Monthly Archives: May 2014

Sunday through Thursday, May 19-22—Seems Like Only Yesterday He Was A Toddler

Posted on by
Reply

At church early for Kay to practice with the Crossroads Band, we received word, via email, that neighbor Tom Hearns had passed.  Tom was a God-fearing gentleman that moved into the neighborhood over 10 years before us.  He was polite, considerate, and respectful, and counted neighbors Wayne and Loretta as his best friends.  They went above and beyond in making him feel part of their family, having breakfast together every Sunday morning, and visiting him several times daily in hospice.  Tom said his goodbyes to us a week or so ago via phone in a very personal conversation.  Tom was one of the good guys and will be missed.

Up ant at ‘em early Monday morning, we departed towards Hot Springs Village for a few days to take care of some remaining business.  Our trip took us by Arkansas Golf Center at Conway to pick up new irons that had been ordered a few days earlier.  We drove to the Property Owners Association to obtain permanent photo IDs but there was a snafu in the paperwork.  Kay dropped me off at Magellan Golf Course to hit a bucket of balls before playing a round with Jim, Bobby, and Randy, the two former being husbands of a couple of Kay’s book club members.; hitting with the new clubs proved a challenge, and a very high score was the result.  Meanwhile, Kay drove to out the west gate to pick up the paperwork for us to obtain the IDs, got her ID, and checked us in at our “home away from home”.  While in Hot Springs Village (HSV or Village) we stay at an efficiency apartment or casita on the lower floor of someone’s house.  They have the small casita on one side and a larger apartment on the other, while they live on the main floor.  It meets our needs and the view is great, overlooking a small mountain stream.  We are getting more familiar with the Village, and have eaten as several of the restaurants in and nearby.  For the most part, the food is great and the prices are less than we pay in northern Arkansas.  We found a Mexican restaurant that has an almost identical menu to the restaurant in Mountain Home that we used to frequent, and the food was equally as good; and, we were each able to eat two meals on our serving.  I played golf again on Wednesday at Ponce de Leon, and again played terrible.  Seems like practice goes okay, but then on the course…

Because we have committed to moving to the Village, we are trying to get as familiar with it as possible.  Some of our initial observations about the residents are as follows:

  • significantly older than we anticipated (we see a lot of folks aged in their mid to late 70s)
  • very few obese residents (compared to what we see in Baxter County)
  • very few residents using oxygen
  • quite active
  • a bit more sophisticated

Again, these are our first impressions.

We departed the Village Thursday morning, driving to Conway for my 4th golf lesson.  I have developed a terrible fade, have no distance on golf shots, and, in general, have returned to hitting the ball lousy.  Apparently, I’m still lunging at the ball, etc., etc.  Will it ever improve?

NewImage

Thursday evening, we attended high school graduation ceremonies for Kaden (center in photo), Kay’s older grandson.  He graduated with honors, and received a humongous scholarship to Arkansas Tech University where he plans to major in mechanical engineering.  Seems like only yesterday he was a toddler, sitting in my lap piloting the pontoon on Greers Ferry Lake. He was not much older than Ridge is now when we first met.  Congrats, Kaden, the future is yours.

We traveled home late Thursday night, arriving just before midnight, and getting up early Friday morning for a “blood work” appointment, hitting golf balls, getting groceries, etc.  Ridge, Karyn, and Matt arrived early evening for Memorial Day weekend, and while Karyn and Matt had a “date” night at PJ’s, Ridge babysat Kay and me.

Saturday was a hoot.  Karyn and Matt drove into Mountain Home for shopping while Ridge, Kay, and I spent the morning outside playing in the kiddie pool and with the water hose.  We resumed after nap time, and spent several hours playing in and with the water; I got really wet as the recipient of spray from the hose.  Karyn assisted in removing “dated” products from the pantry, and that chore is nearly finished; we can actually see shelving!  After a great dinner of glazed pork chops and roasted vegetables, we all went to bed early, tired from a very active day.

Sunday through Saturday, May 4-17—Our Topsy Turvy World

Posted on by
Reply
These two weeks have been a topsy turvy, helter skelter period in our lives.  We spent the better part of the first week catching up on yard work, and doing a combination of spring cleaning and moving preparation, whenever that might be.  There have only been two “parties” look at the house, but we know it only takes one buyer, and the top producer in Kay’s real estate office says that buying traffic has not yet begun, and that it will sell, but might take 6 months to a year, and that we have it priced appropriately.   We drove to central Arkansas on Friday of the first week, and I was fitted for new golf clubs at the Arkansas Golf Center; wonder if they’ll improve my game?  We spent the weekend “assisting” potty training Ridge.  In this regard he had limited success, and now enjoys wearing “big boy” underwear (man panties), and is alerting his caretakers when the need arises—way to go, Ridge (Kay and I found ourselves being a cheering section when things went right).  After the weekend, we  attended Kaden’s last high school band concert as he’ll be off to college this fall, and spent the night at Ron’s house.
Tuesday morning, May 13 and 10 years to the day we moved into our Norfork house, we closed on a lakefront lot in Hot Springs Village where we intend to build.  We stayed in an efficiency apartment and it was ideal, including a rushing stream downhill and within sight.  Tuesday evening we were guests of Jim and Ginny Passe at a steak dinner at their church, and it included a presentation on geriatric wellness care by a physician with St. Vincent’s Hospitals—very enlightening as he corrected a lot of “garbage” statements being posted as facts on the internet by those opposed to the Affordable Care Act (this is very troubling to us as it may result in lack of treatment or even death by some who read these misstatements, believe them, and either refuse medical care/treatment or don’t even bother seeking assistance).  It rained all week, giving us a chance to familiar ourselves with the Village and outlying areas east and west, pick up maps and brochures, and look at houses and landscaping. Wednesday evening we had dinner with a group of Kay’s book club friends and their spouses, and really enjoyed the meal and conversation.  While in the Village, we were able to look at a house being constructed using a plan that we really like, and the lay of the lot was similar to ours, giving us a great “feel” for how that house would sit on our lot.
We drove back to Benton on Thursday evening to attend the Benton High School Band banquet, where Kaden was recognized for all his years in the band—seems like yesterday when he first started playing the trumpet.
We returned home Friday morning and resumed spring cleaning, sleeping in yet a different bed for the sixth time in 8 days.  Saturday, we said goodbye to a long-term member of our family, Kay’s 2000 Explorer.  She sold it to Sandy and John Simank’s son.  He is getting a great car as everything still works great, and it still looked great almost 14 years after Kay bought it.  
So, with closing on the lot in Hot Springs Village and selling the Explorer, we are inching closer to making the move to west central Arkansas.

Sunday through Saturday, April 27-May 3—More of the Same, Boring

Posted on by
Reply
This week was much the same as prior weeks, and we’re beginning to think we’re living Groundhog Week (remember the movie, Groundhog Day) every week.  Despite our committing to live a normal life after listing the house, we are walking on egg shells around the house, trying to keep it clean when and if a real estate showing occurs.  And since I don’t fish much anymore, there’s lots of extra time to not do anything!
Tuesday was spent spiffing up the place and with Kay cooking brunch items in anticipation of Wednesday’s MLS Realtors tour of newly listed houses.  I escaped early Wednesday morning, driving to Melbourne, AR, to play golf at Cooper’s Hawk, while Kay entertained a dozen or more realtors.  It was cold, 49°, damp with spitting rain, and windy.  Despite that and two weeks’ of great practices, I played golf like a dog!  The course played longer than the score card indicated, and is okay, but not what I expected for the “Number One” rated public course in Arkansas. 
Thursday and Friday were slow, by our typical standards, though a highlight of the week was the return Thursday of a Red-breasted Grosbeak.  It is so skittish that I have been unable to photograph it.  Hundreds of American Goldfinches have also arrived this week and are eating us out of house and home.  These flocks must be migrating through, and when one senses danger all of them fly away, including the Red-breasted Grosbeak.  I did hit a bucket of golf balls Thursday and Friday, respectively, and had less than desirable practices.  This golf game is getting me down—two steps forward, one step back.  Will I ever get consistently okay?  140503 E 001
Saturday morning we experienced another surprise when 4 Baltimore Orioles showed up at and near the hummingbird feeder while we were eating breakfast, allowing us up close and personal views.  This photo was taken through the double-paned window.  Afterwards, camera in hand, I went to enjoy a quiet, cool morning on the patio, but was once again chased indoors by burning leaves, and the gentle southwest wind blew the acrid smoke right onto us.  We drove into Mountain Home, and I hit golf balls (best practice so far) while Kay attended the woodcarvers and woodturners show where she bought 3 pieces of wood for use next winter in the Rio Grande Valley.  Back at home, we received an invitation to attend a “jam” near Mountain View, but misconnected and returned home “empty handed”.