I had a very pleasant surprise as Peggy came back this weekend to spend one more celebratory, stress-free weekend before we move next week. With the pending move I expected her to stay in Katy, but since everything is taken care of except, you know, the actual move she came to relax a little instead.

We got up early and went to the apartment to make sure all the floor work is done and the apartment has been cleaned. We both signed all of the lease paperwork. That completes everything we have to do on this end before we can move in.

We got done early and had time to get in the pool before watching the highly-entertaining LSU-Georgia football game. LSU lost 44-41, but what an exciting game. We were so excited we went back to the pool after the game.

We really are excited about the move. We haven’t had to deal with a move in about ten years, so we are ready to get it going. And I am ready to have her here with me for more than just weekends.

Since we got all of the apartment “stuff” done on Saturday we were able to just hang out on Sunday and enjoy our final weekend in my home away from home. I’ll be going home next weekend and then the movers will be coming on Monday. It really has been a blessing to have a place we enjoy so much as my temporary home. I am ready for something a little more permanent, though.

And now we will live close enough to come out here anytime we want.

Peggy loves sunsets.

I have been working in Austin for a few weeks now, and we have begun the process of selling the house. Peggy will move over here as soon as the house is sold. Unfortunately, this is now the second time I have done this to her. When we left Dallas in 1994 I had to be in San Antonio in September; Peggy and Mike didn’t get to move down with me until late December. We are finishing up the work on the house this weekend and planning to put it on the market as quickly as possible. It is a good time to be selling a house in Katy, so I really don’t think it will take that long this time. At least I hope…

Now we have to find a place to live in Austin. We have made the decision to downsize and not buy another house. We are already in the process of getting rid of a majority of our possessions for the move. Our son, Mike, is going to come from Baton Rouge and get the things he wants to keep, but we are serious about this downsizing thing.

Fortunately, Austin seems to have some really interesting options in terms of apartments that are large enough without being too big. Peggy came to Austin this weekend and we visited some of them, and we will be making a decision soon. I think everything will feel a little more “real” when we have signed a lease. Until then I am living in a temporary home.

I have written previously about Peggy and I renting a condo for all of last summer on Lake Travis. Well, a friend of ours bought two condos at the same place, and I am renting one of them from him until we move into our apartment. It is a pretty long haul to the office each day, but the commute is worth it to be at a place that we love. And when Peggy comes to visit we already have a place to stay.

I like my office and I like my staff. Good thing since they are the only people I know here. But each night I come back to the condo, get in the pool for a little while, and then sit on the back porch to relax. After sixteen years commuting in Houston traffic I don’t think I want to live this far from the office full time, but as a temporary solution it is pretty hard to beat.

The book of Matthew twice says, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign!” I promise I’m not looking for one.

It doesn’t say, however, that you can’t recognize a sign when you see one. So, I’m just going to take tonight’s sunset for what it’s worth…