#12 geez louise

OMG what a month we have had.  Finally made it through all the inspections.  Passed the Pest with flying colors so that was good.  I was beginning to think the end would never come.  Then I was afraid it was coming too fast.  Thank God for neighbors and friends.  There is absolutely no way I would have been able to complete the moving task without them.  We can never show our full appreciation to Keith, Linda, Patty and Alan.  You are angels sent from moving heaven.

LJ finally made it home from his adventure....yea.  We were literally busting ass to get out of that house.  I had never done such a quick escrow before so wasn't prepared for just how fast it would fly by.  One day confident, the next day wondering if we'd make it.  It made a big difference having LJ home.  Sure wish he would have been there the first 10 days, but it is what it is.  And he will hear about it the rest of his living days.

One doesn't realize just how much crap one has after 40 years.  And really that's what it is...crap.  But you've gotta do something with it, so a lot of what we owned was given away or sent to charity or the dump.  Of course two days after doing that there was the "hey, do you know where that doomaflochit is?"  or "damn, wish I would have held on to that for a few days".  Oh well... that what happens when you are under pressure.

Then the buyer wants to do her walk through, which was after she had signed the papers so seemed moot to me, but she's entitled to it.  So while I wanted the place presentable, I also had a lot of stuff to get done.  Fortunately she is very nice.  She brought her entire family with her and a lovely basket from a local wine store.  What a nice gesture.  Her son in law is in the same profession we retired from so we had a nice chat.  But after she left it was get to work!  You only have three days!!!

So pack like maniacs we did.  Again, we were saved by the help from our friends and neighbors.  There was no time for my usual label this, label that.  It was keep pile, charity pile, give away pile and throw away pile.   While I had been working my ass off for two weeks, it seemed like we just weren't going to make it on time.  LJ hadn't even touched his garage yet. OMG.  YOU HAVEN"T TOUCHED THE GARAGE YET!!  It's Sunday!! It closes tomorrow!

So we enlisted the help of our realtor/friend, Patty, and her husband, Alan, to help LJ get it done.  Of course it's 105 that day.  Why not.  But they worked their collective butt off while I finished up what little was left inside.  I had left the office intact until the last possible moment.  No worries.  House closes late on Monday so we will be fine.

Monday morning.  Some final tear down of the office, cleaning and we are out of here.  Should have no problem being done by noon.  SON OF A BITCH!!!! I forgot to clean out the fridge!!!!  Trying to clean, trying to clean out the fridge.  Geez Louise.  At least we have three more hours.  I know we can do it.  So I clean out the fridge, putting everything in my car.  I have to run it over to the trailer so nothing spoils.  That's going to take an hour.  UGH.  Okay, boys.  It's your job to mop, vacuum and clean the bathrooms and all the counters.  I am off to the trailer.  Be back to help soon.  WHY IS MY PHONE CONTINUALLY BUZZING.  WHAAAAAAAAT?  I pull over... omg... it's Patty, our realtor and very good friend.  And I quote the text:  "THE HOUSE CLOSED EARLY!  It's no longer yours... GET OUT!!  GET OUT NOW!"  But we're not done cleaning!!!!! Doesn't matter... get out.  R U F K M.... so I call the boys...pass along the message.  They literally got out.  Left behind my mops, brooms, probably the vacuum too, who the hell knows.  All I know is a note was left with an apology and two bottles of wine, the note explaining why we left like we did.  I hope she understands.  I know I understand I'll never do a short escrow again.

In the midst of all of this, there's Scooter.  Poor little guy.  He has no clue why all of his stuff is being taken out of the house.  He lost his big bed and room, so no looking out the window.  He just looked so sad. and it's not like you can explain it to him.

But...It's done.  We are out.  The money is in the bank.  We survived.  Now we just need to get the trailer ready to live in.  This all would have been so much easier if the trailer and Lj would have been here from the beginning...(for the rest of his life)....but move forward we must.  So I spend the rest of Monday and Tuesday morning trying to put things away that are stacked up in bins outside the trailer.  We look like the Clampetts for heaven's sake.  But.. I have planned three days of rest FOR ME at the Atlantis, so the hell with the stuff.  It will wait.  So at 11 am on Tuesday, I tell LJ I'm off for my 3 days (not ten days like he did) of rest and recovery.  He needs to pretend I don't even exist.  I am sleeping, going to the spa, gambling and drinking.  Again..pretend I don't exist.  So after running errands he insisted needed to be done, I made it to the hotel by 4...UGH.   But I'm there.  And I fall asleep immediately lol.  I didn't really have a lot of time alone before HE calls because HE is hungry and wants to join ME for dinner.  Apparently I exist.  So we have a meal, chit chat a little then off I go to rest and recover.  Kandi joins me the next day so we can have a girls weekend.  And so does LJ....  .....   .......  he's hungry, so he wants to eat with us.  Yep, contrary to popular belief, I exist.

For the next two days of rest and relaxation I am called every 15 minutes..do you know where this is. Can you tell me where to find that.  Kandi is laughing her ass off as are all the people around us.  My phone rings and the collective crowd chants.. IS THAT YOUR HUSBAND AGAIN?!  hysterical laughter on their part.   I'm trying not to kill him through the air waves.  Then BAM..my time alone is over.  Seems like it never started.  Oh well.   At least I wasn't packing or unpacking.

Patty says "And you two are going to live in a 350SF house for two years" hahahahahaha.  Yes..we will be fine.  We actually enjoy each others company...usually.  And for those times we don't, there's always outside lol.

I guess the upside to all of this is we made it.  We managed to get it done with help.  We managed to make more money on the house than I ever thought we would.  Being 100% debt free is now a reality, not just a dream.  I actually enjoy the trailer.  Took me 15 minutes to dust, vacuum, clean the bathrooms etc.  I am finally relaxing, and so is LJ and Scooter.   The three of us sit out in the evenings watching the stars, talking, waving at our transient neighbors.  Saw a weed the other day.  Didn't care.  Not my problem to pick it lol.

We are truly living in the trailer.  Everything we need is here.  I have had the opportunity to go off and gamble whenever I want.  That will change in 7 days when we leave Reno and head off to the north.  Need to go to Idaho to get some minor repairs done on the trailer.  Easier to go to the dealer than try to get a local place to do the warranty work.  All you hear from them is..Did you buy it from us?  If you did we will see you in a couple days.  If not... next December...Asswipes.  But, where else do we have to be.

We are free to be wherever we want to be.  So we choose Idaho for the next couple weeks, then back to Reno for a week, then who knows.  I know we will be in Utah for ATV riding sometime in September or October but don't know for sure when.  Doesn't matter.  I go where the trailer goes lol.

That's all for now.  At least from now on the blog will be where we are and what we are doing.  We are FINALLY ON OUR BIG ADVENTURE!!!!  and searching for a new truck... because, you know, this one doesn't match 😆😆😆😆😆

#11 A Little at a time

17 days (now 13 days) flies by.  I am so thankful I started purging a little at a time while the house was on the market.  Makes this so much easier...since I'm alone...oh so alone..while someone is off galavanting around the Idaho countryside.. but I digress.

HVAC inspection yesterday.  Passed with flying colors.  Structural inspection today.  Few minor things that need to be addressed.  But he said it was a well maintained house so no worries.  The buyer's daughter came by and saw the house in person for the first time.  I felt sorry for her.  She said her mom lost her little dog today.  She was accidentally run over.  That makes me so very sad.  I think it was just her and the little dog.  At least the daughter lives close and she is excited her mom is buying it, so that's a good sign.  She said it will be perfect for her mom and she can't wait to move in.

Pest inspection is next then all done with that part.  Be glad when it's over and we know what we need to do.  As we learned when selling our last house, here in Nevada a buyer can walk away for any reason up to the time of closing.  Yea!... not.  So I will be on edge a bit til the money is in our hands.

Yesterday I totally cleaned out the clothes in our closet.  Four large garbage bags and three little garbage bags.  Really?  Why.  Why do we have so many clothes when we don't wear any of them.  Daughter asked if I kept anything nice in case we were invited to a dress up event.  No.. if I can't wear levis and a nice shirt, I don't go.  After all, I am trailer trash now and plan to live up to the reputation.


I sure hope LJ wasn't keeping this or that because it be gone baby gone.  Thank goodness he wasn't here to stop me from getting rid of those ridiculous 70's track pants.  UGLY but gone.  Now there is no chance he will "accidentally" put them on.  As for my things I never wear, some fat lady is going to be so happy to get all those 50 cent shirts from Goodwill lol.  I even got rid of all my "when I lose weight" pants.  Somehow that's really motivated me to lose weight.  Go figure.

Went through the safe since Jeff is taking that.  Gonna pass on to the kids all their elementary report cards because, you know, storage.  Making progress.  Moving right along.

I'm actually not stressed today, which is surprising since I stress about every little thing.  Maybe that's a bad sign.  Great.  Now I'm stressed.

So I have moved on to the office.  Making a Welcome to Your Home binder for the buyer with all the manuals and what not.  Making a Binder for Jeff with all the manuals for the stuff he is taking.  Making a binder for the new trailer with all it's manuals.  I really like making binders.  I have a binder for everything.  Oh yea.. I need to go through all the binders and eliminate what we don't need.

When that's done, packing up the rest of the office.  Crafty stuff in one bin...office stuff for the trailer set aside.  Save that.  Give away this.  Throw away that.  So much to go through.  So much to do.  Think I'll take a nap because packing under the influence of vodka is probably not recommended. LOL

But ALLLLLL worth it in the end.  13 and counting!

#10.5 Wow, that was fast! Part 2

So we finally get home, sleep, get up, get the dog.  Dammit.. I can't load the trailer yet.  I have to go to an appointment.  A two hour massage appointment 😏.  Being a passenger was stressful and tiring and well... anyway, let's move on.

We get a message that someone wants to see the house.  REALLY?  Today???  You couldn't see it yesterday when we were gone.  You have to see it today when we have a million things to do.  Fiiiiine.   See you at 2pm.  Thank goodness it was already in showing condition.  Only a few little things to do.

But, it figures.  I mean after all.  LJ has an atv trip planned.  We leave on Saturday for 12 days.  The trailer has nothing in it.  I have to load it with stuff plus food, plus figure out the appliances. OMG people!

 9:30 and LJ is still sleeping.  Hey, get up.  You have things to do.  People are coming to see the house and I have to go...to that thing I need to do.

Then a phone call.  The people want to cancel....they are no longer interested.  THANK YOU THANK YOU!  So now I go to my appointment with no pressure (well except for the massage part hahahaha).  I get home at one and LJ had loaded his portion of the trailer.  (The crap that goes in the underbelly.)  Did you open up the trailer to get some air in there?....no? Hey, thanks,  babe.  I'll take the dog to the groomer and go get lunch for us while you do that, I said with no sarcasm what so ever.

I get back with lunch and we discuss exactly what we are going to load now and load after we get back from the trip. It's sooooooo hot in the trailer and we don't have a hookup to be able to use the AC.  Can't work under those conditions.  This is going to take forever.  I'm a sweaty grumpy woman.  I don't see how I'm going to get this done in one day.  Did I mention that I have a dentist appointment for a crown smack dab in the middle of the day tomorrow???  How's that for timing.  I need a drink.  Geesh... what's next.

 A phone call is next. The people who cancelled want to un-cancel.  They didn't see anything they liked so decided to look at ours... in ten minutes.  Wow, that's awsome, thank you!...again, no sarcasm.  😛  On the upside, they know it's last minute and we are busy so we don't need to leave.  In fact they prefer we are there in case they have questions.  Well alrighty then.

I'm in the 95 degree trailer, sweating when they show up.  LJ greets them.  Nice older lady (71 yrs), her brother and her son.  It was too hot to work in the trailer still, so while they looked at the house we did tours of the trailer for our neighbors.  I know.. I know.  But it was too hot to work, not too hot for me to be proud of it and show it off lol.

Two... yes two hours later the people were done looking and decided to leave.  While they were there, though, we had a lovely conversation with her and her family.  They asked questions we answered best we could.  She was fascinating.  Here she is, 71, a widow.  She lost her husband last year.  She just sold her expensive home and her expensive motor home.  Bought herself a new truck and fifth wheel.  She needs a place she can put her fifth wheel, her hunting trailer (yes she is an avid hunter), her kids trailer and she just hasn't found the right place yet.  It's just her and her dog, now, so she doesn't want a big house.  Ours is over 3000sf, so probably too big I"m thinking.  She was very sweet.  But now they are off and I have work to do.  Still too hot....so ... no.  I'll do it tonight or tomorrow.  And I'll hope there are no more showings until we are gone on the trip.

Our neighbor across the street, Jerry, comes over to show the trailer to his wife.  We get to talking and it seems he knows the lady who looked at the house!  He knows her.. knew her husband.  Her son works for his old business.  Small world.  He thought it would be great if she bought the place.  At least they knew they'd be getting a good neighbor.  They sweetly ask us to dinner, but we have too much to do.  After all, we leave on Saturday, and it's already Thursday night and I have procrastinated long enough.

Fifteen minutes later, LJ decides it's dinner time.  Really?  Fiiiiiine.  Still too hot.  I give up.  We have a free Atlantis buffet, so off we go.  I look at LJ and say.. I bet it sells.  I bet she buys it now because of your atv trip. He laughs.  I laugh.  But deep down I'm thinking I better prepare myself.

And then, there it was.  The phone call...lady made a fabulous cash offer on the house.  Not full price but a helluva lot more than I thought we were going to get for it!  And higher than the price I was thinking of lowering it to.  Patty was right all along.  Be patient...Is it a good offer?   Start packing, she says.  OMG  Are you flippin' kidding me?

So we look at the offer and it's perfect.   All cash, quick close.  It sinks in...Quick Close.  17 days.  OMFG unbelievable.  LJ's atv trip!  I knew it.  He looks at me with those big blue eyes...and he has the "but this might be my last atv trip" and "I've never ridden the Idaho trails" look.  But he says.."I'll cancel my trip".  I feel guilty.  Noooo you go.  I mean we only have 17 days to get EVERYTHING done, but you go ahead, sweetheart.  I know how much you have been looking forward to this trip.  I wouldn't want you to miss it.  But you will owe me...because you happened to have an atv trip when we moved into the rental, moving from Sacramento, so I handled it all.  You happened to have an atv trip when we moved from the rental to our last house, so I packed/unpacked alone.  You, again, irony of all ironies, happend to have an atv trip when we moved out of that house, so I packed alone. Granted, all those time were prepaid, pre-scheduled trips, but R U F K M?  But, I love him, so I smile and say, sure babe... go on your trip.  I'll manage.  But you have to leave here a day later and leave there two days earlier.  It's called compromise.  And... you owe me....big time.

So.. papers are signed.  We accepted the offer.  We just wait for the inspections and usual BS that goes along with selling.  He camps and rides the beautiful Idaho countryside...I pack, sort and disperse of our wordly possessions.

Good thing we got the trailer when we did!  Because there is no way we could have fit in a 3 day trip to Idaho Falls to pick it up.  Timing was perfect.

So it looks like in 17 days we're gonna be debt free, transient trailer trash.  We have finally reached our potential lol.

Truthfully...........I can't wait!!  But, Wow, that was fast!!!

#10 Wow, that was fast! Part 1

It's crazy how things work.  I was all ready to write about how excited I was our Fuzion Toy Hauler sold.  That meant we could go out and find our full time RV.  I had half the blog update written about how we were going to take our time searching.  Then I got side tracked by the actual search for the ultimate trailer.

We managed to find what we think will be a perfect place for us.  We must have looked at a hundred floorplans and brands, on line and in person.  We finally settled on a Keystone Montana.  We found three we liked but only one was available in town.  After a lot of research, we found all three floor plans in Fresno....6 hours away....one way.  So off we went.

It was hotter than Hades that day.  We made it to the dealership and got driven around in a golf cart.  The dealership was huge.. They must have had every trailer brand ever made.  Too big for me, but I digress.  They opened up the three trailers.  Number one: nice but the bathroom was just too small.  Number two:  Very nice, but missing the 1/2 bath I wanted.  It did have a lounge area off the MBedroom which was cool.  Then we went in number three.  Problem solved.  I want this one.  Surprisingly, so did hubby.  Will wonders never cease! lol

We were only in the trailers minutes because they didn't have them hooked up and INSIDE the trailer was 105.  Too hot to look around.  Fortunately we had been shopping for awhile so we didn't need long.  We were literally at the dealership for one hour, then drove six hours back home.  Bless his heart, Scooter went along for the ride.  He did great, although he wasn't happy I left him outside in the shade with the breeze in his stroller.  But there was no way I was subjecting him to that ridiculous heat.  You would think on a 105 degree day the dealership (they knew we were coming) would have had them hooked up for review.....but nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

yes... it has a bathtub and on demand water heater... sweeeeeeeeeeeet!

the infamous bathub

So now the search was on for the proper model at the right price.  I found a 2017 in Grants Pass with full body paint; beautiful unit, but the interior was too light.  But I could be persuaded if the price was right.  I pretended to be LJ because we all know they deal with men better than women.  I talked via email with the dealership.  Got them down quite a bit.  Was just about ready to take the leap when I looked one more time on line.

Voila!  There was a unit that had just come in at a dealership in Idaho Falls with full body paint and the right interior and it was a 2018.  So the negotiations began.  I convinced LJ to deal with Idaho Falls, while I dealt with Grants Pass (pretending to be LJ).  After a lot of back and forth, pitting one against the other, the Grants Pass folks said what their absolute bottom line was.  We were able to get the Idaho Falls dealership within a few hundred of the older unit.  Since it was the right interior and exterior and a year newer it was worth it to us to pay the extra few hundred.  We still got a screamin' deal on it.  It pays to research and negotiate...negotiate...negotiate.
So.... Road trip to Idaho Falls!!!

Dropped the dog off at Patty's since we knew we would be driving a long time with few stops.  She was kind enough to keep him for three nights.

Then at 3 AM on Tuesday 6/27, we were off.  Brief stop for breakfast then on the road... the long and lonely road...east on 80, north on 93 (booooooring), turn here, turn there and 10 hours later we are there.  Another huge dealership, but a bit more folksy than Fresno.  It is Idaho after all.  Did the paperwork, checked over the unit.. prettier in person!  It's great... uh oh.........water heater doesn't work...well it works, but the on demand control panel doesn't.  Oh no... techs have gone home.  Must wait til morning.  We had planned on driving part way home tonite.  Oh well.  The dealership had hookups and water for each and every unit on their lot.   (Maybe Fresno should think about this).  They were more than happy to let us stay there.  We said... well, thanks, I mean, watcha gonna do.  Can't leave with it not working, so okay, we'll stay...Put the stuff we brought with us in the trailer then left to get dinner.  Decided to get a hotel for the night..mama must shower every morning and we really didn't want to deal with the tanks just yet.  Need to get on the road early. Plus we were just too exhausted from the ridiculously long day to deal with making up the bed and all the other stuff.  It was a smart move.  Immediately went to bed and had a good nights sleep.

Woke up, went to Denny's ( I know, but it was the closest restaurant)...that was an adventure in itself. Waitress was new.  Her name was Mystery.  Apparently it was her goal in life to be mysterious.  It was a mystery if she would take our order, get it right, serve it, then give us the check.  That whole experience is a story in itself lol.  FINALLY we were off to the dealership.

Longer story short...after 2 hours they found the problem.  An obscure fuse had gone out.  Not in the fuse box, but behind the water heater.  OMG.... well at least we will never forget about that should it happen again.  But I still don't know why manufacturers put fuses in hidden places.

So by noon we were off.  Noon...12 pm in the afternoon... sigh..  So as the song says we "drove all night" and made it home after pee stops, food stops, gas stops and damn my butt hurts stops.  We pulled up at exactly midnight.  On a fun note, we did wave at OJ Simpson as we drove by the prison in Lovelock NV.  😜 But the drive was worth it.  Saw some great country that I had only seen while riding Harleys.. get to see more riding bitch in a GMC with AC and a radio lol.


But this isn't where this adventure ends.....

#9 Finally Some Progress!

I was beginning to wonder if we would ever make a step forward to begin this journey of ours.  Well, finally we have.

Bye Bye Fuzion

LJ sold the toy hauler yesterday so Yippee skippy!  Cash is in the bank! That's one major thing down.  Now we can actively look for our new home on wheels.  I think we have altered our plans.  We originally were going to get another toy hauler, but LJ thinks we should get a regular fifth wheel instead.  As he puts it...we are going to be living in this thing and he only goes atv riding a few weeks out of the year.  So, it makes sense to live comfortably the rest of the time.  He will make the sacrifice and either skip an atv trip or simply go out of his way to pick it up.  He's also considering connecting a dbl hitched trailer to the rear of the fifth wheel to pull his atv.  Who knows..it's a guy thing.  It does dictate what kind of fifth wheel we buy, though.  I'll do the inside thing.  He can worry about the other stuff. It's not like we have anything else to do, lol.  After perusing a few regular fifth wheels, I have to say it would be very hard for him to convince me to buy a toy hauler.  After all, a princess needs her castle to be pretty lol.

Still no action on the sticks and bricks, but I think when we bring the price down it will go quickly.  I just have to convince the world (meaning our agent and LJ) that it's too high.  Although everyone keeps telling me to be patient.  It's not too high.  I just wanna get on the road.

This weekend was the community garage sale.  I filled up the driveway with all the stuff I need to get rid of, well not decor stuff.  House still has to show.   I figured I'd sell each item for $1...no matter what it cost, lol.  That way it alllll goes.  And it did.  Only a small amount went to charity.  ALLLL my excess Christmas stuff I had to let go.  A friend and a neighbor pretty much cleaned me out of all of my holiday decor.  I'm glad.  Means it's going to a good home.  I also sold all my little beanie babies to the neighbor, who's a teacher.  I gave her a great deal.  She plans on giving them as rewards to her kindergarten kids.  I always gave a grandkid one when they came to visit.  It's why I had so many.  But, alas, they have all outgrown them.  But knowing some kid gets to earn one puts a smile on my face!  I still have "collectable" ones, in cases, meaning oh crap, what do I do with these.  They really aren't worth much, but they are collectibles.   I wonder where you can donate the good bears to?  It's amazing how much ridiculous stuff I have (working on had).

Irony of ironies.... garage sale over...close garage door...garage door spring breaks, so half the money earned at the garage sale goes to fix the garage door.   Ya can't make this up, lol.

But I digress...

So...... ATV side by side... sold
           ATV trailer............. sold
           Fuzion trailer..........sold
           40 years of crap......sold

Still to go....... HOUSE....the biggest and most important of all.  So while progress is made... we wait.

In the mean time, we get to go trailer shopping!  And y'all know how I love to shop!
       

#8 The hardest part of purging

This post isn't very light hearted and I think I'm being redundant since all I talk about is getting rid of stuff.  I also think I'm beginning to stress a bit.  Isn't the whole purpose of this adventure to de-stess?  So far not working.  It seems time passes quickly and I feel like I'm going to run out of it.  Then there's now when it passes like molasses waiting for things to happen.  We've had a few people look at the house...no takers yet.  One couple seems really interested but no offer.  We have good prospects coming this afternoon and more this weekend, so, fingers crossed.  No moving forward until the noose called a house is sold.  I've been told to be patient.  I'm more like a kid wishing Christmas would hurry up and get here.  I want to write about our travels!

So in the meantime I keep asking "Are we ever going to get on the road"?  This adventure is waiting and we are stuck in limbo.  Stomping my feet like a three year old because I wanna go and I wanna go NOW!  Like that really helps.  Makes me feel better though.

So we wait.  And wait.  And wait.  And as we do  I continue to go through "stuff".  It's a much longer process than I imagined.  I have no problem getting rid of everyday stuff.  That's the easy part.  It's the stuff that I treasure I am having the most difficulty with.

A friend of mine posted an article about how no one (family) wants your stuff when you're gone.  While the article made sense, it makes me sad.  For my whole life I have treasured items that belonged to my family, including heirlooms from those long ago.  I enjoy looking at old pictures of relatives I never met...they are a part of me.  I like holding those little treasures knowing it belonged to a loved one.  It's sad to know that this and future generations no longer care about those things.

With that in mind, what do I do with it all?  Throw it away?  Keep it and store it?  To what end?  I have decided I will check with the kids first.  Maybe they aren't the norm and will enjoy having things that belonged to relatives past.  I have a cowbell and .22 rifle that belonged to my great grandfather.  They are over 100 years old!  Seems a shame to just dump them.  Surely our son would want those.  I have my great grandmother's hair comb.  It, too, is over 100 years old.  I have pins and broaches from my other great grandmother.  Those, too, are very old.  Surely our daughter will want those.  My dad's favorite belt buckle; model planes he built from scratch.  Wouldn't the kids want a remembrance from their grandfather?  And that's just the tip of the iceberg.  But it's important to remember the kids aren't me.  So in the end, if they don't want it, maybe someone else in the family does.  If not..guess I'll  be filling up that storage unit.

I also have pictures galore.  It seems in this digital age no one cares about those anymore.  I hope my kids are different.  If not...they'll just have to dump them when I'm gone.  I don't have the heart to do it.  Some of those pictures are older than me!  I thought about gathering them all up in to piles.  These go to Jeff...these Rachelle... these other family members, these we keep.  But then we circle back around.  Do they even want them?  Good Gravy this is hard.  A lot harder than I thought it would be.

We have made some progress, though.  LJ sold his side by side atv and his atv trailer.  Still working on selling the Toy Hauler.  Almost all the furniture has been spoken for.  Once the house goes into escrow things should move quickly.

Taking forever it seems, but again, it will be so worth it in the end.  As each decision is made, the weight on our shoulders gets lighter and lighter.  Keep our eyes on the prize.

Any suggestions you all have out there, to help us get through this part of the process, is welcomed.  In the meantime... where's the vodka...

#7 Things just got real...

Well we did it!  The house is finally on the market.  While we wait we will still purge and pack.  But for now it's mostly a waiting game.  I find myself getting impatient.  As each day passes I look more and more forward to this new chapter in our lives.  Funny how important possessions really aren't all that important any more.  We just wanna get this show on the road.

It's a little bittersweet since once again this was going to be our forever home.  I hadn't quite finished putting my touch on this place, but that's okay.  I'll get over it.  Now the whole U S of A will be our home.  But in the meantime we wait.  Some say the house will go fast.  Others say it will take awhile.  Either way is fine with us.  If it takes awhile, we will have an easy time packing and purging.  If it goes fast, that's ok too.  The move out will be a bit more stressful but worth it because we will be on the road sooner.

Now LJs kicking around getting a motorcycle to take with us instead of the atv.  I'm ok either way.  The motorcycle will be used more and he can always rent an atv for those few rides.  Funny how things change as you go along.  Heck, we haven't even figured out which trailer will be home yet.  My thought was it doesn't matter.  I'm ok with being truly homeless.  That's what friends, family and hotels are for.  We can always live in our current trailer, if it hasn't sold, until we find the right one.  Don't want to make the wrong decision since this will be our home for at least two years, so patience is the key...as long as it doesn't become procrastination.

The bad thing about selling our place is you have to keep it spotless.  I'm ok with that, except I'm married to the adult version of Pigpen.  It's like he leaves a trail in case he gets lost.  And he doesn't do it on purpose.  He is just who he is.  For example.  Ask any of his friends...when he gets done eating I swear there is more food on the table and floor than he actually ate.  Ok...I exaggerate but not much.  It's not so much food as it is salt, pepper and crumbs.  And I have watched to see why.  Can't figure it out.  It's like it just appears.  It's no wonder he uses so much salt and pepper.  Ninety percent doesn't make it to the food.  Of course he says it's because I don't season anything.  And sadly he's right.  He didn't marry me for my cooking, lol, hence the sign over our stove.  But when I do, he does need copious amounts of seasoning because I prefer bland.  Then there's clothes and shoes.  Is it possible you can hang that up?  Yes I know you are going to need it in five minutes but the tour might come through.  Did you make the bed?  You were the last one up.  Clean up the shower?  You were the last one in it.  Put your dishes in the dishwasher? Did you, would you, could you?  Pooooor LJ.  He hates this part, lol.

And then there's Scooter.  Love that dog.  He's very smart but refuses to put his toys away.  He leaves them strategically placed throughout the house in case I walk by and want to stop and play.  Damn dog.  And he likes to lay on the decorative pillow in his room, which squishes it down.  I have to remember to fluff it when we are rushing out the door so potential buyers won't be turned off.  Because, you know, a slightly squished throw pillow will sway a buyer.

And then there's me.  The cleanup nazi.  Don't leave that there! The dish towel has to be on the counter a certain way...Over the sink, angled slightly.  Yes I'm serious.  Who moved that pillow?   The throw must be on the chair perfectly placed.  New rules.  Shower time and bathroom breaks are before 8:30am and after 7pm because there might be a tour group.  Crap!  Showing in 4 hours.  Hurry! Must vacuum, mop, dust, wipe everything down, fluff and stuff before we leave.  Yes I know we just did that this morning.  I can't help it.  I'm my mother's daughter.

Fortunately this isn't the first house we've sold so our marriage should survive.  LJs used to it.  But I'm thinking it's gonna be a bit stressful while waiting for this thing to sell.  Blame that on me.
But then.....FREEDOM and the open road.