Season’s Greetings

 

Season’s Greetings from Hampstead, North Carolina! I thought it might be nice to do a little update. In 2024, we were thinking about maybe buying a second house in NC to facilitate visiting the grandkids and family. It was decided that we really liked the area after visiting several times. We decided that 44 years in the desert was past biblical and it was time to just pack up and move to provide us with our next great adventure! We purchased a nice 3-bedroom home around the corner from the grandchildren in 2024 and formally finished the relocation in June of 2025. Boy, can you collect a lot of junk in 44 years at the same home! The home in AZ finally sold/closed in October.

 My better half decided that she wanted a rock garden here and wanted some of the rocks we collected around the old mines in AZ. Yes, I packed up rocks to transport to NC. There were quite a few crates and swearing involved. I also brought some Night Blooming Cereus cacti and our Tombstone Rose. The Night Blooming Cereus has already bloomed once.

 We are enjoying being around the grandkids on a regular basis! Every day is a new adventure.

 I am technically retired (finally) but am still doing training sessions for the company. I am classed as a “casual” employee.

 RAV4 is gone and my better half has a pretty blue 2026 KIA Sportage of which she is quite fond. I am getting a new outboard for the boat switching from 8hp to 25hp. This will be a better combination for fishing the Topsail Intercoastal Sound. I have done a couple of fishing charters learning to fish for the saltwater fish. This is a lot of fun!

The Bronco still lives! I will try to be better at posting now that we are kind of settled. We hope you have a great New Year!