Tag: California Hacienda

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The Oven Night | Prickly Pear

We seem to be having a lot of these breathless adventures…

Do you remember that night after we moved into the hacienda when we were all out doing things separately and suddenly our phones began to beep because Brian and Austyn found a new oven that was a floor model and had been marked down from $1400 to $850 and they were asking if we all wanted to go in on it and 60 text messages later we all decided it was a good idea so Brian said he could fit it in the Subaru and when he went to check out was told that the floor model had been marked down to $499 back in November but no one had changed the sign so it had been sitting on the Costco sales floor for four months waiting for us – us the people who just moved into a big blue house on the hill and are trying something called generational living and we love it so far except for the smell of what we believe was a rotting carcass in the kitchen and had been unable to locate it but now we were forced to pull the old oven out and when we did found lots of grease and dirt but no creature which didn’t stop Jeff and Austyn from putting on gloves and bleaching every surface that could reach including the nob to the exhaust fan and when the new oven was put in place we were all amazed that it had two ovens, a top and bottom, and came with a big orange warning sign that the oven could tip over if a baby were to crawl into it but we knew if a baby were to crawl into the over there would be greater danger than it tipping over – and now the kitchen smelled like bleach and a rotting carcass so we pulled the refrigerator out because it was leaning backwards and there it was, a small four legged critter lying lifeless which we removed and used more bleach and then felt the need to use this opportunity to remove the magnetic knife holder from the wall which was being held up with six inch screws and a bolts on the other end which wasn’t the reason the refrigerator leaned backwards but non the less seemed odd –  once the carcass was removed and the refrigerator was replaced we celebrated because our refrigerator didn’t lean any longer and the kitchen didn’t smell like rotting carcass and best of all, Brian looked up our oven on his phone and it retailed for $1700 which we had just purchased for $499 and best, best of all…it’s blue inside…that was a great night!!  

 

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The Annoyance Jar | Prickly Pear

jeannie bruenning During one of our countless discussions while deciding if we could really live together, our daughter-in-law suggested that we have an Annoyance Jar. 

“Annoyance Jar?” Jeff said, “that sounds great! We’ll make a lot of money!!’

Annoyance Jar? I thought, that’s not going to work. I’ll be broke!!  It’s not that I’m really annoying, I just live with someone who is easily annoyed and we may have successful raised one kid to be as well. 

I hate this idea, it’s never going to work. This is only going to give the annoyed the right to be more annoying…

“No,” Megan clarified, “you don’t put money in if you annoy someone, that wouldn’t work.” Megan is very endearing when telling us that we may be wrong. “You put money in if you allow someone to annoy you.”

Jeff was silent and I began to laugh. That would be perfect! I thought. We are going to make a ton of money!!

I told our friends about the Annoyance Jar during dinner that night. They had the same first response we had but after more explanation, the idea sunk in. During the rest of the evening we all pointed out moments we would have to pay into the jar because someone in the restaurant was annoying us, and these weren’t even people we knew.

We don’t actually have an Annoyance Jar, but I’ve thought a lot about it. Closing on a house creates anxiety for two people, having six adults required to sign off on every detail is mind boggling. Moving is stressful, moving three households in the same week boarders on insane. 

There have been plenty of opportunity to get up-set, to allow someone else’s actions to frustrate and annoy. There are also the same amount of opportunity to decide not to allow annoyance to be the reaction. It really is that simple. 

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Crazy Morning | Prickly Pear

Prickly Pear blog written by author Jeannie Bruenning

Do you remember that morning when we were unloading a truck at 6:00 in the morning because there was a thunder storm the night before and after we finished with the truck Brian checked on the trampoline and found it had blown over during the night because of the crazy winds and when he went to move it realized that it had landed on an irrigation pipe and water was pouring down the hill which is why there was no water pressure in the house and I stepped on the pipe with my shoe and stopped the water but had to stand there for an hour while Brian ran to the hardware store to get a top and when he got home and stopped the eruption of well water flowing from the pipe we realized that all the kids were late for school so I took all five in the car and dropped them off – except for Amelia cause she’s only 5 months old – then we tried to get the mud out of the truck since it’s been raining in California forever which means the song about it never rains in Southern California is a lie but anyway we filled the truck up with gas which took a long time cause we’ve moved three houses this weekend and the guy on the other side of the pump notice the jeep and said he had replacement windows for the back and we were really excited then we went to the last house for a final gathering of all those little things that take so long to load and it was still raining and there weren’t windows in the back of the jeep cause we had just met the guy at the gas station and he hadn’t called us yet but we kept going and emptied the house and on the final trip back to the new house had to stop at 3 different gas stations because the tires were looking a little low and two of the air pumps were broke and when we finally got home and unloaded for the last time in our entire life we realized we were really hungry cause it was NOON!!! That was a cray morning!!!

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The Right Wrong Number | Prickly Pear

I’ve heard it said that waiting for something to happen is sometimes more about how long we feel is necessary rather how long it really takes. I was pondering this idea one morning as I walked through our neighborhood.

What if we don’t have to wait two years for our hacienda? What if it could happen sooner than 2020? Am I prolonging it because I think two years is somehow required?

And then the fear of the unknown, loan approvals, inspections, closing costs, and leases overtook me, so I turned it off and admired a beautify palm tree, the blue sky and the white ocean waves.

A few days later I sat on the sofa deeply engulfed in a project when the phone rang. I glanced down and saw it was a local number and felt the need to answer.

“Hello, this is Jeannie.”  (long pause – callers always mistake me for a recorded message.)

“Oh, hello,” the voice replied. “My name is Lauri, I’m a local realtor and I’m calling to see if you have considered selling your home?”

“No, I’m sorry, we are currently renters.”

“Well, have you considered buying…”

Lauri continued to tell me about the current market and how she could assist us in finding a new home. Her voice faded in the background as two other conversations began playing in my head. Sometimes we stand in the way because we have predetermined our own timeline and Lady you have the wrong number!

Then the phone went quiet and I realized Lauri had finished and it was time for me to say something. Get out of the way – maybe this could lead somewhere – go ahead and tell her about the Hacienda dream – Really? You want a realtor calling you every other day to check up on you….it’s way too soon…

“Well actually,” I heard myself say, “we have a plan, but we are really early in it and we won’t be ready for two years…” I told Lauri of our hacienda dream, how it would be three families and we all needed separate living space. How we really hadn’t even begun looking…cause, did I mention, we were still two years away.

“Let’s just get some information and I’ll start sending you listings and if anything looks interesting, you can call me.” So we did and she took the info about pricing, size, bedrooms etc.

“And your last name is Hardy?” she continued.

I laughed and said, “No, that not my last name.” At that moment I think we both realized that this may have been the strangest conversation of the day. Wrong address. Wrong last name and a Chicago phone number – what a were the odds?

Fast forward four weeks…

…I’m shaking Lauri’s hand for the first time as we are stand outside a big blue ranch house on top a hill with a view to die for. One week later six of us are signing paperwork in the kitchen of that house and putting in an offer on a dream.

Is it possible that we do stand in the way of wonderful things happening to us? 

Perhaps time is only defined by us, not the universe.

Have we’ve been waiting for things to happen and we really don’t have to?

Maybe wrong numbers are really right numbers and miss-information is exactly the information  needed.

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More on our family hacienda:

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Treasuring

TreasuringThere is a little verse in the new testament that says, Mary treasured all these things and pondered them in her heart. The task that Mary had been given wasn’t an easy one. Raising the Son of the Creator of the Universe no doubt was a lonely journey and came with big challenges. But somewhere in it all, she found things to treasure, moments to cherish, and these, she kept in her heart. 

I’ve been doing a lot of cherishing this past week. Our little family has had a big dream of creating our very own California Hacienda. A place where each family can live independently on a piece of property that brings us all together. Last week one such property popped up on my computer and we made an appointment to see it.

I’ve learned to smile and simply agree when people say, “You’re so lucky to have your kids close.” But inside I’m shouting, “If you knew the journey that brought us all together I don’t think you’d call it lucky!” It’s been a journey of loss, illness, surgeries, and giant size personal battles. As we walked through the main house on this new property, I was overwhelmed with the thought of How did we get here?

Next came lots of discussion as six adults sat around the table talking about options, offering opinions and making decisions. We talked about chickens, a goat, paint colors and lots of outside living spaces. Financial paperwork was filled out and sent off. Financials – this is the time all my positivity goes out the window. That journey of loss, illness, surgeries and giant size personal battles that got us all here – had a big price tag.

When I opened the email providing us with our pre-approval letter, the second line said, “If you can come up with more money…” my positivity took it’s cue, began to pack its suitcase and looked for the nearest window. 

Then my heart spoke up.

“Oh sir, if you only knew. If you had been there when the file on the lost home was finally closed, when a career came to an end because of a weird allergy, when the doctor asked just how far two young parents where willing to go to save their new born daughter, the dark days of divorce… No sir, this is what we have – and it is more than enough.”

There are new treasured moments being tucked safely away in my heart. A now eight-year-old grand-daughter who is a survivor. A daughter-in-law who stands quietly and boldly with her husband as they walk through a custody battle, businesses that are breathing in new life, careers that are beginning to explode, and a dream of a California Hacienda that could someday become a reality. 

When that day comes there will undoubtedly be those who say, “You are so lucky to have everyone so close.” 

And my heart will respond, “I’m treasuring every moment.” 

 

Check out our Hacienda Story at www.pricklypear.blog

Coming this spring – The Captive, a story of faith and forgiveness