Thoughts from Miller Manor

Good-bye Miller Manor

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Mon, 23 May 2011 09:52:00 +0000

After sixteen years and thousands of memories, we have sold Miller Manor to a young family and have bought a newer home very close to Ornery's work. I am not going to post here anymore, and if you are a regular reader here you already know that, but if you have stumbled upon this blog and wonder why this is the most recent post, that is the reason.

It has been a wonderful journey into blogging here at Thoughts from Miller Manor over the last four years, and I have met so many interesting friends here. If you are interested in reading about the next chapter of our lives, ~~please drop me an email at orneryswife(at)gmail(dot)com and I will send you an invitation to read our new private blog~~ you can find us here. Thank you for dropping by!
tm

A Clean Slate

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Sun, 22 May 2011 10:33:00 +0000

While packing up the last of our bedroom yesterday, I realized that when we move into Zoe Cottage and have a closet twice the size as the one we have shared for the last 16 years, I will be able to move out of the night stand, guest closet and armoire full of plastic boxes that have housed my clothes for the last few years, and into 1/2 the dresser that currently houses Ornery's clothes since I will be able to hang more of his clothes! That means we will both be hunting for things for several months after we move since none of our known dressing routines will be the same.

Other routines will change as well, and once we get moved in we'll be jumping back on the healthy living bandwagon after eating out (and poorly) for the last few months. I didn't think I would miss the sauna for the few weeks it has been apart, but sure enough, I have thought several times I would like to sit in there for a while. With the very short commute to work leaving more waking time in the day, Ornery and I hope to start walking again in the morning, and we'll have more time to spend in purposeful pursuits after work.

Tomorrow is the big day! Early we rise to load the cars of the things we will carry over that way, then the movers arrive around 8:15 or so. We close at 12:30 on Miller Manor, and go directly from there to the closing on Zoe Cottage. By then the movers should be done and ready to unload at the new place. So far everything has gone like clockwork, and we couldn't have asked for a better team of people to work with.

I sent out a bunch of invitations yesterday for my new blog but there is a short window of opportunity to reply, so if you got an invitation and want to keep up with our story online, you'll need to act quickly. If you didn't get one but want to keep reading, please send me an email or leave your email address in a comment so I can invite you. I won't be posting here anymore, and while I intend to keep the blog online (as well as Recipes from Miller Manor and Miller Manor Designs) I am not going to be updating any of the old blogs associated with Miller Manor. I really am starting with a clean slate.

Sounds of Saturday

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Sat, 21 May 2011 17:08:00 +0000

Happy Saturday! It is fairly quiet around here as we wrap up the last of our preparations for the big move on Monday. Well, I say it is quiet until I stop to think about the sounds I am hearing...

Quiet chatter of the clerks at Panera as they go about their work while we eat our breakfast
Ornery and me laughing out loud while recalling various scenes of a stupid movie
Scratching sound of a pen on paper as we draw out the floor plan and list of items needed for the new garage space
Buzz of a neighbor's chain saw as they trim some trees
Whirring, clattering and clinking sound of Ornery removing the mirror from the dresser in our room with his drill and dropping the screws into a bag for later reassembly
Screeching sound of the end of a five year old roll of duct tape as it unfurls around a mirror box containing the last of our wall hangings
Tones of the Addams Family theme song as my phone rings
Ripping sound of the tape as I take it off a box I had already packed to find something Ornery needed, and again to put something in a different box that I had left out by accident
Clinking of a pile of keys while Ornery rummages through to find the shed key
Seal-like barks of the dog behind us as Ornery opens the shed to remove the lawn mower
Droning sound of the mower as he cuts Miller Manor's lawn for the last time
Puttering of the weed eater as he trims the overgrown edges around the yard for the last time...
Chirping songs of robins and other birds as they enjoy the cool morning
Squeak of rubber wheels on tile floor as we shuffle boxes from one room to another with the dolly
Swish of the metal gun safe as it is moved across the carpet from the closet in preparation for the move
Squeal of surprise as Ornery has a bit of fun with his wife
Airplane sounds as the washing machine spins out the water from the last loads of laundry

We hope to also hear some worship songs and teaching this evening as well as voices of friends calling out greetings, and according to the forecast we'll possibly hear a bit of thunder and rain. Otherwise, it is a pretty quiet day...

Rainy Days and Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Fri, 20 May 2011 23:31:00 +0000

The weather has certainly decided to show a variety of facets to us lately! Today we woke up to rain and it looks like we will be going to sleep to the same! It stopped briefly this afternoon, but not enough to let anything dry up. It means we won't be able to mow the yard as we had planned, but the grass is certainly greening up nicely! :)

I think we are all packed except for the last minute stuff. There are a few things that we will take care of this weekend, and Monday will be CrAzY busy, but I am really much more prepared than I have ever been in previous moves. At least that I can recall--it HAS been 16 years...The moving company called today to check in, and I asked if they had missed my calls for boxes, she said, "Yes!" I am sure she was being sarcastic! I am very excited about it, and with only the weekend to get through, it will be here before we know it!

I had a bit of time to read some of the news today. Crazy stuff going on--end of the world, 517 migrants trying to come to the US and detained in Mexico, and most of them from Guatemala, and more. I am glad I don't spend a lot of time on those news sites--they are pretty depressing, not to mention very subjective! I doubt I will have much time to think about the news for the next few weeks, and that is OK by me!

We really appreciated all the anniversary wishes yesterday. It was a nice day, and we celebrated as best we could with all our things packed up! We usually look at our wedding photos, and some of the other scrapbooks that document our dating days and the early married years. Once we get settled in, hopefully we will take some time to revisit those early days again.

Happy Weekend, everyone!

Quick Post

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Thu, 19 May 2011 14:14:00 +0000

I had written my Thursday Thirteen post earlier in the week (I just love blogger's delayed posting option!) but I wanted to note here that we got the call yesterday that all is finally set for the closings. The buyer of our buyers' house FINALLY got the final approval yesterday. Talk about just getting in under the wire! We were all sweatin' it for a few days because if the first buyer failed to qualify, we were stuck with a bunch of packed boxes and nowhere to go!

We are getting a little more money back at closing than we thought we would, but that is really very nice! We went last night over to Sam's Club and got a card again after being non-members for a couple of years. We were excited to find some Gladiator garage organization stuff there, actually quite a bit of it, for some really good prices (comparably--they are still spendy!) It will mean that Ornery won't have to build all the cabinets as he thought he would. I am relieved, because he should be able to assemble these items in a much shorter time than if he had to build something from scratch, meaning the garage will sooner be organized! Ahh.

The kitchen is done, and all I lack is our room. Four more days!

Thursday 13: Happiness is Being Married to Your Best Friend

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Thu, 19 May 2011 09:25:00 +0000

Today Ornery and I celebrate 32 years of wedded bliss. There is no one I would rather spend my life with than this gentle, funny guy who knows just how to make me feel like a cherished and adored queen, and encourages me to be myself without censure.

We have had an empty nest for a little over four years now and while the lack of children at home took a little adjusting, I have to wonder if I had known how wonderful life with him would be "after" if I would have pushed to have kids in the first place! I really do love my kids, and I am glad we had them, but even with as much love, time and energy as I poured into their lives I have to say I think this time in our lives is better than any other so far.

It has been a long time since I posted a Thursday 13 list, but I thought in honor of our anniversary I would give a list of 13 things we have done to keep our love alive and fresh.

Never leave the house in the middle of an argument. Can you imagine the grief the remaining spouse would feel if something were to happen to you--never being able to make it right, wondering if they were the cause of losing you or whether you were gone for good? The potential for permanent relational damage is not worth the tantrum!
Never say anything that is demeaning or embarrassing--in private or in public. If you see something in their life that you think needs to be changed, private honest communication is better than harsh teasing or innuendo. The couples who say hurtful things about their spouses in public make everyone uncomfortable, especially the spouse if he/she is present! A deep and abiding love is not something to make light of, but a rare and treasured gift!
Remember we are on the same team. While we may choose different methods to reach an end, the most important part is that we arrive together and in harmony. There is no right or wrong way because each method relies on our perspective, which is almost always different from our spouse's! Clearly communicating our perspective without offending and being open to the other perspective will pave a smooth path for compromise so both parties emerge as winners.
My problems are MY problems, not yours. If I am angry, it is not because YOU did something, but because I chose to affix significance to what happened. As long as I hold myself responsible for my own feelings, you will not need to defend yourself, thus causing more friction.
Never go to bed angry, either with each other or with someone else. Even if it is an outside circumstance, it is easy to transfer the anger to your spouse. If there is no way to resolve the issue right then, at least take a few minutes to release the emotion attached to it by saying, "I release this anger, it is of no benefit to me." It is really that simple.
Give and receive graciously, especially compliments and kind remarks. I tell Ornery often that he is perfect, and in my sight (and in God's because he is in Jesus!) he IS perfect. I know there are areas he would like to change about himself, (and there are areas I would like to change about myself as well) but when I remind him of my love in that way, he feels ten feet tall and like he can face any challenge that may come his way with me by his side. When he tells me I am perfect, I know he is looking through the eyes of love, but I want to be perfect because he believes me to be so.
If you want something, be specific--no mind readers live here. This means there may not be a lot of surprises, but that can be a good thing! I used to "wish" that Ornery would bring me flowers, but once I started buying exactly what I wanted and thanking him for it, we were both much happier for it! If we are grocery shopping together (which we usually are) he will often ask if I want some flowers, and sometimes I do, but other times I know we are going to be gone too much for me to enjoy them. I appreciate his generosity and willingness to do something frivolous for me even if I am often too ~~tight-fisted~~ practical to do it for myself.
Spend lots of time dreaming together. Talk about where you would like to go, what things you'd like to see, people you'd like to meet, etc. Then work toward those you find worthwhile. It is not kind for one spouse to sabotage the other's dreams through overspending or denying their importance. Likewise, not all our dreams include the other person, such as Ornery's dream of flying again. Realizing that if that makes him happy, it would be selfish to keep him from it, I know I will do whatever it takes to help him reach his dreams and goals.
Be yourself. The only thing worse than not being loved for yourself is being loved for someone you are not.
Notice the little things that make your spouse happy and make them a part of your day as well. Ornery likes the bed to be made, so I try to do that every day even though it is not really important to me. I like to have the clothes put in the hamper instead of left on the floor, so he is careful to always make sure his clothes make it into the basket. We aren't always successful with the follow through, but often enough we don't get frustrated that our wishes are not being considered. There are hundreds of little insignificant things we do for each other every day that add up and show the other person how much they mean to us.
Do all you can to make the other person's life simpler. We are generous with time and energy to each other. There are things he can do better than I can, and he willingly (without nagging) does them without complaint. Similarly, I make sure his life runs smoothly by taking care of hundreds of little details that he doesn't enjoy doing, and in fact forgets even need to be done! When we come upon something neither of us enjoys, we share that as well, knowing that a shared burden is only half as heavy.
Understand that we are different, and rather than feel frustrated by that, learn to capitalize on it. Ornery and I could not be more opposite if we tried. He is quiet, gentle and peace loving, with the tendency to think things through to the death. I am loud, wild and confrontational and make snap decisions. He is slow and methodical, I am fast and furious! Through the years I have discovered ways to communicate that were not intimidating to him, and he has learned that it is okay to be more abrupt and outspoken than he would normally have chosen. This has been a huge part of our marital success.
Laugh together often. Find humor in things that would normally be painful and look for the bright side in every situation. When one is down, the other is there to pick them up. Laughing together is probably the greatest gift we give each other, and we do it a lot!

There are many other little things we have found through the years, both things that work and things that don't, but these are enough to make any marriage a happier one. We both entered our marriage young (I was 19!) and with a lot of "baggage" to work through, but through trial and error, and by the grace of God we have discovered a haven in the midst of turmoil and been blessed beyond measure with a deep abiding love.

Only FIVE MORE DAYS!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:49:00 +0000

My heart is fluttering with excitement and my grin is wider than a Cheshire Cat's as we are counting down the last few days until our move. It is happening so fast, and yet not nearly fast enough!

Last night I finally parted with some of Ornery's hard earned cash to buy some new (green!) sheets for our bed and some dishes at JC Penney's. We ended up with six green large square dinner plates, ten small square salad/snack plates that are white with green leaves on them, and eight small square green bowls. We first looked at Pier 1 Imports to see if we liked any of those dishes better, but after seeing them in person, the pattern I thought I liked from the photos online didn't appeal. I did find some fun table linens there that I might go back and pick up later, though. Pier 1 has a lot of brightly colored things that appeal to me.

I didn't end up finishing the kitchen yesterday as I had planned. I did get the water hook-up taken care of after wandering all over downtown Broken Arrow getting frustrated at the woman who told me where the utilities office was. She said it was on Detroit, it turned out to be on Dallas, which is about four blocks away. The city provides four large rolls of trash bags for each house each year, but all trash must be bagged, so I guess they figured they should provide that for you... It's a nice idea. They are much more restrictive about the trash they are willing to haul, which means you have to figure out some other way to get rid of things.

I am pretty sure after we get moved we will be trading in the ~~heap~~ Jeep for a pick-up truck. Every day when Ornery goes to work I cross my fingers that he'll make it there and back without incident and that we can trade it off before the thing falls apart completely. The van isn't in much better condition, but it has about 1/2 as many miles on it, so we are hoping it will last another year or two.

My sister in AZ made an offer on a house and it was accepted last night, so they will be moving in 6-8 weeks, depending on when the buyer of their old house closes that deal. They hope to be able to lay some tile and do a few other things to it before they move in. It seems like 2011 is the year for lots of people to shuffle their stuff!

Blogging from Panera

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Tue, 17 May 2011 12:34:00 +0000

I'm blogging at Panera for the second day in a row since all the tables except the tiny one in the kitchen have been disassembled--the desks as well. I assure you it is no hardship...

We are less than a week away from our move! Yesterday I got more of the kitchen packed, and plan to finish it off today. All the glassware except a few dishes we will use the rest of the week are now in boxes, and all the upper cabinets are completely empty. The cabinet under the sink is the biggest "problem child" remaining with all those cleaners and such. It would be really bad if they spilled in transit...

I spoke with the mortgage representative yesterday and she said everything is moving along apace. It may be that we can close on the new house a little earlier than 2:00 PM, but we'll just have to wait and see. I also took care of all the utilities yesterday except the City for the new house. I will have to take the application in for that, and hope to do that today or tomorrow. I find it somewhat aggravating that all the other services are with the same companies we currently have, and they are still charging us hook-up fees--between the internet, electric and gas it will be $77.00 just to transfer service. At least they will be added to the first bill instead of having to be paid up front.

I tried to change my address with the library last night, but I must present a piece of mail or other proof of my new address. I'll just wait until they require me to update, which they do annually. So much for trying to be efficient. There are just a few other businesses I will need to change with, including the bank, but I think I'll wait until the move actually occurs for the rest. We get so little actual mail since we do everything on line anymore that it doesn't seem very urgent, and the mail we do get is the kind that goes straight to the trash...

Ornery has had to dust off some of his web development skills this week. Impact has asked for volunteers for a big project they are working on, and he answered the call. Unfortunately, I packed all his dot-net books... His evenings have been full of much more intellectual pursuits than mine have. :)

The weather has been so pretty these past few days. It is cooler than we usually expect this time of year, but I have really enjoyed the vivid blue skies with the white puffy clouds and soft breezes. I just hope it stays this nice until after we get moved. At least we are not moving over Memorial Day; historically that is one of the worst weather days of the year. I can't remember how many years we have experienced torrential downpours and major flooding over that weekend, but it is enough to remark upon.

I think it is interesting that when we listed our house I wrote that we hoped to be moved in before the end of June, and as we worked feverishly to sell the place I moved the desired date up to Memorial Day weekend (for fear we would kill ourselves trying to get everything painted!) I am very pleased that it has turned out even better than I had hoped! It will be exactly 11 weeks from the date we listed until we close. Amazing.

Weekend in Review: Mountains and Mole Holes

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Mon, 16 May 2011 13:11:00 +0000

Wow, what a busy weekend we had! After working all day on Saturday to get things ready for moving the desk, we quit at about 5:00 to get some dinner and go to church. The message was just what we needed to hear--reminders of how much God loves each person, no matter what they have done, are doing or will do, and that no matter how hard we work, we will never be good enough, but through God's grace believing in Jesus we have it all; eternal salvation and abundant life here on earth.

Shad gave an excellent analogy of going to the 60th floor of a building. (You can hear the message here) Those who trust in Christ and believe He is The Way, get on the elevator and press the button marked 60 and up they go. They don't have to push the elevator up the building nor do they have to hold themselves a certain way, chant certain mantras or anything. They just get on the car, push the button and have faith that when the car stops they will arrive at their destination.

There are those, however, who believe that once they become a Christ follower, they must work to earn righteousness or holiness. They are like those who think to take the stairs to the top. The myth is that the staircase of works goes there--in fact it is a Stairmaster, taking the walker nowhere at all. There were so many wonderful ah-ha moments for us I can't write them all but if you are interested please feel free to click on the link above to hear what he had to say.

Having the refreshment of fellowship with like-minded believers was just what we needed, even though we still had things to do to be ready for Sunday's visit by the new home owners. We were really glad we went.

Sunday morning we slept in a bit later than I had planned. I was up in the night and then made the mistake of going back to bed--that always leaves me a little groggy, and Sunday morning was worse than usual. We went to Panera for breakfast, then back to the house to get busy. I vacuumed the house while Ornery shuffled the rest of the stuff that had to be moved out of the way. There are mountains of boxes in the garage and dining room now, but most of the other rooms are beginning to echo quite loudly. The exception is our bedroom which looks like a minor disaster has occurred leaving a huge mess in its wake.

By the time they arrived at 11:15, we were ready, and I had even packed a couple more boxes! We had fun with them--can't believe how much like us in personality they are. He is a programmer, she is a home maker dedicated to raising her little boy. We laughed and talked and had a great time. They took us out for Mexican Food at a nearby restaurant and we noted that we even shared similar taste in food!

As they were leaving, Megan noticed a dead mole down by the curb. We knew we had moles, and have been walking all over the tunnels for years trying to smash them down. The front and back yards are riddled with them. In all my 51 years I had never seen a mole, so I was surprised at how small it was. Something (probably a dog) had dug it out of the ground and gnawed on it for a bit before leaving it as a gift (?) for us to find. There was a little hole where he had been caught, and I was surprised that the perp didn't go ahead and finish off its booty. Lucky us. ;)

As soon as they left, we were back at it, this time in the garage. Ornery has a bunch of cans and bottles of various oils and fluids that needed to be put in something for transport. He got rid of a few and boxed the rest. Then he put the garden tools and various other odd shaped items into the empty mulch and trash cans and took down the extension ladder and hooks he had used to hang it up. There is still a little bit left to do out there, but I think I can manage it without a problem.

This week is our last week at Miller Manor! I have shuffled a few things from last week's list to this one, but over all, I feel like we are in good shape for the time we have left. The last of the kitchen and our room and bathroom remain, and then all the little last minute things that can't be done until right before we leave.

It's hard to believe it has been a month since we were in Dallas and reading the offer on our house! The time really seems to be flying by. We are so excited and can hardly wait to get moved and begin making Zoe Cottage our own.

Where Did It All Come From??

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Sat, 14 May 2011 21:46:00 +0000

I thought surely I had plenty of boxes to pack up my house, but this morning we made another run to pick up more large ones and mirror cartons. I think I will have some small ones left over, but I really didn't think we had this much stuff!

We made much progress today. The kitchen is 80% packed, the spa room is completely emptied of our stuff (the new owners' new living room furniture is there now), and all the packed boxes are either in the garage or the dining room. The laundry/craft room is empty and ready for the desk to move from the office into it tomorrow morning. Ornery disassembled the dining room table and the craft room table, and I have boxed up all but a couple of the wall decor items. I have boxes for the big mirror and two other framed posters, but haven't wrestled them into the boxes yet. That requires some serious contortionism!

All that remains (besides the rest of the kitchen) on this week's list is our bedroom, but I am hesitant to jump right in there just yet. We still have a week to live here and I hate to live out of boxes--or worse, have to do without because I don't know what box something is packed in! So far Ornery has only asked for a couple of things I had already packed, but I know if I get serious in the bedroom I could get into trouble.

Making matters even more interesting has been the crazy weather which should be in the 60's at night and 80's during the day but has reverted back to March temperatures of 40's at night and 60's during the day. I am certainly not unhappy about that turn of events, since I much prefer to be a little cool than hot and sweaty, but it does mean that we are not able to part with all the long sleeved clothes for even the next week.

We are moving several pounds of dust and dirt with us, as I have not been cleaning things as I pack them. They will all need to be washed when we unpack them anyway, so I figured why waste the effort twice. I am surprised, however at all the things I have taken out of the cabinets that are less than clean. I used to think that only happened to old people, that their sight got bad and they couldn't see the dirt. It must mean either I am getting old or my theory was flawed. Neither is a happy thought. :(

Ornery and I have laughed our way through the process of packing, though. I love being married to such a fun guy. I know this could really be stressful, but so far we've done really well and I don't anticipate it being any different once we get moved. Life is really, really good.

Friday the Thirteenth

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Fri, 13 May 2011 18:07:00 +0000

Yesterday I finished packing the craft room and started on the kitchen. I have an entire dish-pack box filled with Pampered Chef baking stones, and that wasn’t even all of them! I think that might be a wee bit excessive. When I wonder which pieces to get rid of, however, I don’t seem to be able to part with any of it. This morning I packed another heavy-weight dish box with the rest of the Pampered Chef stones and all but the small size Pyrex dishes. I have also gotten much of the pantry packed, and a few things from other cupboards as needed to fill holes in the boxes.

Before I got too immersed in the packing this morning, I made a run to Atwoods to buy some new tires for the dolly. Seriously, has there ever been a more wondrous store? Even better, the location is about a mile from our new house. I foresee many Saturdays spent wandering the aisles there, especially once we start our garden. Since today was Friday the 13th, they were giving 13% off everything in the store. The wheels ended up costing about $13.00 each. What a spate of 13's! Now if only I can get 13 boxes packed today, I should be nearly to the end of that chore!

I am starting to run out of spaces inside to put the packed boxes, so it is good that the dolly will be operable by tomorrow so we can put some stuff out in the garage. We are trying to keep most of the stuff toward the front end of the house for easy loading--thus it will take less time and cost us less, theoretically. Depending on how quickly they load the truck, however, we may end up paying them to sit around while we are at the closings. I hope not, but I guess it can't be helped if that is the case.

I am glad it is Friday. It is only ten more days until we move, and I am so ready! Well, maybe not the fully-packed sort of ready, but emotionally and mentally I am more than done with all the clutter, and am anxious to get back to my tidy existence. I realize that will take some time, but I fully intend to get one room fully assembled as quickly as I can so I may retreat to it when I get overwhelmed. In fact, Ornery is taking Monday and Tuesday off, and while Elizabeth and I are unpacking boxes Tuesday, he will be painting the master bedroom. Hopefully that room, at least, will be done by Wednesday morning. While he is at work Wednesday through Friday, I will continue with the unpacking, and over the weekend, I hope to get the library painted and settled as well. It seems extremely ambitious at this point, especially after working so hard to get out of here.

The goal is to be able to park in the garage by Memorial Day, and since the boxes are going to mostly be unloaded into the garage, that gives me a week to do a whole lot of unpacking! I would say I probably won’t blog much during that time, but I am sure I will need a break from time to time…

This weekend we have the buyers coming over to take delivery of some furniture they bought and are storing here until closing, and then we will help them move the desk from the office to the craft room. Before they arrive we need to shuffle some of our stuff to make room in the appropriate spots. It is the motivation I need to get things done, I suppose...

Kick in the Pants

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Thu, 12 May 2011 01:25:00 +0000

I haven't had much to say for the last few days, so I haven't written anything. I have been very mellow, sleepy and uninterested in doing anything, so I have been pretty quiet. Today, however, I woke up with a bit more energy and zest. In fact, it hit me today as I was recording the times for closing that we are really moving! I have been going through the motions of packing and coordinating but haven't really thought that much about the end of all the work. It is probably good it took so long, since I seem to get really excited and then burn out.

I got most of the rest of the craft room packed up this morning, then went to the moving company place to pick up some more newsprint and some shrink wrap (really wide plastic food wrap) to finish things up. While I was out, a friend from out of town called and asked if we could meet for lunch, so that took up most of the rest of the afternoon.

Throughout the day, however, I was in contact with the buyer of our house, and it looks like we will be busy with them this weekend. They are keeping my desk and coming over so we can help them move it to the other end of the house. They are also meeting a delivery driver for some furniture they purchased but must have delivered. Long story shortened, but we agreed to have them deliver it here so they wouldn't have to pay for an extra POD to move it in.

That means I will have to really get on the ball tomorrow and Friday to get things out of the way. It might be just the motivation I need to get my list done. I clearly need some sort of motivation!

Weekend in Review: Two Weeks Left!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Sun, 08 May 2011 20:36:00 +0000

Happy Mother's Day! It has been a quiet weekend here at Miller Manor, and we have delighted in the reprieve from all the work! We slept in both yesterday and today. Saturday we spent several hours at Ornery's workplace, ostensibly to shred a couple bags of papers, but after wearing out the shredder we ended up going through his desk to lighten the load there for the upcoming move to the new building. Apparently the president said they didn't want to move any unnecessary stuff, so they should clear out the stuff they didn't need. Alrighty!

We drove by our new house--it is hard to stay away!--then picked up a few paint swatches at the nearby Lowe's. Then we went by the library and Ornery picked up a dozen books on garages to figure out a scheme to make his new man-cave as functional and pleasant as he can. We spent the rest of the day reading and lounging around.

Today I packed up most of the craft room and Ornery mowed the lawn. While I was in the craft room I noticed some bugs in the window. I asked him if they were inside or out, and indeed they were in. Fear always rears its ugly head when I see winged insects like that, but it turned out that they were only ants, not termites. Whew. Still not fun, but nothing that we need to stress over. I don't know how they come in, but I am sure there are plenty of little places exposing the inside to the outside.

Now we are waiting on the burgers to cook on the grill, our second meal at home today! This week I pack up the kitchen, so eating at home will be less likely by the end of the week, but I do plan to leave a few things out for us to cook and eat with that will go in a box to be unpacked first thing in the new house.

Other than packing, my week is completely devoid of commitments. I can't remember the last time that happened! We are down to the last two weeks before the move. It can't happen quickly enough!! I am so glad I have been packing for a while and I don't have the whole house to do now. This week besides the kitchen and the rest of the craft room is the master bed and bath. That is pretty much the rest of the house. I have some work left in almost every room, but it is minimal and I have left the last week to take care of that stuff.

It has finally decided to warm up and be summer, a state we were beginning to wonder about having deserted us this year. I can't say I love the heat, but I have most of my warm clothes packed up and it wasn't fun being cold!

Happy Friday!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Fri, 06 May 2011 12:09:00 +0000

I think someone must have been messing with the calendar pages and left a few days out! How did we get to May 6th so fast? Sunday is Mother's Day, a week from today is Ryan and Ale's second anniversary (?!?) and in two weeks (5/19) Ornery and I will celebrate our 32nd year as husband and wife. I have sure lost track of the time--one of the benefits (or side-effects) of being so immersed in a project I guess!

Ornery has been dreaming big-time about his new garage. I am surprised he doesn't have a floor plan all drawn out and a list of materials to buy right after we move. :) He is very excited about his work shop. As for me, I have just been plugging away at my lists with momentary flashes of excitement for how it will be at Zoe Cottage. Right now it just looks like a lot of work in my future!

The living room looks really naked without the mobile and pictures up. The only decoration still in place is on the mantle where the clocks and large painting are waiting for us to carry them away in our car. Those beige walls are really blah now, and even after all the Realtors telling me how appealing they are to buyers, I still just don't get it. I hope it isn't too long until we can paint in the new house. There are a few rooms we may leave, but I have already picked colors for several of them. :) The bull-nosed corners might be a bit of a challenge if we don't want to continue around them with a new color, but I am sure we will figure it out.

I got all the errands run yesterday, so I think I should be able to stay home today. I plan to start on a dish pack in the kitchen since I still have several glass things on the bar that need to be packed, and then work on finishing up in the garage. I am not really excited about washing out the garbage cans and all the gardening tools, but I suppose it won't kill me. :)

Packin' It All Up

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:35:00 +0000

Only 17 more days and a wake-up until we move!! I can't believe how fast the days are rolling by, and I am pleased to have most of this week's list already finished.

I got the garage essentially done yesterday, and last night Ornery emptied the shed except for the gas powered lawn equipment. There are still items that I don't know how to pack, things like tool boxes (a box of those would be terribly heavy!) and some power tools such as a wet grinder and the scroll saw. Then, I still have to figure out a good way to transport a shelf-full of assorted oily car related products that the movers don't want to put on the truck. We still need to take down the mobile in the living room and air up the dolly tires to move boxes around once we move. I don't know how every tire in the place gets flat so quickly, but the tires on the dolly, wheelbarrow and hose cart are all flat as pancakes. Ornery bought some slime to put in them, and hopefully that will help keep them bouncy enough to use.

The chimney repair man came yesterday afternoon and fixed the cracks in the chimney. I am keeping my fingers and toes crossed that we don't have anything else break down before we move. I hope for the new owners' sake that if anything else is going to fail, it will happen while it is under warranty, and that they will have a good life here at Miller Manor since we have fixed so many things already.

Ornery and I talked quite a while about how to set up the new garage, and we think we have a workable plan. We had thought to use a slatwall system, but after pricing it and considering our needs, we opted for a different storage solution. We have a lot of pegs for a regular peg board, and for the most part those are efficient for storing things off the work surface but easily in sight. We'll hang a couple 8 foot sections of that along the long wall above where his work benches will be. Then we plan to build in a large (6'W X8'H X2'D) cupboard with doors on it at the front end of the small bay to house all the stuff we have had out on shelves in this garage. Hopefully it will keep the stuff cleaner--a major consideration since he is going to be doing a lot of saw-dust creating in there. Then, we will paint the cabinets, existing shelves and work benches all the same color so it will look like it is supposed to go together. I think he is almost as excited about the garage as he is about the rest of the house! I am thrilled for him to have a "man cave" and still have it look nice. Now if he can remember to put things away after each project...

Today is de-clutter day. Every room has a mess in it that needs to be straightened up. I don't mean just the piles of packed boxes--I intend to leave them scattered around to make the loading easier, but the little piles of papers, empty boxes, and clutter seem to be multiplying like unattended rabbits. Part of the problem is that I have packed enough things that my usual storage spots are not available, but I don't think I can handle the mess too many more days. I am glad to have the chance to stay at home and take care of all this. I can't imagine having a job and trying to move!

Fuzzy Headed

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Wed, 04 May 2011 00:52:00 +0000

I can't remember the last time I stayed up reading until 1:00 AM but I did that last night and was a little fuzzy headed this morning as a result. Despite the short night, I woke up at 5:30 and got busy right away, beginning with the laundry and doing some online requests for change of address to the magazines we subscribe to. Since it usually takes them a couple of months to switch all that over, I am guessing there shouldn't be any problem with the magazines arriving before we move. I love it that all that can be handled online without mailing anything or making calls to automated systems and waiting forever on the line for a real person to pick up the phone. Yay doodies for technology!

I also wrote a letter to my aunt, then realized I had packed my stamps. :( She is one of the few people who still send personal snail-mail, although I seem to have offended her and her letters have been rare as hen's teeth of late. Then I finished laundry from last week, and started the whole process all over again. I don't know how we go through so many clothes, but it seems like every couple of days I have two or three loads of laundry to do. I packed a few boxes in the craft room, emptying out the little closet there.

My pj day ended at 10:30 when I finally had some clean clothes to wear, and I went out to run some errands including the purchase of some stamps to mail my letter. I stopped at the end of the drive to pick up my mail on my way out and found the renewal notice for one of the car tags so I thought I might just go ahead and take care of that while I was out since I would be right next to the tag agency. I was surprised to find that I had no current insurance verification form so I made a quick call to the insurance agent and had them email it to me. It took a while for it to arrive, but I am safe again. I am sure glad I haven't been stopped by the police for anything!

Ornery fixed the plumbing issue when he got home--it has to be a first that he didn't have to make more than one trip to Lowe's to finish the project!--and we went out for dinner. It was a productive day, and one filled with good news--our house appraised at or above the sales price (they don't tell you exactly how much), and my sister in Tucson sold her house within a week of putting it on the market for $30K more than they listed it for. Four people looked at it and all made offers. The buyer had been looking in that neighborhood of 49 houses for a couple of years. He really wanted to live there, but it is also a beautiful home and move-in ready.

I like happy days like that, even if they do start out fuzzy!

I Wish It Was All Done...

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Tue, 03 May 2011 00:29:00 +0000

The day didn't pan out quite like I thought it would, but it's all good. I went with Ornery to the chiropractor this morning, then dropped off some papers for the Realtor. I worked at home for a bit finishing up more of the office, then I packed two wardrobes from our closet. It almost echoes in there! :)

My lunch date cancelled, so around noon I ventured out again to run a couple of errands, stopping first at JC Penney's to decide how many and what style of dishes I should get... I couldn't decide so I didn't get any. When I came home, I gathered all the make and model numbers of the appliances for the home warranty and emailed them to the Realtor, then started working on the garage. I am SOOOO glad I spent so much time organizing it over the last year. We got rid of a lot of stuff, and it has made packing it up a lot easier than I feared. I actually made a lot of progress, but there are many items I have no idea how to pack or if I should even try to box them up.

When Ornery came home from work he helped me for a while out there, removing the flag pole holder and other little items from outside. While he was taking all the quick connect parts off the faucets and hose, he discovered that the front faucet needs a new washer put in it as it is dripping quite a bit. He is off to buy the part now. I sure hope our new house doesn't have any plumbing problems, but at least he finally got the toilet fixed...

I don't have to be anywhere tomorrow. I may make it a PJ day and do laundry and pack things in the craft room. Wednesday afternoon the chimney repair guy is to come and fix the chimney if the weather permits. I guess he doesn't want to be up on the roof in a thunder storm. If I do go out, it will be to take a load of stuff to the Goodwill donation center as I have come across a few things I missed on the last round.

If the weather is nice tomorrow evening, we might start hauling things from the shed to the garage so the movers have fewer steps to make (thus taking less time to load, saving us $$). I will wash out all but one of the garbage cans and use them to put things in like shovels, rakes, etc. There are quite a few things that will travel well that way, and since the movers suggested it...

Both Ornery and I said today how much we wish we were already moved, but since we aren't, we are making the best of it. Other than wondering how to pack things, I've had a pretty good attitude and have not gone into "overwhelmed mode." Elizabeth is planning to take the day after closing off from work and coming to help us unpack. I will certainly be glad for the help at that point. I have enough time to pack, but I will be anxious to unpack and get settled. I think it will take most of the summer to really make it home.

Weekend in Review: Three More WEEKS!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Sun, 01 May 2011 21:59:00 +0000

We enjoyed church last night--the first time we've been in ages--even though the attendance was really light due to the women's retreat that took about 1/2 the congregation away for the weekend. We are starting to feel like we are a part of that group, which is a nice change for us.

I didn't fully complete my list for the week, but very nearly, and since I packed one room scheduled for next week, I think I am ahead. I only have a few items left in the office--mostly things that I don't know what to do with. I still have a few of those on the bar in the living room as well, so I might just put them all in a box together.

Ornery and I went to Walmart today to buy some totes to store all his camping gear in. They will be stored in the garage at the new house, and the two 36 gallon totes contained all the supplies exactly! There was no extra room and nothing left out. We also went to Office Depot and bought some banker boxes to move the files from our file cabinets in. We have not had good luck moving them full, so we decided to empty them--and I am sure they will travel better. The banker boxes fit the hanging files perfectly, making packing and unpacking very easy. Our rewards card covered most of the expense, so they ended up being much cheaper than the counterparts offered by the moving company.

It has been cool and rainy all day today, which has lent itself to making us sleepy. It feels much like a fall day, but the green grass and leaves belies that notion. We have worked in a desultory fashion, but I suppose accomplished enough to say we weren't complete slackers. :) At any rate, the closet, which was completely full before the weekend, is now almost completely empty, and all the book shelves have been cleared with the exception of Ornery's plastic models--which have me baffled for a way to transport them safely.

This week I have to schedule the chimney repairs and get them done, have lunch with a friend and continue with the packing. Garage, shed and the last of the rooms I have already "finished" are slated for completion this week. I also have a Dr. appointment with the chiropractor and an appointment to meet up with the Realtors at some point to hand off a form.

Time sure does seem to be flying by. Here we are already in May, and only 22 more days until we are in our new digs! We spent a lot of time planning where to put things this weekend, and even found a great solution for the craft room storage. It will be fun to set things up in a new way--I just hope I can find everything when I am done!

Bummer.

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 22:21:00 +0000

The buyers decided we were being too fortunate, I suppose, and are asking for chimney repairs of $180. to be performed. Bummer. The TRR Supplemental not only stated which repairs they wanted done, but also the company that was to do them, so we can't even shop for a better price. Oh, well.

The weather here has been gorgeous today, and we enjoyed a fairly long outing at Lowe's then lunch with Elizabeth and Jeff at a little cafe near our house called Duffy's, then a stroll through the beautiful plants and other gardening accouterments at a local nursery called Southwood. It is high dollar, but they do have some beautiful things.

While we were at Lowe's we bought some reading material, and spent most of the afternoon leisurely perusing it. Ornery is out filling the cars with gas--it was nice of him to do that without me so I didn't have to see the price!

Big Sigh of Relief!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 19:19:00 +0000

Ornery and I are so relieved to learn that the buyer of our house did not file a TRR Supplemental requiring us to make any repairs, and that the appraiser will not be asking for any repairs either. We'll find out for sure about the price and its comparability to other similar homes sold in our area next Tuesday or so, which would indicate whether or not the house will appraise at or above the sale price. I think it will without any problem.

We are looking forward to a very nice relaxing weekend knowing that all the things that had been hanging over our heads are gone. Elizabeth says she is coming into town for a visit and it will be nice to not be so busy trying to get things done while she is here.

Can I tell you how relieved I am???!

Appraisal Day

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:19:00 +0000

Despite the heaviness in my heart for those throughout the south who have lost family members and all their earthly possessions to the horrible tornadoes yesterday, life continues to march forward here. Sometimes when a person is going through a tragedy it is hard to imagine that there are other people who are living as though nothing untoward has happened. It almost seems irreverent to do anything but mourn.

Today the appraiser is to come and do his job at Miller Manor. I understand that we are not out of the woods yet for repairs as he could find any number of things that we'd have to fix in order for the closing to occur. Such is the way with appraisals, and especially for FHA loans. According to our contract, we are on the hook for up to $1,000., but I doubt he will find that much. I am hoping for no repairs and at least the sales price for the value. Our new house appraised for $500. over what we are buying it for. That is just right--enough over to make us feel like we got a good deal but not so much that the buyer feels gypped. The same company that appraised our new house is doing this one.

Once he leaves, I will hit the packing again. I was a total slacker yesterday, not doing a single thing of any value to anyone except doing a bit of dumpster diving for a handful of used boxes and starting the laundry. I missed a friend's birthday, discovering it on my calendar just as I was going to bed, and that made me sad. I do look forward to being moved and past all this busy-ness, even though it hasn't really been terribly stressful -- or at least as much as I anticipated. And that is a good thing!

Wearing Blinders

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 10:06:00 +0000

It seems like my world has taken on a very narrow view and perspective, all revolving around relocation of our personal possessions. I rarely go anywhere except to take care of errands relating to the move, and I am so focused on the various details I don't remember the last time I did anything else! I imagine reading the daily updates has been somewhat dry but there is a part of me that won't let me cease the prattle.

Last night I got a call from my Realtor letting me know that the buyer would like to have a fireplace inspection this morning at 10:30. He seemed to think they would not be filing a TRR supplemental (for repairs) which would release us of any further responsibilities toward repairs, but that they wanted to check to see if the fireplace starter is something that might be repaired in the future. They only have until the end of today to file the supplemental, and I am hoping they won't surprise us and require us to fix the thing.

I finished packing two rooms yesterday, (the dining room and spa room) and only lack one box of finishing in the living room. The remaining items are very fragile bone china plates and some glass pitchers, and I am a little nervous about how best to pack them.

A trip mid-morning to the scrapbook store where I participated in the garage sale a couple of weeks ago netted a $52.00 check (much more than I anticipated!) and a carload of empty boxes. Some of the boxes were useless, being too small for anything, but there were several sturdy ones that will be great for books and glassware. I have already used several.

Today, other than the fireplace inspection, I hope to finish up the office and that last box in the living room. I also need to do some laundry. That will leave tomorrow and the weekend to work on transcription and locate more boxes. I still haven't even started on the first message yet, and I am feeling a little sad about that. However, since this is only Thursday, and I have almost my entire list done (except the office) I am confident I will be able to do one message this week and not have anything else hanging over my head while I do it. Next week's list is fairly light in comparison, so maybe I can get more than one done then.

Only 26 days left!

Minor Detour

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:14:00 +0000

Well, I hadn't planned to pack the living room this week, but since we had to move the wall units (which were full of stuff) to stretch the carpet, I ended up doing just that yesterday. Ornery was supposed to have helped me move the bed before work but since we overslept, he ended up coming home for lunch. I spent the morning emptying the units and packing them up, and when he came he helped me move them and the bed. As it turned out, the carpet guy ended up moving them all over the room anyway, but at least they were empty making it fairly easy.

As for the paint spot under the bed, our memories had it much larger than it actually turned out to be, and the guy used a razor and shaved a lot of the paint off the surface. It is still there, but much less noticeable, and considering the overall shabbiness of the carpet, I don't think it will matter much in the big scheme of things. At any rate, he didn't charge me to do that, so I ended up paying less than I had budgeted for the job--always a happy coincidence!

Each day I have made significant progress on my lists. The rooms are looking sparser and the piles of packed boxes are appearing all over the house. The most complicated aspect of the whole move seems to be figuring out how to pack things so they won't be broken when they arrive at the new house. If we moved all the breakables in our car, we would have to make a dozen trips, so I am trying to keep the things we move ourselves to a minimum by carefully packing most things to travel on the truck. People have been moving things across the country for years and having little breakage, so I know it is possible.

I got all the crystal from the curio cabinet packed in one of the stout boxes we got from Jeff and Elizabeth, and plan to fill a second box just like it with glass from the wet bar in the living room today. There will still be more glass, but I have been promised three dish-packs as soon as they are back in stock at the moving company. I have about four more boxes of books to pack in the office, and then all the stuff in the closet there. At the moment I have a love/hate relationship going with walk-in closets! They hold a lot of stuff...

The new house doesn't have large closets in the small bedrooms, but the master more than makes up for the lack! In fact, I will have enough room in the new closet to house all my clothes so I plan to put the armoire I am currently using for that purpose in the craft room to store office and craft supplies. We are still trying to figure out how it will all work, but each day more pieces fall into place.

I have high hopes for finishing at least one of the four rooms I have started today. The easiest would be the spa room, followed by the living room and dining room. The most stuff is in the office, but I have been avoiding it rather assiduously. :) I don't know why I tend to flit from one room to another, starting and stopping frequently, but that seems to be how I roll these days, and at the end of the week the list seems to be all crossed off, so I don't suppose it really matters.

Just 27 more days!!!

A Little Giddy

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 12:27:00 +0000

Yesterday was an exceptional day! I got several boxes packed in the office, emptied the desk, and ran several errands. The best part of the day was in the evening when the inspectors descended on Miller Manor in a swarm and declared our home fit as a fiddle! They even thanked us for having such a nice house to inspect. I can only imagine the things they find, but we worked really hard to make it easy for them, and go well for us!

Besides the two of us and the buyers the following people were roaming the house all at once: both Realtors, the buyer's insurance agent, a structural engineer, two people for electrical, mechanical and plumbing, a security system inspector, the termite inspector, and the buyer's dad. It was pretty hectic there for a while, but we answered any questions they might have, and in the end they all gave their reports.

We have to lower the little electronic eyes in the garage that make the garage door go up if there is anything in the way, but otherwise we have NO REPAIRS!! AND the buyers said they would keep the desk, so we don't have to move it! Yeah! There were only two other things they noted: one was the bathtub drain plug doesn't work (I had a rubber stopper there for that reason) and the other was the gas starter in the fireplace doesn't work, but since the fireplace still works without it, neither one was added to the repairs list.

Ornery and I were so happy last night we could hardly sleep! In fact, I was up for a couple of hours in the night, and we both overslept the alarm!

One of the errands I ran yesterday was to take my Social Security card by the mortgage company for them to copy. While I was there, they asked if we were ready for them to order the appraisal, and since we have finished with the inspections on the other house, I had them go ahead and do it. That should be back in about a week or so. The appraisal on our house should be coming up pretty soon, as well. All seems to be proceeding apace, and it looks like we really could close on the 23rd as scheduled!

I stopped by the moving company to see if they had more used boxes, but they were out. I hope they call me soon, as my supply will be gone by the end of this week, and I still have a LOT of stuff to pack! Someone said that I could get boxes at WalMart late at night or early in the morning-- I would like to wait a bit and hopefully avoid that, but I may have to go that route.

The only blight on the day was that the hall toilet is still leaking, despite Ornery's last attempts at stopping it. I don't know what he has planned for it next, but I wouldn't blame him if it involved a bit of TNT and a match. :)

This afternoon, the people are scheduled to come patch a piece of carpet in the master bedroom and stretch the carpet in the living room. They said that we don't have to move the furniture to stretch the carpet in the living room, but I don't know how they will do it if we don't. This morning I will be getting things ready for that--moving the bed and emptying the wall units in case they decide they really DO need to be moved. It should be another busy day!

Weekend in Review: Happy Easter!

noreply@blogger.com (Ornery's Wife) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 00:09:00 +0000

It has continued to rain all weekend, with intermittent clashes of thunder thrown in for good measure. It has been a fairly gentle flow, however, so the plants should be delighted. The dark skies have encouraged Ornery and me to spend a great deal of time with our eyes closed. Sleeping. Napping. It has been a nice little reprieve from our hectic schedule and one we both apparently needed.

Despite a horrendously late start to the day (2:00!) we managed to get the last few things done on our list, with the exception of the toilet, which Ornery is currently taking apart "one last time" to see if he can get it fixed. Goodness, what a nightmare that has been!

We did get the last bit of painting done, at least we hope it is the last! We had failed to paint inside the coat closet trim about six inches from the floor. While we had the paint out, we filled all the holes and painted the filler, then touched up a few little places where the paint was thin. We also got the gold paint from the hall and spa room, and I filled several holes and painted them and a small area that had been missed altogether when we painted the hall five years ago. How I never saw that until this week, I don't know! Anyway, it is all done now.

I have added a few more things to this week's list, including the first message of a series I am transcribing for Impact Ministries. They are working on getting all of Dr. Richards' messages in eBook format, and I have volunteered to do some typing and/or editing. I just got my first assignment on Thursday. I have never done any transcription work before, but I can't imagine it will be too difficult. I am looking forward to being part of the project, though. This first series is eight messages that are about an hour long each. My goal is to have this series done by the time we move. Once I get all the stuff packed and other jobs done on my list, I will not have a lot else to do, so I think it is possible to accomplish that in four weeks.

I have also had time to think more about how I want to decorate various rooms in our new house, and have come up with the name for it: Zoe Cottage. The architectural design is a French country cottage style, and when I did a search for Zoe House, there were lots of other things using that name. Once we move, I will be starting a new blog by that name and leaving this one behind. I secured the blog address, but haven't done anything else with it yet.

We are scheduled to close (and MOVE) four weeks from tomorrow! I am SO EXCITED!