Maybe it’s grown into a tradition for this date, but here’s the update to last year’s December 11 post, “What a Difference a Year Makes.”

This Spring found us moving again, which is a story unto itself. But the Reader’s Digest version is that our landlord “surprised” us with the news that she had a buyer interested in the townhome we were renting – even though we had been assured the unit wouldn’t be on the market during the term of our one-year lease. As sometimes happens when your back is to the wall (“Oh my God, where are we going to go??”), we made a knee-jerk decision to make an offer on the property and buy it ourselves. Although we started the purchase process, when the transaction didn’t come together, it actually turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Our new rental suits us much better in almost every way.

Moral of the story: Trust in the Universe and let it do its magic. When one door closes, another will open for you.

Our trust was rewarded and we are reminded of it in so many ways every day – as Tim works on his photo post-processing in our home office (bonus!) or I cook in my huge kitchen with so many cabinets I literally cannot fill all of them, even with nearly 30 years of accumulated “kitchen stuff”!

We marvel every time we sit out on our deck in our wooded backyard, with its sweet little stream and a beautiful view of Cadillac Mountain – the outdoor living space we missed so much in our last townhome.

We are grateful for having been able to find the first place when we were really, really up against the wall, trying to find a place to live on extremely short notice, but we are infinitely happier now.

It’s all good.