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Backyard in June 2011
(Home from winter in the Southwest)
I’m in bed with the laptop resting against my knees, looking out the open window at a dogwood and Bradford pear. The pear has an abundance of green leaves, the dogwood’s buds are just opening and I am contemplating the upcoming changes in our life.
We met with a realtor yesterday…did not make any decisions or sign any contracts… just wanted to see what needs to be done. Little was mentioned that we did not already know. The kitchen wall paper with it’s brown and blue theme must be covered with paint, the paneling, (that I always wanted to paint) must be painted. The dishwasher that has not worked in years must be replaced. And there is more…but not a lot!
Kitchen
It always feels strange to return home after months of being gone. The first week is wonderful…marveling at hot water coming from the faucet, long showers, constant internet and a stream of news from the TV. We even binge watch our missed shows on Hulu Plus.
Then boredom sets in….not real boredom as we stay physically active with walking, the gym and bike riding but kind of a mental boredom. Kind of a “I’m not living life to the fullest” type of boredom.
So the journey begins. We are not trying to downsize into full timing, part timing works well for us. Love the southeast spring and autumn. Just need to rid ourselves of what’s not working in our lives; the yard is part of what is not working.
Our home after returning from our almost 4 month Alaska trip.
February 2010
The realtor says one must let go of emotion surrounding one’s home. It would be so much easier if someone else came in and took everything away….maybe while we bask on a beautiful beach!
So we have been working on the house, sowing grass in the front, raking leaves, pruning, mowing.
What else?
Our annual visit to Townsend is less than three weeks away! This is our fifth year to attend this Annual Eggscursion (sorry, it is full!) and we can’t wait to see our old friends! (Townsend, TN is called the sleepy side of the Smoky Mountains as it very quiet compared to Gatlinburg.)
Not much else going on….doing some planning for the other Smoky Mountain rally which is in Cherokee, NC in October.
And the only other new thing is RVillage.com.
A dear friend sent me a link several weeks ago and, after joining, I’ve been having fun playing with this….just for rver’s….. new social media group. It is fun to see where my friends are staying and helping travelers as they visit my home area. Also very exciting to be on the ground floor of something that going to be very BIG! There are 4278 members as of 4/4/14….only a few weeks old!
Look for me in the Bloggers group, led by Eric and Brittany of RVWanderlust. Hope to get enough confidence to change/improve the blog.
Closing with flower pictures from last May……getting nostalgic before we even move!
Peony
Wild Geraniums
Iris
Azalea
My getting the house ready is still familiar in my mind. Doesn't take long for the list to things to do gets longer. And, to try and impart an impersonal atmosphere in what you have as a home, is hard. The realtor is right about letting go of the emotions to your home. Not to be discouraging, but mine is still on the market after 10 months, hope your eventual sale goes better.
ReplyDeleteThe 10 months w/o a buyer would be upsetting me. Have you thought about changing realtors?
DeleteIf we don't sell within a certain time frame, we'll just stay here and enjoy the new paint and new dishwasher!
Thanks for posting on RVillage. We've been full time rv'ers now on our fifth year and have never looked back. The freedom of both house and "Stuff" is invigorating. The whole country is before us and we're taking our time to see every state.
ReplyDeleteCheck our blog and follow along. http://tumbleweed-jimdee.blogspot.com also Jim and Dee (Tumbleweed) on RVillage which is a great website for RVers.
Hi Tumbleweed! Thank you for your encouragement! I try to focus on the eventual freedom but occasionally get hung up with what are we going to do about........this thing or that.
DeleteHopped over to your blog for a look-see. Love seeing the familiar Florida stuff....we were temporary snow birds every February until 2010 when everything froze and I said go west. Thanks for the mini movie review...now on our list.
Lynne, we are crawling toward Michigan after being away since Dec. Hoping my first view of home will have me thinking "shabby chic", but I fear it will just be "shabby"! Can't imagine selling home, mainly because someone will have to clean the basement for that to happen, and it ain't gonna be me! ( I warned John about that five years ago when we got married. Now, I figure it's HIS job.
ReplyDeleteInteresting to think about though.
T@B/T@DA Blue Ridge Rally begins 4/30 at Raccoon Holler Campground near Boone. Area will be crawling with those pesky little campers!
It just makes good sense for us to downsize. Still trying to identify, then talk down our fears. Keep telling ourselves that if we can drive to Alaska, we can do anything!
ReplyDeleteI guess that's Boone, NC...we will be just south, then, somewhere in the Smokies.
ReplyDeleteI thought about posting a picture of our basement, the biggest obstacle to selling. It's a full open thing that houses all my husband's wood working/ furniture refinishing tools. And I will be the one that must find a way to sell them on the internet. Should have started years ago. Why don't they ever get rid of anything????
I empathize with hating to leave the gorgeous flowers and a place to have a garden. Those hold me more than any other possessions.
ReplyDeleteHope your house sells really fast. And that you can be on the road whenever the urge hits you -- and happy at home in between trips. :)
yes, it would be nice to have the best of both worlds.....it's a great motivator.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you had a chance to get out in nature....such a great healer!
Getting a house ready for sale is no fun but it can bring in just the right buyer at the right time!!! We have already talked about this yard and how time consuming it is to keep up. We want to just be able to go at the drop of a hat and that isn't always easy with all this to take care of. I so understand the downsizing!!!
ReplyDeleteYes, we have signed up at Rvillage but I admit I haven't spent much time there. You have me more curious so I will explore it more tomorrow.
Take care!!
You have an unique perspective as you have done the full timing and gone back to the sticks and bricks. Know what you mean about wanting to go at the drop of a hat!
DeleteMaybe it will not be too bad once we get our energy going.
I know how it is to try and get a home ready for sale...plus all the emotional ties that go with it...then to have rid yourself of stuff you've had for many years...don't envy you...I was lucky that , I moved about every two years so the cleaning out was never that much and the attachment to the home wasn't as great...But its still a struggle...wish you Guys Well in whatever you decide!!!....can't wait to see the Post/photo's of your yard sale.. :)...Take care...Horst sends
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice comment...it feels very supportive! We have been here just under 14 years...almost our entire marriage. I have enjoyed playing house...but now I don't!
ReplyDeleteIt will all turn out well in the end.....no matter what happens!
Yep!! Time to get with that painting and appliance repair. The sooner you bite the bullet and get it done, the happier you will be. That's experience speaking. Then it will just be waiting on the buyer to show up. Great pic's of the flowers. Guess I'm gonna have to check out RVvillage. OBTW, I want to hear the story about that Medicine Man.....:-)
ReplyDeleteWe will be happier once we get started....now we are still in the "thinking" ( procrastination) stage. Heading for a rally in about two weeks so washing and waxing the Casita is top priority. And the weather is just getting nice enough for us to be able to do it. She still has all the desert dust.
ReplyDeleteSorry, re: medicine man....you will need to wait for the book! Maybe on the shelves in 20 years!
I can relate to how hard it is to make changes in your own home (maybe we should swap - you could easily get rid of my stuff!). I'm emotionally 'done' with my house - but haven't been drawn to an alternate solution yet. But I'm slowly staging the 'stuff' to downsize.
ReplyDeleteMy garden is starting to flourish too - today was our first day over 70!
Hey, Anne. Nice to hear from you! Glad that it's warming up there...now you will have wonderful weather for months...except for the rain.
ReplyDeleteI have a duplex in a nice location and that is where we are planning to go. It's small with no storage, one bathroom but surely it will be sufficient after living for months in our tiny camper.
Thinking of you prompted me to go back and look at our Oregon pictures. We left the Columbia River and headed for the coast, staying in a Walmart at McMinnville, OR. That weekend we dry camped at the Newport Marina facing the Yaquina Bay Bridge. One of our best memories of the trip! Hope we can visit your state again!
Your photos are lovely!
ReplyDeleteThank you! Very kind of you!
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