BETTER LATE THAN NEVER!

Wow! What a week. The end of three months work boiled down to three long, long days that averaged 16-17 hours each. Late Sunday afternoon, as tired as we were, we managed to pack up all the leftovers, break down the tables and get all the miscellaneous stowed under cover before getting some dinner and going home to Penny the Pace. For our effort, the final gross sales were very acceptable and we were all smiles after closing Sunday. As was usual at our past sales before we retired, we again received many compliments about how well our sale was set up. That was especially gratifying. We will do another sale one of these weekends in the not so distant future but have committed to getting the remodeling of the mobile finished before we get involved with another one. Without the distraction of preparing for a garage sale, our renovation projects should progress rapidly from here on out.

Saturday afternoon, my cousin, Lea from eastern Washington along with her daughter, Nikki (from Marysville, WA) and Nikki’s youngest boy, Isaac came to visit. I shamelessly abandoned my post (helping at the cash register) and spent several wonderful hours chatting with them as we shared the latest news. Phil held down the fort while I was MIA and did a fine job! Both, Lea and Nikki write blogs that are wonderful reading as Lea lives on a ranch, rescues wild mustangs and trains them while Nikki writes about her life raising a family of sons (she has six boys). The links to their blogs are listed on the side of my blog. I wrote about Lea’s sister, Sharon’s visit to the Pacific Northwest from Tennessee a few weeks ago. This branch of my family was discovered through my genealogy research many years ago and since then, they have become especially important to me and I love them very much!

When we arrived back at the RV Saturday night there was a note on our door from granddaughter, Megan who lives in Longview, WA with her husband, Joshua. Phil called her and along with that adorable son of hers, our great grandson, Sean-Michael (he will be two in October) she came over from where she was staying for the weekend to see us. The next day she came up for a few hours to the garage sale and spent some enjoyable time visiting with her cousin, Joe and his mom, her Aunt Bobbie. It was wonderful family time for all of us!

My visit to the cardiologist today was a routine check up. I had a regular treadmill stress test and an echocardiogram. I was pleased with the fact that I could walk an uphill incline (up to 40% grade) for 5 minutes and 42 seconds and the nurse (also named Joy) told Phil that I did very well!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time,

Lots of tents and canopies to protect the merchandise from rain.

Saturday morning. The weather was beautiful all day!

This is what is left on Saturday morning. I was too busy to take pictures before we opened on Friday.

Phil takes pride in his cast ironware. He cleans it and seasons it before selling. People love it!

Our beautiful granddaughter, Megan and her sleepy son, Sean-Michael.

On the left, Carly 11 yrs old and on the right, Sean-Michael 23 months.

Our two great grandchildren.

L-R: Lea, Joy, Nikki and Isaac.

PLEASE COME BACK ON TUESDAY

No blog today.

This is the last day of our three day garage sale. I have not had time to even think about my blog. Monday I have a stress test scheduled (just a check up) but I promise I will be back on Tuesday and bring you up to date!

thanks for stopping by ...

Until Tuesday!

A LITTLE MORE ACTION THIS WEEK ...

Last Sunday we attended my great niece, Jessie’s “family” birthday party. The previous night, she had a birthday extravaganza with all her friends from school and a few adults for chaperones. We were invited but decided we would pass since we would attend the family party the next day. From all reports, it was a party she will never forget. As usual, my niece Tammy and her husband, Steve pulled out all the stops for their 16 year old daughter and when asked how her party went the night before, Jessie told me … “It was perfect!”

Washington weather is so predictable. We know it will rain … a lot … all winter and the cycle has begun already. In the past I have been living here when we had a magnificent Indian summer and recorded temperatures in the 80s in October. That appears not to be the case in 2010. We had scheduled a garage sale for this weekend that we cancelled due to the rain. We rescheduled for next weekend because the tables we borrowed must be returned that following Tuesday. So we go with our sale … rain or shine!

Daughter, Bobbie’s garage is a single car and we have two 10 X 20 ft canopies up outside so we will be very tight for space if it rains (which we must assume is a positive). Consequently, our sale will be only about half the size we originally planned. Tables outside are out of the question as is using the driveway for larger items. These things will have to wait for our next sale which will be … ? Where we will store these leftover items is unknown as our carport-patio roof is still leaking. Fortunately, we have more dry area than wet so some storage space is possible. Living in WA is a challenge unless you do nothing and stay home all the time. Most Washintonians have learned to live with the rain and for the most part, ignore it. We are slowly adjusting but we do miss that southern sunshine already! It is going to be a long winter …

Our new bathroom is beautiful. Phil has a few little things to do but for all intents and purposes, it is finished. I also want to buy an over the toilet shelf unit and a couple towel bars, put up a curtain and hang a few pictures. The demolition in the kitchen is next. Phil has already removed most of the cupboards, leaving the sink area intact because we needed it to clean up some garage sale items.

Took a few pictures to share.

Thanks for stopping by!
Until next time …

Newborn Jessica Lorena. It is hard to believe that was sixteen years ago.

Adorable ...

Jessica with her sweet 16th birthday present from her Mom and Dad.

My nephew Shane and his girlfriend, the very sweet and beautiful Megan.

L-R: Girlfriend, Megan of nephew Shane next to my sister, Dixie then my niece, Tammy, hostess extraordinaire, daughter of Dixie and wife of Steve on the far right.

Best friend, Gloria and niece, Beth listening intently to friend, Helga.

Jessica and her latest favorite fellow.

Jessica opening her gifts from the family.

The new toilet paper holder and toilet seat. The toilet was fairly new so we didn't have to replace it.

Another mirror and the clock we found at a yard sale.

Our new triple mirrored medicine cabinet. The light fixture is a four light beauty (good as new)we found at The Restore (Habitat for Humanity). It was $10 and new in Home Depot they cost over $50!

The new sink and vanity beside our washer-dryer stack unit.

The new tub surround and shower head. Hopefully, the hose will take on a more pleasant shape as it gets used.

The bathroom door with all the repairs (it was in need of some serious cosmetic work) and the new paint job.

Looks like a new door!

I have no idea what kind of a tree these are but they caught my eye and I just had to take a picture or two.

Very few other trees around are showing signs of fall so these three stand out.

Yes, that is a tiny patch of blue sky behind these beautiful trees ... it didn't last long!

TAKING A BREAK

No blog this week. I didn't take any pictures and nothing new has happened. Same things going on as last week.

We are working hard and feeling the pain.

All is well ... just pretty boring stuff!

Thanks for stopping by!

Until next time ...

RETIRED? YAAAAH, right!

I don’t know how I can look at my calendar and see blank days all this past week yet it seems we have been at a dead run every day! My pal Margie is talking about having “do nothing days” parked on their lot in Florida and it made me realize we have not had one of those days since our arrival in WA. Me thinks I am going to sleep for a week when our new home base is finished, we are moved in and our first garage sale is over.

Last Sunday was the Half-Price day at the garage sale here at Gloria and Les’s house. After three days, all participants were pleasantly surprised at how well the sales were considering it was not advertised. Just a few signs up on the highway and a steady stream of customers cleared out the majority of the merchandise. Phil and I were the happy recipients of a truckload of leftovers to add to our sale stock for the best price ever … free! 100% profit for us if any of it sells.

On Monday, the broken pump on our washer was replaced and I have been giving it a workout every day since. The timer hiccupped yesterday but recovered and has worked fine since. I think the dryer drum needs to be tweaked as it sounds like it is rubbing somewhere but Phil says I am imagining things. Will let you know if it turns out I am right. Also, it is not perfectly level. Almost but not exactly and when the washer spins it does a tiny little dance. Not bad but enough that I want the level firmed up. Wish me luck on that one. It will be low on Phil’s priority list for sure.

It rained very hard on Tuesday or Wednesday and we discovered our roof repair job is still not 100%. Joe will do some more work on it when he has time and we will hope for the best. What a pain but our only alternative is to keep trying. There is no way we can afford to replace that entire roof this year.

We watched the store on Saturday for Gloria and Lester so they could take a well-deserved day off. We had a pretty good day and talked to a lot of people who will be back to see the “experts” on Tuesday when they are back on duty. The day went fast and I managed to take a few minutes and go shopping across the street at a local thrift store. They were having a 50% off storewide sale and I found a few really good bargains. After we closed Rocks ‘N Rhinestones we drove to Tumwater and helped my sister, Dixie (an antique dealer) close up her most recent Estate Sale for the day. We will go back this morning to help her on the final day of the sale. Usually, her daughter, Tammy is her helper but this weekend, Tammy and her family are in Las Vegas where she took her son, to celebrate his 21st birthday.

All in all, it has been a very busy seven days! Sorry, no pictures this week. I will try to do better next time!
Thanks for stopping by …
Until next time!