All Systems Are Go. Again.

Whew! The guy in Clarksburg finally called us back and he DID have a truck to rent us after all. David called Christi and she said Mike will be here at 8am tomorrow so that will be when we take off. We still have a ton of stuff to do today, not excepting loading the truck. I'm returning the computer modem and have been unable to get ahold of verizon so we will be incommudicado until probably Monday night or Tuesday morning. Scary stuff. Well, see ya on the flip side!

There's a Fly in the Ointment

We are now frantically looking for a moving truck. The place we had originially spoken to had two wrecks in the past couple of days leaving them with no 14 foot moving vans. David's been calling all morning to various places with no luck yet.

We're out of here - TOMORROW!!

Yes, you heard that right, tomorrow. David got home late afternoon yesterday and realized it was going to be a bit tougher than he had thought. He called Oscar who then called his son-in-law who drives trucks for a living. Since Mike works during the week he can help us, but only on the weekend. So we'll be packing up the house today and will be leaving at 8 am Saturday. This throws a rather large monkey wrench in all our plans. The phone isn't supposed to be turned on til Monday but I'm hoping I can call today and see if they can move the date up a bit. We can't really use our cell phones in that area. And now we have to keep track of the cats since we all know how they love to disappear at critical times. I'm glad I kept up on the packing as it put us that much further ahead. So wish us luck!

The Cat Is Always The Last To Know...

Mr. Lee's been regarding me with great suspicion the past two days,  the gradual  downward shift in furnishings hasn't escaped her.I've been moving the smaller pieces down to the 1st floor and have gotten the rest of our stuff boxed up, leaving out the essentials.The 2 Stupid Dogs haven't noticed of course, we'll probably be in Pa for a couple of months before they even realize they've moved. Calling them retarded would be an unearned compliment. I cleaned the hot tub but can't cover it because when I do, it no longer exists for the Thinking Impaired Of The Canine World and they fall in it - talk about living for the moment. David called from Pa this morning, he's already moved the hot tub outside (where it belongs!!), got most of the stinky carpet up, and threw the washer and dryer in the dumpster (the inspection noted the washer didn't work and the dryer was downright dangerous).  He should be home tomorrow afternoon.  Sat and Sun will be spent packing the U-Haul truck and then Monday we're out of here. Jackson called last night and is having a good time, he bought himself an $80 pair of sneakers. He's going to be spending the weekend with those rich ,worldly Sutton people I hear - good thing he has those $80 sneakers so he'll fit in the elite!! Ah, the  golden  shores of New Joisey...............

We are homeless no more

David called from Pa a little while ago and he's officially closed on the house in Lake Ariel. He's already there and busybee unpacking the U-Haul. The sellers left the dining room set with a hutch which he says is nicer than our table - we'll see. Either way we'll have a spare dining room set in case anyone needs to have dibs.I've been packing packing and clearing up loose ends. I also shaved Pooh Dog today, we've got burrs around here by the truckload and I'm tired of spending an hour picking them off everytime he goes out. I'm afraid he doesn't look quite as thin as I thought he would, so contrary to popular opinion (mine) it's not all hair. Jackson wasn't happy about my posting his school picture in case anyone was wondering and I think it's very rude of some people to say they are going to kill people, especially if that person is thier mother. I'm keeping the pictures as insurance - he will never run away because if he does THAT will be the picture I give to the cops to use for the Have You Seen This Child posters they hang up in Wal Mart. I've also posted 2 pictures today of yet another huge, gross bug, this one I found sleeping in the filter of the hottub that I was cleaning out. It was about 3-1/2 inches long and OF COURSE had a bazillion creepy little legs. Here is the hot tub

                                                                                                              here is me.

Yucko.

Who's demented child is THIS??

Well, after the mad dash today  David and Jackson left around 1pm. Right after they left I tackled the 3rd floor - also known as the Lair. I thought Jackson had done a fair job UNTIL I OPENED THE CLOSET. It's a good thing he's on his way to Pa because he  needs a good beating. Since he's not here however, I'm posting this school picture he had hidden under his bed as revenge.. Jackson usually takes a very good picture but this one's a rather odd. If you hit "view larger" he actually looks a bit serial-killer-ish. After 4 hours everything but the furniture is downstairs and packed. I got a little teary when I sat down and noticed it looked exactly as it did 6 months ago when we moved in. This is not fun like the last time. I still have no desire to go back to Long Island - I don't miss it at all. But WV I'll miss dreadfully, mobile homes and all. Around 3 while down in the kitchen I noticed our checkbook on the counter. That's rather strange as it supposed to be with David going to the closing. Sigh, Fed Ex once again. David called and said the lawyer had spoken to the sellers about the heating system situation ("ka-put") and they agreed to drop the price $2000 so that's very happy news.  He'll be back later in the week so it's me and the pets until Friday. Hopefully, the closing will go well - everyone cross your fingers!

Let The Games Begin

We're now in Battle Mode. David called another guy about the heating(1st guy gave an estimate of $6500!! forget that, we'll sit on the dogs!). 2nd guy advertised free estimate - then tells David that's only if he gets the job - otherwise it's $75. Hmm. I called 3 hospitals so that would mean I'm owed $225 by Mr. Stupid's estimation. He got ix-nayed this morning. We've got 2 months before we need it so we'll take the time to shop around.  Moving company is also ix-nayed. When David talked to them the price went up $400 - did they forget to mention the "peak time" was extra?(why yes they did!!). David's rented a small trailer from U-haul for $60 for the first run  - and we fit a surprising amount of stuff. Since we've already moved most of the furniture to the 1st floor and have reduced the amount we have, there's no reason we cant' do it ourselves. Even if David makes 3 trips we'll still save about $1500. And since the yard sale was a bust, we need to cut corners. I put up new signs and had it again on Saturday, but no one's really on Grafton road on the weekends so no one saw the sign. I made about $35 and at 1:45 David had enough of me hawking my wares in the driveway,packed it up in the truck and gave it to Goodwill before I could quickie make another sign. On the upside, I did manage to fling that ugly picture of the swans in before he noticed so it wasn't a total washout.

Try Not To Get Too Excited

You'd think the dogs would be guarding the house and the cats would be hunting vermin. In reality, thier main function seems to be live throw pillows and I must admit, they do it quite well. Things here are going quickly into Icky Mode. We haven't heard any further from the moving company - they haven't even sent us a contract to sign which is a tad worrisome. David's calling today to find out. The yard sale yesterday was a bust, the sky darkened around 10;30 and by 11:30 Jackson and I were on our way to the mall in the torrential rains. I'm doing it again today - David said one more time and that's enough! He called me a Pain In His Ass which I don't think I am, but there is the slight chance he might be right. He also threatened to write me an email - after all that crap with Carole and the Nasty Emails that's David's favorite thing to say every time I annoy him. We spoke to the heater guy in Pa - the heater system is ka-put and will have to be replaced. The sellers said it was just a thermostat, but David said he looked at the heater and had suspected the ka-putness right from the start. And we went through all this nonsense when we moved here - I'm sure more stuff will pop up in time. David mentioned the 4 year thing again this morning - he can say that till the cows come home - I am staying PUT after this!

Moving Right Along.....

The house has reached that disaster look - boxes all over, things to be sorted on counters and tables, everything constantly shifting from one room to the next edging closer to the door. I'm having my yardsale today (weather report this morning- dense fog warning with afternoon thundershowers likely) - I figure if it doesn't work out I'll just do it again tomorrow. Jackson had his last martial arts lesson last night. Since I was talking to Kim, David offered to pick him up. David did not know the Rule though. Instead of sitting on the bench 20 feet away from the studio and not indicating any relationship to Jackson -  HE WENT IN AND SPOKE TO PEOPLE. Jackson informed David on the way home if they'd been if feudal Japan he would have been killed INSTANTLY for entering the dojo uninvited, as would have the person who let him in. Good thing they aren't that strict at the Mountaineer Mall. David didn't seem to feel they did that in feudal Japan either, but I suppose he can just take it as a warning. He and Jackson are leaving  Monday afternoon,we're still waiting to hear from the lawyer as to what the check amount should be. I'll be so glad when this is all over - David said we're just staying for 4years until Jackson graduates, but I think this is it for me! At this point if we were landing in a landfill I would stay just so I didn't have to move again!

It's 4 Weeks To The Day....

...that we started this ball rolling, I can't believe it's only been a month! Today the excitement of having a lot of money in the bank is being tempered by the reality that it all has a destination and none of it has to do with the Bahamas. Todays picture is the 3 car garage David built pretty much by himself - he was promised help but everyone quit before they got started. There may be a lack of jobs here, but there's an equal number of slackers we've found. One guy quit because he told Oscar his rectum was bleeding(??) - I don't have to tell anyone Oscar had fun with that bit of information and hollering across the yard at David. As far as jobs go I've called 2 hospitals, the first offered $15 an hour, $16 WITH experience. She also gave me the names of all the hospitals in the area which I found a bit strange until I called the 2nd one. That one called me back right away, $21 an hour to start, will pay all my moving expenses, 100% free tuition, benefits, and is only 8 miles from my house. I think the first hospital just gives out the names of the other hospitals because they know you're going to call them anyhow. We read over the inspection report for the Pa house - I hate those reports because on the first read it always sounds like you're buying a shack. But on the second read you realize "poor condition" can mean anything from true poor condition to a missing wingnut. Overall, the house passed and 90% was in the fair to satisfactory range. David's pretty excited about having a house of his own to work on - the RE  told him one of the reasons the house sold so fast here was due to all the improvements he'd done. The house in Pa needs some work, but the end result will be a house worth far more than we paid for it. Oh well, back to packing for me!

We are now offically homeless.

Technically, we are homeless. We went to the closing this morning - a bit of anxiety as the buyer was late but nothing major. The buyers are very easy going which helps. We're allowed to stay in the house - free of charge! - until the 12th which gives us a bit of breathing room if there's a hold up on the Pa end. The frown-ey part was we have to leave the $2000 in escrow because of the septic system for 90 days. Other wise things went very smoothly which for us is nothing short of a miracle. Now we've got to deal with the Pa house. The RE agent is not the best, we've had to do a few things ourselves and really keep on top of him. And we just got the inspection report to read over, all 18 pages. What fun!

How We Are Starting To Feel About Paperwork

We finally found out where the buyer's lawyer's office is located. Good thing since the closing is on Monday. I got a letter from the Pa board of Nursing to tell me I forgot something so I've got to Fed Ex something else on Monday (Note to self - buy Fed Ex stock......). It's certainly an uphill battle. On other subjects - Jackson did get his white belt despite his inability to recite the Code Of The White Eagle. And on the way home we saw two kids bouncing on that trampoline that sits a foot from the road and is surrounded by outcroppings of rocks - I guess kids are not as breakable here. I just find the whole thing hysterically funny. Not much going on as you can see, but I really just needed an excuse to put up this picture of Mr. Lee which I think is a riot.

Things I Will Miss About West Virginia

1) The View.

2) Neighbors. Right now we live between yuppies and what appears to be the Beverly Hillbillies without the money. To say our neighborhood is a mixed bag would be the understatement of the century

3) The road signs - never on LI will you see "end blasting area" or "falling rock zone". My favorite of course is the one that states No Tractors, ATVs or Herding Livestock On The Interstate. The great thing is you KNOW somebody did it at least once or the sign wouldn't be there

4)The endless uses of mobile homes. We've seen them used as storage, guest quarters, as additions, with additions, small communities, large communities, parked on the side of hills so steep it almost takes your breath away just to look at it.

5)Willies Bar and Lounge right down the road. Especially the sign that has the nightly specials, our favorite being Liver and Onions Night (those are the nights the parking lot looks pretty desolate)

6)The Stores. They run on a wierd schedule that's determined by the owner. They can open at 8, close at 2, only be open every other week, it doesn't seem to strike anyone as strange. Gun stores tend to be run out of home, David frequented one that if it wasn't open you just hollered at the dining room and the guy would open it.

7)Out houses.

8)The people who can be a bit strange, but we havent run across anyone that dislikes us and our neighbor across the road Oscar is amazing. Anytime we've needed anything - he's right there, he offers help before we ask as do all of his family members., I think out of all we will miss from here, Oscar and his family will be missed the most.

Just as long as the cat's OK!

As you can see, Mr. Lee's back on the table where she's NOT supposed to be, but it is nice that she's regained almost all of her super powers, isn't it? Today was Phone Call day. Inspection people called to ask where the check was so they can inspect the Pa house. David wanted to know when I sent the check and I said I didn't since HE DID. Hmm. Turns out He Did Not. So the answer to the inspectors question was the check was still in the check book. Fed Ex is so making a killing off of us. Then David called about the title search. Then he called Harry The Agent as to why he hadn't sent any of the paper work which facillitates the title search.. Harry seemed to think he had to the end of  at least August to get that done. So David was faxing away this morning and Fed Ex got yet another cut of my vacation fund. Christi our agent from up here called this morning to tell me she did not really have a good time in SC since some of her relatives are snotty and she hadn't gotten the paper signed that states we can stay here until August 12th after the closing because the buyers are camping and they don't have phone service. I'm probably a little less concerned with the former than the latter.  On the up side the book I ordered 3 weeks ago and have been harrassing the employees at Booksamillion has finally arrived, "Knitting On The Edge" which was very expensive but worth it. At least in my world, maybe not in David's. And most important - the cat is ok!

Things I Will Not Miss In West Virginia

1) Giant Insects - aside from the Wood Spider which can attain kitten-like stature, we also have the Luna Moth (4 inch wingspan) and some creepy thing that has like a billion legs and a big head that scuttles about. Just the mere thought of stomping these bloated creatures makes me want to puke

2)Mobile Home Transports - which they do CONSTANTLY. You never get to pass them on the highway, they're always coming toward you down the narrow winding road with no guard rails and take up 3/4 of the road. This leaves you perched on the side of the road with the 20 foot drop and no where to go

3)Thunderstorms - all the time. I've heard thunder booming on clear days. Storms roll in in minutes, Jackson and were walking from the bookstore to Lowes to meet David and in under 5 minutes the sky got night time dark and by the time we got to the truck the rain was coming down in sheets

4)No Zoning - at all. On one hand it's nice because you put in a pool, an addition, a garage,etc with no paper work. However, you're neighbors can have cattle in thier front yard, can build an addition out of an old school bus and tar paper and can pepper thier entire yard with junked cars and mobile homes.

5)The Smoking Thing - being an ex-smoker myself I understand the allure. However when doing a hospital admission data base and asking the COPDer who's in for pneumonia and can't even complete a sentence when he quit smoking and you realize HE HASN'T, well, that's too much even for me. David had a client who was dying of colon cancer and still smoking but said there was no relationship because "I blow the smoke out my mouth, not out my ass".

6)The Fake Low Taxes - it's true our taxes on this house are below $1000. But they whack you in a hundred other ways. $1400 to register the car and then there's the personal property tax.....

Picture Day!

Today's interesting picture day. If you hit "view larger" it's a better picture. # 1 is a traffic accident we saw on the way home. There are 2 speeds in WV,  Stopping To Turn and Full Speed Ahead which means there are 2 kinds of accidents, Tiny Fender Bender and Out In A Blaze Of Glory. This is a picture of the latter, with the car perfectly upsidedown in the median. # 2 is of my FAVORITE house in the universe. If I win the WV Powerball I'm planning on buying this house. It's on the side of  119 S  which is a main road through the towns that goes by my road. The last family moved out after a week of removing junk. Then a NEW familly moved in and not only didn't remove the previous tenants junk but added MORE plus a couple non running vehicles. The fun thing is though, they've got a tramp-o-lean that sits right on the side of the road, surrounded by rocks and cinderblocks. I figure they probably have some kids they don't need.  The last 3 pictures are of a spider we found when we came home today, it was almost the size of my hand with it's legs spread out. Holy Tolodo! David soaked it in bug spray and it just ran behind the curtain. I tried to do my part by alternately taking pictures and shrieking which no one appreciated. We finally got it to die. Our neighbor Oscar said it was a Wood Spider and they can get bigger than that. I THINK I HEAR PENNSYLVANIA CALLING ME.

Sunday Sunday...

Things are winding down and we're going into a holding pattern. We're having the inspection done on the Pa house on the 16th and will close soon after. The packing has also slowed down quite a bit. It was either slow down or wear Hefty bags and eat off the floor. Poor Copper had a seizure yesteday, the first in a year. The weather is humid and there's not much to do. Jackson tested for his white belt last night but isn't sure if he passed or not. He remembered all the poses and moves, but didn't remember The Code Of The White Eagle. Regardless, he's taking lesson til we move, especially since I had to buy the stinking uniform for him to test in and it's not like you can wear it to the mailbox or something. Oh well, I guess I should get back to lying on the couch......

Not Working For The Man

Well, I am officially unemployed and mooching off of David. I practiced laying around on the couch last night watching TV and of course, knitting - I did pretty good, although I probably could use more practice. There are 5 pictures this morning - I didn't realize I could do that! The first is the hot tub/swamp, next is our line for the leech field before it got buried,the hat and sweater set I just finished knitting that actually looks similar to the pattern and the last two are Mr. Lee - it's the same picture twice as I'm new at this.  I'm getting ready for a  yardsale next week, I'm having it on Friday since being unemployed, I probably need the money. Here they don't have yardsales on Sat and Sun, it's usually Friday and Saturday. Jackson's going to be testing for his white belt this morning and will continue his lessons at our new home. Mr. Lee continues to drive us crazy, she has a new habit of wanting to be fed around 3am. She was perched on David's shoulder this morning frantically poking me in the back and meowing. We ignored her til 4:15 and I finally gave in as by that time she was jumping around the bed and swatting noses. Due to the fact we almost lost her she's very much aware no one would dare hit her so she's got carte blanche as to her behavior and is taking full advantage!!

Just hanging around!!

Just an update - our closing date is officially July 19th for this house. We have to send in the paperwork for the Pa house (we got it today). The septic guy came and backhoed in the new line for the leechfield after the stupid health dept came and looked at it. I don't know why they had to see it since they passed the last one THAT DIDN'T WORK, bunch of retards. (In this instance, the word "retard" is appropriate). I called Mon General today and spoke to them, they said since I was on orientation I could just quit now. They actually thanked me for calling and giving them the option of my not completing the two weeks of notice and told me if the house deal falls through to call and I can just pick up where I left off. We're having a  pest inpection tomorrow so David has to get rid of the hornets nest. I told him he should take a bucket and clap it over the nest, he said "YOU'D LIKE THAT WOULDN'T YOU?!!" I probably shouldn't have been laughing so hard when I suggested it. We're having an inspection done on the house in Pa on the 16th which hopefully will go well. And that would be all the news for today!

Jackson and the girl

Jackson has always claimed Claw enjoys sitting like this. I personally disagree, given the narrowed eyes and flattened ears, but who am I to say? Things here are moving along, the guy got the hot tub running the other day, but steam continued to roll off it. I found a candy thermometer and stuck it in. 130 degrees, a bit toasty for my taste. I wouldn't have gotten in anyway - the water sat there for over a week before the guy came so it has a swamplike quality, complete with dead bugs and leaves. So I turned the heater down and went back out an hour later. 129 degrees. And given the condition of the water, well, the smell was what your tea would smell like if you made it in the swamp. So I shut it off and hot tub guy will have to make another visit. The septic guy was here last night and dug up the yard and put an entire new line in. And the 2nd moving guy was here yesterday and gave a better estimate. David and I are deciding on an actual closing date today and I think I'm going to put in my resignation tonight. I have no idea how they are going to handle this at work, since I'm not even off of orientation yet.

The Life I Wish Was Mine.....

Mr. Lee's favorite spot and David's most NOT favorite piece of furniture. I got it at an auction for $5. Yes, it's old and faded, but it's in excellent shape and after we move I plan on having reupholstered. In the meantime Mr. Lee has adopted it as a scratching post, playground, bed, and launching pad. We're currently working out the terms of selling the house. The septic guy is coming this morning to start, but we have to leave $2000 in escrow because it's 30 days before the health dept comes to test it.(the previous owner had to leave $5000 in escrow and the stupid health dept PASSED it so the owner got his money back before we realized it didn't work). And we've had something meet it's maker we think in the wall in the first floor. However, since it's not our dead animal we just sprayed Glad Air Freshener and opened the window. The smell has disappated so I'm sure something else probably ate it. They finally fixed the road by the way, so the temporary light is gone which helps a lot in the morning with the traffic. The way things are looking we will probably close at the end of the month and hopefully be in our new house by the first week in August - plenty of time to utilize the tennis courts and pools!! And yes, there will be a guest room!

Waiting, waiting

Mr. Lee and Jackson always takes a good picture, don't they? We're steady  packing - we try to do a bit each day so it doesn't seem so overwhelming. The septic system gets fixed on Tuesday, the health dept was here on Friday with the septic guy and they said to do "whatever it takes". Hmmm. That gives me no comfort at all, to know the septic system might need desparate measures. The hot tub guy will be back next week to finish fixing the hot tub. David's turned it off for now as it's on a timer and we're too lazy to read the directions.  We got up the other morning to see steam rolling off of it - David reported you could've cooked a lobster in it. David's been down at Lowe's twice this week, with stars in his eyes  and projects in his heart. He's been plotting and planning all week. The new plan is he's going to go by himself to the closing so he can get the carpet put in,etc before we get there. I'm staying home with the pets and finishing up on my end. We're also going to have a yardsale. Jackson's been clutching his things despite the fact we've assured him he gets to keep everything this time. When we moved the last time we replaced all of his furniture,etc so he's very suspicious of the yardsale and has asked me many times about exactly what is being sold. I told him he could pick out what he wants to sell at the yardsale but he claims he has NOTHING for it so we are leaving him alone.

Well, here it is!

Here's the picture of the house we have made a bid on and it's been accepted. The people buying our house have been kind enough to give us two extra weeks to va-moose which helps a great deal. The preliminary plan is  - I'll quit my job around the 25th, we  close on the house that week, quick drive up to Janet and Diane, release the Boy into thier custody, drive over to Pa and close on that house. We also have to get me a Pa nursing license, I have to find a job, Jackson needs a new orthodontist, we have to transfer his school stuff, do school shopping and the sundry job of moving all the pets and furniture. With the profit we make on this house, the lower cost of the new house, moving,etc we expect to pretty much break even. Of course, what we expect and what will actually happen are two different things as a general rule. We are still fooling with the septic system, that's turning into the never ending drama.