I have some news that you may find surprising.

Diane and I have sold our house and are downsizing.

Furthermore, we have rented condos, one here and the other in the Green Valley area of Henderson, Nevada.

Diane’s youngest daughter, Toni, has lived in the Las Vegas area for the past eight years. She works in high-end retailing. Her husband, Jason Yenglin, sells trading cards, sports memorabilia and other collectibles. They have a son, Camden, who I have written about often since he was born with a heart defect that required open heart surgery at the age of four months. We have been making frequent trips to Las Vegas the past couple of years, to practice our babysitting skills. Practice time is over and Jason has been taking more business trips.

So we thought it best to get our own place in Henderson. That way, we can feel settled in our own bed at least. Diane has been wanting to downsize for the past couple of years.

I can’t blame her. I can’t

get out and pick weeds any more. And she doesn’t like maintaining the pool. That’s a thankless job, you have the usual chores and costs of maintaining a home.

Well, as of 10 a.m. last Thursday morning, the house sale closed.

I’m going to miss the old home, especially the pool and waterfall in our resort-like backyard. It is territorial style home, built in 1999 by Chuck MacDonald. We had plenty of seating for outdoor parties. There is a large covered patio that stretched nearly the length of the house. There is a slate pool table at one end. The back yard featured views of Four Peaks and Red Rock.

It backs up to the 13th fairway of the Desert Canyon Golf Course.

The interior is no less spectacular with wood log beams in the living room. The kitchen features knotty pine cabinetry and granite countertops.

The house has a real “homey” feel to it. I hope the new owners are as happy with their new purchase as we were in the 10 years we lived there.

So what now for our future?

Well, we have found that downsizing is no easy task.

I have lots of memories in boxes from the old house and before. Diane says I must get rid of what I can just to fit furniture in the new condos.

“You haven’t worn that shirt since we lived in CopperWynd,” Diane has said (many times), “We have to get rid of things or send them to Goodwill.”

As long as she doesn’t throw out any of my Willie McCovey memorabilia, I guess I can accept it.

We started on our big adventure this past Tuesday. We will be gone for five weeks. We are driving across the country to New Jersey to see our five grandkids there.

Our first lengthy stop will be in Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the National Newspaper Association Convention.

That starts on Friday.

We’ll stop and see an old friend of mine, John Fearing, in Covington, Kentucky. He was the executive director of the Arizona Newspaper Association when I served as president.

Then, it’s off to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia. We will arrive in West Orange, N.J., where our daughter Tammy and her family lives. We’ll stay with them for two weeks.

Daughter Dani and her son, Hunter, also live in the area. Hunter is out of high school and working for a furniture manufacturer.

After our New Jersey visit, we will head south to Huntsville, Alabama, to see a friend of Diane’s. Our last stop will be in Granbury, Texas. My good friend, Jerry Tidwell, is the publisher of the daily newspaper there.

This is something we haven’t done before. Wish us luck.