Moving has begun

The movers arrived early this morning to start our packing. They went into our basement and saw my stacks and stacks of boxes, bins and stuff and their eyes just about popped out. One mover asked my husband what we are going to do with all the stuff and my husband replied that his wife just likes to collect it. For some reason it has given me an uncontrollable case of the giggles everytime I think about it. If only he saw what I gave away, trashed and gave to Salvation Army. I may never get a job as unpacking all these boxes will take me years! Good thing we are moving to a bigger house!




















My surgery went well thanks to a super surgeon. I am feeling so much better than I imagined I would. Christmas was low key this year but still wonderful. Adding this bundle of joy to the celebration made it extra fun- next Christmas will be even more fun with more grandchildren!

Our House

We bought a house! Before going on this weekend's house hunting trip we had narrowed our list to two favorites of which I was sure we would end up choosing one. We had given our realtor a list of 19 other homes we looked at online and wanted to see. After a whirlwind tour on Thursday of almost all 19 homes, we found one, not on our original list, that had EVERYTHING we wanted- gas heat, gas cooking, master on main, etc. This is what we BOUGHT on Friday. Back home today with the task of cleaning out the attic and shed because we close on our old house Dec. 30 and the new one Jan. 5. To complicate matters I have a hysterectomy on Dec. 22! Fun time at our place this Christmas. Not sure if this blog will get any attention between now and the move.

Still here

Had an offer on the house that we accepted but still on pins and needles to make sure nothing causes a snag. They want us out at the end of DECEMBER! Lots of work to make that happen but we are working on it. Back to Greensboro as now we have to make a decision on a house! And it has to be a house with a quick turn around. Glad I did not finish the Christmas decorating! Had some fun this weekend as my daughter in law was the pianist for a one man show in Philly. It was very good but it was during the show that my husband was getting text messages from our realtor!

Things you never think about

I have a lot of contact with farmers and their families in my work with Cooperative Extension. Today a farmer wanted me to help him figure out the cost of each load of laundry done in hot water and then an electric dryer (just under $1). He has 450 cows and each uses 2 clean washcloths a day so they wash 900 washcloths each day. Tomorrow I want to find out how many washcloths they put in a load. I do know that they go through machines quickly as the farmhands tend to overload the machines. This expense is minor- the electric bills to keep cows is tremendous as well as the fertilizer for the corn they grow to feed the cow. Milk really is a bargain. When I see the work that goes into raising our nation's food I realize how blessed we are to buy food for as little as we are able yet we complain about the cost. At least I did as I paid 98 cents for a cucumber when I could not give them away this summer and peppers were $1.45 each this week! In August I had a ton and no time to freeze them!

Looking for a home

We have looked at so many homes in the Greensboro area- there are so many for sale. We are not making any decisions until our house sells but we keep thinking about a few of them. There is one house- older brick ranch that has been meticulously cared for, a kitchen that I LOVE with great appliances and a layout that I dream about. Our only problem is the neighborhood. At the next block there are a few homes that are not maintained well. Yet there are others that are lovely. How to know if we would be happy there or regret the choice. I guess if the house is still there when we are ready we will have some thinking to do. The selling agent actually contacted our realtor and offered us a price drop of $15,000 if we would make a commitment. We had been through the house twice so they knew we were interested but at this point we are not ready to commit to anything...yet I still dream of this house and arrange our furniture in it as I fall asleep! There are lots of new homes and this is one that we are also enamored with. We have watched the price drop on this as well as there are so many new homes out there. My husband LOVES the extra garage that is built to hold a car lift with an extra high ceiling and a fantastic room on the second floor- think craft studio!! I love the porch that is in the back that neither of these pictures show.

While we struggle with choices and worry about timing and selling a house I am assured knowing that He has it all planned out and knows why we are moving, when we are moving and where we will live. Why can't I just sit back, relax and enjoy the journey?

Birthdays.....

My mom always made birthdays special. She created fun parties for both my brother and me. I remember this party as though it were yesterday- but it was close to 50 years ago! She made a cake with a Barbie in the middle of it and decorated the layers as a skirt. What a novel and unique idea way back then! She was forced to be creative as we lived in Aruba and the shopping was meager. Catalog orders were delivered by boat!

Today is my mom's birthday. I wish I was closer and could plan a creative party for her. (Next year I will be a little bit closer!) Happy birthday to my wonderful mom. I love you so very, very much! Now don't you wish you could relive this day? I do!

Thanksgiving was wonderful- in fact the whole weekend has been. Extremely relaxing and got to spend time with some of our favorite people! After turkey we all wanted the traditional nap, that is everyone but Hannah. She taught her Uncle Tom how to use a cell phone! We did get a family photo taken. Saturday I got a haircut- wish I had done it before the picture!

We even pulled out some Christmas decorations today. That has been the great debate this year- do we or don't we decorate. Selling a house makes it so different from a home. We decided we would miss it if we didn't at least do something. We are definitely scaled back this year, though. Brought up one tree and worked on the mantle. Will have to take some pictures to share.

So much to be thankful for

Today is a day we stop to say thanks and there are so many things to give thanks and praise for. Family is at the top of the list. I am thankful to spend the day with my sons, their wives and adorable grandbaby! Distance separates other family members but not our thoughts of them. My daughter in law loves to cook and does it so well. She is our chef today and I can't wait! This is the first time in years I have not been in the kitchen cooking away for today.

Today is also a special birthday. My brother turns 50! Ironically he will probably look pretty much the same today as he and his wife are in the process of major home renovations. Happy Birthday, Mark!

This is also the day we try to take our "annual family picture." It has become a silly joke but I love every minute of it!

Still busy here and fighting off getting sick. My husband has had a really bad case of bronchitis and an eye infection for the past week and I DO NOT WANT IT! This is one of my favorite new past times- skyping. My son took this shot at his end of my grandaughter enjoying my peek-a-boo! What fun! Of course nothing beats seeing her in person but we have avoided getting her sick this week. This little tool softens the blow to moving- a very tiny bit!

Slowpoke

I am still really swamped between work and home but am going to take a few minutes to get to this.....

Vee invited me to participate in the Bookworm Award. Here is how it works: Pass this on to five blogging friends. (I'm going to change this to 3) Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write out the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that...

The closest book to me is the Food Lover's Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst. I get a lot of Consumer Calls and use this as a quick reference as well as for questions I get for my newspaper column so it is usually close by. As for page 56..."the blintz is rolled to enclose a sweet or savory filling including cottage or ricotta cheese, fruit or meat mixtures. It's then sauteed until golden brown and served with sour cream." Not including the next sentence as it is on bloaters (herring)! I do love blintzes, though!

Let's see if any of these bloggers want to play:

Kristine at These are My Words

Robin at Bittersweek Punkin

Donna at Cottage Days