Dumpster is Gone

 The dumpster left on Wednesday.

Rod has been home all week.

He called in "sick" (of work). 

Hahaha.

He has a very understanding boss.

Meanwhile, 

the realtor put up our "official"

coming soon sign.

We were hoping to get it on the market this weekend,

but Kyle's Cat had to go in the shop and won't be

back until early next week and so that

means we can't move his heavy equipment out

of the barn until then.

They are going to do some drone flyover and fly-through

shots for the website.

Yesterday Rod went back to work.

(And today he is off again for Good Friday...)

Kyle and I went to the eye doctor and

he got some distance glasses since he will

be doing more cross-country runs in the next

month and it would be nice to be able

to read the signs.

It wasn't MUCH of a correction, but driving

home from the eyeglass place he was

AMAZED at how clearly he could see.

LOOK! There are HOUSES on the other

side of the river, not just blobs!

(Our river is a mile wide...)

He was so excited!

He said "Maybe YOU should be driving,

I'm having too much fun just looking around

and seeing ALL THE THINGS!"

Hahahaha.

No picture of them though.

You know how he is about pictures of him.

Anyhow.

We also went to the mall to replace his

beloved Chucks (shoes).

His were SOOOO worn out.

He got two pair this time.

Some fun green and white ones for

everyday wear and his typical black

and white for "good".

So fun.

We also signed up to deliver a meal to

a new move-in family who also just

had a new baby last week.

They are gluten free, so I just made a

crustless ham and broccoli quiche,

a green salad and some pistachio coolwhip

pudding for desert.

(Green was the theme of the day.) 

Rod is in the kitchen hopefully

repairing the leak in the RO system.

(Reverse osmosis - for the water in 

the kitchen sink...)

He tried to fix it before but didn't have

all the right parts. Bought more but 

they didn't work either.

He has a friend at work who gave him

the right stuff and he just popped into

my zoom room to tell me

"so far, so good!"

YEA!

We have been buying bottled RO water.

It's cheap. $5 for 4 of those giant

5-gallon bottles. But it's a pain to go get

them and then load them into the machine.

We will be taking the water machine with

us to WaKeeney though. Kyle said the water

that comes out of the tap leaves much

to be desired.

(And it's city water, so it probably has

chlorine and stuff in it. Ugh.)

I climbed up on the little step stool

and painted some Kilz on a couple of

spots on the ceiling in the laundry room

and in our bedroom.

Kyle is going to mow the front yard.

A typical pre-move get lots of things done

kind of day.

All while listening to Christ centered music

in my earbuds to help me keep my mind

focused on the sacrifice made by our Savior

on this day.

OK, I'm Late

 Yesterday was Gary's birthday.

And I DID wish him a happy birthday....

But TODAY when I was going

through an old filing cabinet,

I struck GOLD!

What are we looking at?????

This is my FAVORITE picture in the history of pictures.

We had such a fun time on the BYU campus.

Just hanging out as sibs.

Being silly.

(BTW - Sondra looks like she is 12!!!)

We had to take ONE serious picture.

But it didn't last.

Happy Belated Bean!!!!!

For Sale

 Well, we pulled the trigger.

Kind of.

It still says coming soon.

There is still a dumpster in the backyard.

I don't really feel like we should show it

with that sitting there.

And there are some minor things that still

need taking care of.

Yesterday Rod painted the mailbox.

Our realtor said it was ugly.

Hahahaha.

(And its the first thing people see when they pull up.)

Little do they know, its going with us.

Anyhow.

He also re-painted the front porch with some 

grey concrete paint/stain.

It looked so good!

So he decided to do the back porch as well.

It's not dry yet.

And while he was doing that,

I decided to do something I haven't done in

YEARS (and years and years and years...)

I made a half batch of chocolate chip cookies.

I don't think I have ever baked them since we moved here.

And the guys treated them like they had never seen

a cookie before in their lives.

So this afternoon after church (and lunch)

I baked another half batch.

I love my danish wisk.

I didn't even have to get out my hand mixer.

(My Sunbeam stand mixer is in Kansas...)

I'm learning you can do a lot with just a little.

Also. I am trying to empty the pantry,

fridge and freezers.

When I was making cookies today, I thought I

should put walnuts in them since I have a big 

bag of them in the freezer.

Oh, wait, I can't.

Oh, wait, I CAN.

Nancy won't be eating them. LoL.

I also have a bunch of frozen bananas.

So after I go to the store tomorrow to buy

milk and flour, I'll probably bake some

banana bread too.

(I need flour, I've been baking bread.

I have kind of decided I don't love sour dough,

so I've been baking regular no-knead artisan.

I added honey and more salt to the recipe and

everybody really likes it.)

Anyhow.

They are coming to get the dumpster Wednesday.

Rod is going to call in sick tomorrow and

he and Kyle will get the shed and garage

packed and ready.

We'd like to start showing the house on Thursday.

Vickie (our realtor) left the sign by the front gate

Saturday evening. Rod went out and put it in the yard.

And then a truck pulled into the driveway and sat there

and sat there and sat there and sat there.

Finally Rod walked out there to chat with them.

They visited for about 45 minutes.

He told them all about the house and the neighborhood.

I wouldn't let them come in.

The house isn't "show ready" and the coming soon

thing says we aren't supposed to show it yet.

Anyhow.

Wish us luck!

This is going to be an adventure!

Next Steps

 Ok.

So we met with the realtor.

She's a neighbor and an acquaintance

from WAAAAAY back when we all

rode horses at Jane's barn.

She walks her dogs down our street

several times each day and I visit

with her and/or her husband now and again.

Anyhow.

I was pleased with the services she provides.

She gave us several local comps.

The price she and I think is right is 

what I think is right but not as high as 

I WISH it would be.

(It's still good...)

Everyone we talk to keeps telling us we

should be able to get 2-400k more than

we are talking about, but the real numbers

just don't support those numbers.

Anyhow.

Our plan is to ask a realistic number and

then see what happens.

Ideally we will have a bidding war and

somebody will be willing to pay a silly amount.

But realistically we will probably get close

to our asking price.

Anyhow.

It's stressful.

I'm not loving this part of the process.

But in other news,

the installer called yesterday, I gave him the

code to get in the house and he got the

internet all set up.

And the electrician is finishing up in the

garage today. (Extra outlets for my

freeze dryer and the welders, etc...)

And Rod called and got the information we need

to cap and abandon the well we had dug

several years ago - but it failed and started

pulling up way too much sand.

We tried all sorts of filters, etc, but it

just didn't work so for $450 we will just

close it off.

Kyle is off doing a mulching job today.

I just finished subbing for the morning zoom.

And now I'm going to go do... something.

Hahahahaha.

There is no shortage of things to be done.

It's kind of cloudy and raining off and on today.

But on Monday we went to the beach.

So there you go.

EEEEK!

 Well, we did it!

We have an appointment with a realtor 

tomorrow morning at 10.

It's scary!!!

She's going to get comps etc.

but the community up the street from us

(where she lives)

is having a community garage sale that

LOTS of people come to,

so she is going to put a 
"Coming Soon" sign up so people

will know it's coming on the market.

We still have the dumpster in the yard

so we aren't ready for her drone guy to

take pictures.

But soon!!!

Yesterday we had Jim come over and

"soft wash" the exterior and all the windows.

And then, I guess he was having fun,

so he also pressure washed my truck and

Kyle's skidsteer.

However, as much dirt as he got off the Cat

splashed right back on HIM!

Poor guy.

You can't see his face in this picture,

but he looked like he just got off a 

dirt bike and somebody else roosted him.

He was FILTHY!

I really appreciated it though!

He's a good man.

Jelly Beans and Other Stuff

 Lots of fun deliveries today!

Kyle got a tub FULL of Jelly Belly jellybeans!!!

His FAVORITE food group.

Thank you Grandma & Grandpa!

(Also, a tin of salt water taffy!!! YEA!!!)

He has been busy this morning.

Yes, it's spring.

And it really IS this green here.

He is scooping up all the old wood from

the fencing we took down.

Running it to the middle yard.

And filling the dumpster that arrived this morning.

We have lots of stuff in the garage, shed and

tack room that needs to go.

Well... not THAT much.

But since we needed to get rid of all that wood,

we decided to just get another dumpster

and that way we don't have to try to bag

everything and put it in trash cans to haul

out to the street.

AND.

I just got off the phone with our new internet carrier.

They will install our internet either Friday or Monday.

Kyle and I are planning to drive out this weekend

and I will need to have internet so I can teach.

She said, we only offer our highest level of service

in your town, so it's 1 gig.

Installation is free.

The first month is free.

So you will get your first bill in May.

It will be $69.00 a month.

We pay $115/mo here and that's only 500 mbps.

It would go up to $125 for 1 gig.

But there's no point in upgrading here...

We hope to only be here a few more weeks.

Anyhow.

Things are moving along.

Jim is supposed to come by this afternoon

and soft-wash the exterior of the house.

It's pretty windy out there today though.

Now... I might just take a nap.

Haha.

Surprise Carpet!

 We got a phone call that the carpet

came in earlier than expected

and since it's a TINY room,

would we like it installed this morning.

YES!!!

I quickly moved all my office set-up out

and swept the floor.

Amazing how quickly it can get dirty.

He got there at 8:30 and by 8:45 he

had all the tack strips installed.

And just before I started teaching at 9:00

I popped down the hall to check on progress.

He had all the pad down and taped together.

And about 20 minutes later Rod popped into

my room with a picture of FINISHED CARPET!

Everybody loves it.

Mostly Beau.

It's almost the same color as the concrete.

It's soft.

And it's pretty.

And it looks better than those old

broken, chipped tiles.

AND.... I'm back.

So, yeah!

We are DONE with all the reno stuff.

All Rod needs to do tomorrow is trim

a little off the doors so they will fit

over the carpet 

and we can meet with the realtor!

(So I have to CLEAN AND CLEAN AND CLEAN.)

We will probably hire Rod's co-worker who does

house cleaning on the side to come in and do

a "pre-sale" clean.

And then let's get this on the market!

Happy Birthday Nanc!!!!

 Wow!

Time is FLYING!

It's already MARCH 14!!!

Which means it's time to wish my

big sister a HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Happy Birthday Nancy!

She has been SO busy lately!

Between creating a (super successful) local market

with her daughter-in-love Michelle,

creating and selling her amazing jewelry, 

being Grandma to all her grandkids 

and Mom to her "kids",

and, of course, making sure Mom and

Dad are healthy, happy, comfy, and

well loved.

But FAMILY is what Nancy is all about.

There isn't anything she loves better.

Nor is there anything she won't do for her family.

I'm so grateful to be counted in that well-loved group.

BTW - Thanks for doing a family photo shoot! 

'cuz we all KNOW I'm the worst photo person on the planet.

LOVE YOU BUNCHES!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

He's HOME!

 He's got this run figured out and 

down to a fine science.

Left WaKeeney at around 9:30 Sunday morning.

Got home last night (Monday) about 11:30.

Good run!

He got SO MUCH accomplished!

The kitchen is basically done.

The electrician is coming this week to

put in a couple extra outlets on either 

side of the sink.

And in the bathroom.

And in the garage.

But all the painting is done in there

and I LOVE how it turned out!

The floors are still a little rough,

but when we go out in a few weeks

we will sand and refinish them.

While he was out there,

he made a little friend.

Get it?

MADE a little friend.

Hahahahahahaha.

He had a LOT of fun running around in

the snow both at the house and

out at the property.

He said while it was snowing it was

so quiet.

So quiet he couldn't even hear

his tinnitus. 

He said it's really pretty out there

with the snow falling.

And now that it is all melted

and back into the 70's I expect things

will start turning green.

(But he did say when he got up this

morning it was TOO green here...

of course it's spring, so all the green is

that really vibrant new growth green...)

Anyhow.

We are glad he made it safely home.

Having FUN!

 Not me.

I'm still sitting in the back of the classroom.

Listening to Bill READ THE BOOK.

And he's not even a good reader.

It's agonizing.

I texted my boss and gave him my honest

assessment.

He will get people passed by drilling

them on the information.

Rote memorization.

They will pass.

They will know NOTHING about insurance.

Hire him if you want.

But don't tell people I trained him.

Ugh.

And I still have another 10 hour day of this.

Sigh.

Anyhow.

KYLE is having fun!

After he finished working on the floor at the house

(there is more damage than I originally thought,

but we will still try sanding and refinishing...

if that doesn't work, we'll just put down vinyl

flooring like we were going to in the first place...)

Anyhow.

When he was done there,

he hopped in his little car and headed to the ranch.

Where we got more snow than they did in town.

He had fun doing donuts in the fresh snow by his house.

His yard is nice and flat.

And then he drove all over the property.

Took it nice and slow because his little

car has a fairly low carriage and he didn't

want to get stuck out there.

The little Florida tractor got to experience

it's first snowfall.

It's 53 out there right now.

Which means the snow has likely all melted.

And the roads will be all dry and safe

by tomorrow when he plans to

begin the trip back home again.

I haven't talked to him today.

But last night he was onboard for leaving

Sunday morning.

Speaking of which....

Daylight Savings starts tonight...

just a reminder for you Arizona folks.

It will now be THREE hours difference for us here

in Florida and y'all.

Our students are SUPER excited about having to

be here an hour earlier tomorrow morning.

(Still starts at 8:00 but it will FEEL like 7:00...)

I thought about bringing bagels and cream cheese.

But I don't pass any grocery stores between

here and my hotel and I HATE driving in these

big south Florida cities. 

I'm not willing to leave the beaten path.

(I get take-out dinner every night at Red Lobster

because it's a block from the school. Hahahahaha)

Let It Snow!

 Kyle sent me a couple of pictures

from this morning...

He was greeted with a little snow this morning!

This is our backyard.

We are sitting on a 1/2 acre lot.

Long and skinny.....

He brought his little VW Golf with him on this trip.

It will be staying there.

He'll put it in the garage when he leaves.

It's going to be weird living in town 

with NEIGHBORS right there.

Makes borrowing a cup of sugar easy though....

Hahahaha.

I asked him if it was good wet snow.

Could he make a little snowman?

He said, uh, its 27 and feels like 12, so

I'm not going outside.

I asked if he was a PANSY?

He said, NOPE.

I'm a NO PANTS-y.

(He only owns shorts.... lol)

Gotta love that guy.

Lilacs

 Lilacs have ALWAYS been my favorite flower.

I loved the lilac bushes at the Haverhill house.

I bought some silk lilacs about 35 years ago

and they have been in the bathroom here

for the last 19 years.

Now that the house has minimal stuff in it

(and the shelf they were on is in Kansas)

they are on my kitchen table.

Actually, they were on my desk in my zoom room.

But now that the room is under construction,

they got moved to the kitchen.

Speaking of which, we had a guy come to measure

the floor and we have an appointment in the next 

2 weeks I think, to have carpet put in that room.

I hope it will look nice.

And I'd like to move my office back in there.

It will look better than just having an empty room.

And it looks funny having it in Rod's office.

Anyhow.... I digress.

Kyle sent me a text today.

Home Depot was putting out their spring plants.

YEA!!!

I told him to buy me 4.

I want to put a lilac bush on each end of the little

front porch, and maybe one in the backyard

outside our bedroom window...

and maybe another ... by the garage?

Or he could put one next to his new house?

Anyhow.

I was excited.

I knew they would grow there, 

but I thought I would have to order them online

or something like that.

Meanwhile, I've been having trouble with

our internet - I keep getting a

"your connection is unstable" message while

I'm trying to teach and my screen often

freezes, or my pen won't write or something...

I spent a couple hours on the phone with

Spectrum last week and they tested everything

and said it was all in perfect working order.

But we all know electronics have a

"shelf life". The modem and router are

about 3 years old which is old for electronics.

So.

This morning I made an appointment and boxed

them all up and took them in to get them 

switched for a new set.

(Kyle and I went last week but there were

about 90,672 people waiting... so we left.)

I got all new equipment for free.

It was a busy morning.

I left the house about 10.

Went to the Town to fax some info to 

the Social Security office for Rod's 

upcoming retirement.

Then to WalMart to grab some stuff for

this weekend while I'm out of town,

then back to the house to put it away,

then over town to the Spectrum office for my

12:00 appointment. I got there about 10 minutes

early and was out of there by 12:03.

Then over to the church.

I was a early for my 1:00 appointment, so I hooked up my computer

and printer and created this week's bulletin.

Then at 1:00 the NEW Ward Bulletin Coordinator

came in and I showed her how I do the bulletin,

how to make the copies, and where to stash

them so they can be given out on Sunday morning.

Then back home just in time for the carpet

guy to call and say he was ahead of schedule

and could he come early.

So he came and did his thing,

then I got the quote, agreed to it and paid for it,

then the installer called and we made the

appointment for the 13th (or the 16th, I can't

remember which) for when the carpet will

arrive at his place and then he will call

again to make the installation appointment.

THEN I sat down on the couch and took a little nap,

and at 5:30 I set up my evening zoom.

Except I only had 2 students.

At the 7:00 break I went into the kitchen

and fed my sour dough starter in preparation

for baking a loaf for Rod to eat over the weekend.

Then I taught until about 7:20 when both my

students logged off.

Class goes until 10.

I stayed online until 8:00 in case they came back.

But they didn't.

So I'm writing my blog

and then I'm going to put some chili in the

pressure cooker and go read a book.

Except I just got a text from Kyle.

Looks like he finished painting the walls white

and put another coat of white on the doors and

the surrounds.

And then he tried painting one of the handles black.

Which one do YOU prefer?

I LOVE the look of the black handle.

But I've always been partial to black metal accents.

Anyhow.

He's been BUSY.

It's COLD up there so he's staying inside and getting

lots and lots of painting done.

It's supposed to snow on Friday and rain on Saturday,

but the weather should clear up on Sunday, 

so I imagine he might head home Sunday or Monday.

But we'll see.