Making the Most of a Month

Whew! Let me catch my breath. Hard to believe another month is almost history. Before we turn the page on the calendar, I should attempt a recap.

First, though, here’s a photo of the boyz to bring a smile to your face:


Ok, so we started the month of October off right by celebrating Missy M’s birthday.



I cannot tell you how much we are enjoying being close to her. We have brunch together almost every Sunday, although today’s meal was supper of M’s yummy potato soup...which was perfect on this first truly chilly day of Fall.

That same week, I got to attend my first Georgia Master Gardener Association’s annual conference in nearby Buford. Spent a great couple of days devoted to classes, workshops, and meeting new folks. Even had some good fortune with the Silent Auction items. Fun!

I think I told you that we have joined the Oscher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Georgia. I signed up for several classes this Fall, and we joined several of the Special Interest Groups (SIG) including the Lunch Bunch, the Supper Club, and the Lady Dogs Basketball group. While that last SIG won’t begin until basketball season, the other opportunities are keeping us busy.

I’ve been to two classes so far: Growing Blueberries and Figs in Georgia and World War I Military Training Camps in Georgia. The first one will help us as we plan our garden here (more on that in a sec); the second one gave me some insight into Papaw (Grandfather Keaton)’s boot camp experience at Camp Gordon as well as his service at Fort Oglethorpe (where he was a Quartermaster). 

We enjoyed two lunches at a couple of Athens restaurants (that we probably would never have tried) with the Lunch Bunch. And we met for a lovely dinner with the 6 other members of our Supper Club. Our hosts made a pork loin roast and asked that we bring sides with the theme of Autumn Harvest. I made an apple pie for dessert and baked yeast rolls as a special treat. 

We volunteered to host the November dinner...which will actually be a Sunday brunch instead. (More on that in my next post.) Now, you may be wondering whether I’ve gone ‘round the bend by asking people to come over to our house...you know, the house that is still being moved into? Actually, I thought that might give us just the nudge to get things wrapped up before the Holidays are upon us.

Soooo...we have finished the unpacking of boxes (for the most part)...and are beginning the hanging of pictures and curtains and shelves and what not. And you know what? Casa 303 is really starting to feel like our home. 

We did take a break this weekend to travel to NC to go to the Southeast Animal Fiber Fair (SAFF) and stay with Bro J in Asheville. I took a class on Beginning Spinning on a Takli, and Mr. T took a beginning wood carving class and made a Spirit Stick...cool! 

From the drive through the mountains to the Fair itself to the time we spent with J & J, it was a really great weekend! 

As we begin this last week of the month, I am staying the night at Missy M’s house with the dogs, since T will have to rise-and-shine to welcome the workers who are coming at 0-dark:30 to install our new garden shed tomorrow. It’s the same shed that he and I built from a kit in HPNC (the one with the purple doors), but we decided we had enough on our plates and could get a crew to do the heavy lifting (we’ll still have to seal, caulk, and paint, etc., ourselves). And after the shed is in place, we can get the garden going.

Oh yes. It truly is feeling like our home.

Along Came Irma

More than once, I have described this downsizing-retirement slo-mo-relo move from NC to GA using the analogy of a roller coaster ride (comparable to the Zippin' Pippin*!). As of today, nothing about that analogy has changed. Ahem.

(Still laughing about this Tweet!)

The good news: we got our stuff all moved in 8/31 (in spite of a prolonged visit by Tropical Storm Harvey, who had been wreaking havoc in Texas). Boxes, boxes everywhere. Lotsa boxes. 

We had planned to get Casa 303 all ready for Mr. T to take the dogs with him and stay in the Loganville house while Missy M and I traveled today-Sunday to Walt Disney World (her birthday gift to me!). And we've made great strides toward that goal with our unpacking and setting up: the electricians came and finished the fan installs; the kitchen is now open for business; the beds are set up, the bedding and towels boxes have been located and opened; and the washer and dryer have been hooked up and are operational. All ready, right?

And then along came Irma.

{Sigh}

Missy M (who had taken today off work) has been working since 9:00 this morning to rebook our trip with the least amount of financial loss...and she has done a remarkable job! She was on hold with Delta for over 2 hours and managed to get our flights rebooked for January with NO CHANGE FEES...even on my companion ticket that was set to expire at the end of September! Way to go, Delta! She's now well into her 4th hour on hold with WDW Guest Services (but she has spoken with someone in Reservations who said there shouldn't be a rebooking fee). Way to go, WDW! 

Bottom line: it's an inconvenience, but we are safe and sound and avoiding the chaos that a Cat 5 Hurricane creates. 

Of course, some of the spaghetti models now have Irma skirting the east coast of Florida and then turning north...toward Atlanta! Soooo...Mr. T is currently at the grocery...for bread and milk, of course. Treating the threat of a hurricane just like the threat of snow.

Just one more hill on our roller coaster, right? To recap the ride, so far:

> Decluttering & getting ready for the Great Downsizing Sale = going up the first big hill. 

> Big Sale done! = going down the first big hill.

> Prepping the NC house for putting it on the market = up the second big hill.

> For Sale sign in the yard! = down the second big hill.

> Showing, showing, showing. Waiting, waiting, waiting = clattering along the flat rails.

> Deciding "we have had enough of this! Take the house off the market!" = up the third hill.

> Selling the NC house! = down the third hill.

> Househunting in GA = the loop-de-loop near the end of the ride.

> Finding & "losing" 4 GA houses = up the last BIG HILL.

> Buying the "right" GA house = down the last BIG HILL!

So, now as we come clattering into the station, we are experiencing those last little ups and downs that make all riders go "woo!" as their stomachs attempt to reach equilibrium. We are so close to being able to exit the roller coaster ride and finally get our feet on the ground...and our bodies in our own bed once again. 

So very close...

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*Memphis-area friends of a certain age will remember the Zippin' Pippin roller coaster from the Fairgrounds and Libertyland. It was said to have been Elvis' favorite. Read more about it here:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zippin_Pippin

Making Progress

As I write this progress report post, I am sitting on our new sofa which is sitting on our new floor in our new (to us!) GA home. Granted, we haven't crossed the Finish Line of this move just yet, but we are indeed coming out of the Backstretch and are headed into the Far Turn of this interminable, slow-mo relo race. And because things are indeed progressing, we brought Winston and Ella Rae along to help them get accustomed to the new digs.

Winston: "Can we go to the new house? Hunh, hunh, hunh?"

Are you ready for this? The German Shepherd who lives behind us...see his legs on the other side of this hole in our fence?...is also a rescue named Winston! How unlikely is that?! Let's hope the two Winstons eventually come to a mutual understanding over the ownership of the fence. Ahem.

It hasn't all been projects that have progressed. Mr. T took delivery of our new sofa and ottoman this past week. This sofa is replacing one we have had since our previous move to Georgia...in 1997. We figured after 20 years and 4 moves, it was time to retire Old Faithful.

New Sofa and Ottoman (probably the last time anyone will see it without a cover...;-)

New Sofa and Ottoman (complete with covers and happy dogs)

So, about that progress report I mentioned...

1) The tile project - Mark this one complete, as of 5:00 Friday! Hooray! And both of us think it was totally worth all the trouble. Here are some "after" photos for you.

     1) a) Install two new toilets - Done...no thanks to the plumber, I might add. As both bathrooms were getting new tile flooring, and as both 15-year-old toilets would have to be removed in the process, we figured we'd get brand new toilets (tall and elongated, to replace the seemingly child-sized ones) while we were at it. Bought American Standards, complete sets and had them delivered. But, when the plumber arrived, he kept saying they were "European" and would require much more work...and $600 to install. And then he left (without installing the garbage disposal either because there wasn't an electric outlet box to contain the wiring under the sink), saying he would have their office call us to reschedule. Good grief. Here is a picture of the new box that Mr. T installed under the sink (another one done!), and a screen capture of the text exchange between T and me, beginning with a report of my conversation with the scheduler at the plumbing company...and his pithy response:

New outlet...ready for the new garbage disposal (which this house has never had!)

Texts about the toilet install (done!)

I laughed for several minutes after I got that text from T. 

2) New light fixtures, fans, and extra outlets - In progress. Mr. T is tackling some of these installs (most notably, that outlet under the sink and the new vanity lights in both bathrooms - pictured)...

...and has contracted with an electrical company to do the more challenging ones (most notably, two fans in the16' vaulted ceilings). That's what is on tap for this next week.

3) Outdoor Clean-up - Mr. T has spent a good bit of the last week wielding pruners, loppers, and hedge trimmers in the Great Outdoor Clean-up project. It was abundantly clear that the previous owners (a) loved plants and (b) stopped maintaining their landscape a while ago. Everything just looked shaggy. So T has been intent on taming the property...and it shows! 

4) More touchup painting - Yeah, I thought we were done with painting, too. But the tile guys only "install" the quarter rounds after tiling; they don't do anything to pimp it. So next week, it looks like I'll be rolling on trim paint to the baseboards and qtr-rnd and using the caulking gun to put a period to our painting projects. Oh, and there are a few nicks and dinks on the walls from the tile installation, so patching and painting here and there will also be on the agenda.

And how does that work with a walking boot, you might ask? Well, I'm thinking I can use a low stool in order to avoid involving my foot. We shall see....

5) Finish Line - Our move-in date is officially scheduled for 8/30. Conceding that my foot isn't ready for all the standing that the cleaning required to spiff up the house before the Four Men and Two Trucks arrive would necessitate, we've got Stanley Steemer coming to do the carpeted areas (three bedrooms and closets), and then the Molly Maids are coming to do a move-in clean before The Big Day. 

Yes, the Finish Line. We will be crossing it in 11 days from today. Tick, tick, tick! Now, how exciting is that?

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If there are glaring design errors with this or any of my posts, please know that I do the best I can when I set up my posts and pictures in Blogger. But because Blogger (a Google application) and my iPad (an Apple product) do NOT play well together, it is a jaw-clenching effort to even get a post loaded. And, though I cannot lug my laptop around, it isn't much better or easier to wait until I can get in front of my PC. Oh, and there is no plan to fix the issues on Google's part. Sigh.

Three Months and Counting

When last I wrote, I posed the Big Question: where exactly is our new "here?" At long last, I think I know the answer: our new "here" will most likely be Loganville, GA.

We made an offer on beautiful park-like yard on Kings Way that happens to have a perfect-for-us 3/2/2 house attached to it. We checked off all our "needs" list [3 bedrooms, 2 baths, 2-car garage, treed and fenced yard with plenty of outdoor space for gardens and doggies, close to Missy M (it's 14 miles away)...all for a retirement-friendly price under $200k], as well as almost all of our "nice-to-have" list: fireplace with gas logs, gas stove in the kitchen (well, it will be once we upgrade the appliances...;-), wood floors in living areas, granite countertops, separate dining room as well as separate laundry room, and permanent stairs to the attic...or in our case, to the expansion area over garage. The house even has a red front door!

Our offer was accepted, the inspection and appraisal both went well, and we are on track to close the deal mid-month. But that makes it sound like it has all been smooth sailing to get to this point in the process. Trust me...it has been anything BUT smooth.

After looking online at seemingly hundreds of resales in and around Lawrenceville (the majority of which were "pending/due diligence/under contract" before we could actually go visit the properties), we decided we would go with new construction. So, we wrote an offer on a new build in Winder, only to find out that the builder had accepted another offer on that lot (and didn't bother to post "pending" to the MLS). No problem...we wrote another contract: same house plan, different lot. After telling us there had been a price increase, the builder verbally accepted...then went off to Tampa. When he returned, he had decided he didn't want to build "our house" on "our lot" for the price he had verbally committed to. So we decided we really didn't want or need to deal with a...well, I guess the kindest word I can use here is "flighty" builder.

Moving on...

We had an offer accepted on a house in Snellville, but the same day that we found out our loan had been approved, we found out that the house didn't appraise for the purchase price. And even though our realtor did her best, the seller wouldn't budge on the price.

Moving on...again...

We raced home from our AZ trip to keep an appointment to see a house...that went under contract while we were at the ATL airport. We previewed scores more houses online, most going under contract before we could make an appointment. As our realtor said: "you know, houses don't stay on the market for more than an hour in this market." We wrote offers here and there and everywhere...only to come in second or third or tenth...but never first. Can you say "seller's market?" Sigh. 

Moving on...ad nauseum...

And then, just as we were ready to take a break from all this disappointment, our sweet-wonderful-resilient realtor sent us yet another list of "new listings." On it was a house in Loganville that was "back on the market." Turns out, this was a house that I had favorited the same day we'd flown out to AZ, and of course had gone under contract while we were there. End of story, right? 

Moving on, right? Not so fast! As it happened, the seller had accepted one of three offers...an all-cash offer, contingent on the sale of the buyers home. Only...that sale apparently didn't happen, and the other two offers had moved on when he put it back on the market, so when we walked into 303 on the afternoon of June 13...and then walked outside into the back yard that our realtor described as "a park," we immediately asked her to cancel our other appointments for the day and write up an offer. (She already had an earnest money check from us...left over from a previous attempt to make an offer on another house...no worries there!). It felt like we were in a race to beat any other offers that might slip in.

And the rest has been a sprint to the finish line: July 14. We submitted all the paperwork (again), we cleared all the contingencies (again), we were approved (again), we paid for a home inspection (again), and we paid for an appraisal (again). But, this time, the house we had chosen appraised for more than the purchase price. Woo hoo! 

So now, the only thing standing between us and closing is the closing attorney getting everything ready for our very own Bastille Day. Fingers crossed...and toes, too!

And, to think, it only took us 90 days to get this far. Three months...and counting.

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Want to see more pictures of our soon-to-be new house? Check it out here:

A Day Late...

Uh-oh. I let Friday turn into Saturday without posting to my blog. Shame, shame. Want to hear my excuses?

Excuse #1: Abbie. How could such a cute, little sweetie-pie be an excuse for anything, you ask? Ah, well. After three postponements (one due to her age...too young; one due to a change in vets; and one per our own vet's advice), we finally got the go-ahead during Monday's puppy appointment with Dr. K (for her parvo and bordetella boosters) for Abbie to be spayed. Her surgery took place yesterday...in Winston-Salem...and we had to check her in at "their" vet's on S. Stratford Road (23 miles away) between 7:30 and 8:30. Yawn.  Why didn't we just have Dr. K perform the surgery? Well, the contract we signed when we adopted Abbie from Forsyth Animal Control Shelter in February states quite clearly that we use "their" vet. They changed vets between Abbie's first and second postponements, which actually turned out to be a good thing, since I really liked the folks at Forsyth Veterinary Hospital...probably because they seemed to really care about Abbie, who was TERRIFIED when we took her in. We were told they would call us with a surgery update (which they did at 11:00), and that we could pick her up between 3:00 and 4:00 in the afternoon. Bottom line: she's fine...moving a little slowly, as you would expect. And we put over 100 miles on Mr. T's car in the there-and-back-and-there-and-back process. Bottom-bottom line? She is now officially and forevermore OURS! A bona fido member of The Drool Gang!!

Dogs lining up to get in the garden:
Duche$$, Elmo, and Abbie

Excuse #2: Making hay. You know that saying: make hay while the sun shines, right? Well, I decided we needed to GET some 'hay' while the sun was (finally) shining...and before Mr. T traded this co. car in for the next one (probably on Monday). They loaded us up with 8 bales of wheat straw at Tri-County Garden Center, and I used my small wheelbarrow to move them from the driveway to the staging area (a holding place in our back yard, for stuff that will eventually need to be moved into the Way Back), one bale at a time. Of course, when I put that first bale on the wheelbarrow, wouldn't you know that the tire was flat? So, Mr. T joined in the fun by firing up the air compressor, filling the tire with air, and then whooshing out the excess straw in his car with blasts of air.

Isn't Mr. T recovering from knee surgery...and on crutches...you ask? Yep! He sure is. He has really been a great patient this week: keeping that left knee elevated and iced; using the crutches almost every time he walks, even in the house; and not trying to drive here-there-and-yon...but I think he was getting a bit house-bound, if you know what I mean. So, he has eagerly been a passenger wherever I've driven his car in the past couple of days, and if he can get involved in one of my "projects," he's all-hands-on-deck...if not "all-feet..."

While at Tri-County, I also got some Sugar Baby watermelon replacement transplants (my seeds germinated, but the baby plants succumbed to the cutworms) and some seeds for lima beans and pink-eye purple hull peas. Which leads me to...

Excuse #3: The gardens. I cannot seem to stay out of them! Even when it's raining...which it has been doing A LOT lately...I find myself wandering around, looking at all the green and growing things, taking scores of pictures to document colors and growth rates. Amazing what a few days of rain and warm temps will do! The roses went from bare bushes to first flush of blooms to first petal drop almost overnight. The summer/warm season plantings are jumping out of the ground, and it will soon be time to begin removing cool season crops like broccoli and beets. But first, our lettuces and spinach were so lush and plentiful that I cut a tubtrug-full on Thursday, washed and spun it, and we delivered it to Open Door Ministries/Father's Table soup kitchen in High Point. Yes, I do love SEEING the stuff growing in the gardens...but I love SHARING the stuff even more.

Way Back Gardens in Mid-May
From Raised Beds looking toward Rose Garden

Excuse #4: Housework. Ugh. You may quote me on this. I hate housework...and it shows. But, while we were one dog down (with Abbie at the vet for the day), I thought it would be prime time to get some much-needed cleaning done. This 12-year old house has a central vac (fantastic!), which makes the pounds of dog hair history in no time flat...but the ancient, clunky floor wand and furniture tools combined with the heavy hose mean it doesn't get used nearly as much as if Mrs. Clean lived here. After yesterday's suck-a-lux-a-thon, the house just feels better...even if this illusion of clean is short-lived. The Drool Gang does still live here, after all.

Anyway, Abbie's home and recuperating. Mr. T is mending well. And, we head into this Memorial Day Holiday with happy hearts, a garden-grown salad for our cook-out, and a fresh, clean house.

And, although the sentiment comes a day late, I wish the same for you!

Honey, We're Home!

After 96 days, 22 hours, and 13 minutes, Elmo, Duche$$, and I are finally back in HPNC. Altogether now: hooray!

The Welcome Home was all I could have hoped for. Mr. T had made a sign and snipped several rose blooms. We took our Coffee Walk into the Way Back Monday morn, and when I went into the Kitchen Garden, I had to get me a ripe tomato for my first BLT of 2012! Yum!! I've waited nearly 3 months to be able to take that picture!

The trip here was every bit as much fun as you can imagine. I was so nauseated at the beginning that I almost asked Mr. T to turn the car around and return to Missy M's house. We made it to the first rest stop...then to the WV state line...down the Turnpike to VA...through the three rain storms back-to-back-to-back...and when we crossed the NC state line, I knew I could make it. Until I saw that sign for Winston-Salem though, I still had my doubts. Mr. T is a fantastic driver, and the dogs were troopers.

It has taken me a couple of days to recover, but I wanted to write a short post before the week aged much more. I'm taking it easy, making the transition back to my life with deliberation. I already miss Missy M and her pups, but it was time.

The simple things are the things I've missed the most about my NC life. Coffee Walks in the Way Back with Mr. T (although we have used FaceTime to make up for this). My own bed. Our gardens. Our automatic ice maker.

I discovered that I've forgotten how to use my electric stove...since Missy M cooks with gas. Momma used to tell on herself: when she got her first electric stove, she said she burned everything she cooked for weeks. Totally understand. You can probably tell that bacon in the photo is extra-crispy!

I've also forgotten where the right switch is for the light I want. Granted, the electrician who wired this house was a real jokester...light switches in odd places, etc. But I stood in the bathroom Sunday night, poised to enter our closet, and switched on three lights before I got the correct one. Grrrr.

I have also discovered how much I miss Gus. It really is a different place without him. Ah well...

So we are home...getting accustomed to it again. And trying to get back into our routine again. That may sound dull and boring to some.

To me, it sounds heavenly.

(BTW, I'll post a Bell's Palsy Update next week, and then every two weeks for the duration. No real changes to report...and I'm getting tired of saying the same thing in every post. Ho hum.)