The Crossing

Just finished reading The Crossing.  Another good read from Michael Connelly.  He is one of my favorite authors.  Looking forward to his next book.

December 29 2015 Tuesday

Christmas was wonderful.  I served lunch to my daughter, her husband and her two young adult sons.  We enjoyed being together and sharing our Christmas day. 

They are in their new house and it is truly a beautiful home and just the right size for the two of them.  Both of my daughters sons live in other states.  One of her sons is in the construction industry and he has been a blessing to all of us while here visiting.  He hung my large pictures.  At my daughters house he has hung, installed and anything else that needed to be done, he has done it.  He has been the best Christmas present we have had this year.

Each day I have gone to my house and cleaned.  It is looking better and better each day.  Thursday my youngest daughter is coming over and we will finish up and then hopefully it will sell by the first of June.  At this time of the year very little real estate is being purchased. 

Back in the spring this same daughter painted my front porch.  Yesterday I looked out the front door and what did I see, evidence that the birds are back roosting on the ledge.  I MUST find something that will stop them ASAP.  I went online this morning and researched various products to see what might stop the problem.  Guess I will call grandson this morning and see if he has a resolution.

Onward to 2016!

December 24, 2015 Thursday

I am cooking lunch for tomorrow for part of my family.  This has been the most upside down Christmas I have ever experienced and it is turning out to be one of the best I have had.  We are a large family and long ago we gave up trying to exchange presents.  The rule for the grandkids is you get a present until you are 18 and that is the cutoff age.  After that we just enjoy being with each other whenever we can.  I do not even have a tree this year but I have had some of the most wonderful gifts a mother and grandmother could be given.  One of my grandsons is home from the marines for the holidays.  What a joy to see his smiling face and feel his loving hugs.  Then two other grandsons are in the area visiting their mother and they will be here tomorrow for lunch with their mom and stepdad.  Already another son has advised me he and his family will be up this week to share lunch with me one day and just maybe they will bring that special great grandson of mine.  Today I spoke with my sister and we just enjoyed chatting and catching up on each others family.  And to me that is what make Christmas so special this year, my wonderful sweet family.  To celebrate the birth of the Christ child is the focus of my Christmas but the love of my family is icing on the cake.  Merry Christmas to all.

Wednesday, December 23 2015

Today my daughter and son-in-law moved into their new home.  Some of their furniture has been visiting my home for several years as they did not have room for it when they combined their two homes.  This afternoon I have an empty house, not one piece of furniture remains.  My contractor is almost finished with repairs and hopefully by January 10, 2016 I will have a vacant and clean house for a lucky person to purchase. 


If you are reading this, I wish you a very blessed and Merry Christmas.  Thank you for reading my blog.

December 12, 2015 Saturday

I officially listed my house for sale this week.  Am I crazy listing a house for sale in December?  I listed it knowing that I probably will not have much activity until early spring and that is o.k. with me.  I am having some work done inside the house in the next two weeks.  The master bath needs a new counter/sink top and just other minor repairs.  Then there are several other repairs needed but nothing time consuming or very expensive.

My oldest daughter still has furniture left inside the house.  She is supposed to be moving into her new home the 20th of December but I don't think that is going to happen.  I drove by the new house yesterday and there is so much to be done and I really think it will be closer to the first of the year before they get moved in.

Things are slowing down and I am so ready for a quieter and slower life style.  I want to get back into the sewing room and sew, sew, sew.

December 7, 2015 Monday

At last, I am in my new apartment and I love it.  I moved on November 18 and we were able to find a place for each piece of furniture I brought with me.  It is still a work in progress as there are no curtains hung and many pictures are trying to find a comfortable home for me to enjoy.


 There have been a few bumps in the road but nothing that we could not resolve.  The first bump was the dryer vent was too large to fit into the laundry area.  My wonderful son-in-law came to the rescue and was able to connect a flexible duct vent and everything fitted perfectly.


The second bump was getting telephone and internet service.  I am going to be very kind and not say anything negative other than very, very poor customer service from my carrier.  It took over three weeks for them to get me service.  But I am now connected and up and running.  Yes, you can live without the internet!


I could never have done this move without the help of my wonderful, sweet, loving children.  They have been there with me all the way.  And dear, dear friends who saw me dwindling at the end and came to my rescue and helped with the garage sale and moving the last left overs from the garage sale to a resale shop that supports a cause dear to my heart.  I am truly a blessed woman.


But the most important thank you should go to my Lord and Savior.  From the beginning of this journey I knew I could not make it by myself.  Before the apartment became available I prayed daily that God would give me clarity and direction to make the best decision for me.  When the apartment became available I asked for peace of mine and a stress free move.  Everything about this move went as perfect as any move could go.  There were times when I knew beyond a doubt that God was in complete control.  For example when I just by chance showed up at the house the day they disconnected my cable and telephone after they had told me it would be a week later.  There was my service tech wanting to know where he should go to connect my new cable service.  He followed me to the apartment and I had cable to enjoy that night.  The day I was suppose to get telephone and internet service, and had been told that I did not need to be home, I had walked to the mail box to pick up my mail and when I was walking back I saw my carriers truck.  There the service tech stood at my front door wanting to get inside and get everything hooked up.  All of this just did not happen.  God was in control every step of the way and I give him thanks and glory for loving me so much and taking care of me.


I love my apartment and I know that I am going to love having the freedom to not have the responsibility of caring for a house and yard.  A few repairs are needed on my house and then it will go on the market.  I know it will sell and I just pray it will be quickly.


The sewing machine is set up and I have three projects sitting on the table waiting for me.
Life is good!

November 15, 2015 Sunday

Today deep tiredness set in and I have succumbed to it by taking a few hours off from the packing and moving.  I am down to those last things that you can only do the day before and the day of the move.  My heart goes out to the movers as we have boxes and furniture to move surrounded by furniture and misc. items that will not be moved.  Thank goodness my oldest daughter is coming over that day and perhaps between the two of us we can keep the movers directed into what is going to be moved.  This weekend another daughter and my youngest son cleaned out the shed.  Oh my goodness was a mess was out there.  Only three more nights in this house. 

November 13, 2015 Friday

I was very, very busy today taking care of business regarding the move to the apartment.  Afterward I spend the day moving items and never had the radio or TV on all day.  Most unusual for me.  I then heard the news of what has happened in Paris and my heart just ached for all those involved in this terrible, terrible violence.  My prayers are with the people of France and especially to those who have lost loved ones.


Today boxes were emptied and brought back to the house to be reloaded.  I am going to be so happy in my little apartment with no responsibilities for the care of a house and yard.  Tomorrow some of my children are coming over to help,  beginning with the cleaning out of the shed.  We hope to get some of the light items moved over tomorrow and then the movers will be here on Wednesday.
Also, today, a friend of a friend and a helper moved a heavy computer desk and file cabinet out of the bonus room and hauled it off to the dump.  I love living in a small town as we truly help each other whenever we see a need.  Thank you Donna, Tommy and Joe.

November 12, 2015 Thursday

More and more boxes are getting packed.  Things are looking and feeling so much more positive as I can see real progress and the move is in a few short days.  When I get discouraged I remind myself that two weeks from now everything will begin getting more orderly and calmer.

One of the major challenges for this move is what do you do with items that once had special meaning to me or family members and now they are just not so meaningful.  I am going by my daughters rule: If you have not used it or looked at it in two years get rid of it.  By the way, she is also in the moving mode as they are building a new house.

Yesterday I carried a load to a local organization for battered women that has a resale shop.  One car load out of the house.  I hauled 12 lawn bags full of junk down to the street for garbage pick up.  Guess what, new driver and no pick up.  They were still in the subdivision when I realized what had happened and I jumped into my car, barreled down the driveway and frantically drove to their truck blowing my horn the entire way.  The gentlemen was so kind when I explained the situation and they returned to pick up all the bags.  He said it was not marked "trash" so they did not know to pick up.
My normal trash man and I had discussed that there would be brown bags on the street for the next few weeks and they were to be picked up.

Today, more boxes and discarding unwanted items.

I dream at night for a time when I can return to my quilting.

November 10, 2015, Tuesday

This has just been one of "those days".  I think if I could go out in the backyard and howl like a dog I would feel better At least I would release my stress.  Don't know what my neighbors would say, however.  A "friend" told me yesterday she would be over this morning about 9:00 to pick up two boxes of supplies that belong to one of our quilt groups.  At 10:30 she was a no show and I had a quick errand to run which I did.  Then the apartments call to tell me the apartment would not be ready on Thursday due to a breakdown in communications with the cleaning crew.  But it will be ready Friday morning provide I would not walk on the bedroom carpet as the carpet cleaners would clean the carpet first thing Friday morning.  So I just gritted my teeth and said ok that I would work in the kitchen while they cleaned the carpet.  Move in by movers is scheduled next week so I have been packing  boxes all day.  Still no show from my friend.  At 1:30 she called to say she was on her way over.  It is now 2:48 and still no friend.  One of my pet peeves in life is when a person tells me they are going to do something and then not do it and they do not call to say they are running late or cannot do whatever it was they were going to do.  Yes, I am tired.  Yes, I am ready for this move to be over with.  Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, please, please.

November 8 2015, Sunday

I have given up counting how many boxes I have packed.  I am about 85% packed and hope to get everything packed that can be packed this week.  The moving date has been moved up provided the movers can get me moved earlier.  I keep telling myself that this move is the right thing to do and this is the right time and in three months I will be settled back into my nest and hopefully my house will sell quickly.

Thursday November 5, 2015

Packing and more packing.  This morning I was up much too early, 3:45.  By 6:00 I was dressed, fed and packing boxes.  All my fabric is in the living room ready to be moved.  Everything is gradually coming together to move.  Today I received the final confirmation that my apartment will be ready in mid November and I am so happy.  There is still so much to do.  It is hard to downsize.  Serious decisions have to be made regarding what to pack and what to get rid of.  Limited space so size of furniture is a big consideration.  Most importantly is getting my machines and fabrics moved and set up.  See I do have my priorities in order!

Wednesday November 4 2015

Woke up at 4:00 this morning and by 4:30 I was packing boxes.  I stopped about 10:30 as I had a date with my number 3 grandson for lunch.  He lives in Ashville and was down visiting family and today was my day to get caught up and enjoy being with him.  We had a wonderful lunch and just enjoyed being with each other.


Packing:  So far today I have 4 boxes packed.  The downstairs sewing room is 99.9%  packed.  The guest room is 99.9% packed.  My bedroom is 50% packed and I started in the linen closet yesterday and have everything out to be packed or passed on.  Next is to work in the two bathrooms.  I returned to Home Depot today and purchased 25 more heavy duty small boxes.  They are just so much easier to handle.

Tuesday November 3 2015

Yesterday I worked in my downstairs sewing room.  I cleaned out so much junk and things that I no longer have any use for.  Then I started packing boxes and was able to get six boxes backed.  I would have packed more but my Monday quilt group meets at 1:00 and I was gone for over three hours. 


Today I will be driving a friend to Athens for a medical procedure and will be away for about four hours.  Afterward I hope to finish the packing in the sewing room and then to the kitchen and start packing in that area.


Hopefully the apartment will be ready in mid November and I can start moving boxes etc into it and start getting everything ready for the movers in early December.


Two boxes packed. 
 

Sunday November 1 2015

Usually on Sunday morning you will find me attending church.  I have so much packing to do and the time is going fast so I am taking a few Sundays off.  Today I worked in my sewing room.  Oh my at the "junk" I threw out.  I packed four boxes but mostly went through my sewing things and just got things ready to pack.  Tomorrow morning I will get back in there and work until time for my Monday Quilt Group.  Making progress!

Saturday October 31 2015

When I created this blog it was for myself but others had the opportunity to view it if they so desired.
Why, I do not know as it is rather boring, but it does provide me a journal of what is going on in my life at that time.  For the next few months there will be very little about quilting and a lots more about moving. 


Today I have worked in my sewing room.  It is almost 3:00pm and I have managed to pack 4 boxes but have cleaned out a LOTS of junk.  Yesterday I packed two boxes and a bin but again cleaned out so much from a bookcase and had three bags of books for our local library's annual book sale next year.  My dilemma is photos that I have not looked at in 15 years and will have no room to store.  I packed them up and once moved and settled in I am going to go through them and will keep a few, give away the others (if the children want them) and then trash the remainder.

Downsizeing

I received the news several weeks ago that an apartment in the 55+ community will be available in mid November and I am delighted.  The packing has started and I hope to move sometimes afterwards.  The big question is how can you accumulate so much "stuff" in 15 years? 

Scrappy Star Quilt

I used up lots of my scraps for this one.  Finally finished it!

Dilemma of Living Alone

 

I have been by myself for almost three years.  When my sweet husband was healthily he was the person who took care of the yard and all house maintenance.  When he could no longer handle those responsibilities I hired a person to take care of the yard and I became the maintenance woman. 
 

After his death my next door neighbor took over mowing the lawn.  I had fired the yard person as he was not doing what he was being paid to do.  Then I took over everything in the yard except the mowing.  My single daughter was my helper for two summers but she now has a full time job and does not have the time to help.

I now have hired another lawn care service and I believe this will work out.  I will always be so thankful for neighbor Dean and his generously in helping me out but he has more on his agenda than he can handle and I know he was relieved when I let him retire.

 

After saying all of this, I have decided it is time for me to give up being a home owner and I have my name on a couple of 55+ apartment communities.  The one I want is in the town I live in and I am number 14 on the wait list.  However, the good news is they are going to build an additional fifty units and I have been assured I would definitely get one of those apartments.  It may be a two year wait but I can survive that long---especially since I hired a lawn service.  This old body cannot do what it once use to be able to do.  Happy days are ahead, even if it is a two year wait.

 

I have two years to clean out and clear out and I started today with my old “yard” clothes.  They are now in the garbage can.

Do You Wash Your Quilt?

 

 

This is a quilt I made for the grandchild of my daughters friend.  It was one of those requests like “Mom, can you make a quilt for H and will it be ready next week”.  Needless to say, my daughter does not sew and has no idea what is involved in making a quilt, time or cost. 

I will say this about my daughter, there are many things she does very, very well and I could not have made it the last two years without her help.  She has been my yard person and has worked very hard helping me keep the yard looking cut and trimmed.

As I said my daughter knows nothing about quilt making or sewing.  I always wash my quilts after I have finished with them.  Daughter comes over to pick up quilt and she is looking at the quilt and looks at a specific piece of fabric and says “You washed it and look the fabric has faded”.  The background of the fabric was a pink ombre (beautiful pink shade) with an overprint of wildflowers in delicate shades of purple.  I just had to laugh! 

The quilt turned out nicely and I do hope Miss H enjoys it.  Do you wash your quilts after you finish them?

New Babies

This winter/spring our family has been blessed with two new baby boys, my great grandsons.  They live in different states so I thought I would make each of them the same cute quilt.  I used bright colors thinking later their moms could use the quilt to teach them their colors.  Welcome to our world Beau and Brogan.

Dresden Plate 1

I just finished hand quilting this Dresden Plate.  The fabrics are from the Aunt Grace line of fabrics that I accumulated over several years.  It is a warm, cozy quilt for cold winter days and nights.