The Filter Question

SOLD! - BOUGHT! - This has been my absolute longest and most stressful experience with buying a house. It took almost three weeks but all the paperwork is signed and it's a done deal.  Now, "all" we have to do is pack and wait - for 32 days - and then we can start moving in.

Our preferred way to move is to have early occupancy, make whatever immediate renovations need to be made, paint any difficult to reach once the stuff is in spaces, pack, unpack, and move our own boxes, and get help with the furniture.  This time, we have four "sons" who'll be doing all the lifting and carrying - five if we require him - which is really quite nice.

Equally nice was to click into the mls site to see these two property is no longer available postings. When we first started looking there was our listing plus seven potential buys. At one point, there was only our listing and a single potential buy and then only our listing but luckily the time frame had run out on the potential buy and the listing was renewed and that's the property we bought. How nice of God to show us so clearly which one to buy - LOL - the last one standing - which was the first one we'd looked at and my first choice and Howard's second.

We were being very particular about location, house and complex size, and features and there were only two complexes that met our goals. I'm very pleased with this purchase. One of the selling features for me was the ability to paint your front door a color. I know that seems silly but I like having color because as you can see the units are very beige on the outside. The porches fascinate me. Each unit has the same 6' deep by 9' wide front porch and 7' wide x 12' deep back porch and there are 113 different variations on how to decorate them. LOVE it!

There was supposed to be no one home when we went yesterday only when we got there there was a young woman and she was not at all happy to see us nor accommodating. It was awkward but I did manage to get the measurements I needed for appliance purchases and some furniture choices. Enough to be able to make decisions. The family room pictured above will be my studio. Where you see the support post, I'll have a ten foot wall installed that my computer desk will be on. My sewing desks will have...

... this view which is the same view from the back porch, the kitchen, the dining room, the living room, the master bedroom, and the guest room. LOVELY. These pictures are so small because I managed to download them from the listing a couple days ago before it disappeared only they can't be enlarged. I couldn't take pictures yesterday. There was no view unless you count dense fog.

Sixteen years ago, we paid our mortgage off. We'd been building, buying, renovating and flipping houses for about ten years and had just flipped to zero when my husband became very ill. He ended up going to a ultra expensive private clinic in the United States at a time when the exchange rate was 45%. Luckily, we were able to remortgage our home to pay that high but he's alive bill but we've had a mortgage ever since. With this sale, we will have a four year term and then we're done - something we both find highly motivating.

I recently watched a video on how to decide which opportunities to pursue and which to let go of. The content was aimed at building a business but had a process that we can all use in many areas of life - the filter question. How it works is that you develop a question that allows you to weigh the current opportunity against the long term goal. In my case, I might ask myself how does _______ allow me to meet my goal of being mortgage free in four years? Based on my answer, I can decide if I'm going to follow up or let go of the opportunity.

As soon as we'd talked to our banker and figured out the payment schedule, I found myself doing that naturally. Walking through the mall, something would catch my eye and I'd be intrigued for a minute and then think no, I already have a ____ and I don't need another one.  I imagine the initial euphoria will wear off and filtering will start to be work but I also know that it can quickly develop into a really good habit. It seems to me that you'd need more than one filter question. This afternoon, I'm having lunch with a friend. Buying lunch doesn't help pay down the mortgage but spending time with friends is an equally critical component in my life. I think that's what budgeting is all about - LOL.

Talk soon - Myrna

Grateful - the final four years

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Personal Growth - Explore daily the will of God - C. G. Jung

This quote by Carl Jung was in The Artist's Way and the question What are some ways God has been molding my life for service? was in Experiencing God. That's an example of the synchronicity that's happening between the two study books. I remain fascinated by that and reminded of how absolutely important it is to remain grateful for and to use the gifts God has given me instead of over thinking the situation by attempting to figure out my own answers. I must walk in the direction He is leading even when all is dense fog and the only thing I know is the next step. It requires trust. It requires giving up control. It's hard. Just as I knew there was a gorgeous view behind those clouds, I know that God has a beautiful plan for my life. The thing that gets in the way is me.