Sunday, August 31, 2008

A New Kitchen Wall Without Roses!

One of my new neighbors! The whole group comes around usually every other day. But isn't she pretty!

O.K. Here we go! First you have to remove the old yucky stuff! Then you clean, sand, clean.
You then get a naked wall ready to paint!
It took me a week to remove all the old paper, fill holes, sand, and clean. It took my friend CF and me 30 mins to put the first coat on after we had put primer on the walls.

In case you were wondering. Another friend stopped by to see CF because she had not seen her in a few years. So we took a break after the primer went up, ate some snacks, drank some lemonade, and caught up on news. Then when we went back to work, my friend said we needed to document this. So I handed her the camera.
I have more kitty pictures, but I will save them until next time.
Nothing more to report. I am tired, exhausted actually, and this is a rest day for me. I thought maybe I would mow the yard this morning while it is cool enough. But I haven't done that. I am going to rest.
So more pics to come next time. More news perhaps. Today is my niece and great-nephews birthdays. I wish them both happy, happy birthdays.
So everyone go rest, have a good holiday, and enjoy the rest of the summer.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Let's Try To Get Back On Task!

O.K. It has been forever since I wrote. I cannot find the thingy that I put my memory stick in to transfer pictures. So..... sorry, no pics this time.

Let's catch up a little bit.
1) I have finally gotten the last carload from house A to house B. I have moved my plants that I am going to move at this point.
2) I have a very industrious neighbor that is retired and loves to putz around and does not think I can do all this by myself. He will zip over into my yard with his riding mower while he is mowing his yard, he came over at 8 a.m. one morning to hang the bell in the backyard (more on that later), and he removed the post with the wiring in the front yard.
3) With this neighbor's help, I now have a dump truck load of topsoil in my front yard. Now I have to think of how I am going to landscape the front yard. I have to do this quick, or he will be over here with his tractor pushing the dirt where he wants to put it.
4) I bought a new mattress set for my bed, and I put the old set in the guest bedroom. I walked in after the delivery, and OMG, it is higher than the footboard! I have an antique iron bed that has never seen a humongous, thick set like this one. Of course, my sheets do not fit. But I am making do with what I have.
5) I have begun peeling off the wallpaper in the kitchen. The solution from Lowe's works great at removing the last pieces of glued on stuff. But I have not dedicated a distinct time to just get it done. I am busy trying to keep up with my neighbor's antics.
6) I have shampooed the hall carpet and highlighted the living room area.
7) I have cooked a complete meal with my new stove. I have a Kenmore gas stove that is lovely!
8) The birds are finally coming to the birdfeeders. The hummingbirds are fighting, but have slowed down some in the last few days.
9) And it is still raining! This is unbelievable for August. We had one week of 100's, and it was unbearable! Then it has been low to mid 80's, and lots of rain. And the grass keeps growing!

Now, about the neighbors. He is a retired funeral home owner. They own a huge RV, and have a big beautiful home. He just putz around all the time doing stuff. This morning I heard a motor noise, and there he was trimming his hedges. This is a man with a heart condition, a pacemaker, and having some difficulty with his blood pressure. She is the homemaker type and has fibromyalgia. She is in pain a lot with this weather. They built this house to be closer to children. They have three sons that live nearby, and a daughter that lives across town. Their grandchildren are teenagers or older.

So one night I could not sleep, and finally the last time I looked at the clock was close to 1 a.m. I wake up at 8 a.m. with the cats acting strange. I open my eyes and there is my neighbor crossing my backyard. I do not have any curtains up, and was not worried since this looks out to the woods. But here he was, putzing around and hanging my bell in the one tree I have in the backyard. I hunkered down and slid to the floor and crawled below window level to the bathroom. I hurriedly put on clothes, pinned up my hair without combing it, and went out to see what he was doing. He apologized for waking me up.

So finally the rain storm has passed over. I am going to fix some lunch, and relax a little bit. I have to keep an eye out for the neighbor. You would think he would have enough to do with his own load of dirt.

I am on hold right now with the house stuff since I am working out in the yard so much. I know it doesn't have to all get done right now, but I am trying to get it organized some.

Until later......

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Sorta Kinda Moved-But Not Really!

The cable guy came Thursday, the movers came on Friday, my girlfriend came on Saturday, and I am POOPED! I have lost 10 pounds in one week of moving. I made 7-8 or maybe 9 carloads before the movers came. It was 100 degrees and I had a stomach virus. Instead of stairmasters, I recommend carrying a 50 pound loaded box up and down the stairs a coupla times. Well, really, I don't recommend this weight-loss plan on anyone.

I am not totally moved yet. I still have more in the house to bring over. I also have all my plants I have to dig up and move. And I have to make some kind of bed to put the plants in.

Friday afternoon my new neighbor caught me going to the car. She gushed how happy she and her husband are that I bought the house. It was a little too suspicious, so when I pressed she did tell me the seller had had nude pool parties after his wife divorced him. That is the reason for the eight-foot privacy fence between the properties.

Well, she has never heard partying like my knitting friends. They can be a little bit loud and crazy. I'm not sure if we will have nude knitting parties, but who knows? I can picture us sitting out on the deck and the laughter gets louder and louder. It's hard to hold down those knitters.

The cats have been having a good time. I bought the pheromone Feli-A-Way to help with the transition. They are much calmer at night than normal. But today we did have a little cat interaction with some local cat. I looked out and saw Noodles streaking across the front with a big white cat hot on his tail. Noodles headed straight for the cat door. So I rushed to the studio, opened the door, and Noodles streaked in. The white cat would have followed him, but I blocked the stairs and clapped my heads loudly, and he swerved and dashed into the kudzu/honeysuckle side of the house.

I have been telling myself that I am going to rest today. My back is tired and I am tired. But then I decided to mow the hayfield that is called a lawn. This is going as soon as I get a plan. I am going to plant beds of flowers instead of a huge yard to mow. I am taking a little rest. We had a big rain yesterday and sprinkles today. So everything is wet. It is hard to mow.

I like the way my friend and I arranged the furniture. It flows nicely and feels good. So now I just have to get everything unpacked. YUCK!

So I will post pictures soon. I really don't want to show the stacks of boxes, etc. It's not pretty. But I do like my little house.

Oh! I was going to cook some hummingbird syrup, and I couldn't get the stove to work. I pulled it out and it wasn't plugged in. Then it still didn't work. I finally found the breaker and turned that on. The smell was indescribable to anyone. It was awful. So my girlfriend and I went and bought a new stove. It will be delivered next week. And my handyman is going to connect it, since it is gas.

So more moving tales later. I have got to get mowing!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

I Will Be Back!

I just wanted to say I am at the point that realistically I will never have everything packed by Friday. I am now in the prioritising role of getting the heaviest things packed and ready for the burly guys to move. I will just have to do all the small stuff later. It's just making myself do this.

I am getting to the really tired part of the moving. My hips ache and I wake up tired and grumpy. The cats are getting anxious, and Noodles actually slept with me last night. He just doesn't do that unless it is below freezing and there is a cold wind blowing.

I have so much to do and too little time. It's always this way. It all gets done eventually, but it is nerve-wracking.

So for now, I am packing up the computer and getting it moved over. The cable guy comes tomorrow, but I will not sign on until I get everything done that needs to be done. We will talk later.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

I Win The Insanity Award!!

Am I nuts, crazy, or just insane? It is f..... hot outside. It is miserable. It gives a whole new meaning of air that one can wear. And I took two carloads over to the house yesterday. I have a new cat door in the studio. It is the furthest door from my bedroom. I felt drained and miserable last night. At 11:30 p.m. I awoke from my sleep with the certainty that I could not make it to the bathroom fast enough. I had stress and heat-related diarrhea. So today I loaded up the car and took one load over to the house. I can't make myself take another load over. I am going to just stay here and pack boxes.

Oh-and the movers are now coming on the 8th. One of my girlfriends from out of town is coming to help organize the chaos over the weekend. So I moved the movers to Friday. Help! I have got to get this mess organized and ready to go.

Keep me in your thoughts. I keep telling myself that this is normal, this happens every time you move, and that soon it will be over. Who am I kidding? I gotta go pack boxes!