work. Whatever you think fits the bill.

I don't like to think too far into the future but I am not a procrastinator either. Like others, I do like to have things to look forward to. It makes life less boring knowing you have something exciting coming up. So vacations are planned ahead. This is done sometimes because you can get a better price if you book in advance.  My husband is a list maker, plan ahead kind of guy which can drive me crazy if I let it. I like to live each day as it comes and if there is a nice (or not so nice) surprise within  the day, I say woohoo and go with the flow.

As far as the poem goes, I do wear purple. I have for years, even before I became old. I have always liked bold colors. I do hoard pens/pencils and like things in boxes. I have been known to go out in the rain in my socks or bare feet, wear terrible shirts and even my pajamas at times. I think living in Florida or maybe even being in the US makes some weird behaviors almost seem normal. Granted, a lot of this is by young people (especially the college kids, you see them everywhere in their pajamas or bathing suits), not by someone my age  but I can honestly say it is not unusual to see a 70+ woman working out in her yard in her bathing suit. I can tell you, it is not a pretty sight as a lot of these women still wear bikinis! LOL

Unfortunately, I have gotten fat (hubby hates it when I say that) but not from eating three pounds of sausage. I have accepted that this is the way it is going to be for me and I do not let it bother me anymore. I take quite a few medications and every single one of them has a side effect of weight gain. Then there is the insulin. Taking it causes tremendous weight gain and you couple that with bad arthritic knees which hamper your mobility, well, there you go. I have complained to my doctor that I don't even have to eat anything to gain weight, all I have to do is look at it! I call it weight gain by proxy! LOL

One thing I can say about our future that we are seriously working on is getting our house ready to sell so we can move to Belize.  I think we will be ready to do this in about two weeks. Saturday is the community garage sale and we have so much to get rid of. If we can sell all of this stuff at a decent price, we may become rich! Hehe!

So, in closing I am adding some pictures of the grandkids at the pumpkin patch and in their Halloween costumes. Spencer was a puppy and Henry was a dog catcher. Zach was a policeman.  That is one thing I can always look forward to, my grandchildren!

 Everyone take care. xxxx