Phone and Internet Disconnect Tomorrow

Hello,

Tomorrow our phone and internet will be turned off. Actually I just learned from Leroy that he does not know if it is turned off at midnight tomorrow night or if it will happen some time during the day. I am planning on not writing tomorrow. After that I am not sure when I will be writing again. Following the big packing and storing we head off on Saturday afternoon/night for Chariton, IA and then on to Missouri Valley, IA Sunday night. On Monday we will head off into Nebraska but perhaps only driving through it and stopping in Cheyenne, WY.

We made a lot of packing progress in the kitchen today.

We wrestled with three hard boxes that did not want to be packed. Leroy did some and this time I redid his work to make it fit in a more efficient way. I also packed a box of baskets that had been rather problematic until now.

The couch is gone, picked up by the Salvation Army. The driver, who is a member of the church here, commented that it will help to feed some homeless people. They now serve meals six days a week. “Will they get $25 for it?” I wondered.

“It looks nice, I believe they will get $50-$100 for it,” he replied.

I did not tell him, but we paid $100 for it five years ago. That would be something if our use was just caretaking.

Leroy has the second car packed with many long handled objects from the garage. That way he will not have to work to get them on the truck or in the storage space. He looked at the storage space today and declared that we will probably need two places. That is ok since we can do that here because they have small spaces available. And it is only money which has been resting and waiting for the day when it is needed to make our lives more comfortable or rather our stuff more comfortable.

So perhaps this is good bye until a few days down the road.

Paula

Leroy saw six deer in the yard last night. The usual four must have invited company.

Clothes and More

Hello,

Clothes are 99% assigned to their spots. Leroy took a lot of time, but finally figured out how to pack my weights. We lost the original box so it was difficult since they weigh too much to have many other things in the box, but the base would not fit in a small box. Then I have some other 3 and 5 pound weights that are all scattered among several boxes. In the beginning we are so careful with packing and things are organized and make sense. At the end we come to the hard stuff that gets quite random. It will all end up in the same place, but who knows when I will think to unpack that particular box?

I packed my jewelry today. That is not hard, but takes some time. I say jewelry, but it is almost all necklaces. Thank God I do not wear earrings. I also packed my writing desk contents. Bless Leroy’s heart he then cleaned that room. I am not sure he got the second room cleaned, but I had moved on to other things such as washing bathroom rugs.

The kitchen cabinets are almost bare and items sitting on the counter. Tomorrow we will tackle those last big bulky hard to fit in and orderly manner, items. Leroy also will get the storage space contract signed, pick up his medical papers from the Dr. so he can carry them with him. I always go through the hassle of having the new Dr. get them. In the afternoon we will make a run to the recycling place, drive the second car to its temporary home, and do a trial run at packing the car to have a better idea about how things will fit and if we can get them in. If they do not fit something will have to be stored. Leroy is still taking about my plants as if they will occupy as much space as a small elephant.

I picked up my neighbor from the Burlington airport. She just raves about this small private airline. I wish I had worked harder at finding out how to use it. It is so easy to go there, no parking issues or fees, little lines as only eight passengers fit on this aircraft. It sounds like my kind of plane in which I could have my nose pressed against the window the entire trip. Maybe somewhere else there will be such a deal and I will search harder for it. It was too small to find on the internet. I will just go to the airport and ask questions.

Paula

clothes still a struggle

Hello,

I eliminated a few more clothes from the will take pile to the store pile. But we have not yet tried to put them in the suitcase to see if it will work for the two of us. We both definitely agree that just moving from home to home is an easy job. Instead of wondering what to take and what to store it is simply a matter of what will fit in which box.

Leroy has packed all of our pictures and that is a big job. He was lucky that all of the pictures boxes he made for the last move were still useable so that big pictures were a simple matter of taking them off the wall, putting in the box, and sealing it. The others were a bit more work but he got that done with a little help from me. I was not doing it to his specifications so I mostly stayed away from that task.

Instead I made the last batch of bread, the last batch of granola, washed two loads of clothes, hung them out, and took them down. This gives us the best idea of what clothes are available as well as something to eat.

Tomorrow my plan is to finish two rooms and clean them. That will give me a sense of accomplishment. Right now I get the feeling I finish nothing. But the pile of packed boxes keeps getting bigger so I am getting a few things done. But it is hard to finish an area when we still need to live here for three more days.

We are busy eating last things no matter what our meal combinations are just so we are getting the proper nutrition combination. At least Leroy is a flexible guy when it comes to eating. We have even had some interesting, delicious surprises.

That optimistic Leroy checked out two more books from the library. He must think there is plenty of time left, but Leroy is a speed reader usually finishing two or more books to my one.

Paula

Clothing Again

Hello,

Today was a big work on clothing day. It is quite embarrassing as we consider ourselves to be non-materialistic. The pile of clothing that we collect belongs to people who are gatherers of the material things. I divided my clothes into three piles. One pile was to take with us for the unknown future that amount should fit in one larger suitcase and one carry on size. Without bringing in the carry on, I can tell that it is hopeless to think it will work. In addition there were two large boxes, one of which has things in it that cover more seasons and could be easily gathered if we do extend this hiatus. The third is for taking over seas as Leroy is talking seriously about doing that again. I am just dragging my fingers as I have not filled out the application yet. But maybe that is the direction we must go as Leroy said he heard from two more synods with nothing for him.

September 5, 2011

Still working on those clothes! We have gathered another box of “give aways”. Who could believe that there are so many? I have now suggested that we share a large suitcase and each have one carry on size as surely we can manage not having so many clothes with us. There are washing machines all over this country and some will be available for our use. It seems that it would just be more pleasant to travel a bit lighter. The largest problem is not knowing what the weather will be in the changeable fall season so clothing warmth is an issue. Somehow it is also an emotional issue and we need breaks after too much struggle.

So now we must both go through that stack up things we would like to take and narrow it down to a stack that we can use if needed. So what if people see us in the same clothes all of the time. We will set a new standard of excellence for the US fashion culture and the good of the earth, that is wear your clothes more often and have fewer of them.

Going back to the plants, Leroy reminded me that I have five amaryllis bulbs in the ground that I plan to dig and they will be hauled to Utah because I can not think they will like storage if the time gets too long. Good thing we plan to cut back on the amount of clothes.

Paula

Rest Area Tale

Hello,

On our way to deliver the plants we stopped at a rest area. There were not many cars at this stop so I was no surprised to see that only one toilet stall door was closed. I proceeded in the next one. The stool next door flushed, water ran in the sink, the hand dryer blew, and then someone said, “I really like your shoes.”

I had on sandals, but I was sure that I had not heard someone else come into the room. “Is she talking to me?” I wondered.

Then the voice continued, “I used to have some like them that I got at a garage sale and just loved them.”

“Thank you,” I replied as I thought about talking to this disembodied voice.

“Where did you get yours?” she then asked.

“At Shuller’s Shoe store in the twin cities,” I told her without adding that I paid a whole lot more than garage sale prices.

“Oh,” she said in a disappointed voice.

“They are Clarks,” I added so she would know what to look for if she were so inclined.

“Oh, good, I can look them up on line,” she said happily, “Good-bye.”

You just never know when and where you might have conversation so be open to it at all times. Who knows, you might not even get to see the person.

Paula

Plants Delivered

Yesterday Leroy and I set off a little earlier than planned so we were well ahead of the heat. The plants traveled well even if we did forget to put one in. It was the one that we put on the front porch to protect it from those deer that we again saw this morning. I have that plant that we forgot, a plant that is nearing death or perhaps recovering, a plant that is growing up from the base where I cut off the old to start in a new pot, a peace lily to give to Miriam, and another piece that I cut off the mother-in-law’s tongue. When I told Leroy that we should take all of these plants to Miriam, he just rolled his eyes heaven ward and said, “Will they fit in the car along with the other things we are taking?” It was wonderful to have my plants welcomed and not seen as a burden. Blessings abound. I believe they will not only survive, but thrive. It was great fun to see some of my fellow co workers after more than ten years absence on my part. I even remembered all first names and could connect these faces with the names. Now that is a feat not to be ignored. It was also a treat to see the library. I did work with the architect on building/adding the library space to the building. I believe that it still looks good and I hope it is functional. It gives me a sense of satisfaction to look at that bright sunny room. Who knew that I was creating a space to be a plant refuge for myself? I did not see my organ instructor, but I saw his wife. She commented on how great it was that I was donating some of my music. She too felt that the man from Ghana would be very pleased and grateful to get this offering. He is an organ major so I think much of it should fit his needs in one way or another. It can be very expensive to buy music as sometimes a book is purchased and only one selection from the tome is learned. I suppose that means some pieces cost $50. I call that pricy. I am glad to help. Paula