The weather in Big Canoe almost didn’t cooperate but there was a break in the rain long enough for Keith and Chris to unload the UHaul. I owe them big time! This is just 30 or so seconds of video but this went on for over an hour! Plus they had some furniture to move out of the nook before they could start stacking the bins up in there.

And while they were hard at work, I was out on the bike here at home. Boy was it hot – 90 degrees and it’s just the 3rd of May! Just reinforces one of the reasons we’re not staying here in Tampa.

I spent the rest of the afternoon dealing with paperwork from the realtor and then Keith sent me a few photos of the bins in the nook. There are some more bins going in June but some of these will go in the longarm room too and I’m happy to see that there will still be room to move around. I’m not sure how many more shelving units I’ll add. I’m going to keep the stash in bins there and I’m just going to have to figure out what works as I go. You can see the older bins are green – all the newer ones are clear which will be easier too. They do have labels and I’ll sort them in areas by color and type – scrap, yardage, strings … I can make this work for me!

I’m not sure what time Keith actually got out of here this morning (he kissed me goodbye but I didn’t look at the clock) but 10+ hours later he arrived safe and sound. Confirmed both by text and by an alert from the cameras!

Chris will help him unload tomorrow but today he’s been tied up … first a hike with Mo

And now they’re getting ready for Rae’s First Communion. I can’t wait to see my girls in person!

I think the opossums have moved in! I’d seen several sightings on the wildlife cameras over the last few months but now I’m seeing them several times a day. I’ve asked Keith to take a good look around while he’s up there to make sure they haven’t gotten too close to the house or caused any damage but they’ve also inspired me to learn more about them. This is one of several articles I’ve read. Keith mentioned a few weeks ago that one of them looked pregnant but I’d forgotten that they are marsupials so maybe she’s carrying those babies in her pouch?! Can you tell the difference between Mom and Dad?

Kevin took Mom to visit her sister in NC for the first time since COVID now that they’re all fully vaccinated and they stopped by the cemetery in Newport News (VA) to visit my Dad’s and sister-in-law’s graves. Mom got to see my bench and they sent me a photo.

You might remember back in August 2019, Mom and I did a road trip and one of the reasons for the trip was so I could make cemetery arrangements for me and Keith. We had debated for a long time where we wanted our ashes buried. We’ve moved so much in our 32 years together and had no strong feelings about being buried in any of those locations. When I suggested the same cemetery my Dad was buried in, Keith thought it was a great idea. I was very happy to be able to have the bench where our ashes will be interred placed in the same section of the cemetery my Dad is in.

The bench is along the edge of this graveyard and Dad is more in the center and off to the right but you can sit here and see his grave. Here’s a photo from our trip in 2019 – I’m standing at the place the bench will be and Mom is standing in front of Dad’s grave. It makes me happy to know we’ll be close by!

Keith went to pick up the UHaul this morning and it took us about 2 hours to carry the bins down and load it up. I think there are about 40 bins of various sizes … and all but one roll of my batting. Luckily, he’s still smiling! We’ll put a few smaller bins in the back seat of his truck and I’ll cross my fingers that everything else will fit on the moving truck in June.

Those bins filled 2 and a half closets and I haven’t even packed the fabric on the IKEA shelves yet. I’m definitely going on a fabric and yarn diet!

I am going to miss the closet space in this house. There are 5 closets in the sewing room alone. Having all of this done is great progress and a huge relief.

I love books that take me to other places and times … and its always fun to read about a place I’ve actually been. I started a book tonight set in Venice which made me think about our trip to Italy in 2012. We started and ended in Venice.

I’m usually the planner but this trip we went with Keith’s brother and sister-in-law and his brother planned out our itinerary. I was a little worried about the amount of travel from place to place. Usually we travel at a more leisurely pace but I think they felt they might not ever go back and they wanted to see it all. It turned out great and because we traveled by train from city to city, it seemed more relaxed. I do love a train journey! Believe it or not after all these years, I even found my spreadsheet with all the details of our itinerary. I tend to be very organized and I like my lists!

I’m sure you’re bored with the decluttering process … it’s been two weeks since we got home and started. Progress has been good and except for some drawers and a downstairs closet, we’ve been through every room and closet. I’ve done some of the packing but it’s too early to pack up everything – what’s left will be easy – no sorting, just putting in the boxes and bins. I’ve also been doing some cleaning and hopefully things will be fairly neat on Friday afternoon when the realtor comes by.

I have kind of a one track mind so while my focus has been on the move there has been very little piecing or knitting going on. During the first week I did get started on some Log Cabin Heart blocks and got 14 made before deciding the string piecing process was just TOO messy. I packed the blocks and the rest of the hearts away and will get back to it once I’m settled in GA. This one is going to be busy and maybe Mom was right that the neutral backgrounds for the hearts will work better but I’m going to wait until the quilt is done to judge it.

So this second week, after finishing my work for the day/evening, I’ve picked up my knitting. It may be hard to tell in this photo but it’s growing slowly but surely … I’m knitting a couple hours most nights now and it helps me unwind a bit from the stresses of the day and listening to a Lightning hockey game or my audiobook lets me turn it all off for a little while. The transitions are more subtle in person and I’m really liking these blues and grays together. It’s a simple stockinnette stitch with a garter stitch border. Mindless knitting.

I had been feeling really good about my progress until Keith cleared out the “closet behind the closet” for me pulling out another stack of bins to sort through and I spent the afternoon and evening sorting and shredding. It’s always a huge task with each move to shred papers and documents no longer needed but I’d really thought I’d been better this time around. Each year at tax time, I go though our papers and shred anything that doesn’t need to be kept. What I failed to consider was the last time I shredded documents with a move in 2014, there were lots of things I needed to keep at the time but fast forward to 2021 and guess what, lots more paper to shred. For example, I had 14 years worth of vet visits and vaccination records for Chesty. He was still alive when we moved to Tampa so I didn’t shred any of his stuff in 2014 although I’m not sure why I thought I needed to keep EVERY vaccination record as opposed to just the current one. Anyway, I just have one more bin of records to review and then I’ll combine them into fewer bins to keep for another 5-10 years! It would go faster if there weren’t so many memories in them. There were a handful of Chesty’s papers that I did keep.

I’m tired but if I can just get through this week I’ll be able to take it a little easier. The hardest part will be done and I can more leisurely deal with the rest of the move. I’m so glad we’re doing this now. Even though I’ve moved often in my life, for some reason this one is more exhausting … maybe it’s just that I’m getting older?!

My camera notifications were going off repeatedly this morning and afternoon but I was busy … on my hands and knees scrubbing the kitchen floor and then shredding another 2 tons of documents. I also got a phone call from the movers and we have a confirmed date with them to pick up here and deliver to Big Canoe mid June. So when I took a break to see what was going on at the house … I was thrilled to see all my visitors from today up close and personal … I think they’re looking for me don’t you?!