Moving: Out.. No, Really. O-U-T.

We moved into the new house a month ago this week. Moving in took some pre-work and some hard work on moving day, but it went fairly smooth and stayed on schedule. Moving OUT of the old house? Not so much - it's been neither smooth nor on-schedule.

Almost every day since we moved, I have visited the old house, picking up a few things here and there, sorting things, shuffling them around. But still there was a LOT of stuff to contend with. Some of it we need, some of it we don't, and some of it I'm not sure if we need or not.

But it's time to quit dithering and decide what moves and what gets sold or donated or just plain tossed. This past weekend, I hauled a carload of books to the Friends of the Library (they sell them and use the proceeds to help support our Linebaugh Libraries), and a couple carloads of other stuff back to the new house.  The boys helped Mr. Official clear the attics on Monday. It was blazing hot outside and even hotter in that attic. But they hauled it all down and we sorted and stockpiled. Every family member has a pile, and there's a massive and growing pile for a garage sale (coming soon!)

After we finished that exhausting exercise, I continued tidying and cleaning, picking and choosing. The big curbside trashcans were empty and are now full again. The garage sale pile is steadily growing.

I'm giving everyone a week to cull through their own stuff and decide what they are keeping and what they aren't. Oldest son has the biggest pile (and ironically, an attic of his own to haul it to.) Hopefully by next week at this time, the garage will be empty except for the garage sale pile, and by the week after that, THAT stuff will be gone too. In the meantime, the painters are lined up and ready to start painting. I hope. Because I'm ready for them to start and the paint is waiting in the den for them to begin.

We are meeting with our Realtor to discuss the market analysis she's prepared, and we hope there will soon be a "For Sale" sign in the yard of this newly painted and spiffed up house.

Happy moving, for reals.

My wild goose chase

Not literally, although with our quasi-farmlife now, that is always a possibility.

No, this is about a skirmish in my never-ending quest for organization.

In the old house, I had a nice wall-mounted ironing board. Very handy and folded away when not in use. This laundry room is not configured in a way that lends itself to another one of those, so I'm back to a regular ironing board. I went so far as to haul my original one out of the shed, but it is almost 30 years old. The rubber leg covers are dry rotted and it's rusty. Time for a new one.

So I bought one around the date we started moving in. And as I recently realized, it has sat unused - in its plastic wrap! - for a few weeks now. But I'm sure some day it will get used and in order to keep it neat, I really need (yes, need) one of those organizers that holds both the iron and the ironing board. (I'm sure my iron is on pins and needles, waiting for a new home, else it would have been over here weeks ago.)

I went looking for a wall-mounted holder, specifically one with a metal or silicone plate back so a still-hot iron can be placed in it without scorching the wall while it cools. What I found is that such a creature is nearly impossible to find locally.

I tried. I really tried. I went to four stores (three in one trip just for this object), and came home empty-handed:

WalMart - nope.
Home Depot - nada.
Lowe's - had one but it was not worth the price.
Target - has one online, but locally, nothing.

True to form, off to Amazon I went. Found this model by Brabantia.  (I have two of their stainless steel trashcans, and love them. Here's hoping this is as well-designed and sturdy.)

Who knew this would be so difficult to find?

Question:  Why is it so hard to find a selection of ironing board holders these days?

Possible answers:
A. More people using the built-in or over-the-door ironing boards, and don't need them.
B. When it comes to ironing, more of us are opting for wrinkle releaser whenever possible.
C. More of us just don't iron at all.

Hmmmm.

Happy chasing those wild geese,

Summer 2011: And so it begins...

Around here, summer is generally bookended in by Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends.  If we're lucky, July 4th lands on a Friday, Saturday, Sunday or Monday and creates a tri-fected mid-summer long weekend. (The odds are in our favor on that one.)

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As of this weekend, we can now officially herald the beginning of true summer weather here in middle Tennessee, and most of the U.S. (But not Chicago and the entire state of Colorado - I've seen enough cold temps and even snow in late May in those areas to exclude them from that sweeping generalization.)

And for places farther south of here, summer begins much earlier as this popular list declares:

Mr. Official and I typically spend the summer holiday weekends grinding away on one or more projects that we are eager to tackle.  This year, we have a plethora of projects to choose from:  fences, moving stuff, and setting up for our all-summer VBS (aka SBV) at church. Or all of the above.

Amid the hustle and bustle, I hope we all take some time to pause and remember and honor those for whom this weekend is specifically dedicated.  Our country is so richly blessed with freedoms and liberties that other nations don't dare dream of having.  I fear familiarity breeds contempt and our personal freedoms are being traded for the illusion of security, which - as Ben Franklin put it, if you sacrifice one for the other, you deserve neither.  (Smart man, that Mr. Franklin.  We could use a few more like him these days.)

I pray for all our troops actively serving in foreign lands.  A few of you I know, most of you I do not.  But I do deeply appreciate the job you do and the dangers you face with courage and conviction.  May God bless you and your families, and keep you safe while you keep us safe.

Now, if I can just make sure I don't blink and miss summer as it revs up into high gear and speeds along toward Labor Day weekend, pausing just long enough to celebrate the 4th of July in between.


Happy weekend and happy summer!