It is March 1986 and we are still exploring the options for us to stay in the United States when our contract ends in January 1987. The letters are now more or less in sync with the same dates 33 years ago.
March 18th 1986
Dear M & D.
Another St. Patrick’s Day over, we must have been the only two in Houston who didn’t attend the parade and celebrate it! I hear they even turned the river flowing through San Antonio that we walked along with you last year, green. One of our friends who comes from New York said that around 40 million Americans have Irish ancestry…for a small country Ireland has managed to do what greater nations have failed to… infiltrate every continent. There were a contingent of Irish at the Alamo on both sides as there are some Mexican families with Irish surnames..
We are still looking at options should be stay here after David’s contract finishes in January 1987. The sticking point is still for me to get a visa because we would both have to work if we are to afford a house etc. David is still in talks with agencies and we have had an idea of what I might do…With my previous job with Savills in Norfolk, I am looking at what is needed to take the Real Estate exams here. Once we have an idea of which state we would like to live in, I will check that out. I would be interested to go through the course anyway to keep my brain active.
On the subject of houses, we have come up with a plan to save quite a bit of money. We currently pay rental for all the furniture in the apartment. We get a certain allowance from the company but that does not cover all the rental or the furniture. So I have been to a rental company that also sells used furniture to complexes who offer fully-furnished. We pay 200 dollars a month for the furniture and I have paid 500 dollars for everything needed to replace it. With 9 months left this means a saving of 1300 dollars that we can put towards our new home.. here or back in the UK. David’s company has confirmed that it will bring back all our belongings including my car and any furniture so either way we will get good use from it. We sold our house in Tring with a lot of the furniture included because we didn’t want to pay a lot of storage whilst we were away. So it will be useful. It is all high quality stuff and a fraction of the cost of buying brand new.
Sonia rang me so we could talk about Emma’s visit in the summer and we are looking at June for three weeks. We just need to confirm our whereabouts but she doesn’t have to book the flight until 21 days before. It will be lovely to see her and cannot believe she is now 15… Debby and I have some trips up our sleeves including a girl’s weekend to San Padre Island which is fabulous. We will rent a beach house for three days.
David has a lot of travel planned for the next three weeks with trips to Las Vegas and San Diego in the first week in April. I will send him off with ten dollars to put in the poker slot machines for me… but don’t expect to see any winnings back! And I will fly out to meet him in San Diego for the weekend as we have some air miles to redeem and I can get a bonus ticket for 50 dollars extra. I do love that west coast and we are looking forward to exploring the southern end of the highway.
Walter has a bunch of friends coming in next week for a few days and I am cleaning his carpet for him with a rented machine from the store. I don’t mind as he is very good about making sure we are okay. We are having two of his friends stay with us, there is a big party planned for their first night around the pool with a BBQ and water volleyball and another on the Sunday at his place. I don’t think there will be much time for sleep.
I am now playing water volley ball for the boys team… I am tall and having played netball am quite useful by the net. We sometimes play other apartment complex and I am not sure if I am the mascot or the ace up their sleeves…
We nearly got a dog…..yesterday I found a small puppy wandering around Kroger’s car park and I saw it nearly go under the wheels of a truck. I managed to coax it towards me and picked her up and brought her home. I rang the SPCA but they couldn’t take her last night so we decided to keep her or at least find her a good home. I took her for a walk around the outside of the apartment complex which has some grass, and as we passed the family section some children ran up and called her name. Seems like she had got out of the window left open for her in the truck when they were shopping at Kroger’s so it had a happy ending. But both of us were a bit disappointed.
Anyway.. time to head over and clean a carpet… and get the guest bedroom ready for the visitors. Write again next week..
love from us both S&D…
You can read the previous letters from America dating back to January 1985 in this directory: https://smorgasbordinvitation.wordpress.com/letters-from-america-1985-1987/
Thanks for dropping in and hope you enjoy our reasonably quiet week….Sally
It must have felt good to know you saved the puppy for those children.
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It was such a coincidence as the store was at least a mile away…happy ever after…Hugsxxx
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Great story.
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Thanks John..xx
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Pingback: Smorgasbord Letters from America 1985 – 1986 – March 1986 – Pool Parties, lost puppies, New Furniture. | Campbells World
Aw, I’ll bet that pooch would have LOVED living with you and David!
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I know… I was a little bit gutted…♥♥
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I am not the least bit surprised you were on the boys team, lol, and looking might svelte I may add. And? Did you ever get your real estate license? ❤ xx
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No I didn’t I could not start until I had a visa to work, and for that David had to get his job first and his company offered him the job of chief engineer back in the UK.. but I must say, if I had my time again I would have made flipping houses into a business instead of doing it as our main residence. I love the process especially on the smaller homes.. Anyway.. life took a different path..♥♥
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Thanks Sal. Because I was sure I’d never heard you mention yourself selling real-estate. And as usual I’m with you on the flipping business after renovating a few homes myself. We would have made a great team! Go figure! ❤ xx
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We would have Debby.. ♥♥
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❤
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So pleased you were able to reunite the puppy with his family, although I know you would have given him a great home. Not surprising my next book has a homeless puppy in it! Buying the used furniture was a wise idea. Look forward to hearing more, especially about the trip to San Diago, my favourite US city.
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Thank you Darlene.. we were using that furniture for the next 20 years and passed most of it on to family when we moved to Spain as we had already furnished that house. As to puppies, definitely getting broody again…and keep looking a the dog’s trust page.. ♥
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I foresee a puppy in your life soon. Can’t imagine life without our Dot. (and we didn’t have a dog for over 30 years.)
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Thanks Darlene.. it is 11 years since Sam and we waited 18 for him.. so about time..hugsxx
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I so enjoy your letters, Sally. This one reminds me how much we could do when we were young. Where did all that energy come from? Thank goodness those children found their puppy, thanks to you. 🙂
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Thanks Jennie.. and yes I am exhausted just typing them up!!! hugsx
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I can imagine! I never asked if your original letters were handwritten or typed?
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They were mainly handwritten Jennie..or perhaps should I say scrawled……hugsxx
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I thought so. Hugs to you, Sally! 😍
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Another adventure! So glad the doggie story had a happy ending, Sally! Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you Jan.. not sure we would have been able to bring it home in those days with six months quarantine in the UK.. so just as well we found its family.. xxx
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