I'm really glad we're finished with 2012! You could say it was a wonderful year, and perhaps that's how it should be remembered. My brutally honest self, however must be reminded that the fun and thrills were not as evident as this final outcome for the year would indicate. Yes! We are Texas residents again. No place has ever quite felt like home except Texas, anywhere in Texas, and yes we have lived in most parts of Texas.
That said, I will put a few traumas to rest here and now. The long drawn out move took it's toll on Ol' Abner's health and my attitude. While we are ever so glad to drive 45 minutes on a freeway to the farthest medical appointment, the good relationship with doctors and dentists hasn't yet gelled for him.
The house we found with a "view of Lake Travis" is actually a view of the bed of the Colorado Riverbed. Three years of drought accompanied by forced release of water to the rice-growers downstream has made our beautiful lake a thin stream of water connecting tiny pools getting shallower daily.
The house, oh yes the house, it's small...actually downright tiny. During the move we passed along rooms full of furniture and "stuff" to friends, family and charitable organizations. It felt good to purge, but on arrival, the scary realization that we should have purged so much more. I like the house with it's big windows and feel of openness. If I could only open it out by a few hundred extra feet and I do miss my high ceilings. Nine foot ceilings seem so low after twelve, fourteen, and even a sixteen foot ceiling. We really didn't think we needed those huge closets...Yep we did!
The extra lot in the back of the property to perfectly accommodate the manly garage/playhouse has been cleared of the scroungy cedar trees and that's about all there is to tell about that. There is a building boom in central Texas, and our little job entices few takers. Son brought out his bulldozer and backhoe to make the site ready for building just after we moved in. I envisioned wonderful storage for all the containers stacked in the garage, a bathroom to keep dirty hands from keeping my back door in constant need of a scrubbing, and better yet the beginning of beautiful landscaping for the back of the property.
It's been wonderful seeing old friends now living within an easy drive to visit. New friends have begun to evolve from acquaintances in our new surroundings. With any move, though, we must accept the longing to visit with close friends we left behind. I hope for a trip to the Ozarks soon!
