New Look, New Life

     We landed back in the US 12 days ago and this is the first blogpost I've put up since we arrived. I had to change the photo header and the description to sit our current surroundings and I figured why not change the color layout as well! Change is good. Keeps things fresh. Right?!
Fortunately the trip was uneventful and we got all of our luggage home without incident. We had a quick stopover at Heathrow airport in London where we were able to pick up egg salad sandwiches and notice the embarrassing headlines regarding the US.  Lovely, NOT.
     It is always nice to land in warmth and bright sunshine, but in the dead of winter, it's especially nice. Our departure from Paris was laced with tears and laughs and the joy of savouring a year of pure delight. The American Church in Paris will always hold a place of high regard in our lives and the memories of our life there will remain bold and impressionable. We're soaking up the podcasts and keeping up on what's happening through the website and contact with colleagues. We miss our dear colleagues, the students we worked with and the joy of Sunday worship services that always inspired. But it's also pretty wonderful to be back in the home that we have built, in an area that we love. It's amazing that even 4-5 years down the road from my parents' passing, when I return to this area, I miss them. I wish they were here. That feeling returned once again as we pulled into our town. We remain thankful that my cousins live nearby. They provide us with a sense of family that is otherwise void for us in this area. They helped us out tremendously in the months that we were gone and we are forever grateful for their willingness to watch over our house and take care of our mail and any number of other details that come up when you live abroad. Thank you Mike and Susan!
     Coming back this time we have a few more friends in the area and it's been wonderful to have people greet us and welcome us back. We were invited to a retirement for a friend and many of the folks that we enjoy playing golf with and hanging with were there. What fun to be welcomed back. We had to laugh a bit as the party started at 5.30 and was pretty much over by 9.00. We are not in Paris anymore where nothing ever got going much before 8.00! Life here consists of early nights and early mornings.
     We started playing golf and returned to our water aerobics class pretty much right away. The water exercise is the best I've had for the issues related to my hip and back and I'm thankful for the opportunity to swim and sit in the jacuzzi. Water is healing! Picking grapefruit, lemons and limes, squeezing juice daily, and using them in my cooking is awesome. It never ceases to amaze me that we have this out our back door.
     The garden looked pretty good although was a bit ragged in places. Doug has worked hard to get it looking good again. The house was in good shape but of course, there's too much stuff and lots of disorganization so as we've unpacked we've tried to re-organize a bit. Always feels good to have a clean start.
     I love my kitchen, the big sink, the gas stove and the large island. We love having our outdoor grill. And we've traded fresh baguettes for fresh tortillas. So far I don't miss it too much! I do miss the French grocery store, the beautiful food and ease with which food termed gourmet here in the US was just readily available. I did find my favorite cheese at Trader Joe's so when I really need a fix, I can splurge. 
     I love driving my car but I hate that I have to drive everywhere! No walking to the neighborhood store to pick something up. We loved watching the Minnesota Vikings and their miracle finish against the Saints, only to suffer the disappointment of getting trounced in the NFC championship game. We love our big TV and our comfortable and beautiful living room. We went shopping at outlets yesterday and found great deals on nice clothes and stopped to eat at In-n-Out on the way home. We've met friends for Happy Hour. We've sat on the patio and taken in the starry sky.
     Trump's America is as disgusting to me as ever and I just want to renounce all support of this man from the far right conservative evangelical leaders. He does not get a 'mulligan' on his moral failures. He continues to articulate a racist point of view of minority people and wants to dismantle so many good things in this nation. Those who support him seem to be able to give him a pass in return for the returns they are seeing in their stock investments. This represents a moral failure of catastrophic proportions. Who is looking out for the vulnerable and the weak? I'm quite sure that people's giving percentage has not increased with the increase in their portfolios and that is why trickle down economics do not work. The trickle just dries up as soon as the flow of money comes into the fat cats pockets. Sorry, just needed to be clear about where I stand, in case that was in question!
     We miss people. Always. But I love the sunshine. Love the recreational opportunities that are now at our fingertips. Love seeing folks who we haven't seen for a long time. Love being back in the US time zone, having phone conversations with Doug's mom on a regular basis and connecting with friends.
     Right now, it feels like we are on vacation so our life is kind of resembling that. Eventually we'll have to figure out what we want to be doing with our time. I need to work on my project for the Louisville Institute so plan to get that going pretty soon. We need/want to find a church that we can enjoy and volunteer with. We'd like to learn more about what other volunteer opportunities/needs there are here in the Coachella Valley and figure out where we might be useful. In the meantime, we are enjoying our life here. We are thankful for another season of sabbatical as we adjust to life in the US, ponder when our next trip back to Europe might be and in what capacity and enjoy the joy and beauty of each new day here in desert.

Taken this morning, just as I finished up the blog

The Other Side of New

For 16.5 years Doug and I have hosted newcomer events in our home. When we first started doing newcomer events for church, we too were newcomers so we were journeying alongside of other newbies to Stockholm and Immanuel. But as the years went by, our local knowledge increased and we began to have our own story to tell about living in Stockholm. In addition to church newcomer events, I often hosted American Women's Club newcomer events and really enjoyed that as well. I always felt that the gift of our beautiful home was to be shared so I loved opening our home for the purpose of welcoming new people to Stockholm. And the Club let me talk about the church so it was a win-win!

Yesterday the shoe was on the other foot as Doug and I attended a newcomer gathering for people who have moved into our community during the past few months. As I walked up to the clubhouse by myself, (Doug was attending to a golf cart breakdown), I was reflecting on how strange it was to attend a newcomer event as a newcomer and not the host! It gave me perspective on how hard it can be step out and make yourself vulnerable to meeting new people. It is never easy to walk into a room full of strangers, by yourself, and begin to make small talk. Fortunately someone I had already met was there and Doug did arrive soon after the event began.

People were great as committee chairs and board members made an effort to work the room and greet people. They, of course, were interested in sharing about their areas of responsibility with the hopes that one of the newcomers would eventually want to serve. I had to chuckle inside a little...we did the same thing for years! I did thank people for volunteering their time to serve the club in this way. I know how much work it is to serve on a board or committee and I also know the headaches that come with it sometimes.

The highlight was meeting the folks who are renovating a house on our street. We easily began to share reno stories and said we look forward to showing the final products with one another! They are not living in their reno zone however so I hope the smell of drywall and paint wasn't oozing from our pores!

Overall, people have been very, very nice and welcoming. After we get settled we will likely volunteer for something. I'm one of those weirdos who likes board meetings and Doug would be a pro on the green committee...they look after the golf course! So we'll see.

I left feeling like I'd met some folks that I hope to bump into again. And I was really glad I went even though it was a little daunting in the beginning. It reaffirms in my mind how important it is for organizations to host newcomer gatherings and also how important it is for newcomers to attend these types of events! Connections get made, doors begin to open and these types of gatherings certainly do help take away the sense of the being a newcomer. 

Shaping Up Inside and Out

The work has continued but the dramatic changes have been replaced for more subtle work of late. The electrician and the plumber and the air duct guys have been busy getting stuff done that we'll hopefully never have to see again. The dry wall is going up, being taped and mudded. And the bathroom shower is beginning to look like an actual shower! 
We picked up the tile for the bathroom the other day. Wow, that stuff is heavy. I'm so thankful that Adrian was there with his truck because I don't think our car could've handled the load. I'm also very glad that I didn't have to be the one to load and unload it!
We finally couldn't take the dust anymore so had the guys put down this lovely paper flooring. On the upside, the wood floor is in and ready to install when we are ready! It isn't perfect but it has indeed helped. With the assistance of a rug that the previous owner left in the garage, our make shift living room isn't half bad. OK, it's not half good either but I'm trying to be positive!Admittedly, the toilets will look better when they are installed in the bathrooms and not sitting in the living room. 
The new hallway into the bedroom looks really great. Of course, it will look better with the lovely new white door instead of the plastic wrap. I was dubious about this change, but must admit, it's going to be great.
 I still feel like I'm eating too much dust. Sometimes I wonder if I will ever feel like our house is clean. Everything is coated in dust!
But I continue to rejoice that we can be outside on the patio often. The weather has been spectacular. One of the better Februarys I can remember in recent years. Warm, dry, no wind, not even chilly overnight. It is indeed a saving grace when the interior space just starts to completely get to us.
We had our gardner friend up today to work on trimming the trees and fix some of the issues with our sprinkler system. The trees look so good now. I'm very thankful for the beautiful fruit trees in our yard. The three pink grapefruit trees are yielding some yummy morning treats and the lemons are abounding! I was surprised to learn that the last tree is a lime tree! I'm thrilled as I use limes a lot in my cooking.
We also got out and played a full round of 18 holes this morning.

The view from the first hole.

It was a spectacular day and we had a lot of fun.

The view from the last hole.

In spite of how messy the house feels right now, I still managed to enjoy a nap on the sofa in front of the TV. Tanner has pretty well adjusted and is enjoying a more leisure lifestyle.
A last blessing of this day was our neighbor coming over and inviting for dinner. The next question was a winner: "Do you like steak?" Looking forward to a nice time with our new friend.
Life is good even as I adjust to the crazy living space. I know it's going to be great and we will enjoy it very, very much.

Home Improvements

We have been having an absolutely fabulous time enjoying our little house in the desert.  We feel overwhelmed by this wonderful gift and just love being here.  Now, to figure out a way to get here more often.  (:
Each time we are here we are able to make a few more improvements.  This time around we've been pretty busy but have found time to play golf on the fabulous golf course that surrounds our housing complex.  We even purchased a little golf cart to buzz around in!  Now, if our games would improve, that would really be icing on the cake!
The biggest outdoor improvement this time around was painting the patio!  Our entire backyard has been totally transformed thanks to the creative eye of my adorable husband.  He had this great idea for an outer stripe and it just looks amazing.  We have found little bits and bobs on Craig's list.  The adirondack chairs were a steal at $5.00 each.  They are plastic but look like wood and are quite comfortable!  We also added some art in the back nook.  The fire pit (my idea) with rock design (Doug's handy work) is a wonderful accessory to these chilly winter evenings.  We have yet to use it but it looks pretty cool!  
We added a gate to the backyard so have a totally enclosed yard now.  The man who does the work for us always does such a beautiful job.  We are grateful for his handy work.
With the addition of old fashioned rabbit ears we are able to get free network TV!  It's nice to watch the news, morning shows, late night shows, and some of the general junk that's on TV here!  I continue to HATE the commercials for prescription drugs however.  The other indoor improvement is a microwave!  The cart provides added shelf space in our limited space kitchen as well.
The weather has been unseasonably cold with some rain and wind creating a quite a stir.  Even so, the rain in the desert produces snow in the surrounding mountains and the views remain as breath-taking as ever.
And there's still nothing quite like the setting sun over the desert landscape with the mountains in the background.  
I love this little place.  I am truly grateful for our time here.

We Bought A House

Last winter, on our annual trek to see my parents in Palm Springs, quite unexpectedly, we bought a house out here.  When my parents first moved out to the desert from Orange Country (1.5 hours from where I grew up) they moved to a golfing community called Mission Lakes in the town of Desert Hot Springs.

The view looking down our street.

The town itself is nothing special and has actually had some safety issues but the golfing community is a beautiful area that we have always loved.  The golf course is one of the best in the area and the best part for us is that it is totally affordable.

Hole No. 1

We loved coming out and staying with my folks and playing golf out here.  My parents moved off the course and down into Palm Springs about 13 years ago.  We would still venture up to DHS to enjoy the views and the golf.  Doug liked to look around the internet for properties just to see what was available and how the prices looked.  While browsing he came across this steal of a home and we decided that perhaps it would be a good time to look into making a retirement purchase!  One thing led to another and a couple days later we were homeowners!

The front of 8611 Warwick Dr.

This has been a big deal for us because we've never owned a home before.
We have always lived in church provided housing and this has been a bit of a concern for us.  One of the reasons that we were able to make this purchase at this time was because of a generous gift that Doug's sister Debbie left us after she died last summer.  Debbie was an incredibly generous person, always giving more to others than she ever wanted in return and it feels like it honors her legacy to have a home where we hope we can welcome others to enjoy our desert paradise.  We plan to make it available to friends and family at a reasonable rate so let us know if your travels take you to Southern California.  It's not fancy but it's fun.

The clubhouse at Mission Lakes

The house itself is a two bedroom, two bathroom place with an open plan layout for the living area.
You walk in the front door and the living room, dining area and kitchen area are all right there.

The open plan living area.

The living room

 The back bedroom used to be two rooms and the previous owners knocked out a wall and made a really nice master.

The master bedroom

Now there's this wonderful little nook off the bedroom.

The view into the bedroom from the backyard

The lovely sitting nook off the bedroom.  The french doors lead to the patio.

We installed french doors that lead right to the patio and sitting there in morning with the cool air coming in is just lovely.
The area is beautiful and the complex includes lit tennis courts, a swimming pool and jacuzzis, and of course the lovely golf course.

Gorgeous swimming complex

 When we were here in June we furnished the house, landscaped the front and put a covered patio on the back.  

The front yard.

The back patio

This time I installed an internet connection.  It's pretty much ready to be used so let us know if you'd like to give it a go!  It is located 15 miles north of downtown Palm Springs so you need a car when you are here.

The glorious view from the front of our house.

Just to be clear...we have no plans to move back to California right now!  Of course, we are trying to figure out how to spend as much time here as possible but we still have to work and still have a life and dog in Sweden that we need to tend to.

I love this little house!

But this has given us a bit of an anchor back in our native homeland and it has helped me to know that at least the hope and promise of returning to a warmer climate one day has come a bit closer to reality!