We're Here!

Huntington Beach State Park (site #21)
Murrell's Inlet, SC

Well we did all we could to get things moved for Gin's folks.  We took some things to their new house on Thanksgiving morning but then took the rest of the day off.  I went to Roanoke Rapids to spend T-Day with Mom and had a good visit with my family while Gin relaxed at the new place with hers.  We got up early Friday and packed up the rest of the stuff.  We then drove to our house in Clayton to clean out our pantry and wash clothes.  There was just a few things left to throw out.  On Saturday we went to a family reunion to eat too much food again.  I did take the time to walk around the old neighborhood to see some Christmas lights.  Today we hit the road for some much needed rest.  It feels good to be traveling again.

As we approached Murrell's Inlet, we stopped at the traffic light at Home Depot and looked for Nancy at the Garden Center.  She was looking for us too so we all waved.  After getting our campsite set up around 1:30, we drove out to get something to eat.  We stopped by Home Depot and got a great hug from Nancy.  We sure hope the "house selling luck" rubbed off on her.  Tomorrow is her day off so maybe Nancy and Bill will drop by for a relaxing visit.  We like this campsite so maybe I'll post some pictures in the next few days.  We enjoyed a stroll along the shore and watched some football.  The ocean is just over the wooded dunes so we'll hear the waves as we drift off to sleep, per chance to dream...

Thanks for dropping by and enjoy each day of your life's journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Busy and …

Rocky Mount, NC

Boy have we been busy the past few days getting things cleaned up at the new house and boxing up the kitchen stuff for Gin’s folks!!   Thankfully Gin’s cousin Pam came over this weekend to help too.  Monday the movers come and Tuesday will be the antique dealers turn to pick up some very nice furniture and things.  I sure am glad that we didn’t have so much stuff to get rid of at our house.  We had three yard sales in a couple of years so last week was a piece of cake. 

It really was a good felling to empty out our house.  We knew there were two couples that were interested in buying it and one of them finally made an offer a few days ago.  Of course it was way too low.  The other couple wasn’t ready to commit so we went back and forth a bit with the others.  They finally brought their offer up enough for us to say “It’s a deal!”.  I must admit that I’ve had more emotions than I thought I would.  I think that has a lot to do with having recently lost Smudge.  I’m still missing her.

We will have a few things to do in the next few weeks to make the final steps to being full-timers.  There’s the mail forwarding company to choose and insurance company for full-time coverage.  We'll probably change banks in the future since we will no longer be NC residents also.  I’m sure we’ll forget something but I don’t feel and pressure or panic.  Gail and Rick can plan to enjoy another bottle of wine on January 6 when we are planning to close on the house.  I’m sure they have one ready for Paul and Marti’s closing and Bill and Nancy’s will be in the near future (fingers crossed my friends).

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

House is Empty

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC

First of all, I want to thank everyone who left comments and family who sent cards.  Smudge will be missed for a long time…

Gin’s mom has been in and out of the hospital since her surgery due to low blood count.  If you ever have a chance to donate blood to the American Red Cross, please do it.  I’ve donated over a couple of gallons in my life and know that it’s made a difference for others.  Their new home still isn’t finished but should be ready by Tuesday.  We plan to go there for a few days to help with the move.  They’re under a lot of stress I’m sure.

We’ve been at our house for about two weeks and have been busy just about every day.  First of all, we ran into our friends Tricia and Dan at a nearby campground by coincidence.  They came to our house for a little visit.  Gin has done a bit of touch ups around the house and I had a root canal.  I’m not sure which was more fun.  We did take a few minutes to enjoy the view from our back porch.

The leaves are pretty this time of year, but the backyard will be covered in a couple of weeks.  We probably will not be here though.

On Wednesday, we posted the dining room and bedroom furniture on Craigslist.  That night, the bedroom was gone.  We had decided to have a yard sale this weekend so we pulled everything that remained in the kitchen, garage, and office into the garage.  Our plan was to sell as much furniture as we could too.  On Thursday evening, we talked with our neighbors Mark and Kelly and told them they could get first dibs.  They got a few pieces of furniture and Mark called his dad Jim to have him check out the couch.  Well Jim decided to get it along with everything else we had out for the yard sale.  He knew of a family in need through the church he attends and we were glad to get rid of it.  On Friday, Jim filled up his truck and trailer.  It was nice to get all that stuff gone.  The only thing that remained was our dining room stuff so Gin put it on CL again Friday night.  First thing Saturday morning, I had an email from someone who wanted it.  So now it is gone too.  The house is totally empty!  We move fast!  Now if we can just get that shell sold…

Thanks for dropping by, and enjoy each day of your life’s journey by finding beauty in the ordinary.

Smudge 6/1/1997–11/3/2011

Stix n Brix
Clayton, NC

Smudge  1997 - 2011

Smudge has been a huge part of our lives during the past 14 years but we had to say goodbye to her yesterday.  When we picked her out of a liter of 5, little did we know that we had chosen the devil of the bunch.  At that time, Gin was in a wheelchair so we knew we wanted a small dog that could stay in the house to use a pee-pad when nature called.  She enjoyed riding in Gin’s lap as she wheeled around in the house.

When we got our MH in 2006, Smudge adjusted to our little travels very well.  She did not like being left behind.  She had a case of separation anxiety and stuck to me like Velcro.  Oh how I miss that little cling-on! 

One of our best memories of a good day together was a hike in the woods near Brevard, NC in 2008.  We made a wrong turn and never found the waterfall, but Smudge was hopping over limbs and pulling me on her leash.  She had a blast!

During the past two years she aged rapidly.  A few months ago we took her to the vet because she wasn’t acting quite right.  The doctor told us that she was in kidney failure and that it was only a matter of time.  We fed her the kidney formula of Science Diet hoping that would help.  During the past few weeks, we had to hand feed her (spoiled a little) to get her to eat.  She didn’t drink any water on Wednesday and was so weak.  She didn’t sleep much that night and was sick Thursday several times.  She trembled in pain.  We knew it was time to say our goodbyes.

This is my tribute post so I am posting a lot of pictures.  They have captions if you stop the cursor on the pic.  We have had other dogs before her but she lived with us the longest.  She was very ill-tempered but very much loved by us.  We will see her at the Rainbow Bridge.