Deadlines....

Yes, I know I promised to update you on the month of July and so far have only made it through the first week. But I currently have another priority in my life. Losing weight. LOTS of weight.

It all started a year ago when I bought this cute little Class C motorhome. Fell in love with her and she became my Lily Pad. She was SO spacious inside...lots of room to move around. When I got home I loaded up what I THOUGHT was 80% of my stuff (turned out to be more like 40%) and headed to the Escapade in Goshen, IN. While there, I got her weighed. Good to go...little heavy on the right side & the rear but not overweight at all.

I spent the next month moving the last items into the rig and took off, fat - dumb - happy. I added an auto-satellite dish to the roof, airbags, changed out the TV, got a new microwave, toilet & tires and added a full solar setup with SIX 12 volt batteries. Still fat, dumb & happy.

In March I attended the Tuscon RV Life on Wheels and opted to get weighed again. Truth be told, I DIDN'T want to get weighed but Rick Lang from RVSEF convinced me that even though I knew I was fat, dumb & happy, I needed to find out by how much. LOL! Oh boy, what a shocker. My right side was still heavy but not as much as I expected since I had done a little work in moving weight to the left side after the initial weighing. My overall weight was about 700# over but the scary thing was the rear was about 1200# over while the front was light.

So, a lot of the month I spent in Tucson was occupied with getting rid of STUFF. At least three totes of clothes were cleaned out, lots of miscellaneous stuff, and I was feeling good. I felt I had made great strides towards losing weight in the rear and smaller strides towards moving the weight to the front (hey, I DID move my firesafe to the passenger area...it's heavy!). Once again, fat - dumb - happy.

Fast forward to July and the Escapade and I once again get weighted. I knew I had way too much paperwork in totes so I moved all that to the car. I already had my lounger in the car as well as the duffels with all my motorcycle gear. I thought I was good to go! (Needless to say I hadn't factored in the new spare propane tank and gas grill stored in the back of the rig....gulp!)

I was still fat but not dumb and NOT happy. I had only managed to lose 100# overall. That seemed impossible but the scales don't lie. My rear was still over and the front under but the ratio was better....a little. This meant I really needed to buckle down and tackle all my STUFF.

Because there isn't a thrift shop in the small town of White Sulphur Springs, I wasn't sure what I would do with it all. Several things have happened as I have tackled the de-stuffing of the Lily Pad. First, my middle daughter called and proudly told me she had lost weight...okay, goodly portion of clothing clean out goes to her.

Then the campground owner told me the local high school was doing a garage sale fund raiser the middle of August. Phew! So whatever the other workampers don't' nab (and they have been VERY helpful in reducing the pile outside my RV) will go to the high school kids. (Well, except for a few things listed on eBay.... )

THAT is where the deadline comes in....I need to be done before this week is out. Thus every spare minute has been taken up with sorting out STUFF. I still have several areas to tackle but the storage bins are done as well as the kitchen, bathroom and 85% of the bedroom.

Just so you know I am still taking time to ENJOY....here is a progression of the sunset view we had last night after some major storms in the area. It finally got too dark for a good photo (my best camera is in for warranty repairs) but believe me, the sky looked like it was on fire. Gorgeous!



Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Another weekend passes...Another week arrives...

Been several days since I blogged....been busy sometimes, sometimes not. LOL! Yes, I took an entire day off and just sat outside and read, then came in and watched movies. Nice breather. Today I went to dinner at the Blue Willow with friends Ellie & Jim and JoAnn & Doug (who brought along Tinka & Rick whose blog I follow but had never met). Such great folks....check their blogs for photos, I forgot my camera. Ooops!

Tinka/Rick are at the Montana Rally with JoAnn/Doug and they'll be there till Thursday when they head out. Ellie & Jim are leaving in the morning for their home in Colorado Springs. Cold and snowy...brrrr...but sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do (Jim has a dental appointment). JoAnn/Doug will meet up in June with Ellie/Jim at the RV Dreams Rally in Branson. I had planned on attending but due to gas prices and having to be back in CO immediately following, I opted out. I hate it since I will miss meeting more friends but once again, sometimes you've gotta do what you've gotta do.

The trailer sold on Friday....I feel like an elephant has been lifted off my back. Last thing to do will be cancel the insurance on it and it will be nothing but a memory along with Squirt. Sigh...

This week will see my getting what is needed for towing Polliwog (my little Suzuki), or at least getting it ordered. I'm nervous about going with Blue Ox because there is only one recommended installation service here in Tucson...and they have never ordered/installed the adapter plate that would be required to work with my current Roadmaster baseplate. I can go all Roadmaster but will pay about $500 more. Nothing comes easy....

I also need to find out if my Roadmaster Brakemaster air brake system is functional. If it is, then I just need what they call a second car kit, the "stuff" that goes on the car end. If not then I have to decide if I want to do the portable brake system (awkward, cumbersome but less expensive AND transportable to a different car) or the Roadmaster Brakemaster Hydraulic brake system (more expensive, more installation time/money, top of the line and very little for me to do each time, more money to move to another car). Decisions, decisions....I hate the thought of having to spend several hundred dollars if I bought a new car but I also dislike having to heft around the 25# portable braking systems. Anyway, I'll let you know tomorrow night what I've finally ordered...I'm doing as much research as possible tonight.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Just a little ramblin'.....

While I took it a little easy today, I did accomplish some stuff but nothing major like yesterday. I plowed through paperwork looking for something specific....I found it but also found some things that need to get taken care of.

One was changing my emergency road service coverage. I have had RV Roadhelp since 2000 and have nothing but good to say about it. Over the years I've had a motorhome towed over 300 miles, a tire changed on my car and two tows for my motorcycle. Great service all times. So why change? Well, the industry has changed and there is now a service Coach Net that offers much more for the same money. Many times when you are broken down it's something minor that a mechanic can quickly fix. Getting back on the road without having to be towed someplace is good. There is a lot more but I don't want to sound like an infomercial. Anyway, the change is made with perfect timing since the old service was due to renew on April 11th.

I canceled several credit cards today or at least started the process to do so. Over the years it's always been easy to apply for a store credit card to get a discount on the first purchase. Figured it was time to cull those out. Since I was doing that, I took a look at what's out there for cash back reward credit cards and decided to move to one of those and cancel my other MC & Visa cards. With gas prices climbing higher and higher it makes sense to get something back for the money I spend. ;-)

I also continued my calls to motorcycle and trailer dealers. Nothing really popped up except a really nice gentleman from Big Tex Trailers here in Tucson offered to stop out to take a look at it from a personal basis. We talked price and he is going to get back to me tomorrow. Not holding out a lot of hope though...wish it were up north. Northern riders are much more apt to use & buy a trailer for their motorcycle. Sigh....

The weather was really nice today, cooler than the last two weeks and little wind. Well, until about 2-3:00 that is....the clouds rolled in and the wind REALLY blew for a bit. It cooled down enough that I started closing windows....of course not before a fine layer of grit was deposited on everything. Of course once the weather tantrum was over it got hot again...LOL!

You know I love blogs....otherwise I wouldn't be following over 170 of them. All kinds - computer, photography, crafts, motorcycles, RVing, living green and more. As I've said before, this wouldn't be possible without Google reader to track & show me only the ones with new updates. I'm always adding new ones that I find by reading my current list....and yes, sometimes one will be removed.

Recently I found a couple of great new blogs, Colored outside the lines and Fulltiming Roadrunners. Both these ladies do some unbelievable beading... Sandy, Colored outside the lines, loves hummingbirds and does some beautiful native-looking necklaces. Judy, Fulltiming Roadrunners, makes beaded Bonzai type trees as well as jewelry. I saw this gorgeous bracelet in her blog and had to email her about it. Long story short, she's made one for me in the colors I asked for...it's perfect.



Well, it would have been perfect if I had asked for a magnet style clasp BEFORE she started. But nice lady that she is, she said she'd put that one into her stock and build one with the clasp I needed (arthritis). She also tossed together a little frog pendant that I plan to use on my key chain. He's so cute....she can make earrings for me, too, if I want them. Since I have NO talent when it comes to crafty stuff, I really appreciate it when I find someone that does. My friends Ellie & Karon do, just to name a couple, even if they don't advertise it much.



Anyway, if anyone is interested in the daisy bracelet, 7" for smaller wrists, drop me a not and I'll put you in touch with Judy. (And remind me that I don't need one of those gorgeous trees...I really don't, I'm getting rid of stuff....LOL!)

Lastly, I made a couple of minor changes to my blog....most to do with the comment section. Previously a pop-up window was opened for the comments but I found that was awkward if you wanted to read the posted comments so I changed it to open a new tab/window. I also added a little note above the comment form and I changed the description for the comment link.

I also expanded the Google ads at the bottom of each post. Like many folks, I try to supplement my income in any way I can...stretching that dollar. Hard in a fifty dollar world....LOL! So if you see something of interest in one of the Google boxes, check it out. If you don't, then don't...it's as easy as that!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Bikeless in Arizona

Yup, the deed is done! Squirt is on the way to his new home in New Mexico, owned by a new lady rider who fell in love with him. I have cash in hand and will be looking at a car tomorrow (which may or may not be THE one).

So to backtrack a bit...about 3pm I arrived at Tra-Tel RV Park on the west side of Tucson. Got checked in, paid for a week and headed towards my site, following the owner. Suddenly he signaled me to stop, headed back to the office and asked me to wait. Long story short, one of the instructors hadn't left yet and he was in the spot that would be mine. Seems as though he thought he wasn't leaving until Saturday. They asked if I would mind parking in the overflow...not a problem. That gave me power if I felt like running A/C and I still had plenty of water. As I settled in, the instructor (who I had met earlier in the day), called to apologize about the mix-up. I told him it wasn't an issue and to not worry about it.

I settled in for the night, watched some TV, read some emails & forums and headed to bed. A good night's sleep and I rolled out out bed ready for the day....but what a day it turned into! It started slowly with my taking advantage of my close proximity to the laundry room, stripped the bed and read while I waited.

I read for a bit and then the phone rang. It was a lady who had talked to the local BMW dealer and had been referred to me about my bike. They were on their way down from Phoenix and were only about 15 minutes from me. They both took a test drive, I dug out my gear and managed to sell not only the bike but two jackets and one pair of pants. Still have several pairs of boots and probably some other stuff, like the custom seat, but it was a start!

They headed out to the bank to get the money for a deposit so I would hold it for a week. I was on the phone when they called and let me know they were at the bank and would be back shortly. Well, instead of putting down a deposit they decided to just pay it all and save themselves a trip. We unloaded Squirt and I watched him head off into the sunset, lots of new adventures in his future.

I then started getting the RV ready to move to my spot, pretty wiped out from unloading, reloading the bike & all the "stuff" in the trailer. Fortunately the folks buying the bike did all the final unloading & reloading the trailer...very nice folks! The phone call I had been on earlier was the lady selling the Suzuki Grand Vitara that I'm interested in. I was supposed to call her yesterday afternoon and just ran out of time and obviously was too busy this morning to think of it. Anyway, they will be bringing it by sometime tomorrow....keep your fingers crossed that it works out. If so, I could have a car....of course then I'll have to get it set up for towing. And more importantly, I still have to get the trailer sold. Kind of difficult to tow both it and a car. LOL!

Besides working on the car & trailer issue, I intend to spend some time culling out "stuff", as I said yesterday. Some stuff will get set aside to sell online, some will get taken to Good Will (or something similar...once I have a car) and some will get donated to the community room here at the park. Got a lot of weight to lose.....ruthless I intend to be....

Everyone keeps asking me where I am going after this and I truthfully have no plans. I may go out the the BLM area here and do some boondocking, I may head northerly a little, or westerly a little....taking it one day at a time! I am making great strides in my quest of a Type Z personality....long ways from my 60 years of Type A life. I think I might be at about a B- now....LOL!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Bittersweet Day...New Beginnings

Today was bittersweet....my Harley-Davidson Softail Deluxe went home with his new owner today. She is a lady rider friend and is already in love with him (although he may morph into a her, she says). I was fine until it came time for them to actually drive off....I had to turn away and walk into the house.

But this provides the money for the purchase of my starter RV. I have found one locally that I am quite interested in and have made an appointment to see it tomorrow after work. If I like what I see then it will go to a local outfit for a complete inspection (my expense - should run around $350, well worth it).

So, it's beginning to look like I'll have an RV by the end of this month. Talk about exhilarating, scary, exciting, terrifying.....LOL! What intimidates me the most is driving it...I know if I need help with hookups, backing up, etc., there will be folks to help when I am in a campground. Until I get solar added (probably at Quartzite this January), I won't be boondocking as much as I plan to eventually. I will have a generator but that adds to my gas expense.

Oh, I digressed....intimidated by driving.....fortunately I have a neighbor and my real estate agent's husband who both drive motorhomes as well as three truck driver friends (2 retired, 1 still working). I just have to find a safe place to practice.

So things are on track for my being in Goshen, IN at the Fall Escapade held by the Escapees. Several days of education, information, vendors, friends and more!

Watch for another update tomorrow after I look at the motorhome!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

POTGPOTT vs ATGATT

POTGPOTT vs ATGATT - alphabet soup? Not for riders in the know (well, at least the ATGATT, I made up the other one...).

ATGATT = All The Gear, All The Time
thus
POTGPOTT = Part Of The Gear, Part Of The Time

I started out riding five years ago as a POTGOTT rider. As a new rider in Florida, I wore full-finger gloves, jeans, over the ankle boots and a shorty helmet...all the time. Hmmm, guess that really made a POTGAOTT. In summer it was too hot to wear a jacket and what the heck, I got nicely tanned arms.

I'd been riding a year when I participated in the Pony Express Relay for Breast Cancer, sponsored by the Women's Motorcyclist Foundation (WMF). I decided to do the entire Eastern Trail which went from the opening ceremony in Orlando, FL to the closing ceremony in New York City....and we got there via Chicago (imagine a group of 100+ riders going through Chicago twice in one day!).

This experience was life changing in many ones, one of which was my introduction to first, the wonderful founders of the WMF, Gin & Sue, as well as all the staff riders and second, The Motorcycle Tourer's Forum. Both were wonderful sources of education and information about motorcycling safely.

This meant learning how to ride safely in a group, doing day after day of riding, discovering protective riding gear and why it should be worn. My gear on the ride and then my solo return home, typically consisted of my requisite jeans, shorty DOT helmet, full-finger gloves, over the ankle riding boots, combined with a lightweight mesh shirt (this was in August) and topped off with a Draggin' Jeans Kevlar shirt (my pre-ride concession to the "what ifs" of an accident). Once I returned home to FL, it was POTGPOTF, meaning the helmet might get shed at times. (Hey, accidents happen to OTHER people, right?)

Since then, four more years and 55,000 miles on the road have made me a bit wiser. Too many friends, friends of friends and relatives of friends have been in accidents...that hits close to home. When I toured the country in 2005 after my husband's death, I went ATTGATT (okay, we won't count that 1 mile jog from the hotel to the Harley dealer on a hot Arizona afternoon when I left the helmet in the room Joe Rocket Alter Ego. It was textile but panels zipped off to expose a mesh base....perfect for those hot temperatures. So that was added to the closet...and it worked out great. I bought it a size too large on purpose, that let me layer a good fleece jacket underneath.

I have also graduated to a 3/4 helmet (which was a full helmet back in the 60's & 70's before full-faced helmets). I have trouble with helmets...I wear an XS and most dealers don't carry that in stock because of the limited demand. Imagine my surprise (and glee) at finding a gorgeous 3/4 helmet in my size at 50% off...at the Harley-Davidson dealer in Albuquerque. Normally I wouldn't have taken a second look, but in this case I had, just the day before, endured 3 hours in bone-chilling temperatures as I rode from Las Vegas, NM to Albuquerque where I had an appointment for my 1k service.

That helmet is now such a favorite that I ordered a replacement online way before I knew I would need it....in fact, once I bought that I never used the shorty on the trip again. I've found that even a black 3/4 helmet (this one has a flip face shield) is cooler than a white shorty helmet...except if you are in city stop and go traffic.

When I decided to go RVing last year, I sold off a lot of motorcycle gear I didn't use. That meant the Joe Rocket Alter Ego went on the block along with several other items. I added some new gear, most in pink to be more visible. I wasn't planning on longer rides but just in case I kept the black textile jacket & both the mesh and textile over-pants.

Now that I'm evaluating everything once again....I've sold off several jackets and ordered a NEW JR Alter Ego. This one is red & black (rather than the almost all black of the old one) and in my normal size. I know that once you go ATGATT you never go back.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

First an apology for my OOPS.....

I know I need to simplify....how do I know? Because I keep doing dumb things....at home, at work, driving the car, working on the computer, paying bills (actually NOT paying bills), etc. Yesterday was a big OOPS at work (my apologies to the lady I talked into letting her house be shown in 45 minutes after our phone call - she wanted 24 hr notice - turns out it was the wrong house - OOPS).

Tonight my OOPS was emailing a update to all my family & friends and NOT sending it BCC (meaning everyone's address is shown - something I detest doing). Guess I was subconsciously showing why I need to move my updates here. So I'm extending my abject apology to the masses who got blasted tonight...OOPS!

Okay, now for the life in general update for everyone else who bothers to read my blathering here (I promise it will get more interesting soon....).

The house is still getting shown but no offers...have another showing tomorrow afternoon. Keeping fingers crossed that something happens soon but know it will sell when the right person sees it. I've sold several furniture items, a bunch of motorcycle gear and am slowly sorting through things for eBay, keeping, storing, donating & trashing.

I think the Harley is sold....the good news is that he will go to a lady rider friend of mine. She relocated from GA to eastern TN last year. I'll know more next week.

I'm still looking at RVs for sale....vacillating between Class C (probably too small for me but great for boondocking) and Class A (more room but less built for back roads & out of the way boondocking). There is a nice Class A for sale here locally. Good news is that it's in my price range, appears to be in good shape AND already has a motorcycle carrier on the back. Bad news is that it's 3' longer than the maximum I had set for myself. I'll be looking at it next week, unless it's sold first.

I plan on doing a lot of boondocking (hopefully) both to save money on campsites (gotta love fixed incomes) and to be able to see more out of the way places. The photos and stories on several blogs I follow have made me realize that THIS is one of the main reasons I want to be on the road. Sort of a female Charles Kuralt...well, in my mind anyway.

My final day at work will be 8/30...then the serious fun (?) begins. I will be attending the Escapade in Goshen, IN from about Sept 7-14th. I may be in an RV (mine or rented) or a hotel...looks like it will be last minute planning on that.

My to do list is huge...all the little details that still have to be done. It's really hard to pin down everything, some days I feel like I have accomplished a lot, other days I feel like I've added three items to the list and only crossed off one. Part of the problem is every time I think of something, I jot it down. I now have a PILE of jotted down items....time to compile one list and set priorities and deadlines (hopefully the last deadlines I'll have to worry about ).

I know it will all fall together...eventually. I am really looking forward to simplifying things, getting on the road and taking things slowly....one sunrise & sunset at a time.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

P.S. if you currently use a blog reader, I hope you'll add this blog to your list. If you haven't started using a blog reader I highly recommend the Google Reader. It's free and it's the easiest one I've found to use. You can toggle the display from ALL blogs to UPDATED blogs. You can also set up folder and sort them that way. I currently have 46 blogs marked and most days only a few have updates, this way it's not overwhelming PLUS I don't miss an update on a friend's blog.

The future is written in JELL-O

Things are slowly moving....not as fast as I would like but moving. Nothing concrete, but that's okay since I now know the future is written in JELL-O anyway. So what have I accomplished since the last blog?

• Arranged for a good friend to handle all the eBay auctions for me for a percentage of the sales (WHOO-HOO!!! This is huge since she will handle everything including the shipping)
  
• Sorted out my motorcycle gear in preparation for selling the extras (forums first)
• Posted my Harley for sale in several motorcycle forums as well as a local online freebie trader
• Posted several larger pieces of furniture in the local online freebie trader
• Sorted through almost half my clothes, creating a pile for friends at work to go through and two bags for donation to Goodwill and discovering that NONE of my jeans fit
  
• Sold three pieces of the furniture listed in the trader (which left me with all the knick-knacks to go through deciding what goes with me, what gets stored and what gets sold)
• Bought anchors and fixed the closet organizer in the guest room....after it collapsed from the weight of all the motorcycle gear and extra jackets that I moved in there
• Continued researching RVs (another thing written in concrete - motorhome vs trailer)

On the house, there is currently a young couple looking at it, first-time home buyers. So far the wife, her brother, the husband and his parents have all looked at it and seem to like it. Now waiting for her parents to take a peek and then I am hoping for an offer (hopefully not a lowball one). She's also visiting their credit union tomorrow to discuss financing...hmmmmmm, keep those fingers crossed!

I am really getting excited about moving out onto the road. When I first posted the ad about my Harley for sale, I was really sad. Now I know it's just part of the path I need to take...simplification. It's starting to feel good....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

WARNING: Dates on the calendar are closer than they appear!

Once again time flies....even when we're not having fun. It's been an eventful month. Here's a short recap since my last blog.

• June 19th I listed my house for sale
• July 4th my BMW was delivered (thank you to my agent's hubby who went to Houston and loaded the bike on his pick-up and brought him to TN)
• July 4th I took my first ride on the BMW, who is now renamed "Squirt", and knew he was going to work out just fine (and yes, I flat-foot him just fine)
• July 5th the house is scheduled for the second showing
• July 5th I get a full price offer on the house contingent upon closing within 3 weeks
• July 6th we make a slight contract change (deductible amount on the home warranty) and counter the offer, their agent insists that it will be no problem
• July 7th and we still don't have the signed counter offer back
• July 7th I spend the day in Chattanooga with a friend looking at RVs at Camping World (Shipp's RV)
  
• July 8th and the buyer's agent still hasn't gotten the buyer to call back
• July 9th and the buyer's agent finally hears from the buyer's boss (this is a corporate relocation) and finds out that they called him and no longer plan to move to TN (can you say culture shock?)

Fast forward to today, no more showings so no offers....open house set for tomorrow afternoon. I'm slowly starting to sort through stuff, finally. My friend Diana, who went to Chattanooga with me, is going to start eBaying stuff for me. My newly imposed deadline is approaching.

What deadline? Oh, guess I skipped that part...... In the aftermath of the sale fiasco, I made the decision that whether the house has sold or not, I plan to hit the road by September first. It may be in the something older, it may be financed, it may be....who knows? But it will all work out. My new quote is:

"I refuse to sit around waiting for the perfect tomorrow, I'll continue to work on savoring my perfectly imperfect todays." ~ Froggi Donna

My September is already pretty well booked. The first week I plan to ride my last 6 states (New England) with my youngest brother, his wife and possibly my son. I will park the RV in NC near my niece's home. When I get back from the week of riding I will head over to Goshen, IN for the Fall Escapade. I'm hoping to make it in time to attend one of the pre-Rally sessions (like RV driving school). After that I will head to northern GA for two weeks....I'll be fine-tuning the RV (may stop in TN if needed) and will be baby-sitting grandkids the last weekend.

After September the world (well the USA) is wide open....no real plans yet, I have to get there first.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Chaos rules...or do I know what I am doing?

The second yard sale is over, the whole house is in chaos, I'm living out of totes, and I have no motivation. Hmmmmm, now do you understand the title? LOL!

I know this will pass, think I have been on overload trying to get everything done for the closing that would have been next Monday. So now that it's not going to happen, I've become a slacker. Maybe tomorrow will bring some energy....well, I did get two totes packed today, along with all my t-shirts sorted. Oh, and I labeled four totes....that should count for something, shouldn't it?

No hits on the house....with the market slowing down across the country, I may be in for a long dry spell. Maybe that is why I am not attacking my "to do" list the way I should....my sub-conscious knows that the deadline is no longer imminent.

The next yard sale will be a buy one, get one free (same price) to clear out as much as possible before hauling it all off the Goodwill. I have sold a LOT of stuff but there is still quite a bit left in the garage and I keep coming across more things to put out there.

One day this week or next, I plan to head over to Knoxville to check out the Heartland Cyclone toy hauler and make a final decision if that is what I want. I love the extra storage as well as the ability to easily add a washer/dryer (even a stackable one). I do worry about a one ton truck being enough to pull it, maybe I worry too much. LOL!

Well, everything happens for a reason so I know this will all work out....somehow, sometime.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna

Yard Sale Musings....

Well, it's done....the first yard sale is history. The weather last week was harsh...in the 90s with high humidity. Since I had decided to hold the sale in the garage to allow for a "rain or shine" event, that meant a lot of time was spent sorting things out and making sure people could walk around to see everything. Friday morning arrived...it wasn't even 7 am and I heard a car drive in. YIKES! The ad said 9 am and NO EARLY BIRDS. I hadn't even gotten in the shower yet. Fortunately my neighbor knew what was up and asked them to come back later. Phew!

Well, since I was now awake I figured I might as well get up. Grabbed a quick shower, ate a quick breakfast and grabbed a cup of coffee. My neighbor came over to get the signs so she could put them out while I put the finishing touches on the sale items.

At 8:30 I opened the garage door...had 2 guys there within minutes. By 9 am I was slammed....thank goodness for my neighbor and a good friend from Cookeville who helped me out. I couldn't have done it without them. For two hours we were non-stop, and then we stayed pretty steady until around 1 pm. By 2:30 the storms were moving in and I sent my help homeward. I had one lady coming back after 3 pm to pick up a few things so I cooled down in the house while I waited for her. The heat had been unbearable but could have been worse if not for two borrowed fans.

She came with her husband, bought a few more things and after they left I hit the shower. Now that felt good....I was exhausted but excited because I knew it had been a good day. As I sat watching a great show on that I had TiVo'd from The Travel Channel, RV Crazy, the doorbell rang. It was the girlfriend of my mailman's son (got that? ). She brought a girlfriend with her, who had been working, and they wanted to see if I would let them go through the yard sale stuff. Heck yeah! An hour and $50 later they left.

Did I mention that my mailman came by Thursday and bought about $85 worth of stuff and not 2 hours later his wife came by and bought my two bar stools as well as about half my Christmas stuff...now toss in his son & girlfriend who bought my coffee/end table set, my old stereo and some other smaller stuff (plus what she picked up later Friday night). Gotta love mailmen....

Saturday was slower, probably due to everyone enjoying the cooler temperatures brought by the rain moving through the night before. The day started off slowly but by 10 am it picked up and stayed fairly steady till around 1 pm again. By 2:30 we started packing it in....and of course this is when my neighbors decided to make an appearance. They were only browsing and not seriously - more interested in chatting.

Got everything condensed in the garage, a bit jumbled which means I have more sorting to do before the next sale, but at least my motorcycle and my car are back inside. Later in the afternoon the mailman's son, girlfriend, her girlfriend and that girlfriend's boyfriend (got that? ) stopped by to pickup two swords I was holding for them. Before they left I had sold more furniture to them, as well as a promise of bringing someone who might be interested in my motorcycle knick-knacks. Great to have friends....

I settled down to relaz and did a tally for the two days. Not counting the furniture sold I netted over $1200. Not bad for a country yard sale....I hope the next one does that well! Less than two weeks and I have a lot to get done.

Till next time - keep on rollin', Froggi/Donna

It's the little things that get you...

Yesterday I finally started to attack my "stuff". I decided to start in the kitchen...pulling out the things that will get sold, packed away, etc and keeping only what Iwill use in the RV. It's amazing how much emotional impact some things have....I bought a new Corelle dish set (it's running thru the dishwasher now) but I still love my old set. They are the clear ones with swirled flowers cut in that you often see at restaurants. They wear like iron, work in the microwave and are near unbreakable. Can you tell I love them...LOL! Since I have a set for 8, think I am going to pack half away at daughters so I can switch back someday if I want to.

Coffee mugs are hard....I have so many that have memories attached....sending some to my brother & his wife (they'll love me, they don't even drink coffee ). A few will get packed away, a few saved, the rest go into the yard sale where hopefully someone will love them.

I tend to get scattered. Got all the cabinets done (two left to go), hit the front of the frig (gazillion magnets), took a few things out of the laundry room (store a lot of stuff in the back) like candles which then sent me to the china cabinet drawer with more candles....LOL!

At least I'm doing one smart thing - I'm putting yard sale stuff in zip-lock bags (when it will fit) and I'm pricing everything. That way when I get ready to do the yard sale thing, everything will already be marked.

Today I hit a tote I pulled in from the garage, marked as Mike's office stuff. After easily tossing some old BICSI manuals of his yesterday, I wasn't ready for the emotional slam of dealing with these items. Just small things - BICSI conference tags, his address books, the photos from his office, his collection of office mugs, even just seeing his writing on things.

It's been over 19 months and things like this still catch me unawares and bring the tears...not just sad tears but happy ones for the memories they bring to mind. Mike always said we needed something to look forward to and we always managed to do just that. Well, I seem to be following in the same path.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Froggi/Donna