Time flies

I can't believe it's already almost MAY. The past couple weeks have been focused on trying to get things in order with my dad's house, my dad's belongings, making sense of his financials, etc. It's also got Bill and I thinking about OUR lives, wanting to make sure WE have a will, something in place so that no one has to try and figure out what we wanted if we were to pass together.

My dad didn't have a will. He didn't have anything that indicated what his last wishes were, he didn't have any paperwork organized so we would even know what he was leaving behind. . . . .I spent an entire week just chasing after expired life insurance policies that were found, calling various businesses to see if he had open accounts there, calling banks to see where he had checking/savings accounts set up etc, etc, etc. It's been a complete mess trying to figure out his "estate". But I've realized that I'm apparently a good "crisis" person. I've been able to focus and somehow find time to continue my full time real estate "job" and spend nearly every waking moment left sorting through his matters. Of course time for riding has gone by the wayside (you're in luck Sport girls, it should be pretty easy to kick my bootie this year), but I'm hoping to find time to ride again soon (hopefully this week).

It's never fun (or comfortable) for the tables to flip, for the "child" to become "the parent", "the planner, the one who takes care of everything", but someone has to do it so it might as well be me. God apparently has given me certain gifts. . . . perhaps this is why.

Life will be different going forward. A little empty without Dad in it, but more focused on happiness and peacefulness. I have again found patience. I think that was dad's wish for me. Heaven knows I certainly needed to find that again. Thanks Dad. Although you could have helped me find it under BETTER circumstances. :-)

Every cloud has a silver lining

It's been exactly one week since my dad peacefully collapsed on his bed and breathed his last breath. So much has happened in this week. Lots of pain and sorrow, lots of sadness. Not only did I lose someone I dearly loved, but my dog, Bear, who had been a part of my life for 16 years passed on as well. It's been a week of loss, a week of pain.

But as sad as I am for myself, I'm actually peaceful in knowing that these two things I loved are both in a better place. They are free of pain. They are free of burden. They are at peace and in a better place. I realize everyone has their own view on religion, in fact my father and I even differed in our own personal views. However I know in my heart that there is something else out there, something better than this earthly world where there is so much pain and suffering. It's a place of peace, acceptance, comfort, joy.

This past week has shown me that there are SOOOOOO many wonderful people in my life, so many wonderful people who knew and cared about my dad. . . . who thought he was an amazing person, who enjoyed his company, laughed at his jokes, were touched by his generosity. This is the silver lining. Going through the motions of a funeral, wondering HOW you are going to get through this difficult process. Finding this sense of peace as each of these awesome people connected to the person you love hugs you, reaches out and touches you, tells you how much YOUR loved one made a difference in THEIR life. How much your dad loved YOU, how much he talked about YOU, how proud he were of YOU, how sorry they are for your loss. Knowing there is a hole in their heart as well.

I'm learning through this process that each day truly is a gift, a "present". Never assume you'll be able to give that hug tomorrow, because you may not be entitled to a tomorrow. Tell the people you love how you feel TODAY. Seize the moment, life each day to it's fullest, be thankful for what you HAVE, don't fret over what you don't have or what you think you should have or even what you want to have.

"In acceptance there is peace". Accepting something doesn't necessarily mean we agree with it, we welcome it or we're HAPPY with it. . . .it just means it's a fact of life and we understand that. There's a bigger plan, who am I to question that plan? There are so many mysteries in this life, so many questions. I'm thankful my dad now has all the answers. I just hope to find peace for myself and put a smile in his heart while he watches over me for the rest of my life.

Peace be with you all.

Good bye again

What a week. Last night we lost Bear, our 16 year old Black Lab. She's been with us from the beginning. Healthy as a horse, went suddenly. Everyone thought she was going to live to be 100. Even when you know death is imminent. . . . .it STILL doesn't get any easier.


I sure hope that's it for now. My heavy heart cannot take any more.

Good bye Dad

Good bye Dad. I will miss you more than you'll ever know.


John "Rafe" Dale
3/26/39 - 4/14/09

Easter

Started with Easter celebrations Saturday. The theme, Hawaiian Luau (Thunder dressed accordingly).


Temps didn't cooperate for FEELING warm, but fun was had anyway. Andrew's first Easter egg hunt was ON, Grandma almost beat him by collecting eggs as well, but he pulled ahead and won in the end.


Later in the day the crowd shifted into the belated birthday celebration for Lt Dan. Theme still Hawaiian Luau. Chicken shish-ka-bobs for dinner, Sing Star (uuugh - sorry everyone), lots of conversations here and there.




Sunday was Family Easter for the Nighs/Sprungs. Another Easter egg hunt (it's harder to find 6 eggs in a rec room than one would think), lots of food, one minor catastrophe - nothing broken, one niece wearing nearly her whole glass of sparkling wine. One Easter pyramid made with 4 "pyramid virgins". Yes, I know some people are annoyed by my pyramids. If you're one of them, don't read my blog.

Glacial Blue

Is beautiful. Trails are awesome. Can't wait to go back tomorrow. Maybe if Thunder plays her cards right, I'll take her back again. She LOVES to follow my wheel.

It's the little things

I'm watching my German Shepherd chase a bottle cap around the kitchen like it's the best toy EVER.

Who need so spend money on expensive toys? Plastic works wonders.

Guess I should snag it now before she swallows it.

Dang puppies are just like children.

Some days

Some days are SUCH a challenge.

Last minute trail work

Couldn't decide what to do today, so we headed down to Blue and did some trail maintenance. I can't believe how great of shape the trails are in down there. Probably cuz we did all the raking in fall. :-)

There were several large trees down, so Bill hauled the chainsaw in and took them out of the way. Thunder chased sticks all over, helped put some back ON the trail, and guarded us against the very dangerous leaves. We also raked quite a bit, cleared off some more sections of trail so people can FIND it.

If the weather holds, I'll be testing the trail this week. Of course I have to go get my bike from the shop. . . . it seems to have a problem of some sort. With Pedal Fest going on, I know no one's had a chance to look at it. Oh well. . . I rode it like that in North Carolina, I'm sure i can't hurt anything more by riding it another day or two. :-)

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for NO SNOW and a bit of sunshine this week. That would make for a most excellent week. I guess we'll see!

Belated b-day shout out

I got SO freakin' busy yesterday I didn't have a chance to post a Happy Birthday shout out to Lt Dan.

Happy Belated birthday Lt Dan!

Wow

Yesterday we went to DuPont State Forest. We had been there a few years ago and never found the "GOOD" trails. We found them yesterday. I think that was the most fun I've had on my mountain bike in a LONG time. Wow.



It was a little rainy, and when we got to the top of the slick rock it was very foggy. Probably cuz we were IN the clouds. It was pretty sweet.



Today we went to Trace Ridge. The plan was to do a 3 hour ride, even though it was raining. Well, let's just say April and I did a 3 hour ride. . . . .the rest thought we were dead I guess. They were just about to call Smoky the Bear to come find us. I thought we were dead for sure. We found the trails I recognized, but then also found a bunch of others. I think we were lost for a good hour. It was a little scary. It was the MOST scary when I couldn't feel my feet because it was so flippin' cold. That one took it out of me. I guess it's a good thing it was the last one. Stick a fork in me, I'm DONE.

Time to pack and think about departing tomorrow. I'd rather just take a nap. Uuugh. I hate being out of shape.

It was a wild night at 140 Camby Dr

Yes, it's true

Yes, it's true. My road bike flew off the bike carrier on the way to North Carolina. We were rounding the corner on an off ramp, I heard a noise and Bill said "oh shit, we just lost a bike". Sure enough, it was mine. I don't know how the semi behind us didn't run over it. I think we were lucky that it was on a corner because it flew to the outside of the turn, just where cars couldn't get it. Looks like it just needs some new bar tape (which Bill JUST replaced) and a couple other things got scuffed (seat got ripped, but I think it will be ok).

Beyond that I somehow managed to get the dog wrapped into the gas pump at the gas station - while the gas was pumping, which caused the pump to fly out of the tank and pump gas all over the ground, after catching me, the dog and the side of the truck. The rest of the ride in a gas smelling truck was a good time. Ooops.

But now that we're a couple days into the trip, the "bad" luck is gone. All is going well. No pictures for you. . . .I'm too lazy. It's past my bed time and I'm TIRED. Maybe tomorrow.

Spring? Happy St. Patrick's Day

The gorgeous sun is already poking through the trees. . . . .it's a large orange fireball today, it looks like it's going to provide us with lots of sunshine and warm temps. How nice that will be!

I have too cramped of a schedule to get a ride in today, but I'm sure I'll be able to get Thunder Puppy out for a walk. I think she's already excited. She's running up and down the hallway in her "crazy Gila Monster" mode. It's very hard not to laugh at.

I'm not Irish, but I'm going to attempt to make some corned beef today. Hopefully it will turn out decent. We'll see. If not, I'll just have to make sure there's enough "green beer" to cover the taste up.

Enjoy the weather, enjoy the day. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

My Super Hero

Thanks Rachael

Short sales and foreclosures

I find it interesting that an exploding portion of society is in the predicament of finding themselves not able to make their mortgage payments or owing more than their home is worth.

I find it even more interesting that the government is rolling out this huge bail out program for these people.

Being "in the market" I see a lot of these people day to day. And one of the things that I think most people would find interesting is that not all these people are the "irresponsible, over-buying" personality that they seem to be categorized as. In fact in our area (speaking specifically about Washington County), many of these home owners who are facing foreclosure are "regular people" with 30 year, fixed rate mortgages, in homes worth $250,000 or less, who bought when the market was at it's highest 3-5 years ago and now can't afford to sell because home values have gone down.

Even homeowners who bought $170,000 homes 3-5 years ago, putting 3-5% down can't afford to move because these homes have actually gone DOWN in value. Add to that the costs associated with selling (and yes, there are a lot of them EVEN if you don't use the services of a Real Estate Broker), and these sellers are having to bring money to the table to simply get rid of their house.

Now wouldn't it be better if these people who HAD to move, could move without having to give their house back to the bank as a foreclosure? Before you answer that question, I think one needs to understand how much foreclosures impact THEM personally. Foreclosures cost banks (and taxpayers) a TON of money, and they destroy property values for those of us who DO make our payments.

If your neighbor's house gets foreclosed on, chances are they're going to sell for quite a bit less than what it "should" be worth. That now affects you. When you go to sell your house, people will determine the value of YOUR home based on what your neighbor's house sold for not what your home is actually worth. You've just lost money on YOUR home because your neighbor couldn't make HIS payment and the bank had to foreclose on him.

Sure, there are people out there who were irresponsible with their money, who got themselves into mortgages they couldn't afford and are now looking for an easy way out. . . . .but to say every homeowner who is facing foreclosure or short sale is "irresponsible" is simply not true.

Bad things happen to good people. People lose their jobs, get divorced, death, illness, declining housing values. . . .all of these factors ALSO contribute to the foreclosure rate. It's not ALL irresponsibility.

Interesting

Today's rain gave way to some icy, slushy rain, which is now large snow flakes.

Interesting.

At least the ice coated on the trees looks pretty.

I wish I wouldn't have eaten so much at MJ Stevens. I feel like I need to barf now. Uuugh.

I'm so confused

Ice and snow, freezing rain, more snow, 60 degree day, more snow, more icy rain, warmer temps, snow melting, freezing rain, warm temps, lots of fog, ride outside, cold weather again, snow on deck. What the heck? Wisconsin sure has variety, doesn't it? Although I'd prefer variety of the WARMER type.

Got outside for a ride on Friday, even though Thursday was the nicer day. I learned a little lesson. . . . .when riding outside for the first time in MONTHS, it's probably best to ride by one's self. Especially if you're one of those people without a lot of higher end fitness. Hills are probably better to LIMIT on the first ride out. . . . .at least if you don't want to bury yourself.

The ride was fun, but 2 days later I'm still working the knot out of my shoulder and hoping TODAY I'll be able to ride again. That didn't feel like a ride, it felt like a race. A 2 hour race. And apparently I'm not quite ready to race yet.

I anticipate a lot of rides alone this Spring. . . . . .at least until I get that higher end back again.

Awwww

They said she was the most WELL behaved dog they've seen in a while. I don't think they know her. Or maybe they cut her little devil horns out while they were taking her reproductive parts.

Poor thing. Hopefully tomorrow is better for her. She's a little uncomfortable right now. And on top of the whole ordeal, we found out she has lyme's disease. How in the world do people do it with HUMAN children? I can barely be a mom to a dog.

Poor Puppy

Today the 75 lb Baby is at the vet. No puppies for T-Dog. Poor thing. I hope she won't have to wear the cone. Although that would be pretty funny.