Finally on my way… home and cancer free…

So as we begin the trek home after being here for a year and a half (thanks mom), we realized that we acquired a few things while here. For Martha’s sake I’d like to be able to say that we could pitch it all, but alas these are real treasures for our house and unpitchable and unreplaceable. Since I have yet to have all my strength return, moving has become a major endeavor for us.
We decided to hire a mover, you know, an end of the load kind of deal. We don’t have many pieces of furniture (just a few BIG bargains ~ 2 tables, an antique file cabinet, an antique bar stool and a bed frame), but it’s primarily boxes so we started contacting companies and decided on a home grown American based mover that uses up and coming mom and pops, Proud American Moving Network. The day we signed the contract, the local news station did an expose’ on moving scams. So off to the Better Business Bureau to check out our new found mover we went. We are pleased to say they are not part of the scam and had no local open complaints. That was when it hit me – do a blog post, take some pictures and chronicle the move.
Think about it – one of the biggest complaints you hear from people is about moving companies – how they damage your stuff, don’t settle the insurance claims, etc…
The very first piece of advice I have is PACK YOURSELF!!!!!!!! My mom has moved a few times and used the same company each time. The last time I was in college and needed a few extra bucks so offered to do their packing for them at a reduced rate. If I remember correctly even with paying me a nice sum, she still saved A LOT on their packing fees, used less space and nothing I packed got broken in the move. It’s all about space, organization and weight distribution.
For this move I have created an inventory, numbered and weighed the boxes myself. One of the points on the expose was that some of these companies overcharge based on weight. Now how are you going to know the total weight of the load unless you weigh it yourself – one box at a time. That also ensured poor me who has so little strength right now that the boxes would not be too heavy. After all, if I can carry them, some guy with a dolly certainly can!

 Even the kitties are getting used to their temporary house for the move!

FINALLY SOME RELAXTION – BOOTS ANYONE?

Many of you know that we came here to Texas to help family in an elder care situation.  We are still embroiled in major red tape with the VA also.  We hit the ground running when we arrived here and there has been very little relaxation time since considering, but we managed to steal a few hours last weekend to check out Brazos Bend State Park.
I wasn’t feeling too well, but we managed to get a few hours of exploration in before I had to give up for the day.  I did pretty well considering when I was finally dragged to the doctor on Friday I was told I had bronchitis, pharyngitis, strep throat and the beginnings of pneumonia.  Hey, I’m a tough old bird!  Kinda like this turkey that I literally almost walked right into at the nature center.  I was then pleasantly surprised to see that the turkey was shot by a turkey I know – LOL my uncle donated him to the park after a turkey shoot several years ago.

We took a short walk around a small lake and were rewarded with these sunbathing turtles.

There were tons of what I call Harry Potter trees throughout the park.  You know the kind of trees whose branches look like spidery arms that could scoop up a human being at the drop of a hat?
The creme de la creme though is the alligators!  They are such magnificent creatures. At least as long as you leave them alone!  We spent several hours searching for them to have them all be in the same place – sunbathing in a low lake.
How they can cover themselves in all that slime is beyond me, but it really camouflages them well.  My pictures are pretty clear, but it took some searching to distinguish them from rocks and other growth.

On the way out the park we were rewarded with this unlikely trio – all at peace with one another.

As for this guy, we were positive someone painted this guy up for the impending Halloween holiday, but when we blew up the picture, we don’t really think so.  It appears to be natural occurring.  

I do intend to go back one weekend soon and see if his “birthmark” is still there or if it has washed away.

Finally some relaxation ~ Boots anyone?

Many of you know that we came here to help family in an elder care situation.  We are still embroiled in major red tape with the VA also.  We hit the ground running when we arrived here and there has been very little relaxation time since considering, but we managed to steal a few hours last weekend to check out Brazos Bend State Park.  I wasn’t feeling too well, but we managed to get a few hours of exploration in before I had to give up for the day.  I did pretty well considering when I was finally dragged to the doctor on Friday I was told I had bronchitis, pharyngitis, strep throat and the beginnings of pneumonia.  Hey, I’m a tough old bird!  Kinda like this turkey that I literally almost walked right into at the nature center.  I was then pleasantly surprised to see that the turkey was shot by a turkey I know – LOL my uncle donated him to the park after a turkey shoot several years ago.

We took a short walk around a small lake and were rewarded with these sunbathing turtles.

There were tons of what I call Harry Potter trees throughout the park.  You know the kind of trees whose branches look like spidery arms that could scoop up a human being at the drop of a hat?
The creme de la creme though is the alligators!  They are such magnificent creatures. At least as long as you leave them alone!  We spent several hours searching for them to have them all be in the same place – sunbathing in a low lake.
How they can cover themselves in all that slime is beyond me, but it really camouflages them well.  My pictures are pretty clear, but it took some searching to distinguish them from rocks and other growth.

On the way out the park we were rewarded with this unlikely trio – all at peace with one another.

As for this guy, we were positive someone painted this guy up for the impending Halloween holiday, but when we blew up the picture, we don’t really think so.  It appears to be natural occurring.  

I do intend to go back one weekend soon and see if his “birthmark” is still there or if it has washed away.

BOOTS & ALIEN COWS

Many of you know that we came here to help family in an elder care situation.  We are still embroiled in major red tape with the VA also.  We hit the ground running when we arrived here and there has been very little relaxation time since considering, but we managed to steal a few hours last weekend to check out Brazos Bend State Park.  I wasn’t feeling too well, but we managed to get a few hours of exploration in before I had to give up for the day.  I did pretty well considering when I was finally dragged to the doctor on Friday I was told I had bronchitis, pharyngitis, strep throat and the beginnings of pneumonia.  Hey, I’m a tough old bird!  Kinda like this turkey that I literally almost walked right into at the nature center.  I was then pleasantly surprised to see that the turkey was shot by a turkey I know – LOL my uncle donated him to the park after a turkey shoot several years ago.

We took a short walk around a small lake and were rewarded with these sunbathing turtles.

There were tons of what I call Harry Potter trees throughout the park.  You know the kind of trees whose branches look like spidery arms that could scoop up a human being at the drop of a hat?
The creme de la creme though is the alligators!  They are such magnificent creatures. At least as long as you leave them alone!  We spent several hours searching for them to have them all be in the same place – sunbathing in a low lake.
How they can cover themselves in all that slime is beyond me, but it really camouflages them well.  My pictures are pretty clear, but it took some searching to distinguish them from rocks and other growth.

On the way out the park we were rewarded with this unlikely trio – all at peace with one another.

As for this guy, we were positive someone painted this guy up for the impending Halloween holiday, but when we blew up the picture, we don’t really think so.  It appears to be natural occurring.

I do intend to go back one weekend soon and see if his “birthmark” is still there or if it has washed away.

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