New Blog

 Despite my utter frustration with Blogger, I posted my very first post on my new blog: "Mountain Mama's Point Of View" Go check it out .... it has pictures!! 

Mountain Mama's Point Of View (mountainmamasview.blogspot.com)

Being In Charge

 Cujo here. I suppose everyone knows we have moved by now. Us dogs are happy to be here. This house is not very big, and I can see Mom from every room! Except the bathroom, that is. 

Us dogs are not allowed in the bathroom. I say that we are not allowed, but the day that man came from Dish to set up the TV's, Mom put all of us in the bathroom! She had to move the cat litter and all its alluring treats, as well as the cat food. She did give each of us dogs a treat, though. Mr. BoJangles took his in the bathtub. That left more room for the rest of us. Mom says the bathroom is a one-person room, but that is as it should be. 

Us dogs were happy to have TV again. Did you know there is a channel just for dogs? There is. Maybe Mom should have turned it on before she left us yesterday ......

Yesterday started out fine. Bo woke Mom at our usual time, and she shuffled to the door with us dogs in her slippers. She let us out onto the porch, and we all ran to the door to our yard. It was closed!! Bo barked for Mom's assistance, but she must have been busy making coffee. She always makes coffee first thing.

We all had to empty our bladders (a nice way to say we had to pee) and even though we all started barking, nobody came to open the door. We all peed on the porch, then went to the house door to go in. I was hoping my pee would dry before Mom discovered it. I peed on a nice-looking cardboard box. Eddie peed on some plants that were looking dead, and Bo did his business on the rug by the house door.

Mom didn't even notice. She was too busy drinking coffee and typing on her computer. This is our "quiet time". No TV, just coffee, and the sound of Mom's fingers tapping away. She will stop and read from time to time and rest her hand on my sweet head.

Quiet time is over as soon as HeWho is our Dad's feet hit the floor. He is a loud person! Even his sighs are loud. He sneezes, coughs and manages to bump things around and the quiet peace of the morning is gone until the next morning! He reminded Mom of the appointment at the bank with someone called a financial advisor. Mom told him that she remembered, and she headed off to have a shower in the one-person room.

When she got out, she asked us dogs if we needed to go outside. Toni did for sure, since HeWho is forgetful had not let her out. Mom opened the door and we all scrambled out. Mom came out the door and she saw the issue with the door to our yard. She scolded HeWho is our Dad. He was the one who failed to open it after he let Martha, the boy cat back inside. Martha is only allowed to roam the porch unless Mom and HeWho is our Dad are out in the yard. 

After she got through chastising HeWho left the door closed, she began an investigation. Uh-oh, us dogs were about to get in trouble. She saw that box I peed on and she immediately ripped it open and took the towels that were packed inside out. She examined the interior of the box and was happy to see that my pee had not penetrated the inside. As happy as that made me, I knew I still had to answer for peeing on the box. She found all the pees and a poop (not mine!!). She cleaned it all up and then she called us dogs in.

I told the others to prepare for a scolding. We were delighted when she scolded HeWho is our Dad instead! Now that I think about it, it was all his fault after all. She even asked him what he thought us dogs should have done. Mom was right! Of course, that did not apply to the entire day ...

It was my turn to be in charge. Mom announced this as they went out the door and to the car. She reminded all of us to behave. The gates were up at the bathroom and bedroom doors and it was nap time for dogs. Bo had different ideas. Toni Louise was only too willing to follow Bo's lead. They took the rug from in front of the door and used it to slide down the hallway. They did this over and over again until they loosened the gate at the bedroom door! I swear to you that Eddie and I had no part in their shenanigans.

Since the bedroom was accessible, I decided it would be a good idea to go in and hide. I know I was supposed to be in charge, but let's face it, I had already failed! Eddie stayed and hung out on the couch, watching the two miscreants run wild. Martha hid under the table to reach out and grab at them as the slid down the hall. Martha is annoying with this game he plays. While the others have nice thick fur, mine is sleek and he will manage to sink his claws into my flesh. It hurts!

I hid under the bed at the end were the covers met the floor. I kept hoping to hear the car come into the drive, but they were gone a long, long time and since I had eaten some dog food, I felt the call of Mother Nature. I had to go, so I pooped on the floor on HeWho is our Dad's, side of the bed. I had to, what else should I have done? I was not going back into the mayhem in the living room!

Apparently, Bo was hit with the call from Mother Nature. But he chose the couch for his relief! OH NO, I was left in charge, and it was MY fault for hiding in the bedroom. I could have directed him to the floor at least. When I discovered this after deciding to come out from under the bed and check on my charges, I wanted to cry! I just retired to my hiding place until I finally heard the crunch of tires and slowly made my way to the door.

Mom was not happy. She looked at me, but I could not meet her eyes. She told me how disappointed she was. I hung my head so low it touched the floor. She went about the business of cleaning up. She scolded Bo. How did know know it was Bo? Are there cameras in here that I don't know about? I think she may have eyes in the back of her head sometimes. She always knows who the culprit is.

I plan to be a better dog today! Mom made sure the door to our yard was open this morning and we are now cuddled against her on the couch. She assured me that she had no plans to leave here today, that is a relief, even though I would not be in charge two days in a row! Toni Louise is up next. She is pretty lazy and just watches all of us do whatever we want. She is not really a good choice to leave in charge of anything. Mom gives us all equal turns, though. Now that I think about it, she has never left Martha, the boy cat in charge, though. I wonder about that.

Guaranteed

 Guaranteed, what does that mean? I thought I knew what it meant, but I must be wrong. When HeWho ordered the new legs for my bed, they emailed him and guaranteed delivery on Monday, 2/7/22.

That is today! I woke this morning full of optimism. I was going to sleep in my bed tonight! All day long I waited to hear a UPS truck, or a Fed-X truck, or the USPS carrier with my package containing my bed legs. 

Not only did the package fail to arrive, HeWho likes to order stuff got another email. The new email guarantees arrival between 2/14/22 and 3/2/22. That is a wide window!

So, I ask you, which guarantee should I choose?

Heady With Anticipation

 Every day is like a surprise as I open unlabeled boxes. Not necessarily good surprises. Just so you know, 400 square feet is not a lot of space.

The bedroom will not be a challenge for storage as soon as I get my bed legs (should be tomorrow). A bank of 6 drawers under the bed will take all the overflow of seasonal clothes. The bathroom is a challenge!

The bathroom would appear to have lots of storage. The toilet sits at an angle with a corner cabinet above it. I was able to fit the litter box almost behind the toilet, nice and tucked away. But the cabinet is not deep enough to hold towels unless you get really creative with folding them. I ended up using an old CocaCola crate for the overflow of towels on the counter behind the toilet. Cleaning products and dog shampoo filled the cabinet under the sink, but the dog towels have no home.

The kitchen is the biggest challenge. The "pantry" is only 9" deep. I can work with that, but my cereal canisters will not fit. There is a cabinet above the fridge, but it is not tall enough to accommodate much and I need a step stool to access it. There is a space above that (ceilings are vaulted) and I was going to use baskets up there to store things I don't use very often, but the depth of the cabinet does not cover the entire space and my baskets want to fall behind the cabinet and onto the top of the fridge.

I will remedy that with a shelf .... one day soon. The cabinets in the kitchen are not wide enough for my pots and pans. There is one of those ugly light diffusers, it has gold metal straps holding the opaque panels in place. I looked under them and the florescent lights are ugly with wiring running on top of the finished ceiling. I want to eliminate the light diffuser and the lighting. I want to replace it with something more appealing to the eye and then be able to make use of the wasted space above the cabinets. There is 21" up there! Boxes, baskets, or bins can house whatever my heart desires to go up there. 

HeWho just looks at me and nods when I tell him these things! Then he reminds me that he is retired, and I told him I could make this work. I did say that, but I never said he wouldn't be put to work to make it work. 

The repairman for the washer said he would call with a time next week. The laundromat experience is really not for me! The place was clean and very busy. I remember when we put the new machines in the campground, and everyone went nuts over the $1.50 rate. You would have thought we were robbing them! A load of laundry, just a regular normal sized load was $3.50!! One must always remember how thrifty I am. I washed three loads of towels and clothes. I left the blankets and bedding the dogs vomited on here. They did not have one of those giant washers that would hold 4 loads there. All of the bedding is king sized and would involve many loads. It can wait outside on the porch for the washer to be repaired.

Our new address is an issue with shipping from Walmart. I am now waiting for a call to help me change my address in my account. I had my order all set to go, having found some space saving devices for the kitchen and their site will not recognize our new address. The person who initially called back could not get it done and now I wait. 

The day is sunny and still a little too chilly to tackle more boxes, but I should have a nice three-hour window of temps in the upper 40's later today. I can get a lot done in that amount of time. I need to find a place to store the queen bed we are sleeping on. As soon as those bed legs show up, I will be stripping that bed and moving it to its new home. I am heady with anticipation!!

Tech Support

 After another night in a queen bed, we set out to find the Verizon store to change our service from Sprint. I had my list at the ready. First the phones, then the Sears appliance store for a repairman to come out to fix my washer, another tale for another day. Then to Walmart to get a new router, a new litter box, a scratching post, and a few groceries. Most important was something for my raw hands. 

We have not had a lot of time to explore our surroundings, but I can navigate pretty well without Siri. HeWho cannot. He tells me that the Verizon store is in Murphy on the Blairsville highway. I said that I knew where that was, we passed it on our way here. 

Still, he relied on Siri. Had he supplied me the the street address I would have known which way to turn onto Highway 19. The address had NORTH right there in the address. But we turned SOUTH towards Blairsville. We rode on and on and then Siri proclaimed us to be there. We were not, we were out in the middle of nowhere. I told him we probably needed to be on the NORTH highway, but he kept circling back, like the store would suddenly appear. Then he changed to Google and it took us to the county social services building. 

Finally, he listened to the voice of reason (me, that is me) and we went onto the NORTH side and drove right to it. There is it was right next to a Walmart, and we passed a Sears appliance store. After the long visit to change our phones, we ate at a little place with hand patted burgers, then accomplished the rest of our chores for the day.

HeWho eagerly opened the router and was all set to get the Wi-Fi set up. It asked for a password, and none was supplied. He was flummoxed. He went on to finish getting the TV in the living room mounted to be ready for the Dish guy today.

This morning he called tech support, on speaker, as usual. This lets me tell him what he doesn't hear clearly. The man did not have a good grasp of our language and HeWho was very impatient, on the edge of insulting. He hung up on the man. Then I had to call Humana and tell them I lost my ID card. That call took over 35 minutes to change our address and order our refills, to be chastised for not ordering sooner and to explain to two different departments that we had moved and that is why I needed to change the address. 

I was in a foul mood myself when I finally completed my task. HeWho told me to calm down! At least I didn't hang up on the people I was talking to. I suggested he call the number for tech support again and listened as the nice man (I think it was the same man he hung up on!) walk him through setting it up. The man kept thanking him for his patience and every time HeWho managed to complete a step, the man praised him and told him what a good job he was doing. I had to remove myself from the room to laugh. 

We have Wi-Fi, and TV! We still have a mountain of boxes on the porch that fell over after HeWho was digging around and I still do not have MY BED!!

Pain and Suffering

 So, much has happened here in the past two days. I will be changing my blog to a different name soon, but, in the meantime .....

The internet is available through the electric company. Sounded strange to me, too. The wiring and hook ups were already in place, so no one had to come out. HeWho knows everything said we already had a router that should work. It didn't. The only way to get online was to sit in a corner near the actual hook-up and plug in manually. I wasn't thrilled about that set up. At the end of a long day, the last thing I want to do is sit in an uncomfortable chair and contort myself to be able to see the screen on my laptop.

Tuesday was not a day we could leave and go get a new router. Tuesday was the day the movers were bringing the truck filled with our belongings. I was supposed to be in my own bed Tuesday night. Monday the driver of the truck holding our stuff called to verify his arrival and such. He mentioned that he was driving a 53' semi. HeWho had made all the arrangements had made quite clear to the person putting this move together that a large truck would NOT make it down the sloping driveway on the side of this mountain. I know he did because I heard him, and the broker discuss this on the phone. He was assured that a 26' truck would be in use. Having already made two trips with loads of various belongings, the 26' truck would hold everything.

Based on everything the broker was told he quoted an estimate of $8,000. This was to include loading, dismantling the furniture as necessary and putting those pieces back together and moving all the boxes and other stuff as directed by the owner (me, that would be me). The movers came a day early to load, were in such a hurry that they forgot some things entirely and left one leg and a mattress support from my bed laying on the floor of the bedroom.

I was not happy with the service at all. I was even less happy when they called to say that we had gone over the cubic feet reserved and that bill was now over $10,000. The stuff still fit within the confines of the 26' truck. The crew that loaded took our belongings to Chicago and off loaded it onto another truck. This would be the 53' semi. I am assuming they were putting another load on with ours. Certainly their prerogative, as long as they keep in mind that our stuff would have to be off loaded to a 26' truck for delivery.

Delivery was set up for the Friday after the loading. One week. We arrived on Thursday. Movers called and delayed delivery until Saturday through Tuesday. We were okay with that since we had the flatbed trailer and the very full RV to unload. I made the unload area for the movers accessible and worked around it as I unloaded stuff. I made a rule to never go out and come back in empty handed. HeWho immediately broke my rule, preferring to make several trips for one item, then forgetting it because he saw something else and focused on that and would bring that single item in and go back for the original item he was supposed to be bringing.

HeWho can be quite entertaining, if predictable. When the call came Monday that our belongings were in a semi and the driver told him it would be an additional $1500 to put in a Uhaul and bring it to us, that temper that is so hard to ignite flashed bright! He called the moving company and yelled at them for a while, then the broker and left a message that was not nice. Nothing to do but to go get another money order or not get MY BED! 

The driver gave HeWho an address to meet him and give him the money BEFORE they would even consider offloading the truck. I get it, they didn't want to be ripped off, but neither did I. HeWho got lost and it took him an hour and a half to find them. He uses the GPS and sometimes if defies logic, but he will follow it no matter what.

When he finally found them (having passed the very place they were in his efforts to locate them), they were stuck in the mud, making the guy who owned that particular Uhaul place quite unhappy and then insisted that HeWho bring both money orders, which he did much to his wife's dismay. 

Then we waited and waited. It was a lovely day in with temps in the 50's. I was going to secure the canines in their yard and Martha, the boy cat in the bathroom while they unloaded. The temperature drops dramatically as the sun sets. This is when two men and a Uhaul show up.  No careful placing items where I told them to, it was a rush to dump the stuff as fast as they could. 

When they finally go to my bed, I presented them with the forgotten parts. Nowhere could they find the other 5 legs to my bed. The one man who spoke English told me he was sorry and suggested we simply put the bed on the floor. I vetoed that idea right away. It is an adjustable bed. The motors that raise the head and foot of the bed could not just sit on the floor. I had remained relatively calm until then. I went a little crazy then. I wanted MY BED! I have been sleeping on the edge of the queen bed with barely enough room to lay on one side, much less my back. 

I told the nice young man from Russia just how disappointed I was to have spent almost $12000 for a service that was shoddy at best. The estimate was way off, then to have to pay extra for their mistake was bad enough, but the fact that I was not going to be in MY BED was more than I could take!! And, furthermore, I am retired and have lots of time on my hands. I will be calling that moving company EVERY day, three times a day, until I get MY BED.

I really love that bed. I was so unhappy to have to set this queen bed back up and crawl into it with the 4 dogs and the fat cat. I think they should refund that $1500 I had to pay because someone failed to pay attention to detail and do their job. I also think they should have to pay the cost of replacing the parts to my bed. AND ... pain and suffering!

Home, Sweet Home

 I have internet!!!! This is so exciting, you have no idea. No TV service yet, depending on the internet connection to work. We have been listening to the radio. The entire home has speakers and the radio follows you from room to room. So, unlike the Waltons, we have yet to gather our chairs close to the radio.

Nights here are quiet, very still and quiet. HeWho swears he cannot sleep without the sound of a fan did just that the first two nights. I know I could have easily brought one inside but wanted to see just how long he would be able to do without it.

When we moved to the kampground 18 years ago, I sold as much of our furniture and big items as I could, knowing the living quarters were about 950 square feet and our house was several times more than that. Four levels and 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms. We went to 2 small bedrooms and 1 bath, Even though I had downsized our belongings, it was still hard to cram everything into the "house". But, cram, I did! 

So now we are in 400 square feet. HeWho has declared that there will be no additions. I laugh at that; we all know I will get whatever it is I want! Within reason and I am nothing if not reasonable. 

I have been slowly unloading and can't seem to find enough kitchen space. All the dishes currently in the cabinets had to be washed, since we didn't have water hooked up when we brought that load before. I have managed to put everything I unloaded away, and it has all been washed. My poor hands are so raw. they throb at night.

I immediately familiarized myself with the new washer, since I had four loads of dog vomit to deal with. I did a washer clean to get all the antifreeze out of the washer. Worked just fine and I tossed a load of our clothes in, ready for a day of laundry around unpacking. The first load was done and I put that load in the dryer and put another load in the washer, following all the steps carefully. Turned both machines on and went about my business of unpacking.

I heard the dryer buzzer and pulled that load out to fold ....... (sound of screeching brakes) discovered an error message on the washer. Searched to see if I could locate a service manual, couldn't and thought I would just look online. No Wi-Fi. A text to my go-to bestie and she looked it up. We spent all day draining the washer and then tried to "rinse and spin". Three times. It is the pump. I had to wring out that load by hand and let it drip outside before getting somewhat dryer, I just tossed the last of that load in the dryer.

The moving truck will be here tomorrow. A later post about that particular nightmare. I have readied the 400 square feet to receive the rest of my belongings. I am so excited to have my bed back in my life!

Dora, the adorable turtle has her appetite back and seems to love her new surroundings with so much light pouring in from all the windows. She has graduated from baby reptile food to big turtle food. She loves mealworms and tiny dried shrimp. She is currently on the kitchen counter and has been watching me cook and clean up. You all may think I am a bit wacko about this turtle, but I promise you, she has quite a personality. She will stretch her neck to follow my movements with her eyes. She likes to sit in the palm of my hand for a walk about to see everything. She will stick her neck out to be stroked and look straight into my eyes when I talk to her.

Martha, the boy cat, was the one I was really concerned about. He rode in the bed and was unconcerned about all the stops, did not try even once to get out. Upon arrival here, he headed straight inside to find his food and litter box in the bathroom. Mr. BoJangles did accompany Martha out to the fenced in dog yard. Martha easily scaled the 6' privacy fence in Missouri and this new fence is only 5'. He walked around and sniffed the air, then came back inside. It had snowed and he tip-toed through the white stuff. He seemed to be unimpressed. Today was quite nice out and he spent a good bit of time on the screened porch, exploring his new digs, then sauntered back in. 

The dogs, of course, already knew this new place, so were just happy to be here. I think they sense my contentment and take it from there.   

The Voyage, Part 2

 After the car was cleaned of vomit, the trip resumed. In answer to why I was not in the lead, is because someone had to look out for the contents of the trailer. Good thing I was there to make him pull over and strap it the right way! Even if my "suggestions" had to be pondered before being implemented.

The canines were more than ready for a nap after the morning's commotions. I listened to a mystery and when the book was finished had to hunt some music on the radio of a more lively nature.

We stopped once for fuel and topped off my tank although I have over half a tank left. The late afternoon sun was beginning to descend in the west casting shadows of the naked trees on the road. It was having a hypnotic effect on my fatigue, and I needed something to keep myself alert. I pinched my sore thumb from time to time and that worked pretty well. I thought about singing at the top of my voice, then thought better of it. Bo would join in and the other three would howl. All within the confines of the car and it was too cold to lower the windows. It was nearly 4:00 CST, and 5:00 EST.

Since I will be living on eastern standard time, I made an executive decision to stop for the night. As luck would have it, HeWho must have been thinking the same thing called to ask if I still wanted to make it to Nashville. I shared my thoughts with him, and we stopped in Cadiz, KY for the night. We had not stopped for lunch and saw a Cracker Barrel close by. 

It would have been nice to go and sit down in a restaurant to eat, but neither vehicle had room for a passenger, so HeWho was promoted to food procurement while I tried to pick up things that had become unsettled during the detour on the pot holed road. In doing so, I found the bandaids and doctored my thumb. Then I cleaned the litter box, preventing Toni Louise form extracting any "treats".

The dining area of the RV is completely inhabited with all the stuff loaded by HeWho does not know how to pack. We ate dinner in the bed. The only place to sit other than the toilet. Decided not to turn the water on and leave it winterized, since taking a shower would involve quite a production of moving lots of items. The shower is housing the litter box, as well as the cat food self-feeder and three bins of household cleaning products and other stuff. We will be at our new home tomorrow afternoon, and I can shower then.

Martha spent the entire ride in the bed, completely unconcerned about anything around him. Dora, the adorable turtle is a bit stressed and refused to eat. She can go without food for three days with no problem, but she has had an increasing appetite lately. She is not happy in the sink. Just so you know, she is in a smaller container in the sink. It is clear, but she is used to a bigger habitat with a nice view. She should be fine once I get her settled in her new surroundings tomorrow. We are only about 4 or 5 hours away, depending on road conditions. 

And now I sleep. I hope. This bed is so short that my feet reach the end of the mattress. Well, when I am allowed to stretch out. Martha is a bit of a bully.

The Voyage

 I awoke early, having not slept much. Martha, the boy cat spent his first night in the camper and decided right away that the bed must have been put there for him. Cujo chose to sleep on the same pillow with my head, stretching out his entire body. Eddie and Bo assumed their favorite positions under the covers and Toni decided she should sleep on my pillow, too.

I managed to get into the bed and move a very sleepy eyed Toni Louise over enough to gain control of a partial pillow. Martha sauntered down to the foot of the bed and draped his fat self over my feet and legs. I couldn't move, so I wasn't tossing and turning. But I couldn't shut my mind down.

The closing went well, no surprises other than a bakery bag of cookies from the buyers. A really nice gesture, as I was hungry. I tried to remember everything to tell them about the park, little things like checking the bathroom doors last thing at night to make sure they were not standing open with the heat on. They have my number but will probably do much as I did and just figure it out. I felt bad that I did not have a vacuum to clean with before I departed. It was loaded before I knew it and not available. 

We loaded last minute stuff until well after dark. My thumb had split open on a box last week and was so sore. It just refused to heal. I could not find the bandaids last night and it throbbed, contributing to my sleeplessness. It is my right thumb, the thumb I use to attach leashes to harnesses. I mentioned that we needed more cat litter and I needed some bandaids to the lead driver. He nodded that he heard me ..... 

So we set off this morning. I admit that I shed a few tears as I followed the trailer with a big silver tarp out the drive for the last time. The last 18 years have been more good than bad, for sure. We met some wonderful people and made lifelong friends. It is time for a new chapter to begin.

We made it a few miles down the interstate before I noticed the tarp coming undone and flapping wildly. I didn't know if HeWho drives would be able to see it in the camera, but I knew he could see me. He told me so. I tried to call him, but he didn't answer. I blew my horn and even pulled over .... because he could see me. He kept going. I caught up again and lay on my horn for a couple of miles. No slowing down. I called him again and had to yell for him to hear me. He finally pulled over. 

He "fixed" it. Sort of. The second time we pulled over, I got out to help and suggested that a strap around the middle of the cargo would stop the wind from pulling it apart. Instead, he did it his way and put another long strap over the top. Got back in the car with my dogs and resituated Cujo again.

Back on the interstate and it seems that his strap is holding, though I am still thinking my idea was better, but was not going to say so. The dogs settle in the back seat, succumbing to the seat belts that limited their movements. Cujo had found his sweet spot on the pillow on the console and was finally content at just touching my elbow. I turn an audio book on and sip my hot coffee, all ready to make head way on this trip.

But, that was not to be. HeWho was in the lead signaled and we were exiting after just a few miles. I had noted a Harbor Freight store that had not been there the last time I drove this way and I knew we were headed there. I am nothing if not smart!!

We stopped and he said he was going in to get more straps to strap the tarp around the middle, that he thought it would hold better. I only plant the seed, you know. I usually have to fertilize and water it before it grows into his idea, but this was a Miracle Grow moment!

We finally get back on the road and head towards St. Louis. I hate this part of the trip, but our late start had thinned the traffic, so that was good. My car is small, a Ford Focus and the camper may be short, but it is wide. This makes it difficult for me to see road signs until he has passed them. Over the river and into Illinois and I know the exit for 64 south to Louisville comes up fast because I missed it one time on a trip to see my Dad and panicked and went 55 through Arkansas figuring south was south and I would get there either way. That was the trip that ended up with my car getting a new transmission and me driving a rental car from Memphis.

He zipped right by the exit. He has Siri to guide him, so I assumed he must know and would turn around at the first available exit. We are now heading NORTH to Chicago. He passed three exits, so I called him and asked why we were northbound. He didn't seem to know, but he did take the next exit. Now we are heading back to St. Louis. I see two missed opportunities to get back on 64, but he says Siri is guiding him. 

We take a detour down an unsavory street in East St. Louis. I was too annoyed to be scared that someone cold jump in my car at the red lights. Besides that, who in their right mind would try to steal a ride with a crazy woman hauling all manner of household items and four dogs? Two of those dogs were whining, at the stop light I looked back to see that Mr. BoJangles who is prone to car sickness had vomited on over half the space the dogs had. Then I caught a whiff.

Over the absolute worst roads with pot holes I follow the leader passed abandoned building and homeless people walking the sidewalks. Then, to add insult to injury, HeWho zips through a yellow light, leaving me stuck at a red light. There was a good bit of traffic and though I am good at reading road signs and even looking at the position of the sun for direction, I doubted I could have found my way to where Siri was taking him. About the time the light turns I hear wretching in the back seat again and look quickly to see that Eddie was vomiting on Cujo's back.

Toni Louise was prancing through the vomit, stirring up the aroma. My thumb was throbbing and I was beginning to feel sick, but I was determined to get southbound on 64 before I pulled over to care care of business.

This time, I didn't blow my horn, I didn't phone HeWho was oblivious to my situation. I simply hit the gas and whipped around him and led him to the next exit. He was all set to clean the mess up with the two paper towels in his hand. I handed him the leashes with the dogs on the other end and told him he was on pee duty while I pulled out all the blanket and shook the solid off, then refolded them and put them back in. There was nothing else to do unless I just tossed them. My truck was full, the front seat was full and even 1/3 of the back seat was full.

To be continued ...

Helter Skelter

 It is official! I no longer own a campground, I am retired! Finally. At Last.

I am too tired to be too excited. We have been loading all day, with a break to do the closing and a walk-thru with the new owners and then back to it. Towards the end, I simply set items and boxes outside the door for HeWho to load. Big mistake on my part!!

One of our camp workers helped load the flatbed trailer. HeWho cannot pack and has no concept of space had loaded it the day before, then decided he needed help after telling me it was full and nothing else could go. I knew better, I went outside to see Dan looking at the job HeWho had done, shaking his head. I just said, "I know." He asked if he could do some unloading and I told him he would have to to fill in all the space wasted. Wasted spaces, what a good name for a show on HGTV ......

Under my direction, Dan and I loaded that trailer within an inch of it's life! The golfcart dump bed was full and we used the seat and every square inch. Then Dan and HeWho should never help decided to load my trunk while I showered and changed clothes for the closing.

When we returned, I was told the trunk was full. No, it wasn't! I filled the floorboards in the back, then covered everything with comfy blankets for my dogs to inhabit the back seat. I only have three seat belts for them, no, I have four, but only three can be attached. Cujo will be on a pillow on the console by me. Front seat is piled high, but I can see the mirrors.

When I finally came out to the RV tonight, as soon as I open the door, the only phrase to come to mind was "Helter Skelter"!!

Another Day Closer

 I am happy to report that the plastic trash bags over the windows helped a lot. I want to say I slept like a baby, but that would be a lie.

Today is Sunday. This is the day we will load the flatbed trailer with the golf cart and my garden "stuff". Last night my right shoulder was screaming and I had HeWho rub it down with something I found in the medicine cabinet. I have no idea how old it was. I was tired and my glasses were already off. Probably expired, as it didn't do much to alleviate the pain. 

The dogs have been so good about following me into the house in the mornings. I heaved Toni Louise into my arms and my shoulder let me know that I was in for a long day of twinges. Just like the day before and the day before that, I headed to the door to the office and unlocked it, put Toni inside and turned to see that Bo and Cujo were running free. Eddie was torn, as he stood looking at freedom or obedience. Being the good boy that he is he chose obedience and came in the door with me. I walked through and opened the door to their yard and let Eddie and Toni out.

I had grabbed some sweats and put them on atop my night gown and slipped my bare feet into some shoes. Didn't even visit the facilities before I went back out with a full bladder and no coat to round up the canine criminals. Thank goodness I did not pass by a mirror on my way out or I would have seen my hair standing on end! Nineteen cold, cold degrees outside, but luck? was on my side, as the wind was not blowing.

I spotted Mr. BoJangles right away. He was in the open field between the main building and some campsites, gleefully sniffing the ground. I yelled "TREAT" and his head came up and he spotted me. I waved my phone at him, since I had no treats. He is still young and gullible and ran like I might have been waving a raw steak at him. I lured him inside, then out the back door with his siblings, saying, "Yeah, I lied about that treat!"

I was hoping I would find Cujo near the fence trying to get into his yard so he could say he didn't do anything wrong. Not there. I headed to the barn, his favorite place to explore. Martha has been known to leave fresh kills in there and he likes to discover them. Not there. A favorite kamper spotted me and pointed to where she last saw him. He had moved on and was making his way into the occupied sites leisurely strolling along. My kamper and I headed in opposite directions to block him off, though it was unnecessary. As soon as he knew how close we were, he simply ambled his way to me and waited to be lifted into my arms. Cujo doesn't run much anymore.

He snuggled in as I made my way back to the front of the park and the magic door that would lead me to warmer air. Cujo was quite content, my shoulder was not. He walked with me to the back door after I put him down. (Just re-read that and it sounds wrong, as I did not kill him, but set him on the floor!!).

He ran out to tell the others about his adventure. Eddie came in, as well as Toni. Bo stayed with him a few seconds and then they came in. Now that I had taken care of my four-legged charges, I took care of myself. I made the coffee, visited the necessary facilities, spied a lone sock and put it on one foot. Why should both feet be cold?

My bed and clothes are in the RV. The coffee is in the house, along with running water and a TV, a recliner and the kitchen table and chairs not going with us. We shower in here, since we have not de-winterized the RV. Don't want the pipes to freeze. We will when we stop the first night, until then it is inconvenient, but we can manage until we are no longer so close to alternate solutions.

Hoping tomorrow will be the big day and we close and then hit the road. Hoping. Still do not know the results from the "appraiser". It is a big secret, I suppose. Coffee cup sits empty, and I have plenty to do and no reason to sit here any longer.

Plastic Straws

 It has come to my attention that so many things are triggering me to say, "I feel a blog coming on." lately. I don't normally have that much free time on hand. You would think I have enough to do getting all this stuff loaded and ready to roll.

Problem today is that I have a very small range of motion with my right shoulder, further annoyed by the fact that early yesterday I whacked it pretty good on a shelf letting the dogs out, then reaching way out to grab the screen door before it hit Eddie as he ambled out at a snail's pace. I had totally forgotten about it. It hurt when it happened, but I was intent on the tasks at hand and ignored it.

So, this morning when HeWho announced his impending trip to McDonalds for sustenance, I requested a PLAIN muffin with sausage. NO CHEESE. I shun condiments and like my food without much embellishment. He arrived home with my request, just as I had asked. My problem, you might be wondering? It was the straw.

I did not request anything to drink and did not get anything to drink. So, why did they include a straw? Many places are using paper straws nowadays, thoughtful of the waste piling up on our planet and the fact that plastic is the biggest contributor. Hey, I watch the news and am aware of current events. I also hate waste.

In each and every bag that comes from fast food, McDonalds being the absolute worst for this, there are straws. No matter if a drink is included or not. HeWho suggested that during busy times that someone may be putting napkins and straws into bags ahead of time to save time. Oh, condiments, as well. Which condiments would you put automatically? How would you know which food item would be in the order until the order is placed? So, HeWho is full of answers, admits that maybe they don't put condiments, but just straws and napkins. Not satisfied with his answer, I asked how many straws should be placed in each bag and how many napkins. You won't know the size of the order until the order is placed. If you put two straws in each bag and have an order with four drinks, or one drink, you will have shorted one order and given away too much on the other order. Napkins have no count and seem to be a "handful". My napkin holder is stuffed with fast food napkins and we don't normally get fast food that often.

You might recall that I love numbers and my mind is always busy calculating how much something is or should be and how much less it would be if there wasn't so much waste and theft. You better believe that this is factored into the selling price of all goods, especially in big corporations, such as McDonalds and Walmart. So, if you employ as many individuals as they do for minimum wage, they have no incentive to cut back on waste. For what they get paid, they just don't care.

Occasionally some rare individual such as myself, will question such things. If you happen to work with me or for me I will wax eloquent about the need to pay more attention to waste and to do a good job, no matter the wage. Sounds too simple, doesn't it. 

The vast majority of people are just interested in what might be in it for them. This is why glass soda bottles could be sold back to stores when I was a child. I am thrifty, frugal, cheap and always have been. I started picking up bottles when I was 8. I would gather them until I could fill my mother's car trunk and then she would take me to the store that would purchase them back for 3 cents each and that would be my spending money for whatever I wanted. I wanted to hoard it!! But that was enough incentive for some people to do the right thing and not just throw bottles away.

Still happening today with aluminum cans and plastic, if you are lucky enough to find a place to redeem it. Bigger municipalities offer separate receptacles for the same, you just don't receive monetary incentive, just the smugness of being one of the people on your block who care about the planet.

But, if you employ people and do not offer them an incentive to find ways to stop the waste, they don't care. When we had our business repairing pagers, and replacing the housing to make them look new, we had to have labels to put on the new housing. This required thermal printers. Three of them for different label types. The equipment was expensive and the labels were, as well. When my guys would reload labels, they would hold down the forward button until the label "set". One day I asked my guy in charge of all my other guys if this was necessary, because it wasted about 10 labels. He explained that it could be done manually and didn't take that much time, but HeWho fancied himself to be THE boss had told him the labels didn't cost that much and it didn't matter.

So, me being myself, ascertained the exact cost of each label which was a few cents. You know, just pennies, and don't we all know pennies don't count. I determined how many people made labels each day and using a low factor of three labels each came up with a number and multiplied it by 3 cents, then multiplied it by five days and then by 52 for an annual cost and it came close to $500. Not much, but I was not to be deterred. I had a meeting with my guys in the repair shop about once a month to air any issues. I listened to them, they listened to me. I would usually show up with a bag a Hershey's kisses and toss them to the ones who had earned my praise. Not much incentive, but I cooked their lunch once a week and knew their individual likes and dislikes. I was known to dole out medicine if they got sick. I was not just the boss, more like a den mother for a bunch of scouts long past the age of being one.

The meeting took place where I broke down the cost of waste. Labels, dropped crystals and other parts on the floor, and the number one waste in this country ..... time. I like to pay people well for their efforts, on the other hand I do not like to pay for those not productive. When I came up with the dollar amount of waste, they were astounded. Then I asked who, among them would like a raise. Of course they all did and I threw that dollar amount back at them and told them it was there, to go get it. It worked.

It worked so well that one fine day, HeWho fancied himself to be in charge, was loading a printer and I was just getting up to go admonish him, when I heard my guy, Thom, say to him, "Dude, that is not the way Kathy wants it done." HeWho informed my guy that he owned the machine and would do what he wanted. This was before he turned to see me watching him. I said, "Thom, tell the big guy here how much money he is wasting." Thom reeled off the numbers and HeWho stopped and let Thom make the label for him, after he re-wound all those labels that would have ended up on the floor.

Incentives are out there, but you have to implement them. Perhaps I could share my reasoning with management. Never mind, I am retired and I will take all my hard earned wisdom with me.

Another Long Day

 Another night in the cold bed of the RV. Today I taped plastic trash bags around those windows. I have at the very least 4 more nights to spend in there. The washer and dryer are on marketplace and someone is coming to see them. My new house has a stackable unit in place. The fridge will be out the door tomorrow.

I have been loading the RV all day. The two bedrooms here have been vacuumed and the doors closed to keep the heat in the living area. The kitchen cabinets are all empty as I have been carrying loads out to the camper all day. HeWho decided not to take his old people recliner and he has been holding it down all day unless he has found an errand to run. Fine with me, he tends to get in my way, like a toddler underfoot. He helps me carry stuff out and then rests while I put it all away. 

Still lots of odds and ends on the counters waiting to be tucked away. My car will hold all the canned goods we have yet to eat. Tomorrow I will start loading it and help load the flatbed trailer, lest HeWho decides to "forget" some of my gardening stuff. Meantime we wait to hear a closing time.

Some long time used to be campers took us out last night. They have moved, but it was fun to get together with them. Friends will remain friends, you know. The world is a smaller place with all the ways to communicate. I hope they will visit.

With only one bedroom, we have the RV for guests. Just not in the winter! I am anxious to see if my plastic holds the chill back. The warmest "room" in the camper is the bathroom. I toyed with thoughts of bedding down in the floor. Although I am a short person, I would not be able to stretch completely out, but I can't do that in the bed, either. The doxies prefer to have my body curled protectively around them. I don't mind so much because they are so warm.

Last night, though, Cujo snored. He insisted on having his head on my pillow next to my head. The breed can be quite stubborn. Eddie was under the covers right next to my chest and abdomen. I turned away from Cujo and was delighted to have Eddie warming my back. It was like when you turn over and your cold side is in the warm spot in the bed.

It was so nice until suddenly he was gone! I turned back over and saw that HeWho was cold, too, had stolen my back warmer! "PUT HIM BACK!" I said in my most no-nonsense tone. He whined that he was cold and I told him to invite his own dog to warm him.

Toni Louise had decided to sleep on the floor next to a heater vent and Bo was under the covers at my feet. Cujo was never a candidate. HeWho could pull him over to him, but he wouldn't stay. He would lie, waiting for an opportunity to escape and come back to me.  It is not my fault that all the animals love me the most, is it?

So much left to do, and here I sit. Binge reading my favorite blogs and waiting for my back to un-spasm. It is a shame I can't cook tonight .....

I Am Being Punished!

 We have the RV parked right in front of the door to the office. Plugged in to just a 20 amp service, but easy to get into the building. Last night we just carried the canines to bed. I carried Eddie and Mr. BoJangles together, knowing Cujo would be hot on heels. I don't know that there is a temptation that would lure him away from me. I am his safety.

Last night was COLD. I left my leggings and socks on when I got into bed. I made the mistake of sticking my hand under my pillow and came back with frosty fingers. The air was warm, but it did not penetrate the surfaces closest to windows. HeWho hates multiple pillows on chairs and sofas, wants at least two pillows on his side of the bed. We have lots of bed pillows, king sized pillows. I ended up putting the extra pillows in front of the two tiny windows at the head of the bed to block the cold air.

When I went to sleep, my toes thawed and it got too hot. I toed my socks off and eventually ditched the leggings under the covers. This morning when Bo snuffled my neck with his cold nose, I lay very still as I planned how to locate my socks and leggings without leaving the warm covers, then I would slip out and into my shoes and walked the 10 feet into the building.

Once again, my plan did not go so well. I had to brave the cold to find my clothes. Toni and Bo were into their usual morning routine of growling and play fighting while the doxies whined to be lifted down from the bed. I didn't bother to ask for help. I just picked up Toni Louise, the escape artist, and told the remaining three to stay close. I had to unlock the door and the doxies were so close I would have tripped had I turned around. Bo took the opportunity to water the post and then they all ran gleefully into the building and headed to the back door and their yard.

I made the coffee, I drank the coffee. Now the scattered mess from the movers awaits my attention. Then there is the fridge and freezer to deal with, but unless we get a last minute call from the bank, we won't close until Monday. This means several more nights of "camping". So I have time aplenty to achieve my goals. 

The movers will be at our new home Wednesday. I am not sure what might be involved in correcting the mistake on the deed. The underwriters at the bank are "working on it". The bank involved is right here in the county seat, so how difficult can it be? Am I being punished? For what? Who knows?

Moving Truck

 When last we spoke ..... things were somewhat stressful, but my last minute reprieve had me grateful for one more night in my bed before they took it away. I was sipping a second cup of coffee after my shower and putting on leggings, topped with pants and a long sleeve shirt topped with a sweat shirt. I was gearing up to go into the cold, cold store/office to pack a few more boxes. Then I planned to bake a cake while cleaning out the fridge. Cleaning out the fridge would reveal tonight's supper. Tomorrow I was hoping to wash the bed sheets and covers so I could arrive at my new home with as little dirty laundry as possible.

You know what is said about the best laid plans, don't you? The phone rang. Maybe I should stop answering it altogether. But it was the phone of HeWho was dealing with the moving company. He answered and burst my bubble of relative contentment saying, "The truck will be here in 30 minutes."

I was dumbfounded. Doesn't happen often as I am a quick thinker and usually have a come-back for everything. I stepped into action and started stuffing boxes and taping them closed. The driver of the truck was the caller and HeWho told me he had an attitude. Maybe he did, maybe he didn't, but I can guarantee that his attitude would be no match for mine!

They arrived and I introduced them to Cujo, telling the three men that Cujo hated men and to steer clear of him. I also told them he would be more apt to bite if they chose to annoy Cujo's mistress. The other three dogs clamored for attention and pats on the head, Cujo stayed in my arms until they left his area.

I had made their job all the more easy by stacking bins and boxes in the store for a quick route to the truck. They were moving fast and I was trying to get everything I could out to them for loading. HeWho was kept busy grabbing the tape gun and finishing my boxes as soon as they were full.

I still made that cake! I found some leftover grilled steak in the fridge. I dumped the remaining Barley from a box in the pantry into my Instant pot along with all the beef broth on hand and some water. I added the last half of an onion, a stalk of celery and some chopped carrots and pressure cooked the mixture. Enough soup for two meals. I stripped my bed and started washing everything. I had started the day with dog and cat beds and all their blankets.

I shook the huge detergent bottle every time I started a load, hoping to use it all so I didn't have to load the big container. I would have emptied the meager contents into a smaller container in that event. I hate waste, you know. The best thing that happened all day was that the very last load was my bedspread and the detergent was at it's end. I filled the jug with hot water and got every little bit out and into the washer. Perfect!!

I would always cringe when I cleaned the laundry facilities. So many bottles with product left in them in the trash can. My children will hate it, but I confess that I would gather the brands I liked and use them to do my laundry! My daughters will be appalled that I shared this insight into my life, but my son will be proud of his Mom! We are very much alike, my son and I. Funny, since the older he gets the more he resembles my Daddy, the man who taught me how to be frugal!

With age comes wisdom. When I was young, I might have argued this fact, but the older I get, the more I see how very true it is. I never realized all the life lessons I absorbed from Daddy until I lost him. My Mother had lessons for me as well, but most of hers taught me what NOT to do. She was a troubled soul and I have forgiven her for all the times she hurt me, but I learned from those times. 

So, here I sit at the table in the only empty chair, a cool breeze at my back, making me wonder if I left the back door open. I didn't, it is just that cold. 10 degrees right now, the wind chill making it feel like 1 degree. 

The heater is on in the RV and I am so happy I decided to dress the bed a few days ago. When I get ready, a warm bed awaits me. Not a big bed when we all get in. Martha, the boy cat will be staying in the house here tonight, along with Dora, the turtle under her heat lamp. No sense in stressing them out until the day we pull out. Cujo tends to over salivate when he is feeling stressed and he is slobbering as much as my St. Bernard ever did right now. He needs a bib!

Wonder what atrocities tomorrow holds ...

Stalker?

 I woke to a balmy 7 degrees today. The movers have been delayed and won't be here until tomorrow after 3 pm. I think weather is the issue. Just as well, since tomorrow should be warmer. The high today is predicted to be 18. I would feel bad for the movers having to load in extreme temps. 

The closing is still up in the air. Late yesterday they discovered that when we purchased the property the wrong county had been entered. I have no idea how that could have happened, since the closing lasted for hours and every single word was read! Should be a simple fix, but what do I know?

Since I have an extra day, I noticed a cake mix in my pantry and think I should whip it up to avoid packing it. I also found a disposable lasagna pan that will make a nice vessel for this cake. Not that it will be around for the trip! I will spend the day in the kitchen cooking up enough food for the weekend since the closing will not happen until next week. 

We will be staying in the RV. Under normal circumstance I wouldn't mind so much. It is hard to stay warm in an RV that is not meant for winter. Added discomfort of all the stuff I have packed in it, leaving very little square footage to move around in.

To add to my aggravation a commenter decided to share a story that was not entirely true. This particular commenter is the reason I changed my settings to my approval for the comment to be published. For the life of me I cannot understand why this person even reads my blog. The previous relationship with this person has been severed completely and will never be repaired. I have zero interest in this person's life, but the former close friend seems to hold a fascination for me and my family. Too bad, as I finally recognized that this person has no intentions of admitting any faults and never will. 

I will never post my new address. If you want my address, I will be happy to email it to you!

Stressed

 Still no news from the bank about the time of the closing. Yesterday we got the message that the appraisal had been recieved and that today they would set the time of the closing.

I continued with my efforts in packing and stacking, as well as loading the RV. My closet is empty now, everything is in the RV that will might need to dress ourselves. Only thing left is drawers that are going on the moving truck. The bathroom is bare except for the essentials that will easily move to the RV. The kitchen only has the food in the pantry and 4 plates, utensils and pots and pan. One pan. Laundry room is looking equally empty.

This place is not big, but it is starting to echo!! HeWho loves to run errands went to the post office to change our address. But, exactly when shall we change it. Still no time for the closing. For all we know it could be next week. 

Yesterday we had the last call from the moving company to see if we had forgotten to include anything. I didn't, but the man I have been nagging for several months now to get it together and let me know what he planned to take in tools and equipment. Every day that was warm, I would remind him of this chore and suggest that he do it before weather would be an issue. Now that the weather is very unfriendly, he will go out to "the barn" to get his "stuff together". Never stays long because it is too cold. 

After talking to the moving company, I was told that he changed the date to the 21st, since the closing is supposed to be the 20th. It was like a sudden reprieve, giving me another 24 hours to organize. We can then leave on the 22nd. I was happy with that. I must admit here that I am a bit fanatical about controlling major events. I was blissfully going through my pantry, tossing stuff and combining stuff when the phone rang.

The movers were already heading our way and will be here between 1:00 and 3:00 pm TOMORROW. I am torn now between total panic and wanting to go hide in my bed. This means my bed will be on a truck tomorrow night and I will be sleeping on a short queen bed in my RV tomorrow night with 4 dogs and a cat, with a turtle in the kitchen sink. And I still don't know when this closing is scheduled for! This is so very stressful!!

I Am The Master Of Improvising!!

 Only four days left until the moving truck arrives. We are scheduled to close the same day. The movers are coming and loading. Still know nothing about the results of the appraisal. Must be a secret.

In any event, we are getting down to a bare living situation here. I made soup yesterday. Soup and snow go well together. HeWho was helping serve up the grub looked toward the cabinet that used to hold bowls. Yes, I packed them. We ate out of serving bowls. I ate my cereal out of a coffee mug.

We have had some strange combinatons for meals as I am trying to deplete the comtents of the freezer and pantry. This is why I poured a generous dollop of coconut vodka in my orange juice! No need to move that bottle!! I just happen to have not packed my pyrex pie plate, so we will be having a pie tonight. I had milk, pudding, coolwhip and grahams. I used up two of the puddings, pistachio and chocolate. Made a good dent in that milk, too! One little problem arose when I opened the drawer for the rolling pin and discovered that I had packed it as well. I dumped those crackers in a ziplock and grabbed the meat tenderizer and pounded them to crumbs. Good thing I can improvise! I suppose I could have layered the crackers and the pudding ....

Spent some time in the shower combining two shampoo bottles into one. Went through my spices and tossed all the expired ones and those I didn't remember using. Then I repacked all my Christmas stuff and condensed it somewhat.

Out of those "magic" bags, I tried some trash bags and the vacuum. I put fabric in them and then loosely tied the end and poked the hose inside and sucked all the air out and tied the end and taped it down. Worked better on some than others. HeWho helped and we quickly put the lid on each full bin and taped it down. In my mind's eye I picture all these bins on the back of the truck with the lids exploding. If they stack things all nice and tight, it won't happen!

Soon as that snow melts I will finish loading the RV and then my car. I am ready to go!!

Generic VS Brand

 I had an epiphany! It was this morning as I was beginning my day and moving about trying to figure out where I should start. Yesterday I found one of those space saving garment bags as I was down to my last purge. I hung a few dresses in it, as I rarely wear a dress and was thinking I would suck the air out today and hang it in the RV.

I was carrying it out to a table in the store to use the vacuum and it struck me!! Space bags, I need more space bags! If I repack my meager allotment of fabric (only about 6 bins) and suck the air out it will look so much smaller. Then I thought, why not suck it out of the off season clothes I had packed in plastic drawers? The mover are charging by the cubic foot, not weight. Sure they will be heavier, but they are unloading the stuff.

Why had I not thought of this before? I could kick myself! Online I researched to find the best deal. Walmart has them in stock and for order. It says 2 day delivery, shipping is free, so I should order them and save myself a trip. I did and when I got to check out, the estimated date of arrival was February 3rd. What a fine how-do-you-do! 

Of course, He-Who was already going that way, so I had him pick up two boxes. Large, so they would fit right back in the drawers and bins. No need to go crazy with a jumbo size that would be awkward to load. I was specific in my search for the bags. I wanted to simply use the vacuum option. Perhaps I should have looked more closely .....

The bags were smaller than I had thought they would be. Magic bags they were called. I read the instructions. It was printed right on the bag. I was to open the bag, fill to the fill-line and then using the patented thumb pressured closer, I was to pull it along the doulble ziplock line three times to insure proper closure.

I filled the first bag and then grabbed the white thing to close the bag. It wouldn't budge, so I took it off and put it back on to try again. The amount of pressure needed from my old arthritic thumb to close the ziplock just wasn't gong to happen. I finally pushed the end of the bag flat on the table and using my forefinger pressed it closed.

Next I was to start rolling the bag up from the closure end of the bag. The instructions stated there was an airlock where all the air would be released, but no air could get back in. I pressed down and could not hear any of the air escaping. I did not want to burst the bag, so I released the pressure and rolled it from the opposite end. Same thing happened. No air escaped. I hunted down HeWho has more strength in his hands than I do and he gave it a shot. Same result.

I had pictured myself merrily repacking and sucking air all day, ending up with some empty containers. Finally I grabbed the wand from the super sucking wet/dry vac and opened the bag enought to slip the end inside and hit the on button and sucked that air out until the bag was rock hard, then I quickly yanked the wand out and closed the bag. It worked. I managed to get 3 drawers into 2. I had hoped for a better result, as the box proclaimed I would have twice the space and this method was new and improved.

Nothing magic about these bags and I wonder what about the new method is "improved". Moral of the story? Buy a brand name in this particular item.

Appraising the Appraisor

 As if this entire process has not made me crazy, this particular aspect of it has proven to be the most trying. We were assured that this man was an "EXPERT" in appraising campgrounds. Someone did not practice due diligence when choosing this expert.

This man is clueless and confused. The information he asked for had already been given to him on the day he was here. I was not impressed on that day and am even less impressed now. He seems to be totally ignorant about camping and RV's. Some of his questions could be answered by simply doing his job!

He texted all of his questions to HeWho was kind enough to offer his personal cell phone number. You might recall that I refused to give him mine. We have a business line and this is business and should be the channel through which imformation pertaining to the the campground. Am I right? This is rhetorical, as I already know I am right.

HeWho gives his cell number to everyone was going to try to text the information back to the clueless man, but I volunteered to call him myself. I asked if he still had my brochure with the map of the sites. And already, it begins. He says he has two, one black and white and another one with the seasonal sites on it. I only have ONE map and it is, indeed black and white. I have no clue what he was talking about, but, then neither did he.

I talked to him like I was talking to a camper when I am giving directions to a site. I told him to get his black and white map and follow along with me. He seemed to be confused about the markings and the legend that explained them. Some things have changed and we have not updated the map. I went over the each site with him and what ammenities each one had. He wanted to know how many 30 amp 'rustic' sites I have.

Rustic means no ammenities in campground terminology. So, there is no such thing as a rustic site with 30 amp electric. I kept my cool and calmly explained this to him. I had to explain how seasonal camping works and is charged as opposed to full time tenants. I was explaining everything in the simplest of terms and don't know how I could have "dumbed it down" anymore, but he still didn't understand that people full time camping live in their campers year round! Full time is self explanatory. He called back to get verification on that.

The most amazingly clueless question was about the power bills in 2019 and 2020. He wanted me to explain why the power bill for 2019 was so much less that the one for 2020! What happened, he wondered to cause it to increase so much? 

I wanted to ask him if he had been living under a log. 2019, pandemic, everyone stayed home. 2020 and the world was still crazy and everyone bought a camper and went camping. National news. And this is the man who will be telling the bank what my business is worth!

Who Ate My Jelly Beans?

 I found some jelly beans! While it is true that the expiration date was not legible, they were sealed. I decided to treat myself. I opened the tiny package and ate a few. Mr. BoJangles immediately became alert and appeared on the back of the sofa to see about my treat. I slipped him a tiny taste and he was not impressed with my sweet treat.

I left my bag on the table next to my chair and went to enclose my mattress in a cover and started moving boxes and finishing filling and taping some. Cooked dinner, answered the phone several times and then moved more boxes. Dinner over and I am tired. I remember I have a little treat awaiting me. As I take my seat on the sofa I see 3 tiny jelly beans in the otherwise empty bag. These are Jelly Belly, tiny little beans. I picked up the bag and asked, "Who ate my jelly beans?" 

I looked at each of my dogs. Bo was curious about the bag in my hand, his head tilted to one side. The doxie duo looked straight into my eyes. Toni Louise could not look at me. I repeated my query and she turned her head in shame. I asked again and got the same response. She finally went to hide behind the wood stove. Bad girl!

I purged more clothing from my drawers and closet today. I sent a huge container of blankets and towels to the animal shelter and just kept packing, then packing some more. I am still trying to motivate HeWho likes to talk. He will tell me what he is going to do, then just wait until I ask him when he plans to do what he planned to do. I give up.

I finally just started telling him what to do. He was more than happy to vacuum the store and the house, but when I ask him to sort through various boxes of stuff he has accumulated, it takes far too long.

The appraisor called with questions. A tale for tomorrow. I am still too angry and amazed. I need time to process the situation .....

HeWho Has No Concept Of Space

 The weekend was bitterly cold. We sat like slugs in front of the TV, warming our toes under blankets. Precious little was done in the way of packing.

I keep trying to impress the feeling of urgency on HeWho procrastinates. Mere weeks until moving day. Most of the packing on my part has been done. I have gathered all my stuff together and am ready to load the RV with all of our personal items necessary for day to day living.

HeWho procrastinates finally called for some moving estimates. I listened as he started listing stuff to be moved to the man. He was all over the place, forgetting, then adding stuff and then wondering what sort of space the various boxes and containers will take up inside a truck. Then wondering about the golf cart, deciding he should just pull it with his trailer, but then his wife would need to drive and can they add the car dolly to the truck.

The man on the other end of the line was so very patient and accomodating. I sat there in silence as I listened and he finally came back with a $7000 estimate. "WHAT" shouts my old man! Then he started telling the nice man that he could get the job done for half the price. That he had already gotten an estimate in writing!! Total bluff, but I figured I would just let him rant.

It occurs to me that we have turned into old people who like to reminisce about the prices of the good old days and refer to them as "just a few years ago". I wanted to call the nice man and back and apologize and thank him for his patience! I am usually on that side of a phone call dealing with people who have no clue about what they are asking for. 

The second call made to inquire about the cost of moving went a lot better. HeWho is one of those people who like to chat with the phone on speaker. Not a bad thing for him, since sometimes he can't hear clearly and I can stop him from replying stupidly to something he "thought" he heard. So when the new voice on the other end of the phone asked how many boxes would be involved, I raised my voice and talked over my old man. I told him all the boxes and such should fill a 5 X 8 space floor to ceiling. We have one bed, one mattress, no box springs, a table, 6 chairs, two glass front cabinets and a car dolly as well as two front porch rockers. Got the estimate for under $3000, made the reservation and paid the fee to hold it. Easy.

HeWho has no idea how I came up with that. I looked at the boxes and cleared a space in my old sewing room and figured they would all stack in the space I had mentioned. Today has been spent proving it.

The only way to get the trailer for hauling stuff to our new home is to pull it. This means I will definitely be driving with a car full of dogs. The cat and the turtle can ride with HeWho will be pulling the trailer. If Martha, the boy cat is anything like my old cat, Gremlin, he will find a hiding space as soon as he gets in the RV. I can put Dora, the adorable turtle in the shower in the RV and barricade her so that her habitat will not tip over as the RV goes around those tight curves into the higher elevation. Am I worried about the trip? Of course!

What If HeWho fails to secure the door to the bathroom and Martha discovers the opening at the top of Dora's habitat and kills her? What if HeWho accidentally loses Martha out the door when he stops for fuel and we can't find him? Yes, we have a kennel, already moved it. Besides that, Martha is not likely to behave in that kind of confinement. He might begin to howl and he can be really loud. 

The dogs will be fine. They have seat belts and should sleep most of the time once settled. Maybe the turtle should go with me. Then Martha can have the bathroom in the RV with his bed and litter box. That's a better plan. Dora can ride in the floor board of the front seat. Cujo will be in the front seat, while the three remaining dogs can share the backseat. This is NOT going to be a fun trip!

It has been a long day, my muscles are screaming. Tomorrow I will finish getting all the boxes into one room and finish cleaing the extra bedroom. Today I emptied 6 big trash cans into the dumpster. Still have two left to go out. 

Weather promises to warm Wednesday, so we can load the golfcart onto the trailer, along with the remaining planters, my wagon that dumps and all my garden tools. Then take apart my garden shed and load the parts. It is lightweight resin, plastic stuff and looks simple enough. Should make for a good post that day!!

Cat Condo

 Cujo here. I overheard Mom talking to HeWho is our Dad about buying a cat condo. What? I know what a condo is, I watch HGTV with Mom. I didn't know there were cat condos! 

How would this work? If only cats live in these cat condos who gets their food and water. Who changes the litter box? What do they do in these cat condos. Are they alone all the time?

Oh no! Does this mean Martha, the boy cat will not be moving with us? This is distressing! I waited until all of us dogs were outside to have a canine family meeting. Eddie was most upset. He loves Martha, they are best friends. When he was a small pup, Martha took care of him. You might recall that Martha is not fond of other cats and considers himself to be a caretaker of us dogs.

Toni Louise was not paying attention and apparently had nothing to add to the discussion, as she began chasing her own tail. She does this a lot. She seems to find it entertaining, although I am not sure why. Usually when she begins chasing her tail, Bo will join in and catch it for her. This will turn into a game of chase with the two of them racing through the yard and tripping each other. Although Toni has the advantage of long legs, Bo tends to outrun her. But, I digress (Mom finally explained this word to me).

Mr. BoJangles was not interested in Toni and her games. He was MAD. "Martha is MY CAT!" he said. This is not true, but we let him vent. He wants to plan a scheme to get Martha to our new house. Brace yourself before you hear his plan ...

Bo has been watching Mom pack boxes and he knows they are going to our new house. He wants to sneak Martha into a box and tape it up! He clearly has not thought this through!

Martha does enjoy sitting in boxes from time to time, but with the lid off. Bo was insistant that his plan would work and was spitting mad that Eddie and I did not agree. I pointed out to him that the boxes would be going on a truck. He would be stacked in with all the other boxes with no food or water. Now he wants to add food and water to the box. Eddie tried to explain that the water would spill when the box moved and asked how Martha would be able to do his business. Now Bo has added a litter box to the box! How big does he think this box can be without Mom noticing it?

Bo was still planning when Toni stopped spinning. She said she was ready to go in and barked for Mom. As she waited at the door she asked why we didn't just ask Mom about Martha. Really? I should have thought of that!

Mom laughed at us dogs for thinking she would leave Martha in a cat condo. I guess we should have known that Mom would never leave Martha, she raised him from a tiny kitten with a bottle. That turtle she talks to is going, so why would she leave our cat behind!

Then she told us what a cat condo is. I feel silly! It is only a place for Martha to climb and sit on! Mom wants one big enough to keep the litter box high enough that us dogs can't reach it. His food dish, too. She says that she wants to keep Martha mostly indoors until Spring in the new house. She wants him safe and not exploring in case he gets lost.

What a relief! I must confess that all of us dogs find cat food to be quite tasty. Toni Louise likes to dig around in the litter box looking for tasty morsels. I tried it once myself. Mom gagged and told me that I was never to lick her skin EVER again. Then she told me what I had eaten. She acted the same way when I swallowed that dead mouse that Martha had gifted me. She is so squeamish!

Hell Hath No Fury ...

 The packing continues. The findings of the appraisal won't be available for two weeks. HeWho doesn't want to continue packing. If the appraisal is a tool to lower the selling price, then this buyer will not be buying. His thoughts are that we would then have to unpack and start the process over again. My thoughts lean the other way entirely.

If we won't know for two more weeks, I don't want to have to race to get everything ready to go. He says we can stipulate additional time to get packed up. I say I don't want to have to try to get everything in order while the new owner is here going about the business of running the campground in the same building we are currently living in. It would be hard for me not to voice my opinion. If he/they were to ask my opinion on something .... well, I would voice my thoughts. I want to be able to leave the day after the closing.

Besides, I am not packing the things we use everyday. I can still cook, do laundry and all the things necessary for day to day life. All my cookware, our clothes and personal grooming items will all fit in the RV. I have already moved our summer wardrobe to North Carolina and purged all those clothes we had stuck in the back of the closet that we never wear. A lot of my kitchen stuff is already there. The only hardship we have suffered in my kitchen is the lack of cake pans. I couldn't make a three layer German chocolate cake for HeWho loves cake. Instead I was "forced" to use a 9 X 13 pan and make just one layer. 

The cake pans are in North Carolina. So, the next time he gets a hankering for a three layer cake, we will just have to go to the new house to make one! Problem solved. I am really good at organizing a move. Everytime we move I vow it will be the last time!

When this adventure began, it had us moving mid October. This is when the buyer wanted to take possession. When he told us money was no issue and made his offer. His offer was less than we wanted, but considering that it would eliminate broker fees, we felt it was fair. Based on that and his assurance that the loan would be no issue, we purchased our new home.

I was ready to begin the process of moving. I did my research online and found what we were looking for. I narrowed my seach down to about 6 prospects and contacted a realtor in North Carolina. We were looking in Georgia, Tennessee, and North Carolina, but I knew what I wanted the first time I saw it.

We made a trip to Georgia and stayed in a campground central to the prospects. It was raining and dreary, not optimal for house hunting, but there we were. Acting on the advice of the realtor, we set out in the car to do drive-bys to determine the accessibility for our 40' motorhome. We started in Hiawassee, Ga. We were staying there, so it only made sense to go find the area that had 3 prospects.

Siri went with us, guiding us along the way. Well, most of the time as we wound up into the mountain we loss cell coverage periodically. In the dreary gray light, none of the properties looked appealing. They all had a lot of tree coverage and were all brown, making them look dark and foreboding. One even looked scary!

We came down out of the winding roads, knowing that none of them would work with their steep drives and the fact that we lost cell coverage. I suggested a short ride to North Carolina, just 9 miles away. HeWho tends to think he knows everything, reminded me that it was over the budget we had set. I argued (and I do it well) that it had been on the market for some time and had recently had a decrease in price ... and that it cost nothing to look.

I had already moved us in. I looked at it everyday and knew I wanted to be there. I also knew that HeWho would love it. I had shown it to him online several times and everytime he said he liked it, but it was over our budget. He had already dismissed it in his mind. It wasn't that much over budget and budgets need to be flexible. I did not say as much to him, just rode and talked about the properties we have already seen.

We finally found the right turn and pulled down the private drive. It was still raining lightly as we parked the car. He sat there looking while I gathered leashes to give the canines a walk. He joined me and walked to the edge of the ravine and looked down at the rushing water of the trout stream. I kept silent as I walked around and let the dogs pee on the boulders at the embankment.

The doors to the porch were not locked and I saw him enter one end and I came in the others, dogs and all. He was sitting there looking out at the mountains in the distance. I asked what he thought. Keep in mind that we had yet to see the inside of the house, other than the view through the siding door in the living room. He said, "Let's make an offer."

We did, they countered, we countered and just like that it was done! Our short trip was not wasted. I did not know that the realtor I called had his face plastered on billboards that we saw all along the way on our journey home. He took care of everything and definitely earned his money, at no cost to us! Everything was done remotely involving a few phone calls and e-signing online.

This when everything got complicated with this sale. When it became aparrent that money was, indeed, a very big issue. When the offer went down by $100,000!  We finally agreed to this, as long as the closing costs and any incidentals would not be paid by us. I was not happy with this, but finally gave in. I just want to go live my life in my little house in the mountains. But, that is a lot of money!

And here we are in a brand new year, waiting. Paying utility bills in two locations and I won't believe it is over until I sign on the dotted line. I made my plans according to the word of the buyer and he has proven to be unreliable. He has an accomplice ("investor") now, who I believe is the motivation behind the decrease in the offer and the one spear-heading all the road blocks to my escape from here. 

It is all I can do to be civil. I recognize that she is manipulating the actions of the buyer. I know this because I am quite capable of the same. She has sent some rather condescending emails my way. I could reply and out-condescend her, but I choose to ignore them. No reply is, indeed, a reply!

The buyer is here now, wanting to inventory all the equipment he expects to be his at the end of this. With the initial offer we were willing to leave most everything in the barn and the store. No longer am I willing to fund his new venture with a store full of merchandise and a barn full of equipment. He is getting a profitable turn-key operation with tenants who pay monthly and seasonal who pay annually. I have been culling out anything I can sell and doing so. Rape me of $100, 000 and make me stay here when I don't want to. What is it they say about a woman scorned and fury?

The Night Was Long

Cujo here again. Mom read your comments to me! Am I famous? Mom says that I will always be famous to her, but other people like me, too! Mom told me not to get a big head about it. I did not know this could happen! How big do you think my head might get? I hope not too big because I stand rather low to the ground and it would take great effort to hold it high enough!

I liked that comment Val made about Martha, the boy cat, being on the table beside Dad's chair. That Val is very clever. She should know that Martha does enjoy sitting in boxes, but I wouldn't want to be the one to pick that box up as Martha is what Mom calls a hefty boy. This means that Martha is fat! Call it what you want, but he is fat. Why she tries to disguise this fact with words is beyond me!

She seems to have no problem telling me tht I am fat! Just yesterday when she was calling us dogs in, she yelled "Run, fat boy, run!" at me. So rude. Then she pointed out to me that I was always the last one in the door. That may be true, but the others lack the dignity I have aquired over my many years. I watch my step, so as not to disgrace myself by tripping! Am I carrying a bit of extra weight? I could be.

Now that Mom is well, she is back to her old habits of not being able to fall asleep. When this happens, I will leave the bed to find her. I sneak out from under the covers and slide to the floor and tip-toe out of our bedroom. She will usually be on the sofa with this laptop, reading. Sometimes she will have a cup of tea and if I am really lucky, a cookie or two.

Last night she got up to take some pills for her headache and to use the bathroom. I felt her slip out the bed as I woke from a dream about those cookies. She will dunk them in her tea and she always shares with me. The cookies are quite plain, not real sweet, but so delicious when it is just me and Mom. I like that special time with just the two of us.

Maybe I was a little too eager as I thought about tea and cookies and did not use my usual stealth as I jumped to the floor. Mr. BoJangles sensed something and decided to join me. He has taken to sleeping completely under the covers down by Mom's feet. She likes this, says it keeps her toes toasty warm, though I don't know why she would want to have her toes toasted. 

When Bo emerges from his place under the covers, he makes quite a production of it by slinging the covers up with his head and inching along until he reaches the beginning of the covers, then scrambling over the side of the bed and making a big thump when he jumps to the floor. I have much to teach this pup!

He woke Eddie and Toni Louise, who sleeps completely uncovered between Mom and Dad's heads. Eddie and I like to borrow under the covers, leaving a gap where we put our noses out, you know, the proper position for sleeping. Eddie was startled and began barking. I suppose he thought something was going on and he needed to alert Dad. 

HeWho is our Dad rarely wakes for anything. Mom says a marching band could invade our bedroom and he would sleep through the performance. Eddie is a loud barker with a very deep resonance. Mom says he sounds more like a doberman that a doxie. I have never met a doberman, but Mom says they can sound quite scary. Anyhow, Eddie is one of the few things that will wake HeWho is our Dad.

Dad woke and yelled at Eddie to cut it out. Those are the words he uses when he wants something to stop. I don't know why, as it has nothing to do with scissors or knives. Charming Eddie is a very sensitive soul and is also afraid to jump down from the bed, so he was quite upset that Mom was not there to console him. Dad was annoyed and awake and Toni Louise was just following me. Bo was half awake, shaking his head, and I was in the lead.

Mom was just in the bathroom. No tea, no cookies and she was annoyed with me! I got scolded, as she scooped me up in her arms and put me back in the bed without a kiss to my sweet head! It was a long night!