Reflections – Person of Purpose

SOLD – Reflections of a Beloved Home

After an extensive remodel, my beloved house sold on January 31, 2020. To my surprise, the sale came with a flood of surprising emotions.

My first thought was that the sale would bring me relief. After all, I started the renovation on September 4, 2019, and we didn’t get it on the market until November 11, 2019.

I have to say that November was the worst time of the year to put our home on the market. At this time, everyone is preparing for the holidays, not thinking about buying a home.

Another drawback was that many buyers wanted a house with a first-floor master suite. There was nothing we could do about that, so we had to be patient and wait for the right buyer.

It took over 80 days to sell, and this prevented us from moving forward with our house renovation in Ohio. So while I did feel a sense of relief, it wasn’t the foremost emotion.

The strongest emotion for me was a sense of sadness. I loved that house. It was a major upgrade from our starter home. We had a 2-car garage! We had a master bathroom suite with a garden tub! We had a small, manageable lot with green areas on two sides. It was perfectly situated close to three highways. It was a dream home.

Behind our backyard fence was a canal that fed the city water runoff to the lake, so there were many species of wildlife in our area. Every first week in May we witnessed the hatching of red-eared slider turtles in our front yard.

This house was where we got our first dog, Lucy. Even though she had trouble with stairs, she doggedly climbed them so she could sleep outside our bedroom door.

We hosted many parties, like the one anniversary where we had two dozen people patiently playing Hedbanz, waiting for catering that never came.

We showed hospitality to two couples who came for the International Convention in Arlington, TX. We shared pictures of our life in West Africa and they shared their experiences of living in post-Apartheid South Africa. One couple confided that it was their first time in a white man’s home. Oh dear.

At this time no home is a “forever home” for me. Now I am looking forward to the forever future where we will experience the promise at Isaiah 65:21, 22 which says: “They will build houses and live in them. And they will plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. They will not build for someone else to inhabit, Nor will they plant for others to eat. For the days of my people will be like the days of a tree. And the work of their hands my chosen ones will enjoy to the full.”

A Review of 2019

It’s time to reflect on what I accomplished in 2019. It’s only been a year since we moved to Columbus, Ohio, but the year was jammed pack with activities.

I survived the polar vortex. Having lived most of my life in temperate climates, I think I did fairly well. But when I read that Farmer’s Almanac has predicted a polar coaster winter for 2019-20, I wonder if I may become a “snowbird” after all.

I was a social butterfly. We took advantage of hosting parties at our apartment clubhouse nearly every month. From our Chili Cookoffs, Soup Cookoffs, and Euchre Playoffs, we grew very close to our new friends.

We looked for a house to buy in June. That was probably the worst time of the year to buy. Houses seemed overpriced compared to the Texas market, and they didn’t stay on the market very long.

We contracted to buy a house in July! But we didn’t take possession of it until October. Stay tuned for that story. It’s a doozy.

I oversaw a renovation of our house in Texas. For two weeks in September, I oversaw the remodel of one of our houses. From the roof to the foundation, from the interior to the landscaping, this house took months to update and be put on the market.

We bought our Ohio house in September. Eight days later, we took possession of it and immediately filled three dumpsters with the previous owner’s stuff.

It took one week and three dumpsters to clear out the house.

We demoed the interior. For three months, we scraped floor tiles and removed walls. Our wonderful friends volunteered to help. So, here’s a shout-out to Jaime, the expert at wallpaper removal, Albertha, Tammy, and Andreas who tirelessly helped us. Thanks a bunch!

We became people we didn’t even recognize. In the beginning, as we removed old carpets and padding, we wore masks. Being the workaholics that we are, we huffed and puffed, and threw the heavy carpets into the dumpster ourselves. While my husband took his turn working in Texas, I took a hand at removing the floor tiles in the basement. I even got a comment from a friend who saw this picture, “Who are you?”

My hard-working, talented, and determined husband has worked hard on this project too. He absolutely amazes me how he can move a cast iron bathtub two floor levels all by himself!

We completely redesigned the floor plan. We hired an architect to come up with some designs for the main level, but I ended up designing it myself. I spent many sleepless nights sketching, and sketching, and wringing my hands, wondering why it took so long to come up with a good plan. But I finally did, and we are completely satisfied with it. It’s going to be a great house to live in.

In review, it seems the year 2019 has been all about renovations. It was a rollercoaster ride with emotions, and the year 2020 will require many more hours of choosing cabinets, fixtures, paint, and trim.

Lastly, I want to say how proud I am of my son, who stayed in Texas and completed high school with an associate’s degree in welding technology.

Our One-Year Anniversary of Living in Columbus, Ohio

Hey folks! It’s been one year since we moved to Columbus, Ohio. If you’ve seen my post, “Impressions of the Midwest—The People,” you would have read that I fell in love with the people because of its family-feeling. Now, however, I want to share three more observations about this city.

Dangerous Driving: I’m sorry to say this, but Columbusites are bad drivers. According to QuoteWizard Insurance News, Columbus has the distinction of having the fourth worst drivers in the country. Add the statistic that 24 percent of the major roads in Columbus are in poor condition, and another 24 percent are mediocre, these rough roads add wear and tear to our cars and contribute to car accidents. Also, I have never had to dodge so many manholes in my life.

We live on the north side of Columbus, near Polaris Parkway and Highway 71. The traffic in this area is hectic for two reasons. First, the JP Morgan Chase McCoy Center, a 2 million-square-foot office complex, employs 10,000 workers. Second, Polaris Fashion Place, a premier mall attracts many shoppers.

Unique to this place, there is a city-wide ban on U-turns. It seems reasonable, given the poor driving habits one sees around town; tailgating, texting while driving, and last-minute lane changes are the norm. I’ve seen cars cross four lanes of traffic just because.

Drivers have the habit of sticking their cars out in the middle of the intersection, and when the light turns red, they will turn. And don’t be surprised if two or three cars turn left on a red light. If you aren’t aware of this quirk, you could think you are good to go when your light turns green. Not!

Another thing that makes driving in Columbus dangerous is wildlife. White-tailed Deer are active at dusk and dawn and can dart out of the woods into traffic. Canada Geese, which are protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act no longer migrate, and are a nuisance year-round.

Football Fever: I had no idea that sports were such a big part of the culture. On the first day of our coming, one of the movers asked, “So, do you love the Buckeyes?” I didn’t know what to say. Then there was my question, why is everyone running around wearing red jerseys?

I must admit, I am proud to say I have never known who played in the Super Bowl. Ever! Let me know when there’s a game, and I’ll be in the shops, happily skipping in empty aisles.

Food Fans: Columbusites love eating out. There are so many restaurants! But there’s one franchise I took for granted that’s not here. A couple of months ago we were invited to eat at Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen, but as we drove the two hours to Cincinnati, I wondered, “Why don’t we just go to the Pappadeaux’s in Columbus?” Come to find out, the only Pappadeaux’s in Ohio is in Cincinnati! I guess I was spoiled living in Dallas-Fort Worth, where there were four Pappadeaux’s within a ten-mile radius of my house.

Ohioans love their craft beer. The Brewers Association, a Boulder, Colorado-based trade group released its state-specific statistics in April 2019 and shared that The Buckeye State is number four in craft beer production. My husband loves it here.

Well, these are just of my three perceptions. Maybe it’s time to take a defensive driving course. With all the sports on TV, I will have less TV to watch and more time to blog. Finally, I look forward to trying out new restaurants and making more observations around town.

My Life as a Renovator

I recently made a two week trip to Euless, TX to oversee a remodel of one of our houses. This house was in need of foundation repair, a new roof, exterior brick and stone repair, landscaping, and general modernizing.

My husband, who has many talents in the construction field, suggested, “You should stay in the house while it is being renovated.”

“Are you kidding me? No one, I repeat, no one would think that is a good idea.”

So, I texted a bunch of friends and told them my plans. My friend asked, “Where will you be staying?”

I said, “With you?”

“Sure, come on down!”

And so, I stayed with her and her children, four dogs and a cat. One child graciously gave me her room, which, as it turned out, it was for purely mutually beneficial reasons. I got a private room, and she liked sleeping with her mom.

Another friend made an observation, “You sure do a lot of renovations.”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Well, you did that house in Dallas.”

Oh yeah, that house. It was a rental in the “hood” as one realtor described it, and it took me an hour to drive there. That was a grueling renovation with foundation repair, painting inside and out, and new everything.

But the sale of that house enabled us to buy another house in Euless, which turned out to be another complete rehab.

Gasp, I really do a lot of renovations!

So, realizing now that renovating houses has defined me, the blog will take a new turn: My Life as a Renovator.

Stay tuned for my search for the perfect property in Columbus, OH, which will be, what else? A rehab.

Spending Your Wedding Anniversary Apart

Every year, since our 25th wedding anniversary, I have chosen a song as a gift for my husband. This year, we were in two different states, so we had to make do the best we could. This year I chose the Patti Austin song “Through the Test of Time”

“For the first time in my life, Boy, I’m not afraid to say it, How I really feel inside, We don’t have to go on waiting just think about it, together you and I.

“I could never try to write a better story, From the pages of my life
You must have written for me ‘Cause every line, found a way into my heart.

“So we’ll take it one day at a time. And leave all our worries behind.
No matter which road that we choose, As long as we got each other
No way we can lose. We can make it through love.
Through the test of time.

“When you look back on the days When you tried so hard to reach me
But I never saw the way ‘Til you took the time to teach me
And I found out, what it’s all about.

“So we’ll take it one day at a time. And leave all our worries behind.
No matter which road that we choose, As long as we got each other
No way we can lose. We can make it through love
Through the test of time.

“And again I must say How lucky I feel to have found you. Oh, and I pray every day that this feeling goes on Forever and ever.

“Oh and I pray every day that this feeling goes on
Forever and ever.

“So we’ll take it one day at a time. And leave all our worries behind.
No matter which road that we choose, As long as we got each other
No way we gonna lose. We can make it through love
Through the test of time.

“We can make it through love
Through the test of time.
Through the test of time.

“Oh if I’ve got you and you’ve got me Then we’ll be happy as we can be.
If I love you baby and you love me too. Well, there ain’t nothing that we can’t go through.

“Through the test of time.
“Through the test of time.
“Through the test of time.
“Through the test of time.
“Through the test of time.

Source: Songwriters: David Pack / David Robert Pack / Jeff Pescetto

Person of Purpose One Year Anniversary

Person of Purpose lifestyle blog celebrates one year! Yay, woo hoo! I am happy and proud to say that in one year I wrote 29 posts. It was challenging, at times hand-wringing, but in my book, I’d like to think I brought the sizzle, not the fizzle.

Originally, I intended to have a FOOD category, showcasing ethnic foods and reviewing restaurants located in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. However, I only had one post for Peruvian food. Huh.

Now that we have moved to Columbus, OH, I will be writing about restaurants here. Also, since I post a lot of my food on Instagram (nancisingleton), I plan to write reviews about my meals from the food box delivery service, Home Chef.

Home Chef meal

Other categories were CREATIVE, HOME, MONEY, RELATIONSHIPS, and REFLECTIONS. It turns out I had no posts on money, even though being frugal is my thing. Weird.

On the HOME front, I think it’s funny to have devoted so much attention to yard care, when now, I don’t even have a yard.

Thanks to all who read the blog and commented. What were some of your favorite posts? Feel free to revisit any previous posts below.

And get ready for more posts coming your way from Person of Purpose.

CREATIVE

FOOD

Peruvian Food—El Tesoro del Inca

HOME

REFLECTIONS

RELATIONSHIPS

The Art of the Open-Ended Question

For the Love of Hand-Made Greeting Cards

My vast collection of greeting cards includes hand-made ones too. I used to make them regularly and owned many stamps, inks, and embossing powders. When I visited Liberia, I made wedding favors to attach to pens that said: “A true friend is a priceless treasure.” I was told to make plenty because people were going to stampede to get them.

Then, I moved back to the States and had a baby. I envisioned that my child and I would make crafts together. When my son was younger, we would make our greeting cards by using cut-out pictures from magazines. One, in particular, was a baby on the front, and inside it said, “Thanks Mom for potty training me. I can’t tell you how often that comes in handy.” My son didn’t cultivate an interest in card-making, so I stopped doing it.

When I moved to Columbus, I found out my friend makes cards, along with a couple of sisters in my congregation. I had found my kindred spirits!

The first card-making party I attended was during Winter Break with a group of teenagers. Heather asked them whom they would like to get to know better, and they said: “Sister Singleton.”

AWWW!!!

When I arrived, the girls were already making their cards. Heather had prepared a few projects for them to make, or they could do whatever. It had been a while since I made cards, and I discovered I was in the company of zealots. There were papers, envelopes, stamps, inks, markers, pens, pencils, burnishers, embossers, punches, scissors, knives, trimmers, glue sticks, glue dots, tapes, rhinestones, a die-cut Cricut machine; you name it they had it!

I was overwhelmed, so I just stuck to composing quaint sayings they could use for their cards and commending them on their work.

Card making party!

Cards

And more cards

The second card party was with the die-hards. I decided to stamp some envelopes that said, “You’re Invited” because of all the parties I like to throw.

What do you do when you make a mistake? You run with it. One envelope stamp impression came out looking like double vision, so it seemed applicable to write under the “You’re Invited” “To my nervous breakdown.” Sorry, I don’t have a picture of that one because it was one of the first ones I used.

So, if you love giving greeting cards but don’t want to spend much money, have fun, get crafty, and make your own!

For the Love of Greeting Cards

Do you love giving and receiving greeting cards? I do. When someone gives me a card, it makes me feel thought of, special and loved. With a physical card, I can touch it and read it again and again. I still cherish a card a friend gave me when I moved to New York 37 years ago. It was a drawing of a girl, cradling the gigantic head of a sleeping dog in her lap. I framed it, and it reminded me of my sweet friend Cathy.

I’m obsessed with buying and collecting cards so much that I have dedicated a filing cabinet drawer to them. Blank cards, thank you cards, anniversary cards, get well cards, sympathy cards, party invitation cards, postcards, envelopes, stamps, stickers, each category nicely organized in their hanging files.

Gasp, I am organized sometimes!

Don’t get me started on the boxed sets, which take up an entire shelf in my dresser. Sometimes I get them out to gaze at their beauty and lovingly caress them. I go to the post office to see if I can match Forever stamps to them.

Boxed sets of cards

If I find out you’re a cat lover, boom, one kitty cat card is coming your way! If you just had a baby, welcome little one!

Usually, I like to get cards on discount, or free, like last summer when all Hallmark Crown Rewards members could come in and get a free card every Friday from their Just Because line. Free Card Friday is coming again, folks, so sign up!

Just Because card from Hallmark

Giving greeting cards is a wonderful way to show you care and recognize the people around you. You don’t have to wait for a special occasion to give one.

So, whether you have a collection like mine, or you walk into a store and buy one, know that your card carries great meaning and brings you closer to the receiver.

Taking a Vacation from My Problems

Do you ever feel tired? Emotionally drained? Every once in a while, I get that way. I start dwelling too much on my problems and not enough on my blessings. So, what can you and I do to get out of the funk?

I decided to take a cue from Bob Wiley, in What About Bob? and take a vacation from my problems. Even the planning gave me a boost. I looked at my 100 Self-Care Activities for Body, Mind, and Spirit, and chose some things to do.

The next morning I woke up singing to my husband, “I’m taking a vacation from my problems!” Just saying it aloud made me happy. He said, “Go for it!” After all, what’s good for me is good for him, right?

My first day, I drove him to work and cranked up a Taylor Dayne CD in the car. Taylor can get your blood pumping, which was just what I needed to start my vacation.

At home, I burned a candle. My favorite candle is Circle E Candles—THE Candle for People Who Know Candles. This one is Orange Vanilla. It smells divine.

Circle E candle Orange Vanilla

I ate lunch with my husband at the Whitney House in Worthington. As I ate my turkey sandwich with brie, I did my best imitation of Bob, mesmerized by the deliciousness of it all. Mmmm. So good! I dropped hubby back to work and went to Cinemark to see the Disneynature movie, Penguins.

Disneynature’s Penguins at Cinemark

Now, I planned to use my refillable tub to buy myself popcorn for the incredibly low price of $4.75, but I was stuffed from lunch and decide to do this another time. When I bought my $5.00 matinee ticket, the cashier asked me to pick my seat. Was the theater really packed? Ok, um, I chose the last row, center seat, the primo seat in the house, and when I entered the theater, I discovered I was all by myself. Cool! Time to use my phone during the whole movie. Just kidding.

You might think that a Disney movie about penguins would be family-friendly. It wasn’t. Sure, penguins are fun to watch because they aren’t very graceful and do a lot of slipping and sliding. The plot was about Steve, a five-year-old Adélie penguin making his first adult visit to his birthplace to start his own family. But I was a bit irritated at how Steve was made out to be an oaf, always apologizing for, well, just being there.

Here’s the not family-friendly part: those leopard seals. I hate leopard seals. Any parent who takes their kid to see Penguins will do well to take their youngsters out during this part, which comes at the end of the movie.

Don’t worry, it ends well, and Steve and his family live on to see another day. Whew!

The exciting and unexpected part about taking a vacation from my problems is that I solved a nagging problem. Or rather, my husband and I solved a problem. The problem was that whenever I drive, my husband wants to tell me where to go, what lane to be in, etc. It’s annoying. The solution we found was for him to read uplifting articles out loud.

So, how about it? Join me in taking a vacation from your problems. Stay tuned for more vacation adventures and solutions.

Impressions of the Midwest – The Weather

There’s a saying, “If you don’t like the weather wait five minutes.” Or ten minutes, or something like that. It’s practically said everywhere. And it is said in Ohio.

People told us we moved to Columbus at a bad time of year because of the severe winters. It’s true, the last time I wore tights was in 1987. So, one of the first things we did when we got here was to buy winter clothes. All totaled, the thermal underwear, hats, boots, and coat cost almost $870!!! Yikes!!! But I wanted to look cute, so….

My winter coat

The winter was harsh. Meteorologists talked about the polar vortex. Excuse me? The polar what now? Simply put, a polar vortex happens when the normally contained cold air zipping around the North pole weakens and dips southward, causing temperatures to plunge below zero for extended periods. The last polar vortex was in 2014 with -40-degree wind chills.

The polar whaaat?

This year, the coldest day in Columbus was on January 21, with a low of -3 degrees. Let’s see, I checked my schedule, and yep, I stayed indoors that day.

When we first moved here, I was impressed with the conditions of the roads. But after the freeze-thaw cycles wreaked havoc on the streets, and significant potholes popped up everywhere, I subdued my superpower of being able to hit every pothole on the road. Ohio cured me!

We also got a fair amount of snow, so it was tricky maneuvering through the streets, and even trickier parking.

What would you do to get a close parking spot?

There’s another saying, “Three snowfalls after the forsythia bloom.” Well, the forsythia has bloomed, but I think this year it’s not going to happen. Or I’ll just wait five minutes and see.