Downsize - what? How do I do that?

My husband and I are growing closer to our "retirement years". They are a few years off yet, but we have decided it is time to start getting ready for it.

We need to be able to 'afford' to be retired. Okay, we can do that. I have paid off the credit cards. paid off a car (two to go). We pay cash for what we need (not want).

Yet that is not enough, we need to downsize. Ahhhh excuse me? I have taken the last 40 years to obtain what we have, now get rid of it? That is like taking candy from a child after you have given it to him and let him taste it. It will NOT be pretty.

Okay, so I took a breath and thought about it. We can not afford the taxes on the house we live in so we must move into something older. I can do that. I can even deal with fixing something up. Yet, I have my expectations of what kind of house I want to retire in. Don't you?

I need either a porch or a patio - preferably in shade. I need a comfortable kitchen - not big but with reasonable storage. I would like an office to do my crafts in. Bob wants a two car garage with a workshop area (funny how I have wanted one for seven years and haven't gotten it, but that is another blog). We want one spare bedroom and two baths (we don't share well). That sounds reasonable. Right?

To do that we need to DOWNSIZE from a huge house with enough furniture to furnish two houses. Not too long ago we bought a sofa and loveseat. They are Lazyboy and four of the seats recline. Yet, it is too large for our livingroom. My thinking is they will be too large for a smaller house also. We need to sell those!

Then there is the STUFF - lots and lots of STUFF. We have rooms of STUFF. I usually give things to Goodwill or Helping Hands so as to not have to deal with them. But when we are looking at this much I am going to have to advertise and try to sale some things and then maybe have a garage sale. How in the world did we get to here? Jesus said "not to want for anything, not even the clothes we wear or the food we eat". Wow - we must have forgotten about that because we bought it instead.

Okay, bite size pieces - we need to find a house that we can live in, and while we are looking for that we need to start selling things. I will let you know how it goes!

Abortionist slain in his church

Dr George Tiller the late term abortionist who practiced here in town was shot and killed in his church yesterday. They have caught the man that done it, he is from the KC area. He didn't put up a fight. I guess he had his mind made up to do it and did.

It is making me sick to hear how they are praising Tiller as a good man, a Christian man etc. He was a murderer of babies. He would kill then up until their due date. If you don't know what a late term abortion is, they deliver the baby all but the head, then they suck out the brain. That makes it legal as the baby has not started breathing yet. Therefore it is not a live birth. That is not a Christian man that can do that!

I am having a struggle feeling bad for him being murdered. I do feel bad for his family, but hopefully a lot of babies will be saved now because of it. Is that wrong to feel that way?

The man that killed him was wrong in what he done, that was murder also. I am sure he feels he gave his life to save all the babies that would be killed. Will God forgive him for premediating and killing another human being? That is not for me to judge. I will leave it in God's hands, he is the judge - not me.

Memories of Veterans

My father was in WWII, he never talked about it until the last few years. He is now 84 years old and may not have many more years left. He is one of the few left, as the heros of that war are all going on to be with those who have passed before them.

I am so happy that he is healthy and enjoys going fishing, in fact, this morning he caught an 8 lb channel cat, which he kept. Usually he throws back, but he kept this one. Just a few years ago it was not unusual for him to bring home flathead weighting in at 40 to 60 lbs. He loved the fight they gave him. They would tear his hands and arms up when he would reach down to pull them out, but he loved it.

My husband served in the Air Force during the Viet Nam war. He never went over but some of his friends did. One in our group did not return. Many of my friends came home emotionally damaged, unable to function. They have since adapted but the scares are still there - as the physical scars my father still bares.

My son was in the Navy in Desert Storm, he was stationed on the USS John Stennis, aircraft carrier. He was a plane caption and was in charge of a team of men that worked on the Tom-Cats. The longest time he spent stationed near the war was nine months. I was so thankful that he was on ship and not on shore.

Many young men and women today are in the ongoing war both at home and overseas. Not only in the middle East but all over the world. I thank each and everyone of them for the danger they put themselves in so that I might have the freedom to have the life I do.

On this Decoration Day - may God bless all of these - our heros.

One week then HOME TO USA

I hope this week flies by, but since I want it too, it will probably drag by.

We did not accomplish what we came to do, simply because it is impossible to do it. It isn't because we haven't tried. Next step is to take my writers home with me to work directly with our engineers to try and accomplish it. Enough said.

This week we have a new lady that came in, so we will go into Berlin a couple of nights. I will go this time. Hope it will not be too dark by the time we get off so that I can get some good photo's.

I hope you enjoy the few I put on of Potsdam - they had two palaces there and I am sure some others that we didn't find. It rained on and off all day that day and was very foggy so the photos did not come out as well a I would have liked. But you take what you can get. Right?

I have found my stay here to be pleasant enough. Had I known more German it would have helped. At the end of this week I will have spent a total of five weeks in Germany in the last four months.

I probably would never have came otherwise, so that I can thank my job for. I just hope this is the last time I have to come. Will see. I do need to get with the bosses about some other projects we are going to have to write though and make sure I understand how they want them done. We don't want the same mess as we have had on this project.

One thing I have noticed about Germany is they take dinner time and their Sunday brunches to be festive times. When you go to a resturant you could be there for hours. They are never in a rush to give you a ticket to move you out. The wine pours and conversation continues into the night.

The places are quiet so that you can have a conversation with your guest. Unlike American resturants where they are so loud you have to scream to talk to someone and they want you in - fed - and out the door. That has been very nice. Although some nights we have just wanted to eat and leave you have to hunt them down for your ticket. ha

Water is not free here, nor do you get ice cubes. They put cucumbers on every sandwich or hamburger. I have not found their food to be too rich or spicy. Although you do have to be careful as they prefer their meat rather raw or raw. Fish too.... they had four kinds of fish on the breakfast bar this morning and I am sure two of them were raw. They always have a varity of cheeses, and luncheon style meats on the breakfast bar. Most I have no idea what they are, nor do I want to find out.

Well, back to work! Enjoy your week - I hope to enjoy mine.

Idle thoughts of an empty mind

Where's Waldo? As I stated I am in Germany for a three week business trip. How I was selected to come I do not know, other then the fact that I am the only closest to the project to represent the company on this job. Others could have came, but I am the closest one to the fire, so I am the first to be thrown in. Right?

Weather: The weather has been much like Kansas. Cold, overcast and rainy. Although I did hear that Wichita got some snow in my absence. It snowed on our wedding day, March 13, 1969 also. So I thought that was rather cool.

Reading: Let's see, the book I am reading right now is:
"Are We Livng in the End Times?" by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins. If you remember they are the authors of the best-selling "Left Behind" series.

I am also doing a bible study on End Times, that is one reason I am reading this book again.

I have another one to start: "eat, pray and love" by Elizabeth Gilbert. It is one woman's search for everything across Italy, India and Indonesia. I thought it sounded interesting.

Food: I went down and had dinner a bit ago - the only thing they have on the menu I really like is the cheeseburger and chips (fries). (They serve catsup in a bowl with half catsup and have mayo.) They do a rather good job on it - although I am not going to ask what the meat really is - it could be anything from oxen to lamb. The only think is I have to remove the sliced cucumbers off the burger before I eat it. They put cucumbers on all sandwiches here.

I tried to be advertureous and did order ' "pan fired" Haddock filet' the other night. When it came, it was presented rather nicely but the fish was absolutately RAW. The last time I was here I ordered "tenderloin strips" - and they were RAW. ack!

Site seeing: I haven't done any of that and don't know that I will. I have never been a fan of Germany's history nor do I care too much for the people I work with from here (I find them rather demanding and rude). I know there are a lot of things to see and do, but I will have to weigh that one out and let you know what I do about it later.

Language: There is quite a language barrier here. The German people do not speak much English. I do work in a room with a couple of English gent's - and now in my head I tend to speak with a bit of a British accent. Everything I write or hear sounds either German or British. It is a little strange, to say the least.

Winding up: So that is my visit to the great country of Germany thus far. I am sure I will have more stories to tell in the next two weeks, if I live that long!

They have already ask me to stay and keep my crew here until this project is finished. I told them; "I could stay for two years, and you still would not be happy." They didn't care for that a bit. But it was the MAIN project lead for this task that said that, not I. However, it is true. I can't give them what I don't have, no matter how badly they think they need it.

They have already reduced me to a bundle of nerves and depression - so it is best that I just do my best and then crawl back under the covers and hide. Don't you think?

Good night all !!!! Till later.