Been Here a Week...

And the movers bring the furniture today.
We were supposed to close today, but probably won't - this is a typical screwup from this bank's loan officer. She normally disappears the week of her closings, doesn't return calls, etc. So we will close next week sometime. We are moving in anyway. Changing over the bank was a pain. BOA doesn't have banks in either NE or SD, nothing close, so we had to roll over to Wells Fargo. Now, BOA lets illegal aliens hold bank acccounts and even wire money to Mexico, but they won't let me wire money from my account into another bank unless I am standing IN their bank. So we transfered the $$ to Tammy's shared account with us and she wired it.

The appraiser dinged the house on so many things; mostly cosmetic. What did he expect - it was built in 1910. But you gotta do what they require, so we replaced siding on the west addition, and have been painting. I was going to change the colors anyway - too many icky blues and greens for the porches and trim - so we did mostly bright white with dark grey porches.

Sasha and Phydeaux have been tied up outside every day; stll haven't been inside. I'm sure they are wondering where "their" couch and chairs are! Once the movers get done today, They will finally be 'allowed' in. So much more room, but it won't seem like it at first with all of the boxes!!

Last night Mike and I and Nancy were there til late; the coyotes started howling on the hills - our hills! - with their pups. Yesterday we got our first real plains storm; wild and windy and full of portent - but it blew around and over us. Nature is alive and well out here; so many songbirds and so much turmoil in so many little ecosystems. Birds fuss and fight and sing and sneak about.; I have bluebirds, scarlet tanagers, all manner of birds I have never seen before as well as robins and chickadees. Amazing. The lilacs are ready to bloom; over in Valentine they are already blooming, but here they have yet to start.

Folks here work steadily from sunup to sundown; time is not an issue. Lunch is at the Husker Hub; great big angus burgers. The cattlehands - men and women, in jeans and chaps - come in smelling of sweat and dust and cow to sit and laugh and talk. They only spend an hour, then go right back to work. Folk occasionally drive up in the driveway and you sit and talk for an hour or two. But otherwise it is work and work; a good thing, a healthy thing. Th guys across the street are reroofing a garage, we wave as we start work together.

I had to paint the last peak yesterday; I was scared to death to be up that high but it had to be done so I did it. I got it done, slowly and carefully. Now all that is left is some trim on the front and east sides. The house just glows in the sunshine now! Once I get the red for the trim and finish it, it should be really outstanding. We'll be buying cleaning stuff this morning and heading out to meet the movers - they couldn't pack my cleaners, so we'll need a lot of stuff. I just might pick up a set of overalls too!

It will be good to finally be in our place tonight. Probably won't have internet for a couple of days now, til the utlities get turned on and set up. First thing - get a PO box for mail! LOL

The Packers come today

Well, the packer... Denise.
Can't believe they are only sending one woman; poor girl!! At least Tammy came over Sat and Sun and helped Mike in the attic; what a chore that was! I have been down here throwing out stuff, packing stuff. Got to pack the suitcases today; we will need a week's worth of clothes just like Tammy and I did and be prepared to do laundry.

Mike and I are both sore and tired, and the burn pile has been going non-stop. Late yesterday he found the box of documents and photos we had gotten from mother years ago - her divorce decrees among them from her two husbands before Dad. That should make my brother Jim happy! We will give him the one from his Dad.

Rodney's little party for us Saturday night at his club was so nice; Cheetah and the guys and John the bandleader were so funny. "Have you ever worked a farm before?" Yes, but always someone else's, except for our own chickens and produce. I told them about working on the farm in OH; over a thousand acres and I plowed it on a tractor, ripping off my shirt to get a tan because it was hot and there was no one around for, well, miles. Cheetah grew up on a farm, and is now a bartender and real estate guy. He likes being in busyness and bustle. He is smart and funny and young. Working with him and Freddy and the rest of the guys was so much fun. Rodney bought me so many cards and such a beautiful wooden plaque with a picture of us together. I will miss him sooo much. He has been so wonderful and such a good friend. 20 years is a long time to be such good and trusting friends. He is not the only person I'll miss, but he is my dearest friend and always will be.

Last night we hugged each other and said, Three More Days! The drive will be hell, but we are going to go as slowly as we can to give Mike and the puppies an opportunity to rest and walk and relax.

Oh, well, back to work!! Probably won't get back on here til we are on the road, with my laptop.

Well the Appraisal Went Thru

Monday I got a call; and now we are certified and I can move! Made all the calls to verify all of the plans we made earlier, just hoping, and getting everything straight between the movers, DirectTV, the financial people - everything. We had hoped and planned but were not really sure until the house passed the appraisal - for far more than we are paying. Whew. What a relief.

Lots of viciousness, gossip, and lies going around here; but those folks live off of the pain and suffering that they cause others. They deserve what they asked for, and they'll get it. I turn in my resignation from Council tonight, and I'm gone. Poor Rodney, my dearest, bestest friend - all of the lies he has put up with over the years, and all of the people now taking such vicious pleasure in hurting him and anyone associated with him. Pathetic, screaming, fingerpointing, gossiping, small minded people - Christians, they call themselves. And they wonder why Mike and I attend church in a place where no one talks about each other, instead of within their local churches' walls. They will point at each other and say, "She means YOU!" They have no idea what they are really like, how life is like in the rest of the real world. No idea of what their real future holds. How sad and pathetic their petty viciousness is... the saddest thing is that they will never realize it.

I hate leaving Rodney in it, but I cannot help him or these people any more. We will do something for ourselves, not them. If they can't deal with it, oh, well. We - Mike and Rodney and me - have something to look forward to, not backwards on. We did all we could to take care of them; and now, we are going to take care of ourselves. Oh, well, Delos and TR will be coming out next year to hunt, and we can all still love and care for each other in phone calls and emails, in the in between times. Rodney's sons are soo sweet and funny, just like our own kids. It's nice that we all still love each other so much and can take care of each other, even long-distance.

Still busy

Packing and packing and throwing away stuff. Wish I could burn this useless stuff; it isn't what I want to be in the trash dump where anyone can get their hands on it.
Not enough boxes!!! Arrrgghhh. And lots of ceramics stuff; I'll have enough to decorate for every holiday. The front room/bay window will be our front office and 'pretty table' presentation for the window. The Scarlett O'Hara portrait and GWTW framed ads will go there, along with the computer and the table with the Fort Sumpter chess set. Then for Halloween and Christmas I'll have plenty to put up there on the table as well...
Showed Jimmy the house pic last night on my phone. He loved it. He knows that this is what I want; have always wanted. Sent him the links to the webpage and this blog as well; so he can keep track of us and how things go. Blondie has been keeping him posted, but hadn't told him we were leaving so soon.
The house appraisal was yesterday; Nancy texted me to let me know. She said that they told Larry he'd have to be done by Tuesday! So I guess my little conversation with Reba worked; I'm glad. Dave Nelson from the furniture store called this week too; Mike's bed was unavailable so they ordered a slightly more expensive one. It should be there when we get there along with the chair. They were nervous ordering a chair in "forest green" - didn't want to pick the color without my approval; I told them that as long as it wasn't yellowish it would be fine! The two recliners - his and mine - will go in the 'family room' - with the woodburning stove at one end and the entertainment center at the other. We can turn the chairs to face either if we want! LOL
It has very few windows, small and very high up, so it will be cozy; a little "cave" of seclusion. Think I'll put the freezer on the enclosed back porch; a nice little pantry shelving is there already. Perfect for food storage and a mud room; keep things cool and there are hooks and nails for outerwear in the winter. Might get Mike to make doors for the shelves, though. Have to see what the summer is like.
Been packing clothes in my BR in clear plastic tubs. The tiny room upstairs with the slanted roof we just might turn into a walkin closet. One thng for sure is that I won't have to buy clothes for a loooong looong time! Glad I'll finally NOT have to be in different clothes all of the time so I can stop worrying abot how I look and what people think if I wear the same thing over and over. And NOT having to put on makeup will help my lupus lesion on my face. Bad enough I was never much to look at anyway; the lesion just looks so bad and sometimes hurts and bleeds. No more of THAT, either. If the two weeks I spent out there drinking that pure water and eating that natural food is any indication, we are going to be a lot healthier, too.
I need to find a local rabbit supplier for the greenhouse when we get out there...
Can't forget the Star Gazer party the last week in June on the Reservoir, and we have been invted to the Dexter Cattle Show in Hastings July 9-11. Looking forward to meeting all of the people I've been chatting with on the CityData and Dexter Forums!

Growing things

Well, wandering around my garden today at the 'old place'. The cabbages are about ready to bolt - it has been too warm here. Blackberries are in abundance, and the daylilies and roses are blooming. All of these plants will have to be dug up the last week, put into the back of the pickup, tarped down, and hosed down to keep moist. If they get too dry on the trip, I'll have to find a car wash and hose them down again.
The echinacea is up. These should do well in NE; they are, after all, a plains flower. Don't know about the spearmint; the peppermint grows better in cooler climates, I've been told, but the spearmint is a peculiarly Southern breed. I want to make sure I get the daylilies and roses and the daffs and narcissus especially; the front yard of the new place is rather barren of plant life. Roses will have to be carefully placed; don't want the forced walkways thru the snow to cause them to be trampled. But I do want them arching around the 'verandah' - also known as the side porch! - wherever possible. The front walk is a quandary - daylilies and daffs, or ground roses?
Again, snow - and salt - will be a consideration.

Talking to Mike about whether or not to take the covered swing. I want to, he hadn't thought about it. Don't know where it should go, or if it will even hold up out there in the dry cold. PVC mostly, because down here everything else either rusts or rots. But that verandah just screams for rocking chairs. The front porch needs hanging baskets, and they both need wind chimes - the big ones are going with us; our "tubular bells" predict rainstorms too well to leave behind. But the smaller ones we won't take; they are mostly shot anyway.

Looking at Lehman's online and saw scythes. Wondering if, with all of the uneaten dry feed grass on the hills, if that is a good idea or not worth the trouble. Trying to behave - looking at Lehman's is like looking at a seed catalog in December. Sigh. Everything you want, and sets you to dreaming.... I do need a new pressure canner though, this one's pressure gauge never did work right and has been missing for years. Just wandering around in thoughts of needs.

Nancy, the seller, told me that she moved her blue-roan horse, Lake, back to the pasture at the house; I am really glad. Lake has been living on another farm, and Nancy has been paying for the privilege to have someone else keep her. But that property was sold, and she had to move Lake again. For one thing, Lake is too old to be shipped around from one farm to another. She needs to be home. For another, fire is a major concern, especially out there in all of that untouched grass; Lake would be doing me a favor if she kept at least some of it grazed! And finally, Mike is very uncomfortable around horses - his friend's head was kicked in by one long ago - and a nice mellow horse that just needs to be curried and fussed over would be an ideal partnership for both of them. Nancy thinks I'm just being nice but really I'm not - I won't charge her to keep the horse there, why should I? She needs a home, and that home needs a horse. Lake can stay as long as she wants.

Closing is May 30th; it is May 4th. I am so impatient. The moving truck will be here the 21st, and we will leave then, drive nice and slow and take our time and that way Mike can experience the whole of the area before we sign and settle in.