Archives for April 2020

Hi Sweetie,
Another busy day. I can hardly tell when one day ends and another begins these days! I went straight over to the house early, and Sherri met me at 7:00 to help me load up the guest bed and a few smaller items, then I headed to McMinnville where I delivered a box of mason jars, the silver condiment set, and, of course, the bed. I also bought a new power cord for my computer the old one was giving me trouble, filled up the tank for just $1.99/gallon, then I picked up some nice bales of hay in Morrison on the way back, which I stored under the gooseneck, which is covered with the skirting. By the time I got back to the house, the new owner was there working in the yard, so I got busy taking some of the last items out of the house and putting them in the garage. Just about done with that! Now all I have to do is empty the garage! Then I loaded up a bunch more stuff, mostly speakers, and meeting people at Walmart in Manchester to off-load those. Then I went shopping, of course, but I didn’t need much so it didn’t take long. Managed to get back to camp just after 4:00, which gave me a little time to play with Lola. The temps FINALLY warmed up to almost 70, it was the nicest day we’ve had in a long time. I changed my reservation at Chickasaw to May 1, I only hope I’m able to get done with everything before then! I have a young couple that may drive up from Atlanta this weekend to look at the MG, and I finally got a list of consignment places from the realtor (though I doubt they’re open, I’ll have to start making calls tomorrow). Honestly, though, I think if I had enough time to do it, I could probably sell everything, but I’m just about out of time now. The new owner bought the TV, the TV stand and one of the green loveseats, so at least that’s a few less things to move. I can’t wait for this whole chapter to be over so I can get on the road and relax for a while! I’m going to crash, big-time, I can feel that coming! More deliveries tomorrow, more work at the house, though my first appointment isn’t until 10:00 so at least I can sleep in, hopefully! Meantime, I’m headed for shower and bed! Good night, my love!

Hiya Babe,
Well, here I am once again, listening to rain on the roof of the trailer, temps in the mid-fifties, exhausted from a day of non-stop work. I spent all day at the house, partly cleaning, partly posting stuff up on Marketplace, partly answer messages about the stuff I’ve put up on Marketplace, and so on, and so on. I moves a few more things out into the garage, mostly speakers and electronics, cleaning off everything on the entertainment unit you built so long ago. Though I’ve had it listed altogether as a “home theater,” to which I got very little response, now that I’m putting up individual components, I’m getting a good response. It seems I’ve already sold several sets of speakers and a component or two, as well as the guest room bed and a few other odds and ends. One couple came over and wanted a bunch of gardening stuff, and I let them take all the related stuff they could find, including most of the stuff in the chicken house and the garden. The girl is building moveable chicken and rabbit runs, plus she took things like the water barrels and all the frameworks I used to use in the garden. I’m not charging her much, since she’s really doing me a favor by cleaning all that stuff out, so it’s a mutual benefit. She wants to come back tomorrow and get some more (she did two trips today!), which is fine by me. Tiring day, and it will be more tiring tomorrow since my first delivery is at 8:30 in McMinnville, so I’m meeting our neighbor Sherri at the house at 7:00 to load stuff up. Slow but sure! Meanwhile, poor Lola is getting no exercise, and the horses have just about finished their round bale, so I’m going to have to pick up some more hay tomorrow, which is supposed to be a sunny day. So tired of this weather! Isn’t is weird how we always seemed to be in places that were having record (or unusual) temperatures? All I want is 70 degrees, which is what it’s supposed to be here in Middle Tennessee in April, but no, we have to have extreme cold, unusual amounts of rain, blah, blah, blah. I am SO looking forward to getting all this work behind me and relaxing for a few days, maybe even (dare I say it!), a week! Of course, if there are trails, I’ll be riding, but that’s hardly work. Tiring maybe, but not work! Can’t wait! Meanwhile, work, work, work! And time to go to bed, though I have to make the bed first, more work! Sigh… Anyway, off to shower and bed for me, gotta get up early, early! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Sweetie,
Well, another busy day. When will I ever get a day off? I got a lousy night sleep, not because of Lola, she was surprisingly good last night, but because I was so aggravated, then rain came in, and though I slept for a few hours, then I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep until much later. I got up early with the alarm because I wanted to bank this check first thing, I certainly didn’t want to be running around with THAT for long, and because it was so large they had to get clearance from the main office, etc., etc., so I had to wait longer than usual. Afterward I headed straight to the house because I wanted to get started. I put a bunch of ads up in Marketplace and was getting a pretty good response, but mostly, I wanted to move everything into the garage like the new owner asked me to. I’m hoping he’ll be lenient on how long I can store my stuff there, it’s tough with all the consignment stores closed. Then neighbor Sherri came over and helped me move a lot of stuff, and we had most of it done by the time the new owner showed up at 1:30. There were a few large pieces that he and his guys helped with, so just about everything got out. I also spent some time cleaning. Our so-called renters had a much different idea of what clean meant, and I spent over an hour on just the stove. I think they must have used it every day for three months and NEVER wiped it down, it was that bad. There was so much grease and fat on the broiler I’m surprised it didn’t start a fire. I had to use a screw driver to pry the burners up, they were stuck down on the stove. I’m going to take some oven cleaner with me tomorrow to finish it off. I’m hoping to get some more stuff sold, I’ve got deliveries scheduled for Monday in McMinnville and Tuesday on the mountain, mostly smaller stuff, but I’m hoping I’ll be adding some bigger stuff before tomorrow is out, too. One of the new owner’s help brought his young daughter, and she kept Lola busy for quite awhile, so I’m hoping she’ll get a good night sleep, and so will I. I’ve already stayed up too late answering questions about my list of sale items, so I’ve got to call it a night now. IT’S A NIGHT!! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hi Honey,
Well, this was supposed to be a day of celebration, a day when I finally sell the house and get to move on. Unfortunately, it’s turned out to be a day of aggravation, irritation, stress and mourning, not that I didn’t finally close on the house, but that I learned that everything our Realtor told us was a lie from Day One. He never told the buyers anything that I asked him to find out. He STILL was saying he didn’t know what time the closing was until 10:00 this morning, though I learned later he had been informed back on April 7. Worse, he told me it was at 2:00 when in fact it was at 11:00. He told me everything was on track, when in fact, there were problems with the inspection, which I didn’t even know happened. I told my Realtor from Day One that this would be an “as is” sale, and he told me that was the way it was set up, that everyone knew that, yet I finally found out that the inspection required almost $10,000 in repairs, and that I was on the hook for it. The realtor told me he didn’t know anything about it, but that was a lie, too, he knew weeks ago, but didn’t tell me. It was a horrible, horrible day. I figured the whole closing was off, so I started working on putting a new base on my recliner, then suddenly I get a text saying they were going ahead with the closing. I did manage to get the realtors to cut their commissions by a tiny bit, but that was nothing compared to the hit I had to take. I almost didn’t go through with it, I was so close. Then to top it off, that idiot realtor first gave me the wrong office to go to for the closing, so I had to drive to two different places, then he didn’t even show up! What kind of realtor doesn’t show up at a closing? I’ll tell you what kind, the kind that lie and lie and lie and lie and don’t want to be faced with being exposed! I’ll be filing multiple complaints, believe me! I didn’t want to go through with it, but I just want this whole mess to be over with, which is exactly what this guy depends on, which makes it all that much more maddening!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRR! I hate this, I really do. I’m so mad, I’m so beside myself! And now I can’t even depend on the realtor’s promise that he has a place for me to consign whatever furniture is left over after the weekend. So I may literally not have any place to put this stuff. Then what do I do? I’m not about to donate $1900 recliners to Goodwill! But I’m not going to hang around here for weeks trying to sell them either, nor am I going to put them in storage, you know how THAT road goes! I’m so upset, I don’t know what to do. I did finally meet the buyer at the house, showed him a few things, tried not to be too upset, but that was really hard, didn’t get back to the camp until after 8:00, then I had to finish up the chair base, which took me another hour. And to top it off, Lola didn’t get any exercise today, and there’s a storm moving in, so I’m likely not to get any sleep tonight either, she’ll be scratching at the door (though she was good last night, I had a good night sleep, only to be faced with this horrible day), and I have to get up early and move all the furniture into the garage, which is the only place the new buyer will let me keep it for a few days. Work, work, work, I can’t wait to get a day off!! I’m so tired. I’m sorry for ranting, but I’m really in a state right now. I’ll quit now and go to be before I explode, and hope I can get some sleep. Not likely, but I’ll try. Still love you! Good night!

Hey Babe,
Had a bad night sleep, Lola kept waking me up every couple of hours, scratching at the bedroom partition, or the other door or just meandering and trying to fluff everything she could, her bed, the boot map, everything. She was just about to know over the trash on the dining room bench seat when I finally got up and let her out, even though I had let her out twice before bed. Grrr! Suffice to say I woke up grouchy from lack of sleep! The only thing I sold today was the floor jack, to a guy that met me at the trash dump down on the corner at Fred Lusk Rd. I still don’t have the final word on whether I can keep clearing out the house on the weekend, but it’s becoming a moot point, since I don’t have the time to finish it before then. The closing is supposed to be tomorrow, but I still don’t have when or where, sigh… When I got home from my trip, I got out the sewing machine I traded and played around with it a bit until I got it working to my satisfaction, then I decided to fix the living room drape. I was in such a hurry when I first made it, the whole thing was crooked and the hem was uneven, so I stripped it down and started again, this time getting it a lot better. Not perfect, but better. I had planned on getting another yard of that same material and making one for the dining room window, since that one throws a lot of glare onto the TV, but of course, the fabric store is closed because of the pandemic, and I haven’t been able to get any. I hope I can get it before I leave this time! Afterward, I took Lola for a walk and playtime, hoping she gets enough exercise tonight, because if she gets restless, I’m just going to have to put her in the truck, and with the cold nights, I really don’t want to do that. It’s not supposed to get quite as cold tonight, but I’d really rather she settle down, she’s been so good until the last week, I think she’s just bored and under-exercised, a condition I’ll only be able to solve when we leave here and are in a horse camp somewhere. I ended up falling asleep for more than an hour while watching TV, so now I’m off to bed, hoping against hope that Lola behaves herself tonight! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hey Babe,
Had a bad night sleep, Lola kept waking me up every couple of hours, scratching at the bedroom partition, or the other door or just meandering and trying to fluff everything she could, her bed, the boot map, everything. She was just about to know over the trash on the dining room bench seat when I finally got up and let her out, even though I had let her out twice before bed. Grrr! Suffice to say I woke up grouchy from lack of sleep! The only thing I sold today was the floor jack, to a guy that met me at the trash dump down on the corner at Fred Lusk Rd. I still don’t have the final word on whether I can keep clearing out the house on the weekend, but it’s becoming a moot point, since I don’t have the time to finish it before then. The closing is supposed to be tomorrow, but I still don’t have when or where, sigh… When I got home from my trip, I got out the sewing maching I traded and played around with it a bit until I got it working to my satisfaction, then I decided to fix the living room drape. I was in such a hurry when I first made it, the whole thing was crooked and the hem was unevern, so I stripped it down and started again, this time getting it a lot better. Not perfect, but better. I had planned on getting another yard of that same material and making one for the dining room window, since that one throws a lot of glare onto the TV, but of course, the fabric store is closed because of the pandemic, and I haven’t been able to get any. I hope I can get it before I leave this time! Afterward, I took Lola for a walk and playtime, hoping she gets enough exercise tonight, because if she gets restless, I’m just going to have to put her in the truck, and with the cold nights, I really don’t want to do that. It’s not supposed to get quite as cold tonight, but I’d really rather she settle down, she’s been so good until the last week, I think she’s just bored and under-exercised, a condition I’ll only be able to solve when we leave here and are in a horse camp somewhere. I ended up falling asleep for more than an hour while watching TV, so now I’m off to bed, hoping against hope that Lola behaves herself tonight! Good night, babe! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Another day, another load gone! Didn’t sell as much, though I did get rid of the plastic patio table and chairs, though the lady I sold them to had a hard time describing to me where she lived so I got lost. The big load, though, was to the University of the South theatre. I decided that all of the rest of the theatre stuff, the props, lighting, chess table, etc. should go to them, so I wrote to the head of the theatre dept. and arranged to drop those off. It’s getting down to slim pickings now, with mostly just the big furniture, the MG and the box trailer left. Our realtor seems to think I can try to sell those over the weekend, but if not, then I’m planning on taking them to a furniture consignment store early next week. I was hoping to have all this done before the closing on Friday, but I’m just running out of time and energy. Sigh… Anyway, several people that want things couldn’t get organized enough to meet me, so I may have some more to do tomorrow, we’ll see. As soon as I got back I got busy sewing Flash’s horse blanket. He evidently got it caught on something sharp, because this morning when I fed them it had long sections that had been torn. I tried to use the sewing machine I traded for the other day, but it didn’t work very well, or rather, it had too many layers that had to be sewn so I had to do it by hand. That took almost two hours to do. By then it was time to put the blanket on, since it’s going down to freezing again tonight, wouldn’t you know, and settle down for the evening. I’ve decided to start watching Star Trek Voyager, a series we never watched before. It’s not the best in the series, the acting is pretty basic, and the characters are taking a long time to develop, but the story lines are occasionally interesting, though they’re a bit pat, not a lot of tension like in TO Star Trek. It’s a change though, and I needed that. So, time to get Lola in, take my shower and go to bed. Good night, my love!

Hi Babe,
Well, Lola was restless again last night, so it took awhile to get to sleep, she kept scratching on the bedroom partition and her nails kept tapping back and forth on the floor. It’s likely because she’s not getting enough exercise, but I have been pretty busy lately! Woke up to very cold temps, near freezing today, and for some reason the fireplace didn’t quite keep the place warm last night. I eventually crawled out of my warm bed, but it was tough! I didn’t have anything in particular planned today, except having that large potted plant picked up, and then I went to Manchester to meet someone for the ironing board and iron, but he never showed up. First time that’s happened, actually. I also took a couple of propane tanks down to Tractor Supply to get them filled, for some reason I thought they were close to empty, but it turned out that wasn’t the case, so I only had to top off one and fill another one that was pretty low, the other two still seemed good. I topped off the fuel at Walmart, then made a pickup at Home Depot. I had ordered what is advertised as a table top, but am going to use it as a new base on my chair. You remember the old replacement broke along the grain of the wood because I put it on going the wrong way, and even though I glued it back together and rotated it, it eventually gave up the ghost. I found another one, but this one isn’t wood, it’s more of a laminate, so I’m hoping it will be a better fit. I learned a lot from the last one about how to drill it properly, the depth and all, so I’m hoping this one will come out better and last longer, fingers crossed! It was only mid-afternoon when I got back, so I put the horses out in the yard, with Apollo on a tied down anchor and Flash free to go wherever, since I know he won’t go far without Apollo. The wind was so cold, I left their winter blankets on again, and there’s a freeze warming overnight. As usual, I’m in the wrong place for unusual weather! It’s supposed to get a little better next week, we’ll see. I had finally made a reservation at Chickasaw, only to have the governor extend the state park closings until May 1, so I guess I’m stuck here, unless I want to go someplace private like Circle E or Loretta Lynn’s, neither of which appeal that much to me. I think Land Between the Lakes might still be open, but I wasn’t thrilled about their trails, either, and frankly, I want to go to NEW places, not ones we’ve been to before. I’m also looking at Mammoth Cave as a possibility, but I’m not sure if they’re open either. I may stay on here for a few more days, because the weekend seems to be the best time to sell stuff, and if the new owners of the house don’t mind, I just may keep doing that, since everybody seems to be on their computers on the weekend! I’ve made a lot of progress emptying the house, but I still have a lot of the big stuff left, the home theater, the recliners (all four of them), the piano, the desk, both bedroom suites, and so on. If I can get them sold this weekend, or down to a consignment store early next week, I’ll feel like I’ve done the best I can and leave it at that. Anyway, I fell asleep in my chair this afternoon, which tells me just how tired I’m getting, I can’t wait to get someplace where I can really rest and wind down, hopefully soon! I maybe I can finally find time to really play with Lola, ride my horses and get on with life! Speaking of, time to get on to bed! Love you, babe! Good night!

Hi Darlin’!
What a night! After raining non-stop all day long (my wheelbarrow was ¾ full this morning!), the wind picked up something fierce during the night, whipping the trailer so hard we were rocking and rolling! I was woken up by it around 3:30 and had a hard time going back to sleep, it was so loud and violent. Fortunately no tornadoes touched down in the county, though the counties east of us got some which caused some damage. That meant I had a shortened night sleep, and though I did finally get back to sleep for a short while, I woke up tired. Unfortunate since I had a very busy day! After getting up when the 7:00 alarm went off, I fed the horses and threw frisbee for Lola, grabbed a quick breakfast and headed over to the house, where a fireman was waiting to buy the chainsaw. I was relieved yesterday when a guy was able to crank it up and start it, and I was grateful it did the same today. He bought that right away. More than an hour later, another guy came to look at the gooseneck jack. You remember we carried around the original for awhile before I put it in the garage? It was up in the hayloft/attic, which was unnecessary weight until I took it out of there. Anyway, the next guy that came along bought that. Several hours later (and much later than planned) a guy and his wife showed up to look at the MG, but after much discussion, I wasn’t willing to drop the price as much as he wanted me to, so we arrived at an impasse, sorry to say. Well, at least they had a nice drive down here. Once they left I quickly loaded up the trailer with all the stuff I had promised to deliver today (I had been waiting for the drizzle to stop, but it was still wet heavy air when I started to load), but I managed to manhandle everything, including that large bookshelf, into the trailer and headed to McMinnville. First the bookshelf, then the bar stools, then the extension ladder. Other than furniture, it’s really getting less cluttered in the house. I’m hoping for some more action, but I think the momentum of the weekend has slowed. We’ll see. I’ve managed to put a few dollars back in my pocket, which is as important as clearing the house out. After picking up a couple of forgotten items at Walmart, I finally got back to camp and settled down for the evening. It’s supposed to get near freezing tonight, so the horses are semi-permanently in their winter blankets until it starts to warm up. Way too cold for this time of year!! Figures. Anyway, time for shower and bed, and with no wind or rain tonight, just cold, I’m hoping to snuggle up and get a good night sleep! Good night, my darlin’! Love you!

Hiya Sweetie!
Well the rain started coming in early this morning, and it looked like it was going to sock us in all day, so I intended to relax today, but other things took precedence. I started listing more stuff on Marketplace, and started getting answers immediately, which surprised my a bit given that it is Easter Sunday. Of course, with the pandemic, all the churches are closed, so I guess everyone’s staying at home on the computer! Regardless, I got responses to the MG, but more pictures were required, then I got someone interested in the air compressor, and at the last minute they wanted to meet in Viola (at a new Dollar Store they just build down there, would you believe), so I went to the house, took more pictures, loaded up the air compressor and headed down to Viola, where I met the guy and sold the compressor. I headed back to camp after that, and literally spent the rest of the afternoon on the computer listing items, then responding to the plethora of responses that I received all day. I have a long list of things I need to do, people to meet, items to deliver and so on, so tomorrow is going to be a very busy day! I did some laundry, too, just for fun. It rained practically non-stop all day long, and was lucky to have about a five minute break just to let Lola outside before her bedtime before it started up again. Lots of wind earlier, but most of the day was just rain, rain, rain. So my day off turned into a busy day, but the good news is, I’ll be selling a lot of stuff tomorrow, for which I am very grateful. I even have a guy driving down from KY to look at the MGB, so maybe I’ll even be able to give that a new life, which would be much preferable to sitting around in Jeff’s yard for who know how long. No offense to Jeff, he just doesn’t have the room to store it or the money and time to restore it, so I’d rather see is on the road in good hands. This guy apparently does this as a serious hobby, so fingers crossed he’ll take it. Anyway, time for my shower and bed! Gotta get up early tomorrow! Good night, my love!