A Blast...

...From The Past...that's #5 son Benjamin, now 31 years of age, when he was just a stripling of 8 or 9...not sure who the sleepy eyed gent is behind him...looks to be 38 or 39...I am reminded of the old saw that that while Time may be a great healer, it's a lousy beautician...I can personally attest to that.

July 5th was moving day...

...and also my dad's birthday...he would have been 96.

I'm not overly sentimental so I didn't find any cosmic significance in this coincidence...but as we wrapped up 12 years of our lives and turned the page to a new chapter, I had to admit to some mixed emotions.

We loved our home and the life we built together there, but we're ready for the next step...

...which at the moment equates to chaos and confusion.

Hopefully in the months ahead, we'll grow to love living here.

1958 GE Slimline TV

The mid century modern vibe is one that agrees with us.

As we finally emptied the old place I took one last walk around the backyard...

...and spotted this butterfly perched atop a cone flower...love the shadow play on the sidewalk below.

We pass through Zeeland on our way to our new digs, and it finally dawned on me I drive right by the building where my 1966 mid century modern grandfather clock was made...

...the colonial clock building...no longer functional...now the home of an espresso / coffee shop.

....but back in the day they made precision time pieces, not java.

No denying, moving is tons of work, but we're taking baby steps...

...and now have the ability to make coffee, drink whiskey, enjoy bananas, make and receive phone calls from 1927, and sprinkle salt and pepper on whatever we want to.

Now if I could just catch one of these babies...

...we could have fresh turkey sandwiches, too...

Had quite the storm our first night here, but we did not lose power like so many other homes and businesses did.

Since Grand Valley State University was without power, #4 son spent the next day here, tiling...which meant a day later we had most of our home back.

There is a light at the far end of this self-inflicted tunnel.

Our mailbox was on a ratty old stand with two others...looked like it was patched together with bubble gum and baling wire...so I asked our mail carrier if I could move ours apart from the others and he said no problem...

...so this weekend I did...our new "mod box", in keeping with the mid century modern motif...

Karen snapped a couple of pics of our domicile last night...in the courtyard...

...and in the backyard...

...imagine the parties we're going to have with the likes of Marilyn, The Chairman of the Board...

...Dino, Sammy Davis Jr, and all the rest of the gang...should be Rat Pack heaven...

...can't wait...

Making a little more progress on the domicile...

...the TV room...

...with our fireplace and "cinema" sign that still needs to be hung up on the stone wall...

...long ways to go but we're gaining on it.

And we're starting to formulate a plan for unloading half our stuff...

...and sell stuff that's worth something...contacted an acquaintance who deals with antiques and collectibles about taking some of my TV's and radios on consignment.  It's not going to happen overnight but it will happen.

Not enough hours in the day nor energy in my body for all that must be accomplished...

We press on...

later, mcm fans...