The Music Quest

When we made this last move (two years ago), we did not sort through anything before the movers packed up our stuff. So on this end, we sorted through e v e r y t h i n g before it got put away. We threw a ton of stuff away, gave some things to our kids and a lot to charity. We even had a curb-side yard sale. For that we put some bigger things on the front lawn with a price tag on them. We had an old rug, some old lawn chairs, some giant speakers, coffee table and end table, twin size mattress set. I think we made around $200 from all that stuff.

The last thing we needed to tackle in our sort-through-everything-goal was to go through all of our cassette tapes. We had some pre-recorded cassettes, but most were recorded from vinyl records. We had 150 different albums on those cassettes. So, for the last year, we have been listening to these cassettes in the car on road trips. Some of the tapes made us laugh out loud because the music was horrid. Some brought back sweet memories. There was awful early 80s Christian music, great early 80s Christian music, Burl Ives singing cheesy children's songs, Bill Cosby, Olivia Newton John (yikes), all sorts of types of music. After listening to a tape, we would vote on if we liked it or not. Hubby made a list. Well, a spread sheet, actually, because if you knew Hubby, a spread sheet would be the logical thing to do.

Last road trip, we finished (!) listening to those tapes! So about two weeks ago, armed with his Spread Sheet, Hubby spent one Sunday afternoon on Amazon and ordered 40-some CDs of the albums we liked. He wasn't able to find all of them. The prices ranged from 19 cents to $150. (He didn't pay $150 for any, by the way)  Later that week I found this in the front door that the mailman had left:

And that was only half of them. I don't think the mailman liked us very much that week.

House Pictures -- 1

I know, I know, I've been saying I'm going to post pictures of our new house. I think trying to post all of them at once seemed a little overwhelming. So I think I will post a room (or two) at a time. How does that sound?

Let's start with move in day last June...

 

Here's the front porch after Hubby painted the front door and the porch.

 Picture it all covered in snow. Ugh.

Yeah, like that.

Here's a view from the front door:

Another shot of the Entry Way area:

I just love the columns looking into the Kitchen and Dining Room. And the word "Welcome" over the archway is a nice touch put there by the previous owners.

The Living Room:

 Please note that there are actual window treatments, otherwise known as curtains, on the windows! (We lived in our previous home for nine years and I only had window treatments in two rooms.)

 A view from the Living Room towards the Entryway. The front door is on the right.

The sofa table right inside the front door.

 Closer views of the bookcases in the Living Room. (We bought the bookcases in Malaysia.)

 

What's Been Going On...

Outside my window... a corn field! I am really enjoying the view and the sunsets from the four season porch in our new house. (The other houses were way too close in our former neighborhood.)

I am thinking... a warm chocolate chip cookie sounds good. I cheated and bought some pre-made cookie dough. I hope it's as good baked as it is un-baked. ;)

I am thankful for... music. I listened to an awesome CD when I was on the road today. Kari Jobe. Good, good stuff to praise God with.

I am wearing... a new red top and khaki capris. I look like a Target employee. (And I even went shopping at Target today and no one asked be where to find something!)


I am going... on a cruise with my hubby of almost 26 years!

I am currently reading... So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore. Well, I'm reading that when I feel like I can concentrate, which hasn't been very often lately.

I am hoping... I can get back in the swing of writing blog posts. I miss it. I just need to not think about the next box that needs to be unpacked and blog more. The boxes aren't going anywhere.

On my mind... how I want to set up this new house. I have a lot of nic-nacs to find a home for. I just may have to invite my friend who is an interior designer for a visit...

Noticing that... I have a lot of conversations with complete strangers...at the grocery store, car repair shop, etc. It's kind of weird to not know anyone around here.

Pondering these words... Zephaniah 3:17 "The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing."
I try to figure out what it looks like to have God sing over me. The picture that came to mind today was one of me holding my babies and singing to them. I remember the tenderness and love I felt for them, how it calmed them down. (One of my favorites to sing to them was Amazing Grace. To this day, they both know all the words to that hymn.) So I am trying to grasp that the God Almighty sings like that to me. Whoa. (Or "wow" to quote our favorite preacher.)
 
From the kitchen... cupboards that are really close to being organized. The latest big project was to sort through all the plastic-ware. That was quite a job. Here's the before and after: (I'm quite proud of myself.)

 I think I got rid of more than half of what I had.

Around the house... fewer boxes, but still a lot to go through.


One of my favorite things... spending time with my husband. After four months of mostly living apart, it is wonderful to see him everyday.

From my picture journal...a hamburger from a local restaurant in our new town. Yes, that's a fried egg on it, along with some bacon. It was...okay. My hubby and I split one and that was plenty.

Blog?

I actually keep forgetting I have a blog....

It's gotta be because of:

1. My laptop is under the care of the Geek doctors. Sad. Sad. Sad. I need to call those Geeks and find out what's up. I miss my baby.

2. I have been up to my armpits in boxes.

Nothing like coming out of the bedroom in the morning to the faint smell of cardboard. Ugh.

Yesterday some friends from our former town came and helped unpack several boxes. That was a HUGE help. And it was wonderful to see someone I actually know.

I have been feeling pretty good about getting rid of things. I purged my closet the other day and had quite a pile of clothes to get rid of. I've been sorting through kitchen items as well. I'm trying to keep in mind if I haven't used it or worn it for years, I probably won't. Next pile to tackle is all the plastic-ware. Yikes. I seriously had a problem a few years ago. :) I'll keep the necessaries and give away the rest. Well, the ones that look good enough to give away. We learned many years ago that the things we "donate" to whatever charity or thrift store needs to actually be usable and in good condition. I have a set of dishes that I am getting rid off and I sorted through and threw away the plates and bowls that were chipped and cracked.

So, this has been my life....

I do have a few things coming up to look forward to. I'll save those for another post. Gripping, I know.

And because I don't like to have too many posts with no pictures, here is a random picture from this  antique computer.

It's a tropical flower of some sort from Hawaii.  You're welcome. :)

Random Thoughts on Moving

We are into day two after everything was unloaded in our new town. I have accumulated some random thoughts about moving. Enjoy (?) the brain dump:

*I wish moving automatically involved everything would be dusted. I was embarrassed at the amount of dust that is behind the books on the book shelves and on the silk plants.

*I have an amazing husband who lets me leave the house when the chaos ensues. Coffee shops are great places to hang out.

*Last summer the movie UP came out. It's about a couple growing old together and the dreams they had. Caleb and Amanda saw it and cried several times throughout it. They are in the stage of life of just starting out and dreaming big. We saw Toy Story 3. It's about Andy, the owner of the Toys getting ready to go off to college. The scene where Andy and his mom go into his room and it's basically empty..... Oh. My. Not the recommended movie when one is packing up the house to move and packing up "kids" rooms for the last time. Ever.

*We have a lot of stuff. I see a lot of full trash cans in out future. It's funny how I can just forget we even owned certain things.

*I own a LOT of dishes. I think the hubby counted 27 or so boxes of dishes. I may or may not have a problem.

*I am strangely looking forward to unpacking boxes and sorting through everything. But ask me this in another week or two and see if I am ready to scream if I look at another box.

 *It's not a good thing to have my laptop decide not to work. At least the antique desktop woirks. S-l-o-w-l-y.

*So no pictures until it is fixed.

Judy (no fun signiture either...)

Moving On...

Getting ready to move makes blogging slow.

I'll entertain you with a couple of pictures.

We closed on our new house yesterday. I'd like to say I loaded the plants in my car, but in reality it was  the newly married couple who did most of the work. (Thanks, you two!)

After we signed and signed and signed and signed (my hand was cramping) our names for the new house, we got the keys and we took the plants and left them at the new place.

The movers come on Monday.

**SIGH**

Getting Ready for the Move, Part 1. (there may or may not be more parts, so don't hold your breath waiting for more)

Cleaning and sorting.

Sorting and cleaning.

What fun. I don't have a lot of that to do around the house to prepare for putting it up for sale and for the move, but there is some. For example, there are the shoes and clothes that seemed like a good idea at the time, but now all I can think is, "What was I thinking?"

This morning I decided to sort through a couple of drawers in the bathroom. You know, those drawers where you dump all sorts of things. Some things of interest that I found were 6 sewing kits (the kind you get in a hotel or on an airplane) and no less than FOURTEEN shower caps. I could shower and not get my hair wet for a very long time. Longer than anyone around me would like and not a good idea. I'm thinking I can stop "collecting" those for a while. The interesting thing is some of them have the hotel name on them. There is one from the cruise we took to Hawaii a couple of years ago, one from The Shangri-la hotel in Singapore, and there is even one from a hotel in Chang Mai, Thailand. The Thailand trip was 11 years ago. I guess it's a good thing I have been collecting shower caps since I obviously use them often. (insert sarcastic font here)

I know this is such a riveting post. But hey -- it's my life right now.

I should hit the Publish button and go scrub that laundry room floor. I don't think I'll take pictures.

Mondays... and in Other News

What a way to start a Monday.

At eight this morning (!) I had a dentist appointment. I know! What was I thinking... scheduling a dentist appointment first thing on a Monday morning? I don't know. It was a quick visit, but uncomfortable. I had to have some teeth reshaped. Yes, basically shaved/sanded. Weird. Evidently I should have had braces when I was 12 so my teeth are lined up better. Oh well. One more wonderful (that word should be in the sarcastic font) thing about getting older.

BUT..... 

the GREAT thing about this Monday is it is my beautiful daughter's birthday! I can hardly believe my girl is 20. Was it really 20 years ago we headed to the hospital so early in the morning and could hardly wait to find out if we had another boy or a sweet girl? Oh my. What a blessing she has been to us. And in 103 days she will be dressed in a gorgeous gown and her daddy will be walking her down the aisle to give her away to an amazing man. We couldn't be more proud of her and the woman she has grown into. I admit I am having a hard time holding back the tears as this is the first birthday I haven't been with her. I am glad that her brother and sister-in-law will be taking her out for dinner tonight.



In other news....

A few Mondays ago my husband found out he was promoted. A good thing for him, a hard thing for me since that means we will be moving. Ugh. As you can see in my profile info, we live in a small town. Now we are moving to a smaller town. I am not looking forward to that. I mean, the town doesn't even have a Target for heaven's sake! How will I survive?

The move won't happen until after the wedding. I have so many feelings and thoughts about it all. I'm not sure how much I will share here. But maybe more than I am thinking right now. I am sure I will need to vent some things out.

So, can anyone say stress?  SIGH