Today's Task

Today's task is to start to pack the shop. It will indeed be a task, but Steve has assured me it will go really, really fast. We shall see. Take a look:

First we must move the offshore tool box:

But of course we must empty it:

Once that is done, we have to load it one wheels, move it to storage, then off load it, the refill it. Yeah, this will be fun. And what is that crawling out of the bucket on the bottom left? Yikes!

Then we have these tool boxes to deal with. Doesn't every man need four 5 foot tall tool boxes?

And there are drawers and drawers full of screws, nuts and bolts:

And more drawers of screws, nuts and bolts:

And even more drawers of screws, nuts and bolts:

We have plenty of clamps to clamp stuff down with:

And there is plenty of wire to circle the world:

You know we can never have enough rope and tie downs - but where did he put the rest of it?

Buckets - we gotta have buckets:

Can never have enough buckets, can we?

We have plenty of wood for projects:

And furniture hung from the eaves:

... and we have to tackle the motorcycle hanging from the rafters...

and one that is not:

Just a wee tiny task to take on:

And yes, I see a bit more scrapbook stuff to pack - indeed we are collectors.

But the memories shall sustain us:

And keeping us plunging forward :-)

One Little, Two Little...

Three little showings - now just waiting for the words SOLD! Not yet, but I feel it coming...

Our house has shown twice with a third time scheduled for this week. All I can say is please sell so I can move on from this craziness we call life. I have no idea what God has in store for us, but I have decided it is time for Him to show us what we need to be doing. So far, normal life does not even show in the horizon - and I am soooo ready for some sense of normalcy.

Tomorrow we start packing the shop. We need lots of prayers. Also need prayers for Steve to get the box off the trailer that he picked up tonight - it is HUGE! I don't want him or any one else hurt that will be helping. It took a crane to put it on the trailer - and Steve plans on getting it off without a crane. Ugh.

Off to rest. I am once again beat. Or is it still?

In the meantime, here is a blast from the past...

Free Cycle is Not For Me :-(

We are moving. Steph suggested I get rid of *stuff* by listing the extra loot with free cycle. I listed 3 things and got a landslide (dozens) of e-mails with everyone wanting some of it or all of it. I had stated I needed it picked up in Morgan City - people were e-mailing me from all ends of the earth wanting to meet me everywhere but Morgan City - with each item I listed! I can't do it folks - listen carefully... I am done. I am so overdone that crispy critter doesn't begin to cover my description. This is why I put I needed it picked up in Morgan City! Aaargh!

Anyway, all of it is gone - one person got upset because I could not make heads or tails out of what I needed to do. My brain is fried, and it was not making sense that she wanted me to meet her 45 miles away "if I shopped there regularly". I am not shopping - I am using what I have because I cannot take it to Singapore and I cannot store it - which she did not know. Anyway, the communication was not going as fast as I anticipated and one woman was right here in Morgan City and said she could have it out of my way in 10 minutes, and it just made sense to let her come pick it up - she had help and a truck. It was a no brainer to me because negotiations did not seem to be working with the woman 2.5 hours away. However, I made someone mad :-( and I feel like a dog. I am so sorry.

So Free Cycle is the pits when you are frazzled to the bone - I simply can't do it. I will go back to dumping my loot on the side of the road - I cannot handle making people mad at me and it seems to disappear just fine from the side of my road. People are watching at this point. During our flood, we were tossing stuff out as fast as =we could and it was duly noted by passers by; they kept a steady stream of people picking it all up. Back to square one - Free Cycle is not for me. Do they have that in Singapore? lol...

If you have stuck it out this far, here are some more memories to share:

Here are some really cute kids:

The darned Siamese cats are still following me around :-(

Anyone remember this? Carey, can you still hit the hole? I think this was when you became the *enemy*...

Someone had a crush on my hubby - here she has listed his name first - never mind that *I* was her sister. She even made him a heart ornament that Christmas. Wish I had it to show with this. Too sad, I got him first ;-) He *is* pretty cool though, isn't he?

Sisters - gotta love 'em, right? Glad mine are the best ones ever :-) One is so hot she was struck by lightening. The other is a blonde. What more do I need to say?

Wow, does this bring back memories? Look at the happy lines, Shari!

Ewww, and you were kissing HIM!

Wanna go back to work in Alaska?

Is that toothpick really you?

I not only have one red head, I now have three! I love this picture. Wish I was there - it was my only chance ever to go to a Scottish wedding - but, hey, they are married and that makes it all right :-)

Do I love him, YES I DO! 32 years and counting. Steph made this precious book for our 30th - and I love it as much today as I did then. Thanks, 'sister' :-)

The Irish eyes are watching me - and the bear hugs are await me. Love ya, B... and I love this picture Cheyenne took for me :-) I can see the mischievousness in those eyes...

And I always have to ask myself...

I try to use it wisely as I hope everyone else does

And...

I am still a dream seeker - always have been and I always will be. Always things to strive for, always places to go, always people to meet and forever people to help. I am always ready to chase a dream :-)

And finally, are we making headway?

I am not so sure, but we are sure giving it our best shot :-)

Off to rest after another stressful day. Thanks for always being there. Writing makes me feel so much better. God will forgive me for disappointing someone, now I just have to learn to forgive myself. Nope, free cycle is not for me. I am sorry but I cannot handle the stress it gives me right now.

Maybe in my next dream :-)

A Few More Memories

For days now I have been struggling with the fact that we are selling our house. I think the final straw that made our decision was when our precious cat disappeared. Callie did not wander, she was a homebody that stayed literally within a few feet of our fence. I know she was trapped. There is no way she would have gone to anyone or wandered. We have been struggling with the decision for years and this was the straw that broke the camels back.

Now that the decision has been made, we just want to get through it. We have rented several storage units and as we sort and repack the boxes we take loads over to the unit. Steve and Todd put pallets on the floor so the stuff is up higher, and Todd has been a godsend helping Steve get it all over there. They emptied both smaller units we had (one was for Steve's office stuff, the other was the stuff moved temporarily for the flood), and all of that stuff has been moved to the huge unit. We have moved the camper over to a friend's place that he could store it inside his shop - yes, a 34' camper stored inside :-)

It is all now organized chaos if you ask me. I have tossed away a ton of stuff, but not nearly enough. The further we get into it, the more I toss. I am soooo done and ready for this all to be over. We are working so hard and so many hours every day, it seems like it will never end.

So here are a few more memories we have come across:

This one is damaged and I am trying to salvage it:

A dear friend that has since passed away made this for me. Do you know how to get water spots off? I have tried washing it since this photo, and it lightened it a bit, but they are not gone.

Jessica made this for me :-)

And this is Jessica with Steve:

I remember when you were just wee little children - all so cute and precious:

Todd and Stephenie in their early years:

And Jeremy used to color! Here is proof - with his signature.

In fact, I think he might still color ;-)

There was another one to match this, but the autograph was not there. I think it may have been Carey's?

Ahhh, Big George. I love ya still. I see your magnets often and think of you fondly. I hope you and God are chatting about all of the different ones that you made and shared with the world:

Do we really care, Chris?

Hmmm, found this on my bedroom door one day - wonder where it came from?

This wreath is very plain, but the memories that surround it are not and it is well worth sharing. We were camping with Sara and Tom in Flint Creek. Sara and I were huge crafters, and we found this wonderful vine to make wreaths with. It climbed high up into the trees and after pulling some of it down, the guys jumped in to help. We pulled a ton of vines and put them in the boat to haul home. We had planned on making wreaths for Christmas gifts. We wrapped vines in neat little wreaths until we were blue in the face. We were down to just a tad of vine left and didn't have it in us to make any more, so we tossed it by the street. Tom came home from work, and promptly grabbed the vine and brought it inside to me and said, "We climbed the damned tree for this vine and you WILL make something of it!" Indeed I did and here it is. I still giggle every time I see this last little wreath.

And Dee, how many years have we been friends? Or it is sisters?

And doesn't everyone need this many hangers?

No comments about the whole OCD thing - but do I owe someone two beige, one blue and one red hanger?

Even the hangers have memories - of when we had 14 kids ;-) living with us. All of us had to have hangers for our clothes. Was it only 14 kids?

Some of you will remember these memories well. It is so nice going through our lives and reflecting on the good times.

At the end of every single day, I feel like this:

But I am still holding those flowers and the beautiful memories they have.

Still more to come :-)