The Frenzy!!

It has been a little over two weeks since I last posted to my Blog. I have called our life during this time "The Frenzy". My last Blog post was Saturday, June 26th. Knowing things would become "The Frenzy", I wanted to have a clean stopping point until I could get back to my Blog. So, here I sit trying to figure out how to sum up the past two weeks. 

The hitch in our get-along: We all, meaning the buyers for the Sadieville home and Claude and I, all figured we were closing on Monday, June 28th. Then the movers would come Tuesday, June 29th. Claude and I planned to come back to the home on Wednesday, June 30th, to clean. That was the plan. On Friday, June 25th, we learned the people purchasing our buyers home fell through. The buyers wanted to purchase our home still but it would require going to the banks and getting a loan. Typically that will take a month to get through all that paperwork. While we were very concerned about all this, we were assured the buyer was in good stead with their bank and the process was being pushed through as quickly as possible. The good news to all of this is that we still owned our home in Sadieville and didn't have to be in a rush getting the cleaning done and getting the things out that we had to move to our new home. Those were great blessings.

We attended church for the last time in the Georgetown Ward. We were asked to bear our testimonies which we did. This change in wards (congregations) with this move was not at all traumatic. Since the Georgetown Ward got too large several years ago and was divided to form the Elkhorn Creek Ward, we know lots of the people in both wards. We will miss the Georgetown Ward but will enjoy serving and participating with friends we have from the past. 

The weekend of Jun 26th and 27th and Monday, June 28th, were spent being sure everything was ready for the movers. The freezer and soda pop fridge had to be defrosted. What we would need until things were unpacked was set aside or packed. Reservations were made at the Holiday Inn Express for Monday and Tuesday evenings. Claude would take the beds down Monday so we opted to spend that night in a hotel. Tuesday after the movers finished loading in Sadieville and unloading Georgetown we knew would leave us exhausted and no good place to sleep. So, we also decided to stay that night in the Holiday Inn. These were great choices. Suitcases were packed to get us through the next week. The basement bathroom and the master bathroom were labeled to not move anything. We stored items in there for cleaning and things we would need to move after we finished with the movers. We also designated a corner of the garage with the tractor as a 'no move zone'. All the no move areas were labeled so the movers didn't have to keep asking us questions. By Monday night, we were very tired but felt ready for the movers Tuesday morning.

We also learned that our closing date on the Georgetown home would be Tuesday morning at 9:30am. Yike!! With the movers arriving in Sadieville at 9am, having a closing at 9:30am was a bit difficult. Our bank worked with us. Claude would leave the hotel and be at the bank to sign closing papers at 8am. Claude would then drive to Sadieville and I would drive to Georgetown for the 9:30am closing. This would assure one of us at the Sadieville house to receive and work with the movers at all times. This worked great. It is so good to have a bank that works with you like this. At my closing appointment, the owners of the Georgetown home and our realtor were there. It was good to be with the owners and ask a few questions. We were going to have DirecTV installed and I wanted to be sure where wires ran in the ground around the home. John Madden, the previous owner (that is his name), suggested we buy an 8 foot ladder as there are tall ceilings with lights and air filters in some rooms. All went well and I was quickly on my way to Sadieville to help with the movers. 

There were four strapping young college age men who would get a really good workout. They brought two trucks. We filled both trucks and they had to come back to fill up one of the trucks half-full after unloading in Georgetown. As they loaded things in Sadieville, I found empty rooms and went to work cleaning them. By the time I left Sadieville for the day, Claude and I had cleaned the toy/food storage room, workshop, office and guest bedroom in the Sadieville home. After the packers finished their work the previous Thursday, Claude and I emptied out the big storage room in the basement and cleaned it. 

In Georgetown, I helped take smaller items from the moving truck and put those items or boxes in the rooms they would be in. Claude and I both helped direct the movers to put the boxes and items where they needed to finally be. Even with all that direction, we still found things in the wrong place. But for the most part, things were where they needed to be for us to unpack. After they unloaded the first truck, two of the young men went back to Sadieville with Claude in his Jeep to get their final items the movers would move and for Claude to get another load for his Jeep of the things we needed to move. 

The movers had a bet going of $20 that the movers in Georgetown could not empty the truck before the movers went to Sadieville, loaded the items there and got back to Georgetown. When the two movers at the Georgetown home saw them coming around the turn into our neighbor, they went flying to take the final couple of items off that truck. 

The other sweet moment I had while I was working with the two movers left in Georgetown, was when we would pick up a piece of furniture to move, they would say, "What is the story behind this item?" I would share the story behind that piece of furniture or item. It felt good to know that a lot of what we have in our home has meaning to us. Maybe that is what makes a house a real home instead of just a show place. Claude and I are very casual people and always wanted a comfortable home, not a show place. After my numerous interchanges with these two young men, I feel like we have achieved that comfortable homey feel we enjoy so much.

After the movers left, we also left and headed to get some dinner and then to the hotel. We were totally exhausted and ready for a good night's rest.

Wednesday morning, June 30th, we were up early and headed to the Georgetown home to leave the items we had kept in our hotel room. Then off to Sadieville to do some more cleaning and bring a few more items to Georgetown. We finished cleaning the basement and felt good about that. 

Once we were back to Georgetown, we unloaded our cars and began the unpacking. First order of business was to make sure we had a bed in which to sleep when night came. When we moved and our kids were young, the first thing we always did was put up their beds. Kids always handled the change well when they knew their place was assured in the new home. Claude and I felt exactly the same. I posted this picture on our family Facebook page with this caption, "True joy is knowing we have a bed tonight!!!"

Thursday, July 1st, we spent unpacking and setting up. The DirecTV guy came and installed our satellite dish in the rain.

Friday, July 2nd, we headed to Georgetown in the morning. Stopped at Hardee's for our biscuit and soda and sat in our car in the garage out of the heat to eat it. Then we set to work finishing the cleaning of the house. Claude finished up the yard work he had started earlier in the week. As we were ending our morning in Sadieville, the man came to do the appraisal for our buyers. He was asking us about some items he needed for the appraisal, like, where we got our electric and water service from, etc. He expressed some difficulty in finding comps with which to compare value. I thought but did not say out loud, "You won't find any comps. This is the best home in the area!" Claude did tell him to appraise it with a big value. Lest we get ourselves into any trouble with this process, we left the appraiser to go through and then lock up when he left. 

Back to Georgetown for more unpacking and breaking down of boxes. The stacks of boxes in the garage was now three stacks, each a different size. I felt so good each time I broke down a box and laid it on a stack of boxes. Progress!!

We had a little interchange with our grandson, Hayden, this Friday. He sent a text message to Claude and me asking when he could come spend the night. Claude assured him he was welcome anytime but explained we still had a lot of unpacking to do. Claude and I had paused to give our bodies a rest and to rehydrate. I sent this picture to Hayden. 

I asked Hayden if he wanted to come and work and assured him we did have a TV now. Hayden asked, "What do you mean by work?" Claude explained, "Effort put toward some useful objectives." Hayden asked, "Can you be more specific?" I replied, "We are opening boxes and finding where their contents should be. Then we put those contents away. Break down the box and move to the next box. We have to put together the DVD system on the big TV. We have to set up the patio. I need to do the laundry. And the list goes on. Are you in?" Hayden clever retort was, "What's the starting wage?" I told Claude what Hayden's question was about wage. Claude answered, "$1, love and affection." Next Hayden wanted to know how many hours of work. Claude replied, "As many as it takes..." To emphasize we had to work, I sent this picture of our kitchen with the question, "Want to come help?" I'm guessing Hayden wasn't up for that kind of work as we received no further responses. 

Saturday, July 3rd, Claude found all the right things and installed our United States flag on our home. He picked the place between the garage doors. Independence Day would be Sunday. How nice to have our flag fly on our new home.

Sunday, July 4th, was our first Sunday to attend our new Ward (congregation). Moving into our new home put us in the ward boundaries of the Elkhorn Creek Ward. We meet at the same building, just a different time. We really enjoyed our first Sunday with these good people. Many of them we knew already. 

Sunday afternoon I was in my sewing room at my laptop. I looked out the window and saw a little rabbit. This little fella must live close. I would see him every evening when I was out in the yard or looking out our windows. 

I was told by the former owner of our home that they could watch the Georgetown 4th of July fireworks from the front window of their home. At 9pm, Claude and I were at the ready to see if that were really true. There were fireworks that popped up over the trees in the distance that, I am sure, were the Georgetown-Scott County Fireworks. We learned the people of Georgetown love to set off their own fireworks. We walked out in our front yard and eventually down the street. So many people setting off really large and fun fireworks. We were outside for at least an hour oooing and aahhing over the fireworks. Lovely evening of fireworks and we didn't even have to leave our home. 

Monday, July 5th, we determined we needed to set our outdoor furniture in place. Lots of work to have the backyard finished off like we want, but the furniture in place now felt really good. I took these pictures and posted them on our family Facebook page. 

We plan to increase the size of the concrete patio by adding to each end of the patio. Where the white Adirondack chairs sit and where the kids bench is at the end of the shed, we plan to put some kind of paving stone under them. The old yellow milk can by the back door is from Claude's family farm. I painted it years ago and we have saved it all these years. My suggestion to Claude is that we paint it again with some rust-proof paint and put a fern in the top. We also want to add some stone step from the patio up to the Adirondack chairs. in the back corner opposite the shed, we will make a hosta bed. There is actually a little space behind the shed that gets good sunlight. Our backyard goes east to west across the tree line. Claude may try to plant a salsa garden back there. However, after discovering our rabbit friend, we think we may be feeding animals again!! The last tree in front of the shed had a big vine growing up it. The base is hollow. This gives us pause. But for now, I have suggested to our Bailey that this tree trunk and surrounding area would make an excellent fairy garden. This is such a nice back yard and we look forward to getting it set just the way we want. It will be a great 'outdoor' room.

Tuesday, July 6th, we received word from Wendall Drakeford, our realtor, that the appraisal was done and the paperwork was not in underwriting. He assured us it would not be long now till we could close on the house in Sadieville. I asked Wendall what the Sadieville home appraised for. He told me he was not given a number. He was told that it appraised for asking price or a bit more. This is good for the buyer trying to get their loan. My curiosity still would like to have a number. However, what I have learned is that the person paying for the appraisal, in this case the buyer, gets the number and their bank giving them financing also gets the number. The owner of the home who is selling does not get that dollar amount given to them. We were heartened with the news the loan was going forward and closing would happen.

We would continue spending our days unpacking, taking loads to Goodwill as things accumulated, going to Lowe's to purchase items needed like bathroom towels bars and rings and toilet paper rings, blinds, curtain rods, boxes and items needed to store things in, a new ladder, and the list goes on. 

Thursday, July 8th, we went to Sadieville again. We had been going out every other day to check the mailbox. Some items are not being forwarded. We would pick up that mail. This day, while Claude was doing things inside the house, I paused and sat on the flower bed in front of the house. It was nice to sit there and think of all we did to make this home our own. We bought it brand new. No previous owners. The grass had just been put in the yard. There were no flower beds out front. Since the house was on a hill, I suggested to Claude that we make three flower beds along the front of the house. They would each start at the base of the one next to them. We would plant in them shorter plants along the front porch, middle sized plants under the guest bedroom, and lilac bushes that would get taller under the office window. The height of the plants would make a level line across the front of the house so that the drop off of the hill was not accented. Claude worked so hard to build those flower beds. Now they are wonderful places of beauty. I thought about all the work we went through to make this house a home. How good that home had been to us and our family over the years. I felt deep gratitude to Heavenly Father for leading us to this beautiful place of peace. It had served us well for 17 years and we could sell it knowing how the improvements we made would be good for another family to enjoy and build on. It was a good moment to ponder and say goodbye to this home we love so very much.

We received word from Wendall that the closing for Sadieville was set for Friday, July 9th at 4pm in Lexington. Hallelujah! 

Friday, July 9th, we continued to work on unpacking and setting up our home. We left in the afternoon and headed to Sadieville. It seems they wanted all the keys to the Sadieville home in a bag for closing. Poor Claude had carefully created a box full of paperwork on appliances and things in the Sadieville home, I included a recipe book from Sadieville, Claude put all the keys in the key box in the garage and planned on taking just a key to the front door to closing. Seems that would not work. So, out to Sadieville we went to get those keys. Then to Lexington.

We were in Lexington by 3pm. Too early for the closing so we shopped in Bed, Bath & Beyond for curtain rods. May I just add here that the selection of curtain rods in all stores at the point and time in history stinks!! When we bought curtain rods 17 years ago for Sadieville, we had to really choose which ones we liked best. This time, I was very unimpressed with just about all of them. There were absolutely none we liked at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Claude pointed out one he was sure would be perfect. It was a ball on each end of the rod about the size of a tennis ball that was covered in rhinestones. Fortunately, Claude was joking!! We did find a trash can for the kitchen!

We went to closing. It went so quickly that it was almost anticlimactic! Except, we had a big, fat check from the sale of our Sadieville home. How happy to have this part of our move complete. No more cutting the grass in Sadieville for Claude!

We celebrated with dinner at Montana Grill. 

Then we shopped at four other places for curtain rods. Finally found something acceptable. You see, all the curtains I had ordered were coming in and we wanted them up on the walls. 

The other problems we had encountered was the walls in the master bathroom were not long enough for even an 18-inch bath towel rod. The longest wall by the shower was 16-inches. It doesn't take a math wiz to know that is two inches too short of surface area for an 18-inch towel rod, which is the shortest towel rod you can purchase. Thank heavens for a clever hubby. He deducted that he could cut the rod down to the size he needed before he inserted it into the two end pieces that attach to the wall. Hallelujah. What a great answer.

By Saturday, July 10th, we finished setting up the living room. In fact, we had all the curtains hung except the guest bedroom. We still haven't even opened the picture boxes. We both agreed we want to get the furniture in place and the curtains up, then we'll see how the pictures fit into these places. I paused and took pictures of our progress to post on our family Facebook page. We wanted out kids and grandmonsters to see what their wacky parents/grandparents were up to.

Giving his blessing to our residing in our new home, was our little rabbit munching grass in the backyard. 

Sunday, July 11th, we spent the morning in church. When we got home, we were both just exhausted. I looked at Claude and said, "Which sofa do your want?" He took the living room sofa and I took the one in the office. We both laid down to rest. 

In the afternoon we had our first family visit to our new home. The Marx family brought us lunch and got the grand tour of our new home. It was delightful to have this time with family. Hayden's first question was, "Where will we take the stair picture on Christmas morning?" Oh my, I had not even thought about that. We lived in a town home in Maryland and every Christmas morning before any presents were opened, we gathered everyone there for Christmas and took a family picture on the stairs. When we moved to Sadieville we kept that tradition. The Marx family have spent every Christmas in our home with the exception of Hayden's first Christmas. Hayden was a couple of months old and really doesn't remember anything but Sadieville as a Christmas place. Andie to the rescue. She suggested we take the pictures in the kitchen and layer ourselves around the peninsulas that is the kitchen counter. Not sure what we'll do but we will work it out. We did have the location of the Christmas tree worked out. Not the stair picture. We had a good meal and a nice visit with the Marx family. 

Monday, July 12th, I found myself getting Papa and taking him for a nice car ride. You see, Andie left her purse at our home on Sunday evening. This meant she was driving without a license. Not good. So I got up and went to the nursing home and asked to borrow my father. He and I drove to Andie's school (she is teaching summer school) and left her purse with her keys. Claude had an ophthalmology appointment in the afternoon. 

Tuesday, July 13th, was our last day to get things done before Claude would have surgery and be out of commission for a while.  We started in my sewing room. I had valances to hang, shelving over my closet doors, and hooks inside my closet to hang things on. We were fortunate that we found extra storage room in my closet for part of our food storage. 

My valances are just so me. I took this picture and posted it on our family Facebook page with this caption, "My sewing room curtains are going up! Did you ever see anything that was more me? They are actually cross-stitched." I loved Andie's comment, "Those valances make me want to eat a club sandwich while sipping a Dr. Pepper and prepping to use Jergen's lotion. In other words...they are very You!"

I was very happy to get my shelves up to display the dolls and animals I have purchased during our travels. These are the things that make a house a home to me.

Claude and I then took a nice break. It is doing these things and seeing how quickly we wear out that confirms again why we are at a point we need to simplify and downsize.

When we finished our break, it was time to tackle the laundry room shelf. We knew we wanted one other shelf in this room. It would hold our baskets, my tub of cookie cutters and some of the paper storage we needed. Getting the shelf up would not be easy for us. There was one shelf already in place with items stored on it. Also, the washer and dryer were in the way and we really didn't want to pull them out. We put old towels over the washer and dryer to protect them. Claude had one long board and we put that on top of the washer and dryer to offer support in case we needed to stand on the washer and dryer. It definitely took two of us to get this done but we did it. The store did not have an 8-foot long shelf like the one that came with the house. Claude had to purchase two 4-foot long shelves. They turned out to be deeper than the original shelf. I took this picture of Claude as we were getting the first 4-foot shelf in place. It sure shows how we don't need to be doing these kinds of things anymore and how happy we will be when all things are in their place. 

That did it for getting the house set up for the next week probably.

Wednesday, July 14th, we were up early and off to Dr. Wilson's. Claude had a small lump on his neck. Dr. Wilson, our dermatologist, knew as soon as he looked at it that it was cancerous. He also found a spot on Claude's cheek. We had the Moh's surgery scheduled for Claude for June 30th. However, with the move, Claude moved that date to July 14th. Moh's surgery is done a step at the time. The doctor removes a layer of tissue, bandages you up and sends you away to wait while he tests that tissue to see if there are cancer cells in the margins of that tissue. The doctor has you come back and, if there are still cancer cells, he removes more tissue. If there are not cancer cells, he stitches you up and you are set free. In Claude's case, he still had cancer cells. I got this picture of Claude's patch after the first cutting.

We went back to Dr. Wilson's and he removed the second layer of tissue. He explained to Claude that his particular cancer had a deep root and the top and spread out. So there will be a good sized surface opening and a deeper wound. We left after this second cutting and went to Taco Bell for lunch. Then back to Dr. Wilson. Turns out the second cutting yielded clean margins. They did layers of stitches on Claude's neck because of the deepness of the wound and sent him out all bandaged up. We will go back on Monday to have the stitches checked. Dr. Wilson will do the same type of surgery on Claude's cheek the end of July. 

This is a pretty good synopsis of our last couple of weeks. We are grateful to our packers and movers. We are more in love with our new home each day. It keeps unfolding its goodness with each bit of unpacking and setting things up. We have decided our next step is to get out to the shed and set its contents in order. That will flow over to the remaining things in garage and house. When we finish that, we will open all those picture boxes filling the half-bath to determine what and where we will hang our pictures and artwork. 

We know we were supposed to make this move. We are sure this is the correct home for the next phase of our lives. This is a good place to be in our lives.