A New Beginning

A New Beginning

It has been quite some time since my last posting.  In fact 3 years have passed and lots has happened since 2016.  The most newsworthy item is that we no longer live in Mansfield, MA.  After 20 years of living the good life (mostly), Nancy and I decided that our homestead was just too big to handle and also too costly with our fixed incomes.  The biggest issue was the biggest item, a home with 6 bedrooms and 4.5 baths for two people no longer made economic or lifestyle sense.  

After lots of thinking and talking and dreaming, we decided that a move to where my brother Rick and sister Monica live, Delaware, made more sense to us.  It meant leaving my daughter, Tabitha, and grandson, Jackson, but as it turned out, the move was a positive for them as well as for us.  

Our new home has only a half an acre of land, no pool, lots of well cared for lawn and enough gardens to keep us busy.  We have trees, but they are across the "moat" and I don't have to worry about the leaves or taking care of them.  It is mostly one floor living, with 3 bedrooms and two baths, plus a basement walkout with a nice playroom and lots of storage areas.

The backyard has some pretty Japanese gardens built by the former owner, plus two magnolia trees and a very pretty Chinese dogwood.  There is also a fountain that Nancy loves to look at as she has her early morning coffee.

We have already put some of our personal touches to the property, including the beginning of a new veggie garden.  It will take at least another year to develop it properly, but for now we are hoping to get a decent crop of tomatoes, onions and maybe some peppers.  The weather has been terrific with temperatures in the 70's, up to the high 80's.  Rain has come mostly overnight, giving the lawn and plants enough water to grow at a healthy pace.  There is a well with an irrigation system that covers the entire property, so once summer kicks in and a dry spell follows, we can continue to keep our property looking green and healthy.

Tomatoes, Broccoli and even a small marigold starting to flower.

Nancy and I are enjoying our new surroundings, shopping at the local Lowe's and finding some great hideaways like the Amish Farm where we bought many of our hanging plants and vegetable seedlings.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that good times will follow us in our new location.

In the meantime the gardens will keep us busy and our new kitchen will get lots of action as well, as there is plenty of room for cooking, baking and even grilling on the permanent outdoor gas grill.

This is only two thirds of the kitchen with the large gas stove, gas oven and microwave behind the center island.