The House is ALMOST Empty - Sunday - February 26, 2012

Nancy and I just got home from delivering furniture to our daughter’s house in Raleigh, NC.  We were thrilled that they wanted and could use quite a bit of our furniture.

Early Friday morning, we rented a 16 foot Penske truck.

With the help of our friend, Bill Jordan,

we had it loaded and ready to go by 9:30am.  

It was loaded with four beds and mattress sets,

a complete living room set, a computer desk,

 a loveseat and lots of large family photos.

We lucked out with the weather.  We managed to get the truck loaded before a major rain and wind storm arrived.  We seemed to out run the storm as we headed north. 

On our way, we made a quick visit to check up on Gin and Syl.  They are camping in the their driveway while they wait to get their house sold.  It is always good to see them, even if it is just a quick visit.  By the way, TAWANDA really takes up a good bit of space in their driveway ;o)) We hope it won’t be long before they will be on the road again!!

We arrived at Julie’s just before dinner time.  We decided to chill Friday evening, give my back a rest and just enjoy time with the grandchildren. 

Early Saturday morning, we began the big switch.  Some of the furniture in the house was carried to the neighbors, some was being donated to a shelter and some was just going to the dump.  Once it was all out of the house, the new things were moved in.

The weather was very cold and windy

so the most important job went to Samantha!!   

She was the designated Door Girl ;o)))   

What a great job she did!!!

By noon, all the furniture was moved in. 

Computer Desk and Sofa look great :o))

Good thing Nancy and Julie like the same colors. 

The gliders and tables look fantastic!!

Emily and Samantha have new beds in their room!!

Daniel now has a set of Mates Beds with lots of drawers

to store all of his Legos!!!

Everyone was thrilled with the new furniture and we were thrilled that we could help them out.   It really was a big help to us as we didn’t have to figure out how to sell and get rid of more “stuff” ;o))

When we got home today,

we laughed about our spacious house.

We now have one chair (to go to Nancy’s mother)

in our living-room along with a TV table and a borrowed lamp!!

The dining-room is the collection point

for the garage sale stuff.

The guest bedroom is EMPTY :o)))

The Guest Bathroom looks quite sterile

since we sold all the tropical décor things ;o((

The treadmill is gone and the bonus room is empty ;o))

The grandchildren’s bedroom is the staging area

 for the things that will be going with us.

It is getting close to time to get our new Winnebago Motorhome.  We are really getting excited.  But we still have many things to take care of such as: Cobra medical insurance, getting our taxes done, rolling over Nancy’s 401K, closing out accounts on our sticks and bricks, getting insurance lined up for the motorhome and a lot of other details.  But it is all GOOD!!!  We will get it done one step at a time. 

Yes, we are on our way:o)))

First Week of RETIREMENT - Sunday - February 19, 2012

Nancy here:

Well, I thought it was time to let everyone know that we are doing great.  I’ve been retired one week today!!  Bill and I are still friends and getting things ready to make our dreams come true!!

Bill’s back is improving, but he is still being very careful.  We have started walking again, but at a more ‘Retired’ pace.  That will change in a couple more weeks, he isn’t going to get away with acting retired;o))

Speaking of acting retired…  One view I had of retired people is they seem to spend a great deal of their time at the doctor’s offices.  One reason we workout daily and eat healthy is to avoid that activity -- Doctor’s visits.  Well, what in the world did I do the first three days I was retired???

Day one, annual physical…

Day two, lab work…

Day three, eye doctor checkup… 

Guess I really am retired ;o)))  Good news is  everything checked out OK and I am good to go for another year…WOO HOO!!!

 

The rest of this first week was spent making and moving piles.  This coming weekend, we will take the bulk of the remaining furniture to our daughter in Raleigh.  When we get back, we will be basically camping in our own home.  House is getting VERY empty :o))))


The motorhome is still on schedule for a March delivery.  Bill was told to call on the 21st to get a more firm date.  So, it is all falling into place.  We are doing great and just so excited!! 

Thanks to everyone for all the good wishes!!!!

Can’t wait to see everyone

“Down The Road!!”

OH...... 

I 

REALLY,

REALLY,

REALLY 

LOVE  

RETIREMENT!!!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly - Friday - January 10, 2012

No, this is not a Clint Eastwood movie!! 

This is a Bill and Nancy Craigslist Adventure;o))

This past week the new owners of our house brought some of their friends over to see the home and they ended up buying a good bit of furniture and décor from us…WOW!! We were not expecting that!!!

After that, Nancy posted several of the remaining household items on Craigslist.  She had listed our Nordic Track Commercial  treadmill, the dining room table and chairs, a cedar chest, our tropical fish décor bathroom ensemble and my model ships. Ok, that’s the GOOD:o))

In short order, a guy who just moved here from Nebraska called and wanted the treadmill…Great!!  He showed up by himself with a 21 foot Ryder truck and the cash to buy the treadmill. I had already disassembled the treadmill and only the base remained upstairs in the bonus room.  We decided that if he got on the bottom and I guided the top, we could somehow slide the 200lb base down the carpeted stairs and make two turns with it???  Well, we got it to the first landing, no problem!!  Yeah, here comes the BAD!!  As we turned it to continue down the next section of stairs, the treadmill took off on its own…  It slid down, pushing the “Cornhusker” right off his feet and damaging the walls, the banister, the carpet and the woodwork.  Fortunately, he was not hurt!!!

Now for the UGLY…  I tried to hang on to the runaway treadmill and down I went with a wrenched back:o((  Should have listened to that little voice that kept telling me this was not a good idea!!

The treadmill broke internally and was now worthless.  The buyer did help us get it to the living room. Nancy and I spent the rest of the morning taking it apart to its bare bones so we can get it to the recycling center ;o((

We moved the broken parts to the front porch!

But all was not lost… Later in the day we did sell the dining room table and chairs, the cedar chest and we have people coming tomorrow to look at some other items. 

I, on the other hand, am applying ice and heat, can hardly move and still have to fix all the damage…but not today!!!

It only hurts when I move;o((

But soon I’ll be good as new…

You know they say you heal best when you sleep!!

Hey,

a guys gotta do...

what a guys gotta do!!

Super Sunday - Sunday - February 5, 2012

Nancy here:
Well, it has become clear to me that getting our Florida trip blogs caught up is NOT going to happen just now.  They are written, (thanks Bill), but I have not had time to add the pictures and type them into blogger.  They will just have to wait until I finish working and we get the house cleaned out and our new home established:o))  So I will try to stay up with what is going on right now.  Hey, I am already 3 days late ;o))


Today is Super Bowl Sunday and unlike most people, the Superbowl doesn’t really play any significant role in what we do.  We have been home less than a week from our Florida Vacation.  What have we done??  Plenty!!

Nancy has turned in her two week notice to Home Depot and her last workday is Feb 12th.  That means her freedom begins on Feb 13th… there’s that number again;o)) We have filed for her Social Security and we’re told it will start in February with the first check arriving in March!!!

I have been busy ‘emptying’ the house.  The things on the walls have been removed, the holes have been patched and painted.  Our STUFF has been separated into categories:  Keep, Give Away to family and friends, Sell, Donate, Trash or Leave for buyers. 

Anyone want a great treadmill ;o))

We got it listed on Craigslist!!

It just won’t fit in the Motorhome ;o((

We have emptied the grandkids room. The captains beds are going to our daughter's house.  Our grandson, Daniel, has thousands of legos which will fit nicely in the underbed drawers!! We are putting the “Keep” things in this room.  We haven’t even started on the kitchen, bedroom or closet yet;o((  Neither one of us are collectors, so I’m sure Nancy will find a permanent place for most of this stuff.

We have already given away some furniture to family and friends.  Still have more of that to go.  We will be renting a truck to take a large amount of furniture to our daughter in Raleigh.  With four children, she can use the beds and livingroom furniture!!  It will replace the things we gave her 12 years ago when we went on our Race Around America;o))))

Beds are broken down and ready to go!!

We are still sitting on the living-room furniture, occasionally!!

I took some boxes of dishes/glasses, a game table and LP/tape to CD converter to our son’s in-laws.  They have graciously agreed to deliver the goods to Brian and Chris…THANKS!!

The new owners came yesterday.  They wanted to store some things in the garage until we are gone…No Problem!! They are really nice people and they actually bought some of our stuff while they were here.

We have their purchases stored in the kitchen nook.

We told them we were going to Craigslist some things and have a yard sale to get rid of the rest.  Let me tell you, we waited a long time to get a buyer, but these people are the best.  They said whatever we can’t get rid of to just “leave it” and they would either use it or dispose of it!!  Also, they know we are waiting on delivery of our motorhome and told us if we need to stay in the house longer than 2 months… it is NOT a problem!!!!!  That really takes the pressure off, but there is still much to be done.



We do have piles of “sell” stuff.  Nancy will be adding the dining room set, along with a few other items to Craigslist on Friday when she is not working.

Lots and lots of photos, artwork and frames to sell.

Television has been put on Craigslist.

I have made two trips to the recycle center with crap I finally decided to get rid of from the garage.  I know, I know – it’s about time!!

So, we have been super busy on Super Bowl Sunday.  I just finished packing another box and it’s 5 o’clock.  Nancy will be home from work in a few minutes in time for dinner.  I do intend to watch the Super Bowl. Well – at least the first half ;o))  Both of us will be in bed early.  We’ve been working hard and Nancy has to work early tomorrow.

I hope the Panthers win!!  Oh, they’re not in the Super Bowl?!?!  It’s the Giants vs. the Patriots….then it doesn’t matter who wins ;o)) Oh well, it’s still a Super Sunday!!