Last night my husband picked up a mug and the handle broke off -- not a huge problem as we have an abundance of mugs and are downsizing. However, this mug was from the time we lived in Anchorage, AK, from December 1983 to December 1986. My husband thinks he either "won" it or it might have been given to him because he most likely made a donation to KSKAfm91 - Anchorage Public Radio. He's always been a promoter of Public Radio and this mug has been a reminder of our time in Alaska. It's dark blue with white lettering and a white sun (or moon) and snow capped mountains. What could be a better memento of Anchorage where winter often came early and "break up" came late. We shall miss this reminder of our time there but there are others!
Yesterday I also uncovered a November 1987 Better Homes and Gardens during my downsizing. There's not a lot that is relevant in it any longer so it is going to the recycle bin but I did find a few decorating ideas to save for hints as to how to make our next (and, hopefully, last move) space more livable. We are downsizing because we wish to move to a smaller home -- a condo where someone else is responsible for the maintenance.
We thought we'd found the "perfect" retirement home when we purchased a double wide mobile home for cash in an over 55 mobile home park in November of 2008. This park has always attracted us because it looked so nice from the outside. Although the home we purchased was an older model, it had been updated by the previous owners and had a heat pump, new carpeting as well as new appliances. We had such plans for it but never really "unpacked." The home has three bedrooms and two full baths and we rarely use the living or dining area. One of the bedrooms is my husband's home office since he still works part-time. The other was to double as a guest bedroom and my space but it really has become a "junk" room. My attraction to this home was its spaciousness and abundance of kitchen cabinets. My husband's was the central air conditioning since he'd lived in a mobile home with his family in Kansas as a teen.
The first Homeowner's Association event we attended was a Thanksgiving pot luck. We were still moving in and were anxious to meet our neighbors. I was 65 the year we moved in and my husband had just turned 69 a few months before. As we walked home from the pot luck, my husband remarked, "My God, we moved into the old farts home.!" Of course, as we got to know residents, we came to love them but we have always been younger looking than our age and young in spirit and there are so many ways that we don't feel we fit in. I still work part-time and have lots of activities and friends outside the park. We have family and friends near by and still attend community events -- something some of our neighbors are unable to do.
However, the biggest drawback to mobile home living in Washington state when you don't own the land that your mobile home is placed on is the owner of the land. You pay a monthly rent to them for the land rent as well as water and sewer. You're still responsible for all your other utilities. If the owner of the land (who has his or her on-site managers do two or three "inspections" yearly) insists that you do maintenance to your home or refuses to give you permission to make changes to your deck, etc., you have little recourse but to follow the "rules." Your option is to move your home then you have not only the expense of purchasing land to place it on but the cost of moving it.
Keeping up with the owner's requirements for exterior and lawn maintenance as well as plumbing, electrical, and other major repairs we have had to make since we moved in has cost us more per year than homeowner's dues would if we were to purchase a condo. Perhaps now you see why we want to move! At least, if we lived in a condo, we would have a vote in the condo association. Here we really have no voice.
Our next challenge will be to find a condo in an area that we want to live with the amenities we desire and at a price we can afford! But first....there's still the downsizing so we don't once again make a move with "stuff" we no longer need or want! pazt
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