Hardest Donation to Date

I kept telling myself "it's just furniture, it's just furniture," and it was still hard.  Today the folks at Home2Home picked up a desk and two dressers.  I was back and forth about whether to include the dressers but as part of my downsizing I went through with it.  The less I have, the less I'll be tied down...and it was still hard.  

I've been packing up the kitchen and that has not been a fun project.  I found myself picking something up and then putting it down on the other side of the kitchen instead of in a box.  When I called Carissa at Home2Home to see what time the guys would be here today, she said it would probably be after lunch.  Last time they were here they arrived shortly after 10AM.  So, I bit the bullet and packed the kitchen.  I'm done except for the seasonings.  I'm trying to separate what goes on Olivia and what needs to be packed which means leaving boxes hanging around.  As I pack them I've been putting them in the garage, but not what's going in Olivia.  I'm getting close to the limit for my "minimum" move and I'm hoping to stay in that range to keep the price down.  

I can't find my mifi.  I thought I took it with me to Olivia yesterday.  I was just there hanging up my new curtains and I couldn't find it.  I've looked from one end to the other in my SUV and it isn't there either.  I'm going to take a deep breath, not panic and will it to show up.  

When I was at Olivia I opened the closet door and my propane alarm went off.  I tried it a number of times and it happened each time.  Nothing was turned on inside and I went outside and turned the propane off.  I'm hoping that was just a fluke and won't continue.  That would not be fun.  

I called a friend in the middle of my meltdown after the furniture was picked up.  We're going to meet at Applebee's for dinner.  I'm looking forward to it.

That's it for today.

Jeana

Getting Hung Up on the Craziest Things

Things have been going along fairly smoothly, until yesterday, and my hang up had to do with a telephone number and Corning Ware.  I kid you not.  

I called AT&T to see if it's possible to hang onto my landline phone number. See, it's been in the family for 40+ years and even though only one person I know uses it, well, you never know.  So, yes, for the price of $24.95 + taxes I can keep it.  I have to ask myself if it's worth $300+ a year to hang onto a phone number nobody uses, me included, since I'll be on the road.

As for the Corning Ware...come on, an issue with Corning Ware?  Yep, it kind of surprises me too.   My mom has/d so much Corning Ware and I rarely use it.  Sounds kind of like the phone, doesn't it?  I know I don't want any, or much, of it in Olivia because I don't want it rattling around making noise.  While I'm not crazy about plastic, in a motorhome I think it's a lot quieter.  Plastic is also lighter.  But, I'm ignoring the dilemma.  What is it with the Corning Ware?  I don't have to get rid of it...there's another option...I can pack it and take it with me in the moving van.  OK, I think that's what I'll do.  Phew, I'm glad that's taken care of.

I spent most of last night playing on my iPad, downloading free books and checking out the RVing apps I have.  I did buy one though.  J.A. Jance's latest...Fatal Error.  Like me, she has a Seattle/Tucson connection.  She spends part of her time in Seattle and part of her time in Tucson.  I've read all of her books and I'm a big fan.  

As for the books I...is it uploaded or downloaded...whatever I did with them, I plan on reading library books as long as I can.  I was one of the last to get a cell phone (now the landline dilemma makes sense) and I think I'll be one of the last to read books on an iPad.  I got them just in case.  Just in case I'm in the middle of nowhere, with not a library in sight, and no books. Horrifying thought.  I always have a book with me.  If I don't I start to go through withdrawal and I can't have that.  Now I'm covered, unless I don't have my iPad with me.  Since I don't have it with me all the time that could be a problem.  But since I'll put it in Olivia...the middle of nowhere thing shouldn't be a problem.  Because I'll be in the middle of nowhere, in Olivia, with my iPad.

I think I'm going to put you out of your misery and quit writing.  Maybe I mean to put me out of my misery.  Whichever it is, I'm signing off.  

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana

The Countdown Has Started...20 Days Until I Hit the Road

Yikes...where has the time gone...only 20 days to go.  I'm feeling a few different emotions...excitement...fear...wonderment (as in what the heck am I doing?)...just to name a few.  There's no turning back since my house is leased for a year.  And I don't want to turn back.  I'm going to "feel the fear" and do it anyway.  

More reasons to go...I turned the heat on in my house today...I'm sitting here with layers on and half gloves because my fingers are so cold.  I got my portable heater out and turned it on.  And it's only in the 60s outside. The damp chill is back in the air and that's what I want to get away from. I'm definitely heading for warmer weather.

I've written in the past about how much I dislike brown.  Some of the window coverings in Olivia are brown and gold and something else...

This would never have been my choice of fabric for covering anything. Fortunately, they only cover the windows in the sleeping area above the cab, so they're not too noticeable.  However, they are to me because I'm so anti-brown, but no longer...

I made these to replace the above and I like the color much better.

Walking through Sears this morning I came upon the perfect size iron for the small ironing board I bought not too long ago...

It's definitely smaller than the one I have now and takes up a lot less space...

and, I think, will be the perfect size for an RV.  


I was going to say that yesterday was a wipe out for getting anything done towards my move when I realized that I made the curtains!!  How I almost forgot that I don't know.  I do know that when I was finished that I vegged out and played on my iPad.  I'm sure glad that I got it.  One of the things I did was join Passport America while scanning over 3,000 travel apps of which I downloaded three.  


After I read what I've written, I asked myself "where's the enthusiasm?"  I'm not noticing it.  Then I remembered the huge weather change we've had and I think that's affected my mood.  We haven't seen the sun for four or five days and I'm impacted pretty severely when I don't get my sun.  Hence, moving to Arizona.  I think it's supposed to get back up in the 70s for a couple days and that will help.  


Before I sign off I'd like to welcome a new follower, Sunny, whose blog is named...changing lanes....  She's a fairly new widow and plans on RVing, like the rest of us.  Thanks for joining me on my journey.  


Sunshine please,


Jeana
  

I Can't Think of an Appropriate Title Tonight

I think either I'm brain dead or my energy just drained out of me.  Too much going on, but changes are a coming.  Among lots of other things I spent yesterday and today sanding and painting baseboards in my living and dining rooms.  Since I removed the carpeting, the fact that the baseboards hadn't been painted where the carpet had been stood out like a sore thumb.  Like the rest of the house it took two coats of paint, in addition to sanding them smooth, but I think I'm finished painting.  Hallelujah.  

I really appreciate all the comments on my last post...thanks.  Today I called another moving company that will pick up packed boxes to see what their rates are.  To them, what I have so far is considered a minimum move.  I can add 25 more medium boxes and the price stays the same.  Oh, the price...try $2,361.52 less than the other guys!!!!!!  They'll pick up my stuff and deliver it to Tucson and store it for a month.  It will cost less to ship my stuff than put it in storage for a year.  How cool is that.  They wanted a $100 deposit and the other guys wanted over $500.  When I called them today to cancel they offered me a discount to not cancel.  I told them that the issue was the size of container I'd have to use and it's just too big for what I have to move.  I should get my money back next week.  The movers are scheduled to come to my house October 7th.  That means I'm going to be a real RVr pretty soon and not just on paper, or post/blog, rather.  Scary and exciting.  

Long story short, I found a transporter for my SUV.   They'll come to my house to pick it up and hold it in Tucson if they should get there before I do. I get a 10% discount because I'm a senior.  There are certainly some perks to getting older.  

I had another load of merchandise to take to my new favorite place, Home2Home, yesterday.  I decided to turn on a different street to get there and found a new Habitat for Humanity store that opened recently.  The timing is perfect because I had some doors in my house I'd removed that I didn't know what to do with.  I also had a couple cans of paint I ended up not liking, so I took them there today.  

I had a couple items from Home Depot to return but I couldn't find the receipts.  It's a bit messy in my office as I'm sorting through stuff, but I decided to go and see what happened without the receipts.  I was thinking that maybe I'd get an in store credit.  I didn't know this, but because I used my debit card to purchase them a receipt wasn't necessary.  They just clicked on the bar code and I got a refund straight to my account.  

I think things are starting to fall into place and that's a good feeling.  Stay tuned for further updates.  

Missing the sunshine,

Jeana

I'm Seriously Irritated with PODS

I mentioned in a previous post that I marked my garage floor with what I thought were the two sizes of PODS available so that maybe I could go to a smaller size and save some money.  I think they're quite expensive.  I called them today to confirm that because it's looking like I can go from the 8x8x16 to the 8x8x12.  This is where my irritation comes in.  There's another size, 8x8x7.  The only sizes for long distance are 8x8x16 or 8x8x7. It feels like a set up to me.  And maybe it feels like a set up because I'm so tired.  

I woke up at 2 AM this morning and couldn't go back to sleep.  I've been packing since 7:30 AM and I've packed for 10 hours today.  There were some breaks to play solitaire, mahjong, and spider solitaire on my iPad and a run to the store for chips.  I. am. exhausted.  

Because I am exhausted I know I shouldn't be making any major decisions. However, I'm thinking that maybe I should just put my stuff in storage up here and deal with it later.  I can put as much as possible in Olivia and then the remaining stuff I think I "have" to have in my SUV.  I can pack it to the gills, provided I figure out how to get it to Tucson.  

Does anyone know if I can pack my SUV to the gills and then have it transported?  Is that asking for trouble, i.e, my stuff disappears between here and there?  

I'm going to make this a short post tonight since I'm so tired.  I'm also sun deprived.  Our three week summer has ended and I haven't seen any sun for three days.  I noticed last night that my solar lights outside aren't working because there hasn't been any sun and it was really dark in my yard.  I missed the lights.  I also have cold hands again and I put my wool slippers on a bit ago because my feet were so cold.  This is not good.  No wonder I'm going to Tucson.  

I just called the dealer where I bought my SUV and asked about transporting it to Tucson.  I'll have an answer and price within 24 hours.  I also found out that I won't be able to have any personal possessions in it.  


Maybe I could rent a small trailer to pull behind Olivia and put extra stuff in, or, I can just do with what fits in Olivia.  What a concept!!  After all, I'm supposed to be downsizing.  And I am, I am and I think I'm doing a great job.  




Missing the sun,


Jeana

Downsizing...I'm Really Getting Into It

Here he is...my new grandson...

Kelton John, born 9/10/11 @ 9:40 PM
7 lbs 13 oz, 20.6"

So far, this is the only picture I have of him.  I imagine it's the first of many, at least I hope so.  

I'm learning something interesting...the more I get rid of, the more I want to get rid of.  I'm sort of going from "haven't seen this for two years...toss it," to "haven't seen it for two days...toss it."  Well, not  quite that dramatic, but close.

I think I mentioned in an earlier post that I lined out the two PODS sizes in my garage.  So far, I don't even have the smaller one filled and I'm running out of stuff.  I have two chairs...

that will go with me because I like them so much (they rock and swivel), but that's it for furniture.  I want to eventually get them refinished because under the throw I have on them, they look like this...

and I don't like it at all.  I can see one of these chairs replacing the two chairs in the motorhome in San Diego that I'm so interested in...

  

Then my dog would be able to lie down in front of a window and look outside, almost like at home!!

Once again I'm looking for someone to drive my Volvo to Tucson.  My friend called me Saturday night to let me know that the Sheriff where her dad lives in California called to inform her that her dad had committed suicide two days ealier.  Needless, to say, Nancy is somewhat of a basket case and is heading for California tomorrow.  She doesn't know how long she'll be there, so she let me know I need to find someone else to drive my SUV to Tucson. I hope that "third times a charm" will work here.  If so, that means I'm two down and one to go. I sent an email to a niece I've been estranged from, asking her to go with me, for pay, of course.  She gets back tonight from the East coast, so maybe I'll know some time this week.

Today I've been scanning pictures into my computer.  I thought I was finished but I found a whole lot more that needed to be scanned, so that's what I've been doing all afternoon.  I needed a break because it's not the most enjoyable job.  

I've been so busy the past couple days that I haven't had any time to play with my iPad.   I have all the recommended apps to check out and I haven't had time.  Soon.  Before I hit the road, for sure.

Back to scanning.

Jeana

My First Grandchild was Born Today...9/10/11

I thought buying a new iPad made this week special, but the birth of my grandson topped that by a mile.   I'm so excited to finally be a grandmother, but I won't get to meet him until Spring when I fly to Germany.  My son, Jason, and his wife, Melanie, want to have him to themselves and I understand.  They both have to go back to work (Air Force) pretty quickly, so I get it.  My son only gets 10 days off, Melanie more.  I think because she had to have a C-section she might get even more time off now.  His name is Kelton John and he weighed 7 lbs 13 oz.  He hadn't been measured when I talked to my son, so I don't have that info.  I don't have pictures yet either, but my son will send them when he can.  In the past 30+ hours he's had 1/2 hour sleep so he might have crashed by now.  I can wait for the pictures.  

I've had a great time with my iPad and I love it.  Thanks for the suggestions on what Apps to get.  I'll have to figure out how to find them then download them.  When I go click on the Apps icon about 5,000+ are available for travel and 18,000+ for games.  It will take forever to find them, if that's where they're located.  

I got kind of frustrated when I was downloading some apps. After the app was downloaded (or is it uploaded???) I'd end up back at page 1 when the app I just down/uploaded was on page 20.  It didn't happen all the time but enough that I got fairly frustrated.  I realize I'm on a learning curve so I'll keep practicing.

Kate and Mike, my renters, were by again today and I'm so glad they're going to be in my house.  I have such a good feeling about them.  From the way they were talking today, I get the impression that my yard is going to look a whole lot better when they're done with it.  That's good.

The more I go through stuff in the house, the easier I'm finding it to get rid of more and more.   I'm going to give myself a year in a motorhome to decide if I want to continue or get back into a house.  Because I'm leaning that way I'm realizing that a lot of stuff I was planning on taking won't fit on a motorhome and why leave it in storage?  Home2Home is going to keep loving me because they'll be the recipients of what I don't take.  

Loving the sunshine,

Jeana