my journey, destination unknown
The frenetic pace of our moving activities is finally slowing down. We have a few more piles in the garage to deal with, but they will be gone on Saturday. A few trips to Goodwill and a single trip to the dump — we’ve cancelled the 1-800-GOT-JUNK appointment as the piles appear to be quite…
Okay, not really, but it certainly is starting to feel that way. Yesterday, I really felt the toll that moving has taken on me. After Camille and I unloaded the car, I took a TWO hour nap…and still had to go to bed by 9:30pm. I’m just exhausted. Moving is hard work. But a downsize…
Aren’t we done yet?? No, but look how far we’ve come so fast! Our house is empty on the two top floors; we only have the storage room and garage left to empty. We now have a storage unit rented for things like holiday decorations, kayaks, the rooftop carrier and the tent. Soon we hope…
But add a semi-annual release on top, and I’m ready to collapse. I’ve fallen behind on just about everything. I’m forgetting things. It isn’t good. But, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We are mostly moved in, just a few more pieces of IKEA furniture to assemble. We have longer-term projects…
Nineteen days sounds like a terribly long time, but I suppose with all the changes we’re making, it really isn’t that long at all. Only a week ago we signed the contract for the condo. In that time we’ve made three trips to IKEA, assembled a whole lot of furniture, painted the girls’ room, gotten…
Shouldn’t we done by now? I suppose I should give us at least a month to rid ourselves of the possessions gained over the last two decades, right? And why oh why does downsizing involve lots and lots trips to IKEA?? The garage sale emptied the garage enough to allow us to start clearing out…
Tomorrow is the day that we sign the contracts to buy our new condo. Things really are moving forward FAST! Downsizing is moving forward quite nicely. I’ve listed a bunch more on the downsize blog, and lots of things have been placed on hold, bought or taken. Our bedroom set and the porch furniture are…
Rob has been hard at work on the “business side”: checking the closing documents, wiring money, filling out HOA/condo paperwork, purchasing homeowner’s insurance. It’s all quite boring with no real tangible results, other than making it possible for us to move. The girls have finally come to an agreement on new bed linens for their…
Camille celebrated her thirteenth birthday today! Claire came to the store to help us pick out dinner and a cake — Camille decided on an oreo ice-cream cake, in the end! We had a nice evening, celebrating and watching Doctor Who…
And, so the mission continues. We haven’t moved along as fast as I had hoped we would, but we are moving forward. We all feel great about the downsizing. It is wonderful to feel the stuff moving out of the rooms. The girls are busy picking out new linens for their room so we can…
Downsize? What? As we’ve been slowly telling our friends, last weekend, while I was in Texas for the Austin City Limits Music Festival, we made an offer on a condo near the square in Decatur. After a couter-offer and some negotiation, I electronically signed (real estate has entered the 21st century!) the agreement to purchase…
As Chloe worked on putting together a Lego set last week, she grew frustrated with the unsorted legos. So she decided it was time to do something about our bulk boxes of Legos. I don’t know if this project will get completed, but I’m happy to have seen it start, at least!
Camille *loves* to bake. And she’s taken to that fancy new mixer we bought, too. Her cookies are too delicious to pass on.
We are working hard to use up leftovers before they expire. Sometimes it can be a challenge … we have three or four containers of lentil daal in the fridge at the moment, so I had the idea of turning them into “samosas” for lunch today.
after a day of taking care of things around the house, we headed down to the Beach House to share a potluck dinner with out neighbors. It was nice to get to see everyone again!
Chloe has always admired the gymnastics outfits for sale at the gym. Back when she was at the gym one hour a week, I refused to buy her one of these expensive outfits, but told her she was free to spend her own money on one. But now that she’s on the training team and…
The girls worked more on their Dragon*Con costumes today. Chloe decided to NOT be Litte Amelia Pond, but to be the Tardis instead. Camille, of course, is the Doctor. I hope she doesn’t get to hot at the parade and convention!
My Happiness Project topic for August is Cooking. As I wrote last week, I’ve cleaned out the cabinets, organized the grains and spices and bought some new and replacement tools for the kitchen. I still have a few more things to buy — like a magnetic knife rack, but I’m on track to actually start…
These traffic-light tomatoes were part of our CSA share. I’ve made tomato sauce and salsa and also eaten them raw. Yum!
While I spent this week again catching up from being gone and getting ahead to go away again, I also realized that I need to do a better job of making sure the girls have time to connect with their friends and neighbors. I want them to look back on their childhoods not as a…