Simplicity, Self-Care, and Joy

  • Hitting a Wall

    Hitting a Wall

    Note: this post was originally written on March 3rd. It’s 9:15 pm on Wednesday and I am worn out. The living room has exploded into messy piles of photos. I decided to go through some of my boxes of sentimental papers and photos. Yes, kids, real physical photos and letters on paper and cards sent…

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  • Going, going, gone!

    Going, going, gone!

    I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but it is hard to keep y’all updated with what is happening here! The house went on the market in early February. Our realtor had told us to go somewhere else for the weekend. Paula and I considered a weekend trip to another city but decided…

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  • Cleans Up Nice

    Cleans Up Nice

    We had about 3 weeks between choosing a realtor and putting the house on the market. Even though we have been giving away and selling stuff for months, there was still a lot to do. We worked hard and did a good job of cleaning out the house for the open house. Compare the above…

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  • We’re at Mach 1

    We’re at Mach 1

    When we first decided that we were on a 5-year plan to scale back and move out of the country, we considered keeping the house and renting it out for income. But after reviewing the pros and cons of our particular situation, we decided to sell the house. That has been the plan for several…

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  • Remembering and Forgetting

    Remembering and Forgetting

    I have this thing where it is hard for me to remember good times – with friends, relationships, work. My squirrel brain grabs onto all the bad, sad, anxious stuff now and in the past. This is a self-protective mechanism gone wrong: if I remember the sad stuff I can try not to repeat it.…

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  • Goodbye Big Bend

    Goodbye Big Bend

    For most of the last 12 or so years, my wife and I have gone to Big Bend National Park with friends during the last week of the year. The trip is organized by a friend who loves the park and the stars there. The stars are incredible. So many are visible there compared to…

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  • Hard Drives and Vampires

    Hard Drives and Vampires

    I don’t know about you, but for me, getting rid of computer stuff is hard. Our devices are expensive and they contain data, which is a security risk for identity theft. Some of them, like tablets and phones, are very personal items that we live with for years. We carry them around, touch them, stare…

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  • The Day After Thanksgiving

    It is the day after Thanksgiving and I was awakened by the garbage truck. Not too early, and I’d been half awake for a while and so I got up, put on my robe, opened up my laptop, and made some tea. We didn’t have a typical US Thanksgiving. No travel, no big meal, just…

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