T-7 Days and Counting

At this point I am doing nothing but packing. I'm not grocery shopping, I'm not buying anything but garbage bags and a Swiffer mop. Mine did not survive the trip down here. 

Management and I are good on me cleaning on Sunday and doing a walk through and turning in keys on Monday with my final payment. Since my deposit is being returned, we will put it toward a month's rent and I will not have to pay as much to break the lease. This is a good thing.

Monday's to do list looks something like this:

• Next Steps volunteering from 8:30am to noon
• Contact Berkeley Electric about transferring service
• Contact St. John's Water about setting up an account and starting service
• Change address at the post office
• Purchase garbage bags and Swiffer
• Pack as much of kitchen as possible. 
• Contact AT&T about internet.

Tuesday & Wednesday look like more packing. Thursday is final walk through of the house. I need to check a couple of things.

Friday is closing. In the afternoon I am moving some small things into the house. Mostly clothes and items I need to know where they are. Stripping my bed and doing laundry if possible. If not I'll haul all the laundry to the house and sit it on a shelf in the laundry closet. 

Saturday is moving. We have the truck for 6 hours. I know we can get this done.

Sunday is sweep, mop,vacuum the apartment, clean kithchen and bathroom. Make sure it looks like new. 

Monday, Nov. 2nd 10am walk through and pay final rent. 

Tues. Some silly Dr. appt. Hopefully go scout out a new washer and dryer.

Wed. Dentist appt. Hopefully a washer and dryer can be delivered. Laundry time.

Thurs. Settle in

So my work is cut out. Don't look for me on Facebook. If you need me, call or text. If you're volunteering to help with the move, let me know. I'm still looking for a head count.

TTFN

T-8 Days and Counting

Okay are we starting to get a little frantic, yet? The answer would be not really. I walked through the house today and got photos with the new floor in the bedrooms and hallway. Doors are not in yet. I found a couple things I was unhappy about, but I'll fix them. They are minor.

This is the best photo of the floors. This is the smallest bedroom and will be my office/sewing/craft room. I have come to the conclusion it is senseless to unpack then repack when I am ready to paint. I'll be painting all the bedrooms and the living room before I unpack everything. I'm not packing again unless I get the hairbrained idea to move again. So, the room you are looking at will be a light green with a dark green feature wall. From the window to the corner and the corner half way across the wall will be book shelves. My desk will sit on an angle in front of the book shelves and will have room for my two drawer file cabinet. Book shelves will be open so the green walls will show through, um hopefully. Depends on if I get rid of some books or not. And the blinds will be replaced with roller shades and lace curtains.

The apartment has a path through the living room, I am trying to make a path in the spare room to get to empty boxes. The whole thing is a project.

On the upside I was able to reserve a 17 foot UHaul for relatively little money. We have six hours to get us moved out and the truck returned. I have two dollies a big one and a small one. It should keep us busy.  If I have enough people to help me we should be able to knock it out in less than six hours. Took three of us 5 hours to unload when we got here and put up the two beds. I don't think we'll have an issue. We aren't going as far this time.

TTFN

T-15 Days and Counting

Been a busy place here, but the large dolly arrived this evening.

Many thanks to my friend Beth for delivering and Linda for loanin. As you can see there are some boxes there. Just wait, I have more.

The small file box I used on Mondays for Next Steps. It carries information to help me help others. Oh wait, there's still more.

This is a second tower I have in the living room. There is a third, but due to the fact there are Christmas presents in that stack I am not able to take it at this time. Just know packing is in full swing. Baking pans get packed tomorrow.  Once I bake a loaf of bread in my crockpot, both it and the mixer are being washed and packed. Getting to the empty boxes is proving to be the hardest thing I have to do. But, I'll get there. 

TTFN

T-25 Days and Counting

The sun was shining today. I could get used to it again. I was out and about. The house weathered the storm just fine. It was pretty neat to see the front yard markers.

The seller (also the other realtor) sent me samples today to choose the flooring for my three bedrooms. I picked one of the four choices. I can hardly wait to see it down. Soon.

I want to measure the bedroom windows for shades and curtains. I also need to measure the dining room and kitchen windows for the same. I am not a fan of blinds.  Living room curtains I already have and they will look nice.

Next will be the security system. Things are moving right along. The bank checking with my apartment manager to see what kind of tenant I am and whether I pay my rent on time. No issues there.

So at this point, I've been approved. The home inspection has been done and the seller agreed to fix the things that were wrong. The land survey is done. The floors are being put down. I have the home owners insurance and  new car insurance. I've been repacking. I have more to do. To destress I've been reading or crocheting. So, I'm getting things done, mailed out, or put in a box for Christmas.

Tomorrow I'm taking out the trash and repacking some more. I'm finishing a birthday gift today. Then I have a couple more items to get done. I'm labeling boxes so I know where they go. They will be easier to sort if I can put them in the right rooms to begin with.

To say I'm getting excited is an understatement. I'm getting excited. I'm ready to be settled. The upheaval is making me nuts. And in my mind I'm picking color schemes as I know I need color.

TTFN

T-28 Days and Counting

Okay, I've had enough. Mother Nature can stop with the temper tantrum. This rain is for the ducks and even they don't want it. I was out and about a bit today between breaks in the rain. Take a look.

This one was about noon. if you look closely you will see water at the base of the tree. The railing is along the walkway where my upstairs neighbor lives. I was standing on my porch. The rest were taken about 4:30pm when I ventured out to get my mail.

The top photo is the lake in front of my car. The water had not reached the parking lot at that point. The middle one is looking toward the driveway and swimming pool form the management building. And the last one is west of me. I was standing near where the sidewalk separates from my building and the next. The lake in the distance is normally a dog run and there is a nice bench there for folks to sit on. Occasionally we get a couple of geese and some folks feed them bread crumbs.

As of midnight we had an alert there would be flash flooding in the area between midnight and 6am. Northwestern SC, and areas of NC are supposed to get tornadoes. People who have built on the side of the mountain were told Friday to abandon their homes and find safety. They fear mud slides with the amount of rain we've had and continue to get.

For those who didn't get the earlier memo, this is the latest in fashion footwear in South Carolina for the next few weeks.

TTFN

T-29 Days and Counting

Well, maybe I should have considered a boat instead of a house.

This is pretty much all I have seen since Wednesday afternoon. We get little breaks when there is nothing but mist, but for the most part, we are getting torrential rain. It is my understanding we will get three months rain over the weekend. Flooding is going to be a serious issue. I am staying put.

I suspect if I were  to venture out tomorrow or Sunday, I'd see many signs like this on roads which are impassable. They are telling people if you don't need to go out, don't. I am listening. I'm not going to put myself in harms way. If I need something from the grocery store, I can walk. It is only 1/4 mile each  way and 1/4 mile back into the apartment complex each way. So, a mile round trip. No big deal. The thing which would prevent me from walking is this rain is so heavy I'd be soaked to the skin within a minute or two. Not my idea of fun.

Just packing and crocheting.

TTFN

T-30 days and Counting

I'm really glad my new house is on a hill. They issued flood warnings early this afternoon. And the Governor has now declared a state of emergency due to flooding. I am not particularly worried. I have food. I have no where I have to go before Monday, although I'd like to get to church on Sunday.

I have plenty to keep me busy for a few days. Rest assured there is still packing to do. I have some items I need to get to the post office and get shipped. But, if need be they will wait. Mail I can put in the outgoing box here at the apartment complex.

Power washing got done before the rain set in. They neglected to tell me it would shoot mud and yuck under my door. Not impressed with it at all. Something which could have been prevented if there were storm doors.

I have an offer of shelter if Hurricane Joaquin should change direction and head this way. I am praying it will not as one access off the island will be closed by morning if it isn't already. I am hunkered down for the duration. Might have to reopen the DVD's and watch a few again. Or might see what I can stream on the computer.

And why am I writing this at 1 am? I seem to be having an issue with my days and nights. It generally corrects itself on its own, so I'm not going to over think it. For now I just go with the flow.
Soon my mind will shut down on its own and I will sleep deeply. In the meantime, I am making a list of what to pack tomorrow.

I'm baking bread tomorrow so, the mixer stays out as does the crockpot. But I have some spices and other items I won't be using before the move which can be packed. I have items in the bathroom which can be packed as I have to empty the cabinet in there so it can be moved when we move. It will not be completely emptied until the day before the move as some things I do need a place to store them. Office supplies can find their way back into boxes. I'll keep out only what I actually need. Craft supplies can be packed. See, I have plenty to do.

So, let it rain. I will survive.

TTFN

T-4 Weeks and Counting

I can hardly believe the house will be mine in a month. I'll be moving again for the second time this year. I have been packing up the things I will not use in the next month so they are done. Can I just tell you how I hate looking at boxes? I'm going to break down everyone I don't need when I unpack and recycle them. I am sick of boxes.

The appraisal by my bank has been done. The land survey is being done Oct. 5th. The repairs from the home inspection were pretty minor and those are being addressed by the seller. She also had a termite inspection done. I have learned the house is well insulated, something I cannot say about the apartment.

I'm going to rent a 16 ft. truck for the day. I have a friend loaning me a dolly and I have a small one. So, we can load two at once. It will take two trips with the truck to get everything. I suspect all the boxes will go in the first truck load and all the furniture will get broken down and loaded in the second load.

Lamps will go in my car, clothing will go in my car, and wall art will go in my car. So will all the plants. Once we have returned the truck, I can come back to the apartment sweep and mop floors, scrub toilets and sinks, and vacuum all the carpeted floors before I pack the broom, mop, and vacuum.

Since I am moving out on a Saturday, I won't be turning keys in until the following Monday, along with my final lease breaking payment. The property manager and I will take a last walk through so he can inspect for damage and I will get my damage deposit returned shortly thereafter.

Then comes the business of unpacking and setting up my home. I'm excited. I'm ready for this. Apartment living is as bad as I remember it being. And I haven't lived in an apartement since I was an undergrad in college.

In my mind I am already thinking of color schemes for each of the rooms. I am not a person who can live with neutrals. I need to be surrounded by color. Calming colors are best, blues, lavendars, greens, the colors of water. Although I like the colors of sunrise and sunset. It will be interesting to see what I finally choose.

TTFN

Home Inspection Today--We Passed!!!

Move in in about six weeks. I can hardly wait. I will no longer have boxes and boxes. The house, it's a cute little ranch.

Why there it is. I will have to put a storm door on, but that is minor. Many houses don't have storm doors here. I don't understand, today there was a wonderful breeze.  I also had a neighbor stop in to say hello and pose for a photo.

I also had a mystery red leafed tree next to the porch. Today I read the tag. It's a Plum Krauter Vesuvius. I will have plums!!!! I love plums.

I'm so ready for this. I can hardly wait. I want this six weeks to go by quickly, but when I look around and see all I have to do, I want it to go slowly.  Looking forward to having a home again.

TTFN

24 Hours of Amazement

Thursday I spent most of my day sleeping. I had a sore throat and sore ears. I drank hot water, honey, and whiskey when I was awake. I managed to eat a little, but I wasn't hungry. I slept, watched couple videos and headed to bed early.

I knew I had to be up and showered to meet my realtor at a home we were going to tour. Lucky us it wasn't going to be on the market until Monday.

There is a story behind this house. It was for sale at the same time I was bidding on the house next door. I wasn't all that crazy about the house, but it had a salt water pool. The pool was the big motivation for even placing a bid. I'd seen realtor photos of the house next door and it was dark and dreary. The carpeting was atrocious at best. I didn't even want to look at it. It too, went under contract.

Late in the afternoon Thurs. I got a call from my realtor. She told me the loan had fallen through and it was again up for sale, but had been totally renovated. She sent me the link. It wouldn't open on my phone, so she sent it to my email. I checked and asked when we could see it. I'm not sold, but even I can see it's worth looking at now.  So, we set it up for 9am Friday (today).

I finally dragged myself out of bed at 8am. Took my blood pressure and blood sugar and hopped in the shower. I got out, dressed, took meds, and headed out the door. I'm thinking I'm going to be late. Traffic on River Road in the morning is awful at best. However since I was going the opposite way, some kind driver let me through. I pulled onto Island Estates Drive and saw my realtor come around the corner a car between us. Yeah, not late.

I stepped in the house and my first thought was it's bigger than the one next door. At least the living room was. It also had a coat closet. I'm impressed. The light grey walls with the smooth ceilings and white trim are lovely. The dining room and kitchen have white ceramic tiles. The living room has a wood laminate floor. I love wood floors. The cupboards in the kitchen are brand new and oh so many of them. So are all the appliances. The counter top is granite. I've always wanted a granite counter top.  Then I discover the simple dining room light fixture. I just love it. My realtor knows where it came from and tells me it's a $300 fixture. The furnace/ac unit are new, the hot water heater is new, the roof is new. The bathrooms have been completely redone. There are one and a half baths. There are no floors in the bedrooms yet. (This house was not going on the market until Monday). They are planning to put in carpet. I asked my realtor to find out if they would put in the wood laminate instead. They agreed. It is being done this weekend and they will be hanging the rest of the interior doors as well as putting on all the hardware.

By this time I am ready to make an offer. The other realtor says if the laminate floors go in there is no room for price negociation. I agreed. It is more important to me with my allergies to have hardwood floors, even laminate. We gave her an offer and I put my money down. She came back asking for a change to protect us both and a large deposit. I agreed and wrote a new check. She signed it and it is at my bankers.

The original closing date was one of the changes. We had set it for Nov. 16th. It is now set for October 30th. I'm happy about that. I have been pre approved for this anyway.  My down payment is in order. So, we are good to go. I'll be joining the home inspector on Tuesday afternoon. I don't expect him to find anything wrong. I'm hoping to get some photos.

Now, I have a headache, to go with my sore throat and plugged ears. I fully plan to go to sleep, don't anyone wake me before Sunday. And then wake me in time to go to church.

Never expected to buy a home today. My daughter asked if I was running a fever or if I was delirious. She new I had no great expectations for the house when I went to see it. In fact, I truly went thinking I was going to be wasting my realtor's time. Imagine my shock. I'm calling it a day.

TTFN

BHC Hit the Decatur Book Festival Running

Set up began at 8:30 Saturday morning. We ended up needing two extra tables. The first arrangement lasted about an  hour and we were setting up books again. The show opened at 10am. We were non-stop people until 6pm. I don't have any idea who else was at the show unless they were across from us. There was an elderly gentleman and his wife, he wrote about his pets. There was a group of three across from us who never left their chairs and they had someone running for drinks and food. My take from the poster I could see is someone had written about being in an abusive relationship. Next to us was BAS-BLUE who sell books and things for readers of books. They had an interesting little catalog. We passed out about 500 packets of trading cards for the authors who were there, Blue Harvest Creative (BHC) and the commemorative one for the book festival. We took stuff down at 6pm and returned it to our Headquarters. There was a chance of rain and no one wanted books destroyed.

The gang headed for dinner. I headed for my hotel. I had not felt good all day. I arrived back at the hotel by 8:30 and was fast asleep by 9pm. Big improvement over the night before.

Day two started about 9:30 with us putting together more trading card packets. We used all the trading cards we had. Set up started at 10:30 as we weren't supposed to open until noon. We could have opened at 11 there were that many people. Again we were busy all day. Autographs were put into our books as we sold them. Trading cards were handed out. Emerging authors were spoken to, trades people who sell books were talked to by 5pm people had started packing up and moving out. We remained until 6pm. We had people until 6pm.

At 3pm on Sunday we gave away a bag of books donated by the authors. Those there had signed their copies. We also gave away a 16GB Kindle Fire which we loaded with 10 of our ebook, the winner's choice.

As a group we sold 101 books. As an author I sold four books. I am pleased with the amount of books there I wasn't sure I'd sell any. I networked with more people than I can count. It was amazing.

We finished up eating dinner at the Iberian Pig. I highly recommend it if you are in the area.  I had the most amazing mac n cheese. It had chorizo sausage in it. It was the best I've ever had. I also sampled bacon  wrapped dates and eggplant chips. Also awesome. The flourless cake was heavenly. And the white sangria was just perfect. All in all a wonderful time.

The authors who went are a fun group. The red headed roadie is a keeper and our leaders at BHC are the best. I'm already looking forward to next year. Hope we see you there.