Chapter's End

     It's been a very busy month for us as we prepare to bring this chapter of our lives to a close. We have found that endings can be very difficult, to say the least. Yesterday was a prime example of this. We had to say goodbye to our beloved family pets Boots and Mister Cat. It was a hard decision, but I let Joey make the call as they were his pets when I met him. We had other alternatives available, but he made the choice to have them both "put to sleep" as they both had numerous serious health issues and were just plain old and miserable. Boots had gotten to the point that his arthritis was causing his hips to fuse, leaving him with limited mobility and he fell over frequently while trying to navigate the porch steps. Cataracts clouded his eyes and he was getting to the point where he didn't recognize some family members anymore. Children weren't his friends like before. This wasn't good. His sweet smile was still there sometimes, but there was also a lot of pain. He was also battling heart worms. When the Vet examined him before he put him under he informed us that he could feel a large tumor in his abdomen that we weren't even aware of, and that he wouldn't have had much time left. We were truly doing him a favor by making the decision we had. We had shared 15 years of joy having this Friend in our lives. He will be missed.

     Mister Cat was not a real cat. Not by any measure that I had ever had of the feline persuasion anyway. He did not want to cuddle, he didn't like being petted (unless he was forced into it in order to be fed), and he was definitely Not interested in playing stupid mouse games. Once I was made aware of the fact that he was at Least 25 (yes, it's true!) years old I figure that he was allowed to act any way he wanted. A cranky, cantankerous old codger was his nature, but we loved him just the same. He had started to lose weight this last year and was in a lot of pain from some serious old injuries that he had sustained many years ago. Couldn't even touch his lower back without him howling and biting at you. But still...It hurt to let him go...

     Now I know that Non pet people will just shrug and say "So what's the big deal?". Ha, obviously they have no idea how attached we get to our fur-family. They are a daily part of our lives and routines, giving far more then what they receive. Their unconditional love is our comfort and joy. They lift us up when we need them most and ask for nothing in return (well maybe the occasional hot dog or piece of turkey).

     What it came down to was that we needed to do something to put an end to their misery, and it was our responsibility. We didn't want to leave this for one of the kids to deal with, although they did offer to take them in. It wouldn't have been fair to any of them. They were our pets and it was getting to the point where they were both miserable and in pain the majority of the time. I've been put in this position twice before in my life. Doesn't get any easier as time goes by. We are struggling with the loss, but we do still have our Sadie and she will be traveling those open highways along with us. She is our comfort and joy. Another chapter comes to a close.

     Today is the last day at the house. We will finish clearing and cleaning, then hand over the keys. With all of the physical limitations that Joey and I both have this has been a real trial. Thank God that Joey's migraines have been few lately and that my body has held up as well as it has while we have been making this huge transition. The trailer is pretty much loaded, some things left in a storage unit (to be downsized in the near future) and huge amounts of our worldly goods have found their way into other people's homes.

     Don't know how much longer we will stay here at Seabreeze RV in Portland. The constant wind (no such thing as "breeze" here) is wearing on me. It's frustrating that Joey can't even go fishing with the water so close because of the wind. The horrible wifi service here (1 Mbps... really?) will soon be a non-issue as I'm going to invest in our own mifi this week. Don't like being dependent on rv parks for our internet access. We still need to stay in the area for a couple more weeks, but the world is our oyster, right? Who knows where the wind will blow us next...haha

Be Blessed and Thank You for sharing our lives...

From Treasures to Trash

     We managed to live through the final yard sale, but not without the help of our wonderful kids. Marissa and Adam really jumped in and made it happen. Lenae came over and helped during her break at work for a few hours. Katie helped keep the grand kids out of our hair so it was truly a family affair. I was certainly not at my best as Saturday is my "shot" day. I always feel off my mark on those days as the medicine makes it's way through my body. My recliner and knitting inside the air conditioned trailer were calling my name...Loud! Not going to happen though. My mantra went something like: Just a few more hours, just a few more hours, just a few more hours...

     Lessons were learned though. I learned that Stuff is just that: Stuff. I watched as my "treasures" were sold off at paltry sums while people were willing to pay top dollar for my trash...literally. I even had one Lady ask to buy our stained up, nasty rubbermaid trash can (it even had trash in it! although I did take that out before she hauled her new treasure away..lol). It was difficult to release so many things, but I kept focused on our Dream. We are starting a new life of Simplicity and Essential living. We had separated out what would fit in our plan, and had to let  go of the rest of the non-essential. By the end of the day we just wanted everything Gone! Hauled off what didn't sell to the secondhand donation site and Let It Go. Then came home and collapsed. Certainly didn't help that the temps were well into the 90's, but we met our financial goal and our "just get it outta here" goal.

     Now We/I just have to finish up the odds and ends that are left over, do the final cleaning and we are out of there. 10 days left to close that chapter of our book of life, and we can move forward with a Much lighter load.

     Our campground neighbors Norm and Sonja are going to be heading back home today, and they are going to be sorely missed. It's been great having such friendly, experienced rv'ers next door to bounce ideas off and learn from. We've decided to go ahead and check for vacancies here (Seabreeze RV Park, Portland, Tx) for the winter months, at least December and January so we can be closer to the kids for the holidays. I know that reservations at these places are made (sometimes) years in advance so we need to get our name on the list. Coastal Bend fills up with snowbirds come winter time and honestly I don't blame them. Winters here are wonderful. It's the summers I have major issues with. The only problem we've had here is the poor wifi signal strength, but we will have our own connection after the first of next month so that will be a non-issue.

Our Recent Mission Statement:

Our goal is to achieve a functional atmosphere of comfort,

cleanliness and simplicity that can operate with a minimum amount of stress.

So Much To Do

     Yesterday was my last physical therapy session (at least on this prescription). I have an appointment with my rheumatologist this afternoon and see what she has to say. All I know for sure is that my pain level is through the roof right now, but I don't dare take anything or I'll just park myself in my chair with my knitting and say "s@#$w it"! Not an option at this time. Way to much to do!

Last night Joey did get away for a little bit to try out that fishing dock here at the rv park.

"I can't believe that you went fishing and left me behind!"

So much to do, but what a beautiful way to start the day...

They have had some bad grass fires down on the Padre Island National Seashore not far from here. This is the same area where they are having such great results with the re-population of the Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles. We could smell a bit of the smoke in the air yesterday. I wonder how much the smoke is contributing to the lovely sunsets and sunrises we've been experiencing lately....hmmm

Thanks for stopping by!

And Away We Go...

     Sunday was a full day. We started off by having Marissa, Adam and Ashlyn over for brunch, then it was off to Sidney and Darlyne's to pick up the 5th wheel and take it to the RV park in Portland. The weather was cloudy, but we weren't too concerned until the claps of thunder started sounding off in the distance.... oh Dear! Really didn't want our maiden voyage (albeit a short one) to be on wet highways and high winds. So much for good intentions. We did get some rain once we were on the road, but it was short lived and we had dry skies for setting up at the park.

loading up and away we go

This is the view from our living room window

     We spent the rest of the evening and Monday morning settling in and getting ready to bring our essentials over from the house. Only made one trip today, but there will be plenty more this week and lots to do to get ready for the next/last yard sale. so much to do, so much to do......
     A little more about the Seabreeze Rv Park where we are staying in Portand, Tx. The office folks are really wonderful and bent over backwards to accommodate our arrival even though their office closes at 12 noon on Sundays. Everything has been nice and quiet and neighbors are all friendly. The fishing dock is calling Joey's name pretty loudly. Don't know how long I'll be able to hold him back...lol. The only issues I've really had so far is the wifi sucks. We will definitely be shopping for a hotspot or mifi unit in the near future. The other problem I've seen, but it hasn't really had too much affect on me "yet" is that there are many large breed dogs here and I have yet to see any of the owners clean up after them...if ya get my drift. I am surprised by the fact they don't seem to have any breed restrictions here. So many of the campgrounds do nowadays.
     Once again I feel a need to mention the horrible job that Camper Clinic did in "cleaning" our second-hand 5er. We know that it was used, but honestly, couldn't these folks (that stated that it had had a thorough detailing inside and out...HA, yeah right) have at least wiped out a drawer or cupboard? The sales and financial departments there were so awesome. We will never go to that service department! They didn't even vacuum properly or even bother to move the furniture (hence the used tissues we found under the mattress eeeewwwww), let alone clean the carpet like they were instructed to do. There were huge delays, and I guess that after days of waiting we just said "forget" it... Ok... I'll get off the soapbox now. Just set us back some time and a little elbow grease, but knowing me I probably would have cleaned it all over again anyway before we put any of our belongings away.
     Don't know how blogging or even emails are going to go out on this internet service, but will give it my best shot.
Be Blessed. I sure know we are!

Down To The Wire

We are moving into the 5th wheel tomorrow! Only 17 days until we have to be completely out of the house, but who's counting, right? There is just so much to do between now and then! So many little (and big) details and odds and ends to attend to. (and the list continues to grow ie "Oh, by the way, did you happen to notice that Sadie's tags have expired? Hmmm, guess we should probably take her in for her shots." or one of my favorites: "Hey Honey, did you notice that there's still a lot to do to get ready?" Yeah, well duh....lol.

I have found that it's next to impossible to determine what exactly we might need "just in case" in the trailer. I only want to keep what we absolutely need, us, love with us, but not having lived full-time on the road before, I'm finding that that is not an easy thing to figure out. That's one of the reasons I wanted to get the trailer down here closer so that we could get stuff moved in and see just how much room we have/don't have. It sounds so much easier than it is. What exactly does a family of 2 plus dog need to live? Have been paying close attention to what we are actually using as the past few weeks have gone by. Honestly it's a very small percentage of what we own. Guess that means we have a lot of extra crap ahhh stuff. Lots of goodies for the upcoming/final yard sale. Everything that doesn't fit nicely in the 5th wheel, or the precious few treasures we will be storing, is going to be up for sale before we leave here. Have sold a lot through Craigslist, but there is so much more!

Joey is really getting into the planning/research aspect of our new life. He has been pouring over the websites and RV directories to find the perfect place to park. Our current plan is that we will stay in Portland, Texas until the middle of August, then we are going to move north to the Seguin area. We have found several up there that are looking great (good fishing, pet friendly, trees, reasonably priced) so we've decided to take a drive up that direction after we get out of the house completely and see where we want to go next. (As with all good RV travel plans: these are set in Jello, leaving us with plenty of wiggle room.) There are lots of local historical areas that have my vote and good fishing which interests both of us. Sounds like so much fun! Our adventure is taking off. Stay tuned for more news as we make our transition.

Thanks for stopping by.

Treasures

     Found a great organizer for my jewelry for the trailer. It had a double bonus in that it houses most (not my post earrings...sigh, but that's going to be another project) of my jewelry And it will display some of my other treasures ie family pictures. Marissa was going to sell this at her yard sale yesterday, but I grabbed it up before someone else did. She insisted that I pay almost the entire amount that she was asking for it... It was only today that Joey and I remembered that she still owes that exact amount. Hmmm gonna have to have a talk with that girl!
     Anyway this is the project of the day:

This is with the pictures added. I think it will hang nicely on the bedroom wall in the trailer. Will probably use command hooks and velcro fasteners to keep it from moving around on the wall and hold secure while we are traveling.

This is the inside. Such a cool idea, huh?

This is the pile of stuff that needs a home. The ice trays have worked pretty well to keep the earrings separate, but take up a lot of room that we just won't have in the trailer.  

This is the finished product. I'm very happy with the result.

Just need to get creative with the post earrings now. 

I'm off to find another project to do. The day is still young. I have a pile of broken dishes waiting for me. You won't believe what I'm going to do with them...lol

Quote For The Day:

"My mind is my garden, 

My thoughts are the seeds,

I can harvest flowers

             or

I can harvest weeds." Elaine M. Smith

Bedframes and Fishies

     Time is passing quickly now. Craigslist is an amazing thing. Our 4th was very profitable. A nice lady bought our bed frame at almost our asking price and a young couple with an adorable little boy purchased our aquarium with fish last night. I loved both these items dearly, but it's a great feeling to know that we are helping others achieve the desires of their hearts while liquidating our cash for the fulfillment of Our dreams. It still "gets" me that a person will never come close to getting back what they pay for an item. Ouch! Just have to look at the depreciation as our having paid for the use of the items for X amount of time. There is pleasure in watching these people that have come into our lives as their eyes light up, and the excitement fills them. The little boy (3ish) was an excellent example of this. He caught sight of the "fishies" and couldn't break away from them. Brought back such awesome memories of when the grand kids were little and their little faces (and hands) would be glued to the side of the fish tank. And to think I used to complain about washing all those kid slobbers off the glass... HA.

     We went to check out Seabreeze RV Park in Portland, Texas this morning for our holding place while we make the transfer from the sticks and bricks to the rv. The owners are friends of the in-laws, so of course we had to check it out. We're thinking this will do the trick just fine. It's on the bay, fishing pier, dog friendly, nice pool, laundry, everything looks clean and a generous pull through space with grassy area and picnic table. 50 amp full hook-ups, wifi and all for $200 per week. It wasn't one of those slab of concrete boring parks that so many flock to. Finding that's probably not really our style. For a quick over-nighter, maybe, but this place was more comfortable and friendly feeling. Not bad and still close enough to Corpus to be near the family and place we are moving out of. The other place we were looking at is right in town and doesn't have near as much to offer (except of course the lovely view of a cemetery next door....lol), and charges more for the convenience of being in town. Might be important for some, but we like being in nature. Seems like that's one of the main reasons for this change... getting back to nature.

     The next big project I have to focus on (besides putting more items on Craigslist and getting ready for another yard sale) is all my paperwork. Have several boxes of paperwork/stuff/to shred items that I've been putting off. Getting my files down to a manageable size is not something I want to face, but I must. Now! Times a tickin'.

Books I Just Read:

"Floodgates: A Faye Longchamp Mystery" by Mary Anna Evans (ok, I know I said I wasn't going to read anymore books right now, but darn it....I'm weak. Wasn't as impressed with this one of hers though. Murder mystery/adventure set in aftermath Katrina New Orleans. Maybe I'm just getting burned out on her series, but I felt this one just didn't have the depth in her characters or story line that she had in her previous books.)

Quotes For The Day:

"But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal. Matthew 6:20 (I Know where my true treasures are!)

Video For The Day:
George Carlin talks about "Stuff" (Brilliant mind...considered offensive by some, but darn funny!)