Category: It’s a Sign

When home changes, but it’s always the same, and will never be the same

A few days ago, I added an event to our calendar because “Oh. We’re in town! We could go to that!” 
 
Didn’t hit me until yesterday that San Antonio is not the town we’re in anymore.
 
It’s due to a combination of having so many places we think of as home, thanks to Tim’s military career, and the fact that the interior of our home no longer changes along with our location, so I sometimes forget where we are.
 
Also, I’ve been inhaling a lot of paint fumes, as we work on our S&B house (in Norfolk — I know we’re in Norfolk now), so that may be part of it too. But look at how much progress we’ve made!
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Those are cedar shake shingles. After priming and replacing them for nearly two weeks now? Only a mad man…
Just don’t remind me that this is Project 1 out of 5. Five big ones, most of which we are doing ourselves, before listing this house for sale with an agent. If you or someone you know wants to get in at a pre-listing price, please see this ad (link removed 6/11/16), and give us a holler! Our neighbors are so good, they are actually helping us get this done. Who wouldn’t want to live in a ‘hood like this one?
And speaking of homes, we’ll be leaving this one tomorrow, the Sea Mist RV Park at Dam Neck Annex, because our reservation expires. Wish we could have enjoyed more of the beach out our back door, but neither the weather nor our work schedule supported it. But we knew we were on a military base (again), when we were greeted by this sign:
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and noted the following verbiage in our page of rules and regs:
“Surfing, fishing and sunbathing are allowed on the beach any time it is not secured for drone launching.”
Right, then.
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A final heartbreaking note: if you’ve been following us on social media (all the links are over there on the left side), you already know that our home will never be the same. Due to advanced kidney disease, we had to say goodbye to our faithful RV dog, Lola, earlier this week. It was a comfort that we were here in Norfolk, where we adopted her nearly ten years ago, and could take her to her old veterinarian to ease her way out of this life. She came home to go home, and we will miss her terribly.
Lola. Oil on canvas by my sister-in-law, Whitney, who gifted us with this art for Christmas, before knowing of Lola's illness. It's even more of a treasure now, and displayed prominently here in this home.
Lola.
Oil on canvas by my sister-in-law, Whitney, who gifted us with this artwork for Christmas, before knowing of Lola’s illness. It’s even more of a treasure now, and displayed prominently, here in this home.

Other posts on this topic:

  1. How it all started
  2. Getting things started
  3. Coping Inappropriately
  4. Before & Afters

You know you’re lazy when you explore only half a small town

Yeah, so we waited until noon to head out today, by which time it was 90+ degrees, which is way too hot for a walking tour of historic homes, so we drove by them in the BFT with the AC blasting, tried not to think about our carbon footprint, and then went to a bakery.

Castroville, known as the Little Alsace of Texas, is neatly bisected by Highway 90. We checked out the south side today.
Castroville, known as the Little Alsace of Texas, is neatly bisected by US Highway 90. We checked out the south side today.
First stop, Castroville Regional Park, for a hike up Cross Hill, so named for, well, you'll see.
First stop, Castroville Regional Park, for a hike up Cross Hill, so named for, well, you’ll see.
Something took a hell of a bite out of this cross.
Something took a hell of a bite out of that cross.
The view from Cross Hill (Per castroville.com: It is an old European custom for a village to proclaim its faith by erecting a cross in a prominent place, and the Alsatians brought the tradition with them when they came to the Medina Valley. Since then it has been called Cross Hill and was used by the Catholics in earlier times for pilgrimages and prayer petitions, such as Rogation Days. Today you can walk a path up to Cross Hill to enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Castroville.)
The view from Cross Hill
(Per castroville.com: It is an old European custom for a village to proclaim its faith by erecting a cross in a prominent place, and the Alsatians brought the tradition with them when they came to the Medina Valley. Since then it has been called Cross Hill and was used by the Catholics in earlier times for pilgrimages and prayer petitions, such as Rogation Days. Today you can walk a path up to Cross Hill to enjoy a beautiful panoramic view of Castroville.)
I don't know who else would be up here, other than perhaps a grammar nazi who really wished she had some white paint in her pocket.
I don’t know who else would be up here, other than perhaps a grammar queen who really wished she’d had some white paint stashed in her pocket.
I do believe we are here at the peak of poppy season!
I do believe we are here at the peak of poppy season!

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Look. I tried three times for a poppy selfie. First shot: frowning Second shot: crooked Third shot: cleavage overload You're welcome.
Look. I tried three times for a poppy selfie.
First shot: frowning
Second shot: crooked
Third shot: cleavage overload
You’re welcome.
We stopped by the famous Steinbach Haus, built in France in the 17th century, shipped to Castroville and rebuilt in the early part of this century. It now serves as the town's welcome center.
We stopped by the famous Steinbach Haus, built in France in the 17th century, shipped to Castroville and rebuilt in the early part of this century. It now serves as the town’s welcome center.
Final stop of the day: Haby's Alsatian Bakery. It's kind of a big deal in these parts. That brown sphere on the right is a chocolate filled chocolate cupcake dipped in chocolate. The clerk made us buy it. I love how people in small towns look out for each other, don't you?
Final stop of the day: Haby’s Alsatian Bakery. It’s kind of a big deal in these parts. That brown sphere on the right is a chocolate filled chocolate cupcake dipped in chocolate. The clerk made us buy it. I love how people in small towns look out for each other, don’t you?

Tomorrow we’ll make up for both the auto emissions and the calorie count by starting earlier and biking the 4 miles into town to investigate the north side.