Well, She Made It

"Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days."   ... Job 12:12

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Good news! Ol' Debra survived turning the huge 6-0. She didn't even freak-out once.

Was there a wild surprise party? No, 'my village' knows one of those would've horrified me. 

(But hey, if you'd love one, I admire you--truly!)

No, early morning, Tom and I drove through the car wash, then pulling into Denny's what did we see? A sign declaring 'your birthday breakfast is free'. Wow! Did. Not. Expect. That.

Their coffee? Pour in 3 creams and it eventually tasted good. Enough. Everything else was perfection.

We dropped by Goodwill where I discovered two awesome winter tops. Look at the cool colors and texture of this one--

                          (Forgive the flash for washing out the blue.)



Nifty, right?

Back at home Facebook was like one merry, day-long it's-all-about-Debra (sane) party which, hey! Feels foreign, but lovely one day out of the year.

We'd considered visiting our local theater so I could, for the first time, use the senior discount, but instead, we chose to watch Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindlewald. And although our aging brains barely kept up, we enjoyed the rampant creativity as much as that of the first one.

And oh, this quote! It shook me:


"Do you know why I admire you (Newt)? You do not seek power nor popularity. You simply ask, is a thing right, in itself. If it is, you do it, no matter the cost."


Lounging there upon the red couch, I determined to aim for that.

On Sunday, Naomi and Justin brought gifts and we shared pizza, wings and fun stories. Lovely, memorable hours, those.

The only mar? That morning, a house behind ours (down 7 or so) caught fire. How disconcerting it felt to watch smoke swirl past our windows and to smell it in our rooms, as well.

Thankfully, no injuries were reported, but sadly, the house is scheduled, I read, for emergency demolition. Alas. (I'm sure the family would appreciate your prayers.)

But other than that, turning 60 proved calmer for me than I'd imagined and because of feeling loved by friends and God (and my year-long pre-journey), it didn't hurt or discourage me, but felt fine. And good. And just right.

Warm-hearted perfection of a birthday. Whew.

"Who said you're sixty? You are just a 20-year-old with 40 years of experience."    ---unknown


Oh! And Donny Osmond fans-- be sure to check out this wildly delightful ecard  Naomi sent me. My, my, my... be still my heart.  ツ   (And btw, Donny's the only person who said 60 looks good on me, so hey. He's my new bff, but of course!)  


And just one more huge thank-you to those of you who contributed to making this huge birthday sweet and easier to accept! 

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Much time had elapsed since a local house on Realtor.com captured my heart yet this one, below, did and has become my new measuring stick against all others.

There's so much to love about this home, below (partly it's the traditional decor  with shades of Daisy Cottage, though in brown, not red, yellow and green), though it's also that extra living room upstairs and the awesome staircase, as well.

And yes, the kitchen would be perfect as an encyclopedia photo beneath the heading, Inefficiency in a Kitchen, but hey! I like the coziness of it. Its tone. And that too-cool 1960-ish table.

Anyway, some of you may also enjoy these photos. Oh, and the house is an awesome price ($59,900), but not in the safest neighborhood 'round these parts. Alas. Always something. 

But the dreaming goes on, as well as the taking of notes as to what I like best--and figuring-out how to get at least a portion of that wherever I may live. 

(And may I prove capable, patient and creative enough to build upon that.)

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