Busy, Busy

Wow, this week is a whirlwind. After a few relaxing days last weekend, it was time to swing into action.

Since the weather was not very nice last weekend, I came home around noon on Sunday. Kevin is staying at the campground to do camphosting duties. I got a lot accomplished on Sunday.

We are working on a project for the camper. We are building a desk. I saw one some other fulltimers were discussing in a forum recently. They bought it from an Amish furniture maker in Indiana. It has two end cabinets that sit on either side of the dining table under the windows. There is a piece of wood that goes over the back of the table connecting the two ends. The top is 12 inches wide so we lose some of the dining table, but we gain a place to keep the laptop, printer and two cabinets for more storage. If we pull out the leaf on the table, we can still seat four. The cost from the Amish company was $800. We found some cabinets and bought an oak board and are making our own for around $200. The pieces were all unfinished so I did some staining when I got home Sunday. Once it it finished, I'll post some pictures. I also packed up everything else except the Christmas items.

I currently have 3 bins for our son to store. I think I will have 1 or 2 more after finishing with the Christmas items and a few other things. I packed a box of kitchen items for our son in Minnesota. He is moving into a new apartment and is losing the roommate that had the kitchen stuff. I also did laundry. I was really tired by evening.

We also decided to sell Kevin's bobbleheads on ebay. I wish we would have thought of that a little earlier. I sold almost all of them, but have spent the last two evenings packing them all for shipping.

I spoke to the estate sale woman today. She still hasn't given me an exact date. She is going to contact the newspapers tomorrow to see when she has to have the ads in and will set the date based on the ads. I hope this all works out!

I've also been very busy at work getting everything done before I leave on Friday. Only 3 days to go!!!!! I am getting so pumped :)

Next time I'll discuss some other last minute technology details we're taking care of.

First Blog Posting From RV

This is the first time I am posting to this blog from the RV. It feels gooood! We are camping at Derge County Park in Beaver Dam, WI. We got here around noon yesterday.

Back in February when we thought we had sold the house, I had called the Dodge County Parks office to see if they had length of stay restrictions in their parks. We were looking for a place to stay for the summer. After explaining our situation to the woman, she asked if we would be interested in camphosting. Well, that sounded like a great idea to us. I quickly put together a resume for us, filled out the application and before we knew it, we were on board.

We are actually "volunteer" camphosts as we don't get paid. Our site, electricity and firewood are free. We can arrive as early in spring as we want and leave as late in fall as we want without paying any camping fees. Our job is being "eyes and ears" in the campground, helping sell firewood, renting canoes and answering questions. We have agreed to be available 3 hours a day, five days a week. However, whenever we are in the park, it is understood we will answer questions and help out if needed. We met our boss, Mike, yesterday. He seems very nice and laid back. It seems this will work out great. Time will tell.

It's raining and cold outside. I'm nice and warm in my cozy home. Isn't this great!!! I have done some organizing of storage space. There is plenty of storage in our new home. We only have a few more items to put in the camper. We should have no problem fitting everything in. Now, if we can only find everything :)

I made an appointment for the septic and well inspector to come on Monday, May 3rd. That will be the last step for us as far as inspections go. We don't see any reason for problems, as we have never had any issues with our system. Keeping my fingers crossed all goes well with that inspection. Otherwise, we are on track for closing.

One more week of work and I am FREE!!! Can't wait. If things outside clear up a bit later, I'll take some pictures of our new home to post next time.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

More Packing

Last night I worked on getting the kitchen packed. Kevin brought all the kitchen stuff from the camper into the house, and I went through everything from both kitchens to pick out the best items. Just how many spatulas does one household need anyway :) I have narrowed it down and today Kevin will pack it all back into the camper. Our son, Korey, will be moving into a new apartment next month and needs some more kitchen items. So, some of what is left will go to him and the rest will hopefully be sold.

Last night the appraiser also did his inspection. Hopefully, there won't be any problems with the appraisal amount. I can't imagine it will be an issue.

We are camping this weekend with a local camping club we belong to. As luck would have it, it's supposed to be rainy, cold and windy all weekend. This used to be so upsetting to me. Now, who cares. After next week, we'll be camping all the time. I still feel bad for our camping friends who have to go back to work next week and hope the weather will be better the next weekend they get to camp.

The campground our club will be at is the same campground Kevin and I are camphosting at. So, we'll be on the host site and then just leave the camper there. It will be nice to see everyone again after a long winter. The campground has an unheated building we can use. At least we'll have someplace dry to get together. There will be games, cards, chatting and eating. There is always eating :)

I plan to spend time this weekend organizing the stuff we have put into the camper. I've just pretty much thrown it all in. Now, I need to figure out the best way to store things. I'm looking forward to organizing our new home!

It's funny. I can't stop smiling. This sense of pending freedom feels so good :)

A brief candle; both ends burning
An endless mile; a bus wheel turning
A friend to share the lonesome times
A handshake and a sip of wine
So say it loud and let it ring
We are all a part of everything
The future, present and the past
Fly on proud bird You're free at last. Charlie Daniels

One Step Closer

The house inspection report is in, and the buyers have signed off on it. There are a few minor repairs they want done which we have agreed to (attach a loose downspout and replace the screening in the patio door). We can handle that.

Tonight the appraiser comes. I can't see any problem there since we had the house appraised last fall for a refinance and sold it for below that appraised value.

Yesterday was a banner day for me. I gave my notice at work. April 30th will be my last day. I can't tell you how wonderful it felt. I have been very unhappy at my job for a long time. I have a very nasty coworker who has made my life miserable. As much as people tell you not to let it bother you, I couldn't help it. She was REALLY nasty! She hasn't said a word to me since I gave my notice.

The rest of the staff have been so supportive. So many of them have told me how they are envious or jealous of us. It seems there are a lot of people longing for freedom. I know this lifestyle isn't for everyone, but it seems fear is holding many back. Or, maybe we're just crazy.

Friday we are taking the camper to the county park we will be camphosting at. Kevin will stay there next week by himself. (I'm sure he'll manage just fine without me). Next Friday night I will join him and our official fulltime RV life will begin.

We're setting May 1, 2010 as our official fulltime date. I think that's fitting. I was born in Germany, and May Day is a big celebration in Germany. They celebrate the arrival of spring. Just like we will celebrate a new beginning for us. I'm getting a bit teary-eyed just thinking about it :)

All glory comes from daring to begin.

Making Progress

We spent the entire weekend going through closets and drawers and packing the trailer. I'm having a hard time deciding how many and which clothes to bring. I didn't think I had as many clothes as I discovered in that closet. They must have been mutiplying when I wasn't looking :)

I still need to pack some work clothes as I may decide to do some office temping along the way. Since I'm still working, I can't pack those clothes just yet.

I am now finished going through all the closets and cabinets in the house other than the master bathroom and the kitchen. The end is definitely in sight.

We haven't heard how the inspection went. I'm also waiting to hear from the estate sale woman. She is supposed to be calling me today after work.

We sold one of our cars this weekend on Craigslist. Within four hours of posting it, we had it sold to a man who paid the full asking price. We met him in a parking lot of a store near our house since we didn't want anyone coming to the house. He paid the full amount in cash and Kevin gave him the signed title. Since he didn't have anyone with him to help drive 2 cars back home, he asked if we would take it back home with us and meet him again on Sunday when he would have a friend with him. He never called on Sunday. I still had his voicemail message so at about 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon I called him. I got voicemail so I left him a message. It's wierd; I don't know what to make of it. Hopefully, we'll hear from him soon. I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want to pick up a car they had paid for. I hope nothing happened to him.

Just another strange incident in this journey that has been full of strange happenings.

Where Did All This Stuff Come From?

The home inspector is coming tomorrow morning at 8:00. So much for sleeping in. Oh well, hopefully he'll give us a good report. Speaking of sleep; I think Kevin and I are on a bit of overload. We've both been having trouble with sleep; can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep, wake up too early in the morning. This is the first time I can ever remember Kevin having trouble sleeping. He usually sleeps like a rock. We're both so anxious to start living the dream.

We started packing the camper this week. I can't believe how much stuff we have left in the house! Now let me tell you, I've been getting rid of stuff for years. I've sold quite a bit on ebay and Craigslist and given loads to Goodwill. I really thought I had things cleared out pretty well. There is a section in the basement where I have stored items I thought would sell at the moving sale. I really thought I had things pretty under control. But, when we actually started putting things in the camper; I realized I still have a ways to go. Actually, it's not that bad; but there definitely is work to be done.

It's amazing what we accumulate in our homes. Last night I went through the spice cabinet. That's right, I had an entire cabinet full of spices and baking products, and I don't even like to cook. Some of those spices were old. I filled 3 plastic grocery bags with garbage! I should have done it a long time ago. Living in the same house for 26 years has caused me to accumulate too much. The purge feels good! We also have done very well cleaning out the pantry and freezer. We haven't had to do much grocery shopping for months :)

On April 23rd, we will begin our camphosting assignment. So, this weekend, we'll be putting our clothes into the camper. I left a message for the estate/moving sale lady and hopefully she can do the sale in mid-May. We're moving forward with the assumption the closing will take place. Even if it doesn't, we're moving forward. Still keeping our fingers crossed!!

Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake. Henry David Thoreau

Cautiously Hopeful

I am happy to say that we have an accepted offer on the house!!! Yippee, Yippee, Yippee!!!!

The buyers have their house sold and their financing in place, so it looks like it is a very sound offer. The next step is the inspection. We don't think that will be a problem since we already had an inspection from a previous offer. That inspector found a few minor items which we have since taken care of. I don't think there is anything the inspector can find fault with. Of course, it depends on who the inspector is. The first inspection was ridiculous. I posted about him in a previous entry.

If all goes as planned, we will close on May 21st.

We have many tentative plans in the works, but most everything depends on the house sale going through. Once we have a more concrete idea of what we will be doing, I'll let you know.

In the meantime, we're praying that all will work out this time, and we can begin our fulltime RVing very soon.