Somebody was working with a VERY old dataset.

As I said at the end, I knew this was a fishing expedition, because the address is NOT one that people can just "ride by", although it's possible that s/he was visiting somebody who lives on that end of the community.  The unit where I used to live is at the far end of the subdivision and the road ends not far after that cluster of duplexes.  I did have a neighbor named Sam, but he knew that I moved.

Notably, this Sam didn't say anything after I told him/her that I sold the unit years ago.  😁

It's always fun to receive a cold call asking "do you have a house to sell" or sometimes asking about a specific address.  Very often it's someplace in North Texas (because my area code is from there) and I'm sometimes tempted to say "yes" just to see how far it would go.  Of course, there are ethical reasons I won't do it, plus not getting on some lists of people to pester, but if the callers want to annoy me, I'll annoy them right back!

It's been two years.

I still need to unpack books:

And do a few other things.  This summer's project is bookshelves.

Reviewing the year.

Facebook reminded me that on April 10, 2022, I posted this on my feed:

Little did I know at the time what adventures the year ahead would contain.

I knew of one: Starting a new job on April 11th.  I hadn't told many people, partly because I am a private person and don't like answering the same question fifty-zillion times, and partly because the last time I did so, it didn't work out as well as I'd hoped.  I ended up being rehired by the company I left, to their delight, and that was a good ride until it wasn't.  That's when I decided to again look for a new job - with the full support of my boss, who'd long been telling me I was underappreciated and we both knew I was underutilized - and this time, I landed in a very different situation.  Some of the people had known me in the past, some knew me currently, and all were very happy that I was considering coming aboard.

On my one-year anniversary today, I received a thank-you certificate from the CEO of my new company.  I'm sure they are auto-generated, but it's a nice touch to receive it.  And coincidentally a colleague, one of the ones who'd left the old place also, and had recommended that they hire me at the new one, told me in a call this morning that he continues to be glad that they made an offer to me and that I accepted it.  It's nice to be appreciated, and such a change from the last 'new job'.

Then my uncle, for whom I was POA and trustee, died on the last day of May 2022.  And I had to communicate with family, and wrap up everything related to his trust and estate, and that is not-quite but nearly done.

Late summer I accidentally bought a house, and began the process of moving.  I am still not settled; two Saturdays ago my mattress arrived so I could start sleeping at the house, but I had a code for the Dallas Opera's livestream that night and it ended too late  to go to my house, according to my mother.  So I planned to finish the move on Sunday, but the weather was very nice, and my father wanted to do gardening.  Needless to say, I am the assistant gardener which means Dad points and I get dirty. 😄

Thus I wasn't able to get much unpacked and organized that weekend, although I did some things.  On Tuesday I cooked my real first meal in my new kitchen, which doesn't look like much, but in a disarranged kitchen, it was a pleasant accomplishment:

Spaghetti with asparagus and chicken poached with garlic
and olive oil.  Not fancy, but fresh and yummy.

Then Wednesday started Passover, so I went to my parents' house and made matzoh ball soup:

We had a nice mini-Seder that ended with a dance party to "Pharaoh, Pharaoh".

Thursday was the last nice day for a while, so I went in the morning to geocache a bit before work hours began; there's a local group that has a monthlong event, and you can do it as fast or slowly as you like.  Points are awarded for being first to find some special items, and to guess answers to clues, and so on.  Given that I am not retired nor competitive, I am doing it as I have time with my only goal to find all the caches.  Some of the caches are just an item of which you take a picture to prove you were there; others have SWAG that you can swap.  I decided to try for a couple of these and now possess these items:

Then the weekend became cold and RAINY, as in POURING rain.  A good time to do indoor things such as have a local handyperson come to help me put together three large furniture items, so I can put away clothing.  He is part of a group from the Veterans Club that does small chores for people as a way of fundraising for the charitable works the club performs.

So that was an accomplishment.  And the eggs and muffins.  And our weekly soufflé:

Mom made the spinach-and-raisins side dish.
The daisy is the one I added to their basket as I left my house.

Tonight I start an online class on "World Wisdom Literature" through the University of Chicago's Graham School for Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies.  Homework that doesn't involve yarn or fiber or beads = yikes!

No fooling, this happened.

In the background of my life for the last several months, I've been working on this:

Yes, I moved.  From Connecticut, where I've lived for a dozen years, down south to be nearer family.  Once travel became possible, and I could visit family, it became apparent that my parents have been slowing more quickly than a year or so in the past.  As the least-hampered child, it was logical for me to move closer to them, and also to my grandmother, who continues on although fading and frailer.

So I started to make plans, intending to find an apartment for a year so I could get my bearings differently from when I stay with family.  However, those plans, as Robert Burns would say, 'gang a-gley'.  First, I somewhat accidentally bought a house not far from my parents.

You've heard the joke about "I don't want to go to garage sales because I don't need a garage"?  My mother heard of an estate sale and suggested I go with her to look at a couple of items that hadn't sold, including a lovely cabinet sewing machine with all sorts of accessories and threads and so forth.  And of course the house was going up for sale as well, and long story short, I ended up buying it.  (Also the sewing machine.)  I tell people that I am walking distance to my parents' house, but they are not walking distance to mine.  😉😇😊

I didn't move immediately, in part because of winter, and in part because I wanted to make some changes to the house.  The garage was unfinished, just taped drywall, so I had it finished and painted, and added a floor (over the cement slab) and cabinets.  I changed out most of the lighting fixtures which were builder grade and mostly ugly.  Especially important was to get rid of the low-dangling chandelier in the dining area, to open up the space more, since the house is open-plan and mostly one big room with bedrooms attached.  I found some cool, mid-century, space-inspired fixtures that float near the ceiling and give huge light and freed up all kinds of space.

It was funny that these sorts of things were left, as the home has other upgrades such as a patio shade that works electrically, and sunports in the main spaces.  I am going to have to get used to those giving light and realizing I've not left a ceiling light burning.

I wanted to tell certain persons personally that I am moving, so didn't let too many people know.  A few figured it out when I started donating furniture, and large quantities of household items.  Others remained surprised until the end.

I'd hoped to have more time to tell people, but apparently the "location, location, location" mantra works and even though I sold my home "as-is" because the refrigerator died just before I listed, I had offers over the list price within two days and entered a contract in four.  The closing was a month later so it was a mad time of packing and getting rid of things and I had a trip already planned to visit my parents (conveniently I could go a couple days early when showings started to be requested) and then the North Texas Irish Fest.  I came back and packed madly again, then the movers, then it was cleanup and clear-out.  I had to get a handyman in to do a door repair which had been botched by my Realtor®'s handyman, and tell the neighbor who had been renting half my garage to move his car, and getting a removals company to take the remaining furniture and repurpose it to other homes.  Some of the kitchen items went to Journey Home, which was very glad to receive them.

I also made this difficult decision:

My car - "The Ruby Slipper" as my grandparents named her - had an issue that was going to be expensive to repair, and would cause her to fail an emissions test.  Since the repair would be a minimum of twice the KBB value, and her registration was still valid, I decided to donate her to the local PBS/NPR station through a charity donations system.  Yes, I would have gotten a few hundred to sell her outright, or possibly as a trade-in, but I enjoy the programming and figured this was easier for me.

I had rental cars on my last days in Connecticut, and although I asked for the cheaper sedans, both times I was given an SUV.  While driving was tricky (I'm not used to such a behemoth) it was very handy to have them as I offloaded household and other items all over town.  Both the Free Center (which conveniently had a community swap on one of the weekends) and Bici Co. received deliveries, as did some wonderful friends who tolerated getting all kinds of kitchen and food items.  One of the couple is a sometimes baker with whom I've exchanged baked goods, and the spouse has contributed beverage mixes, and they are lovely people.  I said I want to see what the baker does with some fancy items.

I've been unwinding the rest of my life.  Both my congregation and the yoga studio continue to have online options that I will continue to use, at least for the foreseeable future.  I will no longer be on-site active in our lay leaders group, but have offered to write the monthly drash if somebody else will read it.  I am letting my museum memberships lapse and I will be joining museums here, and likely a makerspace, but first I'll take time to unpack, and settle, and get bookshelves built.  The kitchen is completely different from my old one and that will take adjusting, especially as the counters seem taller and the cabinets are definitely more difficult to reach.  I do have a pantry and am working out how to organize it most usefully to me.

And so a new adventure begins.  As my current email .sig file says:

"We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, 

so as to have the life that is waiting for us."

E. M. Forster, English novelist (1 Jan 1879 - 7 Jun 1970)

PS:  A surprise was in my mailbox today - friends sent a "we'll miss you" note and a housewarming gift:

I am sharing the cookies with my family.