Houses

We had the final closing on the P'Cola house today & Vic is feeling a little melancholy about the whole thing. I, on the other hand, am ready to go. I think it's not so much ready to leave P'Cola as it is that I'm ready to get my new life started. Today's house projects included giving our change of address to 9 catalogs/magazines we currently receive and setting up disconnect dates on our utilities here. I also finalized the connect dates on our utilities up in MI and organized my Home Organizer book. I think I shall now plop down in front of the TV for a bit or maybe just read.

Soaps

"Oh Braden, I can't believe you would betray me like this!" "Believe it Francesca, because I am <dramatic pause> a cyborg from the planet Romulus! And... your half-brother!" I just can't believe my very intelligent girlfriend watches this crap everyday! It wouldn't be so bad, but they just keep repeating the same stupid whiney voiced lines in every episode. I was ad-libbing a little with today's episode & Vic got a tad pissed at me. She got over it though ~ I guess she figured anything she might have missed today she can always catch in tomorrow's show!

Bagels

Bagelheads
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Vic & I have been reminiscing lately about all the people and things we will miss once we leave P'Cola. Eating at Bagelheads with Karen & Jeannine tops my list. I think we actually discovered the store by accident and since our first visit I don't think we've ever gotten together for lunches anywhere else! When I brought up this very point to Jeannine she asked, "But why would we want to go someplace else?!" I see her point. What if none of my new friends up north will want to eat bagels? Or what if there are no bagels up north? Or (horror!) what if nobody up north will want to be friends with this displaced yankee because I talk funny? Maybe I should rethink this whole moving thing...

The Two Houses

Well, the day is about over and looks like Vic is going to make it thru unscathed (by me at any rate). The final walk thru for the people buying our house is tomorrow, so I spent a good part of the day prettying up the place. I cut the grass and did some dusting of the dustier spots in the house. We still have boxes (packed & unpacked) everywhere, but overall I think the old girl looks pretty good. After I got done cutting the grass, I sat on the deck to relax with my cold Dr. Pepper and the book I'm currently reading. There was a wonderful breeze and I could hear a few birds twittering in the trees while one of the backyard kitties munched on a snack. It was really a pleasant hour or so and got to thinking about how much I really will miss this house. Vic & I made a lot of improvements to her and she was certainly strong enough to withstand Hurricane Ivan! But it's time to move on. We'll enjoy our new house just as much and with each passing day I look forward to the move just a little bit more.

A Day of Battery

Today I hit Vickie really hard. Twice. The first time I hit her in the head with a trailer (don't ask) and then I beaned her in the forehead, right above the eye, with a Hershey's kiss. Neither beating left bruising or gross ugly gaping wounds, so I guess I won't have to answer any probing questions. I did feel really bad, though. But you know, now she'll think twice before asking me to do the litter boxes again!

That Butterfly Cross-Stitch

cross-stitch
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

I finally finished the cross-stitch project I've been working on for months! Yea for me! This one took me a little longer than usual because of all the moving-related distractions that kept popping up. I think this will look nice hanging in our library. I call it the library, Vic calls it the living room. Maybe we can come to a compromise and call it "that room with the butterfly cross-stitch hanging in it."

Africa Hot

Oh my god it's hot this morning! It's about 10 degrees past boiling. I put the dog out & she melted as soon as she hit the back porch. She was a Shannonsicle. According to The Weather Channel, the temperature is 79 but feels like 83 with 89% humidity. In our new area code the temp is 53 and feels like 53 with 76% humidity. Sounds like Warren is the better deal! It seems like Summer is starting early this year in Pensacola. Maybe it's always gotten this hot this early in the year and, after all these years, I just still haven't gotten used to it. For me, the summer months are just a killer. I love to sit outside, but from May till about October it's just so oppressively hot during the day and mosquitoey at night that I spend most of the season inside in the air conditioning. At the new house, we've got a big back yard with a nice little patio. I can't wait to listen to Tigers games on the radio while swinging in the hammock!

New House Preparations

In preparation for our upcoming move, I was on the phone all day ordering new services for our new house. We now have gas, cable, phone and internet ready to be connected on June 13th (our move-in day). I've got to contact the electric, water and garbage companies and then I'll be all through with the utilities. I've already ordered new address labels for Vic and myself and have got a list of all the magazines we subscribe to so I can start sending out change-of-address notifications. I rescheduled the moving van to pick up our stuff at a later date and arranged to have our home phone here turned off as of tomorrow. Can anyone think of anything I might've forgotten? We had to postpone our move until June 13th because the current owners of the house wanted to wait until school was through before moving out. They were in a big rush to close on May 20th, but don't want to move out until June 13th!? I don't really understand their rationale, but I know that as of last Friday they are paying us rent to live in our house!

My New Home (In a Few Weeks)

As of yesterday, at about 2:30 pm, I am officially in debt up to my dyed roots! But I am also a first-time homeowner! Vic and I are now the proud parents of our own home in sunny Metro Detroit. And I got to keep the pen used to sign the next 30 years of my life away. What a bonus! We won't actually take possession of the house until June 13th, so we'll have ample time to finish packing up all our belongings and say our good-byes. There are quite a few small parks near our new home and one of them is a dedicated dog park, so Shannon and I will more than likely spend a fair amount of time there. I'm looking forward to exploring the area with Vic ~ moving, although very hectic & very stressful, is still a great adventure! Finding the best ice cream stand and deciding which grocery store we'll shop at is part of the fun. I'm sure most of our first couple of months is going to be spent unpacking boxes and arranging furniture, but we'll also make time to check out our new neighborhood. That was always the best part of any move I made in the Air Force only now I've got Vickie and Shannon to do it with me!

Nerts!

Stupid lottery!

Fabulous

Vic & I each bought two quick picks for the lottery tonight, so I think we are destined to win. We've just quadrupled our chances of winning! I can't wait to collect the big fat check! Right after I pay off all our bills, I think I will pay off all the bills of my friends. I want everyone around me to be happy happy. And then Vic & I will travel all over Europe for the Summer. We'll meet fabulous people and take fabulous photos of ourselves doing fabulous European-type stuff all over the continent. We'll return to our fabulous newly built home on the shores of beautiful Lake St. Clair in Michigan just in time for the Fall Pumpkin festivals and we'll drink steaming mugs of apple cider while tooling around the fabulous countryside on hayrides and admiring all the gorgeous autumnal colors of the season. At home, we'll plop down in front of our roaring fireplace and go over the day's events while we sip pina coladas and nibble on nibbley things freshly made by our live-in maid Consuela. Aahhh...fabulous!

Little Things

I changed the pull chains on some of the ceiling fans today. What a silly thing to blog about! But it was as I was changing out the lighthouse and fish pulls we had on there with the plain old white pulls I purchased at Wal Mart that I realized that there are a lot of little things around the house left to pack. Most of the medium sized stuff is packed and ready to go ~ we have some larger items to box up (i.e. TVs, stereo equipment) and, apparently, a lot of knick-knacky stuff too. I'm really trying not to worry about using more than our allotted space on the moving van, so I'm going to continue to pack a few boxes everyday and think positive thoughts! I just thought it was kinda curious how I really never gave all the little stuff a thought until today while I was changing out the pull thingys. Hmm... I'm looking forward to flying to MI in a couple of days. Well, not the actual flight so much, but getting to see the house in person for the first time. We are going to do our final walk-thru Friday afternoon just before we sign all the paperwork. It'll be nice to know what each of the rooms look like so I can start arranging our furniture in my mind. I hope there will be ceiling fans. I have nice pull thingys just waiting!

Not-So-Manic Monday

Nate Packing
Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

Today was spent doing a little bit of a few different things. I started out by buying half price scrapbook supplies. I seem to have become an "accumulator" instead of a scrapbooker. I haven't done any scrapping since before the hurricane (September). I really don't have a good reason for not doing anything earlier in the year, but lately I've been busy with house stuff. I feel guilty if I have some free time and I'm not painting or packing something! On my return home I decided to pack a few boxes. And then I realized that I'm flying to Detroit in a few days and I'm really still pretty pasty looking. How would it look for someone from Florida to not have a tan? So I grabbed my latest book ("The Graduate") and plopped my butt in a sunny spot on the back deck for about an hour. I think I may have gotten a little sun. Why "The Graduate?" you ask. Vic & I recently went to a used book sale and I picked it up for a dollar there. We love used book sales! I like to think of the books as "once loved" instead of used and I feel like I'm adopting them ~ you know, giving them a good home where they'll be read and loved by someone who cares. I think I like once-loved books better than brand new books! Except for "Harry Potter" of course. After my hour of leisure I started to tackle the packing. I got about five or so big boxes packed and stored in the guest bedroom where our kitty Nate is watching over them as I blog. I already reserved a truck for the move. It's thru ABF where we actually pack/unpack the truck and they do the transporting. We thought this would be a little bit easier than renting a UHaul and cheaper than getting a PODS thingy. We are going to drive both Jeeps up to MI loaded up with animals. Shannon is going to ride with me and Vic is going to take the kitties with her. The vet is going to give us something to dope them up a little bit for the 18 hour ride. Sounds like fun, huh? I'll let you know just how much fun in a couple of weeks!

Blogging

While Vic is busy Easy-Offing the stove I thought I'd blog a bit about blogging. When I first started my blog I was a tad leary about the whole thing. I mean, do I really have the time to commit to writing a paragraph or two every day or at least very frequently? Especially since right now I have a lot going on in my life. I started, though, because I figured that this isn't some school assignment that needs to be accomplished within a certain period of time; I mean, if I feel like writing something, I will. I also started the blog because I thought it would be a good way to stay in touch with all the people that mean so much to me and that I'm leaving behind when I move. I'm not sure who, if anyone at all, keeps up with my bloggings, but I do know that this is a great stress reliever and I never feel any pressure to post anything. I'm really quite proud of the fact that I've done as well as I have! I know of a few people who have read my rantings and other meaningless drivel I pass along and I think that's great! I hope I haven't disappointed anyone and I really hope I can continue to keep up with the blog after our move to the MI.

New Clothes Update

After scouring the county for appropriate "interview clothes" I have decided to just go ahead and apply at Home Depot. Problem solved.

New Clothes

Jeff, the home inspector guy (who is also Jeff, the house buying guy) came by this morning and inspected. I guess it went alright. He seemed really positive, checked the electrical and roof, said everything looked good and was gone in 30 minutes. He's a contractor by trade so I guess he figured if anything other than the house needs to be repaired that he can fix it later. Maybe that's the reasone he only checked the electrical and roof. Of course, when he was here for the first time last week, he spent at least an hour looking around. He probably opened and closed every door and window in the place at that time. I guess we'll find out in the next day or two.

I am now going to go clothes shopping. I absolutely hate to shop for dress-up clothes. I hate picking things out and trying things on and looking for bigger sizes and finding shoes to match the ensemble and I just hate it all! But I need "interview" clothes and anything nice I own is either too dressy or is already packed. Why can't I just work at home? I have plenty of "lay around the house" clothes!

Houses Update

The last of couple of days have been "house hell." The original people who agreed to buy our house in P'Cola have backed out because of the "exorbitant" amount of repairs needed. Repairs such as the kitchen sink hose squirty thing not having enough water pressure and the air conditioner filters needing replacing. We think their realtor is a twit and that is the reason they are backing out. Just a hunch. Fortunately there is another couple interested in buying the house. Unfortunately this means the whole process will have to start all over again ~ i.e. home inspections and mounds of paperwork and negotiations over who will pay what and how much. They seem really nice, so I hope it all works out. They want the above ground pool taken down, though. I find that really odd, but they seem pretty firm about it. Wouldn't you know that Vic & I just finished cleaning that stupid pool a couple of blogs ago!

The closing on the house in Michigan is next week. The people occupying the house will be gone by ???? . We don't know when they're going. Could be June 1st or 15th or some other day in June. I guess when they're pulling out of the driveway in their UHaul they'll give us a courtesy call and let us know we can move in. Do you sense the frustration in my typing? You should be living with me...you'd REALLY get a living dictionary definition of frustration up close and personal! Perhaps tomorrow will bring better news. I'm sure it will be different news, at any rate. It seems like plans with either or both house change daily.

The Post Where I Use "Dwindling"

Grrrrrr. I ordered a memory card for our computer - that's the reason for the grrrrr. After taking apart the computer (several times) and calling on two friends for assistance, I've realized the dumb card is just not compatible for my four-year old Gateway. I'm going to send it back and buy a house instead.

Our monthly "Stampin' Up" meeting was tonight. It's just a bunch of women who get together to learn new techniques for rubber stamps (and then we order stuff.) We've only got one more month after this and our numbers keep dwindling. Less people makes for a more intimate get-together, though, so I think I like it better when there are fewer of us.

I'm flying up to Detroit next weekend to sign the final paperwork on the house up there. I'm just going to stay the night (with Vic's mom) and fly back the next day so I can get back to packing up our house here in Florida. Kind've a long way to go for such a short time, but I have to be there for the closing so I really don't have much of a choice. Too bad the closing isn't taking place in Ireland. Maybe I can get them to change it...

Weekend & Cross-Stitching

So, as predicted, Vic & I spent our weekend "pooling." The pool has been drained and we cleaned it up and are now adding the new water. For some reason it's taking forever for the darn thing to fill up. It turned out to be a really nice weekend to work outside and I think I actually got a little sun. Right now my legs are so white it's hard to tell where my socks end and my legs start, but after this weekend I'm now looking a little less pasty. Vic made a wonderful steak for dinner and then we spent the rest of our Sunday/Anniversary just relaxing and enjoying the evening together.

I've been working on a cross-stitch project for the last couple months and am really trying to finish it before we start our move north. I really don't have too much left to finish, but it's very involved and seems to be taking a lot longer than I'd like. I also haven't scrapbooked in quite a long time. Partly because all my stuff is packed for the move and partly because I feel guilty if I spend my free time doing something that isn't move-related. It'll be nice when we're finally in our new house and I can set up my craft room. I'll have to think up a unique name for the room ~ "craft room" just lacks something. Any ideas??

Stupid Pool

Today's day was pretty busy. After running all around town getting errands done, Vic & I finally got around to cleaning out the pool! Today we sucked out all the old yucky green hurricane water and tomorrow we'll clean it and fill it with new water. Tomorrow, in addition to being Mother's Day, is our seven year anniversary. I don't think we're going to actually do anything anniversary-like because our day is going to be spent in that stupid pool. Stupid pool.

More Packing

The people buying our house scheduled their home inspection for today and I don't think it went too badly. The inspector guys were really nice and said everything looked pretty good, so I guess we'll see in the next week or two. I'm sure if they found something the new buyers want fixed or changed, we'll hear about it. I also packed up almost all of the outside shed today, too. It wasn't near as daunting a task as I expected it to be ~ just a little dirty. I'll kind of miss having a shed when we move. We'll have an extra big garage, but it would still be nice to have a little shed in the backyard as well. I guess things are moving along nicely, but awfully slow. I wish Detroit wasn't so far away. Moving and signing paperwork would be a lot easier if we were a little closer. But then I guess if Detroit were closer then the hurricanes would also be closer, so on retrospect I think Detroit is just fine where it's at.

Pelicans

Originally uploaded by wahoo1265.

After a morning spent at the gym, Jeannine & I went out Pelican hunting. Actually it was more like Pelican photographing. There are about 40 or so pelicans scattered about the downtown Pensacola area and they are scheduled to return to their roosts after Mother's Day, so this was our last chance to get pictures of them. A few are still in the pelican hospital, but I think Jeannine & I managed to get most of them. Then I came home and cleaned the house & did some laundry. I shoulda just stayed downtown with Jeannine!

Unemployed

Ahhh, the joys of unemployment. My last day official day at work was Friday, so I am now one of the unemployed masses. I'm going to miss my job at the sheriff's office and especially the people I worked with. I've been checking the internet for dispatching jobs in Warren, but I haven't really been that successful. I think I'll have better luck once we move up there. Anyway, my lack of jobness leaves me scads of time to work about the house. I've gotten into a kind of routine; I start the day by doing the litter boxes and sweeping the floors. I figure if I stick to a routine I'll be less apt to goof off all day and get nothing accomplished. Yesterday it rained all day so I spent the day inside doing laundry and packing yet more boxes. I also started setting aside stuff for a yard sale. Vickie is terrible about throwing stuff away, but hopefully I can separate her from some of her "yard salable" trinkets! Well, today is the complete opposite 0f yesterday; a beautiful sunny day, so maybe I can talk Vic into going for a ride! Or helping me pack some boxes...