# 437 - Signing Papers on House, Today!

May 15th is here. Today is the day we're signing papers to sell the house. As of today, we won't be home-owners. Insert panic here.

As long as the buyers don't have a problem, we don't have a problem...we will be officially NON-OWNERS of this monstrosity.

However, we are supposed to have a five day lease-back which means we get to lease-back our own house for another five days following closing. This will give us extra time to finish packing, to get set up in Livingston with the RV and to get moved.

We've found another RV that would allow for more comfortable living over this next year so we can construct the house with less stress. This tag-along had a great layout, the tow weight is 6,700 pounds and the open floorplan gives three seating areas and a GREAT kitchen with ample counter space and cabinetry for storage.

Yes, I did love this RV kitchen with the windows flanking the sink, room for the coffee pot, for food preparation and the cabinetry is actually attractive. I like that the kitchen as its own zone and wall space for efficient organization after I make a trip to IKEA to look at a few kitchen organization tools that affix to the wall.

It will be tight, but it's just the two of us and our dogs, who will probably choose to be outside as much as possible. Howdy is about to have wide open spaces to run and play!

 

As for the bathroom --- the extra storage in there will definitely come in handy. 

 

 

Most RV showers will not accommodate Deputy Dave in a standing position so he must slump forward or just not fit. In this corner shower, he fits and his head doesn't bump the ceiling. 

 

The hallway has shallow closet space, but it is much needed closet space. There are also built-in drawers that are nice to have on hand.

From the kitchen area, you can see the entertainment cabinet that will hold our flatscreen and probably the PS3 gaming system. Gotta have some fun!

So, it's looking as if this particular RV might be our home this coming week.

As for now, we're packing every day. Things are chaotic, crazy and overwhelming. I go through each room, keep sorting, packing and remembering that this house is it...our baby-making, family building days are over...now it's time to sit back and watch the kiddos have their turn. Still the transition is clear to remind me that we are onto the next phase of our lives, which is exciting.

So, tomorrow, we sign papers at the title company to make the selling of our home official.

It will be weird.

After closing, we go back to the house to have five more days of packing and moving...we go back to a house that is not ours any longer. But, I will do my best to post our new digs, as soon as we get set up. I have a feeling the next few days are going to be exhausting to the bone.

Moving...the process that brings such FUN into your life along with a few dust bunnies!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

# 436 - Moving to the Country with a Perfect RV

Since we need to quickly find accommodations for our move to the country this coming week, we spent some time today looking at RV's. A LOT of RV's. Rows and rows of RV's parked at a major dealership in Houston in the Texas heat were to meet our scrutiny. And the heat wasn't too bad, until you constantly find yourself standing in an RV housing a 90 degree temperature.

 

Today, I was a red-faced gal.

We looked at all kinds of RV's...fifth-wheels, tag-alongs, weird contraptions that were part RV and part canvas. We saw RV's that were super nice and a few that were super yucky.

One thing we figured out is that RV's have come a long way in their design. Yes, a few are still using the old standard layout, but some are innovative with designing efficient space-saving floorplans.

We know that we'll be in the RV for a few months and we will hopefully use it later for traveling to see our oldest daughter and the GRANDBABY that is on the way, so we took our time looking and opted for MORE space instead of a squished design. Since we are old-hats at being RV owners, this one is going to be the most spacious tag-along we've owned, to date.

Since this will need to be our home for the next few months, we knew that we needed to look for particular preferences:

1. Kitchen counter space, extra inches count and storage is important
2. Floor space must be good enough to prevent having to constantly walk side-ways. I don't want to do the crab-walk every day.
3. Chair...love the dining set and loveseat, but I must have a comfy chair...it's an over-40 thing.
4. Bed cannot be the kind that is accessible by an open doorway and then must be found by going airborne to reach your side. Preferred to find bedroom with bed that has room to walk on both sides, even if by crab-walk.
5. Closet space could not simply consist of the two standard narrow cabinets on each side of the RV bed, we had to have actual closet space and as much cabinetry, drawer space as possible.
6. Two entry/exit doors preferred
7. As much linoleum as possible since carpeting is not practical for our lifestyle
8. Tag-along is needed since our truck is not equipped for a fifth wheel...maybe that will be down the road, but not for now.
9. Bathroom cannot have toilet that won't accommodate a six-foot-plus man and the shower must allow for non-hunched over stance.

I think we must have gone inside at least fifty hot RV's, and that will get your blood pumping on a warm Texas day.

There were three floorplans we really liked, but there was one in particular that stood out better than the rest. It seemed as if the major details were addressed and all of these combined to make a great RV layout.

Since we have been life-long camping kind of people and have owned multiple RV's, we know that kitchen space cannot be under-estimated. Having a lack of kitchen counterspace and cabinetry for storage can make for a miserable cooking experience. Of course, I have always sat at the RV dining room table to do cutting, chopping and mixing, but the RV we fell in love with has enough space to stand in the kitchen area and do everything needed to cook a good meal. There's even room for Deputy Dave's coffee pot!

This tag-along has an additional space added over the tongue which makes for a PERFECT RV kitchen, the best I've ever seen. There is even room for two bar stools to be stored under part of the kitchen counter to make indoor dining easier and food preparation more enjoyable.

After a while, we began to take note as to what features were in our price range and which ones meant the most to us. The above features became priorities and soon we were able to simply stick our head in the door to rule out the kitchen counterspace as being a Yay or Nay. Then, the rest was easy to determine as well.

 

So, now I am going to look on Craigslist for our area of Greater Houston and for the Livingston area to see if we might find someone who is wanting to sell a newer model, such as the one we personally toured, from 2010 upward, for a GREAT price.

I cannot believe, that as of next week, my home will no longer be an almost 3,000 square foot, two-story home because I'll be living in the middle of our forest, in a little RV space, yet we will be surrounded by land and more land.

It's a dream come true. It's a rocky dream full of sacrifices along the way to finally LIVE the long-awaited country experience. Next week, we will be country folk, fully enjoying country life each and every day of our lives...it's all coming together.

We are living an American dream!

# 435 - Moving & Floods

Making the transition to get moved to the country is a major undertaking. Everything is changing in our lives. However, today brought weather that could have threatened the houses that are involved in the transactions scheduled for this coming Wednesday...our house and the buyer's house.

As the moving date gets closer, I face the AWESOME reality of us moving to the country. Yet, I'm at the point of being too scared to get too excited...as if I won't believe it until I am standing there on the land and this city house no longer belongs to me.

Do you think you'll be able to hear me yelling, "YIPEE" from the land?

You know how it goes...you ask for something, then you get it and the reality can scare the wits out of you! That's the phase I'm experiencing.

However, I still hope that our closing on May 15th moves forward without any hitches.

That being said, today, in my part of Texas, we had major thunderstorms with heavy rain and part of our neighborhood flooded. I was at a doctor's appointment when the stormy weather moved overhead, and I barely made it through the flooded streets to get back home. The below photo is my neighborhood as of lunchtime today.

I did not go driving around more than was necessary to get safely parked high into the driveway because one block from our street, the waters were very high. I have been wondering if the buyers for our house were flood-free.

The buyers live a block away from us.

Hopefully, the buyers are like us and hopefully their house is just a tad far enough away from the heavy flooding to keep the house safe from rising water. We've never had rising water in our house.

However, trying to get back home was a problem because the main drag through the neighborhood had a several places that flooded in the deluge, very quickly.

Also, our neighborhood has a reservoir at the back of our property that serves as an outlet for neighborhood draining. During a regular pretty day, there is no flooding to worry about and it serves as a nice large park with a walking path, it has a pond with fish, and the area provides kids with expansive green-space to run and play.

After today's rains, the zones designed to hold excess water, was under water. The walking path was transformed into a path that could only be accessed by swimming.

Since our community is a bay community, our reservoir is impacted by tidal waters. If the tide is in, then a heavy rain might spell disaster, such as today, because the tide prevents flood waters from being drained away properly. We are in a watershed, which means we live on land where all the water that drains goes to the same place, which is...the Bay.

From what I understand, to some degree, we're ALL located in some kind of watershed, but our neighborhood drainage is directly tied to the tide. No pun intended...Tied to the tide!

Anyway, in spite of the heavy storms, I made it home and found our side of the street to be high and dry, but other side of our street (separated by a main drag) was flooding.

STOP WATER STOP!

Someone had a little U-Haul truck parked in the street, and I hope nothing was stored inside of it because the front end was dipped well beneath the water.

Our area is officially known as "Bay Area Houston" which means we have wonderful perks of living close to the water, but when neighborhood drainage is impacted by tidal influences, this can be a problem. Well, that along with hurricanes and tropical storms and days of deluge.

I'm hoping nothing blows, floods, burns, or whirls our houses into damage before closings can take place in FIVE DAYS. Well, I'm hoping none of that happens at ALL, but I do not want to be stuck here dealing with an insurance company for the next two years as we have already been forced to do after Hurricane Ike destroyed our home to the point of making it uninhabitable for almost a year. The legal battle that ensued against the insurance company was long, drawn out and unpleasant. We fought and we won against the insurance company.

Hopefully, if all stays on track, next week we will be leaving this part of Bay Area Houston and this heavily industrialized neighborhood to live in a FOREST --- we'll be living on acreage that has a creek, which we've never seen rise beyond anything manageable, but after all we've been through in the Bay Area, I'm careful to not under-estimate any natural source of water flow.

As long as I don't wake up on the acreage after a heavy rain and find myself floating away, I think it will be okay.

# 434 - The Country Life in EIGHT DAYS and Things I Wish to Know

The Country Life in Eight Days, and

Things I Wish to Know

Packing for our move to the country is a tedious process. But, we better get in gear because we are moving to our acreage in EIGHT DAYS! May 15th is closing day. As of May 15th, another family will own our house in the city and we'll be living in an RV on the acreage as we get ready to build the country cabin. Well, we will be living in an RV we have not yet purchased because we can't let it sit in the driveway blocking the garage door. We've got to be able to get a large U-Haul truck in the driveway next week to load up our household items and the garage full of OH MY LORD stuff!

Meanwhile, as I pack breakables, I am going through boxes of old photos and feel pressured to record everything for family reference and history. So, I put photos on to scan as I pack. And I know I will be setting my printer up in the RV so I can scan photos during the heat of Texas summer daytime hours.

Today I came across some family photos that are literally over ONE HUNDRED years old! I began to scan these photos into the computer and my dad showed up for an unexpected visit. He does that...he just drives over and visits...I LOVE that about my dad. I am a bit panicked that my distance from him will be so far to make that little luxury more difficult, especially since he is in the middle of rough chemo treatment.

Onward...

I showed him the photos I was working on and it gave him joy. He is very happy that I am interested in preserving family history and to helping future generations to know their origins.

I pulled out one photo I had already scanned and he got such a kick out of it! The photo shows my great-grandfather George, great-grandmother Lulu is standing outside of their house with their small boy, Raymond, who is my grandfather. We believe the photo to have been taken in the area of Grapeland, Texas around 1905.

My dad and I became so interested in the photograph that he asked for a magnifying glass. Good thing Deputy Dave needs one on hand, so I had a magnifying glass close by. We began to explore the photo, trying to figure out what is what in the photo.

Dad made a comment that he wished he could better see his grandfather's facial features. So, I went back to the scanner and rescanned at a higher resolution, cropping the photos at different segments so we could get a closer look at each zone.

I love that they seem proud, wearing their finest clothes and standing in front of a house that seems to be rather perfect for a home around 1905. My great-grandfather there had BOTH his medical degree AND a law degree. Supposedly, he was a hard man...mean.

Below is a photo I am slipping in that is a close-up of my great-grandfather George.

This part of my family came from Scotland.

Back to the photo with the house, that photo shows a lovely home with everything so perfect, especially for over one hundred years ago. In fact, I'd LOVE to have this very house on my acreage. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

Then, I scanned and cropped the right side of the photo to get a closer glimpse of the things that were in the yard. We finally figured out that there was a wood pile in the back. A nice barn is in sight, and the picket fence looks to encircle the house. The horse is beautiful.

But, I especially love the wicker chair on the front porch and the front porch posts that are ornate. Dad looked for power lines and figured the house did not have any electricity. I cannot imagine living in Texas during the summer months without air-conditioning. And I hope my great-grandmother, Lulu Johnson, had some cooler clothes that were appropriate to wear during the hottest months because that long-sleeved, high-necked, long waist-cinching skirt seems to be very hot attire.



Lulu died young, when my grandfather (pictured) was about 5-6 years old. So, she must have died rather shortly after this photo was taken. My dad believes she might have died because of pneumonia. My great-grandfather married again and had several more children...one died while running with a flute in his mouth and another died because of the old-fashioned car door handles that stuck out dangerously. My dad remembers the second wife, Dora, as his "grand-mother" although she was actually his grandfather's second wife, not his dad's mother.

When a child, my father remembers his dad saying, "Your Uncle John might still be alive if door handles had been made differently back then..." and I found that to be so sad, even today.

My dad said that the horse probably pulled the family carriage.

And the other side of the picture has miscellaneous things that we were trying to see, but it is difficult.

Who knows what has become of this house? Who knows what has happened to this area of land? Who knows so many things?

I wish to know...

# 433 - Moving Countdown - 11 Days and Sushi Withdrawals

Moving further away from the Greater Houston area will bring about a few major changes, such as us suddenly living in a rural area with the closest town nearly 13 miles away.

But, something we will definitely miss are all the fabulous restaurants we have on our side of town. First of all, living in and around bayside communities gives us constant access to numerous seafood restaurants. And being in Texas automatically means we have quite a few steak houses to choose from on those nights we want to splurge. But, sushi and Thai food are favorites that I will surely experience withdrawals from once we move to the country.

Just a short drive from our home here in the city, we can find one of our favorite restaurants and eat sushi until our hearts are content. We love mixing wasabi in with our soy sauce and to enjoy the beautiful flavor explosions that take place when you put a bite of sushi in your mouth.

If you haven't done it, don't be afraid...one day...take a chance at a well-known, high-quality sushi restaurant and go for it!



But, in Livingston, we will be far, far, far, from our favorite places to eat and I know I might have a bit of a problem with this arrangement, but I expect us to cross that bridge when we come to it and then keep driving to the sushi restaurant we both love!

The best case scenario would be for Livingston to keep building more restaurants. More! We want more!

I am going to miss having these restaurants so close by. These are one of the daily changes we will have to become accustomed to when living in the forest.

# 432 - Shed Rejected by Alabama

Our house is beginning to look like a move is about to take place. Boxes are everywhere. I've packed well over 30 boxes of items to go into storage; I've packed boxes of garage sale items; I've packed boxes of clothes to be donated, and I've packed boxes of items that will be needed in our temporary housing, which will be an RV.

 

The cabin will take a few months to build, so I am temporarily saying good-bye to some beautiful, treasured things until they can again find a place in our new home.

 

 

As for storage sheds, my dad purchased a shed about three weeks ago to take to his second home in Alabama...hold onto your hats, this is one of my wacky family stories.

 

Yes, for you blog followers, my awesome, lovely dad who is the original energizer bunny, just sold his second home in Austin, Texas, and within weeks, he has SURPRISED the entire family by letting us know he purchased a house in Alabama.

 

Grrreat!

 

And the regular readers know my dad has just begun his first round of chemo that is being delivered through a continuous pump attached to a port that's surgically implanted in his chest. It's serious. However, does this stop that nutty Southern man from anything? No.

 

To be honest, the family...well...the family that deals with dad at least every 48 hours was not thrilled about the Alabama house. So, in between his chemo treatments, he is driving to Alabama.

 

I know my dad. I believe the purchase of this house in Alabama was simply a good excuse for him to be able to drive his new Mustang long distances. He loves that car.

 

 

Yesterday, he stopped by to let me know he was headed to Alabama today. I believe he'll be back in Texas on Monday to make it to the oncologist for his next round of chemo.

 

Isn't that what everyone does when they find out they must fight cancer...Go buy a house two states over from your treatment zone?

 

 

I have to laugh at his antics so that he can live through the chemo and not meet an end through the use of my bare hands around his neck. Gotta love family.

 

So, the story about Alabama is that dad bought a nice storage shed, here in Texas, then got it loaded in the U-Haul to tote to Alabama to put next to his house, and he ended up with a big problem. Once he arrived in Alabama with a truck full of household goods and with the shed, he discovered the "neighborhood association" had a problem with the shed that was hauled all the way from Texas. They didn't really like it. Their community has regulations about such things, which nearly made my dad blow a gasket. But, these are the kinds of hurdles that are encountered when you make hurried decisions.

 

Guess what this means? This gal who is headed for full-time living in the country in less approximately 13 days is going to have a brand-spankin-new storage shed for the acreage.

 

Thanks Dad!

# 431 - The Forest and Family

This past weekend my niece came for a visit. Shaye is six years old and the two of us have an extremely close bond.

As for us moving, she's seen the process of selling a house take place. Over the past several months she's observed the For Sale sign go into the yard; she's heard us talking about people coming to see the house; and she knows that a family of six is moving into the house, but she's never been to our acreage. So, she really doesn't understand WHERE we are moving to, except through pictures.

 

But, right now, we live less than ten miles away from Shaye, so we get to see her at a moment's notice, if we want. However, most of our gatherings are scheduled in advance so all of us can make the best of the arrangement.

 

Having Shaye around is hysterical because a six year old is unpredictable and a straight-talker.

 

And when she's at our house, we keep that kiddo BUSY. I suppose I came from a background that encourages children to be active, to explore, to be challenged to use their brains, to enjoy heavy outdoor activity and hands-on projects NOT completed by the ADULT.

 

Over the past couple of long visits to our house, Shaye and I put in some heavy-duty time toward making a home-made felt story-board. Initially, we spent five hours cutting felt designs out, with the help of a pattern. Then, we went "artistic" and off-pattern.

 

 

The above story-board showed Shaye's creative imagination...she explained this story-board as a scene with one girl wearing a bracelet as she holds a duckie and her "imaginary friend" stands next to her. Who would've thought a six-year old would make a story-board with an imaginary friend?

 

The photo below she titled, "The Life-Cycle of a Tree" and when I first looked at it, I was a bit confused, but she explained. "The blue drop at the base of the tree is tree-seed, then there is sun, rain and growth so that the tree grows big with a beautiful flower!

 

I look at Shaye and wonder, "Are you really six years old?"

 

 

 

I attribute her Tree-Life-Cycle knowledge to the fact that her daddy is in charge of the church garden which grows vegetables and fruits for charitable purposes. Nearly every weekend, they are doing something with the garden, from sowing seeds to harvesting the crop.

 

My own children grew up helping me with a garden that I grew every year. For years, my husband would only help prep the ground for the garden and the rest was up to me. So, the girls really got to play a part in gardening. 

 

Yearly, I started seeds inside the house and soon my girls knew exactly how to pick a ripe tomato or they would be eager to run get a bell pepper needed for dinner preparation. My oldest daughter Heather is pretty awesome at gardening at her own house near Fort Worth, Texas. She has a beautiful ornamental garden, and every year, her vegetable garden expands.

 

Heather is pregnant with her first baby, so I hope that, one day, her little girl will also be given lots of outdoor time with her mother in the garden. Digging in the dirt with your mom or dad is really special. Those moments are so sweet. 

 

Anyway, Shaye loves to be at our house, and she loves doing projects, but in a few days, we won't have a house!

 



After a long day, Shaye and I were sitting on my bed looking at Facebook pictures her daddy had recently posted...he's a professional photographer on a stellar level...for real, he works for NASA.

So, Shaye and I were checking out some weird photos, laughing and acting silly, then in the middle of the hopping around, she accidentally put her foot on my face. WHAT?

Of course, I made all the sounds of disgust that one would make after a foot touches their face and this prompted a bit of foot/face craziness that had her laughing so hard that she collapsed into a torturous rolling fit of giggles.

Soon, we were taking pictures of the silliness, and I told her that this nuttiness meant my face needed a serious disinfecting.

Since we're moving in about three weeks, I hope that Shaye will adjust to the major changes. No longer will we have this house that she calls a "mansion."

Thank God.

But, I am hoping she adjusts to the country environment and doesn't miss this house too much. I have a feeling, with her personality, she is never going to want to leave our acreage. She's already been asking if we can get her a horse.

I keep trying to prepare her for the environmental difference she will encounter...no small back yard or neighbors in sight. I explain that her aunt and uncle will actually live IN A FOREST. I don't think she'd be able to grasp the concept of this kind of life until she experiences it.

Since we don't yet have a house on the acreage, in three weeks we will discover the forest might be the only home we own!

Looks like RV shopping is again on our list of priorities.

# 430 - Car Shopping for Country Commute

Moving to the country means that we need a vehicle for the country commute. Currently, we own TWO trucks, not the best mode of transportation when it comes to gas mileage. And mileage is going to be an issue as Deputy Dave drives from his acreage/farm to downtown Houston during the week.

So, this past weekend we visited several car dealerships.

The Fiat is pretty darn cute, but Deputy Dave is pretty darn big.

We were laughing so hard. I realized that his arm span is so ginormous that he would not have to worry about power locks or power doors because he could access EVERYTHING in the car with a simple reach over.

He seems to think this vehicle would have PLENTY of room for him because the interior looked so spacious. However, we were making mad dashes to multiple car lots on SUNDAY so we could look at the body styles, car stats and prices without interruption; Sunday looking means no sitting inside the vehicles and no test-drives. But, our goal was to whittle down the choices and to waste less time later for our test-drive selections.

However, it was nice to narrow down the search for real contenders. Below, the Ford Focus is nice, gets good gas mileage, and has a decent price.

And then I stumble across this little baby --- oh this is SO ME! Maybe another day...

I believe the car below is called a Ford Spark, but it is REALLY SMALL. One claustrophobic feature is that the backseat is positioned directly against the back window. Essentially, there is no trunk space, so if you were rear-ended, you would be feeling it, and any back-seat passengers would be bumper-bait.

However, this car had a price tag of about $14,000.

Regardless, the wheels are so tiny that excessive mileage on long trips might have those babies burning from rapid rotations needed to roll the car. And I think the engine was a 1.2 and might be enough to be coaxed up a hill or two.

Then, we get to the Honda dealership and I feel as if we have ARRIVED! The Civic has amazing "standard" features that would cost major money to upgrade onto other vehicles, and this car has a great price-tag, which makes you take a double, triple, quadruple look.

The Civic has a nice body style, it's an established vehicle and it seems Honda has the manufacturing of this car nearly perfected, especially for the price. I believe this one is approximately $19,000 and is fairly loaded, except for leather seats.

The Honda Civic below is my favorite. It has a "Whale Tail" (or whatever that is called) added to the back/top of the trunk...I love it.

Okay, Deputy Dave finally found a car that fits him like a glove. I can see that Goldilocks expression that says, "This one isn't too big and it isn't too small...it is MEGA FAST and is JUST RIGHT!"

However, the price tag of near $60,000 is NOT right at all.

I think the Honda Civic is the winner.