Relief & Reminiscing

It was a relief to receive this letter in the mail.

Certainly takes away the stress of maybe being called for jury duty while we are trying to get the house packed. Also nice to know I won't be making the 100 mile drive for rest of the year to fulfill my civic duty.

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As I was tossing and sorting, I found the file box holding some, not all, of the workshops I presented during my 34 years of teaching. I think the first workshop was in 1976 or 77. In another pile of saved goodies, were a number of notes from teachers thanking me for coming to their classrooms and doing mini-lessons with students, modeling the process for their teachers.

Also found the roster for some of the college courses I taught through two universities/colleges. It was a great career. Fun to reminisce, but sure don't miss it. The paper was recycled.

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Then there are the things that just don't fit the Do I Need It? Will I Use It? Do I Love It? category. 

I certainly didn't remember this item until I opened the box. More interesting was the mailing label. I did not realize zip codes have been around since the very late 1960s. Also this item was delivered from Oneida with only a town as an address! 

This had to be something I "ordered" after I was engaged because it has a monogrammed E on the handle of the spoon. 

I was into refunding back in those days. Anybody know what that was? I saved labels from specific products and submitted them to the companies for cash, coupons or free gifts. This is the only item that has been saved. I had Campbell's soup coffee mugs. I think I got Fisher-Price toys from Pampers. It was a fun hobby at the time. We would trade labels with family members and friends to help each other reach our goal. I think the Menard's rebate program is a direct result of refunding! Same concept.

This little jelly dish (????) will be moved to the new house. Maybe someday I will polish it, along with the set of silver from grandpa and grandma and the silver items from our 25th anniversary. Maybe. Someday.

Stargazer Lilies

They are now done, but the lilies were a colorful addition to the flower garden earlier this month. I took the time to get a few photos.

Birthday Boy

We had a nice break from packing, sorting, tossing, reminiscing last weekend when we spent time with the G'Kids to help celebrate a birthday.

a lot of presents for a 6 year old!

his home-made gift from his sister

the best dressed first grader

anything Minecraft was a hit!

The Mystery Flower

Watertown Destination Imagination has a fund raiser from a Dutch Bulb company. You look at the flowers online, make your selections, place the order, and receive the bulbs in a week. I like to support the kids' program because I was involved in getting it started in Watertown in the late 1980s. I'm really proud the program has continued for almost 30 years.

I ordered bulbs 2 years ago and had very good luck, so ordered again last fall. When we got home in May the tulips and iris were in all their awesome glory. I had a new plant I did not recognize. When we left for the Cincinnati trip there was a small bud on the end of each 2' stem. I figured it would bloom while we were gone and I would miss the new flowers.

There are 3 'mounds' of this flower. The bud turned into a green tipped flower. Cool! I thought that was it.

a few weeks later

purple tipped green flower

late June/early July flower of the 

Purple Drumstick

2-3' tall, long narrow leaves

planted from bulbs

petal-less flowers

Great choice!

The Between Flowers

There is a lull in blooming flowers after the tulips and iris have 'done their thing' in the perennial flower bed. I have been on the hunt for something that blooms between the early May and later June flowers. Of course I did all this planning and planting BEFORE we decided to move.

planted a couple Columbine

the milkweed came back

I didn't know it was a spreader

the bees have loved it

 had to double cage the tall plant and

contained it with twine

day lilies bloom early

I added some metal art to the garden walls

had bought one kind 4 years ago

bought another kind this spring

I like the additional color

my other cool garden addition is a solar fountain in the bird bath

the bird bath needs a little leveling adjustment

I really like the water feature addition

have only 1 potted plant this summer

won the gerbera at a meeting

so full of blooms right now

I will miss my flower gardens

Homeless No More

When we decided to put the house on the market, we had made an appointment with a realtor in Sioux Falls to get some information of what needs to be done, the steps necessary to move from one city to another, AND to find out what homes might meet our required expectations. That appointment and first meeting on Saturday. It was a good first meeting. She shared the first steps. She shared the areas of town where new construction was happening. And she shared there were very few HOAs, 3 bedrooms, on the market. OK. We did some driving to the suggested areas, but without a 'guide' had no idea of prices or details. She added our email to her list of available units meeting our requirements.

We talked to a Watertown realtor on the following Tuesday. Officially, the house was put up for sale and sold on Friday.

We spent the first week of July starting the process of cleaning and sorting, tossing and donating, AND looking at units online.

We had an appointment with the realtor on Monday of this week. We gave her our adjusted list of requirements, from several must haves or really wants to just one: HOA.

She took us to 5 places, most were new construction, one resale. Only one of them had the space I envisioned. We came home rather depressed. On Tuesday morning she sent an email telling us of another unit in the same complex also for sale. She sent floor plans of the two and prices. Tuesday was a day of discussion and Nancy's 5 Year Plan. Lots of discussion, some compromise, and the need to see the two places in person. So another trip to Sioux Falls (100 miles one way) on Wednesday morning. We made a decision and began the paperwork that afternoon. The home has an October 11th completion date. All the finishing details had to be chosen by Friday to ensure the October deadline. YIKES! So another trip to SF on Friday to meet with a design coordinator from the building company and our SF realtor.

A little complication in this past week was my notice to appear for jury duty on Thursday. I did but was excused when I shared the Friday "can't change and must do" appointment.

Another little complication for the week was the haboob (wind storm) and monsoon (rain storm) that wrecked damage on a good number of homes in our winter resort and other valley communities and resorts. Our little casa escaped damage. Some of the units lost their car ports, shingles, and have damage from support posts shoved through windows and walls. One more issue we did not need.

In the meantime, Hubby researched moving companies. Because we need 2 months of storage, this aspect could be a wee bit more complicated, but we think we have a winner. And because we are homeless from August 17th to October 11th, Hubby researched campgrounds offering 'long-term' rates. This also was a bit more complicated. Campgrounds are usually full 'til after Labor Day and the full-timers usually don't move on until the weather gets colder. Again, luck was on our side and we have a spot in SF. The other issue was storage. The moving company will need the storage unit on the day they move our 'stuff' from Watertown to Sioux Falls until the day we can move into the new home. We need a place before then to store what we will need for our 25' camper living. We could easily need clothes for 3 seasons and believe me, the camper does not have room for 3 seasons of clothes! We need a place to store the geocaching supplies because we hope to get back to geocaching after August 17th. Besides, the more we move, the less the moving company has to move, $$$. If I put stuff away, I KNOW where it will be and I need to know the where for some of our stuff. So Hubby found a storage unit close to the new home. We will bring a load every time we make a trip to SF. The first load went in on Friday.

So with these 3 details taken care of with Hubby's many, many phone calls, agreeing on the townhouse unit, and choosing the new home finishing details in just 2 hours...Life is Good!

We have chosen a 2 bedroom, end unit of 3 connected town houses, with a full basement (the space I really wanted) that adds 2 more bedrooms, a family room, and full bathroom. It meets the requirements of HOA and all the necessary living on one floor~laundry, bedroom and second room for space in an open concept. The basement is a bonus and meets my 5 Year Plan. The new home is in the northwest part of Sioux Falls and not the southeast Hubby preferred. This location is closer to the G'kids school and is close to main roads to get anywhere we need in a city of 180,000+. We are excited. Now if the packing, sorting, tossing, donating was done...life would REALLY be good!

Do I Need It? Will I Use It? Do I Love It?

Before it got ridiculously hot this past week, I was spending some time out back enjoying the flower beds. THIS I will miss! More about the flower bed in another post. 

By now I am thinking some of you may be wondering what is happening and how things are going.

The hip is healing and doing well. It probably won't be too happy about the abuse it will be experiencing during the next month (lots of standing) but I will deal with it. I have a follow up with the surgeon on Monday.

A week ago today son and his family came to help...NO, clean-out the attic. It was a VERY warm and humid day, but in 90 minutes with frequent breaks, 48 years worth of stored treasures found the light of day, or at least found the floor of the garage. It would have taken the two of us three days to do what Karl did in those 90 minutes. We are so thankful for their help!

The G'kids found LOTS of treasures! 

Those treasures are slowly making their way to their house! Over the weekend Hubby and I went through every box, tub, container that came down. We donated a lot. We tossed some. Everything has been relabeled. It will only get moved if it makes the...

Do I Need It?

Will I Use It?

Do I Love it?

criteria. The three question criteria came about when Hubby opened an AARP email advertising a book to help with decluttering. How appropriate was that! I goggled the book, but decided I did not need to purchase it as I KNOW what needs to be done. But one of the chapter headings caught my eye: Do I Need It? Will I Use It? Do I Love It? The author wrote if an item can answer yes to all three questions, it is definitely a keeper. But if it answers yes to just one question, you should probably hang on to it.

The other chapter that caught my eye, and again I already knew, but it doesn't hurt to hear and read again: Your Kids Do NOT Want Your Stuff! We have chuckled about that one for many years. We know they don't, but we still keep trying!

Between the day the house sold and Monday of this week, we emptied some closets and found agencies that would take the things we have too many for two people. I had decided what furniture would be making the move to the new home and am planning to post it on the community garage sale Facebook site. My niece has a new and used upscale shop and she has taken MANY of the things that don't make the 3 question criteria. Surprisingly, Son & OFDIL have taken tools we will not need in a HOA, as HOA is the requirement for the new place.

The other words of wisdom that have helped as we search for a new home is making a 5 Year Plan. With Hubby's health concerns, looking at 5 years seems very doable. We can always adjust that 5 Year Plan if the need arises. And at the end of 5 years, we can make another 5 Year Plan. Thank you Nancy, for the words of wisdom. It has helped.

Because you have not heard anything from us since the end of June, just know that the hip is doing well. We are busy cleaning and sorting, tossing and talking. The adventures of this past week will be posted on Sunday. There is more to share...