Life goes on....

Rain...rain...rain. All night last night and we expect more this morning with thunderstorms this afternoon and more tonight. It is Hurricane Katrina - now a tropical depression as it passes us. The devastation in New Orleans is unbelievable and I understand the whole city has been ordered to evacuate now that the leevees have broke and 80% of the city is flooded. That and the damage to the oil industry's infrastructure and we are all going to pay. I filled up my truck yesterday when it was still $2.65 a gallon...some places now are selling gas for $3 or more now. Not good news cause people are going to start to cut back, the rise in oil prices etc is definately going to have an impact on the economy.

Of course all this rain has got me thinking of the creek along the back side of my property...it almost overflowed earlier this spring when we had a massive downpour etc. The draingate got plugged where the creek flows into the sewer system...I saw it getting high and went to the grate witha rake and spent the next three hours clearing it. I don't relish having to do that again...so last night I had a restless sleep as I kept checking the cellar (just a little water - the normal amount) and listening to the rain fall.

Today is computer class day...need to write up some more instructions - for downloading pictures from digital cameras to the computer using the "Explore" option. Seems easier and more direct than some of the camera wizard options. Will also pick up my photos or really Thelma's photos from Industrial Color labs on the way to class. I dropped six rolls of old film off...film that we'd found when cleaning out Thelma's house...and they said they'd develop them and if there were pictures print them too. They called Monday saying they needed more time (originally I was scheduled to pick them up on monday), which was fine with me as I wasn't expecting to pick them up until today anyway. They said there were pictures so it will be interesting to see what is on them.

Thursday (tomorrow) it is out to Thelma's - Doctor appointment, bills, paperwork to look through and we need to measure her houses in prep for getting quotes for a new Insurance company and so forth.

Friday is free...but Saturday is scheduled. Sears is suppose to come back to finish making repairs to the treadmill. Last week they did correct the incline problem, now they will be back to install a new digital displays, since they had to order it. I opted to let them install it lest I break it doing it myself etc. Anyway, sometime Saturday they will call and arrive to fix it as the part came yesterday.

Maybe next week won't be so hectic.

Too many things to do...

Been about a week...and still there are lots of things going on. Too much, too many demands, I almost feel like I am back at work and I'm almost certain that my blood pressure is up. Unfortunately it doesn't look like it will change, that does not seem likely at least for the foreseeable future.

The Family Reunion was held in Peruville on the 21st and turned out well. The four of us went together - in the caddie. My Father, Rosemary, Thelma and I. There were about 19 people there. Margery was not there due to health problems, serious ones that may prevent her from holding the reunion next year. At least that is my thinking. If it turns out to be true, then I suppose being the next in line it will be here - which leads us to the next step - can I be ready in a year, you'd think so, but there is an awful lot of stuff that would have to be moved, thrown, sorted etc. Obtained more genealogy and now need to get to my aunt Gen's as I need to scan her books on the family history so I can organize and fill mine out. Tuesdays and Thursdays are the days she is free, and Tuesdays is class day so that leaves Thursdays only notthis Thursday as Thelma has a Doctor appointment.

Garden is doing well or was. The tomatoes and bush beans and zucchini have about had it...but the pole beans, well they are just starting and show no signs of stopping. I think I planted too many. Next year I shall make some major changes to the garden. The raised bed is going or part of it anyways and I will be moving one of the trellis's to create more open space. Of course I should do this in the fall...when I clean up the garden. One more thing to add to my list.

Thelma's house renovations are nearly complete, will need to take more pictures though to get some with the new floors installed and the rooms in their pristine condition. Then of course will be her garage sale - still planned for Columbus Day weekend and still a lot of work to do to accomplish that and then there is the budget and paper files to get organized.

I'm off to the eye doctor this afternoon, another expense that I don't need. I'd like to go until January before I have to liquidate any more assets, but I doubt if I will be able to unless I borrow on credit etc. Just seems a shame to sell a mutual fund just before it is due to pay out dividends and capital gains.

My father has cataract surgery on the 6th of Sept, supposed to be a one day in/out type of thing and hopefully it will be a success, despite the coughing etc. The doctor seems confident it will go alright. Then I suppose they will be looking towards Texas and getting things ready for the move or should be so that there is not a lot of last minute tasks to accomplish. If they started preparing in Sept for the drive etc in Oct/Nov they'd be much better off, but I know they won't as they both procrastinate and stay active with all their other activities to the determint of the preparations until the last minute.

Wednesday will be a computer class...actually they are not much in the way of classes...more like here is a box of statements and receipts, key them into quicken for me...they need to learn that if you do it as the receipts are obtained it is so much easier to keep track of things and so forth...they also need to learn to manage their catagory lists. But it takes time and patience and too many other things interfere. Two people, two computers, two ways (different) of doing things and both computers will get messed up. It is inevitable. One already is basically a desktop littered with icons and shortcuts and programs obtained and loaded but never used. But they might be, so let's load it out and then wonder why the computer runs so slow or messages pop up out of no where. Even the newest one bought less than three months ago has problems and why...because when it doesn't shutdown fast enough we just hold the power button down....rather than take the time to see why....that is if we shut them down at all.

Need to get focused...focused on tasks here rather than other people's tasks. I'm neglecting things and that is not good.

Done!

The house is empty. Wednesday we finished emptying the last room...three loads to the garage for the sale and for sorting and two loads to my house for storage. Mainly paper - genealogy etc and appraisal stuff that we didn't want to leave in the garage. That stuff will go back to La Fayette when the appraiser is scheduled to come. Which we hope will be sometime in early October just before the sale begins on Apple Festival weekend - Columbus Day weekend. The festival draws upwards of 50,000 people and many will travel the back routes to get there so...it seem logical to hold the sale then.

Today I'll finish unloading a small bit of appraisal stuff from the truck and update the new lease and then go to La Fayette again in the early afternoon to work on paper, then friday and saturday a big push to get ready for the reunion - I still need to scan the pictures into the computer. Plus I still need to resolve the transportation issue.

Need to also resolve the sleep issue as well...again tonight I did not sleep...I was tired and in bed by midnight but awake at 3:45am and up by 5:00am. Plus my back hurts/sore - left side again just below the ribs....sigh, seems to always be sore these days - probably due to all the lifting and carrying etc etc.

I need time to myself, I need to isolate myself, but there is something planned or an obligation every day thru the 23rd...I'm beginning to feel that life sucks!

Updates...

Today it is back to Thelma's. Yesterday she and Sue worked on the one remaining room and it sounds like everything there has been made ready to move. Most will come here, some will return later (Appraiser stuff) once the gararge is setup for the sale. The appraiser said he'd come back once everything was displayed and laid out...so that is what we will do...we think.

Now there is a big push to get the Lease updated since the prospective tenants are coming back thursday to put a deposit down so they don't lose the house. Sighhh, naturally the Lease is on my computer - but I'd already updated it and now I've added a short statement concerning the garage & outbuildings.

Then there is the matter of the title to the car....the title shows a lien/loan, which was satisfied years ago, but Thelma never got around to getting a new one, so now we have to contact the bank...Key we believe (it should be on theTitle) and get a release before she can give the car away.

It is always something...

Monday I tried to get things accomplish, but was sort of distracted and gouing from one thing to another. I did manage to get through the mail, but not do all that I wanted on the compute, instead iwatered the gardens, did the wash, and finanlized an order to the Sea Salt Society for sea salt etc. It is supposed to be better for you and taste better than regular salt. That order should arrive by Friday I believe.

Yesterday morning (Tuesday) was when I managed to catchup, somewhat on the computer, then I went to my father's for the usual computer class, but they were not there ... appointments, food giveaways, dinners etc....actually they were there a short while, but I keyed in info into their Quicken (a huge basket of stuff - half of which was garbage), we downloaded pictures from their camera, and then after they'd left for dinner I erased the pictures from the camera and fixed the printer problem they were having. Actually it does not appear to be a printer problem. Their printer prints last page first and they have a habit of only putting in one page of paper at a time, so the printer runs out and lots of times they lose their print job. Why? so they can use the back side of the paper. So I told them to either put in a sufficent amount of paper or print their jobs one page at a time...not to try to beat the printer, by flipping the paper for the next page. I'll have to look at their printer preferences the next time I go up...next Tuesday.

We also discussed briefly the reunion and that did not go well since I don't believe we can all fit in their car with all that we have to take - computer, scanner, wheelchair, walker, food etc etc etc.

Moving Day 2, 3, 4 and 5

Moving Day 1 turned into moving day 1 thru 5, but we succeeded finally. By 8pm last night (Sunday) we had managed to clear all the rooms upstairs (including the storage room - which may now be turned into a walk-in closet) - three bedrooms and a full bath; and all but the Den downstairs - living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry, half-bath and closets too numerous to mention and of course the basement of the 60+ years of accumulations. Now the renovations can begin - the goal was to clear all the rooms but the Den by Monday. The Den is to be used by Thelma as a staging area for the items she wants the appraiser to see plus more paper etc. The days have been long and both Thelma and I are surprised at how well we've all held up. Most days we've spent 8 to 9 hours sorting, boxing and moving and a couple of days we spent 10 - 12 hours doing the same. I'm sure once this is all done we will all collaspe :-)

In addition to the furniture being stored here, I've also unloaded two trips of nothing but boxes - paper, china, and other "keep" stuff. Eventually Thelma will sort through this as well. There is another load still in the truck and no doubt from the den will be one or two more - hopefully I will have the space.

Most of the other stuff was taken to the garage where it lies in wait for the "Garage Sale".

I've taken several BEFORE pictures, one set with the rooms full, another with them empty, but I did not get one of the dumpster, which was huge and is FULL. We started in earnst August 2nd and thirteen days later managed to accomplish the goal. Seems like the entire month of August has been consumed by this one task - which it has. Either working at Thelma's or getting things prepared here for storage. Good thing Thelma had help - Sue, Linda, Travis and I as well as the hired help - two kids each day to carry and haul and do just about anything you asked of them, otherwise I can't see where she would have been able to get so much stuff sorted, boxed and labeled.

So today is an "off" day the first since the 2nd of August for Thelma. Then Tuesday Sue will be there and they will work in the Den etc, I'm thinking of coming out Wednesday or Thursday to get another load of stuff from the Den for storage, but that is still up in the air.

In other news...

Saturday morning my dryer died, I went to dry my whites as I was getting low on t-shirts etc and nothing but smoke poured from the control panel. I didn't need that, not in the midst of cleaning Thelma's house. In the end I just hung them on the line and left them - for a day and a half and thatis when I discovered that the trellis in the veggie garden that holds the pole beans is leaning precariously to the west, seems all the plants are in the garden so I am assuming we must have had a very strong wind. We did have heavy rain and strong storms Friday while we were cleaning. So today (I'm not heading to Thelma's today - it is catchup day for me here at home), I will try and stabilize the trellis after I do the wash. I also want to pull up the old beans - yellow & green and maybe replant with italian flat beans - they may or may not provide a second crop depending upon how soon winter arrives.

Then I have to scan my pictures in prep for the Family Reunion in Groton next Sunday, wash and clean the truck (unload the truck too), pack up the computer and scanner, make something - pies plus ? and if possible get to my Aunt Gen's to get her pictures too. Plus of course continue the moving process for Thelma and give a computer class to my father & Rosemary and on and on and on.

And you call this retirement?

Moving Day 1

The first of what was two days of activity using my truck to move Thelma's stuff has now turned into three days...looks like I'll be giving up "MY DAY - Friday" to the effort. Yesterday we moved primarily furniture out of the house and brought two china cabinets, two chests of drawers (that the china cabinets sat on), another chest of drawers and a dresser and half of the master bed) as well as a few boxes and a wooden chest to my house for storage. Then we also brought two metal pantry cabinets which I'm keeping...there is also a table I'm looking at...

When I say "we", for the most part it was one of the kids, except for the china cabinets that was Travis and I must say everything got here safe and sound. No kids today, Linda and Thelma just can't keep up with them, so today we'll be boxing (I'm going back out too). Most of what is left is scattered in partially filled boxes, today we hope to consolidate, label and organize so that Friday when the kids are back, they can just load'em and take them to the garage. I'll probably load up too and bring a load of boxes here for storage - also the rest of the bed.

By the end of wednesday my back - left side, lower ribs was killing me. Three pain pills later and a good solid night's sleep and I feel fine this morning. Now to get dressed, unload the last few things from my truck, load a table, get gas, get my lotto tickets and head on back out to La Fayette.

Crunch Time!

Tis crunch time, crunch time for Thelma as she prepares to rent out her home of 60+ years. But first we must empty it and paint and fix it up. All to be accomplished in the next three/four weeks as the goal is to rent it by September 1st. Thus I have adjusted my schedule so that my truck can be used to take things into storage - storage at my house. Right now that consists of two dressers, two china cabintes, two chests of drawers, an oversized bed, a small end table and an untold number of boxed items. The rest is going into the Garage sale or being given away to family members and friends etc. Once the stuff is out of the house (three bedrooms, two and half baths, a dining room, a laundry room, a libing room, a kitchen and a den), then Thelma can concentrate on getting it organized and sorted in the Garage for a sale, throw, storage or give away.

So today I have a computer class at my father's, the first since their return from Atlanta and then Wednesday and Thursday I'll be carting stuff via my truck.

Going to be a busy week - now to work on email and paper before going up to my Father's and I still have to get going on my Genealogy for the reunion on the 21st. One of the things I need to do is get with my Aunt Gen and scan any pictures she has...a process I'm doing now with my Father's that I found.

Happy Birthday - Mom!

Had my mother lived, today would have been her 89th birthday and Monday will be the 36th anniversary of her death.

Well, I spent today working upstairs for 8 hours. The room is clean, organized and basically emptied and thus available for the storage of Thelma's stuff. Now when the stuff will arrive will probably depend on the availability of my truck and Travis as I suspect we will be making several trips as there are at least six pieces of furniture and an untold number of storage boxes to come. Right now though, I'm tired and sore and need to focus on some mundane tasks to ensure that all the routine stuff is also getting done.

Right now, this minute I'm going to bed, it has been another busy and long day.

Moving, Sorting, Cleaning, Carrying...

The past two days have been ones of activity. Thursday I went out to Thelma's planning on getting caught up with assorted types of paperwork and so forth. Only, that never happened, instead we headed over to her house and there we stayed from about 11AM to almost 7PM sorting, cleaning, moving and carrying her possessions as we prepared the garage. You see she is in the process of emptying her house of 60+ years of all of its possessions, so that the workmen can renovate to some degree in prep for renting. The down side is that for 60+ years her nickname has affectinately been known as "Ms. Packrat" *smile*

Over the past year or so she has done quite a lot ... thrown a lot ... given away a lot ... and now we sort that which will be sold ... that which will go to family & friends ... that which will be kept to be appraised and that which we can't let go of just yet, and of course now we are under the gun. We need to empty the house NOW, so that the workmen can get it in shape so that hopefully it will be rented by September 1st. Thus plans for a "House Sale" in which items are left in the house have gone by the wayside, instead it will be a combine House/Garage sale in the detached two stall garage. Hopefully by Columbus Day weeknd/Apple Festival time frame.

So in addition to preparing the garage we also tried to mark items in the house that were intended to go to the garage since Travis had arranged to have a couple kids available to help him move things on Friday and Saturday and into Sunday possibly. Though originally it was only Saturday and Sunday - another change in plans inflicted on Thelma and at this point that is not an option to inflict upon her, she just can't take it - it is too much stress - the improptu change in plans etc.

So we worked on one of the hottest and humidist days of the year in the dirt of the garage and the dust of the house, with the sweat just pouring off of me, literally. Thursday's high temperature was 95 degrees, though the humidity made it feel like 100. Needless to say, since I did not plan on this I wasn't dressed appropriately nor did I have a change of clothes.

But in the end we finished, had dinner and then I tried to do some paperwork and managed to sort through things and find when we went online another problem or glitch to resolve which will require an in person visit to the Bank...sigh. I was home midnight and went to sleep thinking about the "storage" problem - i.e. where to put all of Thelma's furniture and stuff she is keeping - looking into possible self-storage facilities.

Friday morning - my day - and the intentions were to leave it at that - I awoke at 4AM, still thinking of the moving, sorting, cleaning etc activities and of course the "storage" problem to which I think I have come up with a solution, which I intended to discuss when I called Thelma that morning at 8AM, only, she dropped the phone after a very, very groggy hello and after that there was no reaching her and apparently Travis was gone as well since no one answered his phone line either. So this time appropriately dressed I headed out there once more and spent another day getting things out to the garage. Only this time I directed the activities in the house, telling Travis and his assistants (2) what could go and where to place them once there. For which they used my truck and that made the process a bit easier since it held more and I had cleaned out the back that morning. It was a good setup as we succeeded in getting most of the big items - the furniture to be sold or given away - out of the house and in the garage. And we did so without causing too much undue stress on Thelma. Now of course the house itself looks as if a cyclone blew through it with boxes everywhere.

And we solved the "storage" problem, Thelma can store her stuff here at my house in Cheri's old room - the orange room - upstairs. It will provide a secure environment and still be close by and once the boys move out and there is room the stuff can be moved to Travis's. Plus there is plenty of space, it is cost-effective, simple and it took a load of stress off of Thelma and Travis as they sought to figure out what to do with the stuff and who to hire to store it at. Plus with the kids coming back to school in September there would be a premium on secure, environmentally protected locations. Now to get the room ready here for that which she is keeping. The big items will most likely be two chests of drawers, two china cabinets, and two dressers w/mirrors and tons of boxes of china, and the ever present paper.

Today (Saturday), Linda is coming down and together she and Thelma will work inside sorting through boxes and getting stuff separated for the appraiser, keeping, and selling. While Travis and his assistants will probably work at carting what they have ready for the garage to the garage and cleaning out the cellar.

So we all have our tasks to do today.

On another note - the Aiken/Chase Family Reunion is to be held on Sunday the 21st and I need to get pictures scanned and labled into the computer, and get to my Aunt Gen's and do the same the same there, hopefully before the reunion. I talked with Marian and she impressed upon me that Thelma should attend as well, she usually does, but last year so soon after her hip surgery she did not. This time she will though and we'll bring the wheelchair, walker etc. Thelma and Marian are relatively the same age and both enjoy each other's company immensely.

Well gotta go - wash is just about finished and tim eto hang the stuff out on the line, then check email, get coffee and get to work.

Later...

Norton Internet Security Software a pox on it!

Last nights efforts to fix my Internet Security 2005 problem was for naught. I spent about 2 - 3 hours de-installing and then re-installing Norton Internet Security and where am I? Right where I was when I started. If I enable the Firewall portion of the Security software I am blocked from accessing the internet. All access is blocked and then when I go to "configure" the Firewall - I get message about script errors on the pages. All that downloading of updates and rebooting and downloading just to get me back to where I was. Plus it did not seek to have me register it so with my luck in 15 days or so it will probably stop working...sighhh, unless it knows that I'm already registered. Funny thing though I have the same software on the laptop and there it works fine.

I guess I'll go to the Symantec site and see if anything will help me there or write them an email. I don't recall doing anything unusual...it just stopped working one day. Now I have Norton Internet Security activated for everything but the Firewall - for that I have the built in Windows Firewall working.

The parents should be returning from Atlanta, whether or not they get home today is a question...as is whether or not they will expect a computer class. I think it took them about three days to get there so I am expecting the same for them to get back which if they left Sunday it would be either Wednesday or Thursday and they did say about 14 days which would be Thursday - just when the heat arrives. I checked on the cats yesterday - they were glad to see me and the mail and then made a trip to the Post Office to pick up a package for my father - medicine I believe - what a trip that was the Teall Ave Post Office is so slow and inefficient, it is almost a joke. I stood in line for 20 minutes, by which time the line behind me was out the door...the clerks (3) seemed to be in slow mode...and talkative. Obviously they did not impress me.

Will today be the day that I actually accomplish something or at least feel as if I did? Yesterday all the running around and watering gardens and so forth I didn't actually do the things I wanted to do. Stay tuned maybe, just maybe I will report some progress later.

Later...