Where We Live - #1

I'm often asked, "where do you live?" The answer is complicated. I live in Sun City Carolina Lakes, which is a new community in the Indian Land area of the Panhandle of Lancaster County, South Carolina. But, I also live in the new 29707 zip code which is assigned to the post office in Fort Mill which is mostly in York County not Lancaster.

Today I live in Fort Mill.

This morning, I "went to town" to my barber shop which is called the Fort Mill Barber Shop and is located on Main Street. Main Steet is a block long and like many Main streets is not what it must have been at one time. There's a antique shop and a new spa. At one end is a knife shop, I haven't looked in there yet.

The barber shop is kind of like Floyd's shop on the the Andy Griffin show. There's always a lot of conversation that comes free with the eight doller hair cut. Lots of old pictures on the wall and a jar containing combs for sale, just 50 cents. Mr. Smith, who's 91, was getting his hair cut today.

I enjoy my trips to the barber shop

Have a good day!

Sun City Scenes - 3

As I went out to pick up my USA Today this morning, I discovered that Sun City was just that - the sun was shining brightly and the rain from Sunday and Monday was gone. We need more rain, but I sure do enjoy the sun. I stopped on Del Webb Blvd and took this picture of the 10th fairway. The Sun City golf course meanders through the neighborhoods like the nearby Catawba river through the Carolinas.

Today we are having a screen/storm door installed. We look forward to leaving the front door open and catching a breeze on warmer days.

Last Thursday on Thanksgivng Day, we were happy that Tony, Paula, Jordan and Kendyl came to have a family dinner with us. It is good to be close enough to them that we can get together as often as we want. Yesterday, we put up our Christmas tree in the sunroom.

The Lord is good!

Adventures in Decorating

Since we moved in to Sun City Carolina Lakes back in September 2007, we have been working at making our "standard issue" house reflect our tastes and lifestyle. We went furniture shopping, had blinds installed and, the most difficult process, chose colors for painting. Most of that is done now, except that we haven't received our new drapes yet and we still are deciding on our wall art. Go here for more about our adventures.

Sun City Scenes - 2

This is a beautiful day in Sun City. The temperature is in the seventies and the sky is clear and blue. I stopped by the Lake House and took these pictures. The Lake House is our community center, fitness center and club house all rolled in to one.

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Sun City Scenes - 1

A view from Del Webb Blvd looking towards the Lake House.

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As I try to establish a routine for my life, I go out each morning during the week to get a newspaper and sometimes I wander a bit on my way home. This is the first of a series of pictures taken as I wander (and wonder too.)

The Move - Part 3

Home Sweet Home!

Settlement on our house in Maryland went as scheduled on August 31. The new owner rented back to us for ten days while we finished packing. We moved our furniture to storage shed and came to Charlotte to stay with at Tony's for a few days while he and Paula went to Hawaii to celebrate their 10th wedding anniversary. We watched over Jordan and Kendyl while they were gone, and on September 18 2007, we went to settlement on our new house. A new had adventure begun. On September 22, our good friend Aaron and his brother drove a rental truck down with our furniture and we officially moved in. The Lord is so good to us!

The Move - Part 2

Adventures in Real Estate!

In April of this year, we put our townhouse in Columbia, Maryland up for sale. We had lived there since October 1975. The timing was not the best, the real estate market in Maryland was tough, and there were over two hundred townhouses in our county for sale at the same time. We “decluttered”, “staged”, and did all of those HGTV things we had watched time and time again. Our realtor made up a slick sales card, we were online, had open house, but no offers from May through July. None! Nada! Meanwhile, construction on our new house in Sun City had begun. Things were getting a little tense. For sale signs were popping up all around us. Finally, on July 29, exactly one year after we signed for our house in South Carolina, we sold our townhouse. Settlement was scheduled for August 31, which would turn out to be “just in time.”

to be continued...

Granddaughters overnight visit!

Jordan and Kendyl stayed with us last night and most of day. We watched TV, went to the playground and picked possible Christmas presents out of the Toys r Us Big Book.

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The Move - Part 1

Hilton Head!

It all began with a stay at a timeshare on Hilton Head Island. While there about ten years ago we visited Sun City Hilton Head and loved the community, but never really thought we live there.

Fast forward to 2003 when our son Tony and his family moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. We began to make a seven-hour drive several times a year, and once when we were there, we went looking at model homes. While speaking to a sales rep we learned about a new "55 and better" community that was being planned in the Fort Mill area. Sun City Carolina Lakes!

We started driving by the site and watching the progress, but when the models opened, we weren't able to come down to see them right away. We read in the newspapers about the many people who came out to the grand opening, but we weren't able to come down the summer.

But then in late July, we came, visited the models, loved them, and bought our new home which wouldn't be ready until the fourth quarter of 2007.


Then back to Maryland to wait for 15 months.

to be continued...

Rained last night

It rained a little last night here in Sun City Carolina Lakes. Since we moved in back in September, we have had rain only twice. Like much of the inland southeast, we are under water restrictions. Our Bermuda grass lawn never had a chance and looks a little tired.

Now located in South Carolina!!

Since my last post, we have moved to Fort Mill, South Carolina! More specifically, Sun City Carolina Lakes (SCCL), a "55 and better" community about 10 miles south of Charlotte, North Carolina. We moved in the third week of September and have been busy adjusting to a new home, a new state and a new life. Over the next several postings, I will bring you up to date on the move. I really promise to do better. For more about SCCL - click here