Another week down

Another week has gone by and I still have nothing new to report. No news is no news. Limbo continues.

I had another weekend of yard sales, this one was pretty disappointing, I don't think I did $150 all weekend. It is time to wrap it up. See if I can sell the rest in a lot.

Walked the path yesterday and again today. Still ice on the pond, but it is going to be out very soon. Would be interesting if it made it thru to May, but I doubt it.

My beautiful tattoo is infected. I am loosing all the light green. Getting it cleaned up and healed up and going back to get it repaired. Wasn't the fault of the artist, completely my fault,  my ignorance with the healing process. Will be good the next time. If only I had figured it out sooner, might have been able to save more of it. I lost all of the lime green and some of the darker green.

On top of that, I hurt my back this morning when I was raking up the dead sunflower seed around the feeders. It built up all winter and had to be cleaned away. I was good until I started loading it into the wheelbarrow and I did something. Having a hard time getting up and down. Have taken my Aleve. Will be off to my recliner shortly.

The weather is still cold and windy. Not nice at all. Cloudy, etc. But at least I have started walking again.

Better day than expected

Turned out to be a much nicer day than expected. The rain is just now starting, and the temps made it up into the lower 70's with what little sun we did have. I got a lot done.

I got Ody moved over to her assigned parking spot making it so the Jeep could go back to it's own spot. It also frees up the end of the driveway where I can just back into my spot instead of having to back into the driveway. It is still pretty mushy out there, but I think it will be good. I can always move Ody over a foot or so if she sinks.

I did some rearranging inside Ody as Anthony was coming over to cut the legs on the shelving for the cargo area. We got that done and the shelves are in place, just need to be secured.

From there, I went back to raking, trying to clean up some of the road sand. I did a first pass, it will probably have to be done again when the next layer down dries out a little. But it is already looking better.

Before raking, but after sweeping the walk way.

After. The narcissus are up, and the day lilies are showing some green. Am hoping that means spring is really here this time. Although it is supposed to get cold again. Each cycle, it gets a little warmer.

Monica stopped by just as I was finishing up putting the rain gutter back up and closing the back gate. So we enjoyed a cup of coffee in the courtyard before the rain started. 

I'm pleased with what I got done today. Now that the shelving is cut and in place in Ody, I can work on the cargo nets. That will just about finish up the cargo area except for loading it up. I'm getting closer and closer each day to getting out of here. Now all I need is a closing date for a target.

Ink

I won a free tattoo back in February from Don's Tats in Brownington. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Dons-Tats-Tattoos/192684429211 This is something I have thought about for a number of years, but never did it for a multitude of reasons. One, I could never decide what I wanted, and another, where to place it. Well, winning a free tat finally forced me to make the decision and today I had it done. My appointment was smack dab in the middle of the day, so it kind of ate the whole day. I did get a few other things done before and after, but it really didn't feel like a productive day.

I decided on a dragonfly. Somewhat abstract, a lot different than most. It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would. It is on my left forearm, close to my heart, and in a couple different colors of green. Jake always said the color of love was green. I adopted the dragonfly because of it's meanings when Jake died. Here it is on the first day.

I couldn't find the A&D Cream that was recommended in Island Pond. So I am using coconut oil to keep it soft. I have read good things about it, lets hope it works. I have had a little bit of peeling already. I am hoping that is normal.

It is really kind of strange seeing this ink on my arm. But I am assuming I will get used to it. As for the location, I figured why have a tattoo if you can't see it? I keep looking at it. It is still quite tender. I was pretty proud of myself. Never flinched once and wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it was going to be.

Sunday's yard sale was pretty disappointing. I did all of $58. The whole day. Friday was the best day of the three, and I am thinking I will do the same thing this weekend, but shorten the Sunday hours. Sunday will also be the last day. Will donate some stuff to the rummage sale the following weekend, and will try to find someone to come and take the rest off my hands. I will keep some of the more expensive items, shelving and grid wall to sell individually and at my final sale, but the rest has to go. I'm tired of it, and I think people are loosing interest. I want to move on to other things. It is time to wrap it up.

I ordered a gallon of Protect All today. Research indicates this is the best product with the least amount of work to get the job done. The cleaning and polishing of Ody. Planning on doing it in sections since she is much larger than my car, and polishing the car takes way too long. I guess I am not in any hurry, still no closing date.

Well, I guess I should try to get a little more sleep. These interrupted nights are for the birds. I'm hoping some day to be able to sleep thru the night again. It has been a long time since that has happened.

A whole week

It has been a whole week since I wrote last. The weather has done that crazy seesaw thing that the northeast is known for. Monday we were in the 70's, sunny and beautiful. By the end of day on Tuesday it was raining, sleeting and finally snowing, to wake up to temps in the teens Wednesday morning and three inches of fresh snow.

I took advantage of the good weather on Monday. I finally got the grill out of the iceberg that was keeping me from using it. Went to Teds and got a little steak and cooked dinner outside for the first time this season.

I also gave Ody her first bath. I already had a couple of inches of water in the driveway and figured a little extra wouldn't hurt. She looks so much better! The difference is visible.

This was basically a first pass. I need to do it again with a little more detail before I seal/wax the finish. 

I also drove her for the first time on Monday. After I got done washing her, I took her for a spin around the lake. It wasn't too bad! Keeping in mind that the tires and the brakes need some attention.

Which brings me to another point for Monday. The guy from DG called and says there is some ground contamination next door and they have submitted the info to the State of VT and now have to wait and see what the state wants them to do about it, or who has to do what, etc. So more waiting. I don't know any more than I did before the phone call. It could close in 60 days, six months, or not at all.  But I am out of here in the fall whether the building sells or not. I have my new home and am not spending another winter here. If I have to sell my car to be able to afford the trip southwest, that is what I will do. But I am hoping it won't come to that and we will have a closing before it gets cold here again.

I have been sorting and hauling stuff next door every day. All the stuff I brought down from upstairs and put on the porch has been moved next door. I re-sorted the bins that were on the porch and reduced that by half. And today I spent several hours over there unpacking bins and arranging stuff for the sale that starts tomorrow. I'm hoping I sell most everything and I can stop with the yard sales for a while. 

I was very good and only brought a few small things back with me. Although, I will have to reduce even more when moving time comes. But I will deal with that when it happens.

Finally finished the upstairs

I finally got the upstairs done. It is completely empty except for the webcam and it's computer, and Kali Cat's window seat. A huge accomplishment. I have been trying to get that done for over two weeks now, and every time I went upstairs, I lost all my motivation. I basically had to force myself to do it, and it is finally done.

The upstairs, until recently, was my bedroom/sitting room and storage. Once I closed the shop and cleared all of that out, I started moving stuff downstairs, starting with the TV and the recliner. From there I moved the bed down, my clothes and finally the rest of the stuff. Of course, a lot of it went out on the porch and needs to be sorted, but it is no longer upstairs and that makes that job so much easier.

Still no word on closing, but I will be about as ready as a person can be when the time comes.

To wrap up my day of exercise, I walked to the post office. Took a couple of pictures of the lake, it is getting soft around the edges. Ice out is going to be late this year I think.

I have been feeling the urge to use my grill, but it is still frozen to the ground and I can't get at it. Today I shoveled some of the snow away from it in hopes that I will be able to get it out of there by the weekend and grill something good. 

It is too late for a nap, but I am done for the day. Too early for dinner, so I think it will be another cup of coffee and a book

Another indoor yard/moving sale

A few more things taken care of

got the spice shelf hung and the string cat hung up today. Starting to feel a little like home. :)

I also did some organizing and compacting and freed up two of the bins on the passenger side allowing more storage. Hung some towels in the bathroom too. Still have a ways to go, but it is becoming more like home each and every day. Oh, and I also dragged out the main power cord and used my new adapter to hook it up to 15A power. The fridge is running. Guess that works. :)

Checked the propane level, going to need to get that filled somewhere somehow. Although I can live without it for a while. I have my little butane stove I can use, so I could survive without the propane. Unless I want hot water....but I don't need that right now either.

Kali Cat came and checked out Ody. Her first time in the rig. I took a lot of pics. You can find them here...

https://plus.google.com/photos/118406578374225960662/albums/5999607657419822689?banner=pwa  

She was quite curious. A couple of kitty treats kept her interested for a little while.

Turned out to be a beautiful day.

I went to walk to the post office this morning and got sidetracked. The walk/snowmobile trail beckoned me. I hadn't walked that since the snow was deep enough for snowmobiles.

It won't be long and I will be able to do the full walk again. Things are melting nicely. Here are a few pics.

The beginning of the walk by the park.

Spent a couple hours in the courtyard reading this afternoon. It is sheltered from the wind and in direct sunlight. It was heaven.

It is already starting to cloud over and we are supposed to get rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow tonight into tomorrow. But Sunday and Monday are supposed to be sunny again, so whatever we get shouldn't hang around long. 

ttp://chirb.it/2NgDFC. This is what it sounds like here. You will have to turn up your volume to get the effect, but it is a constant. 

Not much today

I didn't accomplish a whole lot today. It wasn't nearly as nice as they said it was going to be, and we didn't see any sunshine until about 3 PM. I did go out this morning and brought a few more things out, but it was too cold to do much of anything. I finally figured out how to turn the passenger seat around so it could be used as a chair. Yay. :) And it reclines, so I will have a recliner I can use when I can't sleep at night.

I also got the plates switched out. Ody is sporting a brand new pair of Vermont plates. Got the registration and insurance cards in their little pocket, and by then I couldn't feel my fingers any more.

I got about 45 minutes of sunshine in the courtyard. It felt good. But it wasn't as warm as yesterday. While I was out there I decided to try and climb the ladder to see the roof. It has been snowcovered since she got here, so this was my first opportunity.

The roof looks like it is in great shape, needs to be cleaned like the rest of the rig, but there won't be any storage up here. There isn't enough room for the large roof basket, and no way to secure it if there were. Oh well. At least I know.

Walked over to Ted's and bought some fresh haddock. Tuesday's and Thursday's are fresh fish day. That is what I will be having for dinner tonight.

My photo stream is still not working, so I have to manually move my photos from my phone to my computer. It is a real pain in the ass. It would be one thing if that is the way it was supposed to work, but it isn't and it creates some major frustration. Sigh....

I had a little burst of energy

It was so nice out and I hadn't been out to Ody for a day or two, so I decided to bring a few things out. While I was out there, I got ambitious and did a couple little projects. First, I fixed the broken drawer. Put feet on the drawer part and put it in the hole, then put hinges on the drawer facing so all I have to do is flip it down to access whatever is in there. I think that is going to be my junk drawer. :)

After I finished that, I decided there was no time like the present to install the sliding basket for my cast iron pans. That actually went fairly smoothly considering it is a tight squeeze, and the screws actually got a good bite into something solid, so it should be good.

A little clean up, and off to the courtyard to sit in the sun and have a cup of coffee.

Took a little convincing, but got Kali Cat to join me. She was really more interested in me giving her dinner but she tolerated my laziness.

It was beautiful and warm sitting in the sun in the courtyard. My first outdoor cup of coffee for the year. :)

After her dinner I spotted her in the rainbow that is created late in the day by the sunshine coming thru the covering on the bathroom window. Just had to share. The colors were actually much nicer than what the camera picked up. Blues and greens and purples, it was quite impressive.

Things are finally starting to melt

Yep, it was in the 40's and sunny yesterday. My driveway has turned into a mass of ice and water, and will only get worse before it gets better. I will also have water filling the crawl space under the building any time now. It is 54 degrees out there today, but not as sunny and slightly breezy. Reminds me of March in Maine when I was growing up.

I have been letting Kali Cat out daily for a few days now. This morning I finally put her cat door in the window. It consists of two adjustable screens. One has her door in it, the other is covered with plastic and blocks off the rest of the first screen and blocks her door at night or when I want to keep her inside. She will be happy to be able to let herself in and out at whim again.

She immediately goes outside and drinks the nasty driveway water. She has plenty of fresh water in her bowl, yet the puddles and pools are much more appealing to her.

For the first time since she arrived, Ody will be snow free, hopefully by the end of the day. I ordered her extendable scrub brush this morning. I am itching to get out there and give her a good bath. It will still have to wait a week or two, but I will be ready when the time comes. 

This is the driveway. As I said, it will get worse before it gets better.

That is about all I have for today.