Holy exhaustion Batman!

No seriously, I'm getting too old for this Sh*t! 

Don't ask where it hurts because it would be a shorter list to ask where it doesn't hurt. 😒 My ankle popped so loud the other day I thought my foot was just going to snap off Death Becomes Her style. Thank god for the movers, those young men worked so hard, we have a lot of stuff. Although, I should point out that it wasn't 2 men and A truck it was 4 men and 2 trucks, did I mention we have a lot of stuff. 

Even with 2 trucks we ended up with stuff in our trailer and left stuff we have to go back for, yeah like I said too much stuff. 😏  

Part of why I'm so exhausted and sore is because my cRazY insisted on trying to paint the whole house in a matter of days before the furniture delivery. 😅 When talking to people about this it was pretty evenly divided between thinking it was brilliant or insane; it is way easier to paint before there is furniture and stuff in the way, but it is also insane to try to paint a whole 3000 sqft house with different colors in different rooms in a matter of days and then have the energy to move in. Even people who thought it was insane admit it was a great plan because once stuff is in the way and unpacking and setting up and then everyday life kicks in and so many of those little things you never get back to fixing. 😐 But this is not our first home purchase, and I know that from experience, while in previous homes we have done some stuff there is always a list of things you never get to. . .until it's time to sell or move and then you do those things for the benefit of the next person. Well, no offense to our Georgia renters or the guy who bought our Tipton house, but I want to enjoy it this time. 😎

And while I didn't succeed in painting the whole house, I did manage to finish the dining room, living room, master bedroom, my shop, the world's longest hallway and half a guest room (ran out of paint). I still need to do the sunroom, the laundry room, the back office, and mud room, and yes, it is a big house but see the aforementioned "too much stuff". 😅 Luckily the house also came with a second garage just for husband's too many tools, so I can still park my car in the attached garage.

The cats have adjusted quite quickly, I'm a bit surprised, especially by little Merlin as he tends to be a bit skittish and scaredy because of his less than perfect eyesight, but less than 24 hours and he's strutting around like he owns the place. 😌

of course, there is too much to see and explore so he won't sit still long enough for me to get a photo 😅 so here is the blur that is my Merlin

New house. . .

I am exhausted, I really hate moving, but things are happening. I know now that I'm not just feeling behind, I am in fact falling behind, but there is nothing I can do about it. There are a limited number of hours in a day and I am only 1 person, so I will do all I can for as long as I can and it will have to be enough. The movers and trucks are coming on schedule whether we are ready or not. 😏

in the meantime, I find myself wondering why one would hang such a massive set of drapes in such a manner over a normal sized window 😅

Oh, but I am keeping those drapes, they are JcPenney home originals in good condition (I took them to the cleaners) however, I am absolutely shrinking the rod footprint and getting new shears. The dining room and living room both will keep the fancy drapes, just reconfigured and refreshed. 😎 Although they are not the reason I like the house so much, they are just a nice touch, the real reason I love the house is the location and the view. 

 

Yes, that's a deer out my kitchen window just wandering through in the middle of the day. 😍

falling behind or feeling behind?

Seriously, I don't know if I'm falling behind or just feeling behind, I can't tell. 😟  I do know that weeks are ticking by and I am getting things done, but the real question is, is it enough?  Will it all be ready for the movers?  Honestly, I'm not sure, I have packed a lot, I have cleaned things, I have arranged services for the new house. I still haven't managed to finish the little lizards, they may end up being packed in pieces. 😅

I just haven't really had the time to sit down and finish them. I really hate packing things up when they are only half-done, in the past that has been the end of a couple of projects, I never went back and finished them, I hope that doesn't happen here. 

Not that I have much choice, the bench must be cleared so I can disassemble it, everything must be packed before the movers arrive to load trucks. The logistics of moving fish, plants, and cats are getting complicated but we're working on it. My tiredness is growing into exhaustion, but we have weeks left before we'll be settled and between now and then I not only have to finish packing and cleaning this house, but I have to go clean and paint the new house too.  

Next weekend is the 4th, which is good/bad, first Happy 4th but second the cats hate fireworks. 😒 There likely will not be a blog post next weekend, too much to do. 

on schedule. . .sort of

For the most part the moving plan is on schedule, sort of, some of the things have shifted and some things still haven't been scheduled. 😏

There are still things on my bench, lizard bits to be assembled, so some rings and tools remain, but most of the shop is packed.

The actual movers are locked in, closing on the house scheduled, trash bin set for delivery days before closing so we are ready for the cleaning, painting, fixing immediately after closing.  Now the cable/internet has been an adventure, the listing said it already had fiber internet but it tuns out, it is on the street but was never ran to the house. So, after checking around found the provider, was initially told that it would take 4-6 WEEKS to schedule a drop and since we didn't technically own it, yet I wasn't authorized to authorize the "construction". Contacted our realtor and pointed out that it would be helpful if the current owners would authorize the dig since the listing said it already had service and I didn't want to have to move into a house with no service and wait weeks for service. He was very helpful and with the assistance of the other realtor the owners signed off, and the address was put on the list. ~yay~ I was happy thinking it would be weeks and they should be ready to do the install/dig around the time we move. . . well I was wrong I got a call on Friday, and they will be there Tuesday. 😲 So it went from a 4-6 week wait and no way to know when it would be done, to it will be done in less than 2 weeks, I'm not really complaining.  I mean I wanted it done before the move, but I really didn't expect it to go from a waitlist to finished so fast. 😅 Again, that's not a complaint it saves the trouble of changing phone plans and getting a temporary hot spot, but it also means I'll be paying for almost a month of service before we even move in.  

The flip side of the eager-beaver fiber installers is the no contact cleaning industry here in Indy. I have tried contacting multiple cleaning services about a move-out clean on this rental and 2/3 never responded at all, the 3rd service did call to check details (sqft of house and if the stairs where carpeted) said he would email me a quote but ghosted, it has been almost 2 weeks. So, I guess, Monday I get to start over with a fresh search and another round of quote requests. 😒 Sidenote for the house up north it only took me 1 phone call and the cleaning service that does whole home deep cleaning also agreed to do the carpet (without charging the minimum or a ton extra because it is only 1 room of carpet) great guy, super helpful, already paid the deposit and got it scheduled. I love it when things are easy. 

In the not so easy category, I have no idea what color his face should be. 😅

packing sucks. . .

Planning may be everything but packing sucks. 😑 

I have started packing the shop, emptying all the drawers and bins, boxing up rings and packing supplies. I suppose I should put the online shops in vacation mode or something. 😏 

Normally I would have just announced a temporary closure and deactivated all listings, but being honest it's not like I'm swamped with orders and the inventory is all still in my possession so if I did happen to get an order, I could still ship it for now.  That will change but unlike previous moves where things have gone into storage, sometimes for months, this is just going from house to house. 😎 There will be a couple of weeks where it's all packed here waiting for transport while I'll be elsewhere painting and prepping for landing it all in the new place but compared to previous longer distance moves where we landed in furnished temporary housing and stuff stayed in storage for 2-4 Months, two weeks is nothing. 😉 

Although, there is a temporary furnished place in this move plan it is only for 30 days not 3 months like last time. Mostly it's just a local location for the husband to start his job (tomorrow) and a place for the cats to hang out the week I clean and paint the new place. I've ordered a trash bin (and service) for the new place, got on the list for the fiber internet drop, still need to schedule cleaning help and carpet cleaning for after closing which is just 3 weeks away. 😁

I have so many lists because there are lists for each location, lists of utilities to turn on for the new place, list of utilities to turn off this rental. List of cleaning and "repair" for the rental, change laundry room light bulb, swap shower heads back, hire carpet cleaners, etc. List of cleaning and repair for the new house, clean Everything, swap shower heads, work on deck boards, buy new dishwasher, water filtration system. Change of address, update banks and credit cards, etc., 

I am still pretty determined to finish these little guys before the move, #2 has a head and 2/4 of his legs, #3 has all 4 legs laid out, but no head yet. 😅 

Planning is everything. . .

You may or may not know the quote "Planning is everything, the plan itself is nothing", but it has been a founding principle for me and my husband for many years. We are always planning; some plans work out, some are just fun to think about, some are back-up plans or just in case plans or what-if plans. 😅 Some people are PACE people and know the primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency acronym but only apply it to communications not Life.  

So, there is a whole notebook with many pages of lists, lists of repairs for the new house, lists of things to clean in both the new house and the rental, lists of services to turn on for the new house and shut down for this rental. List of services to schedule like carpet cleaning and maid services for both. Plus, a whole separate list for the house purchase, documents for finance, insurance quote/policy, etc. 

Yeah, I'm crazy busy and trying to not be just cRazY. 😜 It is a lot going on at once and it's only going to get worse before it gets better, but by the end of July it will all be over. I am looking forward to that part when it's done, and I can just relax in the quiet. However, in between now and then I have to pack a whole house, paint a whole house, and deep clean 2 whole houses. I highly doubt we will get our whole security deposit back, this is a corporate owned rental, and they will charge $15 for a lightbulb. 😒 So I will do my best, and this place will probably look better when I move out than it did when I moved in, but I'm still not expecting much. 

Aside from the awesome quiet countryside views there are several things I really like about the house, including this stained-glass mosaic lamp shade.

I'm actually kind of in awe of it, I mean look at the shape of that curved rolled edges, I stuck my head in it and there is no wire frame or any kind of supports, it's an amazing piece of work. 😍 Also, hard to believe the woman who bought that for the living room put this hideous thing in a bedroom.

I'm guessing grandchildren were involved, but seriously that thing is the stuff of nightmares and it's gone the minute I get the keys. 😅

Summertime. . .

It is about to be summertime, June when it gets hot, kids are out of school, and I used to do lots of in-person events. However, not this year, this year I get to move again, ok so not until July but . . . that's not really better. 😅 I will be buying cases of water and hiring movers. 

In the meantime, the packing has begun, but not with my shop. I started with the photo set up and moved to the bookcase, I really want to clear my bench before packing my shop, so I scaled the spines. 😉

Now I just need to make them heads and legs and tails. I have the whole month of June to pack so plenty of time, especially considering this was a rental house and I never fully UN-packed here. 😇 

I will say after months of indecision and lack of direction it is nice to have a solid plan. I am actually really excited about the new place, house in the country, super peaceful and quiet, no neighbors, no park, no bus stop, no junior band members next door, no jackoff in a sports car thinking the neighborhood is a drag strip. 😌 We sat in the driveway on the truck tailgate talking to the realtor and there is no way to describe the peace that I felt in that open space with the breeze, watching a rabbit across the drive pay us no mind. I also found a frog on the deck, and I think there are mice for Jaspurr to chase. 

If you're not a country person, if you didn't grow up barefoot in a creek, running fields at your grandparent's house, if you've never been in countryside so quiet all you hear are crickets, you wouldn't understand.

There is a rabbit in the middle of this photo, you may not see him well because he is small and far away, but I'm sure we will make friends. 💗💗