The Move

I can't believe its over.  Sure we still have a few things at the old place, and some cleaning to do but even that is almost done.  It will be nice to have it all completed and then we can totally focus on unpacking and getting settled in here at the new home.

Maddy is turning 15 today... hard to believe my baby is 15 and almost ready for drivers ed.  She is going to be a sophomore in high school come the fall... where did the time go?  Happy birthday my little firecracker baby!!!

Jasper is settling into the new house quite nicely.  Loves his run in the back yard and sitting on the window seat in Madelynne's room.
 

I am going to miss the wonderful gardens our old house had... I guess I will just have to put some in here.

 

I really think we are going to like it here in Waterville!!


~Reg

Changes

Isn't Jericho the cutest.  Look at those little toes. I can't wait to spend more time with him.  Which brings me to my next topic.

Lots of stuff changing around the old homestead.

 We are moving from the country back to a city.  Back in 2008 when we moved here, I was so excited about the peace and quiet... I so had it set in my mind that I was a country girl at heart, that I didn't allow myself to be unhappy with the way things were.  So what if it took 30 minutess to get to the nearest grocery store, or there was no delivery for pizza.  I wont mention the first 2 years here struggling with an antenna so we could pick up 3 channels, 2 of which were the same programming but different stations.  There wasnt a single cable company that came out this far and the landlords at that time were very anti-Dish.  Who cared that if we lost power we had no water or working plumbing.  You just had to walk across the road to the lake and get water to flush the commode.  Anyways... after almost 4 years here we are moving again.  This time to a city larger then the one we used to live in.  Waterville Maine... home of the Waterville High School Panthers and oddly enough the same city my sister and her family live in.  We definitely didn't plan it that way.  We tried to find a place nearer to the husbands work.  They have a fantastic high school there and we were so excited about Maddy possibly going to that school.  We had no interest in buying a house with the economy the way it is... and the job field, we didn't want to tie ourselves to another community the husband would have to commute from.  Been there done that and its not fun.  So... we were looking for a house, not an apartment, and one where we would be happy for the next 3 years at least.  Once Maddy is out of high school we will have a better idea about the future of this new company the husband is working for, and just might be ready to buy a house or some land.

  The new place we are renting is nice... I can't wait to get moved, but the journey there is going to be a bit long and a bit rough.  It will work out though, just have to keep telling myself that, and all will be well. The best part... it's in a city.  They have actual coffee shops, grocery stores and a big old library all within a minutes drive or walk.  We will be 45 minutes closer to the eldest daughter, and the husband will be 25 mins from his job.

We have decided that the night we move in, we are going to celebrate by ordering pizza and getting it delivered.  Ahh... the good life.

*grins*  I guess I am a city girl after all.

~Reg

The sewing machine is back...

I got the sewing machine part I have been waiting for, so quite a bit of yesterday I worked on part of my gift for my mother in law. Ouchie... I do not like the pattern I picked out. So freaking confusing! Honestly the pattern was probably fine... it was the user LOL. But... after many rip outs and start overs I got the thing done. It turned out nice and I am quite proud of it. It may need to be adjusted at the neck as the bib hangs low on me... but I am quite a bit shorter then my mother in law. Paul tried it on and he is a lot closer in height to his mom and the bib fell nicely... so if need be it can be fixed after the holidays, but I think its going to be ok. I also pieced a couple of blocks to make into pot holders. One of them I love but the other I need to rework... I wish I could find the part of my camera that allows me to upload pictures so I could show ya... but hopefully it will turn up one of these days.

I need to get the house organized a bit... Eileen is coming home tomorrow and I want every thing ready so that we can decorate the tree and put out the decorations, the minute she gets home... It just didnt feel right to do it without her. *smiles* I need to get the ingredients for homemade pizza ... and sugar cookies. Its been such a hard year... I want the holidays to be fun for us. Start our new year out with a bang!

We got all of the truck unloaded from the weekend... its stacked mile high in our shed but hey its off the truck and we can shut the doors so alls good! It feels very good to have it all done... a relief so once we get Ms Leen home we can actually start to relax and enjoy the holidays.

Guess thats all from this front...

~Regi

Tired and almost done...

We left the house around 9 am yesterday and arrived back home at 1 am. We picked up the moving van in farmindale... (supposedly there is a quilt shop some place near the rental shop so I will have to see if i can find it today) and then met my sister and her boys in augusta. We traveled down to south portland and then spent an inordinate amount of time winterizing the house... and moving all the stuff going to storage into the van. We then took a quick trip to the storage unit, took everyone out to dinner at IHOP and then back to the house to finish loading up the truck.

We are all tired and sore and yet all thats left to accomplish is to unload most of the stuff into our shed, take a couple of dressers and a dryer to my sisters house in Waterville, and then return the van and we are done. Completely irrevocably done with South Portland forever, house and school wise. We still have beloved neighbors there... and Leen has friends there but we are done.

It may sound silly but I cried when I hugged my tree good bye... I hope the next ppl who live in that house love it as much as I did. This is the only picture I have of it. I took it last spring after I put the pavers in and right before I planted some pretty hostas etc... =( Its not like its going anywhere. I know that my neighbors Linda and Maryanne will take pictures of it for me if i ask =)

treegarden, a photo by seeking epiphany on Flickr.

This year is almost over... and damn... I cant wait

Packing and quilting and just stuff...

Today we are heading down to organize and pack up the rest of our stuff so that next weekend when we have the moving van we can just load that sucker up. Still am not sure what we will be doing with some of the stuff. There is no way we have room for all of it. We may have to rent a storage unit for the larger items that just wont fit in our new home. Perhaps when we find a new place this summer it will be a bit larger and have room for all our things. Then again we may have a storage unit yard sale instead. LOL

When we get back this evening I have some ironing and cutting to do so I can get some work done on a Christmas gift I am making... as well as cut some more strips for Leenies quilt. I cant wait to see that come together... and i have been procrastinating on it. I guess im a bit worried she wont like it ... worried that the colors are all wrong. But after a bit of soul searching I have come to the conclusion that (1) its going to be fun to make... (2) if she truly doesnt like it I know i can find someone who would love it... and (3) I will learn a lot making it. So those are all wins... and if necessary, next time I will take her with me to shop for fabric.

We got Maddys report card yesterday and she got all A's and one B in school. She is quite proud of herself and we are so glad to see her adjusting so well, making friends, working hard for her teachers etc.

Our landlords are getting ready to head south for the winter. Its going to be strange to not have them there. We have always had ppl around... always lived where neighbors were close by. But once they head out we will be on this hill alone. Kinda spooky, but I am sure we will adjust.

There is a knitting shop near by that offers free knitting classes as long as you buy your supplies. I am hoping to take a class or two, I can do a lot of basic stuff (i have made mittens, scarves, christmas stockings and a baby sweater)... but it will be nice meet people and hone up some of my skills. One of the classes listed in the fall was for making socks. I would love to learn how to do that. Anyways... I have to get the listing for the winter and see what is offered. I would love to take a quilting class as well... but the only shop i know of is a bit of a distance away. I will have to check out the community classes in the area.

Hope you have a wonderful weekend.

~Regi

Where has the time gone?

Ok I see by the date on my last post that its been some time since I updated this thing. Do I feel badly about that? Yes and no, yes because there is so much to tell you and it will take forever to get it all out. The highs and lows of the move, how it felt to take my firstborn to college and leave her there... the drama of being pulled over by the state policeman... how well Maddy is adjusting to being back in a public school atmosphere... and the joys of living in the country. The no part is due to the whole "blogging without obligation" thing i have going on in my sidebar... who ever thought that up was a sheer genius *smiles*.

The move:

Hah... i say that so calmly... as if its done. Well get that fool idea out of your head right now, the move is not over. Oh we had a good start, tons of boxes, two trips with the moving van, gosh we were so exhausted after that weekend, but a large percentage of our stuff was up here in the new place. However... we still have a basement and garage full of stuff. We are going to attack that in a 2 part effort... another rental of a moving van... and the rental of a dumpster. The dumpster will only be on the premises for 10 days, and we will fill that sucker as full of crap as we can. Not that i have crap in my house... but, well ok... after 11 years in the same place... we had some crap. Then the moving van will take care of the remainder.

Selling the old house:

We have a bit more work to do to get it ready for sell... at this point I am almost willing to just let the thing go to the first person who walks by with a 5 dollar bill and mild interest. Ok ok thats a bit of an exaggeration there... but I dont plan to hold out for top dollar in this economy. Hubby on the other hand is expecting a bit more and unless one of us is swayed over to the others point of view I forsee stormy clouds heading our way. But like many storms I know we will eventually sail out the other end into blue skies and so on... (after he finally figures out that his brilliant, adorable, incredibly talented wife was right all along. hahaha) Just a bit of mild humor there... ahem!

College:

We tried our best to do everything we could to get Eileen ready for college. We went to summer orientation, read everything we could get our hands on, discussed meal plan options with her... supported her in her course choices... everything. We listened to her fears, cheered with her when her roommate called... stayed up with her when she couldnt sleep... but we forgot something kind of important.

We forgot to get ourselves ready for having a child go to college. We forgot to prepare ourselves for that long walk back to the car after leaving our firstborn in a strange environment. We didnt think about what that long drive home would be like, the sleepless nights wondering if she was sleeping well, staring at a plate of food wondering if she would like anything they served... looking at the carton of soy milk in the fridge and knowing that none of us would drink it and she wouldnt be here to do so. Its like a part of you has gone missing...

6th Grade:

I loved homeschooling Maddy. Sure there were days that we both ended up frustrated... but all in all it was a rewarding experience. The decision to put her back in public school was an incredibly hard one. We have overall had a wonderful experience. Ok so the whole getting up at quarter to 5 to catch a bus that got her to school 30 mins early was a bit of a headache... but over the past several weeks we have done what we could to make it all work for us. For the time being Miss Maddy is driven to school and home again. I dont have a job yet and this allows us some extra time in the morning to sleep in a bit, and not have to be on anyone elses timeframe except our own. (with the exception of course of being at school before the bell rings) She has an awesome advisor team... and her core teachers and I are feeling our way about... its kind of strange... but we will make it work.

Dah State coppah:

long story short... over due inspection sticker... drivers side window that was stuck... his little visit with me on the side of the road cost us 133.00 bucks which led directly to a new car. weird eh? See I tried to get the dang thing inspected and it was going to cost us 2300.00 bucks... there were so many things wrong with it. Now we are driving a toyota corolla and loving it.

Life in the country:

So many things different. Cant run to the store real quick anymore to grab something i forgot... its an hour round trip and thats if i dont get out of the car lmao. If we lose power... we lose water... and we lose the ability to flush the toilet, though our neighbors were so very helpful on this front. " take a bucket down to the lake and get water to flush the toilets" hahaha So now we have bottles of tap water under the sink in the bathroom for just such an occasion... we labled them "potty h2o". We get all of 5 channels on tv with the antenna... and on a sunday afternoon we get football, football, baseball, lawrence welk and one other station and i dont remember what they were playing. Its a bit like culture shock I guess... Wheres the green mountain coffee at the gas stations... Wheres the flipping food channel? ...what do you mean no pizza delivery?

There is so much more to tell you but I am drawing a blank... and i seriously do need to get something posted...

~Regi

Our Weekend...

Have you ever had one of those Starbuck's double shot energy drinks with guarana? I tried a mocha one today... boy howdy was that thing good. Unfortunately... too good... and I drank the whole thing, at 5:30, quarter t' 6. So now its 12:11 am... and I am *boing* wide awake with no signs of slowing down, actually my body is exhausted... its my brain that is wide awake. So... what do i do? Log onto my blog to let the world... well that teeny tiny part of the blog-o-verse that reads my blog know how our weekend went.

Saturday we went to lowes and got drywall to finish up the bathroom, and boy.. we had so much fun with that trip that 2 hours later we went back. That time we got ceiling tiles and mud (cause I forgot to mention to the dear hubby that I was almost out *smiles*) We worked on the bathroom trying to beat the storm when his parents showed up to drop off some stuff. Wish the visit could have been longer but we had so much to do and the sky was getting darker and darker. Luckily we were able to get almost all the drywall up before we had to wrap for the day. Electrical storms and powertools do not mix well =P.

Sunday we got up, packed stuff in the car and went to visit the new house. Its truly lovely! The owners are very very nice and seemed excited to meet us. We didnt get to meet their cat but their dog Lady who is 16 years old was very tolerant of our young pup and said pup actually behaved himself rather well ( I think he was only at half energy due to the length of the ride.... lol). She only barked at him at the end of the visit and we were told it was because she was jealous of all the attention "he" was receiving... so we made sure to give her even more lovens... she was so sweet it wasnt hard at all to do. *smiles*

The house is awesome... I know we will be very happy there and I just cant wait till we are all settled in our new home. Today was pretty much a trip up to sign the lease, show us gals the house, and we dropped off a few things for Paul as he will be staying up there this week as opposed to a hotel room. We made sure to take a table into the house first and we enjoyed our first meal there together. We also each took one thing for the house to kind of let it know what to expect from us *laughs* Paul took his chess set, Maddy, one of her favorite fairies, Leen took one of her buddhas, and I took one of my windchimes. I think the house likes us *wink*

Guess thats it for now, hope you all had a wonderful weekend...
~Regi

PS... think i am gonna fit in well in our new neighborhood ... she (the landladyess ) invited me to a class she was holding in her back yard tomorrow night... meditation with crystal bowls. Its amazing how the universe works isnt it? I so cant wait to move!!!!

Around and around we go...

Todays list of "things to do"

~shower
~pack
~sand the walls in bathroom from H E double toothpick
~take eldest to doc and see if I can convince her to do the meningitus (spelling?) shot today as opposed to taking her back a week from friday. This way i dont have to listen to her moan about a shot for 7+ days
~pack (yes i said this already... so? have you seen the amount of crap we have accumulated in 11 years lol)
~call and get electric switched into our names on new place
~research internet service in new home
~research phone carrier (we are going to need one as cell phone coverage is pretty terrible there)
~pack (did i mention that we are pack rats?)
~write a nasty note to hubby and suggest he come home and pack and I take a mini vacation
~call bank
~call around for a moving van
~call and make arrangements for Jasper to go to doggy camp this weekend
~return overdue library books
~grocery store
~hire a taxi so that when i go out tonight... after attempting all this stuff... i dont have to drive on the way home if you get what I mean.

ok so im kidding about the last one.


*smile*

Update on us...

We took lots of pictures of the house we looked at on Sunday but have decided pretty much we wont be taking it. The biggest reason we said no was heating that house would cost an arm and a leg and perhaps a torso or two. The pellet stove not only wasnt in yet... but they hadnt ordered it. So that would mean the house was heated entirely with propane and its one huge house. The fireplaces dont work at all and it was very ramblely... rambly... spread widely out... sheesh!

I fell in love with it though, it had so many period features. Beams to hang flowers and herbs to dry, cast iron bathtub, original pieces in the fireplace to hang pots on to swivel them into the fire... a iron box built into the hearth to bake bread... the history buff in me cried... "Mine... mine... all mine" *smiles* But, the mom inside me looked at how the house was laid out, the distance between the rooms, the various problems that still hadnt been fixed and put her heels into the ground and said no way! So I listened to the mom in me. *cries*

We have 3 other houses we are in contact with owners about... Paul is looking at one on friday before he heads home. So I am keeping my fingers crossed and I know that the right place will come along eventually.

The bathroom is coming along slowly but surely now. Packing is progressing ... the list of things we want to do to the house is shortening every day... so things are moving on that front.

Eileen has finally gotten to talk to her roommate at college, which has set her mind to rest on that front. She has put in notice at her job ... and she is engaged.

Yes.. eileen, at the ripe old age of 18 is engaged.. her young man spoke to Paul and I before he asked her, assured us that they were definitely waiting till after college graduation to get married, but that he was joining the national guard and wanted to make a commitment to her before he made the commitment to them. She is happy, looks at us as if we are insane if we even mention waiting till after grad to get married... "of course we will mom... sheesh!" so things are ok... but scarey on that front. Not sure I am ready for my child to be engaged, I really wanted both my girls to get out there and taste life a bit before settling down, and I am worried too about Shaun and being in the national guard. He however feels strongly that this is something he needs to do. Not only to help the two of them financially... but to be there in support of our country. I know my father would like this kid... Wish he and mom were around, they would be so tickled with all their grandkids.

Maddy says she is excited about going back to public school... but I feel sad about it. I seriously enjoyed homeschooling her, and feel its a wonderful option in todays world. I have struggled with this decision for some time now... but we are going to give it a try. We have heard wonderful things about this school, it will give her a chance to meet kids in this new place we are moving to where we know no one. It will remind her what public school was all about... and if for any reason it doesnt work... we know homeschooling works for us. Hopefully this time we can find a support group we feel more comfortable in. The old one was nice but we just never clicked. Maddy herself has already requested that we continue studying things on our own... she really liked the whole child led education, we spent a heck of a lot of time on colonial new england and the revolution... not because I wanted to... but because she was absolutely fascinated with it. Anyways... as soon as we know for sure we are moving into the district I will call and make an appointment for a tour and any testing they might need to perform.

Maddy's first day of school will be Aug 27 (paul and my 20th anniversary) and Eileens first day of college is Aug 29th.

Paul is still loving his new job... the company puts him up during the week in a hotel so he has a lot less commuting to do... but its still a long haul for him, and we definitely miss him being home during the week. I cant wait till we are all living in the same space again.

Guess thats all from this front...

~Regi

Harried days and the long commute.

Cell phone~ white screen of death, fixed by tech department at verizon

Disposal~ refuses to grind up food or even rotate, replaced

Dishwasher~ refuses to drain ( directly related to new disposal put in over the weekend ) waiting on hubby to return from winthrop area... take out new disposal and pop out plug that is *supposed* to be popped out if you have a dishwasher feeding into disposal. With the plug the water cant drain. *sigh*

Loss of internet~ chooses weird times to just not work... and then is working fine 20minutes later

loss of phone~ someone unplugged the cord that goes from the answering machine to the wall... I kind of enjoyed the lack of constant ringing *smiles*

Check coolant light on car dashboard~ checked coolant... level is fine, sometimes the thing is on... sometimes the thing is off. I am ignoring it in hopes that it will just eventually go away.

Outside faucet (of course the one on the second meter for use on lawn and pool) wont shut off so every time we water i have to turn it off inside the house at the meter using the shut off valve.

wii wont connect to the internet~ probably related to the on again off again internet access.

I am afraid to even wonder what will go belly up next.

On a different note... hubby seems to be really enjoying his new job. The commute is really a lot to handle though ... especially on extremely busy days so he is staying up in winthrop area this week and will be home either tomorrow or friday after work. Once we can trade in his old car for a more fuel efficient one perhaps on less stressful days he can sleep here and commute... but right now they are smack dab in the middle of end of month/end of quarter for one of their biggest customers so its kind of crazy there.

I cant wait till we can get ourselves up there and in our new place. Havent found it yet... heck havent listed this house yet... waiting on this dang bathroom. Soon as its done or even at the stage where the walls are up but need mudding and painting we can list it. But with it not even close to being done we are in a holding pattern. Hopefully hubby can get the subfloor in this weekend. If things werent so expensive i would hire it out... but we just cant manage that right now.

Things are looking up for us... I just keep telling myself that we have to be patient a bit longer.

*blink blink*

Teengirl has graduated, done her project grad thing... the big family grad party is this weekend... I hope i survive it.

Hubby got the job in Winthrop... omg... hubby got the job in Winthrop... omg. *smiles*

hubby got the job....

so we have to get the house ready to sell, Sell the sucker... find a new place to live, get caught up on the stuff that tends to fall in the wayside when you arent working... find him a car that doesnt guzzle gas... has airconditioning or at least windows that work right... and is road worthy (always a good thing) ...

omg hubby got the job in Winthrop...

The weekend of the 21st we have orientation at Leen's new school... she is going to be staying in a dorm... hubby and I will stay in a hotel, Maddy will be with her Mimi Linda.... and Jazzy is (hopefully) going to go stay at the kennels he has been to before where the doggies get to play in a yard all day long with other doggies... he loves it there so very much. They fit dogs that match in temperament... and have two different doggy yards. They sleep in individual large doggy crates at night with blankies they bring from home and their special toy. He will come home exhausted but in a very good way.

omg hubby got the job... WOOT!

Soaps are doing fine... I need to take teengirl to the fabric shop to get the stuff for her quilt... She wants a log cabin like maddys... but she gets to pick out the colors herself. Heck if i get good enough at this everyone will be getting some kind of quilted thingy for holidays... (just gotta get the quilting part of it figured out...)

Guess thats all for now...

~Regi