Verification words, going through boxes

Tuesday night, as I was commenting on blogs, I dutifully typed in the verification words requested - here are two of them:  impoup on Kim's blog and horni on The eBay/RV Life.  One right after the other.  Now, come on!  Why  not, imsweet and contnted?

Do you every get funny words or words that sound funny?  I've had a few really good ones!  I usually add them to my comment if I think of it in time.

So I started last night going through boxes, drawers, etc.  I have to organize things somewhat - I guess I'm just too OCD to let someone into my home and invade my privacy too much.  Besides, I need to make sure I don't leave anything that's boxed up that I might want to keep.

I've had Word Processing/Resume businesses for many years and I've kept every invoice and all the documentation for each.  I have taxes going back to the 80's. I have all the docs for every car and home I've bought. I'm finally going to purge it all. I don't think there's any reason at this point to keep any of it.   My last active business closed the last part of the 90's, so I won't be needing anything for tax audits anymore.

I found my two fishing reels, my darts, it's going to be fun to see what else I find.  I've been here for 6+ years, and some of these boxes were put on shelves and I've never opened them.

I am filling boxes that I'll start bringing to The Palms this weekend.  I've gotten a couple of storage things to use.  The bunk where I'll be sleeping is long, and there's lots of room I don't need at the foot of the bed, so I plan to put my printer up there.  I think the plug will reach to an outlet in the nearest cupboard, and it will be handy, but out of the way up there.  I also bought two picnic baskets at Walmart the other night.  $12 each, and large enough to keep office supplies or craft things in - they looked nice sitting next to each other and will fit well there, I think.

I have good storage in The Palms, but a lot of it is high, ceiling high, and I can't reach up that far.  I guess the thing to do is put stuff up in those cupboards that I won't use often.  RV living must be easier for taller people.  Oh, but I do have an EZ Reacher.

 EZ Reacher - this will really come in handy!

I used to work for the company that manufactures and sells the original EZ Reachers, they are here in San Marcos, and I have one.  I forgot about it, I never use it here because I don't need it, but it will really come in handy in The Palms. I'm going to make sure to stow it somewhere handy in the rig this weekend.

 From Me and My Dog, have a nice Wednesday, everyone! : )

My sleepover with the Vacaville Grandkids

This only took me a week... but I had so many photos and just didn't have the energy to go through them all.  Then I realized I only have a few of the sleepover in The Palms, the rest were mostly T-Ball photos.  I'll post those another time.  So here we are, short and sweet:

Katie's always the first one in bed

 Hurry up! I'm falling asleep!

 Sweet Lauren, sound asleep (faking for the camera!)

 And sweet Andrew, also sound asleep (and faking for the camera!)

 
The both have their sleeping bags, two extra blankets, pillow pals and "blankies" and Lauren's pink bunny.  All snuggly, and they slept really well both nights. 

 They are on the couch that pulls out into a bed. Such good fakers!

 This was breakfast the next morning.

We had dinner the night before with Mom, too.  The kids had McDonald's and Mom (my daughter, Kristy) and I had KFC. We had plenty of room at the table.

The kids slept with me and Katie both Friday and Saturday nights.  On Sunday they had to sleep in their own beds, because I was packed and ready to go, and just took off without going back into the house and waking anyone up. I left Monday morning at 5:30 a.m. to come home.

A successful trip, and I feel fortunate that my first two weekends in The Palms were spent with my grandkids, first in San Diego, then in Vacaville. 

BTW, I decided to keep the Keene print, the Yosemite photo, and my Guide chalk drawing.  I am going to see if the Guide will fit in The Palms.  I will miss him, for sure, so thanks to everyone for suggesting I try to bring him. 

Also, I was starting to go through boxes this evening, and I found the Keene booklet from my teenage years that has many of their prints and lots of text.  I didn't go through it tonight, but I did put it in the box of the photos that I'm storing upstairs at work.  I found yearbooks, and wierd high school poems I wrote, things like that, that I'm keeping, too. 

From Me and Katie, have a great day, everyone! : )

The pictures I'm not taking with me

One thing I will miss is a few of my pictures on the walls of the condo.  I haven't hung much here, but there are a few that are favorites.  I am going to sell them, but I took photos of them and will have them in my digital photo frame, so I will be able to see them all every day.  These are the photos:

This is a Keene, I loved their paintings, both husband and wife, when I was a teenager, and had some prints. I don't know what happened to them.  When my mother-in-law died, my kids were able to choose a few things, and my daughter, Kristy, brought this back for me.  It brought back such memories. And Kristy didn't know I used to love them.

This is my all-time favorite - and I might actually save it.  When I first lived in Placerville, CA, my girlfriends and I went to a Psychic Faire in Folsom.  There was a woman there who said she could see people's "Guides" and she would sit you down, concentrate, and draw them in chalk.

I don't know if I really believe in Guides (I kind of do - like Guardian Angels, I guess), or if she could see them if they were real. When I sat down, she said I had four Guides, if I remember right.  She said one was stronger than the others, and that's who she would draw.  She asked what color I wanted, and I said pink.  She looked at me for a minute, and said, "He is a young Native Indian man, I don't know if pink would be a good color."  Then she said, no, it will be fine, and she started to draw.  The photo above is my Guide.  Everywhere I've lived since then, I've put him on a wall facing into a room and I've always felt like he is protecting me.   

 I just like this one.  It's big, and hangs over the largest work table in my sewing/craft room.

I've had this little guy for a while.  It' a small picture and I've always found a good place for him.  When I first saw it, I thought, Okay, that's the plan.  A little cozy house with a hammock, by a river, with a cold drink nearby. All it needs is a fishing pole and that's where I want to live.  And I''m coming pretty darn close!!!

I've always loved "house" pictures, and I really liked this one. It's always been in my living room area so I could see it every day.

Long story.  But I won't bore you. This is a signed photo that was a gift from a man I used to know - a photographer who won a Pulitzer Prize for International Journalism.  His photos were fantastic. At the time I knew him, he was a photographer for the Sacramento Bee and he gave me two signed photos, this is my favorite. It's from Yosemite in December, the mountain is reflected in Merced River, with small rocks covered with snow projecting over the surface of the water.

My son told me on Sunday that if I wanted to store some boxes up in the mezzanine at work he wouldn't mind.  Since I have that option, I just may save a few things - including the two favorites above.  But even so, I won't have them with me in The Palms, so they will be in the rotation on my digital frame and I will be able to see them every day.

From Me and My Dog, have a great Tuesday, everyone! : )

Estate Sale scheduled, and "Condo For Lease"

On Sunday I had two appointments with Estate Sale companies, one at 11:00 and one between 3 and 4.

The first appointment was with two women, Jasmine and Tonna, who own Pro Estate Liquidators.  I immediately liked them, and they explained what they would do for me, how they do it, what it would cost, etc.  Their presentation answered all my questions before I asked them.  Tonna is an Accredited International Appraiser and has been doing this kind of work for years, and I just got a really good vibe from them.  I signed up for the first weekend in May.  They will be here with their crew on May 2, Monday, to start pricing things.  That's three weeks from today.  The sale will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning of that week.

When they left I called the other company and cancelled our appointment.

When I originally talked to the first man a few weeks ago who was running an Estate Sale, he said I'd need to move out of the house, and be totally gone when the sale commenced.  These women said I could still be living here.  They would just tag anything large I wanted to keep, and they would put a wide tape or something across the cupboards containing food, and if I had a cupboard with things I was taking, they would do the same with that one, too. I could put all small things in one place, with a "Not for Sale" sign.  That sounds good to me. I'm hoping to have everything in The Palms before then, but just in case, it's nice to have that option available.

If the sale is the first weekend of May, and the house is empty after that, I will still have three weeks until it's rented.  I won't have to clean. The ladies will vacuum and clean the counters, and all I'll have to do is continue watering any plants that are left on the patio and clean the bathrooms and kitchen - whatever they don't clean.  At that point, I won't have a vacuum, assuming it sells.  Maybe that's why these companies vacuum carpets when the sales are over.

I could continue living here - because if it isn't leased at that point, I'd have to drive up to show it and I'd rather sleep in a sleeping bag here for a couple of weeks.   Or I could have a showing at one time for everyone. That's what the Real Estate Agent said they do when leasing property they manage.  One day, get everyone in at the same time, anyone interested can sign up, pay a fee for the reports that would be ordered, it's shown only once.  (Assuming they get a good group, and do rent it to someone that came that day.)  He said when people arrive and see other interested people there, some are more motivated to commit.  We'll see.  I'm thinking out loud, or I should say in print. Sometimes I go on and on (even more than ends up in the post).  I find I can think this way and figure out things, or decide things.  Then I go back and delete all the "thinking" stuff.

Of course, it might get leased early, too - wouldn't that be nice! : )

Now that the Estate Sale is planned, I needed to get the Craig's List ad posted.  I already had my ad ready, and the photos I wanted to use, so I uploaded them all to Craig's List and it started this evening.   We'll see what happens!  The ad says it's available as of June 1.  If I'm lucky enough to have it rented on June 1 or before, I'll be happily sitting in The Palms in the RV park on that date.

All of a sudden it seems very doable. Keep your fingers crossed!

Since I don't have any pictures today, here's a photo from tomorrow's post:

I just love him, isn't he beautiful?

From Me and Katie, have a great evening, everyone! : )

Lots happening now : )

Things are finally starting to happen. Yesterday afternoon around 5 o'clock, after doing nothing since the doctor visit on Tuesday  morning, I finally got some energy and realized I was feeling better.  I got Katie in the car and we drove to Walmart.  I was looking for two things for The Palms. I actually started at Target, then one Walmart, and they sent me to another Walmart, where there were OUT of the item listed as in stock.  I was still really too tired to do all this driving around.  But I did also get a loaf  of Walmart's Roasted Garlic bread - to die for!  Toast it up with a little butter, yum!

Anyway, I was able to get a new, small one-cup Keurig coffee maker. I got it home, cleaned it off, ran through one cycle with just water, then made a cup of the BEST coffee.  Yup, this little guy brewed coffee just as rich as the big Keurigs. And it will fit MUCH better on the kitchen counter in The Palms. Here it is:

The other thing I wanted was a small toaster/oven. I saw this one recommended on a forum, did a search, and supposedly they have them in one of my Walmarts, but nada.  So I just ordered it on-line.  Here it is:

Hamilton Beach Toastation 2-in-1 2-Slice Toaster & Oven

Isn't it great?  Small enough to keep out on my kitchen counter.

I also got this table on Tuesday when I stopped at Camping World for the repair kit for my losing fight with the tree branches:

I've been using it in my living room, and I really like it.  I don't have a coffee table in the RV, so this should work out fine.

This afternoon my son, Tom and grandson, Gavin met me at the storage lot. Tom wanted to see the damage and assess what should be done.  The cargo door was bent and actually opened up, he said it would probably be easier to just order the door. He'll get some metal edging that goes along the bottom of the rig wall, paint it and attach it where mine is bent.  Then he can sand out the scrape on the fiberglass wall, repaint it, and I'm back in business.  I hope I can order the small piece of decal, but if not, we'll take it to our sign maker and he can cut an exact piece and Tom will paint it to match and apply it to the new door.

It sounds easy when Tom explains what he'll do, but it is a lot of steps.

He also took the patch kit and fixed the little tear at the edge of the roof over the driver's door.  You know, I could have very easily done it, but there is something about having an expert do things for you.  I would have cut out a little piece and applied it.  Tom cut out a piece about an inch all the way around larger than I would have. From the ground, it looks like a strip that goes across the roof to the other side.  You can't even tell it's patched.  So, now I am all secured as far as rain and leaks.  Before they got there, I climbed up the rear ladder and crawled across the roof carefully to see what's up there, and what kind of shape its in.  It looked really good.  Everything looked well caulked, no rips or tears (except mine).  I was pleased.

And finally...the Moon over Walmart last evening.  It was beautiful.

My estate sales is scheduled!  More about that tomorrow.

From Me and Katie, have a nice Sunday evening, everyone! : )