Simple Life

I have some great news... we found a home in Pueblo and our offer was accepted!!!  We should close on August 20th!!  EEP!!!  So excited!  There is a lot to be done, but the sellers have agreed to do it- plumbing, electric, foundation, and replacing the entire roof!  

Okay, back to what this blog is about...

I created this pattern because I wanted to stitch this up, but since it's about simplicity, I wanted a simple pattern.  I wasn't really able to find anything on Etsy that wasn't super elaborate, and the point of this quote is to celebrate the simple.  It's credited to Tolkien in The Fellowship of the Ring.  It's not actually in the books, but it's something Bilbo says while narrating his chapter "Concerning Hobbits" in his book "There and Back Again".  I think it's a lovely sentiment, and my goal in life is to just live a simple, peaceful and happy life.  We've had that for the most part for a long time, and I'm hoping that despite the chaos, hate, anger, etc going on, we can continue our simple life.  

I did NOT want to get out of bed this morning.  But... obviously I did :)  I went to Hutto this past weekend to visit friends.  We had brunch at Casa Jalisco in Hutto- Me, Krisy, Anja, and John.  Leslie was out of town and Jules had plans.  It was lovely, as usual, to see everyone.  I also went and visited Laurie and Gene.  They are my ex's mom and stepdad and we are still really close.  It may be the last time I see them for a very long time.  We had a great visit!  Then I came back to Coldspring and I am working on a cute cross stitch by Noctiflora that I will post soon!  

And OH MY HEART!!! I got a call on my phone from my sister's phone this weekend, and it was my sweet nephew. He asked me if I wanted to go see Weird Al on Friday. Awww :) I was like “Yes, I would love to, thank you so much for inviting me!” and then after a few minutes Sam got on the phone and said they had an extra ticket and she asked if he wanted to take his friend or Aunt Joanne and he said “Aunt Joanne!” THIS CHILD. Jason, his dad, said he would give me his ticket, way back in November, and I thought maybe they had forgotten and I wasn’t gonna ask about it, because I felt weird about it. But that was so cool and so I’m gonna work a couple of short lunches this week and leave a little early on Friday. It’s gonna be awesome!  I love Weird Al and to be there for my nephew's first concert is so special to me. Even if he is a mean stinky pre-teen ;) I just adore him.

If More of us valued food and song and cheer above hoarded gold...

It's been a while since I posted but... Pueblo was FANTASTIC!  We explored the city and looked at some houses as well.  We didn't find a house that fit what we are looking for, so we will keep going.  We had one picked out that we were IN LOVE with but it turned out to be a complete dump.  That was disappointing but I know we'll find a place we love.

We found some great food and we can get almost everything we need at the shops in Pueblo.  They have one called King Soopers, and it's Kroger with a different name, and I LOVE me some Kroger so I'm pretty happy.  There was not a lot of traffic.  And everywhere we went, we could get there within a few minutes!  I love it and am really excited about living there.  

We also went to a nature center that was just unreal!  I can't wait to go back.  

I am not sure I have ever lived in a time where we needed this mindset more than now...this is one of my favorite quotes from The Hobbit.  Thorin said it to Bilbo as he lay dying.  It's such a beautiful quote and I want it hanging in my home!  The pattern is by CrossStitchForYou on Etsy.  I actually started this in our hotel room in Pueblo and it's taken me a while to finish but I am really  happy with it.  I finished it last night!

Last night, we went to Chuy's after work.  OMG.  I love that place so much.  Their margaritas are BOMB and they have the best beans and tortillas.  I am going to mess the HELL out of Tex-Mex when we move.  We are waiting on a loan approval so that we will have some buying power.  Although the houses we looked at a couple of weeks ago didn't pan out, there are a bunch more houses for sale that we can consider.  We have found a few we hope to go see soon anyway.  Wish us luck!

Ghost in the Garden

We are going to Pueblo this weekend to check it out and see if we want to live there.  I'm super excited!  Road Trip!  We have off Friday and I am taking Monday and Tuesday off as well so I'll have some time to rest up after the trip and the drive.  Wish us luck!

I finished this one by The Bad Witch Crafts yesterday.  I am not super happy with how it came out.  It's not the pattern or the design, I just don't think it's my best work.  I dyed the aida myself, and I don't think it was the best choice of fabric for this specific piece.  The pattern is awesome and maybe I'll redo it on a better piece of aida later on!

So I think my Mom and I made a turtle friend!  We have been feeding the fish and turtles in the pond and today, when we drove up on the little cart, the same little guy came swimming up so fast!  I named him Tom Bombadil, because I am reading his poems, I love the character, and I love saying Tom Bombadil!  He's so cute.  We saw a couple of big-ish catfish too that we have never seen.  It was really cool.  After the fish and turtles amused us, we had a beer on the patio, and my dad finally joined us after doing some tractor stuff.  It is such a lovely way to round out the evening.  

Also, we are closing on our house next week!  July 8th.  This bit has been a whirlwind.  We put the house on the market, got several showings, and got an offer within a week that we accepted.  All the work we put in was really worth it!  I'm very excited, and after that, we just have to find a house we can afford in Colorado.  Maybe we will find one this weekend!  I have been doing a lot of magic towards this so I think we will be there by October at the latest.