If you follow my blog at all you know that while I think snow is pretty I am NO fan of cold weather. As a child I couldn’t wait for a good snowfall but the older I get the more the cold and snow are just a big pain in the tush.
Our beautiful deck is like living in a tree house in the woods. Deer and red foxes, birds, squirrels and rabbits call our backyard and woods behind it home. But this is coming to an end. Over the next 2 months we will be relocating. The Diva Den is closing. 😦 Mom is edging closer to her last day and while we don’t really have any desire to move, it simply isn’t feasible to stay here. Financially speaking we cannot do it with just 3 of us unless one of us suddenly wins the lottery, which is unlikely because we rarely purchase a ticket. I think the odds of getting struck by lightening on a sunny day are better. We are starting the process of purging the contents of the house that we simply don’t want, need or care to move. The dumpster will arrive and by then we will have it all on tarps in the garage waiting to be loaded up and hauled away.
Life begins new in 2, 2 bedroom apartments in the same building. I had been praying and asking for prayer via the church app and that prayer was answered. Easter weekend the first one will be available and my niece will move into it, her mom will follow and share it with her once the second is ready and mom and I move into our new place
. By the end of May we hope to have the Diva Den sold to someone who has kids and will benefit from such a large house. We will all be in our new homes and hopefully mom will make it to be relocated and comfy there.
I have to say that it is bitter sweet. We are ending an 8 year chapter of our lives that has been full of laughter, a few tears and battles, but lots of love. Prior to the idea of 2 apartments in the same building, the weight of having to purge and sell this huge house without mom was a tough one to carry. Boo and I have never sold a house, and the thought of doing that while mourning the loss of our best friend and mom was agonizing. We are more than relieved to know that we won’t have to do that and can just focus on the grief when the time comes.
Winter here is gorgeous, that backyard is something to see when covered in snow and critter tracks. I hadn’t really given it much thought until driving home Wednesday seeing all of the trees covered in snow as I approached our neighborhood, awed by the beauty. It was then I realized we’d never see another major snowfall here in this house. Thankfully that didn’t last long because we’re about to get clobbered with a winter storm tomorrow that is forecast to drop some accumulating snow. I’m off work and going to sit and relish every flake as it falls, sipping coffee and crocheting with the fire place burning some logs and chatting with mom and Boo.
As is typical with weather in the Cincinnati area, it may not even happen. I suspect the Ohio River plays a part, but it seems that every storm system that comes at us, with rare exceptions, falls apart just before impact, going north, south or both around this city. The exceptions are the ones that like to throw the big punches bringing severe storms and tornadoes once in a blue moon, or serious snow falls. Wednesday the forecast was 8-12 inches of snow. Then it dropped to 1-3, then it was 5-8 inches and now 3-5. In other words no one has a clue and we have to wait and see. 100% precipitation is a given, but it could even arrive as ice, freezing rain, or just rain. For just this once I’m hoping for the snow, our last big hairy deal before we move. About 3 inches would rock, then with temperatures in the mid 40s the next day it will all go away and good riddance!
So today, I’m busting out a to-do list that is already insanely long, so I can just relax tomorrow and take in the hoped-for beauty. After that it is Katy bar the door we have to purge, pack and go!
Marti Gardner 