We have a buyer for our house!! Praise God!

We accepted an offer on our house this week!   It took 5 weeks, 3 showings, lots of packing & primping & staging, and the grace of God.  We are so blessed!  Thank you so much for all the prayers and  well wishes.

When the Realtor for the buyers showed the house last Friday, she left me a note on the back of her business card that read:  "Thank you so much.  You showcased your home beautifully!  Thank you, Joy".  The showing was at 4pm and we had an offer the following morning.  The same Realtor called me Tuesday to tell me when the house was going to be inspected (Monday) and she wanted me to know that the way the house looked to the potential buyers is what sold it.  She wished that all her sellers would do what we did to our home to prepare it for sale.  She said it is rare that a seller will make their home look as nice as ours.  *Sweet* 

This was the sky just before sunset last night.

 When I caught a glimpse of the beautiful clouds in the sky, I grabbed my camera.  As you can see, it was snowy and cold.  By then I was cozy & warm inside my house, but I woke up that morning to no heat!  I had to call the heating company to come out.  Thankfully I had my paperwork from last year in my file drawer here & not in storage!  The part that went out was under warranty until the end of the month; I just had to pay the service call.  Thank God that it happened when I was here, because I head over to Lebanon for awhile and the inspection is Monday.  Timing is everything!!

Blessings,
Cindy 

 

Found Treasures...& a charm from Katie's Rose Cottage

I received a package Saturday of a beautiful charm I had ordered from Katie's Rose Cottage.  She had a 40% off sale & I couldn't resist.  She delivered promptly & even added a special gift; a pretty tag she had made.  You need to check out her items because they are a treat for the eyes!  Here's her blog:  http://katiesrosecottage.blogspot.com/2011/02/jewelry-sale.html  (copy & paste)

I just love the charm!  Isn't the tag lovely?

 I found some treasures at Goodwill last week and thought I'd share them.  I am always looking for paintings and fell in love with this simple ocean scene...

It is only 11" x 13"

 Then I found a little creamer~sugar set and a tea cup; both were only 2 inches tall!  I'm collecting small containers for my bottle brush trees & these will look really sweet.  Although I must admit, it will be hard to separate the creamer~sugar set.  Maybe I will have to sell them as a pair.  It is hard to see in the picture but there is a faint snowflake pattern on the teacup in the bold gold stripe.

I was really excited when I found some Homer Laughlin bowls.  They are so delicate and pretty.  The only thing that was disappointing is that there were only 3; but I got them anyway.  I hope to add to the collection.  They were only 99 cents each!

Also in the picture below are a blue dish with birds; I will add eggs & more fluff to the nest when I can.  I got it at Real Deals.  The white batten~burg lace topper I got at Ross for $1.99!  It will look nice on my round table in the guest room in our new home.  I always love hunting for new treasures to add to my collections or use in my craft projects.  I have a friend, Melody, that loves thrifting, so we have a blast together.  She always calls & asks if I "need to get away".  It is a perfect friend match~up because we look for different things!!  I am going to miss her something fierce when I move away.  We have already planned on her coming to visit & we'll check out the thrift stores there.  We have way too much fun when we are together.  But that is what friends are for...

 Blessings,
Cindy


  

When you least expect it...

Well, I have to say that when I woke up at 5:30am this morning & saw all the snow, I figured that it was a good day to go through some papers I need to organize, purge, and rewrite.  Right??  A great day to make a paper mess on the table.  

Surely no one would go house hunting in the 6 -7 inches of snow that had fallen overnight and was covering the ground & more falling...

...but I was WRONG!

I had a Realtor call me this morning saying he wanted to show the house to some prospective buyers this afternoon!!  He said that he figured that by afternoon the roads would clear; he had slid all the way to work.  So I put away my paper mess and when I left the house, it was sparkling clean for their tour.  It has been a slow start with the house on the market a month now, but it only takes one person to want it, right??  I went to my friend's house & had a lovely dinner with her & her hubby; plus just a fun time visiting.  It was hard not to think of someone in my house looking at it, scrutinizing it,  but that is the nature of the beast!  I am just thankful that someone else has been interested enough to look at it in person.  It is in God's Hands; the best place to be... ;-)

Blessings,
Cindy

Happy Valentines Day!

 

 

 This is the 1st Valentines Day that my hubby won't be together in 34 years.  He left me a Valentine under my pillow.  I had a feeling that he did that, so I looked after he left this afternoon.  We are missing each other like crazy & making some decisions to move me over with him, leaving the house here on the market.  There are some possibilities that we are considering & will pray about it & go from there.  Of course, if the house would sell in the next few weeks, then the problem would be solved!  What a blessing that would be!  In church today, I sang in worship team & one of the songs we sang speaks to our life right now...

Everlasting God 

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord (repeat)

Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our Strong Deliverer

You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint You won't grow weary

You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles

God will bring us through this, as He has so many other times in our lives.  

Well onto Valentines Day...
I wish I had some things to share that were a little more exciting.  All my pretty pink, red, & heart things are somewhere in a big storage unit, so I searched my photos & found these fabric hearts I made last year, with sentiments & lots of added ribbons, lace, & pretties.  Each heart is different & I had made over 30 of them.  Each bag had two small bags in the back of the hearts with homemade potpourri in one, and dried roses, special pinecones, & glitter in the other.  I wish I had them here to take some more pictures of each individually but I don't.  What I have left is...hmmmm...in STORAGE!!  So I will just share them as they are...

Happy Valentines Day!

Blessings,

Cindy

 

Sunrise & Sunsets out my backdoor...

I have been thinking a lot about moving out of our home and what I'm going to miss.  One of the greatest things about where our house is located is the open field behind our back yard.  We get the most beautiful sunrises and sunsets in the immense sky just beyond our property.  I have loved photographing them and the storms that go through.  I thought I would share with you the beauty that I have enjoyed here for over 9 years.

Spring Swirls

Smoky Skies

Breaking Dawn

Peaceful Summer Morning

After the Storm

Colorful Clouds

End of Day

Misty Dawn

Storm on the horizon

Stormy Solitude

It's a New Day Dawning

Snowy Beauty

 

 

 

 As I contemplate moving away from such beauty, I know that there is beauty where I am moving to.  There is beauty in any place you go...you just have to look for it.  When I moved here, I only saw tumbleweeds, junipers, and desert land.  But after living here, I see the magnificent mountains, the colorful skies, and all that God has placed in this area known as Central Oregon.  I know that I will have more opportunities to take pictures of the beauty in my new surroundings...whenever I get there.  God has blessed me and every living creature on this earth with beauty; all I need to do is open my eyes and my heart.  
Blessings,
Cindy

Had a nice week away, now I wait...

I am home again after a week in the valley.  We got the moving truck on the 21st and with lots of help from family and friends, got it loaded.  It was actually pretty quick since we had everything in the garage.  Then my hubby and our son unloaded the attic storage.  That was a mess that resulted in some more stuff for donation & repacking a few things.  It is amazing how much stuff we accumulate and really don't need or use.  We left at 7:00am on Saturday the 22nd to drive over to Lebanon & put everything in storage.  The weather was wonderful and with more help from family & friends we got it unloaded in record time.  Sophie (our dog) and I stayed with our son & daughter in love and I was able to spend time with my hubby during the day.  We looked at some homes & of course, found one we loved.  But it will have to wait for us, because we aren't going to have two mortgage payments.  If it is meant to be ours, then it will work out...if not, then we will find another home.  We had fun with our son & daughter in love on Tuesday going to Joe's Crab Shack in Vancouver, WA (YUM!) and then went to IKEA in Portland to check it out.  I'd never been there & it was huge!  We didn't buy anything, but I may go back for some drawer organizers after I move.  It was nice not to have to think about anything & just enjoy being together.

We had someone look at our house in Redmond on Thursday and then they wanted to see it again with another family member on Saturday.  That got my hopes up, but we haven't heard anything else since.  I just have to be patient.

http://rosebark.blogspot.com/

I enjoyed the beautiful green fields in the valley.  I wish I had taken some pictures to share, but I wasn't focused enough for that!  LOL!  So I found this one that really resembles what I saw.  The weather was warm for winter, 55 during the day, 34 at night.  It didn't get above freezing here yesterday & expected to be about 8 degrees tonight with a wind chill close to 0 degrees.  But at least it isn't snowing!

I did get a trip in to a couple of thrift stores but only found a few wooded spools of thread, which I snatched up.  They will be great for my bottle brush trees this year that I make.  I kinda wish I had kept out my boxes of trees to bleach & tint while I am bored, but they are somewhere in storage.

We got back to Redmond Friday and we are back in the routine of me being here & my hubby being over there...I hate it!  Sometimes I feel like this has been going on forever, but the reality is that it has been 2 months...two long months in winter. 

So I wait for the house to sell.  I keep praying that God is preparing a family to move into this home.  I want it to be sooner rather than later, but it is in His Timing...His Perfect Timing.  Life is full of waiting for things and we are building our patience! 

Isaiah 40:31 
But those who wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. (NKJV)

Blessings,

Cindy