Okay, so I expected mixed emotions and I got them But overall we are happy. We sold our house, as you all probably know by now. It sold in 5 days, and we did a short escrow. So now we’re renters.

We’re still trying to let that sink in. Backstory here, Wizard and I both considered this our dream home. A lot of people might scoff at that, and that’s fine. I mean it’s not anything special, it’s not a mansion, it’s not by the beach, it’s not on a lake, but it was everything we wanted. We raised our kids here and one of the reasons we took so long to find another house is because we loved this one. We looked for years. I’m not sure our kids even believed us anymore that we would move, LOL. So we really did love this house for 26 years.

Most of the time Nothing is perfect of course.

And now we’re letting it go. That’s a mental process. It’s also the right thing to do at the right time I think. Wizard and I are well and strong enough to put real effort into making the next house the home we want for this season in our life. And the people buying our house are a young couple for whom this house will be perfect for this season of their life. We truly want them to be as happy here as we have been. Hopefully we’ll meet them soon (the deal was made with relators, but now they are our landlords).

So we are renting until August 21st and **hopefully** our new home will be ready by then. It’s on track so fingers crossed. We are cutting it close, but this is the deal so we’ll figure it out if for some reason the house isn’t ready. This is something I’m putting in the “I can’t control when the house we be finished and signed off by the city so I’m not going to spend energy worrying about it now” category.

Today, Wizard and I are going to look at the slabs of granite we chose to approve it. It’s another thing I’m happy about, we have final approval on that. We can change it (supposedly) if we aren’t happy. Since granite is a natural stone, each slab varies. It’s nice to be moving forward so we don’t dwell on the past we’re letting go of. It’s time. And while the past always slips away, the memories will be ours forever.

So that’s my update. What’s the update in your life?

My weekend was good. Saturday morning we went out to see Middle Son and pick up the wine they bought for us on their trip. They travel more than us and will pick up whatever we request, then we pay them. So basically, we have a wine dealer, LOL!

Saturday night, I got to go visit Phoebe, one of my grand dogs. She’s the goofball golden retriever whom I’ve come to love very much. When I walked in the house, greeted me with typical golden retriever joy, and that is just priceless. I love that she knows and trusts me now. While I made her dinner, she sat right by my side making sure I did it right. Evidently I did because she wolfed it down. I spent, I don’t know, maybe 40 minutes with her and really enjoying hanging out with her.

Sunday, I didn’t do much. I had some plans but a cranky stomach overruled that. It’s my own fault for doing things like stressing and eating anything besides white rice and Jello But I’m fine now. By yesterday afternoon I felt better and spent an hour in the pool while Maggie tried to coax a lizard out from it’s hiding place. The lizard refused to budge.

On the cookie front, I made the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies last Friday and then when I baked them, I REMEMEBERED I DIDN’T LIKE THE RECIPE! I don’t like the texture or the way they bake. I purposely tossed out the recipe so I wouldn’t use it again, then when I got a craving, I forgot I disliked it and searched out the same freaking recipe on my go-to baking site. I’m shaking my head at myself. Why???? I guess I just don’t make oatmeal cookies much. Wizard likes them, and we eat them, but still…I’m mad about it. I have an oatmeal pumpkin recipe that I sometimes use when I looking for a healthier operation, and I REALLY wish I’d made those instead. They’d have been a much in my opinion.

So that was my weekend (well most of it, I’ll share more later this week), how was yours?

TGIF! Boy this week! But it’s all good, and now it’s time to share five random things about our week.

1. We hit some stress this week and as a result, my house is clean That’s the good news. The bad news is I ate cookie dough. And to make it worse, it was some left over store bought cookie dough I happened to have in my fridge, LOL. It was only one piece because I have standards, and my stomach had serious hard limits that it strictly enforces. If it had been home made, then I’d be in more trouble. And probably sick due to previously mention limits.
2. The stress is resolved. This is normal stuff in the process of selling a home. We will see what happens next week.
3. I can’t honestly remember much else about this week. I did yoga. I cleaned. I desperately wanted to make oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but am trying to resist because we’ve had enough junk. By the way, I still love yoga.
4. Oh, on yoga. A week or two ago, Wizard walked by when I was doing some poses. He sees me doing this all the time, but this time, he commented on being impressed. Not because I’m good, I’m really not. But he could see the progress I’d made and how the core and balance work paid off so I could hold a tricky balance pose. I know this is a tiny thing, but having him randomly see and recognize that meant a lot to me. Mostly, thought, I’ve been doing yoga for my own joy.
5. I took Maggie to the vet yesterday for the mass on her belly. For the first time in my experience since I switched vets, they were using their “Covid Protocol”.  I was unsure what to expect, but it was easy. They have a courtyard in front of their office, there’s chairs and benches, and they have a sign in sheet. Super easy. It was hot, but we could get up and walk around, find shade, etc. All the dogs were well behaved and the cats were in carriers or being carried. The tech came out to get Maggie, took her in, and the veterinarian brought her back out. My stomach clenched when I saw the vet because up to then, I hadn’t seen a vet come outside. But it’s not bad news. Maggie’s mass is either a lipoma (fatty mass that we just watch) or a small hernia. The vet couldn’t manipulate the wall behind the mass to tell for sure. However it’s not urgent at this point. The vet assured me it’s fine to just watch it for now. And together, we developed a plan to remove it when she has her teeth cleaned next time, and if the vet finds a hernia then, she’ll repair it. I feel so much better. And I appreciate so much that the vet came to go over it with me. She gave me specifics to watch for that (if they happen) will make it urgent, but for now, Maggie’s in good shape. Also we discussed her over health which is also very good for her age.

That’s my five. We aren’t sure about our weekend plans yet as it’s been a weird and hectic week so we’ll see. Now I’d really love to hear about your week! Have a great weekend!

I tried to write a blog about character flaws, and failed. LOLOL!! Okay I didn’t fail, but I didn’t give myself enough time to flesh it out and I deleted it. Instead I’ll tell you this: I’m reading a series (recommended by Silver James!) Shelly Laurenston’s Honey Badger Shifter Romance Series. I’m on book 2. It’s a fun series. But aside from humor, Shelly writes excellent flawed characters. She transforms the flaws into powerful traits that makes the characters lovable and has readers rooting for them.

If you enjoy funny paranormal romances and want to see a skilled author create flaws characters whose flaws are part of what makes them lovable, check out this series!

So what are you reading?

Pretty good weekend. Wizard had a nice Father’s Day. We went to breakfast, then youngest brought over pizza for a late lunch and I made an Oreo cake. When they left, Maggie and Wizard were both wiped out   For Maggie it was from playing, for Wizard it was the cake, LOL. We skipped dinner after all that. Oldest and Middle called. Considering they both had just gotten home after planned vacations, a call was great. Also, Middle and his wife took the time out of their vacation to go do a little wine shopping for us, which we apricated since we can’t get up to wine country right now. Oldest and his family were on a cruise to Alaska, and Turbo had both his first plane ride and ship experience. He did pretty well on the plane, and he loved the ship.

I hope all the dads had a great Father’s Day. Though I lost my father at 13, his love and wisdom have lived on as a guiding light in my life. For my kids, their dad is the same guiding force, one that will live on for all their days. A father who is invested in their child fosters is a special and lasting relationship. I hope each dad had at a moment, if not an entire day, of feeling valued and recognized on Father’s Day.

How was your weekend?

TGIF! I *think* it’s Friday, but our days have been blurred together for two weeks now. What if it’s really Caturday, which became a day while I was signing docs and attempting to tame technology? It might have happened

And no I haven’t had any wine, sadly. But tonight I shall! And if it turns out to be Caturday, I’ll adopt a cat and have two glasses of wine!

But for now, I’ll share five random things about my week, hoping that in return, you will share yours. And away we go!

1. I may have sorted out the browser issues we were having. Maybe. I’m doing little changes at a time so I know what’s working and what’s not. So far, my browser has stopped overtaking Wizard’s browser and that’s a win!
2. I’m very happy with our new computer. Not bad, considering we researched and bought it within about 24 hours. The printer hasn’t even made me swear  once yet, which is impressive. The old one had me vowing it’s death by fire or drowning on a weekly basis.
3. We had the appraisal on the house done yesterday morning. We were told he would come between 9am and noon. He arrived by 9:30 and was done by 10:00. I was so happy to have the rest of my day free. Of course I did really exciting things like laundry, but still…I wasn’t waiting around which is not fun!
4. Maggie keeps going to Wizard for reassurance lately. She has done this before when she’s sick, but now I think she’s grasping something is going on but not exactly what. It’s interesting because she’s mostly my dog, but she needs Wizard’s reassurance right now. And he gives it to her. Overall though, she’s acting normal, eating, happy to go on walks, hanging out in the normal way and thrilled to see people she loves (which is everyone, LOL). It’s just this one additional thing, and it’s almost like she’s saying to him, “Everything is okay, right?” And he tells her “right.” Then she goes on with her day. However, I do have her vet appointment next Wednesday to check the lump on her stomach as a precaution, and I’ll make sure we’re on the right track about making this transition easy for her.
5. I’m not sure what the weekend will bring, but I’m hoping it won’t be Caturday because I was only kidding about adopting a cat! I like cats, but one pet is enough for me. Wizard and I will probably go to breakfast for Father’s Day and maybe I’ll even bake something. Not sure what yet. When I asked him, he said cheesecake or key lime pie. I’ve made both those recently, so we’re negotiating. He’s also debating if he really wants that much junk food, and that’s totally his decision.

So that’s my five, I bet yours will be a lot more interesting! HAPPY FATHER’S DAY to all the dads out there, and hope everyone has a great weekend!

We got a new computer, and all was working until we asked the printer to scan something. That’s when the printer realized the computer has been updated and pitched a royal tantrum, blaming the router, the internet, the network and a witch hunt. But it was the printer, and we knew it was because old technology rarely plays nice with new technology. It’s like an unwritten rule of the tech gods laughing at us mere mortals trying to make it all work.

Sigh, so Wizard and I bought a new printer. Because of course we needed it ASAP to scan a document. I researched a printer, then Wizard looked at it and we both decided to go buy it. We were on our game…or so we thought. It wasn’t until we were hooking up the printer that we realized it didn’t have the ability to fax. It’s an All in One except for fax because who even uses fax anymore?

Dinosaurs and bureaucracies, that’s who. In other words, Wizard and I forgot about the fax function because we rarely ever use it, but wanted it just in case we need it. So we took back the first printer and bought another.  For more money of course, because…technology eats money for breakfast and washes it down with mortal tears.

But the new printer worked!

But the bowsers…oh the browser. So I noticed that Wizard kept accidentally opening my email instead of his. Weird, but I chalked it up to stress and assumed he was opening the wrong browser. Then I watched him open his Facebook only my Facebook account came up. I couldn’t blame that on stress as I saw it happen with my own eyes. So I took over and checked, and yep, his browser was signing him out and auto signing me in, then transferring my data.

That’s some weird stuff, yeah?

Technology! Okay so here’s what’s happening: I use Google Chrome and Wizard uses Microsoft Edge. We like using two different browsers as it keeps everything separate and it works for us. But Microsoft Edge has updated to Chromium which is the same open-source software that Google Chrome uses. So now, my Chrome and Microsoft Edge think they are the same browser (simplest way I know to explain it.) And since I synced up my Chrome across my devices, it’s absorbing Microsoft Edge into that. In short, Chrome is deleting Wizard off Microsoft Edge and replacing all his stuff with mine.

It’s like a Sci Fi Movie.

I’m working on solutions, but if the ones I’m trying don’t fix it, then I’ll have to change my browser. Wizard is handling enough things right now, and I adapt faster to changes online than he does. But seriously, Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome, could you two not foresee this problem? Really?

Maybe today I will win this battle! Or not.

Happy Wednesday!