[2003 Cora at home pic] GROSS HOUSES COME & GO...
By June the paperwork over my grandma Cora's estate was mostly sorted out so that Mom could sell Cora's house, having sat empty since her December 2004 passing.[2003 Cora at home pic]
[farewell friends pics in front of cottage & memorial tree/grave]
In June Mom quit her job at Disney (sorry - no more free tix!). In July Mom, Candy, doggies & I all met up in Chicago at the Des Plaines Methodist Camp Ground, where we've had a summer cottage since Mom & Dad married in 1958. It's the place where I became a devoted Christian & served most of my life as a waitress, cook, lifeguard, hellion, webservant, graphic artist, Vacation Bible school teacher, singer, etc..
The day after we arrived we lost our family doggy Duffy to his old age, but his stubbornness gave us 13 wonderful years. That’s a lot for a Boston Terrier. Duffy had been Dad’s dog, & so we lost a part of Dad too. It seemed a sweet gesture that he waited until we were all together to say goodbye & bury him by the tree we had planted by the river in Dad's memory several years ago.
It was because there are no men in Mom's life (nor in mine) that we were in Chicago when Duffy died. Since Dad's 1996 death, we have not been able to keep up on repairs. So we donated the 110+year-old cottage back to the Methodist Camp Ground Association. No longer do I have a home in Illinois. The end of a very long chapter.
[2004 flooded cottage pic]
[Cape pic unavailable]
[2003 Beach pic]
[Lake pic unavailable]
In September Mom bought a place right on the water in Cape Canaveral, so she'll be renting out her Cocoa Beach house for a couple months during the winter. Now she has the Lake house, the Beach house, & the Cape house. Wow. But we’re getting rid of the Pool house...
[2003 pool house pic]
After 6 years I’m selling my “Davidian Complex” - the big house in Sumter County where I first moved when I came to Florida. I’ve been renting it out since I moved to Orlando. Now that both grandmas have passed, it has served its purpose to my family. Just like our beloved summer cottage, it’s become too expensive & too difficult to find handyman help for all the fix-ups. Closing is just after New Year’s.
Our friend & tenant Ginger (who cared for both grandmas & still doggy sits for me) found herself a house to buy just across the street, & she's already cozied it up to look wonderful.
[Ginger house pic unavailable]
If you ever come to visit, there is still my small but pleasant little Orlando house to visit.
[2003 pre-hurricane Orlando house pic]