For a long time (over two weeks, I think) I have not blogged. When preparing to list a house for sale in order to full time, it gets pretty redundant to say we are working hard, but it is taking sooooo long to get everything done.
As I told our realtor, If we were thirty or forty or fifty something, we would be moving so much faster. We are like lumbering turtles, slowly but steadily moving along. It is difficult to guesstimate how soon we can actually put the house on the market. Maybe three more weeds, if we are blessed with continued energy.
These are photos of what the weather was like here last year. This year, the grass is still green. Daffodils are reaching for the sky at five inches! (I'm sure the are in for a rude awakening some of these days.)
Discouragement is our enemy right now. At the same time, we are so pleased with the mild January temperatures! We have, unlike last winter, had no ice storms, no blizzards, no unbearably cold temperatures.
This weather pattern has made it possible for us to work outside and in the barns getting ready for show and sell. I actually feel a little heart flutter when I think of the progress we have made.
Yesterday, we said good bye to our hot tub. It is going to a new home in Minnesota! The gentleman that is taking it is transporting it to his hunting / fishing cabin. Another job checked off our outside to-do list! (do you see the green grass? Compare that to the last winter pictures above.)
We have hired two workers to help us with the barns and oh, my. The progress that is being made is wonderfully remarkable! We are working in the barns and outside.
In the smaller barn I have llama and alpaca fiber that I must decide what to do with it. I can send the lesser quality to Texas to be woven into rugs to sell.
Then I can send the best quality fiber to Connecticut to be spun into yarn to sell to those that knit, crochet or weave.
But, I can also have some made into roving for me to dye, then spin or wet felt when we finally are able to start our full time journey. I will probably choose all three options. Just talking about about fiber and traveling in the same blog is a joy! Oh how I look forward to the future journey.
Well, that's all for now. Keep us in your prayers that we can keep turtleing along.
God bless you all...
We have a new follower. Rick from Rick and Paulette's rv Journal has joined us. This morning I asked Rick for some help and he was "Johnny on the spot" with the answer. Thanks Rick! Hopefully, we will see you before you leave Palm Springs.
The family room painting is complete! Let's hear a rousing hurrah! The furniture is back in place and here I sit, enjoying the fruits of our labor....and more labor.....and more. Did I tell you that we have been working very hard on this room? Oh, I did? More than once, you say? Oops.
We are now ready to paint the kitchen. Not much to paint in there. Only the ceiling and between cabinets and counter top and the bulk head. That should be a snap......for young thirty somethings.
I am astounded how much longer it takes us to get things done. My head and heart say I'm thirty something. My body says nope, sissa, you are a bit older than that. But, by George, we keep on keepin on.
I am pleased that I have adopted the gluten-free way of eating as one of my methods of fighting arthritis. I can see a tremendous difference in my flexibility and pain levels.
A month ago, we started another regimen. It is a product called Zija. Pronounced zeeeja. Zija is an all natural beverage blended from the moringa plant. Zija has increased our energy even more and made it possible for us to work long hours. (that is if anyone is interested in long hours!)
After the work on the house, we will not be working long hours, but we will be taking hikes in the desert, climbing mountains (small), and having a ball full timing!
One added benefit of Zija is that I am for the first time in ages losing weight! A friend lost twenty pounds over a few months and I have lost ten plus pounds in the last month! And I am not dieting! I am eating sensibly (kind of), but not on a calorie or carb restricted diet.
Do you remember the wonderful temperatures I was reporting? Well, ain't no mo! Right now, our temperature is sixteen degrees. Now, ain't that special! We still have the small barn to empty and it is going to be mighty cold out there. But it is SUPPOSED to be in the forty's the middle of next week.
For now, I am signing off with a picture of what Noah (the cat) graced us with. I foolishly left the lid off the paint can and guess who put one foot right on the lid? Yep, you are right....Mr. Noah! Here is the proof!
Can you guess how I spent part of my day? At least it was only one foot! And do you see the crack between the board in right-center of the picture? That is where I spilled the paint a few days ago. It is now all cleaned! No traces of klutzes.
Thanks for stopping by. Please feel free to leave a comment.
God bless you on your Journey!
A night of not sleeping well and an early morning make for a slow working day / journey. After a visit from a sales person, (yuck) we tackled the painting of the last two beams and the fireplace in the family room. Actually, John tackled the beams and did a super job. I attacked the fireplace.
I am so pleased we decided to paint the fireplace brick again. It looks so fresh now. But that was all we completed today. I was able to finish between the mantle and the hearth. Below the hearth and above the mantle is on our to do list for tomorrow. How can such a simple project take two days to finish?
Tomorrow, the furniture is returned to the family room and we will start the kitchen painting. Not much there. Only the bulkhead and the space between the counter top and the underside of the cabinets. After that, only the guest bath remains! All should be completed by Saturday afternoon!
Oh my gosh, we are soooo close! I can hardly believe it.
Excuse me while I hyperventilate!
Wow!
Ohhhhhh, rats.......
We have the little barn (30' X 60') to empty! Hummmm, that has been used only for storage of "stuff." Stuff we have forgotten, lived without, forgot that existed.....
I think we have just decided to ditch everything! Of course we will ditch after we sell the antiques, weaving loom and send the best llama fiber to the mill to be processed into yarn. The "seconds" of the llama fiber will be sent to Texas to be woven into rugs to sell.
BUT the finish line is in sight!
Probably, tomorrow we will think of more things we want to do, but for tonight......we are encouraged.
Thanks for stopping by....
After you finish laughing at us, feel free to leave a comment.
God bless you on your journey!
A welcome aboard to four new followers. So glad you can join us on our journey. Nancy has joined us from Oregon. I still can't pronounce Oregon they way people in Oregon do. They are new to the RV and blogging world. Sue and Mo are having a great time out there. Their header picture reminds me of Joshua Tree National Forest....sigh.
We also have a fellow artist following us. Richard the RV Painter is here. He has some nice art work in his blogs. Hopefully, when we are on the road, I will be able to get back to being creative! When I first saw the RV Painter, I thought he painted RVs. And no, I am not a blond. Richard's wife is Melissa. Welcome Melissa! She is an artist of words. Melissa writes books. I'd love to read her book.
The weather here in Indiana was wonderful for outside chores.... until today. We have accomplished so much and are thankful for the energy we had. Today, John is bushed and napping a bit. Even with emphysema he pushes and pushes till a job is complete. It may take longer, but when it is done, it is done right. I am so thankful for such a neat guy.
This strenuous journey to our Big Journey, is soon going to only be a memory. Our discussion over breakfast was; "what do we do to have the total body exercise that we are getting from all the work we are doing here?"
There is much lifting, pulling, pushing, walking, bending, squatting etc. In the future, when we are full timing, hikes will do some good, but we want to find something that will incorporate all the above. We like the extra strength we are gaining and when we are not too exhausted, it feels good.
Yesterday, we did maintenance on our second patio. It is located in front of the barn that is closer to our house. The patio is Tennessee Blue Stone. In the patio, we designed and built a lovely water feature that is eighteen inches as well as two feet below above the patio. Visitors are awed by a water feature that is partly above and below ground. You also get to see the tools we forgot to put away. The fountain is not turned on, but you can get the idea.
These pictures are hazy due to the fog and rain. They are taken with the telephoto on my new Canon Power Shot SX 150 and are not as good as they could be due to the photographer. - me.
Here is a picture looking out the kitchen window using the zoom feature of my new camera. It was until a year ago that you would see our llamas. I do miss my fiber kids, but they were a lot of work. And this year a bale of hay is almost twice the cost of a gallon of gasoline! Now our hay money goes into the motorhome gas tank and we have less work. I hope we get out of here before the pond out back freezes over and it is ice skating time! Would anyone like to buy a house?
Thank you for taking part in today's journey and for your prayers for our strength and energy to accomplish our tasks at hand.
God bless your journey today!
Earlier, when we would begin our trips, I could hardly wait to arrive at our destination - so we could enjoy our vacation. We would drive "straight through" for sixteen or twenty hours - in order to be there sooner and start our vacation. We would arrive totally exhausted, but we were there, it was time to enjoy! (After we rested for a day.)
Then I learned that the journey was part of the vacation and that I needed to be thankful, slow down and appreciate the drive.
Why am I talking about this now? Because I have learned another lesson in "enjoying the trip," the journey.
John and I have talked about selling the house and full timing for over a year. It was a dream in the distant future, something to chat about, to read information and blogs, to investigate.
As the last eighteen months have progressed, the talks were more frequent. We talked about traveling to the art and fiber shows as part of our full timing. We would just make our journey fit the show schedule.
Selling our house became part of those wishful discussions. We sure didn't want to full time and have a house back in Indiana. So we interviewed Realtors and set the plan in motion.
We decided, before listing the house, we wanted to do some work to increase the value and decrease the waiting time for the sale. The cherry hardwood floors were already down. That was one thing we had in our plan book from the day we moved in fourteen years ago.
We made a list of all the other things we wanted to do prior to the day of listing. We also set a goal, an unrealistic goal of January first. Now keep in mind that this goal was set the second week of November.
Today is January eighth and we are still working! Gee, what a surprise. Our second goal of January fifteenth is fast approaching. We will not meet that goal either.
Let me digress about ten days. John's health is not the best. He has emphysema. He is on three inhalers and oral medications. He has to stop and catch his breath often. To add to that, he has always been a slow worker / mover. It is just his nature. I have tried to challenge him to walk faster, work faster, think faster, drive faster. But that just isn't John. Finally, I have accepted it and am thankful for what he does in his own speed.
With his emphysema and my arthritis, setting up our sales booth has become a greater challenge at every show. We drive to the city where the show is located, unload, set up the booth, greet customers for two or three days. But we are exhausted.
When the show is over we are back to packing up, transporting merchandise back to the motorhome and reloading the basement with the shelves, displays and merchandise. All the time, I'm grouchy because I hurt all over and John is just trying to breathe. Now does any of this make sense to you? Not me, not John. I have had two huge meltdowns in the last few days. How ridiculous.
We have decided that we do not NEED this extra work. The money is not worth it. The work is hard on us physically and hurts our relationship. You just can't put a dollar amount on health and relationships.
I will continue my art work. I love my art work. It is part of me. I will sell on line ..... if and when I choose! I do need to work on an excellent website and establish an Etsy and Ebay outlet for my work.
Okay, back to the subject of enjoying the journey. Now that we have decided to withdraw from the shows, we do not have to be in Tennessee mid March! That means we do not have to "break our necks" to get the house ready to sell so fast in order to get out to southern California and back to Tennessee! Whew, what a relief.
Yesterday, we both worked outdoors. John installed new outdoor lighting. I mowed part of the pasture that needed some TLC. While mowing, it was so nice to look over the ground, at the trees, to watch the wild life even if it was voles and rabbits running from the tractor. I began to enjoy the journey to full timing.
We burned downed trees, branches, brush. I cleaned the chicken pen and around one of the barns. I enjoyed the journey a bit more.
Today, is a day of rest for us. We will enjoy this journey too. We are going to the motorhome to watch the New York Giants play Atlanta in their wild card game. We must support at least one Manning since our poor Colts did so miserably this season.
I have two more beams and the fireplace brick in the family room to paint. John has four columns to finish and to put baseboard down where we installed the new hardwood floors. (kitchen, front, family, dining rooms and the entry.) Now THAT was a journey! Oh yes, I must paint the columns and baseboard. Oops, there are windows to wash and cabinets and wood trim to polish. Oh oh, there is one closet left to empty. And my studio! Eeeek! We both know that there will be more tasks to raise their ugly heads, don't we.
Tomorrow, we continue the journey to clean the barns. Can anyone say dumpster? We continue to work outside as the weather allows. I am amazed that we are outdoors working in January. I am thankful for the Journey.
One thing we have continually asked ourselves during this journey is why didn't we do these tasks earlier for ourselves? Why didn't we get the new appliances so we could enjoy them? Why didn't we do .........Why?
Maybe the reason is to teach us to enjoy the journey. Every journey that God blesses us with.
These are photos of what the weather was like here last year. This year, the grass is still green. Daffodils are reaching for the sky at five inches! (I'm sure the are in for a rude awakening some of these days.)
