A looooooong cooooooold winter

Several relatives have asked where these postings have gone, since I haven’t written since October.  Thanks for reading these & keeping me in line!

8" of heavy wet snow tops the bird feeder
and bird bath

As any good snow bird would do in the Fall, we headed south for the winter.  So, even though our boat enjoyed the 65-85 degree winter weather near Orlando, we decided to pack up our horses and head back north to Tennessee for most of the winter.  I can’t tell you how much we enjoyed the 8” of snow and the -4 degrees for several nights, so I won’t!

We drove back to Cleveland TN in late October to care for Sue’s mother.  The live-in care giver, who had cared for her mother for about 5 years, was leaving.  We also knew it was time, at 91 years old, to move her mother to a memory-care facility that could provide better care than what we could do at home.  And then there was the upcoming family reunion held every Thanksgiving at her mother’s.  Finally, since people were out of the house, why don’t we spend the next two months fixing & painting the house & put it up for sale?!?  I’m sure glad that we’re retired, so we have nothing to do!

Since the end of October until the 3^rd week of February, we’ve been in TN, except for one week in New Orleans for Christmas, and one more week on the boat in Sanford FL when we took our ideal super ever-so-perfect granddaughter to Disney World.

Most of November was spent moving the caregiver out, and starting to repair the house (the caregiver had a strong tendency to break things).  Sue was challenged to start her mother on medication, and to find the correct dosage, before her mother could be admitted into the care facility.  The relatives showed up at the end of the month for Thanksgiving, which Sue’s mother enjoyed immensely (although she couldn’t remember names, she recognized familiar faces).

The middle of December, her mother made the move to the facility just outside Chattanooga.  Sue took care of all the paperwork and arrangements, even getting furniture into her mother’s new room.  By the time we left for New Orleans, Sue was mentally & physically exhausted.



Running from the rushing waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
Her expression is priceless!

The week around Christmas was enjoyable & relaxing.  Our youngest son & his family hosted us and our other two children (coming in from Austin TX and from L.A. on the left coast).  When we left, we hijacked our wonderful granddaughter Miss Madeleine to see the sights of Orlando.  She always enjoys staying on the boat with us & is right at ease climbing vertical ladders and sleeping in her own bunk room.  We started her visit by going to Blue Springs State Park to see the manatees, which stay at the springs during the winter for the warm spring water.  The next day we went to Marineland to see the dolphins do their tricks and to stick our feet into the cold Atlantic Ocean.  On January 1^st and 2^nd, we took her to Disney World for her first time.  Being 6 years old, she was exactly the right age to enjoy every bit of it (and Sue & I acted like 6-year olds)!  For some strange reason, the rain both days just didn’t seem to bother us!

Sue & Madeleine at Mickey's house

 

By the end of the week, we had spoiled Madeleine enough to return her to her parents.  We met them halfway between New Orleans and Orlando to reluctantly give her back.  We spent a couple days back in Sanford cleaning up the boat (it’s amazing how much green can grow on the boat), then packed our bags and drove back to TN on January 12.

The only chairs we had left were two that didn't sell
at the garage sale!  The only tables left were
two TV trays.  Our bed was a mattress thrown
on the floor without a frame or headboard.

The next 5-1/2 weeks turned into a marathon effort to prepare the house to go on the market for sale.  Sue’s twin nephews came for a week (one from Ohio, the other from Florida) to lay laminate flooring in 4 rooms and to rip out carpet from the rest of the house.  When they left, their rental trucks and trailers were full of furniture and belongings from the house.  The following week had new carpet installed in the remaining 4 rooms of the house.  Then the painting began in earnest.  We ended up painting everything in the house except the floors and the ceilings.  We even painted the garage steps, railings, trim molding, walls, and shelves.  (I’m reminded of the old Navy saying:  If it moves, salute it; if it doesn’t move, pick it up; if you can’t pick it up, paint it!)  During our “spare” weekends, we held a garage sale on 4 separate days (in 20 degree weather!) to further empty the house.  (I note with chagrin that one’s every personal possession will eventually be sold at either a garage sale or an estate sale for 10 cents on the dollar).

One pleasant highlight during the blitz was selling her mother’s car – a 2006 Buick with only 29000 miles.  We had it repaired and detailed before we listed it only on Craig’s List.  Once listed, the first phone call came within an hour, and it sold in 1-1/2 days at 97% of asking price.  I was really surprised at the rapid results of Craig’s List.

During the 5-1/2 week marathon, I crammed in time to get new eyeglasses, and to get a crown on a tooth.  On a more pleasant note, we took time to break bread with our Power Squadron boating buddies Clint & Leigh, and then with Ken & Betsy, and again with John (whose wife Susan was in Texas caring for HER mother).  Also, we drove to Atlanta to have an enjoyable evening with our daughter, who flew in for a weekend reunion of Alliance Theater/Kendeda Playwright Awardees.

So, the bottom line (for all you melancholy personalities) was that the house was listed with a realtor February 14 (Happy Valentine’s to all you lovers), and within the first 6 days we had two showings.  We’re hoping that house sales will increase during the spring, and that by summer, we’ll have no more house.  When we come back here in late March, we’ll have to paint the outside stuff (doors and porches) if it is warm enough.

As I write this thought about selling the house, I realize that Sue & I will need to find another residence for our legal address.  I’ve already signed up with a mail forwarding service in Green Cove Springs FL, which a lot of cruisers use.  I think they also help their clients establish Florida residency.  Makes it kinda interesting being a full-time cruiser (but harder for the IRS to find me)!