New Digs

We are back to a two-house family again. We have taken a two-bedroom apartment for a year in the area where two of our sons live. I looked at high-rise condos before deciding to rent the apartment. Even looked at condos to buy but it seemed too rushed to make a good decision. This past year while Ned has been having treatment we have mostly lived with son Mike and his family. That has been wonderful but it may be getting to be too much of a good thing. And since it seems like we are going to have to be back in Houston on a regular basis for check-ups, having a place nearby is a good idea.

It is an older apartment complex but there is more storage in the apartment than we had in our house in Houston. The gardens are lovely and the staff seems friendly. And it is quiet. Also we like that we can walk to two grocery stores, a drug store, and several restaurants.

About the time we sold our Houston house we knew someone in San Miguel who after many years of living in Mexico, had to return to the States because of a health issue. We aren't spring chickens so that made me think. What would be a safety net if we suddenly had to move back to the States? I thought if we saved some stuff, then in about one or two weeks we could be "living" in Houston. We saved a mattress set, a couch, two club chairs, 2 oriental rugs, coffee table, paintings, some linens, towels and some dining room chairs. I, also, kept my Uriarte dishes...not a full set but enough to live with. Last year we rented a one-bedroom furnished executive apartment. It was okay but never felt like home and it was expensive. Our apartment with our stuff in it feels like home although we have been shopping for things to fill in. A couple of folding tables for our computers, vacuum cleaner, ironing board, iron, glasses, pans and groceries. So now we are pretty well set up.  I'm glad that I kept some stuff and it is really nice to be able to hang some art we love on the walls.

When we were furnishing our house in San Miguel, I became a junk store and consignment shop addict. So I headed back to my favorite shops and yesterday, we bought two end-tables and two bedside tables for $250 total. One of the end tables is really very nice with a burled-wood top. The rest are in good shape but they are just furniture. I'm still looking for a dining table. Queen Anne and Duncan Phyfe are not currently in style so I think I can pick up one of those for about $200. I've seen some at that price but haven't made a decision yet.

We have run into one problem. We can't get TV and Internet installed until September 9th. Originally they said it would be September 15 but my great schmoozer kept talking until he got them to move the date up. Still we were facing a week without TV. We can go to the club room at the apartments and get on the Internet via wifi and the iPad is signed up for 3G until things settle down. But one of the sons came to the rescue. He brought us a HD antenna yesterday so we are at least getting some channels on the TV.

It has been an incredibly busy two weeks in Houston. Some days we were on the go from 9 AM to 9 PM. We met the movers at the storage unit one evening at 5 PM after a full day at the hospitals for tests and by 8:30 we were moved. Some stuff to a smaller storage unit and the rest to the apartment. I think that now that the medical tests are behind us, we have a plan and we  are moved into our new digs, we can slow down and just focus on getting Ned well.