Friday Again, i am sensing a pattern here

So as of last Friday I mentioned I have a new job.  I started the onboarding process (electronic paperwork) Monday and did several documents Monday and a couple of missing/mistakes on Tuesday).  Then we got an email Tuesday evening like around 9:30pm, work Friday that all the people being hired still had onboarding documents, etc).  So I figure I have 2 more days off - more work in the yard - mowing, puttering around.  Planting a few more flowers, some more veggie seeds, etc.  Then we shopped for inlaws.  I helped with a couple more things with sister in law's yard, etc.

I finished the border on my deck azalea area - the water rushes under my deck from neighborhood to our south and out the side where the azaleas are - that is why I spent the money and got rocks for this area - mulch would just be washed away.  Even the rocks washed over the flat brick pavers, so I got these longer thicker ones from my SIL and stood them vertical so I could fill in with more rocks and make it more substantial.  I love it.

Oh, and she has a business where they sell vintage/used/flea market/antiques stuff, mostly furniture but also décor, seasonal, nick nacks, some glassware, etc.  She is know in the community and a woman downsizing sold bunch of furniture to SIL and SIL texted me that the lady was selling a treadmill.  So I bought it for $40!  I really don't have the room, but I just stuck it in the middle of my small guest room for the time being.  I will be glad I have in on really hot and really cold days.  Just don't like where it is at the time.

I am eventually going to get rid of some bigger furniture, so my long term plan is to move to larger guest room.  I don't have company much, so I am not too worried about it being in either guest room.  But our furniture is big - was for bigger house and good functional well built furniture is hard to get rid of.  More on this later with photos!

My DH is one of 3 boys and 1 sister.  Their grandfather made this beautiful walnut cabinet with glass out of a walnut tree he planted as a young man.  Then went off to war and came home and cut the tree down and made this.  I have my blankets in it that I crocheted.  I just gave one blanket away for a wedding present - the white and black houndstooth with red trim - see below.  Well, my brother in law has 2 sons so they are eventually going to come and take the cabinet so the boys will eventually get it. One son just got married - I gifted the blanket to them (and some cash!).  DH has agreed that I can then get rid of the huge bedroom set (he has owned since the 80's, and it is very nice, but so big and bulky/dark).  He is ok with the idea.  He is seeing as we get older we don't need so much stuff to take care off/move/clean around.

I got an email this morning (after I went to bed early and got up early - preparing to work and GET PAID!).  No work yet this morning.  I sure hope the project otherwise goes smoothly - this is frustrating.  But since it is for an arm of the federal government - it moves like a glacier getting everyone on board.

Oh well, guess we can finish working on our deck.  We painted our picnic (I always say pick-a-nick like the cartoon) in my head!  We painted it turquoise for fun pop.  The sellers of this house left it back there when they moved.  DH has replaced several of the boards, so it was diff colors of wood.  So we thought a bright paint job would be fun.

It turned pretty cool this week Thurs after we had nearly 90 degrees Wed!  Weird.  I saw a post from a friend of mine that she was doing big Easter dinner and delivering to her loved ones, so I was inspired to do the same.  I am making baked ham, potato casserole, green beans, deviled eggs and a coconut cake.  We will deliver to Mom and Dad in law, sister in law and her husband and my husband's uncle who lives alone and has health problems.  I have been trying to do nice things for people (care packages, cards and just calling/texting) just to be supportive during this weird Covid 19 quarantine time.  I know if it is hard on me, in must be hard on others too, even though we are all still in the thick of it and don't really talk much about that - I think we are all mostly staying positive and all our feelings haven't processed yet - mine haven't!

Have a wonderful Easter weekend1

Final Wayfair Share

 

This weekend I got to see the coffee table I had ordered that DH has assembled while I was working last week.  We were a little disappointed that the bottom shelf panels were missing, but a quick email indicated they would be mailed to us soon.  I realize these things happen, but why don't they mail them back with the same communication/urgency of the original order?  The tabletop had a divet out of it that we tried to patch, but it still did not look great and we were afraid it would not hold up over time - I requested that be replaced too and it has been nearly 2 weeks!  So, for small inexpensive items, mail order has been fine (plus I wanted 3 very specific and small things).  Most furniture you see in retail stores is 1)  expensive!  and 2)  huge.

I am overall happy to get exactly what I want, fairly inexpensive and be a little patient/put them together. 

This was after I got home from the city Thursday evening and turned around and rode back with my sister.  I really should have stayed home, I was exhausted to the point of needed to nap.  Which is not like me.  We did learn when we stopped to visit our Granny that she is moving.  From an independent living apartment to another closer to her daughter.  She was afraid we would be mad, I don't really understand why she thought I would be mad, I guess because she was not moving closer to me.  I never expected that.  Anyway, she insists on hiring a moving truck (she does not have much, will be $900).  I am grateful for that, because otherwise even though we have cousins in the city, DH and I would have done the majority of the work.  This way my sister and I can take a couple days to help unpack and make her place more of a home.  We are honored to help her.

My aunt and unle were so thrilled at my sister's gift of a call-button system.  Very proud and happy.  Nice that my sister can do that for them.  We had a nice lunch with them Sat before we drove back.  So, I was home Sat night, Sunday and Monday.  My sister and I also enjoyed a nice dinner with my girlfriends from the city T and D.  We haven't kept up with D as much, she does not really keep in touch much either, is busy with her grandkids.  Frankly talks about them non stop.  She still indicated she wanted to come down to our house.  Not without T, I will just have to put it off maybe.
Sunday DH and I mowed and looked at 2 for sale houses in our little town with smaller yards.  One house over priced and needed a $5000 - $8000 wood fence replaced - PLUS it had 7 giant cut off stumps in the yard - a fairly small yard.  It had been gutted and remodeled beautifully, but lacked these 2 huge items for us - and overpriced.  The other house was brand new - very pretty and I really loved the layout - tiny yard which is ok for us.  But it was REALLY small (not that I care).  Just not sure we are ready to downsize that much this quick. 

Then Monday we looked at 2 larger homes 1 old 1 new in nearby higher traffic area.  One had a nice view, the other did not.  Both smaller yards - 1 mostly rock.  DH really hating our huge yard and the mowing.  I offer to do the mowing, he is not willing to have his wife do all the mowing - so it is a quandary for us, somewhat.  We may consider finding room in our budget to hire someone, but it would be $70/week!  We will see.

One thing this looking has shown us - we are essentially on the same page - we just want cozy home, to enjoy each other and reduce our focus on stuff.  However, I have been feeling this pull for about 5 years -to reduce my stuff and he seems new to the change - although surprises me sometimes.  Actually 2 things, we both really do feel the happy goal of making sure the other person is happy and satisfied where we are in life and in our retirement...more broadly, in our life journey. 

I told DH last night as we were relaxing before I had to get to bed early to get up at 3:45 am - I just care about him, not what we have or where we live.  Plus - we really do love our house.  So, we will probably stay put and enjoy all we have done on the house.  It has been quite a summer indeed.

Plans

Doesn't the word "plan" give you pause sometimes.  Then things can go wrong.  Maybe that is why when i make plans, i like to have at least one back up plan.  This week and weekend we will give away the rest of the stuff we will not be moving.  A couch, loveseat and chair/ottoman - 2 of my friends are driving from 3 hours away with 2 trucks and their husbands to get.  Another friends who is out of town is going to make arrangements to get a coffee table, my friend T who I do yoga with is taking an armoire, my neighbors are taking a large TV and my nephew is coming to get a writing table/desk.  My back up plan will be to just leave things inside or put them by the curb.  The buyer has told me we could leave chair, bed, tables and lamps.  Also the writing table, if nec.  She does not want the armoire or coffee table.  Really my ownly worry is the coffee table and if we leave it on the curb - it will be gone by day's end.  Haha.  Happy hump day!

What I Did Today to Further Our Move

This is what I should call the blog from now through the summer.  Ha.  We started packing up clothes out of the closet and this weekend, I am going to pack up remaining bed linens we won't need and try out my new space saver bags.  After I finish painting the deck.
Our buyer has been by the house 3 times with friends to look at her new home.  We talked about closing date and getting everything moved, etc.  She had a friend with her last night, so she agreed to come back tonight and we would pick a closing date and a date to be out.  I am leaving several things for her and her friend, including my writing table and our queen mattress and box springs/frame.  I told her I had scheduled a pick up from the city, but they are like 60 and 90 days out and she said just leave it - she would get a new pad and use it and then get rid of it as she saw fit.  Done!  I will also leave some other misc furniture that we don't have room for (lamps, a chair, couple bed side tables).  Last night DH and I started talking about just want is left to move and it seems like so much!  I had a hard time getting to sleep.  One foot in front of the other...
I walked with my friend last night.  She will take full bed mattress/box springs and an armoire and full size mattress/box springs.  Finally, another friend going to drive up and pick up couch, loveseat and chair/ottoman.  We still have tool box and entire garage, bunch of coolers, 2 pet crates, wet/dry vac, bunch of golf stuff, 2 iron outdoor chairs, 2 folding outdoor chairs, 2 folding tables, 4 folding card table chairs, 2 rocking chairs, iron plant rack, 6 small plant stands/tables, blanket stand, 2 bed headboards, jewelry armoir, a grill, 2 filing cabinets, a printer, small book shelf, 2 bar stools and a final TV. 
We are leaning toward closing on 7/2 and asking her time until 7/10 to get the couch, loveseat and chair/ottoman - since that is when my friend is going to drive up.  That way, we pay June house payment and go pay extended stay hotel for July and then just take essentials we will need 3 months to hotel - clothes/toiletries/medicine.  Maybe we can offer to pay utilities until 7/10 as consideration, but I don't think she will mind because she already volunteered and we are giving her bunch of stuff and a great deal on a $1200 year old washer dryer for $750.

Stuff Stabilizing

At least clothes and personal effects, sporting goods, nick nacks.  I have about 4 suits, incl my husbands tux that i am taking to consignment this week.  They did not sell on PM.

Other than large furniture items, about half I am giving to friends that come pick them up, after City House sells...i am about to the point where everything will be moved.  Then prob some final purging to charity will happen.

 

Last weekend I sold my luxury suv.  While going thru this uncomf process and also tackled a new cell phone thru Straight Talk at Walmart.  I took off $10 old outdated tablet too.  We had to pay $650 for phone up front and only saving 41 - 105/month at Verizon.  My phone service at WM costs 60/month after fees/taxes.  So we are either paying 19 dollars more for brand new phone or saving $41...the kicker is, we have had Verizon tell us 4 diff amounts my husbands single phone will be now.  We agree that given this run around, he will likely pay his $472 left on his phone and switch also, bringing monthly cell phone tital to $120 (versus $207 at Verizon).

Then, as long as i was in a really frustrated beat down state of mind i took my 4 year ink jet HP pos printer to Office Max along with $60 worth of ink i bought thinking that was the problem (ink being out/bad) and bought a Brother floor model laser printer for $75, extra ink for $45 and new version of Microsoft office for $150 so i can do some side free lance work.  Now I finally have working computer, printer and updated phone.  Maybe next I can learn to add photos here!

Tonight we are frantically cleaning out half of our garage in 30 degree temps so our new toyota truck can fit in!

Oh well, we have to do it sooner or later anyway.  At least we didnt get the snowpocalypse forecast earlier in the week!  But it sure is cold!