Wowsa! Retirement!!!

I didn't take the time to write a post about my last days of employment at the school board or about my first few days of retirement since my husband, Bill, did it for me and did an awesome job! I was too busy basking in the whole idea. Yes, I got royally spoiled on my last day, lots of nice things including cards, jewellery, chocolates, flowers and hugs and kisses! I love the hugs especially.

Gift card and jewellery from friends and co-workers

My little guest book

Quite the haul, I was blown away!

And then we went out to dinner at The Bistro in St. Thomas on Saturday night. It used to be The Beanery so some of you may have been there.  What a lovely atmosphere and terrific meal. Even the piano entertainment was classy background music. I enjoyed my half rack of ribs with loaded baked potato and Bill said his 12 oz T bone was perfect! We'll definitely go back when in the area again. My son lives in St. T and had given us a gift certificate to try it out, Great choice!

For whoever told me that I would love it, so far they are right and I can't see that changing. For those who said that it would just feel like a vacation for a while, they are also correct, it does. Even those who told me that I would be busier than I was before and not have time to work, yup bang on. But I do need to justify the last one. I was only run off my feet busy these two weeks because of the situation we are in.

Remember that our closing date for the house is Wed. Apr. 20. We plan on pulling up stakes in our fifth wheel on Fri. Apr. 15 to go to Golden Pond RV Park in Putnam so a few days sooner than closing. Whether we have to make a trip back in to finish cleaning will be determined. If so, I can do that.............because I'm retired. :D



So I hustled and bustled and carted and lugged all our prized 'must keep' possessions the 10 steps out the side door and up into the rv from the first day of 'freedom' until now. Friday night we took the bed apart and moved the large dressers out into the dining room for pick up on Saturday. We pulled the living room sectional bed sofa apart and shrink wrapped it for easy transport out the doors. Well, easier transport since it is a very poufy sofa.

Still doing it but there is less left to lug now, basically fridge food and a couple of gravity chairs we are sitting on in the living room. The house is really really empty! 











It is sad to see Bill pack and leave for work each morning. Yes I am up each day with him, just not at 5:30. Sometimes I am awake and lay there in bed because I can but I like to be up before 7 so I can kiss him goodbye and start my day. On the nice mornings without the cling-on of snow on the walkways, I am dressed and out for my walk. Otherwise, I have a tea before getting to work.

This was one of the cold mornings with snow but I
wasn't working at 7 o'clock am!

Living room disarray

Bedroom

Spare bedroom where 'give aways' gather

Clemson, our cockapoo, is all in a dither, poor thing.
  

 He'll be fine, we know that, but right now he thinks his parents have lost all of our sanity. On Friday night we dismantled the bed and pulled the dressers into the dining room. We pulled apart the living room sectional and shrink wrapped it for the couple picking it up on Saturday. Bedtime, around 9 Clemson goes down the hallway, stops at the bedroom door where he usually has to position himself for the high jump onto the bed and looks back at us. ???? What the???? He wanders into the spare bedroom, which is completely empty of furniture.............double what the???? He'll get it eventually and once we say "we're sleeping in the trailer" he sits on his little butt and waits for his ride out to the 'other' bed.

He doesn't know yet that he will be 'homeless' on the weekend coming. At least the 'home' he knows at this point.

Within the first week I had pulled all of the things we couldn't sell or couldn't be bothered to sell to the front door. I first thought I'd load them in my Toyota and take it all to Mission Services. This was after taking a full car load to Value Village already. My oh my! Where does it all come from? When I found I was adding more and more to the pile than I could do in one load I called M.S. and asked if they could pick it up. By Friday they had come and loaded everything tout-suite into their van and I had made a noticeable gap in the house. What a great feeling getting rid of stuff!

Don't let Clemson see this picture, his rv bed went out the door!

We're getting there though and it is exciting and nerve-wracking and dare I say stressful. More for Bill, his mind while at work is thinking of all of the 'things' we have to do before Friday. For me, I'm home and if I think of something to do I can mostly do it. We are made of different stuff, I am a shrugger (you know, laid back 'oh well' kind of person) but my dear hubby is the worrier. We make a great team!

Now that we've had our LAST snowfall (did you weather Gods hear that??) things are looking better for our full time adventure to start on the weekend. It sounds surreal since we have been planning for this day for 2 1/2 years. Awesome!

Today, Monday, was finally a lovely warm walk

Thank you for taking this journey with us and for all the tips along the way.

See you out there soon and if you feel like dropping a line today, we'd love to hear from you!

A Sale and A Toss and A Donation

Well, it sure doesn't take much to get into the mode of selling and tossing. I don't have to tell you that this process is a fun one, well I guess we all have different opinions on that matter! We are enjoying it.

With full time rv'ing beginning and this gem of a hot spot waiting for us, it is exciting that our adventure is just around the corner,
down the street and over the bridge on April 15th.  Bill and I are like a couple of Whirling Dervishes or Tasmanian devils at the very least!

When I can go from 2 full closets of clothes, 2 dressers, 2 coat closets to what you see here in the picture,                                                                                                                                                    

       

 I deserve the "Good job, dear, I'm proud of you" that my soul mate bestowed upon me last weekend. 

I can look at a lovely dress from my wardrobe, try it on if there is doubt and honestly decide that it isn't necessary. I call that progress especially when just mere weeks ago I looked at that dress and thought "I can't part with that one, it looks so nice on me". 

                                             Progress.

I will be participating in another friend's Clothing Swap on Apr. 3. Kim is hosting this time and I only hope that she won't be overwhelmed when I bring in my 6? 7? garbage bags full of clothing/shoes/accessories.

At least when all is said and done on that Sunday, we know she will be donating the remaining articles to a worthwhile shelter or church. I can't believe that I can see empty hangers and empty space!

 The drop place in Bill's airplane room looked like this when we were readying the house for sale. 

In February everything we decided  that we were keeping went into that room.

 Last weekend, we decided it was time to re-weed and re-sort so together we did a quick inventory. Results below.

Except for the boat, destination Mobile Suite

Destination: Ridge cabins

Destination: The Ridge this weekend

 It doesn't take us long since we both have the same goal in mind.  Now we have 3 piles. One to go in the Mobile Suite, one to go up to The Ridge soon (our summer location) and one to go to The Ridge NOW (meaning this weekend). Now it isn't so overwhelming.



With just a month to go before having to make the final decision of keeps or no keeps, close the door on the house and drive away, I was able to attack my 2 jewellery drawers. I have costume jewellery only, the only expensive pieces of bling are on my finger and around my neck. This meant my decision was made easy, I wasn't throwing hard earned money away. The need little containers I found at Avon hold a lot of jewellery and will store easily in our walk-in closet in the Suite. Two full drawers down to one. Again I say Progress!

It was a tiresome job, but when I realized that I could still carry many special pieces in the rv without taking up too much space or adding weight, I chose more freely. 

Again, a lot of donations to my friends are inevitable.

                                                    Progress.
When I started seeing Bill go through his clothes and adding to the Goodwill pile, I was impressed with his ruthlessness too. 

Bill's closet thinning out

Clemson has allowed me to purge some of his 'stuff' too, how many balls does a wee dog need? If you closely at the picture to the right you'll see him hiding with his stuffed husky, Sergei, trying not to get shoved into a bag!
The bottom line is that our excitement for this new adventure has taken control and we are able to sell or toss accordingly.
                                 

Most of our furniture has sold and been picked up, our living room sofa bed

and 5 pc. bedroom suite is spoken for with a pick up on April 10.
We have 3 family heirlooms to be delivered to daughters in West Lorne and Tavistock and my sister, Wendy in Owen Sound is getting my brother's antique metal bed.

. 

The china dishes from this cabinet that have been passed down from generations will go to Krystal, a daughter in Milverton. 

The dollhouse I made from a kit will go to another daughter, Charlotte in London for her girls.

And my parent's beautiful library table that Bill refinished is going to my daughter, Bridgette.

        We hope to have one more garage sale like our fall one

but because it will be April 2, it will be an indoor sale in the hope that we can reap a few more dollars or at the very least give it to someone who wants it.  That makes it nice and easy for me, we can put all the remaining items in the dining room and entertain walk-ins. Maybe I'll bake cookies!

Thank you for joining us in this adventure. It is because a lot of you that we are taking these steps. A little bit of an idea is becoming a reality very quickly and we'll be into our 'new' digs on April 20th and couldn't be happier.