Thursday, January 14, 2021

How did we get here?

Boy howdy, it’s been a wild few days here in Spokane. We had wind gusts at 73 mph yesterday. People all over the city are still without power and likely won’t get it back until sometime next week at the earliest. Trees are uprooted and toppled through a lot of roofs! Electric lines are down with power poles snapped in two like toothpicks. But us, here in the RV park? We’re snug as two bugs in a rug. Our power didn’t even flicker! Praise to the Lord!  Dennis had our generator at the ready but we didn’t even need it.

I have finished the main part of the cross stitching on the “Sheep Virtues” and have just begun to outline the sheep. I decided that since most of them are stitched in tones of cream and brown, I’m going to use one strand of dark brown to outline them. So far I’ve almost completed the sheep on the bottom right. What do you think?
Since I last posted I stitched Kindness...

and Joyfulness.

I also put a few more rows on the baby blanket. I’m sorry for the lighting. It’s still gets dark so early here and I took these photos when I had to have artificial lighting on.

So. I have had a few people ask me why we’re living in the RV. And I realized that I have a few fairly new readers. Some of you know the story, and if you just want to say goodbye and not read the whole thing again I understand.

I will try to make it a short story. I was raised in Iowa, my husband Dennis was raised in Nebraska. But, the little town I was raised in was right smack dab in the middle of Omaha, Nebraska! A long, long time ago the Missouri River flooded and left that little tiny bit of Iowa on the Nebraska side of the river!  Anyway, we were both born and raised within 7 miles of the other.  In fact, the same doctor delivered us both. We realized that when we went to get our marriage license and we looked at our birth certificates. Omaha is a pretty big city, so the odds of that happening are pretty small. We met each other in a Sunday School class when Dennis was home on leave from the Air Force. All three of our children were born in Omaha.  We were the last people you would ever expect to leave the city that we had always lived in, with our families all around us. 

However, Dennis was offered a great job here in gorgeous Spokane, Washington in 1993. At the time, gang activity was increasing greatly in Omaha and we didn’t want our children growing up around that. We packed up our three kids and moved west! We have never really regretted it. Except the part of being away from family.  We love the Pacific Northwest. It is absolutely beautiful country here. We sold our first house here in Spokane and built one in 2002.   This is a picture of the house we built, just before we sold it last summer.

We thought that would be our forever home, but one by one our children grew up and flew the coop. Our oldest is now in Omaha with her family. Our middle son is in Montana with his family. And our youngest flies between London and Japan on a regular basis. His fiancé is in London. 

Dennis’s mom is almost 85 years old. Having lost his sister, who lived very close to her last summer, and with his brother living in Florida, we have come to realize that she needs us close by. I also lost my brother from Covid last May. Each day that passes we realize more and more how precious family is. Dennis will be retiring in the very near future and with the housing market doing so well last summer, we decided to sell our house. The first day it was on the market we had several offers, all over the asking price, so it sure didn’t take long. We gave most of our furniture to a refugee family next-door and over 25 truckloads to the Goodwill.  We do have a storage unit the size of a single car garage with mainly kitchenware, books, Dennis’s tools and yarn!  We do have a few pieces of furniture but not much. We moved into our 38 foot travel trailer and we’re living in an RV park until he retires.  Although our plan has always been to travel and not buy another house for at least a few years, we have come to realize that his mom needs us close by the majority of the time. We will still travel with our trailer, just not for extended periods like we had originally planned.

Well, that’s it in a nutshell. If I didn’t answer all your questions, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll do my best to answer them.

I hope you all have a wonderful and safe weekend. It sounds like progress is being made on vaccine distribution. Hopefully that means there is light at the end of the tunnel for us all.

Blessings and love, 
Betsy

24 comments:

  1. You did a good job of explaining how you and Dennis met right up to where you are now and the reason for the choices you've made. :) Backstitching the sheep will definitely finishing them off nicely. Kindness always matter. Joyfulness sometimes seems in short supply when seeing all the craziness in the world. Glad to hear you've been safe from the storms where you are. I saw a few other people post about all the flooding and damage that was caused. Take care. Be well.

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  2. I needed to see that picture. Thank you for putting it there.

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  3. You have been in my prayers regrading the storms and they were answered. Thrilled all is well in your RV home. The outlining of the sheep is wonderful and makes a big difference. Glad that the vaccine is now available, hope all goes well with the programme, it seems to be working well here. Take care, every blessing.

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  4. That is a gorgeous piece of cross-stitch Betsy and you were right outlining the sheep in a darker brown does make them standout more. Where are you going to put it? Are you going to frame it or use for a cushion cover? Over the months I have been back blogging I gleaned more or less why you were living in your RV. Nevertheless this précis of yours has summed it up nicely. I don't think I have ever seen the front view of your house...dear me it must have been so hard to give it up. The baby blanket is looking wonderful. I have used that pattern a couple of times before and it really turns out some good blankets. Vaccination here is fully underway albeit a bit slow in some places. The news tells us there is now a shortage in some areas because some naughty people have been ignoring the legal procedure and giving to family and friends before the people who are supposed to have the vaccine first. A group of people were caught selling the vaccine for 140€ a jab. Despicable!!!
    Very glad to see you are safe from the storm and well prepared too in case of power cuts. keep well Amanda x

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  5. Backstitching the sheep will take a bit of time, but it does make them stand out. Very nice Betsy!

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  6. Goodness!!! How on earth did you get that finished so quickly? It took me 3 years to get it done. It's really beautiful. Mine is rolled up in a tube somewhere. I plan to hang in in my dining area if we ever get the remodel finished. We can get shots starting on the 25th so there's hope. I'm scared but still happy our turn is next.

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  7. I'm glad the wind didn't topple you guys! My son said it was the strongest wind he's ever seen where he lives!

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  8. Did you get the house that was for sale next to your mother in law?
    Cheryl

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  9. Backstitching really made the sheep pop out nicely.

    I hope you'll find just the right house in Omaha when you are ready.

    I think that same storm you had is headed our way for next week.

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  10. Your sheep looks great, the backstitching helps that one pop! I enjoyed your recap. My husbands parents lived in Omaha during the war he worked at the Martin Plant. His twin brother and sister were born and died there and are buried there we assume in a mass grave by the hospital. Our oldest daughter lived in Elkhorn for a number of years and some of Far Guys family comes from Missouri Valley and Logan IA. We like that area very much, winters are so mild! The Grand Girls Called the spring tornadoes twisters.
    We are expecting those winds today they are in ND now.

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  11. Yes, your story is a wonderful one! I love the fact that you and your husband were delivered by the same doctor; the odds of that must be great! My daughter married the boy next door but that's not quite as amazing!
    I agree that the sheep need some definition and a single strand would be a great idea!
    Thank you for the wonderful Scripture you always add - it's a comfort! Take care!

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  12. Thursday was a nice day here in OR with sunshine. I was with my friend for a few hours for shopping at a couple stores in Aurora and lunch. One antique store. Coming home the sun nearly blinded me in a couple spots. Where my sister lives in WA they are out of power until Sat. Sad. Have a good weekend. I appreciate your comments on my blog. 🌈😍

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  13. Oh your blanket is coming along nicely. I love your cross stitch project. I think the back stitching really makes the sheep stand out more. It looks awesome. Wishing you a day filled with many blessings sweet friend. :)

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  14. Love that stitchery! Is that baby blanket crocheted? It's really pretty. Those were crazy winds, weren't they? And you were much luckier than we were. As you know, our power was out for 17 hours, but at least we didn't have any fallen trees in our yard, just lots of branches and pine cones.

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  15. You do such beautiful work. I love the cross stitch with the sheep. 73 mph winds are about like hurricane winds. They're awful. Glad you and Dennis had no damage. I enjoyed the story of how you two came to live in an RV. And, how you met. What a sweet story...you were meant to be together. I never really knew the whole story.

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  16. thanks for the back story of your life and living in the R.V. I am amazed that you didn't have any power outage where you were. Wow. Your cross sticking of the sheep is just beautiful....what a lovely message. Hope you both have a terrific weekend.

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  17. We here in B.C. got the tail end of that awful wind. January is a bad time to have a power outage of any length of time. I'm glad you're snug in your RV.

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  18. The back stitching really finishes and defines the sheep. What a gorgeous piece!

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  19. I like the sheep outlined! So much better to see the little darling! Wow your winds were higher than ours has been the past couple days for sure. Good job condensing your story! I am so micro-ocd-detailed I still would have written a novel. 😆 But really, we love to read your posts, never think you're going too long or boring us! If we can't all be together as friends in real life, at least we have our blog conversations! Love and blessings, dear Betsy! (And we appreciate all the prayers you say for our family. ❤️🙏🏻)

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  20. Your sampler is gorgeous and I think the outlining sets off your sheep really well. Have you put in an offer on the house? It really does seem like the universe is telling you to get it. I know your story but it was good to read it all in one spot. I'm glad you made it through the storm without losing power. Ours went off at 1 am a few days ago and stayed off until 6 pm. Thank goodness for our generator and a handy husband! I hope you stay snow-less, I know how much you detest it. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  21. The baby blanket is so pretty. I love the colors! I enjoyed reading your and Dennis' story. I have been reading here for a while, but learned a lot of things I did not know.

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  22. Betsy, did I miss the fact that your brother passed from Covid? I knew Dennis lost his sister and Becky lost her brother but I must be slipping. I am so sorry! You must think I am a terrible friend and I wouldn't blame you. There have been so many deaths lately and illnesses that I am having trouble keeping up with it all. Please forgive me. I do remember your family reunion and that is wonderful that you were all able to be together then.
    Wow! What weather and so glad you were okay in the RV and no loss of power. I had no idea you were doing all the sheep virtues all at once. That's a big project and it looks lovely! I had them on my wish list. Your baby blanket is lovely too. I love the story of how you and Dennis grew up so close to each other. What a love story!
    Take care!

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  23. Betsy you're stitching is beautiful and you do so many different types of needlework, I'm so impressed. Delighted to hear that all is well with you and your hubby. We only have a couple more months of winter so stay warm and cozy.
    God bless you,
    Connie :)

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