Perpetual vacation

Much has happened in the past few years, but the short story is we decided to travel fulltime in a motorhome more than a year ago.  It was a long and arduous journey - selling, storing important items, shipping everything for the motorhome to Florida so I'm sure my brother may never speak to me ever again, and getting rid of the rest via donation, selling or letting the picker take the rest.

                Let me give you the short version.  Last summer we decided to get the house ready to sell.  We had already put in a new tankless water heater and new Rinnai boiler that also hangs on the wall, very state of the art.  We had the landscaping redone and steps to the backyard rebuilt.

We hired another contractor came in and cleaned out the pond, added a fountain to aerate it, then we added 6 Koi last year and 4 big ones this summer.

They all seem to be thriving, and once we fished out about 3 dozen catfish, the goldfish started growing and propagating.  We also had the decks and most of the inside repainted, insulation added, driveway resealed, and many other upgrades

When all the work was finished,  we finally put up the house for sale in August 2014 just before Labor Day.  Not a good time and the only potential buyer was turned off by the smell of smoke, so we took it off the market for the winter.

I had my left hip replaced on March 17 2015 and told my family to destroy any ashtrays and cigarettes, so I have been smoke free since.  Think of the money I've saved, my health restored, and the house smelling fresh and smoke-free! But it's ironic that the buyers both smoke.

We have also shipped 25 boxes to my brother in Florida which will get when we have a home.  We'll go shopping when we get there to find a Class A RV for our home for the next few years.

After the picker came and took away all the books and much more...

Empty spaces, everything gone.

Mementos are now in storage...

an empty house symbolized by an empty closet.

The car is packed for the trip to Florida.  Can you see one of the dogs in the picture?  Don't worry, they had plenty of room on their plush dog beds behind the front seats and the cat ran free.








And.....off we go to greet our future!

I'm finally unpacking my business

After cleaning up the debris from clearing the deck, I felt an overwhelming need to start unpacking my business supplies. It's a huge process, since this is going to be my fulltime business when I get organized. I need to search out local markets, craft fairs, wedding venues and local shops. This is what I'm faced with:





I worked throughout the evening until I was just too tired to do more. Tomorrow is another day!

Worked on the vines today

I worked all morning cutting vines. They are pretty dead now after massive doses of weed killer last week. Here is what they looked like before:


Here is what my work accomplished today:

Some catching up to do!

I finally downloaded some of my moving pictures. The crew who moved us were terrific. The loaded the truck on Monday July 13 and delivered the goods on Tuesday. It took a lot less time on Tuesday, that's for sure.

First they moved everything out into the hallway before loading the elevator. Unfortunately there is only 1 elevator in the building and since it's small, they had to carry down the sofa and futon 7 flights of stairs..

The next day was perfect for moving - sunny, not too hot. The guys arrived around 9:30 am ready to work. They were in great spirits! The work was done in about 4 hours and they worked so hard! They carried every box and piece of furniture up the stairs - no elevator here folks!

Well, all I can say is, they did a great job and I'm grateful for all their hard work. It's been 1 week now and we're still unpacking. It's going to be awhile. We have more stuff in storage in PA that we're arranging to have shipped up here within the next week, so the whole process starts over again.

ps - my knees don't hurt as much.

Oh I have to go back to work tomorrow

So this is the 4th day of packing for the Big Move. Got up early this morning, had 2 cups of java and was raring to go. I took down 2 wheely cartfuls of stuff I'm getting rid of plus some posters and pictures. I'm sure they're gone by now.


I can't believe I have to go to work tomorrow. But I have a lot to do there, getting ready to retire. I want to finish up a few cases I have left, pack and ship out my personal belongings, then just drift away the rest of the week. My personnel folder has been retrieved and I'm ready to submit my retirement paperwork.


I've always looked forward to moving. The months before I moved to NYC I thought I would jump out of my skin in anticipation. This time is different. I'm not only moving to my dream house, I'm also entering into the final phase of my life, quitting my job and living by my schedule and no one else's. I will rise early to greet the day, not because I have to, but because I want to. Each new day will present its challenges. If I get snowed in, I won't care. I'll eat beans if I have to.


Anyways, here are some updated pics of my packing accomplishments today. I also did major paperwork, paid bills, and took care of some orders that need to be shipped out this week.

Another day, another box, or 2

I was up early this morning. Packing all day, but I went out to get a pack of hot dogs and buns to celebrate the holiday. Then after a fresh cup of coffee, back to work. I packed an entire box of yarn - odd cones for my knitting machine and skeins for scarves, hats and whatever. I also took two wheely carts of stuff down to the trash room and it disappeared immediately. I have another cart full of patterns, yarn, posters and shoes to take down tomorrow.

I feel as if I have to get everything done this weekend, but in fact I have next weekend to finish up packing last minute items. We also need to take down the 4 ceiling fans we put up when we moved here. I need to stop by EtsyLabs on Monday to pack up the knitting machine I lent to them for the long term until I want it back. What a pain in the butt. I have no car, so I'll have to hire a car service to drive me back with it.

Well, off to sleep soon, up early again tomorrow. Busy day and busy week ahead. Soon it will be all over, no rush, not deadlines to finish before going back to work, day job that is... Once this next week is over and the move complete, I can work at my own pace. First think, kill those vines before they take over my house!

Packing

So I have a long weekend and started packing yesterday. The boxes arrived on Wednesday and already I can see I will need quite a few more. We have pretty much finished the living and dining rooms and the kitchen. I just started in my bedroom packing fabric and yarn, but just ran out of steam. It seems like we pack and pack and pack some more, and not make any progress!
I'm using my wheely cart to load up and take downstairs. In our building, anything you put down by the elevator disappears in minutes! The other day I took down a big bag of paperbacks. Today I took down fabric, clothes, shoes, books, dried stuff.. and I bet it's gone already.


This morning I also washed every curtain and drapery in the house and took down the hardware. I don't know if I can use it all in my new place, but it's possible I can use some of it.





I am tired. I have 2 more days to pack before I start my final week at work. I have lots of last minute tasks to do there, such as file my claim for retirement! I have the paperwork done, just have to turn it in. I need to pack up my personal belongings and ship it home, shred shred and more shredding, and throw out extraneous files and instructions. I also want to clear up any cases I have left so I don't leave any behind for someone else to deal with.



So I will play around here for a little while, then off to bed early to get ready for another fun-filled day tomorrow!