Whew! Where have I been?!

 

Whew is right, so for the past couple weeks I haven't had internet and it really sucks to try to "blog" on a cell phone, so there haven't been any updates on life here at the new homestead. 

I set up a schedule of sorts so 3 or 4 days out of the week I head out to do errands, going to the gym a couple days a week, laundry, groceries, the dump, I now have to pick up the mail at the post office , its all good each one of these places has people ! People are good, say Hello, how are you? Every contact helps me.

So for some reason the guy who lived here for 20 years before me must have got a big deal on green paint ( which reminds me of when my Dad got a deal on green paint at an auction and anytime I wanted something painted it would end up green even though I might have asked for blue) Anyhow to brighten things up I painted the ceiling this past week , just with a brush since I didn't want to deal with a roller and its only temporary anyhow.

It looks lots brighter and I will paint the rest of the walls too. Its helping actually living in the space, versus the camper so I can get a feel for what I like and what needs to change ( other that appearances and taking down a couple walls.

The critters are finally settling in , Montgomery has decided he can deal with being on the run I made him, Whiskey hangs out with me all the time, the cats lay where ever they feel like it, at night everyone is with me and usually I have a dog and 2 cats in bed with me which is saying something since its a  narrow foam mattress, luckily I'm short so there is room at the base!

My only problem really so far is this little guy! My house was build originally as a 3 car garage, the guy I bought it from converted 1 1/2 stalls of the garages into an "apartment".  The chickens are in the 1/2 in the middle which nicely for them they have big garage door windows for light! I have led lights on a night to keep the front yard lit up and my little rooster started crowing at 2am....oh and my bedroom is on the other side right next to them.....finally I decided to put a tarp over the windows at night and it seems to have helped.  I was sick for a few days last week caught some flu bug, chills, cough, fever being sick when you're alone sucks, but for the 20 years I was married to Anders so much of it he was gone, so I kinda got used to having to take care of myself. I admit it did make me miss him even more though because it just reminded me of the fact that yep I'm alone BUT with one message to my wonderful daughter , she delivered me my favorite "sick" foods and some meds which showed me no way , you'll never be truly alone , help is just a message or phone call away. Heck my son in Germany asked me if I needed anything when he and his wife called me and I asked him" what are you going to deliver me fudgicles?" and he said " well no, but I'll call Melissa and tell her to" LOL I do have the best kids all four of them <3 

Anyhow, for the past 12 days mainly I do my chores, bringing in firewood, keeping the fire going in the wood stove, run errands, chat with friends, work on organizing the garage into storage stuff, workshop stuff, stuff to trash and stuff that will eventually need to go into the house once its finished,  Yesterday I finally got internet, after all the bad stuff people say about consolidated communications the guy came and spent all day working on the lines in front of the house to get me internet, he says this coming summer they are running fiber so its only going to get better, so happy about that since I really didn't want to spend the bucks on starlink. 

I finished up my house plans yesterday. I have lots of ideas for some of the funky windows that are already here. As soon as spring comes I'm going to take my handy battery operated reciprocating saw and cut down all the little trees and shrubs around the side yard and out back, and put up a fence for montgomery and the chickens, get a chicken coop up and then move the camper up here and start demo. 

Also worked out the final details for Anders and his final wishes, I have a plan, starting at league in June....

more later.....

I begin ....

 

The move has been made I am now peacefully living in a tiny little spot on my new property and you know what? I love it..:) I debated posting this picture because some people just don't see it or think I'm crazy or heaven forbid feel badly for me. But you know? I'm happy :)

So when I looked at this property I told you all about the converted 3 car garage. I was thinking I would be building a new little home elsewhere on the property.  Once here, why build? The spot is already here. I moved into the tiny space  and have been scrubbing 20 years of soot off the walls etc.  Its heated with a HUGE wood stove and gets morning sunshine and its so warm and cozy.  Donna! You bought a camper why aren't you living in it? Well after moving in here and having the dogs and cats stressed and then finally adjusting I thought why have them go through it again? I'm warm , they are warm , if I bring the camper up then they have to get used it again and I'll loose the front yard where I put a run for Montgomery until I can put up a dog fence in the spring, So Melissa and Kyle sacrificed their view and said Okay you can leave the camper here until spring. Then we will move into the camper , I'll put up the dog fence and we were start ripping apart the inside of the building. Soon I'll be drawing up some plans, I like the quirkyness of it with the little stained glass bits here and there and the odd and different shaped windows! Any of them that are double paned will probably stay.

So my son in law got my water running ( if you recall someone had come in while the building was vacant and cut out a bunch of copper piping.......) Currently without hot water but I've got a woodstove and a microwave so heat water when I need it. all is good!

I love the chores of day to day living, I get up , dressed in cozy warm clothes and let the dogs out, bring in a load of firewood into the greenhouse which is a great entry way!  I sweep up the floors and feed the chickens, dogs and cats, then after getting the fire going again I sit and drink my coffee .  On nice days I then take the boys for a short walk since whiskey can't handle a long one. My old boy . I don't have internet yet but hoping to soon but I do have cell service which is amazing! 

My chickens are living in the center section of the building and behind those windows is my bedroom...LOL if you note coffee my rooster is parked right in front so at 3:00am he lets me know he's there....LOL and then at 4:00 and 5:00, somehow I'm starting to get used to it and fall right back asleep! I love having them attached to the house but I think they need there own space in the spring !

I love the views from the windows, and yes I have my lawn furniture right now as I left everything else plus it wouldn't fit in here!  You know this has really made me think of all the stuff we all collect ...and why? Why do we need so much stuff? I'm currently sitting in the laundry mat and actually enjoying sitting here at a table by the window watching people go by and I'm thinking why not? I may not even get a washer and dryer safe space and since I'm alone now I get to come here and talk to the people in the laundry mat...:) Or on a nice day go out for a walk while I'm waiting. I'm for sure not getting a dishwasher. Simple I want my life to be simple, I want to have to move my body to do things and not take the easy way out.  I'm almost smiling sitting here because I'm so glad this has finally happened and I'm so happy.

I've been enjoying going to the girls basketball games and the other day I popped a tire and walked home from the garage a couple miles, it was great...:) Not popping the tire but walking. 

So thats my latest update, I just realized I forgot to eat breakfast, I think I need some food!

later gators

Tomorrow starts a new beginning

 

Whew, so tomorrow I will sign away my house, it will be bittersweet for sure, Anders and I talked so often about how perfect it is here, the beautiful sunsets and sunrises, the gardens, the cozy house that keeps cool in the summer and warm in the winter, I loved building the barn shown in the picture , making the overhangs, wood rack etc but indeed I have run out of projects and I do love projects, the lawn is way too big for me to want to spend all my exercise time on mowing. So I'm so happy the people who will be living here soon are just as excited about it as we were. Anders would be/is so happy about that too. 

We got a big storm a couple days ago so many people lost power, so much damage from crazy winds, thankfully held strong here in Eden at 1100' did get 6.5" of heavy snow though with rain after ...yuck.  One thing, I'm happy to be leaving the snow belt.

Yes indeed everything I own is packed, in order to find something to eat I have to dig through a box ! ha!  So tomorrow I go to the closing on the Eden house, then come home for a bit and load up the car with stuff from the garage, then I go to the closing on the land, I'll run a few errands in morrisville than head to the land with my first load, set up the space for the chickens and hang up some LED lights around the "Cabin" . Saturday will be spent bringing the rest of the stuff from the garage If I still have daylight I'll load up more from the house. Amazing what fits in my "fit" !

Sunday my daughter and son in law will meet me at the UHAUL and we will load up the truck and bring it to Johnson where I will reside! Unload a couple things that I need help carrying like the couch , Monday a couple great friends are coming to help unload the rest of the truck * insert huge heart for family and friends!

Will unload everything into the garage and I'll bring what fits into the cabin knowing everything else is right down the hall in the garage..:)  I'm not even worried about the campers arrival as I have a warm place to live until it arrives. 

My Kitties are enjoying all the stuff which is stuffed into corners, lots of cozy blankets to lay on or hide under! They will get loaded up with the dogs after we get here with the UHAUL so that we don't loose anyone outside in the loading process. I'm sure we will all take a bit to adjust to our new surroundings, the dogs and I can take walks although whiskeys age is taking a toll so will take short walks with the dogs and long. walks with just me LOL 

I am bringing a couple cans of paint to cover the ...walls to cheer the place up and I believe I have in my mind a spot I can put my plants, rugs on the floors etc I'll do my best to fix up the cabin without spending any more money on it since its not my permanent home.  I'll show you before and afters once I have the afters done ! 

I'm feeling pretty excited now that I have the closing statement from the lawyer and the closing time and date all set.  Now I want the weather to cooperate on moving day! Then will let the guy whose trucking the camper  decide when he is ready to move it and coordinate with my son in law to help level it. Then it will be the experiment using all the tips I have learned from my full time camper living group to keep it warm enough for me. Now keep in mind I like things on the cooler side so I have in my mind day time in the cabin and nighttime in the camper but who knows I am looking forward to it all.  I need to find a spot for the desk Anders Dad made to put my sewing machine on so I can keep up with my business , again I think I have an idea but will see when I get there! 

So off I go to check off my list of things to do today ! clean the fridge! 

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring, thanks for your thoughts and prayers!

Donna Mae

The Countdown begins!

 

So yesterday I took apart the last lego set that needed to get packed, yes I have lego of my own, some people like crossword puzzles, some jig saw puzzles some ...oh heck I love them all! 3187 pieces packed and ready to go! I plan to have a lego wall in my tiny house, priorities you know! ( photo shows a 1/3 of the set maybe....

So I made myself a list of things I need to do starting Tuesday this week. I get two days to relax before the crazy starts. Course today will be shoving since last night I got 5" of new snow. ( side note, its weird to say I instead of We...)

Tuesday - Gym day which I am finally feeling good about going back, then I'll stop in at UHAUL to get the run down on procedure of pick up on Sunday , Go to agway to grab a couple bales of shavings and hay for the goats and chickens, see if they have water storage tanks since I might like a couple more. Got to pick up new windshield wipers for my little car since one is falling apart, and stop at the post office to see if they found a missing package.   

Wednesday will be a day of cleaning up the rooms that are already empty. 

Thursday I'll clean the fridge, stove and bathrooms bring Izzy her birthday present and my new mattress to the camper ( its rolled up memory foam.). 

Friday will be a roller coaster day - closing on this house at 9:00 In Jeffersonville, then I'll come back home and stuff all I can in my car from the garage, then closing for the land at 2:00 in Morrisville, after which I'll bring the first load of stuff to the land and hang up some Christmas lights outside .  If I have time before dark I'm going to move some firewood that is in the way for the camper and bring it inside for when I start using the wood stove.

Saturday - I'm going to bring all the stuff thats in the garage, might be three carloads and in between, I'll set up the space for the chickens ( hang their nesting boxes, roosts then bring them over they will be the first ones to spend a night there!) I might clean the chimney that day although there is no rush as the little space is nice and cozy with just the space heater running.

Sunday will be pack up the house day with the help of my daughter and son in law, I believe everything will fit in the truck then I'll put the dogs and cats ( In crates) in my car and leave my house here in Eden for the last time. I totally expect there to be tears heck I cried when we moved from all our houses so its normal for me! But yes this time will be different, although I'm happy with the fact I know Anders spirit isn't in this house , he floats free somewhere out there on the great lakes this I know.  So I'll spend my first night in the cabin Sunday night. The hardest part will be the dogs, since Montgomery has no loyalty to me and has no recall, yes my fault maybe we will work on that.  I'll be getting lots of outside time I expect ..:) 

Monday I have two wonderful friends coming over to help unpack the Uhaul and then I shall take them out to lunch <3 meanwhile the kitties are enjoying all the piles of stuff to be kittys and sleep on...:)

The camper, I told Ryan that I don't want it until I get the UHAUL moved and then I need him to coordinate with my son in law to be there to help level it. Once there I'll use the tips I got from my friends on getting the propane flowing and use the propane furnace to warm up the camper and the electric space heaters, I'm not sure if I'm going to skirt the camper after all as I'm sick of spending money on it! I've got lots of insulation on the floor now and if its really cold out I'll just go sleep on the couch in the cabin with the wood stove. :) All is good! 

So a busy week ahead but for now its time to watch Star Wars New Hope and then I'll go shovel the snow that is still coming down, go feed my goats and chickens, ( side note: can't wait until my chickens coop is actually attached to my living space, well except for coffee my rooster.....lol I'll be able to visit them all the time!  

Thanks for reading, thanks for caring :) 

Serenity Now

      Whew, its been a crazy week, phone calls, real estate addendums, people wanting this, wanting that, pay this pay that.  

     Today I went to the town office to get a copy of Anders Death Certificate , yes, I cried but its okay just seeing it in print it kinda cuts like a knife is all, I needed it for the lawyer evidently the buyers bank wanted it since of course the house was in both our names .  So after I got it and dropped it off at the lawyers, I went to the local propane company to see if I could schedule them to install a 100 lb tank on my camper once I move it....Nope sorry we don't do that.....ahhh yes, so I went to tractor supply and got another space heater and another small 20lb tank, alls it will run now is the propane stove and I'll probably run the furnace to keep the camper up to temperature than shut it off. 

     The electrician came to the cabin yesterday and checked the electric and said all looks good and I won't have to worry about blowing fuses, He installed a new 30amp outlet for me to plug the camper into so I can run all the space heaters I need when its really cold. I was please to find an outlet in the area I'm going to put the chickens so I will have a place to plug in their heated water dish, and a light in there too!  The cabin was cozy warm with just the small electric space heater so thinking its insulated better than we thought, not that I want to live in there permanently but will be spending a few nights on the couch in there as I decided its going to be easier to move in with out the camper in the way of the moving van.  I sent the electrician a copy of my little house to give me an estimate.

     Today I started calling to get services switched over and then my daughter mentioned she didn't think there was a mailbox on the property so I checked an no there isn't, so I went to go get a post office box , course when they assigned my number she mentioned that it was a least a foot of the floor in the post office since the post office has flooded twice just this year once 7 feet I told her that if I knew it was going to rain heavy I'd be sure to come get my mail LOL also eventually I'll put up a mailbox at the house but will wait until the site work is done maybe even the house. I got the electric service scheduled to be switched and when I went to switch the internet...they told me I probably wouldn't be happy with it where I'm going because for some reason in that town its 2/3 slower than here...so I checked another provider, nope can't get it, then another one, nope, so had to go with Starlink...which is why I went to get my post office box since I need a place to mail it too since who knows when it will get mailed...

     I went to the camper and installed the new propane tank and low and behold I went to light the stove and no gas was coming in...ugh ...so went to my facebook winter camping group and they gave me some tips on how to fix that problem so I'll try Monday since I just want to stay home tomorrow...LOL  

     I came home , unloaded the car, fed ex came with the new mattress for the camper then I decided to take a hot shower and get comfy which I did, sweat pants, Anders viking kitty t shirt and his flannel shirt.  now I'm watching starwars in time line order...:) best movies ever...

    Monday I start switching all my addresses on everything I can remember.....Oh I got all the times for the closing, so before I go to the last one for my land I'll load up the car with as much stuff as I can fit with stuff from the garage as that needs to go in first. then I'll go look at that view again, oh how Anders would love this view.... 

A New Year

 

     Its been a busy week ,  I've packed up a bunch more stuff. The Realtors on both places have been sending me messages, things I need to do , contact utility companies , insurance etc etc. Still haven't got the low down from the lawyer yet though on the closing date and time confirmation so I haven't ordered the U haul yet.  But time is ticking ! I've got a bunch of ideas on things I want to try to get done outside before the ground freezes up or we get a ton of snow. Number one steps up to the camper with a platform that I can put my grass rug on to wipe my feet on, a dog fence which means I'll have to pound a few posts into the ground anywhere the trees aren't close enough, LED white Christmas lights all around the house to light it up some so people know someone is living there and makes it easier for me to bring the dogs out IF I can't get the dog fence up in time. All these things I am looking forward to doing! I remember putting up fencing when Anders and I moved here, because when we moved here he shortly went back to work! I remember my neighbor joking about how he would be out on his deck drinking a beer and watching me driving in fence posts and putting up fencing. I am NOT afraid of hard work.

These are photos from when we moved here, this is the dining room/kitchen, it was the same in the Living room and master bedroom! I remember the day after we moved in was the superbowl and I stayed up late that night cleaning an isle in the livingroom so Anders could watch the superbowl on TV. While he did that I unpacked the kitchen.

Now I don't even have enough boxes to fill ONE room! I have decluttered and simplified so very much! Keeping whats important feels great and it gives me more room for new memories.

     So its a new year I admit this morning I made a mistake and watched a video that Anders made , I don't know if you've ever lost anyone Your Mother, Father, Spouse and you say..."oh if I could only hear their voice again....." Well so I watched this...

Anders heading up "exclamationpoint alley"  ( which has a story of its own on why I called it that)  hearing his voice for sure sent me into a direction I have worked so hard to avoid but I know thats all part of the process. It made me so proud to watch the video though as he loved his job so much and was so very good at it. 730' ship for anyone who doesn't know, we all teased him about the stories he ALWAYS told about it, but you know I would give anything now to hear "the football story" course I think i have most of them memorized .  BUT I'm not going to let this get me down, yes I am allowed some tears but later I'm going to get my warm coat on and go out for a walk and get some fresh air. Clear my head and start taking apart my last lego set "mos eisley"  I can't wait for my Granddaughters and I to rebuild them again on the front porch of my new little house. 

So yes the New Year and 2 weeks to go til I move and begin my new life , the best part is the process of beginning that new life will be doing the things I love to do, spending time outdoors, and using tools to build things!