Life Updates- tell us what's been going on

[lefty]

I will start- I'm still working at the same company (36 years) but I'm looking forward to retirement in a couple of years. I have two cats, two dogs and LOTS of fish. I put in that Koi Pond a few years ago and it's going great. I then purchased a 55 gallon tank for indoors. It's filled with Guppies and other friendly fish. I still depressed because I had to put my 14 y/o pittte to sleep. That was almost 2 months ago, and I still cry thinking about him. We have a 6 year old female. My Wife kept saying "the house is empty ". So, I went out and got a new puppy. He looks identical to my old guy.

What about you?

 

[ctwo]

My, what big paws you have.

You know that Jurassic Park movie, with the mosquito frozen in amber sap? It's like that.

 

[ThumperX]

OMG Lefty!!! I understand the grief of losing your companion. The new puppy forces joy into your household I bet, even when you aren’t feeling it.

 

[BillSmith]

Live life with your new pup in the same manner that brought about those tears. And...

Big paws = Active jaws G'luck to your furniture legs.

 

[budman]

Grats on the new family member Lefty.

'24 has been a tornado for me.
Bought a new house and moved. We did 90% of it ourselves. Most I have drove my truck in years. Our dogs have settled in. I feel like I am in a Hotel.
Rennovated the old home... and just sold it..Thank God!
Only a couple moto rides. (missed the first rally, but made the 2nd)
Grandson graduated Palo Alto HS.
Gifted my truck to a daughter... so I can still borrow it.
My shoulder is giving me issues. Hurts like hell. Guess if it does not settle I will go see the Doc.
Work is stressful and that is bad for an OG. My side gigs are suffering.
Best friend for 35 years is moving to Idaho. My main riding bud.
Met a new riding bud and went for a ride last Sunday. He is planning on coming to Hawthorne.
Met a neighbor who rides.. so hopefully we will hook up and ride.

 

[Holeshot]

Increasingly, Ed, I'm pretty convinced our dogs are doing the same thing in a different place: waiting for us to get "home". Puppies cute and is a good distraction.;.and your post came at a good time for me to read it. I'm starting to get comfortable with the idea of another companion. My girl's been waiting for me since Super Bowl Sunday, 2022. 2 years seems like yesterday.

Thanks for the idea and push...even if you didn't mean to!

 

[ST Guy]

After four or five years of taking care of my wife who had Alzheimer’s, she finally passed away. She is missed.

I’m now living on my SS which I started at age 70. My next birthday I’ll be 73.

After my wife died, I was planning to get a new bike but then I had a stroke which put an end to my riding. I gave my ST1100 to another BARFer.

My beloved beagle I finally had to say goodbye to last December on my birthday. She lived for over 15 years. I still miss both my wife and my doggy.

The fence between me and my neighbor started to come down so I had it straightened and new reinforcing posts installed. 700 dollars.

My garbage disposal finally died so I had my brother buy a new one and I had my neighbor’s handyman install it.

My neighbor is still paralyzed from a fall he took off a ladder a few years back. He’s confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. He fought to keep his job as fire chief of Menlo Park and finally retired a couple years ago. He’s one of my personal hero’s.

My neighbors across the street have separated and are getting a divorce. An open marriage doesn’t work.

And I’m now retired. I sit on my front porch, watching life go by and listening to my music. Right now I’m listening to R Carlos Nakai. His music is serenely peaceful and is just what I need.

Life goes on.

 

[littlebeast]

lately, it’s been not enough hours in the day. and words. it all goes back to very early in it. when ‘something shifted in him’. explaining it.

 

[lefty]

It is sad, and great to hear from you all. Sad, to hear the stories of us getting old- lol. I swear, I need to make some changes. I used to be the most 'fit' person I knew. Now, my favorite pastime is drinking beer. I still love to cook, but only for my Wife. Work is very stressful. I love my job, but I hope that the next 2.5 years fly by. I rarely ride the ZRX1200, nor take the Mustang out of the garage. I do love the truck that I bought in December. It is a Ford Ranger XLT. I LOVE it. I bought my Wife a Subaru Ascent a couple of months ago, for an anniversary present. I have been super frugal all my life, so now that I have quite a few bucks saved up, I decided to spend a little. I even went out an ordered myself a Sleep Number Bed, thanks to you all!!!!

 

[Lunch Box]

Hey Lefty! Long time, no see. I'm sorry about the pupper, and I hope that the new puppy will bring some joy to your life.
My journey the past few years has been a rocky one. COVID killed my brewery. We had the exact wrong model for COVID, and didn't have any outdoor options, nor the money to transition to a distribution-based model. In Summer of 2021 I trained a replacement brewer and started taking contract gigs in Pharma to funnel money to the brewery to keep it afloat. After a few years of that, we finally closed down for good. I'm still doing contract work and am getting closer to being out from under the brewery debt. During that period I got divorced, had the absolute worst relationship I've ever been in, and developed diabetes. Good times.

On the plus side, I have amazing friends. I have a motorcycle. And I have an amazing woman in my life who loves me and treats me well. Life could certainly be a lot worse.

 

[Alan_Hepburn]

I'll jump in - we just sold our home for the past 47 years in San Jose and bought a new home in Lewisburg, TN. For those who are interested in numbers: we sold a 3 bedroom, 1 1/2 bath house with about 1050 square feet, on a 5000 square foot lot for $970K and bought a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house with 1660 square feet on a 5 acre lot for $545K. Property taxes on the old house were about $1300 under Prop 13; the new house is about the same. Currently we're on the road heading east, spending the night at Orange Grove RV Park in Bakersfield - we'll be crossing the border into the USA soon!

 

[GAJ]

I will start- I'm still working at the same company (36 years) but I'm looking forward to retirement in a couple of years. I have two cats, two dogs and LOTS of fish. I put in that Koi Pond a few years ago and it's going great. I then purchased a 55 gallon tank for indoors. It's filled with Guppies and other friendly fish. I still depressed because I had to put my 14 y/o pittte to sleep. That was almost 2 months ago, and I still cry thinking about him. We have a 6 year old female. My Wife kept saying "the house is empty ". So, I went out and got a new puppy. He looks identical to my old guy.

What about you?

Will Koi eat Cichlid food?

If so, I've got tons leftover as I got rid of my 75 gallon fish tank during a remodel.

 

[CDONA]

Settling in Cottonwood,
Working on my deferred maintenance of my TW, she has lived thru many years of "field repairs".
Shopping for a local Dr. of GP,
Shopping for a RE agent,
Shopping for a junk yard rescue, rusty beater, pickup.
Shopping for a shade tree, for wrenchin' with maybe a house & garage, too.
Shopping for some of that rarely found, somewhat fleeting, domestic bliss ??

Time for adventure, I have all of Mingus Mt. to explore, with my refurbished ride, Prescott Nat. Forest, from Cherry, Dewey, to Prescott. Other side of the river, Sycamore Canyon, and Secret Mtn. as wilderness, into Sedona.

 

[Sharxfan]

.Damn crazy stuff going on here.......
Daughters graduated college.
One moved to Ohio to be with BF and pursue RN degree up there. miss her terribly and tell her to come home every chance I get.
Other daughter moved out to Lake Charles 30 minutes away and is going to school locally for rad tech. Her and her BF are about 2 weeks from closing on a house. He is a nice guy and think he is going to pop the question soon. I think she is too young but they seem to love each other and fit well so we shall see what happens.
This thread reminds me I haven't updated the Epic Workshop thread and probably need to get back to that.
Found a new passion.... been hitting little dimpled balls into water hazards on a regular basis. recently hit my first 300yd drive and my sacrifices to the golf gods have reached a doable number of about 6 a game. Daughter's BF likes to golf so he joins me on these expeditions and recently my daughter has found she likes doing it also so she now joins us so I get to spend time with the kiddo which is nice although she gets tired of it after nine holes and stops playing but is a trooper and will probably play more once the weather cools down.
Wife is doing good, we now have 4 dogs, 3 cats, 16 chickens, and 14 ducks and other assorted random wildlife that likes to stop on by.
Home insurance went way up this year like $800 a month, and is making me think about moving but just got my workshop and am not really sure I want to leave it yet.

 

[ThumperX]

Where to start:
In no particular order of importance
We purchased our dream retirement property in 2018 only to have it burn to rubble in the Ranch Fire 5 days before closing-no insurance. Daniel Rogers (1962Scala) was our realtor. Daniel spent a year of his life sorting the mess out and keeping us whole. CDONA I would highly suggest calling him, I will send you his contact info)
The Bossdog passed away leaving both of us a bit lost as we had dedicated our lives to making the dog happy. I placed a deposit on a German Shepherd puppy as a surprise for my other's 70th birthday. The surprise was ruined when the breeder asked us to foster a dog he had reclaimed. Now we have 2 very wonderful GSDs.
Business has been off the hook, leaving us little time to catch our breath.
Oh, and after 19 years, we are getting married.

 

[Butch]

Time marches on.
It's been a year and a month and a day since the wife of 40 years passed. I miss her everyday but have settled into a new routine.
I ride every day, tho alot is on the e mtb. Big fun.
I've been going to the Movement climbing gym with prymnumber every week. Big fun.
I'm going to Foresthill tomorrow to ride and play with the WORR ladies. Big fun.
I bought a Maserati GranTourismo. Big fun. I am planning road trips. Some BARFers to visit.
I think I am going to go on the next BARFistan trip...

Life is good. I have always been lucky. Kinda short, but lucky.

 

[bikeama]

Getting older I turn 74 in September. Health, Had a knee replacement and it is working the other knee is now bone on bone and will need replacement. The enlarged prostate got bad enough I thought I was done riding, no fun needing a catheter to go. Just over a year ago found a Neuro-Urologist at Stanford. Had Aquablation and it was life changing. Never thought I could ever sleep all night again. Life now is good. Celebrated 46 year of marriage this year with the woman I still love. We have made several big trips in our Class B motorhome. Still riding my S1000XR, Old mans fast motorcycle. June/July we rode 13 days through the Alps. Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy. As long as they make spare parts and can do rebuilds I will keep riding.

Climbing Col d’ lzoard in France.

 

[ST Guy]

Lefty: Getting old is something we all do, sooner or later. I treat it with humor. I can’t remember how many times I’ve stood up and started laughing because of the way I walk now, leaning on my cane and shuffling along to the next room. In spite of my stroke, I can still live alone. And my biggest fear is not being able to do that. I hope to be able to die in the same home and the same bed that my wife Cheryl passed in.

As we age, we make adjustments to our lives and continue on. And that is good.

 

[ST Guy]

Bill: It’s good to know that you are still kicking.

 

[Akira-R]

I'm so sorry to hear about your pup. I recently lost my baby girl (Cat) in December. She was 19, deaf and blind. I still think about her all the time.

Things haven't changed much. Been house shopping, but quickly realizing it's still too expensive.

I'm about to throw on a pork butt in a very awesome Weber Kettle grill that an even awesome'r person gave me