Box after box after box after box.... There seems to be a never-ending source of boxes. I look at them, I open them but the piles never seem to get any smaller.
Right now I make two steps forward to clear off an area in the kitchen and then I open another box and that area gets cluttered up again plus another area... so one step back. It does not help that the packers seemed to make no clear way of packing any box. They have things from the kitchen, from the porch and the living room all in the same box. They look for things to make the box full and less likely to shift, but it is not all from the same place.
For example, Kate made a beautiful stained glass cottage that has a wooden base that fits inside with a light. I have uncovered the cottage. It was nicely wrapped and in the middle of kitchen stuff. It survived the trip but the garden archway, which has small stones covering it was askew and may need some gentle tweaking. However, the wooden base with the light and the cord were not in the box and had not been left in the cottage to give the base structure... as I might have done. But I was not a professional packer.
The boxes are all labeled. Things are from the mstr (Master Bedroom), Dining, Living, Bath, Kit, sewing, bsmt (basement), garage, craft, bath and then a small list of items inside. Yesterday I opened three that listed cutting board in the list of what was supposed to be inside. Only one box actually had a cutting board, so I am quickly learning that the list does not have much relevance to what is actually inside. They had to carefully mark them for passage through Customs at the borders to Canada and back into the USA.
So I am now looking at each box as a treasure hunt. The room listed is probably where the packing began but not always the only room. The one box I have been looking for is the one from the attic and is my Grandmother's Noritake china set. It had been living in the attic since my Dad brought it to me after my mother passed away. I have fond memories of Thanksgiving dinners using the china when we would be in Illinois for that holiday. But I had nowhere in Parkesburg to put them where I could use them. The kitchen in this house has 2 cabinets in the kitchen that have glass fronts. One already has my everyday dishes inside one... I bought a new set upon arrival here in Fairbanks. The other one has been reserved for Grandma's dishes which will once again become holiday china. I have been working through the piles of boxes in the dining room to find that one box as I knew it had been brought into the house the day the movers arrived. Yesterday I was able to see it in the pile and I am now one box away from being able to open that box and get that cabinet filled.
I have found my air fryer, Instant Pot, big food processor, little blender, hand mixer, medium and small roasting pans as well as two bags of opened potato chips that had been carefully packed... in the bottom of a box of kitchen stuff. To say that the chips were now crumbs was an understatement. I also found a bag with 2 small, sweet onions. I am just happy that I found them before they went soft and gooey. But I have not yet found my big mixer, Crockpots or ice cream maker. I have located some of my cutting boards but they were in boxes that were not labeled cutting boards.
The snow on the ground.... just a dusting, even by Parkesburg standards... seems to be hanging around. The long term forecast here is for temps to not get anywhere above the 20's, so while it may not be of any significance, it may very well be the base snow for the winter.
No animal sightings around the house in quite a while. So no exciting events or moose sightings. And no Northern Lights either. I may not get them as brightly down here in the valley as Rob and Kate get them on the mountain. But I am looking forward to the possibility of seeing a variety of strengths of the phenomenon.
So, I am off to get my day going. Heading out to pick up a couple of things. Tomorrow Rob and Kate will be spending the day and we are going to the theater tomorrow night. We will be seeing The 39 Steps, a Hitchcock movie based mystery/comedy. Looking forward to it.
Happy Halloween!!!
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Time flies when you are moving into a place....
It is Tuesday.... and I hope tomorrow is Wednesday. I do not want to lose another day like I did last week.
My Sunday went well. I continued going through boxes. I found the rest of my bedding that had been taken off my bed when they packed. So I fired up the washer and washed all of the blankets, stripped my bed and by the time it was bedtime, I had fresh sheets and blankets and I slept under all of my preferred bedding. And the dogs were happy, as they got their lightweight blanket back. I had stolen it from them since I could not find my original blanket until today. They have each taken turns sleeping on the blanket pile.
Rob came over around 5 PM. Kate was going to knitting. Rob is fighting a cold, so he prefers to just sit and do something easy. He did help me make some decisions about the craft room, but for the most part he just wadded up newsprint and burned in in the wood stove. For those of you who might be concerned, we are aware of warnings to not do that for fear of setting the chimney stack on fire, the stack is new, so there is no coating in it to catch fire. The previous owners of the house were here 22 years and they never used the wood stove. And I am grateful as my movers packed each box with lots and lots of paper. Plus, they buried little items in some boxes, so Rob going through each piece of paper insures that we are not throwing out something small that we will be needing later.
Kate returned after some time with her knitting friend. After she and Rob left, I relaxed, watching some TV before bed.
Monday I had to set an alarm. Rob and I were going to the Borough building to check on how we are going to deal with the available exemptions for property taxes. So, I set the alarm for 7:30 AM. I woke up to what I assumed was the alarm. I kept yelling at Alexa, but it seemed to take forever for the alarm to shut off for a snooze. Then it went off again and again, it took forever to stop.
I turned on the lights and struggled to move. Then I looked at the clock. It was not even 6 AM. What the heck??? What was wrong with Alexa?? So I set the alarm for 8:30 AM and went back to sleep. Then the alarm went off and I realized that the sound was different. Here, it was my phone going off at 5:30 AM... several times, from people on the East coast... which was 9:30 AM. I am going to either change my ringtone to something really different from the lovely ringtone it has now OR I am going to have to turn my phone off at night. Or leave my phone in another room at night.
Rob and I went to the North Star Borough office and the staff there was quite helpful. Rob has several options and will have to decide what direction he will go and then get the calls made so we can have it done by the end of December. But we did find out that he may not have to lose an exemption on their current home to get the exemption here. And we are talking a significant amount.
Rob dropped me off here and I dug out my pot to make some chicken broth for some chicken soup. I continued going through boxes in the dining room while the pot was on the stove. I found roasting pans, more cooking spoons and items from that drawer in Parkesburg. I found dish towels. I found nut choppers and other little tools.
Rob and Kate stopped by. They were staying in town after work to do Tai Chi, so they came here to relax and Rob got to burn more paper. Then they headed out and I got to finish off my soup. I am not happy with the flavor yet as I have not found all of my spices yet. I found the ones I do not use as much, but have not found the ones I rely on for the majority of my cooking. But it was still warm and satisfying.
Rob and Kate reappeared. They are in the process of getting rid of their two old cars. They needed to get some numbers for a possible buyer. Rob ran around to get the numbers. Kate spent time in the lower level with Miles. Miles has really bonded with Kate. He knows when she has come into the house and just whimpers and whines until he can get to her and give her some Miles snuggles and snorts. And Kate just laughs and rubs his fur. It is adorable.
After they left, I had some dessert and TV before heading to bed. I took a few minutes to set up a soundbar for the TV in my bedroom. It beats having an amplifier with wires to speakers. I have been watching replays of various current TV shows on HULU. On of my favorites is The Masked Singer. It sounded really good on the soundbar.
I am already into the afternoon here today. The darkness that is ever lengthening allowed me to sleep until 9:30 AM. It is one of the features of the longer days and nights here that I am enjoying. I will let you know if I like it when it is 24/7.
I wanted to share some pictures with you all. Many of you know that I sold my Parkesburg house to my neighbor, John Russel and his wife Addie. John owns Artisan Restorations where he restores old buildings. He has been buying up homes in the area and rehabbing them for rentals or for family. His original plan was to turn my house into the office for his business, but he found out that an Aunt of his was having some financial issues, so she is going to me making my old house her home. John and Addie are very warm and caring folks and I am so sorry I did not have a chance to get to know them better while we were neighbors.
I have been getting messages from a few of you on the renovations that you have observed. I texted John and within 30 minutes I had pictures of a lovely, new house that seems to have replaced my tired, little home. I thought I should share them with you who may never have occasion to drive by but know how my home was when I left.
Here is a look down the driveway. The new asphalt is really evident. He took it closer to the house. He looks to have stuccoed and/or painted the garage to make it look like a better match for the house. He also added the same little trim detail to the eve of the garage. And they trimmed the overgrown lilac bush. It really needed that badly.
A wider shot from the south. Doesn't it look wonderful?
This is the view from the north. They added shutters to the windows there. Again, they extended the asphalt all the way to the house. And look at the depth of that asphalt. They did it right. The only thing I am sad about is they took out the lilac bush on that side. Rudy and I planted the two bushes in remembrance of my mother when she died. Also, in the garden on that side there were Lilly of the Valley bulbs that were originally from the Illinois family farm... now long gone. And now they are really gone. But it is no longer my house, so John and Addie can do whatever they want to do. I think what they have done is beautiful.
Do you agree??
My Sunday went well. I continued going through boxes. I found the rest of my bedding that had been taken off my bed when they packed. So I fired up the washer and washed all of the blankets, stripped my bed and by the time it was bedtime, I had fresh sheets and blankets and I slept under all of my preferred bedding. And the dogs were happy, as they got their lightweight blanket back. I had stolen it from them since I could not find my original blanket until today. They have each taken turns sleeping on the blanket pile.
Rob came over around 5 PM. Kate was going to knitting. Rob is fighting a cold, so he prefers to just sit and do something easy. He did help me make some decisions about the craft room, but for the most part he just wadded up newsprint and burned in in the wood stove. For those of you who might be concerned, we are aware of warnings to not do that for fear of setting the chimney stack on fire, the stack is new, so there is no coating in it to catch fire. The previous owners of the house were here 22 years and they never used the wood stove. And I am grateful as my movers packed each box with lots and lots of paper. Plus, they buried little items in some boxes, so Rob going through each piece of paper insures that we are not throwing out something small that we will be needing later.
Kate returned after some time with her knitting friend. After she and Rob left, I relaxed, watching some TV before bed.
Monday I had to set an alarm. Rob and I were going to the Borough building to check on how we are going to deal with the available exemptions for property taxes. So, I set the alarm for 7:30 AM. I woke up to what I assumed was the alarm. I kept yelling at Alexa, but it seemed to take forever for the alarm to shut off for a snooze. Then it went off again and again, it took forever to stop.
I turned on the lights and struggled to move. Then I looked at the clock. It was not even 6 AM. What the heck??? What was wrong with Alexa?? So I set the alarm for 8:30 AM and went back to sleep. Then the alarm went off and I realized that the sound was different. Here, it was my phone going off at 5:30 AM... several times, from people on the East coast... which was 9:30 AM. I am going to either change my ringtone to something really different from the lovely ringtone it has now OR I am going to have to turn my phone off at night. Or leave my phone in another room at night.
Rob and I went to the North Star Borough office and the staff there was quite helpful. Rob has several options and will have to decide what direction he will go and then get the calls made so we can have it done by the end of December. But we did find out that he may not have to lose an exemption on their current home to get the exemption here. And we are talking a significant amount.
Rob dropped me off here and I dug out my pot to make some chicken broth for some chicken soup. I continued going through boxes in the dining room while the pot was on the stove. I found roasting pans, more cooking spoons and items from that drawer in Parkesburg. I found dish towels. I found nut choppers and other little tools.
Rob and Kate stopped by. They were staying in town after work to do Tai Chi, so they came here to relax and Rob got to burn more paper. Then they headed out and I got to finish off my soup. I am not happy with the flavor yet as I have not found all of my spices yet. I found the ones I do not use as much, but have not found the ones I rely on for the majority of my cooking. But it was still warm and satisfying.
Rob and Kate reappeared. They are in the process of getting rid of their two old cars. They needed to get some numbers for a possible buyer. Rob ran around to get the numbers. Kate spent time in the lower level with Miles. Miles has really bonded with Kate. He knows when she has come into the house and just whimpers and whines until he can get to her and give her some Miles snuggles and snorts. And Kate just laughs and rubs his fur. It is adorable.
After they left, I had some dessert and TV before heading to bed. I took a few minutes to set up a soundbar for the TV in my bedroom. It beats having an amplifier with wires to speakers. I have been watching replays of various current TV shows on HULU. On of my favorites is The Masked Singer. It sounded really good on the soundbar.
I am already into the afternoon here today. The darkness that is ever lengthening allowed me to sleep until 9:30 AM. It is one of the features of the longer days and nights here that I am enjoying. I will let you know if I like it when it is 24/7.
I wanted to share some pictures with you all. Many of you know that I sold my Parkesburg house to my neighbor, John Russel and his wife Addie. John owns Artisan Restorations where he restores old buildings. He has been buying up homes in the area and rehabbing them for rentals or for family. His original plan was to turn my house into the office for his business, but he found out that an Aunt of his was having some financial issues, so she is going to me making my old house her home. John and Addie are very warm and caring folks and I am so sorry I did not have a chance to get to know them better while we were neighbors.
I have been getting messages from a few of you on the renovations that you have observed. I texted John and within 30 minutes I had pictures of a lovely, new house that seems to have replaced my tired, little home. I thought I should share them with you who may never have occasion to drive by but know how my home was when I left.
Here is the house from the front. He has obviously painted everything. The weed covered front gardens have been tamed. He has added a little fun trim to the eve of the porch. He has painted all of the trim white or cream. And the shutters appear to be black. And the front door is now red and the ugly storm door is gone, And the asphalt for the entire driveway has been replaced or covered with a new layer. I think it looks lovely.
A wider shot from the south. Doesn't it look wonderful?
This is the view from the north. They added shutters to the windows there. Again, they extended the asphalt all the way to the house. And look at the depth of that asphalt. They did it right. The only thing I am sad about is they took out the lilac bush on that side. Rudy and I planted the two bushes in remembrance of my mother when she died. Also, in the garden on that side there were Lilly of the Valley bulbs that were originally from the Illinois family farm... now long gone. And now they are really gone. But it is no longer my house, so John and Addie can do whatever they want to do. I think what they have done is beautiful.
Do you agree??
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Catching you up.....
Good Sunday morning....
I have been super busy the last few days. Right now I have just finished checking up on Emails and Facebook. I slept in late as last night was Dungeons and Dragons. I did not get home until around midnight, so I did not even begin to move out of bed until after 9 AM.
Aside from the continuation of opening boxes to see what goodies I am going to get to find homes for which will be an ongoing activity for weeks and weeks and weeks, I have had appointments and actual making things in my kitchen for last night's dinner.
Friday I woke up to snow on the ground. A couple of inches, which I am sure was more of what Alaskans consider a dusting, had fallen. I walked the dogs who seem to really enjoy the snow. After feeding them and my morning coffee, I used a snow shovel to move some of the snow off the driveway close to the house. I did not see a single other resident moving any snow. Now, most of the work, but even later in the day, not a single shovel was apparent. I also swept the steps to my front door as I had an Amazon delivery from the Post Office and I do not want my mail carrier to slip.
I headed out to see my new Optometrist whose office is about 2 minutes from my house. I had originally had a late November appointment but had put my name on the cancellation list and they had called me and I gratefully came in an entire month early. I arrived earlier than I had planned ( I went in for a 3 PM appointment when in fact it was a 3:30 PM appointment) but they were able to start all of the testing before my actual appointment time, so I was happy to have gone in early. Dr, Mills was very nice. He was really thorough. I have not been through that extensive an exam in forever. And then he took the time to explain all of the things that he had found in my aging eyes. Nothing major, just the stuff that one starts having as one grows old.
I am getting new glasses. I knew my eyes had changed some, but when he showed me what my current prescription was like versus the new prescription I was astounded. They will not be in for 2 weeks, but I am really looking forward to seeing better... much better... as soon as they come in.
Yesterday was a big day. I was up around 8:30 AM. It is staying darker later plus it was cloudy, so sleeping in here in Alaska is much easier than it is in the lower 48. For that reason, I think I am going to enjoy the darkening days that are coming.
I had heard from Tammy and they were satisfied with my check, so they were going to deliver my new quilt frame a little after 4 PM. I had several things to do to get ready and had cleared out the area where the frame was going to live. Rob and Kate arrived around 2 PM and Rob and I moved the big pieces of my old frame out of the way. We also moved around some of the boxes in the garage. Rob wanted to get trash compactor that I had in PA out from where it had been buried and get it set up in the garage. This way I can compress some of the trash and not have to make so may trips to the transfer station. I also found several boxes that had some things in them that I thought I might like, so he staged them so he could bring them in after the frame arrived.
Tammy and her hubby arrived earlier than planned. But they managed to get the frame in and set up in the space in my craft room. Now that it is set up I am rethinking how the room may be set up. Thank goodness I have not committed other things to be a permanent home. I may be rearranging the entire room. This frame is a tad longer, I think, than my other frame. But it is very nice and I am looking forward to working on some UFOs. I will send pictures once I get everything in places that make me happy.
I also made a couple of desserts in my kitchen. I have found some more of the kitchen appliances and items, but still not a full service kitchen. I have no mixers yet, so everything I made was hand whisking and mixing. I did a no bake chocolate eclair that was delicious. I also made lemon crinkle cookies. They were OK, but the next time I make them, I will be making some additions.
Dungeons and Dragon was fun. I was able to acquire some Armour that has given me more able to withstand attacks from some of the creatures we encounter, but I also glow in dark rooms... so you can say I light up my world!! What fun!!!
That is about it, except I woke up to temps in the mid 40's. this Sunday morning All of the snow areas I had shoveled were back down to blacktop. So this may not yet be the snow base for the winter snow pack. Perhaps I brought some of the warmth from Pennsylvania for their Indian Summer!!!
Have a wonderful Sunday...
I have been super busy the last few days. Right now I have just finished checking up on Emails and Facebook. I slept in late as last night was Dungeons and Dragons. I did not get home until around midnight, so I did not even begin to move out of bed until after 9 AM.
Aside from the continuation of opening boxes to see what goodies I am going to get to find homes for which will be an ongoing activity for weeks and weeks and weeks, I have had appointments and actual making things in my kitchen for last night's dinner.
Friday I woke up to snow on the ground. A couple of inches, which I am sure was more of what Alaskans consider a dusting, had fallen. I walked the dogs who seem to really enjoy the snow. After feeding them and my morning coffee, I used a snow shovel to move some of the snow off the driveway close to the house. I did not see a single other resident moving any snow. Now, most of the work, but even later in the day, not a single shovel was apparent. I also swept the steps to my front door as I had an Amazon delivery from the Post Office and I do not want my mail carrier to slip.
I headed out to see my new Optometrist whose office is about 2 minutes from my house. I had originally had a late November appointment but had put my name on the cancellation list and they had called me and I gratefully came in an entire month early. I arrived earlier than I had planned ( I went in for a 3 PM appointment when in fact it was a 3:30 PM appointment) but they were able to start all of the testing before my actual appointment time, so I was happy to have gone in early. Dr, Mills was very nice. He was really thorough. I have not been through that extensive an exam in forever. And then he took the time to explain all of the things that he had found in my aging eyes. Nothing major, just the stuff that one starts having as one grows old.
I am getting new glasses. I knew my eyes had changed some, but when he showed me what my current prescription was like versus the new prescription I was astounded. They will not be in for 2 weeks, but I am really looking forward to seeing better... much better... as soon as they come in.
Yesterday was a big day. I was up around 8:30 AM. It is staying darker later plus it was cloudy, so sleeping in here in Alaska is much easier than it is in the lower 48. For that reason, I think I am going to enjoy the darkening days that are coming.
I had heard from Tammy and they were satisfied with my check, so they were going to deliver my new quilt frame a little after 4 PM. I had several things to do to get ready and had cleared out the area where the frame was going to live. Rob and Kate arrived around 2 PM and Rob and I moved the big pieces of my old frame out of the way. We also moved around some of the boxes in the garage. Rob wanted to get trash compactor that I had in PA out from where it had been buried and get it set up in the garage. This way I can compress some of the trash and not have to make so may trips to the transfer station. I also found several boxes that had some things in them that I thought I might like, so he staged them so he could bring them in after the frame arrived.
Tammy and her hubby arrived earlier than planned. But they managed to get the frame in and set up in the space in my craft room. Now that it is set up I am rethinking how the room may be set up. Thank goodness I have not committed other things to be a permanent home. I may be rearranging the entire room. This frame is a tad longer, I think, than my other frame. But it is very nice and I am looking forward to working on some UFOs. I will send pictures once I get everything in places that make me happy.
I also made a couple of desserts in my kitchen. I have found some more of the kitchen appliances and items, but still not a full service kitchen. I have no mixers yet, so everything I made was hand whisking and mixing. I did a no bake chocolate eclair that was delicious. I also made lemon crinkle cookies. They were OK, but the next time I make them, I will be making some additions.
Dungeons and Dragon was fun. I was able to acquire some Armour that has given me more able to withstand attacks from some of the creatures we encounter, but I also glow in dark rooms... so you can say I light up my world!! What fun!!!
That is about it, except I woke up to temps in the mid 40's. this Sunday morning All of the snow areas I had shoveled were back down to blacktop. So this may not yet be the snow base for the winter snow pack. Perhaps I brought some of the warmth from Pennsylvania for their Indian Summer!!!
Have a wonderful Sunday...
Friday, October 25, 2019
A Great Day...
I think I am back on track. Yesterday was Thursday for real and for me....
Started out in the usual fashion. Coffee and TV and easing into my day. I love being retired.
I called Mary Davis and we had a nice conversation catching up. One of her daughters had a real tragedy happen and I wanted to find out what had happened. So if you are a friend of Mary, reach out to her and help her support her daughter. Mary can explain.
I had contacted, through Facebook Marketplace, to a local person who was selling a quilt frame and machine. My quilt frame is here but the movers have it in so many pieces and so many different boxes that I am not sure it will ever get back together. Sort of like Humpty Dumpty, I may not get it together again. But it was never an easy frame to work with. The rails were stiff in some places and did not lock correctly in other places.
I met Tammy in the afternoon and she showed me the unit she was selling. It is all aluminum, well built and looks so much easier to work with. It comes with a Husqvarna Viking quilting machine... still a mid arm, but a nice machine. And they are going to take it apart and deliver it to me here. So I wrote them a check and when they are satisfied that I am not a thief, then they will call and bring it over.
Tammy also invited me to come to her sewing group that meets at her church. Their next meeting is November 7th and they just get together and work on whatever projects they are working on. I will probably check them out and begin to meet ladies from Fairbanks.
Also stopped at Woodway to inquire about getting a generator for the house so I will always have power.
Did a little work in the kitchen, made dinner and went to bed early.
Woke up to snow on the ground. This may be the first of the "snow pack"... the snow that will serve as a base for the winter snow. I saw a weather reporter in Fairbanks saying that getting the snow base started was happening a little late this year. So, I am guessing better late than never.
I will do my first snow driving in Fairbanks as I have an eye exam today for new glasses and then a little grocery shopping. We play Dungeons and Dragons tomorrow night and Kate and I are bringing desserts.
So, I better get my day going!!!
Started out in the usual fashion. Coffee and TV and easing into my day. I love being retired.
I called Mary Davis and we had a nice conversation catching up. One of her daughters had a real tragedy happen and I wanted to find out what had happened. So if you are a friend of Mary, reach out to her and help her support her daughter. Mary can explain.
I had contacted, through Facebook Marketplace, to a local person who was selling a quilt frame and machine. My quilt frame is here but the movers have it in so many pieces and so many different boxes that I am not sure it will ever get back together. Sort of like Humpty Dumpty, I may not get it together again. But it was never an easy frame to work with. The rails were stiff in some places and did not lock correctly in other places.
I met Tammy in the afternoon and she showed me the unit she was selling. It is all aluminum, well built and looks so much easier to work with. It comes with a Husqvarna Viking quilting machine... still a mid arm, but a nice machine. And they are going to take it apart and deliver it to me here. So I wrote them a check and when they are satisfied that I am not a thief, then they will call and bring it over.
Tammy also invited me to come to her sewing group that meets at her church. Their next meeting is November 7th and they just get together and work on whatever projects they are working on. I will probably check them out and begin to meet ladies from Fairbanks.
Also stopped at Woodway to inquire about getting a generator for the house so I will always have power.
Did a little work in the kitchen, made dinner and went to bed early.
Woke up to snow on the ground. This may be the first of the "snow pack"... the snow that will serve as a base for the winter snow. I saw a weather reporter in Fairbanks saying that getting the snow base started was happening a little late this year. So, I am guessing better late than never.
I will do my first snow driving in Fairbanks as I have an eye exam today for new glasses and then a little grocery shopping. We play Dungeons and Dragons tomorrow night and Kate and I are bringing desserts.
So, I better get my day going!!!
Thursday, October 24, 2019
I have lost a day....
First, yesterday (Wednesday) is was at home most of the day. the boys... both of them.... had a nasty case of the runs. So I was constantly trying to get them outside before they pooped and usually not moving fast enough and therefore cleaning up accidents all around the craft room and it's lovely, white carpet. What a day!!
Second, I woke up thinking that yesterday was Tuesday. Even though I had lived through Tuesday the day before, I woke up just sure that it was only Tuesday. I even had notations on my Tuesday planner, so I knew what day it was on Tuesday. But somewhere overnight, my mind erased Tuesday and went back in time. Just added to the confusion of the day.
As a result, I did not get much done on Wednesday. Besides trying to keep track of where the dogs were at all times, I did not do much to move the unpacking along. I did locate hangers in one box which allowed me to hang the box of coats that I came across, in the coat closet on the upper level. I also went through a small box marked "desk papers" and put the relevant stuff in the small writing desk that Rudy had refinished and threw out items like pens and liquid paper that were all dried up.
Rob and Kate picked me up at 5 PM to go to dinner. Seth and Jen were not available as they were flying out of the area last night. So, it was just the three of us. We went to a place called Taco King. It was a lovely place. You placed your order at the counter, grabbed your drinks and found a table. By the time we were getting in our seats, the food was there. It was very good and really nice portions. The chairs at the tables were highly decorated. They reminded me of the chairs at the Mexican restaurant in Middletown, DE that we used to go to.
It was nice to get out. I love being able to be with Rob and Kate from time to time.
So, it is late Thursday morning and I am still in my jammes. Just got off the phone with Mary Davis. I had called her to get some info on one of her daughters and we talked and talked and talked. Thank goodness for cell phones and unlimited talk plans.
Now, to get the rest of my day started....
Second, I woke up thinking that yesterday was Tuesday. Even though I had lived through Tuesday the day before, I woke up just sure that it was only Tuesday. I even had notations on my Tuesday planner, so I knew what day it was on Tuesday. But somewhere overnight, my mind erased Tuesday and went back in time. Just added to the confusion of the day.
As a result, I did not get much done on Wednesday. Besides trying to keep track of where the dogs were at all times, I did not do much to move the unpacking along. I did locate hangers in one box which allowed me to hang the box of coats that I came across, in the coat closet on the upper level. I also went through a small box marked "desk papers" and put the relevant stuff in the small writing desk that Rudy had refinished and threw out items like pens and liquid paper that were all dried up.
Rob and Kate picked me up at 5 PM to go to dinner. Seth and Jen were not available as they were flying out of the area last night. So, it was just the three of us. We went to a place called Taco King. It was a lovely place. You placed your order at the counter, grabbed your drinks and found a table. By the time we were getting in our seats, the food was there. It was very good and really nice portions. The chairs at the tables were highly decorated. They reminded me of the chairs at the Mexican restaurant in Middletown, DE that we used to go to.
It was nice to get out. I love being able to be with Rob and Kate from time to time.
So, it is late Thursday morning and I am still in my jammes. Just got off the phone with Mary Davis. I had called her to get some info on one of her daughters and we talked and talked and talked. Thank goodness for cell phones and unlimited talk plans.
Now, to get the rest of my day started....
Tuesday, October 22, 2019
A Lost Day.... kinda...
So, yesterday (Monday) felt like a lost day. And yet, when I summarized what I had done, it filled one page in my planner. You see, I bought a planner, but instead of writing what I have to do in a day, I make notes on what I accomplished. It helps me see what I have done and on those days when I think I have not done much, I can actually see what I did do. It has really helped me feel better about my daily activities.
The day started by realizing I had slept really well for the first time in a while, but it was after 9:00 AM when I opened my eyes which had me feeling like I was behind all day long.
I had my coffee, checked emails and enjoyed some TV. I took some time to survey some of the many, many boxes in the garage. Rob had been saying that he was sorry that he had let them bury the trash compactor I brought from Parkesburg, as it was one of the first things off the truck, but I found that it is within easy reach with minimal moving of boxes. What else I discovered is that they were not careful to put the written contents of the boxes forward into the garage where they could be easily read. If I am looking for a specific box, it is not going to be easy.
I had a new "smart" deadbolt lock delivered. I have read all of the instructions and while I may tackle it by myself, I think I will wait until Rob is here to assist me so he is familiar with how it goes together in the door.
I also brought the TV that was in the quilt room in Parkesburg in the living room here. But, what I found was that whoever had packed it did not put the power cord or the remote in the box as the person who packed by bedroom TV had done.. Hopefully I will find them somewhere.... this is where being able to read the content labels on the boxes come in handy... but in the meantime I have ordered a replacement cord and remote from Amazon. I am going to mount this TV on a mobile stand that can be moved around on the upper level. That way it will be more convenient to be seen or out of the way, depending on what is happening in the house. The power cord is 12 feet long, so it will be easier to move and remain plugged into an outlet.
I headed out to Lowes. I needed to get three nuts to set up the trundle bed and start getting that room better organized. I also needed to get shelf pins for the two DVD cabinets. When I took them apart I put all of the pins in ziploc bags, but they are now in a box, somewhere, and I need them now, so I can start getting the DVDs out where I can see them. Of course, I have only located one of the DVD/Blu-Ray players, so there is no hurry. I also found the source of the plastic Trash Compactor bags that we are using in the inoperable trash compactor in the kitchen.
Marji called as I was getting into my car, so I chatted with her for a bit as I sat in the parking lot and then drove home.
I did manage to open several of the kitchen boxes before the end of my day. I did, as Rob had done on Sunday, and fired up the wood stove to burn off some of the packing paper. There is a lot of blank newsprint to be burned.
I have unearthed my big food processor, my air fryer and my smaller blender. Soon I should be able to do some serious cooking in my kitchen. It is just really hard to pull out things for the kitchen in bits and pieces and figure out where it should go. But it will all come together, in time.... and I have lots of time.
The snow that should have fallen overnight, did not fall here in the valley. So I will head out again today to do a couple of things before tackling more boxes. Fun, fun, fun...exciting days ahead.
The day started by realizing I had slept really well for the first time in a while, but it was after 9:00 AM when I opened my eyes which had me feeling like I was behind all day long.
I had my coffee, checked emails and enjoyed some TV. I took some time to survey some of the many, many boxes in the garage. Rob had been saying that he was sorry that he had let them bury the trash compactor I brought from Parkesburg, as it was one of the first things off the truck, but I found that it is within easy reach with minimal moving of boxes. What else I discovered is that they were not careful to put the written contents of the boxes forward into the garage where they could be easily read. If I am looking for a specific box, it is not going to be easy.
I had a new "smart" deadbolt lock delivered. I have read all of the instructions and while I may tackle it by myself, I think I will wait until Rob is here to assist me so he is familiar with how it goes together in the door.
I also brought the TV that was in the quilt room in Parkesburg in the living room here. But, what I found was that whoever had packed it did not put the power cord or the remote in the box as the person who packed by bedroom TV had done.. Hopefully I will find them somewhere.... this is where being able to read the content labels on the boxes come in handy... but in the meantime I have ordered a replacement cord and remote from Amazon. I am going to mount this TV on a mobile stand that can be moved around on the upper level. That way it will be more convenient to be seen or out of the way, depending on what is happening in the house. The power cord is 12 feet long, so it will be easier to move and remain plugged into an outlet.
I headed out to Lowes. I needed to get three nuts to set up the trundle bed and start getting that room better organized. I also needed to get shelf pins for the two DVD cabinets. When I took them apart I put all of the pins in ziploc bags, but they are now in a box, somewhere, and I need them now, so I can start getting the DVDs out where I can see them. Of course, I have only located one of the DVD/Blu-Ray players, so there is no hurry. I also found the source of the plastic Trash Compactor bags that we are using in the inoperable trash compactor in the kitchen.
Marji called as I was getting into my car, so I chatted with her for a bit as I sat in the parking lot and then drove home.
I did manage to open several of the kitchen boxes before the end of my day. I did, as Rob had done on Sunday, and fired up the wood stove to burn off some of the packing paper. There is a lot of blank newsprint to be burned.
I have unearthed my big food processor, my air fryer and my smaller blender. Soon I should be able to do some serious cooking in my kitchen. It is just really hard to pull out things for the kitchen in bits and pieces and figure out where it should go. But it will all come together, in time.... and I have lots of time.
The snow that should have fallen overnight, did not fall here in the valley. So I will head out again today to do a couple of things before tackling more boxes. Fun, fun, fun...exciting days ahead.
Sunday, October 20, 2019
A Good Day....
Had a tad more energy yesterday...
I was up by 8 AM, coffee and some TV then dressed by 10 AM. The live TV thing happens to me with my enjoyment of the NASCAR races and the Xfinity race was on for me in the morning. So I was able to watch it in between putting things in the washer and dryer. As I am finding clothing and linens in the boxes in the bedroom, I am freshening them up before putting them away. I am likely, however, to be finding them in dribs and drabs as the packers were using clothing to top off boxes from time to time.
After the race, I set up a temperature station for my bedroom. It has 3 outside sensors so I placed one outside the front door, one out by the fence near the carrot patch and one on the back corner of the garage. This morning it was 27 degrees outside the front door, 28 behind the garage and 24 out at the fence. I also installed my outside key safe at the corner of the garage. It keeps door keys in a safe place outside for those rare times when I accidentally lock myself out of the house. Hopefully I will never need them.
I then began to concentrate on boxes in the bedroom. I found all of the components for the bedroom TV and got them set up. It is amazing how they packed everything in different boxes. I found the items for the whole system in 4 different boxes. I have found most of the bedding that was on my bed. I am only missing my heavy blanket but I still have many boxes left to go through.
I took time to roast a chicken for dinner. I am still getting used to cooking with electricity. For the entire time I was out on Route 10, I was cooking with propane and I loved cooking with gas. It is a different cooking theory to cook with electric. I think I may have to get an oven thermometer as the chicken seemed to take longer to cook, so it may not be getting up to full temps when set. I have saved the carcass and will make a pot of soup tomorrow.
I did uncover my set of sharp knives for the kitchen and some of the silverware. I think it was the stuff that was in the dish drainer, but I now have an abundance of spoons and forks. But the bulk of them are still missing. I also unearthed the cleaning supplies that were under the sink.
I also talked to Mary Ciarlone. She reached out to me as my chicken was cooking. She had sent me a package and wanted to make sure it had arrived. I love talking to my favorite people. Makes me grateful for all of the wonderful friends that I have in my life.
I will continue to work in the bedroom and the kitchen today. Tomorrow I will go out to find three missing nuts to finish getting the trundle bed together and make the little guest room less cluttered. It may be a while before I find all of that bedding as it is probably in one or more of the sewing room boxes of which there are many, many, many.
Have a good Sunday...
I was up by 8 AM, coffee and some TV then dressed by 10 AM. The live TV thing happens to me with my enjoyment of the NASCAR races and the Xfinity race was on for me in the morning. So I was able to watch it in between putting things in the washer and dryer. As I am finding clothing and linens in the boxes in the bedroom, I am freshening them up before putting them away. I am likely, however, to be finding them in dribs and drabs as the packers were using clothing to top off boxes from time to time.
After the race, I set up a temperature station for my bedroom. It has 3 outside sensors so I placed one outside the front door, one out by the fence near the carrot patch and one on the back corner of the garage. This morning it was 27 degrees outside the front door, 28 behind the garage and 24 out at the fence. I also installed my outside key safe at the corner of the garage. It keeps door keys in a safe place outside for those rare times when I accidentally lock myself out of the house. Hopefully I will never need them.
I then began to concentrate on boxes in the bedroom. I found all of the components for the bedroom TV and got them set up. It is amazing how they packed everything in different boxes. I found the items for the whole system in 4 different boxes. I have found most of the bedding that was on my bed. I am only missing my heavy blanket but I still have many boxes left to go through.
I took time to roast a chicken for dinner. I am still getting used to cooking with electricity. For the entire time I was out on Route 10, I was cooking with propane and I loved cooking with gas. It is a different cooking theory to cook with electric. I think I may have to get an oven thermometer as the chicken seemed to take longer to cook, so it may not be getting up to full temps when set. I have saved the carcass and will make a pot of soup tomorrow.
I did uncover my set of sharp knives for the kitchen and some of the silverware. I think it was the stuff that was in the dish drainer, but I now have an abundance of spoons and forks. But the bulk of them are still missing. I also unearthed the cleaning supplies that were under the sink.
I also talked to Mary Ciarlone. She reached out to me as my chicken was cooking. She had sent me a package and wanted to make sure it had arrived. I love talking to my favorite people. Makes me grateful for all of the wonderful friends that I have in my life.
I will continue to work in the bedroom and the kitchen today. Tomorrow I will go out to find three missing nuts to finish getting the trundle bed together and make the little guest room less cluttered. It may be a while before I find all of that bedding as it is probably in one or more of the sewing room boxes of which there are many, many, many.
Have a good Sunday...
Saturday, October 19, 2019
A light day...
It was a glorious night being in my own bed. But I was really more tired than I realized. After I posted yesterday, I found that I was moving very, very slowly and you know what???? It was OK.
So I watched a bit of TV, got a shower and then did a few things. I did enjoy the shower. My shower had a "rain shower" head and it was fine, but I have long been used to having a handheld shower head as part of the tub in Parkesburg. Rob had added the same thing to their bathrooms in their house, and so I asked him to do the same here. He ordered 2. He replaced the shower head in their bathroom on the upper level and then replaced the shower head in my shower. It is a very nice shower head with multiple kinds of sprays. And the hand held part is the only shower head... so it is held on the main head with a very strong magnet and then comes off to get water where you need it without having to be a contortionist. Plus, he installed a shut off valve at the base of the hand held part. This allows me to shut off the water when I shampoo or soap up. And being at the base of the hand held part, makes it much easier to use instead of having to reach up to the back of the main part coming out from the wall. He is such a clever person,
I did go out to take trash to the transfer station, I had gathered it up before the movers arrived but had not gotten a chance to take it up before they arrived. Then I headed to Fred's to get a few groceries.
Rob and Kate dropped by on their way to a covered dish dinner to kickoff their Tai Chi workshop weekend. Kate had made soup to take and they brought it over to heat it up before going to the event. Having a house in the city is proving to be very handy for them. While it was heating Rob moved a very heavy box onto a dolly for me. Somehow a fairly good sized box of tools had ended up in the craft room. It was too heavy for me alone, but the two of us did get it back out to the garage and tucked out of the way. They left me a bowl of Kate's delicious sweet potato soup and headed out for the events of the weekend. I might see Rob of Sunday afternoon depending on the schedule of things with the Tai Chi folks.
I headed to bed a tad after 11 PM.
Hope that your weekend is going well. Mine is!!
So I watched a bit of TV, got a shower and then did a few things. I did enjoy the shower. My shower had a "rain shower" head and it was fine, but I have long been used to having a handheld shower head as part of the tub in Parkesburg. Rob had added the same thing to their bathrooms in their house, and so I asked him to do the same here. He ordered 2. He replaced the shower head in their bathroom on the upper level and then replaced the shower head in my shower. It is a very nice shower head with multiple kinds of sprays. And the hand held part is the only shower head... so it is held on the main head with a very strong magnet and then comes off to get water where you need it without having to be a contortionist. Plus, he installed a shut off valve at the base of the hand held part. This allows me to shut off the water when I shampoo or soap up. And being at the base of the hand held part, makes it much easier to use instead of having to reach up to the back of the main part coming out from the wall. He is such a clever person,
I did go out to take trash to the transfer station, I had gathered it up before the movers arrived but had not gotten a chance to take it up before they arrived. Then I headed to Fred's to get a few groceries.
Rob and Kate dropped by on their way to a covered dish dinner to kickoff their Tai Chi workshop weekend. Kate had made soup to take and they brought it over to heat it up before going to the event. Having a house in the city is proving to be very handy for them. While it was heating Rob moved a very heavy box onto a dolly for me. Somehow a fairly good sized box of tools had ended up in the craft room. It was too heavy for me alone, but the two of us did get it back out to the garage and tucked out of the way. They left me a bowl of Kate's delicious sweet potato soup and headed out for the events of the weekend. I might see Rob of Sunday afternoon depending on the schedule of things with the Tai Chi folks.
I headed to bed a tad after 11 PM.
Hope that your weekend is going well. Mine is!!
Friday, October 18, 2019
Yesterday...
My Stuff Has Arrived..... and now the hard work begins.
Now, if all of my helpful friends could fly out for a visit and help me continue to sort through the 294 boxes/items that have been brought into the house!! Can you say overwhelmed??
The main crew from Sourdough Moving arrived around 8:45 AM. Three strong young men appeared at the door and did a walk-through to get a feel for the rooms.
The truck arrived a little after 9:00 AM. I had forgotten how long the trailer was. The driver did not want to jockey the thing around to get it backed up into the driveway at the garage, so they unloaded at the bend in the driveway and walked everything into the garage. They really exceeded their 10,000 steps if they were monitoring their steps. I had thought that they would bring the lower level stuff through the garage and the upper level stuff up the outside steps. I was wrong, they brought everything into the garage until it could hold no more, closed the door so the heat could build back up (the garage is heated and it was hovering right around freezing all day) and then we would sort though everything and stuff would move into the space that it needed to go into.
So things would come in and then disappear, more stuff would come in and then disappear.. then more would come in and find a place in the house. The overflow is taking up half of the garage so all of Rob and Kate's cars that are here are living outside for the time being. And this happened over and over and over. This crew took breaks... the packing crew did not take a break all at the same time. They would keep working and each take breathers every now and then. That is how they packed and loaded me in three days instead of four.
Little by little furniture appeared and went into the room in the house where it belonged. I think there was only one piece that I brought that did not fit in the room it was supposed to go into but it moved into another room where it has already found another use. It was every bit as weird a feeling as seeing everything you own disappearing into a truck and then driving away to see things being moved out of a truck and into your garage. My job was a sheet of paper with numbers on it. As the men would come in with stacks of boxes on the dolly they would read off the numbers from the little pink stickers and I would cross them off. There were quite a few that had no numbers, but I was warned that might happen. The moving companies have, in the last few years, changed the adhesive on the little stickers as people had complained that the old ones were very hard, if not impossible to remove, especially if they were left on for a few years after the move. But now, some of them fall off in transit.
I did find it odd, however, that everything on the front end of this move was done pretty much in order, boxes were packed, numbered, inventoried and loaded on the truck pretty much as the work was done. But the numbers came out of the truck all jumbled and all over the place. I know that they were packed very well, however, as the crew on this end indicated that there was very little shifting over the 5 weeks the stuff had been on the road. They said that they were quite impressed with the loading job that had been done.
There were some damaged items. Most were insignificant. As couple of plastic totes, one large one and one small one had shattered. The first was a small one with small, framed pictures inside and the entire tote had cracked into pieces. It had been loaded in such a way that the stuff inside the tote had remained together and undamaged. The other was a larger tote and only the lid had shattered. I am thinking that freezing temps during the last couple of weeks probably contributed. Another tote lid had become warped. The only damage of any significance was the marble center of the round barrel table that had belonged to my parents was cracked. Again, freezing temps may have played a role in the damage. Rob says there is a place here where we can probably get it replaced.
All in all, I was happy to see so little damage immediately. As I unpack, there may be more, but then everything was on the road somewhere and sitting somewhere in freezing weather for over 5 weeks. But hopefully not much.
I did have to laugh, as we were going through the list of crossed off numbers and looking up the contents of the numbers that we did not get crossed off, the majority of them were boxes of or totes of fabric. Imagine that.
They did set up my bed and what a pleasure it was to sit on a bed that was not laying on the ground. And it was soft and snuggly and did not make a strange hollow sound when I sat on it or moved at night. I got it plugged in and searched through many boxes to find one of the remotes for the adjustable features. At first it was not responding and I was thinking that it had been broken, but after a couple of seconds, the movements began to happen and the vibrating feature seems to be stronger than it was before. Perhaps trip jostled the vibrating motors around some or perhaps the fact that it is on the solid floor of the lower level or both have made a difference, but I loved being back in my bed.... my own, beautiful bed. The setup in the bedroom is working out nicely, thus far.
The dining room is filled with boxes. Most of it is kitchen stuff, or so it says. I had brought along the bakers rack from Parkesburg. I was not sure it would fit in the space, but it is perfect. I am looking forward to setting up this kitchen.
I did manage to get before pictures of the rooms. I will post them and then as they are now and then when they are completed. I am thinking Christmas has come early and will keep happening as I unpack each box and continue to unpack over the next weeks, months or even years.
The dogs spent most of the day penned up on my bathroom. They barked for a bit and then whined a tad and finally slept during the quiet times. I will have to scrub the floor as Winston must of the missed the pee pad when I did not get them out in time and I was not always available to take them outside regularly.... hence the being penned up in the bathroom with tile floors.
Their fat, padded dog beds had come on the truck. Last night, after I had gotten my bed set up with sheets and all along with a couple of lights, I dug through some of the boxes to the spot where their beds had been tucked away. I brought them into the bedroom and placed them where I would not fall over them in the dark. Then I came in here (the craft room where my big TV is living) to watch some TV and kick my feet up before going to bed. Usually the dogs are under my feet, but last night I noticed that they were not. Upon getting up to get ready for bed, I found them each curled up on one of their beds and sound asleep. They did not move a muscle as I prepared to go to bed. It must have been a hard day for them.
Rob was here with me most of the day. He had some things that needed to be dealt like getting snow tires installed on his new car and getting a prescription for Kate. He was a great help. moving boxes out of the way, taking the moving blankets off of furniture as it came in and getting lighter pieces into their proper room. Then Kate picked him up and off to an evening Tai Chi class and dinner. They have a very busy weekend with a guest instructor for a Tai Chi workshop all weekend, so I doubt I will see him until next week and maybe not even then as their calendar is always full of activities and next week is particularly busy. So I will be doing some serious unpacking in the bedroom, the kitchen, and craft room.
I will keep you updated as to my progress. But I am certainly beginning to really feel at home, now.
Now, if all of my helpful friends could fly out for a visit and help me continue to sort through the 294 boxes/items that have been brought into the house!! Can you say overwhelmed??
The main crew from Sourdough Moving arrived around 8:45 AM. Three strong young men appeared at the door and did a walk-through to get a feel for the rooms.
The truck arrived a little after 9:00 AM. I had forgotten how long the trailer was. The driver did not want to jockey the thing around to get it backed up into the driveway at the garage, so they unloaded at the bend in the driveway and walked everything into the garage. They really exceeded their 10,000 steps if they were monitoring their steps. I had thought that they would bring the lower level stuff through the garage and the upper level stuff up the outside steps. I was wrong, they brought everything into the garage until it could hold no more, closed the door so the heat could build back up (the garage is heated and it was hovering right around freezing all day) and then we would sort though everything and stuff would move into the space that it needed to go into.
So things would come in and then disappear, more stuff would come in and then disappear.. then more would come in and find a place in the house. The overflow is taking up half of the garage so all of Rob and Kate's cars that are here are living outside for the time being. And this happened over and over and over. This crew took breaks... the packing crew did not take a break all at the same time. They would keep working and each take breathers every now and then. That is how they packed and loaded me in three days instead of four.
Little by little furniture appeared and went into the room in the house where it belonged. I think there was only one piece that I brought that did not fit in the room it was supposed to go into but it moved into another room where it has already found another use. It was every bit as weird a feeling as seeing everything you own disappearing into a truck and then driving away to see things being moved out of a truck and into your garage. My job was a sheet of paper with numbers on it. As the men would come in with stacks of boxes on the dolly they would read off the numbers from the little pink stickers and I would cross them off. There were quite a few that had no numbers, but I was warned that might happen. The moving companies have, in the last few years, changed the adhesive on the little stickers as people had complained that the old ones were very hard, if not impossible to remove, especially if they were left on for a few years after the move. But now, some of them fall off in transit.
I did find it odd, however, that everything on the front end of this move was done pretty much in order, boxes were packed, numbered, inventoried and loaded on the truck pretty much as the work was done. But the numbers came out of the truck all jumbled and all over the place. I know that they were packed very well, however, as the crew on this end indicated that there was very little shifting over the 5 weeks the stuff had been on the road. They said that they were quite impressed with the loading job that had been done.
There were some damaged items. Most were insignificant. As couple of plastic totes, one large one and one small one had shattered. The first was a small one with small, framed pictures inside and the entire tote had cracked into pieces. It had been loaded in such a way that the stuff inside the tote had remained together and undamaged. The other was a larger tote and only the lid had shattered. I am thinking that freezing temps during the last couple of weeks probably contributed. Another tote lid had become warped. The only damage of any significance was the marble center of the round barrel table that had belonged to my parents was cracked. Again, freezing temps may have played a role in the damage. Rob says there is a place here where we can probably get it replaced.
All in all, I was happy to see so little damage immediately. As I unpack, there may be more, but then everything was on the road somewhere and sitting somewhere in freezing weather for over 5 weeks. But hopefully not much.
I did have to laugh, as we were going through the list of crossed off numbers and looking up the contents of the numbers that we did not get crossed off, the majority of them were boxes of or totes of fabric. Imagine that.
They did set up my bed and what a pleasure it was to sit on a bed that was not laying on the ground. And it was soft and snuggly and did not make a strange hollow sound when I sat on it or moved at night. I got it plugged in and searched through many boxes to find one of the remotes for the adjustable features. At first it was not responding and I was thinking that it had been broken, but after a couple of seconds, the movements began to happen and the vibrating feature seems to be stronger than it was before. Perhaps trip jostled the vibrating motors around some or perhaps the fact that it is on the solid floor of the lower level or both have made a difference, but I loved being back in my bed.... my own, beautiful bed. The setup in the bedroom is working out nicely, thus far.
The dining room is filled with boxes. Most of it is kitchen stuff, or so it says. I had brought along the bakers rack from Parkesburg. I was not sure it would fit in the space, but it is perfect. I am looking forward to setting up this kitchen.
I did manage to get before pictures of the rooms. I will post them and then as they are now and then when they are completed. I am thinking Christmas has come early and will keep happening as I unpack each box and continue to unpack over the next weeks, months or even years.
The dogs spent most of the day penned up on my bathroom. They barked for a bit and then whined a tad and finally slept during the quiet times. I will have to scrub the floor as Winston must of the missed the pee pad when I did not get them out in time and I was not always available to take them outside regularly.... hence the being penned up in the bathroom with tile floors.
Their fat, padded dog beds had come on the truck. Last night, after I had gotten my bed set up with sheets and all along with a couple of lights, I dug through some of the boxes to the spot where their beds had been tucked away. I brought them into the bedroom and placed them where I would not fall over them in the dark. Then I came in here (the craft room where my big TV is living) to watch some TV and kick my feet up before going to bed. Usually the dogs are under my feet, but last night I noticed that they were not. Upon getting up to get ready for bed, I found them each curled up on one of their beds and sound asleep. They did not move a muscle as I prepared to go to bed. It must have been a hard day for them.
Rob was here with me most of the day. He had some things that needed to be dealt like getting snow tires installed on his new car and getting a prescription for Kate. He was a great help. moving boxes out of the way, taking the moving blankets off of furniture as it came in and getting lighter pieces into their proper room. Then Kate picked him up and off to an evening Tai Chi class and dinner. They have a very busy weekend with a guest instructor for a Tai Chi workshop all weekend, so I doubt I will see him until next week and maybe not even then as their calendar is always full of activities and next week is particularly busy. So I will be doing some serious unpacking in the bedroom, the kitchen, and craft room.
I will keep you updated as to my progress. But I am certainly beginning to really feel at home, now.
Wednesday, October 16, 2019
Tomorrow, tomorrow....
I love you tomorrow...... Only a day away....
My stuff and I will be reunited..... tomorrow!
The van will arrive tomorrow morning between 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM, so tomorrow night I will be back in my BED and not on the floor.
So, while you are having lunch tomorrow, my stuff will be backing up in my driveway.
Probably no blog tomorrow... may be a tad busy!!
Keep good thoughts for me tomorrow.
My stuff and I will be reunited..... tomorrow!
The van will arrive tomorrow morning between 8:30 AM and 9:00 AM, so tomorrow night I will be back in my BED and not on the floor.
So, while you are having lunch tomorrow, my stuff will be backing up in my driveway.
Probably no blog tomorrow... may be a tad busy!!
Keep good thoughts for me tomorrow.
Tuesday, October 15, 2019
Just a quick note...
Out on errands this afternoon... Checked on ways to move the money to the movers, found LED lights to replace the incandescent lights on the lower level, picked up a couple of things for the house and got my prescription issue resolved at Fred's.
Came home to a voice mail... do not know how I missed the call as my phone was always with me, perhaps I need a louder signal to play... but it appears that the truck with my stuff has already arrived in Fairbanks. I needed to get my payment to the movers so they will release my goods. As I am dialing the company I was struck by a thought for a very simple way to accomplish that, gave the lady the numbers and am now awaiting a date and time when a crew will come and return my stuff too me.
How it got here so fast is beyond me. It must have been leaving Montana sometime last week, but I only got the call yesterday with the final figures. That is usually a few days before getting word on your stuff's arrival. Whatever.... my stuff and I will soon be reunited. Once I know exactly, I will share.
Have a good night. I will not be doing much sleeping. I will be making sure I know where everything is going and clearing pathways so it can happen efficiently. I will soon be sleeping in my own comfy bed.... what a pleasure that will be!!!
Came home to a voice mail... do not know how I missed the call as my phone was always with me, perhaps I need a louder signal to play... but it appears that the truck with my stuff has already arrived in Fairbanks. I needed to get my payment to the movers so they will release my goods. As I am dialing the company I was struck by a thought for a very simple way to accomplish that, gave the lady the numbers and am now awaiting a date and time when a crew will come and return my stuff too me.
How it got here so fast is beyond me. It must have been leaving Montana sometime last week, but I only got the call yesterday with the final figures. That is usually a few days before getting word on your stuff's arrival. Whatever.... my stuff and I will soon be reunited. Once I know exactly, I will share.
Have a good night. I will not be doing much sleeping. I will be making sure I know where everything is going and clearing pathways so it can happen efficiently. I will soon be sleeping in my own comfy bed.... what a pleasure that will be!!!
Monday, October 14, 2019
Quite a good Monday...
Monday was not a bad one for me. I was awake by 8:00 AM and got the dogs watered and fed. I grabbed my coffee and checked email and Facebook. By the time I have begun checking things, it is early afternoon back east.
The rain delayed NASCAR race from Talladega started at 10 AM here in Alaska. I was able to find it on my Sling TV channels. It was a really fun race to watch. It was the battle of the Ryans at the finish line with young driver Ryan Blaney beating out veteran driver Ryan Newman by .007 seconds. A photo finish for sure!!
I had planned to go out and run some errands, but I was notified that a shipment from Amazon of the TV stand for the craft room was going to arrive today, so I changed gears and stayed at home. But I was busy.
I did laundry, so I am back to clean clothes. But honestly, I am getting really tired of the clothes that I have been wearing for the last 5 weeks. I also installed a driveway alarm system to alert me to cars or people or maybe even moose visitors. It has two sensors, one by the curve of the driveway and overlooking the garden the moose seem to like. The other is closer to the house. Each alarm has a separate ring so I can tell how far up the driveway a person has come. It worked very well when the UPS delivery came after dark.
I took time to sort through all of the stuff in the boxes that we shipped from Brian's house. I put the stuff that needed to come down to the lower level in a bag, put some other stuff away and have gotten the boxes down to one (from 3) and all that is in that box are remote switches to run different things that are on the truck through Alexa and the remaining Wyze Cams that will also find homes after the truck arrives.
Speaking of the truck, it appears that the truck has been processed out of the queue and may be on the road to Alaska. I had a call from Allison's Relocation service in Anchorage with the final numbers for the cost of my move. It was indeed staggering, but it was nowhere near the amount that the little estimator had calculated, so I am a happy camper. I still have no idea of where my stuff is now or when I might expect it as the person who handled that information had taken Columbus Day off, so I will wait until tomorrow to find that out. But I am thrilled to have my stuff finally on the move.
I added some small pieces to the alarm system. I set a door sensor on the sliding door in the dining room and a motion sensor in the garage. I also made some decisions on what is going into some of the cabinets in the kitchen. I have so many more cabinets that it is hard for me to imagine having room for everything. I am sure that I will be filling them up quickly.
So, tomorrow I will head out with my ever growing list of things to find, check on and make arrangements for... all things from the list today. I only crossed off one item on my to-do list and I had to add it first in order to cross it off. But it felt good to cross off one thing on my list.
Overall, it was a good day. Hoping for a good week!!
The rain delayed NASCAR race from Talladega started at 10 AM here in Alaska. I was able to find it on my Sling TV channels. It was a really fun race to watch. It was the battle of the Ryans at the finish line with young driver Ryan Blaney beating out veteran driver Ryan Newman by .007 seconds. A photo finish for sure!!
I had planned to go out and run some errands, but I was notified that a shipment from Amazon of the TV stand for the craft room was going to arrive today, so I changed gears and stayed at home. But I was busy.
I did laundry, so I am back to clean clothes. But honestly, I am getting really tired of the clothes that I have been wearing for the last 5 weeks. I also installed a driveway alarm system to alert me to cars or people or maybe even moose visitors. It has two sensors, one by the curve of the driveway and overlooking the garden the moose seem to like. The other is closer to the house. Each alarm has a separate ring so I can tell how far up the driveway a person has come. It worked very well when the UPS delivery came after dark.
I took time to sort through all of the stuff in the boxes that we shipped from Brian's house. I put the stuff that needed to come down to the lower level in a bag, put some other stuff away and have gotten the boxes down to one (from 3) and all that is in that box are remote switches to run different things that are on the truck through Alexa and the remaining Wyze Cams that will also find homes after the truck arrives.
Speaking of the truck, it appears that the truck has been processed out of the queue and may be on the road to Alaska. I had a call from Allison's Relocation service in Anchorage with the final numbers for the cost of my move. It was indeed staggering, but it was nowhere near the amount that the little estimator had calculated, so I am a happy camper. I still have no idea of where my stuff is now or when I might expect it as the person who handled that information had taken Columbus Day off, so I will wait until tomorrow to find that out. But I am thrilled to have my stuff finally on the move.
I added some small pieces to the alarm system. I set a door sensor on the sliding door in the dining room and a motion sensor in the garage. I also made some decisions on what is going into some of the cabinets in the kitchen. I have so many more cabinets that it is hard for me to imagine having room for everything. I am sure that I will be filling them up quickly.
So, tomorrow I will head out with my ever growing list of things to find, check on and make arrangements for... all things from the list today. I only crossed off one item on my to-do list and I had to add it first in order to cross it off. But it felt good to cross off one thing on my list.
Overall, it was a good day. Hoping for a good week!!
Sunday, October 13, 2019
Sunday of rest....
The boys let me sleep until 8 AM. Not hearing anything from upstairs, I grabbed my coffee, reclined in my spiffy, new chair and turned on the TV. They boys had been watered and fed, so they were happily playing with their toys and then curling up for more sleep. I began to hear feet upstairs and then smelling some wonderful odors wafting down the stairs. Soon, Rob appeared with two plates and he had made eggs and sausage for us for breakfast.
Brian does that for me when I visit with him and he had the time. Seems that both of my boys have become excellent cooks and one of their specialties is breakfast. Rob's egg dish was scrambled eggs with finely diced onions, green peppers and mushrooms, smothered in Swiss cheese. Yummy. I should get my kids to tell me their secrets as Brian cooks a perfect fried egg and Rob's scrambled were light and stayed together. My scrambled end up in chunks of egg and cooked veggies in between.
I had to take some time to sort my many pills and supplements into my six weeks of daily pill boxes. Following that, I got a shower and Rob and I started to tackle some light bulb issues. But my phone rang and it was my friend, Jan, from Tucson. We had not talked much since I left Pennsylvania and she was just touching base to be sure I had not changed my phone number. Just as a final notice, if you had my cell phone number.... it is the same number... so you can still get hold of me.
Then Rob and I went through all of the lights in the lower level. Before I left Parkesburg, I had converted almost all of my lights to LED. There were only a couple of florescent work lights in my sewing room. Surprisingly, there are still a number of incandescent bulbs in this house. There are many lights that are overhead and the majority of them are old fashioned incandescent but specialty at the same time. I have no idea if I can find the LED versions. If not, then the entire unit will be replaced with something that will take LED. They will also have to be dimmable as just about every overhead light has a two way or three way set of switches with one of them being a dimmer. Going to be an interesting challenge.
Sunday is normally a NASCAR day for me, but the race at Talladega was rained out. I am still getting used to when things are on TV. In the case of regular shows, they are sometimes delayed to come on TV at the normal time in the east. But live events play live, so the races that start in the east at 1:00 PM start at 9:00 AM. I like it because they are usually finished at noon, so the bulk of my day is not wasted watching the race on TV. The race will be held tomorrow at 2:00 PM Eastern, so it will be ready for me to watch at 10:00 AM.
It also fouls some things up. Missouri Star Quilt has a live YouTube presentation every week. It starts at 11:00 AM Central time, noon in Parkesburg. I used to look forward to lunch with Misty Doan and learn a new, quick sewing project. Now, if I sleep until 8:30 AM, I have missed it. Lots of things to adjust to here in my new home.
The remainder of today was just laid back. Rob packed up all of the stuff that had gathered here all week and left to get Kate at the airport. Then they were off to knitting. It is likely to be the first full week when we are each doing our own thing. There might be a Wednesday night dinner and it is likely that there will be Dungeons and Dragons on Saturday, but I have a list of things that need to be done and Rob has appointments to get snow tires on the new car and the new, top-of-the-line snow blower will be delivered on Wednesday, so he will be busy all week long, to say nothing of his working at his job.
My list includes filling out paperwork for an alarm monitoring permit from the city of Fairbanks, getting to the bank with a check to deposit, plus finding the best way to pay my bill for the movers, once I get that bill. Hoping to hear that my stuff is once again on the move. Fingers crossed.
Have a great week. Be looking for pictures of the empty house.
Brian does that for me when I visit with him and he had the time. Seems that both of my boys have become excellent cooks and one of their specialties is breakfast. Rob's egg dish was scrambled eggs with finely diced onions, green peppers and mushrooms, smothered in Swiss cheese. Yummy. I should get my kids to tell me their secrets as Brian cooks a perfect fried egg and Rob's scrambled were light and stayed together. My scrambled end up in chunks of egg and cooked veggies in between.
I had to take some time to sort my many pills and supplements into my six weeks of daily pill boxes. Following that, I got a shower and Rob and I started to tackle some light bulb issues. But my phone rang and it was my friend, Jan, from Tucson. We had not talked much since I left Pennsylvania and she was just touching base to be sure I had not changed my phone number. Just as a final notice, if you had my cell phone number.... it is the same number... so you can still get hold of me.
Then Rob and I went through all of the lights in the lower level. Before I left Parkesburg, I had converted almost all of my lights to LED. There were only a couple of florescent work lights in my sewing room. Surprisingly, there are still a number of incandescent bulbs in this house. There are many lights that are overhead and the majority of them are old fashioned incandescent but specialty at the same time. I have no idea if I can find the LED versions. If not, then the entire unit will be replaced with something that will take LED. They will also have to be dimmable as just about every overhead light has a two way or three way set of switches with one of them being a dimmer. Going to be an interesting challenge.
Sunday is normally a NASCAR day for me, but the race at Talladega was rained out. I am still getting used to when things are on TV. In the case of regular shows, they are sometimes delayed to come on TV at the normal time in the east. But live events play live, so the races that start in the east at 1:00 PM start at 9:00 AM. I like it because they are usually finished at noon, so the bulk of my day is not wasted watching the race on TV. The race will be held tomorrow at 2:00 PM Eastern, so it will be ready for me to watch at 10:00 AM.
It also fouls some things up. Missouri Star Quilt has a live YouTube presentation every week. It starts at 11:00 AM Central time, noon in Parkesburg. I used to look forward to lunch with Misty Doan and learn a new, quick sewing project. Now, if I sleep until 8:30 AM, I have missed it. Lots of things to adjust to here in my new home.
The remainder of today was just laid back. Rob packed up all of the stuff that had gathered here all week and left to get Kate at the airport. Then they were off to knitting. It is likely to be the first full week when we are each doing our own thing. There might be a Wednesday night dinner and it is likely that there will be Dungeons and Dragons on Saturday, but I have a list of things that need to be done and Rob has appointments to get snow tires on the new car and the new, top-of-the-line snow blower will be delivered on Wednesday, so he will be busy all week long, to say nothing of his working at his job.
My list includes filling out paperwork for an alarm monitoring permit from the city of Fairbanks, getting to the bank with a check to deposit, plus finding the best way to pay my bill for the movers, once I get that bill. Hoping to hear that my stuff is once again on the move. Fingers crossed.
Have a great week. Be looking for pictures of the empty house.
Saturday, October 12, 2019
Hello from sunny Fairbanks...
I was beginning to think that the sun had disappeared from the skies over Fairbanks and might nor appear again until spring. But after s gray and cloudy morning, the clouds have given way to the bright, orange sun and there is light and shadows everywhere and what little snow I had left on the ground, is almost gone. There is always going to be that one or two spaces where the sun does not shine and where the snow built up more than the rest of the yard that seems to linger on the ground long after the majority of the snow has gone. But the grass appears green and the carrots that are still buried under the earth in the garden have their tops perking up in the sunshine.
The last couple of days have been busy. The word from the movers is that things slowed down due to weather in Montana and I am still in the queue, but I am now number 2, so perhaps am already on the road... if not, I should hear that things are moving next week. My favorite phrase around here as I look for something that I need or want to use is that it is on the truck, stuck in Montana. I have a basic kitchen set up and every so often I go out and get something that I have been trying to do without. My most recent buy were spatulas as cleaning out cans with stirring spoons was not the most efficient use of that tool. And when I am shopping, I have often picked up something and then gone back to replace it on the shelf, yelling myself inside that I can certainly wait another couple of weeks. But then getting the stuff off the truck does not mean I will be finding what I need any time soon.
I did do my son a favor.... but it only worked out this week because I missed a turn to a road I wanted to be on and ended up on a road that had a place that we had intended to visit together. The house I am in came with a snow blower. It is nice sized and I am sure if I studied the manual that I could run it. Rob had talked about taking it out to their house up on the mountain as he has, for the last 10 years, cleared their snow with a shovel. I had asked him to think about leaving the snow blower here so on the smaller snows, I would not have to call the man we have ready to plow my driveway. Rob admitted to me that he had been thinking about getting a snow blower that used a track instead of wheels. He has quite a hilly driveway and while I still think of him as young, he just turned 50 and will benefit from not having to toil so hard to clear the snow.
So, since I was already near the store, I stopped and went in to get information on this device and see if they had any on stock and if not how long it would take and did they deliver. I texted Rob with the information and he said that he thought he and Kate should look at it first. That is fine lest he wait until they are all gone and then had to wait for 2 months or more for new shipments to arrive. I was told... and passed it on to Rob... that last year, by early November the store had been sold out of that model and it was January before they could fill the orders that they got.
As a result, I was asked to please go and place an order for one and arrange to have it delivered. So I did that yesterday. It was the fastest time in which I had spent that much money in a very, long time. But it was easy.... I knew what I wanted, Rob was already in their system as a customer, their internet was working well so it took no time at all to pay for it with my debit card and I was on my way!!! Bear in mind, yesterday when Rob went to his house on the mountain which is around 1,000 feet above sea level, while I had no snow, it was still snowing there and they had 4 to 5 inches on the ground and the township had already ordered a plow to come out and do their roads.
In the meantime, I have been tearing down boxes to get ready to go to the recycling center this week, taking other misc. trash to the transfer station. I checked out Pier 1 for dining room furniture... they did not have anything that I felt would work here. I have driven into different areas either by mistake or on purpose, just to see what there is around me. I have been cooking at home, using the few resources I have and enjoying the taste of home cooked food. I enjoyed eating out as we traveled, but it was not nearly as good by the end of the trip as it was at the beginning.
I am learning how to cook using electric. I have never been a fan of electric cooking, but I had noticed, in looking at the houses, that there was only one house that had a gas stove and it was being fueled by a small (grill sized) propane tank. Not an ideal situation. Gas is not something that is used as much around here. There was an article in the local news today about a new, BIG gas storage tank that was just about finished which would allow many hundreds or thousands of folks to set up their homes on gas. It looks like a pricey project, but I will check it out as Rob seems to think there is a gas line in this neighborhood. I have not yet burned anything with the electric stove. Marji gave me some very sound advice, when you get your pan up to temperature and the food is beginning to cook nicely, you can turn the electric off and the element will remain hot long enough to finish the job without burning the food.
I have also purchased a counter-top oven made by Oster. It is large enough that I could roast an entire chicken in it and has these neat french doors on the front. It is small enough to cook enough food for a couple of people and the instructions tell you to put the food on/in the cooking vessel, put the food in the oven and then turn it on. SO no pre-heating. It has a "Turbo" (convection fan) setting and I can bake french fries in about 10 to 12 minutes and just enough for me. It would take about 15 minutes to pre-heat the big oven and then 25 minutes to cook them. so I am saving time and money by using the little oven. I am thrilled.
That is really about all. Rob and I are having dinner, which he has cooked, here at the house. Kate returns from Seattle tomorrow. He has been here all day, changing the tires on their other old car and doing his laundry. I will resume puttering around the house to prepare for the eventual delivery of my stuff. I may wander around the house with my camera tomorrow and take detailed pictures of the rooms. Then I can post pictures of the return of my stuff and let you see the differences as I find homes for the things I brought with me.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I have been talking to many friends who have called. I have gotten cards from people and lovely gifts (one with money enclosed... thanks Sharon) and I will be in touch with all of you soon. I have three clocks that will be going on the wall of the craft room... a bigger one with Alaska time and one with Eastern time and one with Central time so I can tell what time it is where all of my friends and family are living. That way I can call you at a time hen you might not be sleeping!!!
The last couple of days have been busy. The word from the movers is that things slowed down due to weather in Montana and I am still in the queue, but I am now number 2, so perhaps am already on the road... if not, I should hear that things are moving next week. My favorite phrase around here as I look for something that I need or want to use is that it is on the truck, stuck in Montana. I have a basic kitchen set up and every so often I go out and get something that I have been trying to do without. My most recent buy were spatulas as cleaning out cans with stirring spoons was not the most efficient use of that tool. And when I am shopping, I have often picked up something and then gone back to replace it on the shelf, yelling myself inside that I can certainly wait another couple of weeks. But then getting the stuff off the truck does not mean I will be finding what I need any time soon.
I did do my son a favor.... but it only worked out this week because I missed a turn to a road I wanted to be on and ended up on a road that had a place that we had intended to visit together. The house I am in came with a snow blower. It is nice sized and I am sure if I studied the manual that I could run it. Rob had talked about taking it out to their house up on the mountain as he has, for the last 10 years, cleared their snow with a shovel. I had asked him to think about leaving the snow blower here so on the smaller snows, I would not have to call the man we have ready to plow my driveway. Rob admitted to me that he had been thinking about getting a snow blower that used a track instead of wheels. He has quite a hilly driveway and while I still think of him as young, he just turned 50 and will benefit from not having to toil so hard to clear the snow.
So, since I was already near the store, I stopped and went in to get information on this device and see if they had any on stock and if not how long it would take and did they deliver. I texted Rob with the information and he said that he thought he and Kate should look at it first. That is fine lest he wait until they are all gone and then had to wait for 2 months or more for new shipments to arrive. I was told... and passed it on to Rob... that last year, by early November the store had been sold out of that model and it was January before they could fill the orders that they got.
As a result, I was asked to please go and place an order for one and arrange to have it delivered. So I did that yesterday. It was the fastest time in which I had spent that much money in a very, long time. But it was easy.... I knew what I wanted, Rob was already in their system as a customer, their internet was working well so it took no time at all to pay for it with my debit card and I was on my way!!! Bear in mind, yesterday when Rob went to his house on the mountain which is around 1,000 feet above sea level, while I had no snow, it was still snowing there and they had 4 to 5 inches on the ground and the township had already ordered a plow to come out and do their roads.
In the meantime, I have been tearing down boxes to get ready to go to the recycling center this week, taking other misc. trash to the transfer station. I checked out Pier 1 for dining room furniture... they did not have anything that I felt would work here. I have driven into different areas either by mistake or on purpose, just to see what there is around me. I have been cooking at home, using the few resources I have and enjoying the taste of home cooked food. I enjoyed eating out as we traveled, but it was not nearly as good by the end of the trip as it was at the beginning.
I am learning how to cook using electric. I have never been a fan of electric cooking, but I had noticed, in looking at the houses, that there was only one house that had a gas stove and it was being fueled by a small (grill sized) propane tank. Not an ideal situation. Gas is not something that is used as much around here. There was an article in the local news today about a new, BIG gas storage tank that was just about finished which would allow many hundreds or thousands of folks to set up their homes on gas. It looks like a pricey project, but I will check it out as Rob seems to think there is a gas line in this neighborhood. I have not yet burned anything with the electric stove. Marji gave me some very sound advice, when you get your pan up to temperature and the food is beginning to cook nicely, you can turn the electric off and the element will remain hot long enough to finish the job without burning the food.
I have also purchased a counter-top oven made by Oster. It is large enough that I could roast an entire chicken in it and has these neat french doors on the front. It is small enough to cook enough food for a couple of people and the instructions tell you to put the food on/in the cooking vessel, put the food in the oven and then turn it on. SO no pre-heating. It has a "Turbo" (convection fan) setting and I can bake french fries in about 10 to 12 minutes and just enough for me. It would take about 15 minutes to pre-heat the big oven and then 25 minutes to cook them. so I am saving time and money by using the little oven. I am thrilled.
That is really about all. Rob and I are having dinner, which he has cooked, here at the house. Kate returns from Seattle tomorrow. He has been here all day, changing the tires on their other old car and doing his laundry. I will resume puttering around the house to prepare for the eventual delivery of my stuff. I may wander around the house with my camera tomorrow and take detailed pictures of the rooms. Then I can post pictures of the return of my stuff and let you see the differences as I find homes for the things I brought with me.
I hope you are enjoying your weekend. I have been talking to many friends who have called. I have gotten cards from people and lovely gifts (one with money enclosed... thanks Sharon) and I will be in touch with all of you soon. I have three clocks that will be going on the wall of the craft room... a bigger one with Alaska time and one with Eastern time and one with Central time so I can tell what time it is where all of my friends and family are living. That way I can call you at a time hen you might not be sleeping!!!
Thursday, October 10, 2019
Working through things and feeling stupid.....
Hello...
Yes, I am still here.
The snow has come and gone. Monday Rob had planned to go and stay at his home up the mountain, but the forecast was not good, so he went to his house, packed up food and clothing and returned to wait out the storm with me. He has been here ever since. His area got more snow than we did here, but I had close to 2 inches here by the time the snow stopped. It was the sloppy, wet snow that I am used to seeing. Rob says that once the cold settles in, the snow here will be more dry.
Tuesday morning I had an appointment at the Chevy dealer here in Fairbanks to get the front license plate holder installed. I had to be there before 9AM. So I waited until the rush half hour had passed... yes you read that right.... half hour..... it is a local 'joke', and headed to the dealer. It started out badly. The young lady, Shana, who is in charge of my account, was not able to find my appointment in her computer. She vaguely remembered our conversation from last week so put my information in the computer and then looked for the "parts" paperwork and there was the notation about the appointment. It just never got from the paper to the computer.
So, once Gaddy was in the queue, I asked Shana to do me a favor. It had been recommended to me that my car be equipped with remote start for those really cold days. That way, as I am checking out from the grocery or Walmart, I can get the car warmed up before I get in it to head home. So I wanted to know the cost of having one installed. She hesitated and then asked me if the Key Fob I had just given her was the original for the car. I said yes. Then she looked at it, then me and said the car is already equipped with remote start and pointed to a button on the fob that I had never been able to get to work. I just figured it was a feature that I did not have. I never looked into it further, like reading the instruction manual. Here, there is a certain procedure of button pushing that locks the car and starts the engine! I have had it all along. Feeling rather silly for not knowing about this feature.
Car finished, snow still not sticking to the roads, I headed to Costco for some supplements that I needed and then to Walmart to get a supply of canned dog food for the boys. Then I headed home.
I have mentioned before, I think, that I have been enjoying leaving my driveway without the fear of being run over by a speeding car or tractor trailer. So I thought nothing of driving around my little block, getting the mail and then turning into the driveway to go into the garage. I may not have to worry about pulling out, but now I have to worry about pulling INTO the driveway.
I pull into the lower part and as I look to make the turn into the main part I stop hard. Momma Moose and one of her kids are back in my yard. They are behind the fence, but the kid is spooked and jumping and moving quickly towards Mom. Now what do I do?? I started moving slowly towards the garage, opening the garage door. I pull in and get the door down. Head into the house, looking out of the window... no moose to be seen.
I get my bags out of the car, put things away and hook up the dogs for their walk to pee. Out through the garage, dogs tugging on their leads. Open the garage door and stop dead. The moose have returned. They are back in the garden, munching on leftover stalks and leaves. The dogs spotted them and had their leashes pulled taut but no barking. Quickly I close the door and take them back in the house. Thank goodness they are fairly good at peeing on pee pads, because the moose hung around for close to 30 minutes.
I went up to the living room and snapped lots of pictures with my Sony only to find that they had not been saved on the disk. I do not know what happened. They had stopped writing to that disk, no matter what I did, but a new disk seems to be working fine. But still, no moose pics.
However, Rob has a camera looking out at the front lawn. I used to be log in and look at my new home from Parkesburg. This camera captured the moose. Above is the minute BEFORE I arrive at home. Below is as I arrive. Note how kid moose reacts and I have to decide if he will stay behind the fence and that Momma will not charge at me.
So, the rest of my week has been setting up rooms with electrical outlet extensions to handle the many computers and TVs that will be running once my stuff arrives. Still no date.
We did go out to dinner with Rob's work friends Tuesday night. Their guest who is working on some project that they are helping him test, had a birthday, so we went to Bobbys Downtown, a Greek restaurant that had a wide variety of food. I had Prime Rib, which was good, but not the best I have ever had. Others had more traditional Greek food, which I will try when and if we go back.
Today is trash day. I had broken down boxes that have been piling up, I have stuff that will go to the dump and then the cardboard that will go to the recycle center either today or tomorrow. So I need to get going.
Enjoy the videos and have good day and Friday.
Yes, I am still here.
The snow has come and gone. Monday Rob had planned to go and stay at his home up the mountain, but the forecast was not good, so he went to his house, packed up food and clothing and returned to wait out the storm with me. He has been here ever since. His area got more snow than we did here, but I had close to 2 inches here by the time the snow stopped. It was the sloppy, wet snow that I am used to seeing. Rob says that once the cold settles in, the snow here will be more dry.
Tuesday morning I had an appointment at the Chevy dealer here in Fairbanks to get the front license plate holder installed. I had to be there before 9AM. So I waited until the rush half hour had passed... yes you read that right.... half hour..... it is a local 'joke', and headed to the dealer. It started out badly. The young lady, Shana, who is in charge of my account, was not able to find my appointment in her computer. She vaguely remembered our conversation from last week so put my information in the computer and then looked for the "parts" paperwork and there was the notation about the appointment. It just never got from the paper to the computer.
So, once Gaddy was in the queue, I asked Shana to do me a favor. It had been recommended to me that my car be equipped with remote start for those really cold days. That way, as I am checking out from the grocery or Walmart, I can get the car warmed up before I get in it to head home. So I wanted to know the cost of having one installed. She hesitated and then asked me if the Key Fob I had just given her was the original for the car. I said yes. Then she looked at it, then me and said the car is already equipped with remote start and pointed to a button on the fob that I had never been able to get to work. I just figured it was a feature that I did not have. I never looked into it further, like reading the instruction manual. Here, there is a certain procedure of button pushing that locks the car and starts the engine! I have had it all along. Feeling rather silly for not knowing about this feature.
Car finished, snow still not sticking to the roads, I headed to Costco for some supplements that I needed and then to Walmart to get a supply of canned dog food for the boys. Then I headed home.
I have mentioned before, I think, that I have been enjoying leaving my driveway without the fear of being run over by a speeding car or tractor trailer. So I thought nothing of driving around my little block, getting the mail and then turning into the driveway to go into the garage. I may not have to worry about pulling out, but now I have to worry about pulling INTO the driveway.
I pull into the lower part and as I look to make the turn into the main part I stop hard. Momma Moose and one of her kids are back in my yard. They are behind the fence, but the kid is spooked and jumping and moving quickly towards Mom. Now what do I do?? I started moving slowly towards the garage, opening the garage door. I pull in and get the door down. Head into the house, looking out of the window... no moose to be seen.
I get my bags out of the car, put things away and hook up the dogs for their walk to pee. Out through the garage, dogs tugging on their leads. Open the garage door and stop dead. The moose have returned. They are back in the garden, munching on leftover stalks and leaves. The dogs spotted them and had their leashes pulled taut but no barking. Quickly I close the door and take them back in the house. Thank goodness they are fairly good at peeing on pee pads, because the moose hung around for close to 30 minutes.
I went up to the living room and snapped lots of pictures with my Sony only to find that they had not been saved on the disk. I do not know what happened. They had stopped writing to that disk, no matter what I did, but a new disk seems to be working fine. But still, no moose pics.
However, Rob has a camera looking out at the front lawn. I used to be log in and look at my new home from Parkesburg. This camera captured the moose. Above is the minute BEFORE I arrive at home. Below is as I arrive. Note how kid moose reacts and I have to decide if he will stay behind the fence and that Momma will not charge at me.
About 15 minutes or so later, they are back... My lawn animals are a tad bigger than I am used to.
So, the rest of my week has been setting up rooms with electrical outlet extensions to handle the many computers and TVs that will be running once my stuff arrives. Still no date.
We did go out to dinner with Rob's work friends Tuesday night. Their guest who is working on some project that they are helping him test, had a birthday, so we went to Bobbys Downtown, a Greek restaurant that had a wide variety of food. I had Prime Rib, which was good, but not the best I have ever had. Others had more traditional Greek food, which I will try when and if we go back.
Today is trash day. I had broken down boxes that have been piling up, I have stuff that will go to the dump and then the cardboard that will go to the recycle center either today or tomorrow. So I need to get going.
Enjoy the videos and have good day and Friday.
Sunday, October 6, 2019
A quiet Sunday....
Hello from Alaska...
I woke up to this...
I woke up to this...
When Rob and Kate dropped me off after the bonfire, the driveway was clear and there were just patches on the grass. Rob took Kate to the airport early and arrived at the house around 4:30 AM to sleep the rest of his night. He said there was still very little on the ground. Well, between 4:30 AM and 8:15 AM everything has been covered. For those of you in PA, it is a heavy wet snow like we are used to getting. Rob says normally the snow here in Alaska is fluffy and more dry. I may like that snow better, but snow is snow and I will have to get used to seeing it all the time and dealing with it continuously.
I was up and after feeding the dogs, I reclined with my cup of coffee and began watching my NASCAR station on TV. One of the good things about being 4 hours behind most people I am used to seeing is that live sports broadcasts I like to watch are on from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, leaving the remainder of the day free to do things instead of eating up most of one's productive time.
I am earning a great deal about Alaska, Yesterday I learned how different weather can be within just a few miles of me. It was spitting teeny, tiny little snow balls here at the house all day yesterday. When we headed out to the bonfire we drove up into mountains. we did not go as high as Rob and Kate live, but we were higher than where I live. I am at 437 ft above sea level. Rob and Kate are somewhere above 1,000 ft. The bonfire was somewhere in between.
Arriving at the bonfire location, we had the same tiny ball snow for a short time. Then it turned more flaky. It came down slowly, but we were in and under many trees so the limbs were keeping the real rate of snowfall hidden.
We left at around 7:30 PM ( and yes, it is already dark at that hour here) and as we drove out of the trees and into a more open area, the snow as coming down hard and fast. The land was covered. The road was covered. We traveled by following the tracks of the vehicle in front of us. Rob did not hesitate driving through it where as I would have been going a tad slower, hazard light flashing (telling all round me that I was a new, Alaska driver) and doing a lot of praying. I am sure, after being in snow for a few weeks, I will be driving like every other driver in the area.
As we drove down the mountain, the snow got less intense, the coverage got less intense and by the time we reached my level, the roads were clear and very little snow on the ground. Rob told me this morning that they have 4 to 6 inches at their house. It is all a matter of degrees and locations. But it can be quite dramatic here in Alaska during transitions of seasons.
Kate is in Seattle for the week. Rob has been here all day, but I have not seen much of him. He has been in his bedroom, working in his computer, catching up on things that have been neglected over the last several weeks as he escorted me to my new home from Minneapolis.
Speaking of Minneapolis. I had a call from Brian this morning. He dropped in on my Echo Show. I had thought about calling him all last week, but the time change has not set in with me quite yet. every time I thought about it, it was too late to call him. He is doing well, but still no good news on a job. Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers. He is staying busy and seems happy. He was happy to see me happy here in my new home. I am hoping that we can do better job of keeping in touch.
I am in my groove here as far a Alaska Time. I am not waking at an early hour thinking it is time to get up and I am tired at the normal bed time. I just have trouble figuring out the best time to call my friends at home and my family in Central time. I think I am going to have to get a few, cheapy clocks and set them to the times of my friends and family so I can do a better job of calling and talking.
I do have to say one thing that I am truly appreciating is the exit from my driveway. Those of you who have ever visited me in Parkesburg, know the dangers of entering and then leaving my driveway on Route 10. I was so used to it, that it was not an issue for me. But here, I am in a subdivision. My lot is a corner lot so I am the intersection. In fact, I have seen a car or two come into the driveway only to realize it is not the road. So I really only need to pause at the end of the driveway to make sure there is nothing coming. But I can see both ways and it is back into the subdivision that it would only be someone who was lost or just looking or lived here that might be driving around the area. What a pleasure it is to drive away and into my house.
So, I continue to work at getting things ready for my stuff to arrive. I will call tomorrow to see if things are still in Montana and perhaps get a time frame.... hopefully. I will let you all know when I find out.
Hope that your week is very special.
Saturday, October 5, 2019
A fun day and first snowfall
Good afternoon from Fairbanks.
Yesterday was a very nice day. I lazed into my morning with a cup of coffee and some morning TV in my comfy recliner. I love easing into my day. No alarm clock and no tight, demanding schedule.
Rob and Kate were coming for dinner. I was making spaghetti and meatballs with a salad and garlic bread. I love cooking and I enjoy it even more when I can cook for more than just me. I headed to Fred Meyers with a large shopping list. I wanted to get in the supplies for several evening meals. I had to be careful to make sure that they would all fit in with the limited pots and pans that I have purchased since my stuff is still somewhere in the lower 48. I have no idea where as I did not hear from the movers on Friday.
They arrived from work and we chatted and I fed them and we headed off to the Riverfront Theater to see "Noises Off". This play was adapted to reflect Alaska and Alaskan towns, but was originally a British play. It was a play about a play being produced. The first act was the dress rehearsal of the play that had many mistakes and scheduled to open in just hours. There was the "players" interacting in the play and the "actors" interacting personally with delightful hilarity. The second act was totally backstage at the play a month into the production. By now the actors have personally gone off the rails and it is beginning to affect the play itself. Funnier than act one which was really funny. The third act is the final night of the production, whether the actors realized it or not, and it is hard to tell what is part of the original play and the personal stories. Very, very funny!! I have not laughed out loud like that in a long time.
Rob and Kate dropped me off and headed home. I walked the boys, watched a little TV and headed for bed, still giggling at some of the things in the play.
The next morning, I woke up around 8:30 AM, fed the dogs and then crawled back into bed until 10:00 AM. I think I am still catching up on my lack of sleep during the prep for the move. I took the dogs out for a nice, long walk and found this...
Yesterday was a very nice day. I lazed into my morning with a cup of coffee and some morning TV in my comfy recliner. I love easing into my day. No alarm clock and no tight, demanding schedule.
Rob and Kate were coming for dinner. I was making spaghetti and meatballs with a salad and garlic bread. I love cooking and I enjoy it even more when I can cook for more than just me. I headed to Fred Meyers with a large shopping list. I wanted to get in the supplies for several evening meals. I had to be careful to make sure that they would all fit in with the limited pots and pans that I have purchased since my stuff is still somewhere in the lower 48. I have no idea where as I did not hear from the movers on Friday.
They arrived from work and we chatted and I fed them and we headed off to the Riverfront Theater to see "Noises Off". This play was adapted to reflect Alaska and Alaskan towns, but was originally a British play. It was a play about a play being produced. The first act was the dress rehearsal of the play that had many mistakes and scheduled to open in just hours. There was the "players" interacting in the play and the "actors" interacting personally with delightful hilarity. The second act was totally backstage at the play a month into the production. By now the actors have personally gone off the rails and it is beginning to affect the play itself. Funnier than act one which was really funny. The third act is the final night of the production, whether the actors realized it or not, and it is hard to tell what is part of the original play and the personal stories. Very, very funny!! I have not laughed out loud like that in a long time.
Rob and Kate dropped me off and headed home. I walked the boys, watched a little TV and headed for bed, still giggling at some of the things in the play.
The next morning, I woke up around 8:30 AM, fed the dogs and then crawled back into bed until 10:00 AM. I think I am still catching up on my lack of sleep during the prep for the move. I took the dogs out for a nice, long walk and found this...
I hope that you can see what is happening... it is snowing. If you click on the little box in the lower right-hand corner, it will become a full screen video and you can enjoy the gently falling snow. The snow was wafting down fairly heavily for October 5th. It was sticking in some areas, but the ground was really too warm for anything major to accumulate. Rob says by Halloween, the ground will begin being covered with snow that will stick around until spring.
Rob and Kate had Tai Chi this morning and came here for to snack, make prep for a Bonfire tonight and take a nap or two. I watched my NASCAR race from Dover which was happening in the afternoon for most, late morning for me. Unique to watch a race and still have the better part of the day remaining.
Still setting things up from the stuff I brought with me or shipped from Brian's house. I am down to three boxes from the 5 I had Brian mail.
Kate is flying to Seattle tomorrow for a week. There is a Fiber Arts conference that she is participating in and she is also going to be visiting with friends of hers who live there. Rob and I will be working on some things around the house to be ready when my stuff finally arrives. Have I mentioned that I miss my stuff???
So, I am doing well. I am enjoying being so close to just about everything. I am getting familiar with some of the roads, but thank goodness for GPS. I hope all of my friends are doing well. I hear from you once in a while and appreciate the cards and messages. I am so blessed!!!
Thursday, October 3, 2019
A quiet day at home
This was one of those days that I needed after all of the sorting and packing and lugging of 40 years worth of stuff, followed by 15 days of driving.
I took the day and enjoyed a quiet day at my new home with the dogs. I had some coffee in my nice, new snuggly recliner after feeding and watering the boys. I was watching replays of newly aired shows for this season. Seems as though HULU has the ability to play recent TV shows, so I watched the Rookie, Almost Family, Bluff City Law, Perfect Harmony and the first 2 shows of the Masked Singer. They were all delightful and starring some of my favorite actors who all played on the West Wing.
Rob stopped by to pick up his new car to do some tag work. He returned it later in the day, but I did not hear him come back or leave. Tomorrow we are going to a play at one of the local theaters, I am cooking dinner for all of us before the 7:30 PM curtain.
I did all of the watching and enjoying a quiet day by doing laundry. I washed most of the dog's toys... they usually get washed every now and then as they play with them and chew on them and sometimes drag them outside... along with their bedding. While these were in the washer, I pulled out a vacuum that the sellers left behind and cleaned up the leaves that we drag in whenever I walk the dogs. Then I stripped everything off my blowup bed, added some air to make it firm again and washed everything so I will be crawling into fresh sheets tonight. Miles has decided that he is sharing that bed with me. Many times I will find him curled up in the covers looking like the king of the bedroom.
I really did not even go upstairs until it was time to cook dinner.
Tomorrow will be a grocery shopping day. I am trying to get some foods stocked up in the fridge. But I have to do it carefully as I do not have all of my gadgets to create fantastic meals. I miss my stuff.
No moose sightings since the first day. A little frozen stuff fell from the sky this morning as I was walking the dogs. There is snow in the forecast for Friday, but nothing to accumulate. But Kate keeps telling me it is coming soon and then laughing a sinister kind of giggle. I think she is looking forward to my reaction. Me, too.
I took the day and enjoyed a quiet day at my new home with the dogs. I had some coffee in my nice, new snuggly recliner after feeding and watering the boys. I was watching replays of newly aired shows for this season. Seems as though HULU has the ability to play recent TV shows, so I watched the Rookie, Almost Family, Bluff City Law, Perfect Harmony and the first 2 shows of the Masked Singer. They were all delightful and starring some of my favorite actors who all played on the West Wing.
Rob stopped by to pick up his new car to do some tag work. He returned it later in the day, but I did not hear him come back or leave. Tomorrow we are going to a play at one of the local theaters, I am cooking dinner for all of us before the 7:30 PM curtain.
I did all of the watching and enjoying a quiet day by doing laundry. I washed most of the dog's toys... they usually get washed every now and then as they play with them and chew on them and sometimes drag them outside... along with their bedding. While these were in the washer, I pulled out a vacuum that the sellers left behind and cleaned up the leaves that we drag in whenever I walk the dogs. Then I stripped everything off my blowup bed, added some air to make it firm again and washed everything so I will be crawling into fresh sheets tonight. Miles has decided that he is sharing that bed with me. Many times I will find him curled up in the covers looking like the king of the bedroom.
I really did not even go upstairs until it was time to cook dinner.
Tomorrow will be a grocery shopping day. I am trying to get some foods stocked up in the fridge. But I have to do it carefully as I do not have all of my gadgets to create fantastic meals. I miss my stuff.
No moose sightings since the first day. A little frozen stuff fell from the sky this morning as I was walking the dogs. There is snow in the forecast for Friday, but nothing to accumulate. But Kate keeps telling me it is coming soon and then laughing a sinister kind of giggle. I think she is looking forward to my reaction. Me, too.
Hi, I am back online....
Just a quick note as I know some of you are wondering where I have gone. Yes, I have been busy, but the biggest reason I have been absent from the blog is my computer.
I had brought with me a little Dell Latitude computer that I had gotten a couple of years ago for traveling. It has worked well but the farther along my drive to Fairbanks, the slower and slower it was working. There was a lot of lagging and sometimes it took a good five minutes just to get the computer to catch up with my typing. Many times, I was ready to throw the computer against the wall. It made it very difficult to update my blog.
This morning, as I woke the little computer, the little screen went black and I could not get anything to show up. So, I headed out to Walmart and Costco to find a replacement. I spent the day getting things set up and I am finally back online.
And since I had to go get a new computer, you can probably guess that I still have not gotten reunited with my stuff. I called on Monday and the van is still parked in Great Falls, Montana. There are 5 vans ahead of it in the queue to be moved to Alaska. Hopefully I will have more news as to progress of my stuff on Friday.
This week has been setting up the Ring Alarm system. Got it up and running only to get a notice from Ring that Fairbanks requires a permit, so I will be getting an application for a permit and getting that submitted.
Miss Gaddy the Caddy is now a full blown, Alaskan car. She has heaters and warming pads all over her engine and a trickle charger to keep her battery always at full charge. She has four new studded tires on four new rims. I had told Corry at Peger Road Auto Repair that the rims for the tires were to be functional and not pretty and that is what she told the tire companies. We selected the company with the rims that were immediately available and had the best price for tires. I expected to see really ugly generic rims. But Miss Gaddy has some really good looking rims, making her look even more sporty than she did when I bought her. I will get pictures soon, but I am tickled with them.
Had dinner tonight with Rob and Kate. They meet their good friends, Seth and Jen, every Wednesday for dinner out. Last week we had Indian food. Tonight we went to a Brew Pub and had some really good comfort food. Friday we are going to see a comedy at one of the local theaters and Saturday is a bonfire party with some of Kate's knitting friends.
It was raining in Fairbanks proper today. Rob and Kate had snow at their higher elevation. It will probably not stick around too long, but it is only a matter of time before it will be here as well and begin to accumulate on the ground. Hopefully my furniture will arrive before that happens.
In the meantime, I am still working in the kitchen getting shelves lined, making some simple meals with the few things I have purchased after realizing how long I might be without my stuff. I really miss my stuff. But I look at it this way, the longer it takes me to get the stuff, the farther into the long, cold, dark winter it will take me to get unpacked and set up for living. Tomorrow is cleaning the lower level. The dogs and I have tracked in fall leaves from the Birch trees in the yard and I need to wash their toys and bedding.
So, I will be doing a better job of keeping up with the blog, now that I have a computer that responds to my every touch. Keep in touch. I love hearing from you all.
I had brought with me a little Dell Latitude computer that I had gotten a couple of years ago for traveling. It has worked well but the farther along my drive to Fairbanks, the slower and slower it was working. There was a lot of lagging and sometimes it took a good five minutes just to get the computer to catch up with my typing. Many times, I was ready to throw the computer against the wall. It made it very difficult to update my blog.
This morning, as I woke the little computer, the little screen went black and I could not get anything to show up. So, I headed out to Walmart and Costco to find a replacement. I spent the day getting things set up and I am finally back online.
And since I had to go get a new computer, you can probably guess that I still have not gotten reunited with my stuff. I called on Monday and the van is still parked in Great Falls, Montana. There are 5 vans ahead of it in the queue to be moved to Alaska. Hopefully I will have more news as to progress of my stuff on Friday.
This week has been setting up the Ring Alarm system. Got it up and running only to get a notice from Ring that Fairbanks requires a permit, so I will be getting an application for a permit and getting that submitted.
Miss Gaddy the Caddy is now a full blown, Alaskan car. She has heaters and warming pads all over her engine and a trickle charger to keep her battery always at full charge. She has four new studded tires on four new rims. I had told Corry at Peger Road Auto Repair that the rims for the tires were to be functional and not pretty and that is what she told the tire companies. We selected the company with the rims that were immediately available and had the best price for tires. I expected to see really ugly generic rims. But Miss Gaddy has some really good looking rims, making her look even more sporty than she did when I bought her. I will get pictures soon, but I am tickled with them.
Had dinner tonight with Rob and Kate. They meet their good friends, Seth and Jen, every Wednesday for dinner out. Last week we had Indian food. Tonight we went to a Brew Pub and had some really good comfort food. Friday we are going to see a comedy at one of the local theaters and Saturday is a bonfire party with some of Kate's knitting friends.
It was raining in Fairbanks proper today. Rob and Kate had snow at their higher elevation. It will probably not stick around too long, but it is only a matter of time before it will be here as well and begin to accumulate on the ground. Hopefully my furniture will arrive before that happens.
In the meantime, I am still working in the kitchen getting shelves lined, making some simple meals with the few things I have purchased after realizing how long I might be without my stuff. I really miss my stuff. But I look at it this way, the longer it takes me to get the stuff, the farther into the long, cold, dark winter it will take me to get unpacked and set up for living. Tomorrow is cleaning the lower level. The dogs and I have tracked in fall leaves from the Birch trees in the yard and I need to wash their toys and bedding.
So, I will be doing a better job of keeping up with the blog, now that I have a computer that responds to my every touch. Keep in touch. I love hearing from you all.
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