I sit here on a Saturday morning, in Longview, TX where there is a chill in the air, 47 degrees. I realize for the first time in many years we are experiencing fall. We lived in South Florida where the sign of fall is the beginning of early snowbird migrants for the winter. In Austin, a bit south of, I don't remember the fall weather as sharp and crisp as it is here in Longview. Daisybelle chose a shorter walk this morning in the chill, and we are all enjoying the change of temps as the leaves on the trees are beginning to show it is time to prepare for winter.
It was around this time last year we decided to make a move. We enjoyed Austin. Work had been productive and our home and neighborhood were quite special, but Austin was changing quickly. I felt the energy was more akin to San Francisco and that caffeine driven energy that I had experienced over the years. I appreciate the energy it drives, the innovation, and creativity but honestly, I don't think it always drives happier lives. In our middle age, we are looking for less urgency in our day to day lives, and we both wanted to get closer to our families. We decided to split our time between Savannah and Longview.
One advantage of getting older is surprises are expected, or not as "surprising". It is possible to have clear plans of life ahead, but there are always bends and forks in the road that are not expected.
In our case, it started in December. We expected to start our Journey in Savannah and Longview would follow. We were in Longview in early December there was an opportunity to buy a house in Longview near Frank's Mom and decided it was an opportunity not to be passed up. It also happened that we couldn't decide exactly where we wanted to live in Savannah, and had decided to continue to do the monthly rentals for a while. So, while doing a month in Savannah in December, we closed on the house in Longview with help from Frank's Stepmom, our realtor, his Mom, his brother-in-law, and sisters as our eagle eyes that helped the closing go smoothly even from Savannah.
We had movers that had targeted moving our stuff to Savannah and they were happy to accommodate the change turning our Interstate move to intrastate. Ended up the same fellows that moved us out in Austin drove the truck and delivered our goods here. We had bought a bed, and some linens delivered before returned to Longview. The buyers of our house in Austin bought most of our furniture, so we had to go shopping and start the journey to turning this house into a home.
But, life throws challenges to even the best-laid plans. We spent February in Savannah, both of us working and me spending days in the hospital with Mom after surgery, and then in rehab. Then my father ended up in a different hospital and then in the same rehab. Once they were home and well cared for we headed back to Longview with a plan to head back to Savannah in a month or so. Then COVID showed up.. as I headed back to Longview and we have been here ever since.
Can't travel back to Savannah, and if we did would have to quarantine ourselves to make sure we’re safe for Mom and Dad and the rest of the family. Thankfully my sister is in Savannah, and the frontline of caring for our parents. Without her, we would all be challenged, and not sure what we would do, to be honest.
So, we turned our attention to continuing our efforts to make Longview more than just a house to lay our heads but our home. Frank did a wonderful job planting flowers and making the yard one of the prettier ones in the neighborhood. We remodeled the guest bath and updated the kitchen including new appliances which have turned out to be magical. I would suggest if your oven is older, that a replacement is worth the investment. This LG stove, especially the oven, is magical at keeping the oven temp stable even when the oven is full and it is well insulated so it doesn't heat up the kitchen.
I do miss Savannah and miss the beach at Tybee, especially in the wintertime. There is something magical about the coastline of Tybee Island compared to South Florida where the hotels are lining the shore or Provincetown where the older homes and stores are staring out over the bay. All are beautiful, but I found Tybee in the winter to have the perfect mix of peace, scenery, and southern charm. The summer tourists are gone and most crowds are focused more on Savannah. Waking up early gave the greatest gift of sunrises over the ocean. Many times I felt I was the only one there along with the seagulls and other birds watching the sunrise over the horizon. And, for some reason, the seafood at Tybee seems just a bit fresher than in Savannah, maybe cause the island is just a bit closer to the local fishing boats and we discovered a number of great restaurants on the island as well.
Turning back to Longview, we were locked down for a pandemic. We started in March learning to bake better cookies. We kept thinking we had more in the freezer, or we had been giving cookies away but as we contemplated the need for needing new clothes we discovered the cookies were not leaving the house in the quantities we expected. So, we went on a diet to get rid of a few COVID inches.
The only restaurants we have visited since March were on a brief trip to Austin a few weeks back. We had groceries delivered for the first few months but went back to mask-wearing shopping for ourselves. It is hard to be on a diet and not pick out your own vegetables and fresh fish.
We also stopped drinking and except for the trip to Austin have not had a drink since April. I am sure Frank wishes I went back to drinking, at times, but we don't seem to miss it not to mention the calories or extra expense.
Life isn't as exciting as we would like it sometime, and I do miss Savannah, the beach, and family but travel is still not safe.
So we will enjoy the fall here, and do hope soon to be walking along Tybee Island and in Savannah for some time over the winter.
Hope you all stay safe, warm, and hunkered in as we get closer to the holidays ahead.
Love and hugs from our home in East Texas to yours!
I do miss Savannah and miss the beach at Tybee, especially in the wintertime. There is something magical about the coastline of Tybee Island compared to South Florida where the hotels are lining the shore or Provincetown where the older homes and stores are staring out over the bay. All are beautiful, but I found Tybee in the winter to have the perfect mix of peace, scenery, and southern charm. The summer tourists are gone and most crowds are focused more on Savannah. Waking up early gave the greatest gift of sunrises over the ocean. Many times I felt I was the only one there along with the seagulls and other birds watching the sunrise over the horizon. And, for some reason, the seafood at Tybee seems just a bit fresher than in Savannah, maybe cause the island is just a bit closer to the local fishing boats and we discovered a number of great restaurants on the island as well.
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