Just Like That

It seems like I was finishing up the early December 2022 blog post, looking forward to decorating Charles for Christmas… and here we are fourteen months later. We have not one Christmas, but two under our belts. Time just seems to fly by. Some days that makes me happy, but most it saddens me to know that an entire year of great things (and not so great) happened and I have to really sit and think about it to sort it all out. I started this blog to help us document all that has gone into Charles to raise her from twenty-two years of vacancy to a beautiful, new-old home filled with new life. It helped me with the 42 pages of State of South Dakota Historic Preservation property tax moratorium process (by the grace of God we were accepted) and it helps Dan and I to actually see how bad things were and how we’ve progressed. For SavingCharles accountability, here is a recap!

Christmas 2022 was the first in Charles. The snow was abundant end of 2022 and into 2023. That delayed my return to Deadwood to get the old girl decorated. My brother braved the trip with me, and we arrived nearly 11 hours later, but safe. We had a car FULL of holiday cheer and boxes of new decorations for Charles had arrived prior, so I rolled up my sleeves and got to work. Last winter was also one of the coldest, double-digit-sub-degree holidays we’d seen. In a brief window of minus-single digits, my sweet niece Kait grabbed her doggo and the youngest nephew Shoulderblades (Jake) a couple days early, collected their grandpa, step-grandma and great auntie and they chose the clearest and quickest route to arrive at Charles safely. It was official. We had a partially decorated house full of Potter family. Everyone chipped in, trees went up, stairways were adorned with garlands, cookies were baked, and Charles lived her best first Christmas. A celebration over New Years Eve brought several Nebraskans to town. A blizzard kept them there, and Charles opened her doors to more Nebraskans, a good amount of Busch Light and some good wine. Cheers!

Welcome 2023. The Legislature convened for a long session. The weather improved. The snowmobile trails were amazing, and for the most part the commute back and forth was pretty good. Winter was a good time to continue work inside the house. Dan carried on with multiple projects. Family came, brought talent to assist, they worked, played in the snow and suddenly it was spring. The Creek thawed, Indian Mountain turned green, we met new neighbors and as summer floated in Charles was thriving!

Shoulderblades came with dirt bike in tow and stayed with us again. His visit was the second summer and a highlight of our year(s). He and Dan explored new hidden trails and I got brave and we took the e-bikes out on the Mickelson Trail, all the way up to the shop in Deer Mountain. It was beautiful quality time with the youngest Potter as he rode circles around me at 30mph. At the end of his visit Rally rolled in with a bang. Thunder that is. Thousands of soggy and frustrated bikers tried their best to stick it out and eventually the sun returned and the riding was amazing. As it always is. Brother and Auntie arrived to take in the experience. Friends from Kansas City, Omaha, Exeter, Lincoln and a big group from Wisconsin visited, stayed and enjoyed the home. There was spectating from the front courtyard for those wanting to be a stone’s throw from the 458,000 riders, including Governor Noem and The Legends Riders and when we were ready to escape the hustle the big back deck, Creekside, is the best place for a Wisconsin brat, some fantastic cheese and a cold Spotted Cow (thanks Steve & Diane). Rally is always a busy work-life balance. We successfully kept track of everyone’s motorcycle keys (no porta potty accident last year), met a ranch woman bartender at Titty Tuesday who literally moved a head of cattle at 4AM and opened her bar at 9AM (cuz the $$ is so good), hosted guests in a sort-a finished basement, got Auntie on the bike for a cruise to Moonshine Gulch (her first in some 40+ years), and after much grumbling and whining from me as second-rider – we ended 2023 Rally with a BMW trade in. Back to an Indian. Back to happiness.

As fall approached, we welcomed the return of my Dad and Chere and we took in Kool Deadwood Nights. The front courtyard was the perfect spot to watch hotrods for the entire weekend. We hosted our own guests for brunch (had to miss our favorite neighbors, Colette & Charlie’s party) but had a good time cheering on low-riders, Driving Miss Daisy touring cars and of course… BURNOUTS. And for a special treat, we fired up the sidexside on the last day of September and took to the trails to take in the beauty of the Black Hills as leaves turned-tail and dropped for cover and the snow prepared to blanket us.

Fall rolled in and with it some sadness and disappointment. Older fam struggling even more with memory and falls. Younger fam negotiating all that it is to be a “kid” and “young adult”, and Dan & I just trying to keep it all together as we inch toward a 80%-20% transition away from Nebraska and to Charles. We had another Thanksgiving holiday apart. Mine completely alone with the cats and Tank, as the KC fam gathered the elders for a long overdue Kansas holiday. Anticipation of bad weather (NE/SD 511 is my favorite app) is always a stress but as the first real snow dumped on Deadwood, I was there to shovel, shovel, shovel and enjoy every minute of it (happily we have a puppy that loves snow as much as me). A quick to NE and back and we were decorating for Christmas #2. When I headed back to Friendly Friend, Charles was 85% adorned, trees were up and I was looking forward to the final 2023 return to Deadwood for the holidays. I made it back for some beautiful warm days. Charles got her fancy lights on for the holiday. She won the Peck’s Garden neighborhood lighting challenge (thanks for voting) and we were set for Santa! Unfortunately, family conflicts and sickness limited our celebration to just us for Jesus’s real birthday. We had a white Christmas, as I’d ordered. Our friend Brenda joined us and aside from me dumping the Marie Calendar pie all over the oven and floor, we had a wonderful holiday. Christmas #2 was a wrap.

2024 rolled in with more family happiness as Kait and Shoulderblades cruised into Deadwood just after the new year. I swear that boy grows 3 inches every time I see him. It was several days of snowmobiling, skiing, cruising around in the Hills and cooking. It was the first outing for me and Kait to hit the casinos, Jacob’s Gallery and to share adult beverages. Our friend Lynnette joined us for some slot machine wins, and we ended their visit with a fantastic dinner at the Legends Steakhouse. While we were a little short on fam-time as 2023 closed, we kicked off 2024 with the best guests we could have asked for! 

And now we’ve come full circle. The Legisature has reconvened for the second (short) session and I should be writing my five-state legislative recap, instead of this post. The last parts of Christmas #2 are back in storage and work in the basement at Charles continues. That was your teaser! Charles never had a full basement, only a partial cellar. When we bought her, she was missing half of her foundation! Now, she’s boasting a full, nearly finished basement and a whole other vibe for us to soon enjoy. She’s also boasting a new ghost who comes and goes from the storeroom closet, much to Dan’s dismay. He has been busy off and on down there, but these past months have been dedicated to the lower level. And making peace with the comings and goings of our new basement friend. I’ll leave you with this “where we started” photo, promising that the next post will not be far away. Thanks for sharing my 2023 recap. Happy 2024 to you all. Wishing you happiness and gratefulness throughout this year. Signing off for Charles, on Whitewood Creek at the edge of the urban prairie in Historic Deadwood. Cheers!