This will be the last blog post I write in California. As of Thursday, Fred and I will be on our way to North Carolina.
It has been an extremely busy month--deciding what to keep and what to sell, preparing for a garage sale and then holding the two-day garage sale, then cleaning up after the garage sale, and between it all, packing, packing, and more packing. We have sold or given away everything we don't want to take, which is about half our household; yet, we still have a lot of "stuff" left. Where it's been hiding all these years I have no idea.
We're having a pod from Pack Rats delivered tomorrow (Wednesday) and we've hired helpers to come Thursday and load it. When it's fully loaded and locked, we'll be on our way.
One thing I've learned, moving is not for the elderly. We work half an hour and rest half an hour. I look forward to the day I can stand up straight again without my lower back crying out in pain. My arms and legs look like Fred got upset and punched me, but it's just from carrying what seems like hundreds of boxes.
We're tired, exhausted actually. And our tempers are short. It's been hot and humid for over a week which hasn't helped our dispositions. I haven't been able to sit down and write for I don't know how long and I really, really want to.
Two things keep us going. The first is knowing that when we get in our vehicle Thursday afternoon, all the packing, all the lugging, all the reaching and bending, will be behind us. We can finally sit for 2500 miles and enjoy the scenery with absolutely nothing to do. The second thing is knowing that at the end of our journey there will be rocking chairs on a front porch waiting for us. I long for those rocking chairs. They are on the porch of the house my daughter and son-in-law are buying and have graciously allowed us to stay in while we look for a place of our own, somewhere in North Carolina.
When we have an address and an email address, I'll let y'all know where we are.
In the meantime, we've both been treated to farewell events by so many wonderful friends here. It's going to be hard to leave people that have meant so much to us over the years. Fred was born here and I've been in California for thirty years. You make a lot of friends in that time. Heck, I had to say goodbye to my hairdresser today; she's been doing my hair for over twenty-five years. For some silly reason, she refuses to move to N.C. with us.
I'll see you on the other side, dear friends; on the other side of the country, that is.
Today's Quote: To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone,
a backbone and a funnybone. Reba McEntire
Easy days, easy reading, that's what my blog and books are about. Pull up a chair and enjoy.
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label North Carolina. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
From White Sand to White Snow
April is almost over and with May comes summer! It can't come too soon, even though I live in an area that never really sees winter. In the winter months, if I want to see snow, I only have to "Lift my eyes unto the hills" and see white along the ridges. And believe me, that is as close as I want to get to snow. In this area around San Diego, people go crazy when snow falls in the mountain regions. They bring snow back by the truck load so they can dump it in their backyard and play in it. One day I even saw a truck bed full of snow with a surf board sitting on top. Not having a shovel, they scooped the snow up with a surf board. That's Southern California for you! Even as a kid in Vermont, I hated to go outside and play in the snow. I haven't changed.
Fred and I may be heading back to snow country. Our house is on the market and our plans are to move to North Carolina. They don't get as much snow as New England, but we will get a bit now and then. We are both retired so looking for a job is a non-issue. I can write there as well as here. And speaking of writing, I told you all that I published Mishaps and Miracles, from the Cranky Seniors Series, on Kindle, and last week I received my first royalty check from Amazon (maker of Kindle)! The check covered January and February and was for a whopping sum of $11.82, not enough to get rich on, but enough to tell me that people are actually downloading my story and paying for it! I couldn't be happier!
In about a week, I'll be downloading the second story in the Cranky Seniors Series--Waterbeds and Wedding Vows: Two Cranky Seniors Get Married. Here's a short exceprt:
Fred’s boss gave us a trip to Cabo San Lucas in Baja, Mexico for a wedding gift, telling us we could stay at his condo near the beach. We took advantage of his lovely offer six months after the wedding. On Christmas Day we flew down to Cabo and spent a beautiful week. It was certainly a white Christmas--white sand everywhere reaching out to touch the white foam of the sea! We had breakfast and dinner at a restaurant on the beach with table and chairs outside, our bare feet buried in the sand. A very tacky multi-colored foil Christmas tree was nearby, reminding us that it was, indeed, Christmas. And here we were with warm air, blue sky, white sand, and gentle breezes. What a life.
At one point during the week, I went parasailing and Fred enjoyed time on jet skis. Then he said, “Let’s go scuba diving! You’ll love it. I‘ve done it before and it‘s so much fun. You get to see things under water you can‘t see from land.”
I tentatively agreed, even though I don’t like to get my hair wet. Or my face. Or go under water. I’ll go as high in the air as you want, but I’m not fond of going under water. I’ll sky dive, just not scuba dive. Turns out, we needed a doctor’s okay in order to go scuba diving. They called a local doctor and while waiting for his return call, they gave us a quick rundown of the dos and don’ts of scuba diving. Forget learning how to use the air tank and practicing rolling over the side of the boat into the water, I couldn’t even get the rubber jacket on. No matter how I tugged and wrestled with it, that tiny thing was not going on me in any way that could be zipped up.
I turned to Fred and asked, “What have I ever done to you that you should want to put a heavy tank on my back and throw me overboard?”
He ignored my sarcasm and said, “You’ll love it once you get down under the water.”
I said, “No, I won’t.”
As it was, the doctor called back and reviewed both of our medical histories and declared us both unfit to go scuba diving. YES! God and the doctor were on my side!
Fred and I may be heading back to snow country. Our house is on the market and our plans are to move to North Carolina. They don't get as much snow as New England, but we will get a bit now and then. We are both retired so looking for a job is a non-issue. I can write there as well as here. And speaking of writing, I told you all that I published Mishaps and Miracles, from the Cranky Seniors Series, on Kindle, and last week I received my first royalty check from Amazon (maker of Kindle)! The check covered January and February and was for a whopping sum of $11.82, not enough to get rich on, but enough to tell me that people are actually downloading my story and paying for it! I couldn't be happier!
In about a week, I'll be downloading the second story in the Cranky Seniors Series--Waterbeds and Wedding Vows: Two Cranky Seniors Get Married. Here's a short exceprt:
Fred’s boss gave us a trip to Cabo San Lucas in Baja, Mexico for a wedding gift, telling us we could stay at his condo near the beach. We took advantage of his lovely offer six months after the wedding. On Christmas Day we flew down to Cabo and spent a beautiful week. It was certainly a white Christmas--white sand everywhere reaching out to touch the white foam of the sea! We had breakfast and dinner at a restaurant on the beach with table and chairs outside, our bare feet buried in the sand. A very tacky multi-colored foil Christmas tree was nearby, reminding us that it was, indeed, Christmas. And here we were with warm air, blue sky, white sand, and gentle breezes. What a life.
At one point during the week, I went parasailing and Fred enjoyed time on jet skis. Then he said, “Let’s go scuba diving! You’ll love it. I‘ve done it before and it‘s so much fun. You get to see things under water you can‘t see from land.”
I tentatively agreed, even though I don’t like to get my hair wet. Or my face. Or go under water. I’ll go as high in the air as you want, but I’m not fond of going under water. I’ll sky dive, just not scuba dive. Turns out, we needed a doctor’s okay in order to go scuba diving. They called a local doctor and while waiting for his return call, they gave us a quick rundown of the dos and don’ts of scuba diving. Forget learning how to use the air tank and practicing rolling over the side of the boat into the water, I couldn’t even get the rubber jacket on. No matter how I tugged and wrestled with it, that tiny thing was not going on me in any way that could be zipped up.
I turned to Fred and asked, “What have I ever done to you that you should want to put a heavy tank on my back and throw me overboard?”
He ignored my sarcasm and said, “You’ll love it once you get down under the water.”
I said, “No, I won’t.”
As it was, the doctor called back and reviewed both of our medical histories and declared us both unfit to go scuba diving. YES! God and the doctor were on my side!
Quote of the Day: Man scans with scrupulous care the character and pedigree of his horses, cattle, and dogs before he matches them; but when he comes to his own marriage, he rarely, or never, takes any such care. Charles Darwin.
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