Plan B...

I have been looking at the photographs of the new house that have been sitting for far too long here at the top of my blog, and scolding myself for not writing anything new. I feel a little guilty, knowing that most people are assuming that I'm not writing because I'm just too busy moving. Well...

I am sporadically busy, but we have made what seems like very little progress in the moving. Carey was called in to work on his days off, so we put off the major move and instead have been driving over a pickup truck and SUV load at a time (an hour plus each way might I add...I know, I know...very inefficient way to get it done). The furniture should go next week in a BIG truck.

So what have I been doing? (That is a rhetorical question, and I do not wish to hear any guesses. I mean it Kelley. Ix-nay the ark-snay.) I've been turning on electricity to the new place, and seeing about moving the telephone/internet service. I've been making sure that both places are adequately insured. I've been picking out paint, and preparing to start painting later this week (at least behind where the refrigerator and washer/dryer will be installed next Monday, so we don't have to move them out again after installation.) I have been going through stuff and trying to pare down. I have carefully moved every single Christmas ornament, bulb, garland, and bough from their home in the guest room closet here to the guest room closet there...and it all fit!. I have been making myself lists of things that need to be done (but not quite yet), and lists of ideas that seem ingenious at this moment, but I'm afraid will be forgotten tomorrow. I have even made myself a list of ideas for future blog posts.

Oh, and I've taken a few photos of the old place...the miniature horses that the new owner has put on the land here (see photo above)...the flora and fauna that I will miss.

Ready...

new kitchen

Today was spent at the new house. The previous owners left it very clean, but you know there are just some things you want to clean yourself anyway. Jared climbed high and low cleaning inside cabinets and drawers all over the house. I vacuumed all the floors, and spent an inordinate amount of time figuring out all the light switches in the house and labeling them. Then I went around putting sticky notes on the walls where the large furniture pieces will go, in case I'm not there when furniture is unloaded.


new dining room

I came home and took a couple of Advil. This moving thing gets harder every time. I didn't even work that hard today, but the constant standing was torture. Thankfully there is a window seat in the dining room, since we haven't taken any chairs yet.


new laundry room

The laundry room (above) is quite possibly my favorite room in the new house...built in cabinets...a huge sink (out of sight to the left)...rods to hang laundry over the washer and the sink...large enough for a freezer. The washer and dryer will be in the far left corner, near the door to the outside. All of our large appliances will be staying with the sold house, so we will be having to purchase a new washer and dryer, and a refrigerator and microwave for the kitchen.

Tomorrow I have to really push to try to get things done on this end. The moving starts Monday.

Seven random thoughts on the 7th...

1. Current packing zone: game cupboard and toy closet.

2. Finally! Last Friday we closed on the sale of our current home, and yesterday we closed on the purchase of the new one. Yea! We'll start moving about Monday.

3. I yearn for the moving process to be over and for a whole day to spend with my nose buried in a great whodunnit.

4. Someone told me today that I set myself up for stress by talking about it. Funny. I bit my tongue, but I really wanted to say that if more people (her) felt a little stress once in a while, then less of us (me) would have to feel a lot of stress! I'm a detail person. So sue me.

5. I love tea cups and coffee cups, but we don't drink hot beverages much...when we do it's usually out of a mug or travel mug. When I open my cupboards and see all the cups (that go with three separate sets of dishes) sitting unused, it makes me feel kind of bad. Well this week I read a great idea to use them in a new way, and I am definitely going to use it in the new house. In a bedroom or bathroom drawer, place tea and/or coffee cups, and use them to store individual pieces of jewelry...necklaces, earrings, watches, etc. By using them for jewelry storage: 1) it organizes my jewelry making things easier to find; 2) it frees up kitchen cupboard space; 3) I get to see the cups daily and enjoy their new use, and; 4) they are still available to use any time I might need to return them to service in the role they were originally intended for. Win, win, win, win!

6. Diet downfall of the week: bagels.

7. As I am packing and trying to whittle down our possessions for the move, I am thinking about this post and laughing at myself a little bit. The old saying, "Be careful what you wish for," springs to mind.

Packing status...

I have been packing books for what seems like forever--I don't mean hours, I mean days!--and yet I still cannot see an end to the job. Each time I tape up a box, I turn back to the shelf to find that it is still full. They seem to be breeding! It's very frustrating, and saps my drive.

The bookcase in the photo is one that Carey salvaged and refinished about twenty years ago. You have to understand that he is utterly opposed to painting wood. What is it about men and wood finishes? But a little while ago, he was walking through the room, and we were talking about where furniture pieces are going to be located in the new house. When out of the blue, he looks at this bookshelf and says..."I guess we can paint this." I could not believe it. I have never even asked, because I was sure I knew the answer. Hmmm.

I had better not be doing all this packing for nothing, as we STILL have not closed on the sale or purchase of properties. ugh

Soup of the day...

Lentil Soup...recipe found here.

Soup weather is on its way! It's supposed to be much cooler and less humid in the coming week, so I am happily adding a couple of soup nights to the menu this week.

I love soup!

It is generally easy to make. So many are slow cooker friendly. It tastes just as good warmed up the next day. And it's my comfort food.

So I ask you...what is your favorite soup? And if you want to leave the recipe in the comments, that would be WAY cool!

Oh, and my favorite? Probably a very yummy Jalapeno Sweet Potato.

Outside our windows today...

I was walking through the kitchen earlier, and Carey was standing at the kitchen sink, staring transfixed out the window.



Wild turkeys! I went and grabbed the camera. The photos aren't great as they were taken through the windows so as not to frighten them away, but beauty like this deserves to be documented and shared.



This is only about half or less of the flock that wandered slowly by. Carey said that numbers of them kept flying down out of the oak trees where they probably roosted last night.

We see them periodically, but this is a larger group than normal. I'm glad they came while we were still here to enjoy them.

Agape...

...ah-gah-pey...noun: unselfish love of one person for another; brotherly love.

Nothing can lighten a dreary day and put a smile on my face like homemade fig preserves in my mailbox! I know they were made by the loving hands, and are shared by the generous heart, of a sweet and very dear friend.

Thank you, LB. You have no idea what a blessing this was today. I have to confess that I haven't been to pick up my mail at the post office in at least a week, so I apologize for the delay in letting you know they arrived safely...but of all those days in the past week, today was the day I needed a reminder of how blessed I am by the love that surrounds me.

Thank you...and know I give thanks for you.