2024 Holiday Letter- Time for a Change

We finally gave in to our daughter Laurie's encouragement to move back to California. We decided to move into a Senior's 55+ apartment complex in the town of Morgan Hill (about 20 minutes from Laurie in San Jose).  It is called The Huntington. The Huntington Senior Apartments

We started the process in January 2024 and finally made the move at the very end of March.  We got a two bedroom and two bath apartment on the third floor which overlooks a courtyard with a putting green.  (No Howard is not taking up golf).

Of course this meant that we had to weed out and pack up all of the stuff in our townhouse in Manitou Springs, CO.  We lived there for almost 20 years.  You can imagine what a process that was.  The townhouse was approx. 1600 sq feet and the apartment is 800 sq feet.  We gave away stuff, sold stuff, put stuff on consignment .  What was left we packed into boxes I think the final count was 90 boxes plus the furniture that we kept.  We ordered the moving truck and prayed it would all fit.  Check out this video of Move In Day   It all fit, but sometimes we have to think where it was that we ended up putting things (for instance my pie rolling mat and rolling pin so we could make our Pecan Pie for Thanksgiving).

We put our townhouse on the market and it sold quickly.  I do miss my garden, but don't miss having to climb up and down the stairs.  Living on one level with an elevator to take us up is great.  We also miss having a regular full oven.  We have a microwave/convection/air fryer oven that works but takes some getting used to. 

There are 114 units, but we hardly ever hear any noise.  Our neighbors are nice and we are making some friends.  Everyone is very friendly.  There are activities that we take part in, food that is provided for Breakfast (which we don't bother with), and lunch and dinner.  It all comes in meal containers.  Sometimes we call what they have provided Mystery Meals.  We pass on those.  It does keep the food cost down and if we don't like what they have we have plenty of stuff in our refrigerator or freezer that we can make.  We do have a Safeway market that is just over a mile away so that is convenient.  Food prices have definitely gone up as compared to what we had in Colorado.  Or, maybe that have gone up everywhere.  

What is definitely more expensive her in California is the Gas.  Howard filled up today. Fortunately, he had Safeway points off so he only had to pay $4.09 instead of $4.29 per gallon

Our next challenge was getting all of our doctors set up.  It seems like it has taken forever, but we finally have everyone in place.  The biggest challenge was getting Lynda's ENT doctor, who does her Botox shot so she can talk, to find the right spot to inject in her vocal cord.  It has finally been determined that she will have to be sedated and they will use a laryngoscope to place the Botox shot in her vocal cord. She had the procedure 5 weeks ago and so far it is working.

 We joined Congregation Emeth, a small reform Jewish community of about 90 families.  It is very welcoming and we are excited to be part of the group.  Lynda has joined the Divas who Dine (Sisterhood) and we have taken part in their wine outings to local vineyards (there are 35 in the area around us). We also made Challah and Lynda carried the Torah during one service. 

 We also go to the senior center and play Mexican Train Dominoes at least once a week.  We also have a friend here in the complex who we have started to play with. 

Lynda has joined the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library and goes in once a week to sort CD's that have been donated to sell in the Friends store and also help price some of the books that also go into the store.  They had a wine gathering that we went to and met another woman who has invited us to her holiday gathering next month. Slowly we are making friends in the community at large. 

Lynda has also joined the Morgan Hill Historical Society and is currently involved in helping with their Holiday Tea.

There is a great outdoor area near the Recreation Center that we walk around.  It is about a mile and has 2 dog park areas, a pond/lake (with ducks and geese), baseball diamonds, tennis, pickle ball, and basketball courts, and a wonderful children's fenced in all inclusive play area.   

 We also walk around the neighborhood, in Coyote Creek park, and when the weather is nasty we walk up and down and around the floors in the complex. We are doing all of this walking to get our legs, feet, and stamina up to speed as we are planning a big trip in March 2025.

Next year is our 60th Anniversary (as we say, two or three good ones and we're not sure which ones they are) and we are planning a River Boat Cruise in France.  We are going to be on an 7 night AmaWaterways riverboat taking a wine cruise on the Rhone and Saone Rivers with a pre-cruise in Nice for 3 nights and a post cruise in Geneva for three nights. We are looking forward to all of the excursions and of course the wine and food tasting.  There are 70 cabins so a maximum of 140 people.  Small, just as we prefer. The actual cruise part starts in Arles, France and ends in Dijon, France.  Check out the cruise itinerary here

The room is compact but does come with a computer/TV and wifi ..... expect daily updates.    We are going to travel as compact as possible. The boat does have a laundry service which we will utilize.  It is a relaxed cruise for the most part at meals.  They do have a Chef's Table dinner one night that we will sign up for and if we are lucky maybe an invite to the Captains Table.  We are very excited about this whole adventure.  

Overall, it seems that we have been busier in the last 7 months that we ever expected.  There was also our grandson Elijah's high school graduation, our nephew Steven's marriage (Howard was best man), wine tasting at various vineyards, art galleries and outdoor malls to visit, being ushers for the South Valley Civic Theater programs, going to the Manresa Beach near Watsonville, seeing the Alviso Salt Marshes above San Jose, going to the theater to see Clue with our friend Sharon Glickman who came for a visit, and a visit to Bohemian Creamery in Sebastopol.   

There is probably much more that we have done, but this has gotten long enough for you to read and for me to write. Have a happy holiday season, stay healthy, and enjoy life.

Hugs to all

Toot (aka Lynda) & Teaser (aka Howard)