Aloha, Farewell, Thank You (#248)

And I hope we'll meet again. I'm just not sure when, or if, it'll be here.

Way back umpteen years ago, I used to write a few goofy emails and send them to some online friends. One day, one of those friends who shall remains nameless (of course it was Hilary) double-dog dared me to commit to a weekly, goofy email, and expand the list of recipients.

Well, I'm not one to be double-dog-dared trifled with. Them of you who's reading this, and who may have known me for a considerable amount of time, know that to be a fact.

So, I wrote some goofy columns, even weekly 'til I got lazy, and then the whole blogging thing happened and I started posting them there - as well as - and eventually instead-of, the weekly emailed offering.

And so it went.

Some of you will recall a few months ago I mentioned that Hilary and I were looking for a lakeside place we could call home. In fact, before we found it, we decided it would be called The Nest. Our nest. A comfortable place to settle and enjoy the sunset of our years.

Well, a goodly number of you folks already know this for reasons which will be made clear momentarily, but for the few remaining among you - we found The Nest. And we're moving in over the next few weeks.

My life, our lives, are going to be considerably different than they've been. Hilary and I are both leaving homes in which we've invested the majority of our lives - where the bulk of our families and friends live. Neither of us knows anyone where we're going except for our real estate agent. It's a new path, in a new place, and likely the last home in our lives.

Aside from learning where the walleye/trout/muskie/pike/bass/whitefish and crappie are lurking at various times of the year, I'm going to be busy learning a lifestyle more closely aligned with the rhythms of Mother Nature. I'll be watching the sky and waters and checking wind direction and cloud movements on a near-hourly basis, instead of whenever I'm heading "out."

We'll be living "out."

I'm excited and a bit trepidatious. It's a big change for both of us and for our children. But I'm quite sure our new path holds surprises, wonders, and uh-oh moments galore.

You'll see pictures from me, from time to time. (And regularly from Hilary, if you wisely hook up to her blog.)

But I'm not certain there'll be much more in the way of Baron It All's. One way to catch up on my (and other interesting folks') happenings, would be to join us at the online version of The Nest. It's a small, eclectic, and interesting little community. (And you dasn't hasta' pay a cent.)

I try to check in there daily, though appearances may be a tad scanty whilst we're moving. As of this writing, we haven't lined up an internet provider yet but we know for sure it won't be the cable-based variety we're used to.

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I mentioned Hilary's blog above and for those of you who have not yet seen the photos, here's a link to a previous blog of hers wherein she posted some shots of our soon-to-be home.

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Thanks to those of you who've been reading my drivel for years, most especially to those of you who also bought my book and STILL read the ensuing drivel. I question your taste but admire the heck out of your moxie.

And I am, and will be, eternally grateful for the kind words you've tossed my way over the years. Thanks much.