10 days and counting!

Today the ‘packers’ arrive to put all our stuff into boxes. It is maddening to try and keep track of what they are doing… since they are usually in different rooms… They didn’t leave me any stickers to label items with so I will be running around CHECKING boxes!!! Once this stuff goes into storage it is there for the duration. No, asking to get something out of the storage locker. So if it gets packed and stored, it is either wait until we have all our stuff or buy a new one. Do you think if I let my rotary cutters and rulers get packed I can buy an AccuCut?


Yesterday I tried to finish getting some small chores done. Animals have to be approved as healthy by the USDA Veterinarian, which is an hour away, which equals 2 hours driving, plus the appointment time and $$$. Not sure how long it actually takes, but has to be done in person, not by mail. It is not done. I have called this office at least 3 or 4 times, trying to get all the appropriate information, make the appointment, get there and discover that my vet is supposed to fill it in -sign it and for a fee the USDA Vet will ‘rubber stamp’ the info. What a racquet. Add to that all the ‘over’ important people you meet getting there…. I could go on, but so far the USDA has been the darkest spot in this whole transition. So Monday I have to go back to the USDA and get the ‘rubber stamping’ done. If you read about a meltdown in the Chicagoland area, that resulted in arrest, I will need bail money and funds for an attorney.

I have gotten the house refrigerator cleaned and the oven –I have also gotten the garage refrigerator and the microwave oven cleaned. None of them are bad, just a basic cleaning. I did take Axel –the dog and Spaz –the cat to the kennel. They will be leaving from there next week. I am going to try and make a few windows of time so I can go visit them. We have word that we have a house, but it may be 30 days of living in a hotel when we get there. I hate hotel living and hope that it won’t be that long, besides I won’t be able to have Axel and the cat with me… so it will make for some very long and boring days without them for company.

Last weekend we decided to move the motorhome to an indoor storage facility. It will cost a bit more to house it, but hopefully out of the elements and not looking like a big target for vandals and thieves there will be something left when we get back home. We moved it from South of Chicago to North of Oshkosh Wisconsin. A very long and trying day, but at least the weather held for us!

By Friday our house will be empty and we will be driving down to stay one night with my DH’s parents. Then back to the house to finish getting the house in tip top shape to rent. It’s been a while since I was a renter, but things sure have changed!!! Not sure if the housing market has cause most of this… but wow, almost pickier and more demanding than a buyer. Can we have a cat?, the owners have one. (We also own the house and maintain it!) We want the refrigerator that is in there, we don’t like the one in the garage. [Once again, it’s mine !(but I have relented and will be leaving my refrigerator in the kitchen, it will be history by the time we come home)]. Will the washer and dryer stay? (doesn’t anyone own anything except a nice car these days?) Crap what do people want???… we are even supplying yard care, so there is a yard to come home to.

So -for now no pictures. Suffice it to say the house looks like the storms that have plagued Chicagoland this last week, have spent some time inside the house! One or two room of calm, and that is because either they are completely cleaned out or everything that is in them is going to storage or complete chaos ….

More Later!

“T” minus 12 days and counting…

So far the dog and the cat are the closest to being ready to leave. They had their final vet check, shots and wellness exams today. Axel passes all his blood tests, (for parasites), with a negative, so that is good news. The cat only needed to be current on rabies and healthy to go. Next week I take all the results in to the USDA for an Export Permit, -which is basically a Veterinarian reading all the papers I take in, (Rabies Certificate, Health Exam Certificate and Parasite blood results), and signing off on a form.

Sewing room

My sewing room is looking more like a disaster area, but that’s ok. I have most of my stuff separated for air and sea. There really isn’t anything else for me to do as far as packing the house goes. Just make sure that the things we want with us go with us. Not exactly sure how I am going to direct the packers… when we have 3 levels of rooms…. And the ones that need the most supervision are separated by stairs…. (sewing room and kitchen).

Cupcakes

The projects I’m taking are some little things. I was given a kit, a really cute thing called a Snap Sack, and it had everything you needed in the bag to make the quilt; all the fabrics, borders, binding and backing. I had also purchased one. So I made both of them up, I did them with needle turn appliqué, using a technique that I learned while in Nebraska. If they had been just a bit more generous with the green fabric I could have squeezed 4 more out and made a single top with 12 cupcakes!. I have the binding done and I plan to machine quilt it and add some beads.

Hand Quilting... UFO

I am also taking a quilt to hand quilt, or I should say continue to hand quilt. I have been working on it –off and on for many years. The baby it was supposed to be for is in college. It is an adaptation from a Judy Martin Quilt, from one of her books... (Scrap Quilts I think) I started it (1990-ish?), and then my life made a left turn, so it’s been hit and miss since then. It was hand appliquéd with a little embroidery. I started the quilting and then discovered that the crosshatched grid going through the center wasn’t going to match up on the other side. A problem I later discovered is common…. So I had to figure out how to fix it… which I did… it’s called "fudge it". The appliqué is outline quilted and I might quilt the appliqué… but maybe not. How many years can a small quilt take?

 

Box O'Batiks

And this… a box of batiks, browns, blues and greens for a quilt, a queen size quilt, maybe a little bigger. I have a plan and the batting… not sure who/how it will be quilted, but that is still a little ways off, so I will worry about it then.

And last but not least, I still have ear infections. ENT Dr. has said that if the next round of meds doesn’t fix me I will get to have tubes. So I go in on Monday to see if I’m finally clearing up or not. The new stronger Prednisone made all the difference over night, so I am hoping it will kick it out and I won’t have to have the tubes. And to top it off I was requested to have another test at the hospital again. Not sure what the previous tests showed/didn’t show, but I had to have a more specific one. Hopefully it won’t change our time schedule.

So- as usual stay tuned…. There will be MORE.