We took one last trip to see if we could find the alien cow or at least one of his kin, but still no luck. We did however have a wonderful day and saw quite a few friendly animals. We found some recent turtle egg activity and lazy alligators. The moss on the lake was so mossy that it was easy for them to hide.
Things are moving along here and even seem to be dragging a bit at times, but I know they’ll speed up at the end so am glad to have the time to pack properly and patch nail holes, etc… I’m using canned air and dusting everything REALLY well before packing also to make life easier when we finally unpack.
We are at that point of multiple lists and decisions. I have a list of utility companies, insurances, etc… to call and cancel and another list to just change addresses. I’m also sorting (BIG TIME) and amassing ALL the warranty books and such for appliances and things for the new owner to make his life easier. I’m even including a list of the plumbers, pest control, utility companies and electrician that we used in case he needs anything since they are already familiar with the property.
With knowing that things are going to storage for a period of time, we chose to use ALL new boxes for a couple of reasons. The first being that NEW coordinated boxes are sturdier and stack better for a cross country move and in the storage unit itself. The second being that there isn’t a chance of food stuffs or bugs from older or grocery oriented boxes going with us. We have had to make a couple of boxes to replace boxes that are no longer viable for odd shaped pieces.
We are also wrapping furniture (especially the antiques) in sheets and shrink wrap to protect the woods from dust and drying out too much. Most of the upholstered furniture is being sold or donated as it just doesn’t hold up well in storage.
Hubby and I decided to take the day off and just do something fun. The weather was absolutely beautiful and we decided to go to the zoo. Unfortunately, the zoo was a poor choice – EVERY school in town had a bus there and there were also strollers everywhere. Even overflow parking was full, so we decided to just take a drive to a little town we had heard had some good antique stores.
We only went to 2 stores, both of which were multi building large stores. I found a beautiful cross for cross wall in the first store, but the second store is where I really scored!
We walked in the door and my eye was immediately drawn to a hutch on the right that was filled with exactly what I’ve been looking for. Service for 8 plus some extra pieces totaling 70 pieces total of some original Johnson Bros. Covered Bridge china. I checked when we got home and to buy the original set if you could even find all the pieces would total nearly a thousand dollars today. I paid just over $100 for all 70 pieces. No cracks, chips or discoloration. Looks like it just came out of grandma’s cabinet.
Years ago I started collecting a few pieces here and there of Johnson Bros. China. Made in England it is the nice bone style china. When we were first starting out there wasn’t much money for the whole set and by the time there was, it was hard to find and really expensive. And the bonus today was that none of these pieces are pieces I already have! There are some made in China reproductions available, but they are just not the same and I feel very fortunate to have completed my set today.
Somehow in Chasing MY Life I got away from my actual description of the journey. My life became all about the kitchen, well at least primarily. One of the discoveries I’ve made with life altering surgery that changed how I eat is that my life is no longer just about the food and recipes.
So, as we say goodbye to A HOUSE FROM HELL, put EVERYTHING in storage and begin the next leg of our journey to spend some time concentrating on working out and recovery and then search for our next project (hopefully our last) I want to return to my blogger roots and chronicle ALL of life.
I’ve been getting organized to get back into link parties and such, just searching around to see who is still out there and where the parties are at. I have found that many of my old favorites are no longer, but there are soooooooo many new parties to link up to which leads me to my post title, SO MANY LINKS, SO MANY BLOGS… just NOT ENOUGH TIME. Initially I’m choosing link parties by whether or not their title peaked my interest.
AND soooo many parties are now co-hosted which creates even MORE links to explore so I’m still reading as much as I can and finding new interests to become a part of.
I’m sure I’ll will find many more new blogs and parties on my future journeys, but for now I’m excited to be joining these new linky parties on a regular basis.
SUNDAYS
DISHING IT & DIGGING IT at Rustic & Refined
SUNDAY’S BEST at Mother 2 Mother
SUNDAYS AT HOME at Celebrating Everyday Life and My Soulful Home
MONDAYS
CELEBRATE YOUR STORY at Celebrate & Decorate,
COOKING & CRAFTING with J&J AT Julie’s Creative Lifestyle
HAPPY HOMEMAKER MONDAY at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
MAKE IT PRETTY MONDAY at The Dedicated House
MELT IN YOUR MOUTH MONDAY at Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms
MENU PLAN MONDAY at I’m an Organizing Junkie
MERRY MONDAY at Two Chicks and A Mom
MIX IT UP MONDAY at Flour Me With Love
SHOW and SHARE at Coastal Charm
TUESDAYS
LOU LOU GIRLS FABULOUS PARTY at Lou Lou Girls
TAKE OUT TUESDAY at The Painted Apron
TREASURE BOX TUESDAY at Memories by the Mile
TUESDAYS WITH A TWIST at Stone Cottage Adventures
WEDNESDAYS
DELICIOUS DISHES at Walking On Sunshine
SHARE YOUR CUP @ Have a Daily Cup of Mrs. Olson
THURSDAYS
FAVORITE THINGS at Katherine’s Corner
FULL PLATE THURSDAY at Miz Helen’s Cottage
FRIDAYS
BLOGGERS PIT STOP at The Blogger’s Lifestyle
HOME MATTERS at Life with Lorelai
KITCHEN FUN & CRAFTY FRIDAY at Kitchen Fun with My Three Sons
PRETTY PINTASTIC PARTY at Coffee with Us 3
SATURDAYS
SHARE IT ONE MORE TIME at Everyday Home
SWAY SHAREFEST at The Sway Life
We’ve been here rehabbing the house from hell for a little over 2 years now. During this time I have realized what horrible drivers live here and how horribly they maintain roads here, but that’s why about half way through we realized we didn’t want to stay here and knew we were leaving – we’re almost there.
I am though LMBO at how many times this major U.S. city has “closed” during that time. For a city that claims it can handle water, 2 of the times were for flooding, another for the hurricane (totally understandable), but this last time was for a cold front with sleet and ice. This time is the one that makes me laugh the most! They started closing schools the night before the cold front when it was still 60 degrees out and clear. Now it did get COLD, SERIOUSLY cold, but to shut down a city of 6 million is ridiculous! If they only knew how to drive here, would slow down and watch for ice, it would be so much easier! Emergency personnel were left in place for excessively long shifts and others told to stay home completely. Restaurants closed, stores closed, I mean there wasn’t even any mail delivery or garbage pick up. WTH?
Hubby and I prefer to live in the colder regions, hence why we’re not staying here where it is normally warm, hot and humid. More than once when we were in the U.P. we would go somewhere and it was a nice day, and then WHAM BAM a sudden lake effect snow or blizzard would hit and you were now trudging home in unbelievable weather, once from 70 miles away. It was a place that didn’t close schools very often, but did do delayed starts at times. Even with a massive cold front in the Pacific Northwest, the world went on.
We finally got out a little bit today (it’s still only 31 degrees but REALLY sunny) and were amazed at how many roads are closed and how few places were even open. We went to a favorite restaurant that is normally packed at lunchtime and they only had 3 tables when we left, we had been their first at 11:45 when they opened at 11!
This was our drain pipe out back. As you can see there was ice, but not enough to close a city! So after living near the Canadian border for several years and traveling across the northern border of the U.S. in January and then living in the Pacific Northwest for several winters, I am truly laughing my butt off this week. LAUGHTER truly is the BEST medicine.