Today is our Employee Appreciate Day at work, so we're off for the day - it's actually a little more complicated than that; it involves us doing a great job for X-amount of $$ to bring in, and yada-yada, so we earn the 1/2 day, but then the other 1/2 of the day is a semi-annual thing where the company gives us off the top 1/2 of the day and wants to celebrate with us at a certain venue. Wow, was that all one sentence? Crazy. I didn't go to the venue; we have a family matter, but it's OK -- I know I'm loved, appreciated, and respected--I don't need the validation. I'm just really happy I was able to sleep in, pray a little, pack a little, and get things moving forward.
The move is less than a month away now!! It's 28 days, only four weeks! We are so excited. We're doing the packing thing ever so slowly so that we don't strain ourselves. I have about 40 boxes, a bunch of tape, and a big fat black Sharpie to mark them all. I'll end up taking stuff to the dumpster, to Goodwill, and keeping only what we need. (I say that every time I move, but this time I really mean it.) I'll ask Jeannie to help. She's really good at telling me what I need and don't need.
I opened up a bookshelf today to pack it, and there were no less than 6 completely unused notebooks that I could have and should have been using this year. I went out and bought others because I didn't know I had those. I won't buy them this coming year! I blame the "Back to School" advertising for any excess supplies I may have. I can't stand not buying cheap notebooks when I see them at the stores. I don't think it's reached the point of addiction, but it's close.
If I had gone to the corporate meeting today, I would have shown up in my new onesie. It covers me well, and it's pretty. I could pull it off because they were having a costume contest. If anyone told me I was supposed to change into my costume after the meeting, I would have said "Oh, I didn't know that" and just smiled. I'm sure if everyone had thought of it, we would have had more people show up, and we would have been both relaxed and had a good time.
It will take us the full four weeks to put all that is in our house into boxes and have them stacked up and ready to be loaded into the U-Haul. I'm getting a dolly so we can make it as easy as possible. I'll drive the U-Haul right up to the door and use the ramp thing so I don't have to bump down the stairs and then up the ramp - nope, I don't care if I park in the grass for the hour or so we'll need it there. It is what it is. I'll take two loads: one that doesn't require my son's big muscles and one that does.
When we get to the new place, there is only one step, so I may have to pull or bump the dolly up it to get everything inside, or I can unload everything into the garage (most likely going to do that) and just unload the boxes from there -- that's a good idea. After we're done, we'll donate the boxes - I'll put it on the Facebook page to see if anyone needs 40 good boxes to move. I bet someone will be happy to take them. Of course, if not, we'll have our fire "wood" for the year! There's a thought.
I went online to watch Bowie's Livestock Auction so I can pretend to buy a good broke horse for under $1000 or right at $1000. The three I pretended to buy last night were $800, $900, and $1050. All quarterhorses, all 11-14 years old, all geldings, and all broke to ride without bumps, scars, knee issues, or stifle problems. It's amazing what you can find. There was a Jack mule I pretended to buy for $1450, and that would be an amazing price for one. He was broke to drive and ride, but needed more time under saddle. I would do it in a heartbeat!
Since I'm only going to get one, it will likely be an 11-16-year-old gelding, probably a quarterhorse or a gaited horse (Tenn. Walker, Standardbred, or Fox Trotter) for about $1000. It will be between 14.1 and 15.1 HH, and I don't care if it's registered. It will likely not be since it's going to be on the red light, sold as-is; those AQHA horses tend to pull in more $$$ even if they are old, broke down, have health issues, or buck under saddle. The people want those papers. I really don't care.
We watched a mare being abused by her owner in the sales ring yesterday, and although I don't necessarily want a mare, I wanted to save her from her owner. He was beating on her to make her move, and she was clearly not in the groove with the guy -- I came close to "buying" her, but again, it was pretend anyway, and she did get sold, so someone else hopefully did the job for me. People never cease to amaze me, and not always in a good way. I think you can tell a great deal about a person by the way they treat their animals.
Four weeks. I can smell the newness of the place. It's actually older. The house was built in 1970, and the land has been there for literally the entire time the Earth was created; it still feels good and new to me. Our sellers put in new carpet, new appliances, paint, HVAC, water heater, and roof so they could sell it. We gave them the exact price they offered; we never even tried to haggle the price. They were happy about that. We did that because it was worth it. The house appraises for a good amount, and the 14 acres just seals the deal. We couldn't and wouldn't have moved there without the land, and having been on a property with great land and a bad house, I am very happy to say this house is awesome.
One of the quirky and fun things about the house is that there is a gun cabinet at the end of the hall. It doesn't have a lock because in 1970, you never needed to lock your gun cabinet. It's where you kept your weapons - you didn't worry that your kid would shoot you or anyone. You didn't want to find a key to unlock if someone was outside, and it was just a better and simpler time. I love the cabinet. I may actually buy a rifle and stick it in the ready-made, beautiful gun cabinet because I can.
I can't wait to move - and by that I mean I can't wait to be moved. I'm not really looking forward to all the packing and the moving part. I will be really happy when everything is set up, put away, and ready to just live in -- yes, that is what I mean when I say I can't wait to move.
Photo Credit: Bowie Livestock Auctions
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