Biting the Propane Bullet

While at the rv maintenance boot camp I learned that I'm supposed to run the generator at least once a month.  I wasn't aware of that and I haven't used it yet. I decided today was the day.  My generator uses propane and I'm still uncomfortable dealing with it...propane...that is.   I didn't turn the propane on at first and that was probably my first mistake.  It almost started a couple times but died.  Then I turned on the propane and couldn't get it to start at all.  There's a panel inside that I can use for starting the generator and it's pretty easy, just press the button to start.  I talked briefly with the man who sold it to me and he told me to run the burners for a short while before starting it.  I wasn't able to get the burners going.  Any ideas as to what I was doing wrong?  I finally get up the courage to deal with the generator and I can't get it started.  I need to get this behind me so I don't have any more fears operating Olivia.  I think this is the last one.  Since I need to start the burners first, that takes care of that fear, then starting the generator takes care of that fear.  So, I can kill two fears at once.  

I've been looking on the internet for jackknife sofas and I learned today that Flexsteel no longer makes them.  I also found out that the nearest dealer to me is in Vancouver, WA, about three hours from where I live.  

Today I talked to a very helpful lady at the dealership where I bought Olivia and she informed me about the jackknife sofas and said they're being replaced with Easy bed sofas.  The lowest price appears to be in the $800 range and I'm thinking that's more than I want to pay.  I guess I'll be sleeping over the cab for the duration.  

One of the shows I like on HGTV is Deserving Design.  Vern Yip, the show host, redoes rooms in homes of people who help other people.  One show that struck me was of a woman who helps low income people pick out furniture that has been donated so that they can furnish a new home.  I'm not sure what the draw is for me, but it's there.  So I've been looking for something similar in my area and I think I found it today!!!  It's called Home2Home and they "provide furniture and household items to people who are referred by pastors, school counselors, case workers and other local non-profit organizations."  

I'm starting to lean towards getting rid of as much furniture as I can stand to lighten my load and maybe lower the price of moving stuff down to AZ.  I'm thinking of downsizing like so many of you have done or are doing.  I posted a picture yesterday of the "monster" buffet.  I also have a dining room table with 6 chairs, a coffee table, end table, book case and a small round table. It's a matched set and it's all large.  

Home2Home has a list of what they will and won't accept and, unfortunately, my couch is too long and the coffee table and end table have glass tops. They won't take those pieces.  They also don't pick up so it's looking like my best bet is to call Salvation Army since they do pick up.  

There's a lot of things they will take that I wasn't able to sell in the moving sale, like kitchen stuff.  I also have way too many sets of sheets so I'll donate a few of them.  

I just spent the last 2.5 hours with my prospective tenants and they're wonderful!!  I would be so happy to have them in my house.  They wanted to take measurements of the rooms to see if their furniture will fit since the house they're in now is quite a bit larger than mine is.  They have two dogs...a Corgi and Bernese Mountain Dog.  


I have fantastic news...I don't have to move the "monster" buffet!!!!!  I am so relieved.  


Stay tuned, there's more to come.


Jeana

My House is Leased

I got the call today that my house is 99.9% leased.  All that's left is signing on the dotted line since they passed with flying colors all the hoops they had to jump through.  I realize that's pretty important but it sounds like a done deal according to my property manager.  I hope writing a post about it doesn't jinx the deal but I don't think so.  That means that I have a lot of work to do and I need to be out the end of September.  

I started the process today by scheduling a PODS to be delivered the middle of September.  I almost cancelled when I was quoted the price but I'm having enough trouble getting two vehicles down to Tucson.  If I decided to go with a Penske truck (I don't trust U-Haul for long distances) then I'd have three vehicles to get down there and that just won't work for one person.  

For those of you unfamiliar with PODS...it's a container delivered to my house that I fill at my leisure and then they deliver it to wherever I want.  I know, I know, if I got rid of all my stuff then I wouldn't need a container. Since I'm unsure if I'm going to end up in a house or a larger RV, I want to take some stuff with me.  I've also had a terrible time trying to consign my furniture and I guess I'm just not willing to give it away.  The couch and loveseat I probably will donate, the rest I'm not too sure about.  My mantra "it's just stuff", I guess doesn't apply to everything.  

Tomorrow I'm going to box up the rest of the stuff that didn't sell at the moving sale and take it to Goodwill or Salvation Army all the while saying "it's just stuff" as I second guess whether or not it is just stuff.  Whew, that was a long drawn out sentence.  

I just received a call from the lady who showed my house for my property manager and the people interested in it want to come by tomorrow and take measurements.  Apparently it's ok for me to be here so I'm going to ask if they'd be interested in any of my furniture, particularly this monster...

It's a gorgeous buffet and takes up a whole wall.  It's five pieces and as you can see, has tons of storage, plus a mini-bar in the middle.  I really like it but I'm not too thrilled at attempting to take it apart and then moving it.  All of the furniture I'm talking about I inherited from my parents.  I suppose that might be part of the reason I'm not too crazy about giving it away.  

I'm just exhausted thinking about what I need to do, so I think I'll go rest.

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

Test Drive Today

I test drove the 2005 Monaco Cayman today and I think it went pretty well. I did notice how noisy it was in the cab and I wasn't too crazy about that. The salesman made a point of stressing that the engine noise was in the back but it was the noise in the cab that was disturbing.  The front edge of the seat was out further than the bend in my knees and that wasn't comfortable. The mirrors were fantastic and really made a difference.  It has cameras that turn on with the turn signals, but I had more luck with the mirrors.  I imagine the mirrors would work better in traffic, like on the freeway.  I do think I could get used to driving a Class A.  I almost asked to go around the block a second time but I knew I wasn't going to buy, so that wouldn't have felt right.

Fortunately, the salesman who went with me was an expert on diesels and the man I dealt with yesterday remained behind.  The salesman from yesterday made  sexist remarks to me more than once and I let him know I wasn't ok with it.  Today he called me a girl.  I don't think I qualify as a girl at 63 and I really resent being called one.  I won't get on my soapbox about women being called girls and men being called men.  Sorry, my feminist side is showing.

I really appreciate all the comments on yesterday's post.  I've been on the internet today trying to find jacknife couches and I'm not having much luck. Lynne, another View owner, happens to have that type of couch in her View so I guess they're out there.  Maybe I'll call the people I bought her from tomorrow and see if they can help me.  I think that might help, temporarily.

Those of you out there with diesel pushers?  Would you go back to gas?  The moronic salesman yesterday said that no owners of diesel pushers ever go back.  Is he right?  Oh, another thing I liked about the one I drove today...you can fill the gas tank up from either side of the coach.  That is slick.  Having had a problem more than once with diesel being on the wrong side for me, I would really like that.

Oh...before I forget.  I found a Class A motorhome in San Diego last October.  I know I wrote about it because I was thinking of flying down to check it out.  It's the motorhome that is the reason for the name of my blog...four windows with a view...

This is not the one in San Diego, but one I saw up here a few years ago.  I love the floor plan.  Well, the one in San Diego is still available!!  My first thought since it's still available is...what's wrong with it?  The price hasn't dropped any more which really surprises me.  Maybe I'll go check it out after I get down to Tucson.


I have so many things to think about based on a lot of the comments I got from yesterday's post. One of them is pulling a toad.  If I get a Class A I'll probably have to and I'm not sure I want to.  I need to be 90-100% sure that I truly want to full-time before I spend the money on a bigger motorhome. Right now I think Olivia is great because I can go pretty much anywhere with her.  However, I don't know where I want to go and I need to figure that out.  Do I just want to take weekend jaunts?  Why weekends?  I'm retired, I can go during the week.  I'm hoping that it will make more sense when I'm in Tucson.  I won't have a house to worry about and I can take off whenever I want.  Maybe I'll really get the RVing bug and never look back.


I do know that I want to take advantage of my Harvest Hosts membership and check out wineries.  Maybe that will be my focus when I get to the Southwest.  Sounds like fun to me.


Loving the sunshine,


Jeana

I Looked at RVs Today

When I was driving home from Boot Camp on Thursday I drove by Poulsbo RV in Seattle and saw a number of Winnebago Views on the lot.  I decided to go there today and check out different floor plans.  

The reason I went there is that I'm not happy with the sleeping arrangements in Olivia, i.e., I'm not too crazy about climbing a ladder to reach my bed at night.  Having spent a grand total of five nights in her I have an idea of what it will continue to be like and I'm not crazy about it.  I also don't like that I can't sit up in bed and read at night.  

Sleeping on the couch in Olivia is out of the question.  Too uncomfortable and I don't like the idea of having to make it up every night and putting it away every morning.  I had a couch in my fifth wheel back in '93 that I think would work marvelously, but I can't find one.  It's just the kind where you grab and pull and the back lies flat and you have an instant bed.  Yes, it has to be made up, too, but with less work since it doesn't have to be inflated and then deflated.  

I drove a 31' Jayco Class C something or other today.  It's actually a truck. I didn't like how the cab felt...too enclosed.  I also looked at a 30' Monaco diesel pusher Class A.  I'm supposed to go back tomorrow and drive it. Merikay...you're my inspiration!!!

Here's the interior of the Monaco...

and this is the bedroom...

Here's the Jayco...

and the bedroom...

Of the two, I like the Monaco the best.  It's amazing what five more feet will do to an RV.  I also don't like a booth dinette and that's what the Jayco has. I don't know if having been to the Monaco factory recently has anything to do with my decision.  We went there on Wednesday as part of the boot camp and it was a great tour.  Waaaaaaay out of my price range.  They're moving the RV factory to Indiana early next year and will only be building trailers at Junction City, OR.  Sadly, lots of jobs are going away.  

One of the ladies at Boot Camp, who has a Thor Four Winds Siesta, said that Dodge Sprinter's are known for difficulty in side winds.  I didn't know that but I've experienced it twice and it was awful.  They're going to have sway bars or something like that added to their rig plus automatic levels.  I'm not happy enough with Olivia to go to that expense.  

I'm also aware that small probably isn't going to work for me.  If I change my mind somewhere down the line, don't quote me.  I'm just figuring out what works for me and talking out loud.  

The salesman told me that with the airbags on the Monaco and the diesel pusher that I wouldn't have trouble with side winds.  Is he right???

Before I go, I want to share two lovely mountains with you.  The first is Mount Hood...

and the second is Mount Rainier...

Also visible while taking pictures of Mt. Hood, Willamette Falls...

Apparently, the Willamette River is the only river that flows south to north. I did not know that prior to boot camp.  If you look closely in this picture you can see an American flag...

Thanks for listening to my incoherent ramblings.  


Loving the sunshine,


Jeana

Boot Camp's Finished...RV Maintenance...That Is

When I got home late yesterday afternoon and drove up my driveway, I thought my house looked terrible...kind of unkempt and frumpy.  This morning I spent a few hours pulling weeds out in the sun and I'm worn out. I hope I'm coherent with this post.  If not, that's why.  

I also talked to my property manager yesterday and I've dropped the leasing price by $300/month.  Apparently a number of people have been interested but were put off by the price.  Honestly, I would be put off by it too.  The last time I rented it cost me $400/month so the thought of paying what we're asking is mind boggling to me.  Someone is scheduled to look at it tomorrow.

I think the most important thing I learned at boot camp was that I've been driving around with my propane on.  That scared me when I realized what I'd been doing, especially when I thought about how many times I've filled my gas tank, not to mention riding a Washington ferry with it on.  It came up in discussions at the boot camp and there seem to be two ways of thinking about driving with propane on...one group says it's fine, another group says not to.  I tend to go with the don't drive with propane on, even though that's what I've been doing unknowingly.  What do you more seasoned RVrs think?  

Beckey, the lady who set up the boot camp, is 76 years old and a wealth of knowledge.  I think she could have done the boot camp all by herself.  She has a Class A and spends a lot of time in it with her cat. She obviously doesn't come from a big city because she'd leave her RV door wide open while we were out and about.  Her cat would venture outside once in awhile and never ran away.  I, on the other hand, always locked mine before I walked away from it.  

I pulled into the RV park right behind Beckey and picked the only spot with a tree.  I noticed when I was checking out their website that I was going to an RV park in Oregon without any trees.  How weird is that?  I got the feeling right away that the park was unfinished and it turns out I was right.  The owner is in bankruptcy and it's owned by a bank now. It's kind of sad that his dream would end so dismally, especially when there's so much potential there.  

Lucky for me, Beckey came over when I started to hook up and it went pretty smoothly.  I know I'll be able to do it on my own from now on and that feels wonderful!!  I had trouble with the water connection leaking when I was on my first outing in Eastern Washington, but not so this time. Beckey introduced me to this contraption...

and it made all the difference in the world.  Fortunately, she had a brand new one so I gave her $4 for it and don't anticipate water problems anymore.  I also had to borrow a wrench from her to tighten it.  Fortunately, I have one at home and will add it to my collection of tools I carry in Olivia. 

The night we arrived we met outside at a picnic table and introduced ourselves and  talked about how long we've been RVing.  I wasn't the only newbie!!  It turned out that there were three other vehicles similar to mine on Dodge Sprinter chassis's.  Mine was the only Winnebago View.  This picture shows them somewhat.  That's Beckey's on the right, with the wide open door.  

I was standing in front of my space when I took this picture.  So how did I end up alone?  I wondered the same thing, especially since we weren't assigned spaces and could pick the one we wanted.  I could go into how I typically seem to be on the outside looking in, but I won't.  Even though I missed out on some things after we broke up for the day and after dinner, I liked my spot.  I regret that I missed out on the other gatherings though.  

It was so fun to sit around and listen to each person's story.  Ladies came from Victoria, BC, to San Antonio, TX.  Some had toads and some didn't.  I was the only  person who left their dog at home and except for Beckey, everyone had a dog.  I also had the largest dog and I don't regret leaving him.  When I came home, he appeared shakier to me and I was glad I left him, although he wasn't.

I'm aware that I'm feeling really, really tired so I'm going to close after I show you the wonderful group of women I shared boot camp with.  I woke up at 3:30 this morning, so with that on top of working in the sun for hours, I'm worn out.  I'll continue with more tomorrow.  And here they are...

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

I Survived I-5

Yes, I did...I survived I-5!!!  Not without a mishap, though, and I wasn't aware of it until I was parked at the RV park.  I was about 35 miles from my destination and I thought I heard something (but things had been flying around inside Olivia, so I thought it was more of that), looked out the drivers side mirror and saw something go flying across the freeway from the fast lane over to my right.   I saw a car pull off the side of the freeway next to the median really fast.  It didn't appear that they'd lost a tire but I just couldn't figure it out until I walked around Olivia and saw this...

It's supposed to look like this...

Now I'm wondering if some damage was done to their car and, if so, I feel horrible.  I'll never know.  What I do know is that replacing that hub cap probably won't be cheap.  Aargh.  

Despite the above, I'm really starting to like this RVing thing.  I made numerous stops along the way, not pictorial stops, unfortunately, mostly rest areas.  I didn't feel rushed and drove mostly around 60.  When I first got to Oregon the speed limit was 55 and I had no problem with that.  Traffic around Portland was awful.  405 was closed so I think that contributed to the awfulness.  We were down to two lanes when I noticed a sign for Salem, realized I was supposed to drive through there and switched lanes.  Then I noticed I'd been in the lanes for downtown Portland and I changed lanes just before it would have been too late.  Phew.  

Something I haven't seen for ages was hitchhikers.  First, I saw three young women (they were together) and then a couple men, hiking individually.  I also saw a sign saying not to pick up hitchhikers...duh...so I started looking for a prison.  In Arizona when there's a sign not to pick up hitchhikers that means that a prison is in the vicinity.  Not so where I was.  

I'm at the Riverbend Resort in Harrisburg, OR.  There's one tree in the RV park and I'm parked in front of it...

This is what's behind my spot, a grove of Poplar trees...

A short distance away, but not visible from Olivia, is the Willamette River...

Before I left home, I took out the chair in Olivia because I didn't think it was very comfortable and it took up too much space.  Besides, the driver's and passenger seats both swivel around and they recline.  The one I took out doesn't recline.  So, instead of this (chair in foreground)...

it now looks like this...

I kept the foot stool and added the crazy looking portable chair (with a back) to the foot stool and it's working out great.  I also have a great view outside my window...

  

This is check in and I get to keep an eye on all the activity going on.  

I just talked to my friend who's house/dog sitting for me and she was complaining about the heat, especially inside my house.  I remembered that I have a window thermometer I can attach outside so I went and got it and made Kathy feel somewhat better because it's 94〫 here.  However, I have an air conditioned RV so it isn't a fair comparison.  In fact, I'm feeling chilly so I need to turn it down, or go for a walk.  I think I'll go for a walk and finish this afterwards.  

I'm back from my walk and hungry so I'm going to fix dinner.  Training starts tomorrow so I'll let you know what I learned.

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

Drama Down the Street

I heard siren after siren this morning and it finally dawned on me that the sirens were being turned off right after the fire and police drove by my house.  I didn't have anything better to do so I walked towards the emergency vehicles and saw this...

I was shocked when I saw the car and taken aback when a hand came out the window...thumbs up (is it thumb up when it's just one thumb, since thumbs is plural and she only put one thumb out the window?).  I was terrified for her so I can imagine what she was feeling.  

This is the corner I have trouble seeing cars come speeding around when I'm pulling out of my driveway.  There are two choices here, an easy left off this road or continue right around the curve.  Apparently, the lady driving was originally going to take the easy left, changed her mind, and the word on the street was she overcorrected and ended up a wire (as opposed to up a tree).  

After the car was braced, the fire department worked on extricating her...

and...voila...she's out.  Hopefully, all is well.  Once they got her out of the car they braced her neck and took her to the hospital.   I went across the street and this is what the car looked like from that direction...

I'd say that wire is pretty strong.  I had someone coming to my house at 10:00 so I wasn't able to watch the tow truck people get it down.  Can you imagine trying to explain this to an insurance company???

I met my next door neighbor, though!!!  I met his father first because he was looking, too.  He's visiting from Toronto and manning the house while his son is at work since it's being painted inside.  Then Jonathan, my neighbor, came out and I introduced myself.  I'm pretty sure he works for Microsoft.  

A friend who lives the opposite direction about 3/4 mile south on the same street, walks everywhere.  She kids me all the time because I drive everywhere.  She threw the gauntlet down one day and dared me to walk through the shops in Old Bellevue on Main Street and I took her up on it.  I drive through there twice a day, at a minimum, to get to my house and never stop because it's crowded and hard to find a parking spot.  So, I drove to Wendy's (not the fast food joint) and then we took off on foot. I found another consignment store and they want me to email pictures of my furniture!!!  I drive by it all the time and had no idea it's a consignment store.  You know the old saying...third time's a charm...maybe the third consignment store will work for me.  

I took a bunch of stuff to an antiques store yesterday and had an interesting half hour with the owner.  He explained why he bought what he bought from me and  why he didn't buy the rest.  Then I took the unbought to Salvation Army and felt pretty good about the whole thing.

I leave Sunday for the RV Maintenance Boot Camp in OR and I'm starting to feel pretty excited about it.  I don't know if I'll have time to post tomorrow because of getting ready to leave early, early Sunday morning.

I'm going to be at Public Storage at 6 AM tomorrow so I can bring Olivia home and not have to deal with traffic as I back up my driveway.  

There was a city worker trying to direct traffic this morning before the fire and police arrived at the accident and he said he had an awful time getting people to slow down.  They appeared to be irritated with the delay.  I experienced that the day I bought Olivia and attempted to back up my driveway for the first time.  My neighbor was out there directing me and people were driving on the shoulder to get around.  At 6 AM with no traffic I have zero problems backing her up.

I'm ready for I-5...wish me luck!!!  Maybe my opinion of it will change as a result of this trip.  

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

Fixing an Eyesore...I Hope

This is the eyesore I'm talking about... 

and this...

When there was still grass in the area next to the driveway, the pipe sticking out of the ground wasn't as noticeable. It's also been there for as long as I can remember. 

My friend, Denny, who helps me with construction projects, suggested it might belong to an old oil drum.  OK, that works for me because I really have no idea.  He also suggested that it be shortened, capped and covered with dirt.  I agreed and he did that for me a couple weeks ago.  

The ugly brown spot is the size of my 1994 Volvo sedan.  That's because I parked it next to the driveway so that my dad or I could get his car out of the garage.  I hadn't had the extra parking put in yet on the other side of the driveway...

so that was my parking spot.  After I got my new Volvo I kind of kicked the old one to the curb and ignored it until I donated it to NPR.  As a result, a major eyesore that I've also been ignoring.  I like projects inside the house more than outside so it was easy for me to ignore.  And every time I came home I'd pull right into the garage and continue to ignore it.  If I can't see it, then there isn't a problem...right?  So, a whole lot of ignoring going on.  

When Denny mentioned that there was probably grass seed similar to the type sprayed on lawns I went looking for it.  I'd gotten five bags of topsoil because he wasn't sure how much he'd need to cover the pipe and he barely used one bag so I had all this topsoil hanging around.  Instead of returning it to Home Depot I decided to use it today...

Topsoil put to good use...

Patch Master grass seed put to good use (I hope)...

We're still having lovely weather here in the Seattle area and I think this is going to be a good time to try and cover up the dead spot.  We're supposed to have sunshine every day and we might even get up to 80〫or higher next week.  

Drat, I just realized something.  I'm leaving Sunday for OR and now I'm going to have to ask my house/dog sitter to water for me.  It's supposed to be watered twice a day and I'm hoping this will work (become grass) and I don't want it to dry out when I'm gone.  

I'm sitting out in my backyard now with my dog next to me.  I'm trying to ignore the music coming from the house up and over one.  I'm sitting pretty close to my noisy fountain and I can still hear it once in awhile.  Because it's so noisy out front due to constant traffic, I love to go into my backyard and enjoy the peace and quiet.  When I hear neighbor noise, I get bummed, especially when it's their choice of music.  I don't want to listen to their music, I want peace and quiet.  It feels so good out here that I'm going to do my darndest to ignore it because I don't want to be driven into the house.  

About leasing my house furnished.  I mentioned that to my property manager awhile ago and she said no.  She said most people have their own furniture and don't need a furnished home. 

I had a brainstorm this afternoon. I'm going to see if I can find an organization that provides furniture for women starting over for whatever reason and are in need of furniture.  I'd feel better donating it to that type of organization rather than Goodwill or Salvation Army, if it  comes to that.  I'd still like to be able to earn some money from it, but if I can't, I can't.  

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

Another Rejection

I just received a second rejection from a consignment store for my living/dining room furniture.  I'm not taking it personally because I inherited it, but I'm concerned that it's becoming a monkey on my back.  I'm not sure what's next.  I have a friend from OR coming Friday and she's an expert in downsizing so I'm hoping she'll have some other options for me.  

I got an email from RVing Women yesterday that while we're at the rv maintenance boot camp we're going to take a tour of the Monaco factory.  If my memory serves me correctly, Monaco is a high end coach so the tour should be interesting.  

I took a load of stuff to Goodwill today and they accepted it all.  At least somebody likes my stuff!!  I had a bunch of running around to do today so I didn't get any more packing done. 

There's a pretty decent second hand bookstore that I go to once in awhile and I stopped by there yesterday.  I found an interesting looking book called Support Your RV Lifestyle...An Insider's Guide to Working on the Road.  I haven't started reading it yet but it looks like it's packed with interesting information.  If I learning anything interesting I'll let you know.

I'm aware that what I'm writing tonight feels like bullet points and I'm not liking it.  I guess I'm more flummoxed by the rejection than I thought and I'm having trouble coming up with anything cohesive to talk about.

So I'm going to quit  for tonight.

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

Life After a Moving Sale

Yes, there is life after a moving sale...cleaning up the garage.  My goal was to get the tool stuff boxed and I met that goal, plus I'm able to park my SUV in the garage again!!!  It's also loaded up for a trip to Goodwill tomorrow.  I have five boxes packed with lots more to be done and I'll either take them to Goodwill or have Salvation Army come pick them up.  I have to keep working on getting rid of the stuff before I talk myself into taking it back into the house.  The gentleman, Mike, who said he'd come back today, did come back.  His purchase took me over the $400 mark, so I think I did pretty good, especially since I didn't think I had done very well.  I must have lost track of how much was going out.  I guess that's my gas money to get to the RV Maintenance Boot Camp this weekend and back.  

I stopped by the consignment place I emailed a couple weeks ago about my living/dining room furniture.  Since they never responded my plan was to go there with my computer which has pictures of the furniture.  Unfortunately, they were closed today, so I'll go again tomorrow.  

Besides having some extra money, I think the next best part of the moving sale were all the conversations I had.  I love talking to people and I find myself not involved in too many conversations and I feel lonely a lot of the time.  I imagine that will change once I hit the road and start staying in RV parks.  I know writing a blog and reading and commenting on other blogs is a conversation, of sorts, but I love the verbal face-to-face once in awhile.

Having said that, I'm suddenly feeling wordless, so that's it for now.

Lovely day here today,

Jeana

Addendum to Last Post re Moving Sale

My last visitor put aside $70 worth of items and is supposed to pick them up tomorrow!!!  I hope he shows up.  If not, I had a great time talking to him and his wife.

Notice the red ball on the stand (the lowest one in the front)...

When I decided to call it a day and was bringing stuff into the garage, somehow or other, I knocked over the stand with the red ball.  OMG...my driveway is steep and ends on a BUSY street and there's a ball rolling down it with no obstructions in its way!!!  I went after it and the first time I touched it I couldn't grab onto it.  I had horrible images of it reaching the street and hitting or rolling under a car and all kinds of frightening things happening.  I managed to grab onto it before  that happened and I'm so relieved.  There was some damage to the ball so I have a small repair job to do.  I can't begin to imagine what it would look like after colliding with a vehicle.  

Then I went inside and found my poor dog stuck on the wood floors in the living room and not able to get his footing to get up.  I have no idea how long he was stuck like that.  I almost cried when I saw him.  He doesn't have a mean bone in his body and forgave me as soon as I helped him up and let him outside so he could go potty.  That's why I have throw rugs throughout the house since I've taken up most of the carpet.  He doesn't usually go into the living room so I don't know what happened.  But all is well now.  

What a way to end a pretty boring day.

Jeana

Day Three of Moving Sale...Slooooow

I really hate to say it, but today has been a waste of time.  I did what Merikay suggested...

by moving stuff out of the garage onto the driveway and it doesn't appear to have helped much.  Even the free stuff is still here!!  I honestly can't believe the hula hoops didn't sell.  

Funny, as I'm typing this (1:47PM) three people showed up in a row. Nobody bought anything, but they all said they might be back.  Please, please come back and buy something.  One lady that stopped by and admired them, suggested that I ought to try selling my bowling balls.  Huh???  Why do you think they're in my moving sale?  Wouldn't that be considered selling them? Maybe she meant at a shop or something.  

I spent part of my time taking pictures for when I have to itemize my donations for income tax time and the rest of the time eating chips...

As I explained to a friend, I'm in a chip crunching craving mood.  I expect I'll be out of it when all the stuff I didn't sell is boxed and on it's way to Goodwill and/or Salvation Army.  So I'd better do that tonight and not spread this craving out too long.  

Next week at this time I'll be on my way (I'll probably be there since it's 2:10 PM as I type this) to Harrisburg, OR for the RV Maintenance Boot Camp with RVing Women and I'm really looking forward to it.  

I'm really struggling with what to say next so I think that's it for today.  I think the boredom of the weekend has hit me and I'm out of coherent thoughts.  

With that, I'll say so long for now,

Jeana

Day Two of Moving Sale...Disappointing

It was a really slow day today and that's disappointing to me.  Don't these people realize how much work I've done to get ready?  Not their fault, my expectations are probably too high.  While I've gotten rid of a lot, I think there's more left than what I've gotten rid of.  I'm also thinking that I recycled too many boxes and I might not have enough to pack up the leftovers for Goodwill and Salvation Army.  

I "almost" sold one of my yard art bowling balls and a picture my mother painted. But almost doesn't quite seal the deal, so, no sale.  

I suppose the most interesting part of the day were the conversations I had with some of the people who showed up.  One older woman seemed quite concerned that my mother had six Coach purses, three each of two different styles.  It didn't stop her from buying one, though.  

A friend joined me in the afternoon and that helped pass some of the time. There were long gaps between when people showed up and I used the time wisely, i.e., reading RV blogs and commenting!!!

I had to move a heater out into the space where I was sitting because I was cold. It took forever for the sun to come out today but it finally made it around 5 PM.  I was done by then not that any sun came into the garage, but it would have felt warmer.  I was just out in my backyard soaking up the rays while I could.

I don't have much more to share tonight so I'll close for now.  Hopefully, I'll have a ton of people show up tomorrow and I won't have anything left.


Later,


Jeana

Day One of Moving Sale

I'm about ready to pull up the sign and close the garage door.  Nobody has come for over an hour and it's almost 5:00.

I opened at 1:00 and between 1:30 and 2:30 it was a mad house.  Almost everyone bought something and it was a great way to start the day.  There's still an awful lot of stuff here, though.  Fortunately, the weather is cooperating since the sun finally came out.  

I don't know how much I've made yet but that's almost secondary to getting rid of stuff.  I thought about that statement and if that were the case then I would have just given it to Goodwill or Salvation Army.  So I guess I do want to make some money.  

It's been interesting talking to most of the people who have stopped by.  One gentleman, on a BMW motorcycle, said that at one time he'd lived in a 5,000 sq ft house and moved to a 1,500 sq ft condo and got rid of everything. Apparently, he gave most of it away and now he's replacing it all.  He bought a number of small things from me, which was a good thing.  

Some of my friends from Silver Sneakers have dropped by and I've been very generous with them.  I've either given them what they want or dropped the price considerably.  

I've gotten lots of positive comments about my bowling ball yard art but I haven't sold any, so far.  

My mom was a self-taught painter...a prolific painter and I have the pictures to show for it.  I have 30 oil paintings she painted and I don't know what to do with them.  I wish they were my style but they aren't.  I've gotten past the guilt of wanting to get rid of them, I just don't know how.  Any suggestions?

I didn't know a moving sale could be so exhausting.  Wait, it's the end of six days of preparation so I take that back.  Now that I'm not frantically getting it all together and have relaxed, I've really relaxed.  Not quite coma, but I'm getting there.  That'll come after I shut the garage door.

No pictures today...sorry.  And on that note, I'll close this post.

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

P.S.  I read this morning where Seattle is probably going to have another rotten winter so my decision to go to Tucson is sounding better and better.  

Moving Sale Starts Tomorrow

I can't believe I've "only" been preparing for this moving sale since last Saturday.  It feels like I've been at it forever.  Now I remember why I don't do this very often.  However, I'm hoping that I'll sell a lot, i.e., all of it. This is what it looks like in my garage...

There was an accumulation of stuff in the garage from years and years.  I think my dad liked tools and he had a lot of them.  So I had a lot of sorting to do, plus cleaning the garage.  

My friend Denny, who helps me with building projects around my house, came over today and I gave him first dibs on the tools that I'm getting rid of.  I unearthed a ladder that I had promised him and freaked when I finally got it out.  This is what I saw...

I called him and told him about the condition of the "feet" and he said not to worry that he could probably fix it.  He took off with the ladder and a bag full of tools and I put my first $50 in my moving sale kitty.  Not bad for a pre-sale sale.

I'm just taking a short break so that I can do a quick update.  The sale actually starts at 1 PM tomorrow.  Why 1 PM, you ask?  Friday morning is when I workout with my trainer and I don't want to miss.  She was in the Dominican Republic for a week so I missed a couple sessions and I'm feeling it.  Plus, I'm eating everything in sight.  Not good.

This is where I'll be for the next 2.5 days...

I think it's the perfect place for my computer when I'm not overrun with shoppers.  

Before I sign off I want to welcome a couple new followers:  Meadow House Musings and I don't think you have a blog.  Then there's BigAssBelle.  I tried to check out your blog but wasn't able to so I'll try again at a later date. Thanks for joining me on my journey as I getting closer to hitting the road.

Breaks over, I need to get back to work.  I've been dragging my feet about pricing stuff and now I need to get it done.

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana