I had the pleasure of once again heading to Charlottesville, VA last weekend for an annual girls spa weekend at The Boars Head Inn. It's hard work, but someone has to pull through and do it. I have been going along with my three girlfriends to the Inn for the past fourteen years, and yes, it is in the plans to continue the tradition. We have a wonderful first day of meeting for lunch in Culpeper, VA (meeting me, since the three of them drive together coming from the same location--I am farther south) and then settling in Friday night with our own happy hour and some board game playing. This year there was a bit of a mix up in that OUR room was not available. "Excuse me, Daniel, what room key is this for? Did you change the room numbers to all of the rooms?". Due to HVAC systems being replaced in some of the buildings, Daniel assured us that we had a lovely cottage waiting for us. And he was right! We loved our cottage! After catching up over drinks, more food and games, we retired early to get ready for the long day ahead of spa treatments. Some years past, we spent the entire day having as many as five services (manicure, pedicure, body glows, massage, facial). From 9-5, it was a job! With a break for lunch, of course. But with the economy faltering, job security questioned and changes in personal situations, we have all scaled back to two services (or maybe three for one in the group). In between and around services, we eat our gourmet lunch that we have brought along with us, drink wine, chat more, take walks, read, rest and eat some more. Then it's happy hour all over again, and a gourmet dinner with dessert. More games, more big fun and on Sunday, after we eat (again) out for breakfast, we head home.
I have in the past laid on the couch to rest once home from spa weekend. Like I said, it is exhausting and like a job. In the meantime, Ray is usually laying on the couch catching up on tv. He takes the weekend just to recharge and do nothing. Even with our daughter being home and in high school still, she would be working on tons of homework, and he would be resting from the work week and long commutes. This year was a little different for him. He had several people coming, starting on Friday afternoon, to pick up large, heavy pieces of furniture. I caught him on the phone the first night out of breath having just moved the huge, boxy, and massive desk. It sold! The piano was next. On Saturday, four men, a piano on a piece of carpeting, a dolly and a large truck got that piano safely out of the house. And then there were the couches. Ray remembered the legs unscrew, so he got those off of them right before they were moved out of the house by two neighbors and, of course, himself. No rest for Ray! He ran errands, grabbed some Doritos for dinner and Chinese food, and then he went through papers and more papers that had piled up in the desk that we now didn't have in the office. Where to put everything? He had empty bins to fill with those important papers that we need to keep in one place, an archaic computer to re-hook up at the desk in the kitchen, pennies to roll, and silver to count!
Once I arrived home, I saw all that Ray had done. Then we went on a date to Costco. Yay! We needed ink for the printer. And to graze on all of those samples! Once back home, the future owners of the house (who, by the way, have renters for their house!) asked to move a few more things into our living room. Anything they had in their china cabinet, buffet, and built-in bar area came into the house. I decided, and Ray was right there with me, to clean windows. From Queen to Cinderella! So now three more rooms are empty, the floors are swept, the windows are clean, the front entrance way has clean windows, and life if looking really good! The future owner (should I just write "FO"?) commented "you are cleaning a house that has already sold, and your house is in pristine condition." I told him that was a bad attitude to take, because I don't want him talking about us behind our backs once we are gone. I also told him I was going to keep my heat running all day everyday since the gas company arrived on Saturday when Ray was not here, and the man filled the tank up completely! There goes our credit! If only we could have stopped him at half the tank! Urg! Oh well, like I told the FO, I am going to crank my heat up and use my gas stove everyday for the next six weeks.
So now, what's up with Panama? Ray and I have been looking on Craigslist at furnished places to rent. Our friends, Clyde and Terry (www.alongthegringotrail.blogspot.com) were more than happy to go with a realtor being our eyes to check out a four bedroom, three bathroom house near Coronado. Clyde took close to fifty pictures and sent them to us. He and Terry also gave us their opinions (which we value a lot!) about the house, neighborhood, lot, and their overall feel of the place. This Sunday, they have another one they are going to look at for us again as our eyes. My boss asked me today if I was getting excited about Panama. I told him I am ready to get to the lake house first. I am ready for the cold to go away (snow both Tuesday and yesterday--it didn't stick, but it was two or three inches of big, white, and fluffy flakes of coldness). More of a wintry mess next week coming to us. I told him I am ready to have one house empty. I am ready to have my things in one place along with my daughter's things stored nearby. I am ready to make my last trip to Goodwill, and I am ready to not have anyone come to my house to buy furniture (the lady for a tall mirror didn't show tonight). I didn't tell him I am ready for work to be done haha If Sunday comes along and Clyde and Terry are shown a great house, for a great rental rate, I am ready to put a deposit down and have a place to call home there. I am ready to take things to the lake house tomorrow to unload some of our "stuff". Tomorrow I am having some dental work done (replace a veneer and to get a crown before going to Panama, since I only pay lab costs here)--not so ready for this, but I am ready to try out hearing aids that I am going to Costco for after my dental appointment (I think!). I am SO, SO READY to see my daughter this weekend (!!!) to deliver a rug to her (for her classroom) and a Rubbermaid bin with some kitchen things in it that she has asked for.
And finally, I start to think how I am so ready to plan our daughter's first trip to Panama to see us and to share all that we have discovered in our new home. The Barbie game where I was crowned Queen of the Prom last weekend will stay at the lake house (or my daughter will take it back someday), but I am ready to continue to have silly fun, gourmet meals, happy hours and even play board games whether it is here, Charlottesville, the lake house or in Panama. Ready or not, here we come, this much closer to no longer being "wannabe retirees in Panama". Now to come up with a new blog name...
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Thursday, February 20, 2014
LET THE SNOW BE GONE, AND LET OUR BELONGINGS BE GONE, TOO (except the shirts on our back!)
Where did the week go?! It went by as quickly as all of our stuff as been flying out the door, and as easily as the new owners of our house moved their stuff into our basement. Ray and I had a four day weekend together, because of the snowstorm. On Friday morning, his office opened at nine am (but his car couldn't make it out of the court), and I wasn't scheduled to work. It was Valentine's Day. We were cooped up here together (24/7 for four days). I can't even remember what I did in the morning, but I do know that by noon, we were taking a walk trying to figure out how we would get one of our cars to the main road. There were a lot of high, crunchy mounds of snow with ruts made from the 4 wheel drive cars that had driven out of the court. Would we get stuck? Our new next door neighbor managed to get his sedan into the neighborhood stopping just shy at his driveway. We asked our other neighbor to get his Toyota FJ Cruiser into the court to break the snow up (he did). After we talked to another neighbor that reassured us we would be fine breaking free, and another that told us to knock on his door if we got stuck and needed a push back into the driveway, we decided to give it a try. I told Ray, while getting myself all dolled up to get some lunch at Chili's, that I would attempt it only if he didn't yell at me if it didn't work. Easy breezy. The sun had warmed up the snow and made it slushy. My shoveling out to the court helped immensely as well haha Did I say I was determined to get out into the world? Once out of my neighborhood, I took note that all the developments around ours were beautifully plowed. The asphalt was shining brightly back at me. What the heck? The plows couldn't give our neighborhood one lousy pass? We had lunch at Chili's and then hit the grocery store for junk food. We didn't have anything we liked in the house. Bored with pretzels. Ray wanted something else. I bought my usual rice cakes (but mixed it up a bit with caramel flavor), some apples since I had one left, and Ray had Friendly's Butter Crunch ice cream, BBQ potato chips, Wheat Thins and Ranch Dip on the belt. When he would eat it all was something I asked. He would find time around shoveling and tv surfing. THIS I think just knowing that we weren't tied to the house and that we could shop, set something off. Automatically, hunger sets in. We had shoveled and built up our appetite. Or so we tell ourselves. Once home, I called the Department of Transportation to ask where the plow was, and when I could expect my street to be plowed. We were having more snow that night and freezing rain, so I wanted my street clear before the new stuff. Like I had any authority. The nice lady on the phone asked me if I wanted to put in a request to have my road plowed. "Yes, please." This isn't Panama obviously, so maybe it will get done. Ninety minutes later, the plows showed up. Oh yeah!
The following day was rainy and gray. We loaded up Ray's car for Goodwill, and we made one trip. Then we looked at storage facilities. It is now a law that they charge a monthly insurance fee (for the amount of space we needed, it would cost $10/month). Once home, I made phone calls. I found facilities costing anywhere from $700-850 for 12 or 13 months. Then I found one south of our house (a little more inconvenient for our daughter), but for 14 months, it would cost about $500. I'll take it!
That night I had bought tickets to see a show called "Always Patsy Cline". I thought Ray would enjoy it since he grew up listening and loving country music. It was being held at The University of Mary Washington, and before the show, we ate at a fantastic Mexican restaurant called Pueblos. So good! My one Lake Anna roommate and her sister ate dinner with us and saw the play as well. It was a good time, and we decided we should try and see some more plays/shows at this venue (a very cozy, clean, and bright theater. After the show, the four of us came back to the house so they could now see how empty it was, and I managed to give away a large, framed picture. One more thing out the door.
Sunday came along with Ray asking me if I was going out anywhere that day. Nope. I hadn't planned on it. I mean, I had been out quite a bit since Friday (not really, but where did I need to go--my belly was full, and I could always eat his chips and ice cream). He thought I might want to go to Goodwill with a car load of Christmas stuff. Really? Didn't I ask yesterday "hey, do you want to make another run to Goodwill?" in my most sweet and loving voice (since we had all day to do it). But alas, we loaded the car up (his Mini Cooper is amazing with carrying all of these bins and bags). Since it wasn't raining, I could go to the one that is just five minutes from the house (it is a parked trailer) as opposed to the one all the way down the road a total of fifteen minutes away (unsure why time was of the essence here). While I was gone, the huge wall unit was being carried away. The man picking up the piano couldn't come because two of his movers were sick (he ended up canceling out altogether this week, because he just can't get any help to move it). Someone else came for the tables in the sunroom, and I re-arranged some Rubbermaid bins to fill them up more efficiently. The new owners stated they may re-carpet the upstairs so we may not need to get the carpets cleaned. Her dad builds primitive furniture. He came over and took the remaining tools that her husband didn't want (this is so great because they are going to someone who will use every single tool and appreciates the old one's of my grandfather's and my Uncle Bob and Ray's dad). It was decided at dinner the night before that we wouldn't get a storage unit. We can put some of the bins in the shed at the lake house (things that we can keep an eye on, like dishes and Christmas decorations, to make sure mice don't go after them or chew through them), and we can store some in our bedroom. Once we leave, we can move it all to our bedroom, because we won't be there. We won't have to move around them. Our emptying rooms are pictured here...
On Presidents Day, Ray and I both had to go back to that place called work. The new owners of the house moved their unfinished basement things into our basement. WOW! We were impressed! They got a lot moved in. This is a wonderful thing! And after work each night, someone stopped by to pick up baskets or villages, and even at work Monday, I had someone meet me there to sell two purses. Ca-ching, Ca-ching! Someone just picked up the washstand to display her pottery, and a man is coming to look at the piano within the house. And our large desk might be sold as well. I do still have a couch to sit on, for now. After Saturday, the one above (in the sunroom picture) will get used for a change. I think Ray has napped on it a handful of times, but other than that, it sits alone. Also, the buyer's broker will be calling with information about the appraiser coming to the house, as well. Hope it all works!
I found out today, my boss has a pool going to see how long I will last in Panama. If I make it there! I needed to go back to work on Monday, to get away from my house and the work there! But alas, it is Thursday night, and tomorrow I leave for the weekend with my three best girlfriends to go for our annual spa weekend! Ray will enjoy his time alone, and I say "let the fun and games begin"! Woo hoo! Here's hoping I can somehow keep this tradition going when in Panama, but I don't even want to think about the logistics just yet. I will enjoy the weekend with the girls continuing to daydream about Panama while the masseuse breaks up all of those knots from packing, moving, shoveling, scaling teeth--the usual.
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| Mailman makes it on the first day of snow. |
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| Too bad our 4 wheel drive car was hit by a tractor. |
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| I shovel to the asphalt and beyond! |
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| So much more to shovel. |
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| Looking out of the neighborhood to the main road. |
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| Looking back at my house--last one on the right. |
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| Glorious plow |
The following day was rainy and gray. We loaded up Ray's car for Goodwill, and we made one trip. Then we looked at storage facilities. It is now a law that they charge a monthly insurance fee (for the amount of space we needed, it would cost $10/month). Once home, I made phone calls. I found facilities costing anywhere from $700-850 for 12 or 13 months. Then I found one south of our house (a little more inconvenient for our daughter), but for 14 months, it would cost about $500. I'll take it!
That night I had bought tickets to see a show called "Always Patsy Cline". I thought Ray would enjoy it since he grew up listening and loving country music. It was being held at The University of Mary Washington, and before the show, we ate at a fantastic Mexican restaurant called Pueblos. So good! My one Lake Anna roommate and her sister ate dinner with us and saw the play as well. It was a good time, and we decided we should try and see some more plays/shows at this venue (a very cozy, clean, and bright theater. After the show, the four of us came back to the house so they could now see how empty it was, and I managed to give away a large, framed picture. One more thing out the door.
Sunday came along with Ray asking me if I was going out anywhere that day. Nope. I hadn't planned on it. I mean, I had been out quite a bit since Friday (not really, but where did I need to go--my belly was full, and I could always eat his chips and ice cream). He thought I might want to go to Goodwill with a car load of Christmas stuff. Really? Didn't I ask yesterday "hey, do you want to make another run to Goodwill?" in my most sweet and loving voice (since we had all day to do it). But alas, we loaded the car up (his Mini Cooper is amazing with carrying all of these bins and bags). Since it wasn't raining, I could go to the one that is just five minutes from the house (it is a parked trailer) as opposed to the one all the way down the road a total of fifteen minutes away (unsure why time was of the essence here). While I was gone, the huge wall unit was being carried away. The man picking up the piano couldn't come because two of his movers were sick (he ended up canceling out altogether this week, because he just can't get any help to move it). Someone else came for the tables in the sunroom, and I re-arranged some Rubbermaid bins to fill them up more efficiently. The new owners stated they may re-carpet the upstairs so we may not need to get the carpets cleaned. Her dad builds primitive furniture. He came over and took the remaining tools that her husband didn't want (this is so great because they are going to someone who will use every single tool and appreciates the old one's of my grandfather's and my Uncle Bob and Ray's dad). It was decided at dinner the night before that we wouldn't get a storage unit. We can put some of the bins in the shed at the lake house (things that we can keep an eye on, like dishes and Christmas decorations, to make sure mice don't go after them or chew through them), and we can store some in our bedroom. Once we leave, we can move it all to our bedroom, because we won't be there. We won't have to move around them. Our emptying rooms are pictured here...
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| Used to have two chairs in this corner of our bedroom. |
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| This was the Guest room (large box old tv anyone?) |
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| Carly's old room |
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| A washstand and pie safe were on walls in this landing upstairs |
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| Our dining room with odds and ends (Carly's bins, a desk and washstand now gone, anyone want a recliner?) |
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| Our living room with my mom's old Asian "stuff"--now gone |
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| Sunroom with tables gone and baskets gone |
On Presidents Day, Ray and I both had to go back to that place called work. The new owners of the house moved their unfinished basement things into our basement. WOW! We were impressed! They got a lot moved in. This is a wonderful thing! And after work each night, someone stopped by to pick up baskets or villages, and even at work Monday, I had someone meet me there to sell two purses. Ca-ching, Ca-ching! Someone just picked up the washstand to display her pottery, and a man is coming to look at the piano within the house. And our large desk might be sold as well. I do still have a couch to sit on, for now. After Saturday, the one above (in the sunroom picture) will get used for a change. I think Ray has napped on it a handful of times, but other than that, it sits alone. Also, the buyer's broker will be calling with information about the appraiser coming to the house, as well. Hope it all works!
I found out today, my boss has a pool going to see how long I will last in Panama. If I make it there! I needed to go back to work on Monday, to get away from my house and the work there! But alas, it is Thursday night, and tomorrow I leave for the weekend with my three best girlfriends to go for our annual spa weekend! Ray will enjoy his time alone, and I say "let the fun and games begin"! Woo hoo! Here's hoping I can somehow keep this tradition going when in Panama, but I don't even want to think about the logistics just yet. I will enjoy the weekend with the girls continuing to daydream about Panama while the masseuse breaks up all of those knots from packing, moving, shoveling, scaling teeth--the usual.
Thursday, February 13, 2014
OH, WHAT A RELIEF IT IS!
The title of this post reflects how I felt last Tuesday and into the week. But now with nine inches of snow on the ground outside, and possibly another four to fall overnight, and then another clipper coming through tomorrow night maybe, I think I need to adjust the title to SNOWSTORM PAX THROWS ONE, TWO, THREE PUNCH PRIOR TO MOVE TO PANAMA! First and foremost, let me just say that I am so glad I was finally deemed non-essential for this storm. And there was a plan set in place as early as yesterday morning. We pushed the patients back so that we would work 11-5 if the snowstorm was a bust. But stay by the phones, because we may get the call not to come in at all. Ray got his phone call around seven pm last night that he was to go to work at ten am today. Then he got the "office is closed" call at six thirty this morning. I heard from my office manager at eight am that our office was closed (I was busy shoveling snow). Not like we can go anywhere. Our driveway is clear, but the snow blower on the street that we used to blow ourselves out of the neighborhood four years ago during Snowmageddon (since the plows didn't come for DAYS) isn't up and running. So we hang out together. Just like we will do in Panama haha
Back to the original title--if only I had written a few days ago, I would be staying more on track here.
It was with great relief that I told my employer that May 30th will be my last day of work. I started the conversation with "my house sold", and I was so happy that he was genuinely happy for me. He plopped back into this chair (we were the only two that had arrived to work just then on Tuesday morning), and he told me how happy he was, but then he said "oh no though, now when will you be leaving?". When I told him the day I was thinking (I didn't give any written notice yet), he was relieved. The receptionist/assistant that has been working in our office for the past six years (?) is finishing dental hygiene school in May. And when she gets her license, she can slide right into my position. We talked about the schedule because I was thinking, along with the office manager, that we should all avoid scheduling patients in my column until we know who will be working and until the new dental hygienist actually starts the job. He told me to discuss my schedule with the office manager, but he also said to just book my column. It was nice to hear he does want to avoid giving another temporary hygienist more days, because "I promised the job to _____". Great news that everyone is on the same page! And also great news that since I am leaving the country, not going to another dental office, and my patients love the office and can't follow me, I can call my patients to make them aware that I am leaving, and I can tell my patients as I see them that I won't be there in six months. This is huge to me. When I left my last job (because the owner was moving to Colorado and selling the practice, but it was hush hush), I could only tell my patients that I was "leaving jobs to be closer to home". I had worked at that office for sixteen years, and I thought I certainly wouldn't believe the story I was telling the patients, but this is what I was told I could do. Luckily, patients found me (once the owner sold) in Stafford and here I am eight years later still treating them (16 + 8=24 years!). Twenty-four years of an almost thirty year career is a long time to be treating the same patients, and I am so happy I can tell them face to face that I am leaving and why I am leaving.
After that relief of telling my boss and all my friends at work, I knew I would be able to sleep that night with a little help from a Tylenol PM (I had only about four hours of sleep the night before). I slept like a baby, and then every night (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) this week Ray and I have had strangers along with co-workers/friends coming over to the house to buy and to be given more stuff! Let's see what left the house this week...a desk chair, a wall unit of my parents with two chairs (Asian flair), ladder style wall unit, sleds, clock (a woman came over to buy the shelving unit and saw other things to buy along the way!), and a lot of things that were going to Goodwill went to my friends at work. They felt odd, weird, strange and bad for rummaging through my stuff. I told them "please, take it." I really do feel good knowing that the picture over my fireplace is going to hang on the office managers wall at home. And she is actually going to cook in the cast iron skillets and pots we have had in bins for so many years. And the dental assistant that loves candles, and the things that I had displayed on my shelves, will put it all to use in her new house when she moves this summer (and she has more Christmas lights to hang outside with garland now). The milk can will get sanded down and painted another pretty color. And the other dental assistant will put an oak shelf that was made for us above a door to display her things. The lawn mower will be put to good use as well as the water hose. I have friends that will use the Longaberger baskets when entertaining, and the Christmas villages will light up again (I stopped displaying them in the last few years.) I have another friend that has always wanted the three foot lit trees in pots to display outside her front door at Christmas time, so now when she plugs them in, she can think of me haha If I can't take it all with me, I am so happy that I know others will put everything to good use and enjoy it all. And what a huge favor they are doing for us! Less to go to Goodwill!
Today the shoveling of the driveway was done, my dresser was purged, things were condensed in my totes to be taken to the lake house in April and then sorted for Panama later, recipes scanned into my computer so I could get rid of the papers in the cabinet, cookbooks packed up for Goodwill, more things posted on Craigslist, and yes, I made a big pile for Goodwill in what was the living room. Ray seemed to be okay with this pile. Backing up to last Sunday, I was condensing and consolidating in the basement while he finished painting the area going down the steps to the basement. I took three piles and made one large pile for Goodwill. I was going to do the painting, so then I started looking for something to do. I soon realized, after his slight meltdown, that three little piles looks more manageable to Ray than that one larger pile I had created. What are we doing with this? Where are we going with that? We decided to agree to disagree. We went upstairs and cleaned three bedrooms (windows, sills, ceiling fans, bathroom that isn't used, vacuumed to ready the rooms for the carpets to cleaned) in silence. But Ray, being the great guy that he is, knew I was only trying to stay busy and help by making that pile, and he apologized. All better. We are both such hard workers, and we aren't lazy. We like to get the job done while we are able to do it. When we have the time, and also when we aren't at the lake house, there are things to get done. This is why I knew today would be a good shut in day to bring it all up to the front door (the Goodwill things). My hope is to get to Goodwill this week (tomorrow, but probably not unless a plow comes through). I also wanted to get to the Pawn Shop. Some things I am just not sure I want to give to Goodwill, and I don't know what will happen at a Pawn Shop (never been to one before to sell things). Probably won't get there either. Another time. For now, I will look out at the snow, watch Ray keep looking for the plow to come into our court (the mailman made it!), and dream about our future winters in Panama!
Back to the original title--if only I had written a few days ago, I would be staying more on track here.
It was with great relief that I told my employer that May 30th will be my last day of work. I started the conversation with "my house sold", and I was so happy that he was genuinely happy for me. He plopped back into this chair (we were the only two that had arrived to work just then on Tuesday morning), and he told me how happy he was, but then he said "oh no though, now when will you be leaving?". When I told him the day I was thinking (I didn't give any written notice yet), he was relieved. The receptionist/assistant that has been working in our office for the past six years (?) is finishing dental hygiene school in May. And when she gets her license, she can slide right into my position. We talked about the schedule because I was thinking, along with the office manager, that we should all avoid scheduling patients in my column until we know who will be working and until the new dental hygienist actually starts the job. He told me to discuss my schedule with the office manager, but he also said to just book my column. It was nice to hear he does want to avoid giving another temporary hygienist more days, because "I promised the job to _____". Great news that everyone is on the same page! And also great news that since I am leaving the country, not going to another dental office, and my patients love the office and can't follow me, I can call my patients to make them aware that I am leaving, and I can tell my patients as I see them that I won't be there in six months. This is huge to me. When I left my last job (because the owner was moving to Colorado and selling the practice, but it was hush hush), I could only tell my patients that I was "leaving jobs to be closer to home". I had worked at that office for sixteen years, and I thought I certainly wouldn't believe the story I was telling the patients, but this is what I was told I could do. Luckily, patients found me (once the owner sold) in Stafford and here I am eight years later still treating them (16 + 8=24 years!). Twenty-four years of an almost thirty year career is a long time to be treating the same patients, and I am so happy I can tell them face to face that I am leaving and why I am leaving.
After that relief of telling my boss and all my friends at work, I knew I would be able to sleep that night with a little help from a Tylenol PM (I had only about four hours of sleep the night before). I slept like a baby, and then every night (Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday) this week Ray and I have had strangers along with co-workers/friends coming over to the house to buy and to be given more stuff! Let's see what left the house this week...a desk chair, a wall unit of my parents with two chairs (Asian flair), ladder style wall unit, sleds, clock (a woman came over to buy the shelving unit and saw other things to buy along the way!), and a lot of things that were going to Goodwill went to my friends at work. They felt odd, weird, strange and bad for rummaging through my stuff. I told them "please, take it." I really do feel good knowing that the picture over my fireplace is going to hang on the office managers wall at home. And she is actually going to cook in the cast iron skillets and pots we have had in bins for so many years. And the dental assistant that loves candles, and the things that I had displayed on my shelves, will put it all to use in her new house when she moves this summer (and she has more Christmas lights to hang outside with garland now). The milk can will get sanded down and painted another pretty color. And the other dental assistant will put an oak shelf that was made for us above a door to display her things. The lawn mower will be put to good use as well as the water hose. I have friends that will use the Longaberger baskets when entertaining, and the Christmas villages will light up again (I stopped displaying them in the last few years.) I have another friend that has always wanted the three foot lit trees in pots to display outside her front door at Christmas time, so now when she plugs them in, she can think of me haha If I can't take it all with me, I am so happy that I know others will put everything to good use and enjoy it all. And what a huge favor they are doing for us! Less to go to Goodwill!
Today the shoveling of the driveway was done, my dresser was purged, things were condensed in my totes to be taken to the lake house in April and then sorted for Panama later, recipes scanned into my computer so I could get rid of the papers in the cabinet, cookbooks packed up for Goodwill, more things posted on Craigslist, and yes, I made a big pile for Goodwill in what was the living room. Ray seemed to be okay with this pile. Backing up to last Sunday, I was condensing and consolidating in the basement while he finished painting the area going down the steps to the basement. I took three piles and made one large pile for Goodwill. I was going to do the painting, so then I started looking for something to do. I soon realized, after his slight meltdown, that three little piles looks more manageable to Ray than that one larger pile I had created. What are we doing with this? Where are we going with that? We decided to agree to disagree. We went upstairs and cleaned three bedrooms (windows, sills, ceiling fans, bathroom that isn't used, vacuumed to ready the rooms for the carpets to cleaned) in silence. But Ray, being the great guy that he is, knew I was only trying to stay busy and help by making that pile, and he apologized. All better. We are both such hard workers, and we aren't lazy. We like to get the job done while we are able to do it. When we have the time, and also when we aren't at the lake house, there are things to get done. This is why I knew today would be a good shut in day to bring it all up to the front door (the Goodwill things). My hope is to get to Goodwill this week (tomorrow, but probably not unless a plow comes through). I also wanted to get to the Pawn Shop. Some things I am just not sure I want to give to Goodwill, and I don't know what will happen at a Pawn Shop (never been to one before to sell things). Probably won't get there either. Another time. For now, I will look out at the snow, watch Ray keep looking for the plow to come into our court (the mailman made it!), and dream about our future winters in Panama!
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| 6:30 this morning (not a creature was stirring...) |
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| When all was said and done, Goosey Sue was up to her neck in snow! |
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| Nine inches of snow--getting ready to shovel it out of here! |
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| Quiet in the neighborhood at 7:30 am |
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| We ate the icicles after our workout. |
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| Ray thinks about Panama City (it was only four weeks ago we were warm). Oh Panama... |
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| All done. Now where is the plow? Where are the neighbors? |
Saturday, February 8, 2014
SOLD! WHAT DID YOU SAY?
Such excitement this past week (how much excitement can Ray and I stand), and now I can finally talk and post about it. My house sold! Contract signed, settlement date set, and we are out of here. More on my disgruntled commute from the lake house to work to come I'm sure! BUT hey, no having to keep the house squeaky clean to show it. No having strangers walk through commenting that they want bigger closets, more of an open floor plan, a finished basement, or granite counters.
So now why can't we sleep? Oh yeah, lots to do, sell, clean, store and so much more. I know those friends and virtual friends Ray and I have that have made the trek to Panama and are living the adventure already know the anxiety and angst. I will write about it just as a reminder of how far we still have to go and yet, how far they have gone in their short time in Panama :)
How did our house sell? Our wonderful neighbors did indeed buy the house. They wanted a larger home with a larger lot, and this is just such an easy way to go for all of us. And what a great thing to know the family that is moving in, the plans they have for the house, and for the yard. And for our daughter to know this as well. We can all picture their child now growing up in Carly's bedroom, and playing in our office. I can picture the trees they are going to plant, the shed they want to build, and I can imagine the peace they are going to have staying in this small neighborhood still surrounded by all the fantastic people that live here.
Now that the house sold, Ray (not me haha) had to call our realtor. His stomach was in knots, but there was nothing to be done except to let her know we no longer needed her services. Oh, and to find out if she still wants to buy the furniture in our family room. Okay, this is why the call was most important. She was wonderful! She told Ray that in no way was there any reason she could possibly tell him to not sell our house in this fashion. She wanted to make sure we have a superior attorney (and we do), and that we are getting the most out of the sale for us (we are). And yes, she still wants the wall unit and will pick it up within two weeks.
While Ray was making this call to the realtor, I was visiting an audiologist (ear specialist). I had made the decision after our last trip to Panama that I would at least consider wearing a hearing aid again. Not that I really ever wore one to begin with when I was younger. I do remember wearing the aid that wraps behind the ear when I was in fourth grade. I also remember it spending a lot of time in its case. Then I tried one again for a trial period when I was twenty (right out of college). I wore the kind that sat nestled inside my ear. I think I wore it past the trial period resulting in my parents not getting back a lot of money that they spent for me to try it. I didn't like it. In 1985, the technology still wasn't right. I couldn't filter out that background noise. Who cares if I could hear the leaves crunching, the water running, the wind against my car windows when I couldn't hear anything else. That hearing aid spent a lot of time in its case as well (I just recently tossed them both into the trash). But now, maybe I could do it. Maybe I should at least look at the latest and greatest models. Off to my appointment I went, and into the ever so familiar hearing booth I sat listening to those beeps. Or not hearing them. Clenching my teeth to hear if I really heard the sound. Looking at the floor so as not to make eye contact with the audiologist through the window. I didn't want to not hear the sounds, but I knew I wasn't hearing them. There were too many long pauses in between them. Then I spoke the words back to her. This was tough! I was now trying to remember the words in Spanish! Oh brother! And if I didn't know the word in Spanish, I was stressed thinking "I must learn that word! Hot dog, ice cream, popcorn (food related words were not a problem), yard, step, toothbrush, and, that, where, were, been, car, paper and so on and so forth. First of all, let me say that in forty years my hearing has pretty much stayed the same. No big changes. It hasn't gotten worse. The next step was to discuss hearing aids. AIDS? Plural, meaning two? What about just one? What the heck? This is what I used to wear. Just one. Nope, not with today's latest and greatest technology. Seems that now the computers transfer hearing back and forth between the ears (how they will get through all the intense and intelligent brain matter I haven't a clue--they will have to work extra hard!). If one ear doesn't pick up the sound, the other one will, and now they have bluetooth compatibility along with microphones to give to that tour guide, so if I am at the back of the bus, I will hear perfectly. (Without the microphone, and yes I asked, I will still hear the tour guide, but possibly not as intense. I would hear the guide just like a normal hearing person would hear--imagine that. I could have better hearing than Ray. He could be asking ME "what did she say?") I left the appointment a bit whiny. I called Ray. Free trial to try them for thirty days and then $5000 to buy them. I did like the behind the ear model. It is small and comes in colors other than "BEIGE". Beige does not blend in by the way. I didn't like the price. I thought "try them and buy in Panama". This is what could happen. Then I contacted an old next door childhood neighbor. She wears hearing aids. It is a love/hate relationship. The background noise is still aggravating. But she bought hers at Costco. Costco! I looked it up. Same style and colors. A one hour hearing test necessary. Perhaps I will go to the audiologist, try them for thirty days, and then purchase them at Costco for $700 less per unit? Or still buy them in Panama?
The crazy thing about going to the doctor yesterday to discuss hearing aids is that once I did this, everyone came out of the woodwork wearing aids. Okay, not everyone, but three people in twenty four hours started sharing hearing aid stories with me. First, I asked a lot of questions to the above said childhood neighbor. Then, while selling off our household furnishings the woman buying our Hoosier cabinet showed me both her hearing aids. They were the exact one's I had just looked at but hers are purple. So now Ray could see what I had seen, and what I might actually bring home as a show and tell item on Friday. Background noise is a nuisance for her, but she is totally deaf in one ear and has forty percent hearing in another, so I think she should really hang onto hers. She is a home health nurse and wears a remote around her neck. This is also part of bluetooth for her cellphone (no need answering the phone--the calls go right to her ears). Doubt this is an accessory necessary for me.
This buying of our Hoosier cabinet now brings me to Craigslist. Thursday night we felt comfortable enough to show our dining room table set to a man that was hoping to buy it for his wife for Valentine's Day. Since we were pretty certain the house had sold, we went ahead and sold it letting him pick it up and carry it right on out of here. If the house didn't sell, we would show the dining room empty. This was a large piece of furniture that we didn't want to wait and see if it would sell for the right price. He came over and bought the dining room set and a jelly cupboard. Another woman bought another jelly cupboard. Then the woman with the hearing aids came over for the Hoosier cabinet last night (this was in the basement and could be sold with the house being sold or not). But before she saw it and bought it, a fireman came by to possibly buy it. It wasn't old enough for him, but he bought some old Ball mason jars and two plant stands. He said he had to leave with something. This morning a co-worker of Ray's came back to the house (she was here last weekend looking at Christmas things) to buy Carly's old bed frame and mattress. Ray threw in the curtains and rods. Back to the woman with the hearing aids. She liked the Hoosier cabinet and would come back today with a truck to move it out of here. This is when we chatted about her purple hearing aids. She also saw the ten or so crocks we had lined up in the office. She bought those, too. "Do you want to sell that sewing machine?" she asked. After she left with her purchases, Ray posted many more items on Craigslist. The same man that bought the dining room set came back over to buy a few trunks. Funny, because he didn't realize he was emailing Ray again. Today, the Hoosier cabinet and the sewing machine left the house. Along with three small and ugly Christmas trees. Once she left with her husband, Ray and I had the exact same thought that she is buying things up and selling them once home. She just looks around too fast, has a lot of cash and seems to need and want many things. I asked her if her house had empty rooms or something. She lives two hours away in a large house in the country. She even wants to buy my car haha! Hey, if the price is right!
While everyone was buying and moving things, my daughter had dropped her car off at the service station. She had just had maintenance done over winter break, but the belts had loosened. She brought the car back to the shop to have them checked and tightened. Then she did her taxes with her dad, and I packed up some Easter decorations for her to take with her. We consolidated her totes and decided on a tiny storage facility. Then we can slowly take things to Panama (not store it all in lake house, since it looks like we will be moving there sooner than I thought!), and she has a place for her things. Ray's dad and his wife came over to pick up a very old dining room table (Ray's grandmothers), chairs and highchair (we have been storing that in our basement). He did not want that sold or given away. We actually used the table for about ten years when living in another house down the road (the house was decorated very country on six acres in the country). We all went to Chili's for lunch and to chit chat, we picked my daughter's car up and off everyone went with all their "stuff". My sister will get our bedroom set and family room tables which are a few more big pieces we are glad to have claimed. And a lone chair with ottoman might be gone tomorrow.
My neighbors, without even seeing a For Sale sign let alone Sold sign, must be wondering what the heck! This neighborhood is like Wisteria Lane though. Things don't stay hush hush for long, but everyone knows Panama is now truly just months away. Now that I have shared the news of the house selling with one co-worker, I have to figure out (I think I have a pretty good idea) when my last day of work will be and when I trust sharing this information and giving my notice to my employer. Maybe I will learn how to say it all to him in Spanish?
Things I learned this weekend, and it's only Saturday, is that everyone coming to buy my furniture have been so excited to hear why we are selling it all and our move to Panama. A few have even researched moving to another country like Panama in retirement. In regards to hearing aids, they will need to be tried out first and may not have even changed over the past twenty years when it comes to filtering out background noise. I will most likely stay vanilla and not go with purple color. And lastly, the piano is going to be one tough sell. Hopefully will just roll out the door even if for FREE. Anythings possible though...just like selling this house without having to show it and retiring to Panama.
How did our house sell? Our wonderful neighbors did indeed buy the house. They wanted a larger home with a larger lot, and this is just such an easy way to go for all of us. And what a great thing to know the family that is moving in, the plans they have for the house, and for the yard. And for our daughter to know this as well. We can all picture their child now growing up in Carly's bedroom, and playing in our office. I can picture the trees they are going to plant, the shed they want to build, and I can imagine the peace they are going to have staying in this small neighborhood still surrounded by all the fantastic people that live here.
Now that the house sold, Ray (not me haha) had to call our realtor. His stomach was in knots, but there was nothing to be done except to let her know we no longer needed her services. Oh, and to find out if she still wants to buy the furniture in our family room. Okay, this is why the call was most important. She was wonderful! She told Ray that in no way was there any reason she could possibly tell him to not sell our house in this fashion. She wanted to make sure we have a superior attorney (and we do), and that we are getting the most out of the sale for us (we are). And yes, she still wants the wall unit and will pick it up within two weeks.
While Ray was making this call to the realtor, I was visiting an audiologist (ear specialist). I had made the decision after our last trip to Panama that I would at least consider wearing a hearing aid again. Not that I really ever wore one to begin with when I was younger. I do remember wearing the aid that wraps behind the ear when I was in fourth grade. I also remember it spending a lot of time in its case. Then I tried one again for a trial period when I was twenty (right out of college). I wore the kind that sat nestled inside my ear. I think I wore it past the trial period resulting in my parents not getting back a lot of money that they spent for me to try it. I didn't like it. In 1985, the technology still wasn't right. I couldn't filter out that background noise. Who cares if I could hear the leaves crunching, the water running, the wind against my car windows when I couldn't hear anything else. That hearing aid spent a lot of time in its case as well (I just recently tossed them both into the trash). But now, maybe I could do it. Maybe I should at least look at the latest and greatest models. Off to my appointment I went, and into the ever so familiar hearing booth I sat listening to those beeps. Or not hearing them. Clenching my teeth to hear if I really heard the sound. Looking at the floor so as not to make eye contact with the audiologist through the window. I didn't want to not hear the sounds, but I knew I wasn't hearing them. There were too many long pauses in between them. Then I spoke the words back to her. This was tough! I was now trying to remember the words in Spanish! Oh brother! And if I didn't know the word in Spanish, I was stressed thinking "I must learn that word! Hot dog, ice cream, popcorn (food related words were not a problem), yard, step, toothbrush, and, that, where, were, been, car, paper and so on and so forth. First of all, let me say that in forty years my hearing has pretty much stayed the same. No big changes. It hasn't gotten worse. The next step was to discuss hearing aids. AIDS? Plural, meaning two? What about just one? What the heck? This is what I used to wear. Just one. Nope, not with today's latest and greatest technology. Seems that now the computers transfer hearing back and forth between the ears (how they will get through all the intense and intelligent brain matter I haven't a clue--they will have to work extra hard!). If one ear doesn't pick up the sound, the other one will, and now they have bluetooth compatibility along with microphones to give to that tour guide, so if I am at the back of the bus, I will hear perfectly. (Without the microphone, and yes I asked, I will still hear the tour guide, but possibly not as intense. I would hear the guide just like a normal hearing person would hear--imagine that. I could have better hearing than Ray. He could be asking ME "what did she say?") I left the appointment a bit whiny. I called Ray. Free trial to try them for thirty days and then $5000 to buy them. I did like the behind the ear model. It is small and comes in colors other than "BEIGE". Beige does not blend in by the way. I didn't like the price. I thought "try them and buy in Panama". This is what could happen. Then I contacted an old next door childhood neighbor. She wears hearing aids. It is a love/hate relationship. The background noise is still aggravating. But she bought hers at Costco. Costco! I looked it up. Same style and colors. A one hour hearing test necessary. Perhaps I will go to the audiologist, try them for thirty days, and then purchase them at Costco for $700 less per unit? Or still buy them in Panama?
The crazy thing about going to the doctor yesterday to discuss hearing aids is that once I did this, everyone came out of the woodwork wearing aids. Okay, not everyone, but three people in twenty four hours started sharing hearing aid stories with me. First, I asked a lot of questions to the above said childhood neighbor. Then, while selling off our household furnishings the woman buying our Hoosier cabinet showed me both her hearing aids. They were the exact one's I had just looked at but hers are purple. So now Ray could see what I had seen, and what I might actually bring home as a show and tell item on Friday. Background noise is a nuisance for her, but she is totally deaf in one ear and has forty percent hearing in another, so I think she should really hang onto hers. She is a home health nurse and wears a remote around her neck. This is also part of bluetooth for her cellphone (no need answering the phone--the calls go right to her ears). Doubt this is an accessory necessary for me.
This buying of our Hoosier cabinet now brings me to Craigslist. Thursday night we felt comfortable enough to show our dining room table set to a man that was hoping to buy it for his wife for Valentine's Day. Since we were pretty certain the house had sold, we went ahead and sold it letting him pick it up and carry it right on out of here. If the house didn't sell, we would show the dining room empty. This was a large piece of furniture that we didn't want to wait and see if it would sell for the right price. He came over and bought the dining room set and a jelly cupboard. Another woman bought another jelly cupboard. Then the woman with the hearing aids came over for the Hoosier cabinet last night (this was in the basement and could be sold with the house being sold or not). But before she saw it and bought it, a fireman came by to possibly buy it. It wasn't old enough for him, but he bought some old Ball mason jars and two plant stands. He said he had to leave with something. This morning a co-worker of Ray's came back to the house (she was here last weekend looking at Christmas things) to buy Carly's old bed frame and mattress. Ray threw in the curtains and rods. Back to the woman with the hearing aids. She liked the Hoosier cabinet and would come back today with a truck to move it out of here. This is when we chatted about her purple hearing aids. She also saw the ten or so crocks we had lined up in the office. She bought those, too. "Do you want to sell that sewing machine?" she asked. After she left with her purchases, Ray posted many more items on Craigslist. The same man that bought the dining room set came back over to buy a few trunks. Funny, because he didn't realize he was emailing Ray again. Today, the Hoosier cabinet and the sewing machine left the house. Along with three small and ugly Christmas trees. Once she left with her husband, Ray and I had the exact same thought that she is buying things up and selling them once home. She just looks around too fast, has a lot of cash and seems to need and want many things. I asked her if her house had empty rooms or something. She lives two hours away in a large house in the country. She even wants to buy my car haha! Hey, if the price is right!
While everyone was buying and moving things, my daughter had dropped her car off at the service station. She had just had maintenance done over winter break, but the belts had loosened. She brought the car back to the shop to have them checked and tightened. Then she did her taxes with her dad, and I packed up some Easter decorations for her to take with her. We consolidated her totes and decided on a tiny storage facility. Then we can slowly take things to Panama (not store it all in lake house, since it looks like we will be moving there sooner than I thought!), and she has a place for her things. Ray's dad and his wife came over to pick up a very old dining room table (Ray's grandmothers), chairs and highchair (we have been storing that in our basement). He did not want that sold or given away. We actually used the table for about ten years when living in another house down the road (the house was decorated very country on six acres in the country). We all went to Chili's for lunch and to chit chat, we picked my daughter's car up and off everyone went with all their "stuff". My sister will get our bedroom set and family room tables which are a few more big pieces we are glad to have claimed. And a lone chair with ottoman might be gone tomorrow.
My neighbors, without even seeing a For Sale sign let alone Sold sign, must be wondering what the heck! This neighborhood is like Wisteria Lane though. Things don't stay hush hush for long, but everyone knows Panama is now truly just months away. Now that I have shared the news of the house selling with one co-worker, I have to figure out (I think I have a pretty good idea) when my last day of work will be and when I trust sharing this information and giving my notice to my employer. Maybe I will learn how to say it all to him in Spanish?
Things I learned this weekend, and it's only Saturday, is that everyone coming to buy my furniture have been so excited to hear why we are selling it all and our move to Panama. A few have even researched moving to another country like Panama in retirement. In regards to hearing aids, they will need to be tried out first and may not have even changed over the past twenty years when it comes to filtering out background noise. I will most likely stay vanilla and not go with purple color. And lastly, the piano is going to be one tough sell. Hopefully will just roll out the door even if for FREE. Anythings possible though...just like selling this house without having to show it and retiring to Panama.
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| Add five more to this (1, 4, 5 gallon, etc), and the crocks went out the door. |
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| Handmade chest Ray gave to me and to Carly (but the termites would eat up the wood!). |
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| All different colors and even sizes and shapes! |
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| My mom's "Floridian" style chair and ottoman I acquired years ago. |
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| Carly's old bed before she took the guest room set. |
Saturday, February 1, 2014
SO DO YOU HAVE A BACK UP PLAN?
For the third time in two weeks by three different people, I was asked what my back up plan was, you know, in case this whole Panama thing doesn't work out. In case it doesn't turn out how I think it should turn out. In case it isn't what I expect it to be. And for the first time in my forty-eight years of life, or at least since I can remember, I do not have a Plan B.
When another dental hygienist asked me this question, I asked what she meant and she said "in case you don't like it". I told her I would give it a few years to try, move to different places maybe to try different areas, and then she asked if I had given thought to where I would move if I moved out of Panama (say, Charleston in South Carolina). I gave that some thought (I do love that city) and then remembered Hurricane Hugo, 1989. I worked with a woman whose son lived on the water. Boats were piled up in his front yard. I thought of the expensive city with the large beautiful homes on the water. Nope, I can't say Charleston would be where I would settle next if I had a Plan B.
The final person that asked me about a Plan B was a patient of mine. I have been seeing this patient for many years in this office, and when I told her about my other conversations about this supposed Plan B and my lack of having one, we just laughed. That felt good. This patient has known me long enough to know that while I might not have a Plan B, I am not crazy enough (I still have a bunch of vanilla in me) to stay in a place that I don't love, a place that I am not comfortable in or a place that isn't working for me and Ray. I will pick up my boots and now that I have given a little thought to "what if", I am thinking a small, town in New Mexico perhaps. Of course, I will spend two plus years researching it all if I ever get to that point. That part will never change. Maybe this is why I don't have a Plan B--too consuming. I have enough to do with getting ready for take off to Panama.
But now I start to think maybe Panama is my Plan B. Plan A is what I have been doing all along-- working until that retirement age of whatever someone told me was the age (55, 60, 65?), moving to Northern Virginia so the commute wouldn't kill Ray, changing jobs possibly because I would now have a commute, watching my daughter get settled in Virginia perhaps (or when she marries, I would watch her move away and start her own new plan), traveling to visit grandchildren but doing so around the vacation time I was allotted waiting for retirement, playing at the lake house and visiting my sister, friends, and my parents along with Ray's parents (this again would be factored into having vacation time) and Plan A, by the way, would also include my parents still being alive through all of this--this is how Plan A would be if it were to have all worked out the "right" way. My parents would still be here in my Plan A.
Looking back at this blog, I remember writing something similar about our plans. Our future. So I did some research into my own blog. Here is what I wrote in my post "HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY NEED?" May 10, 2012 (just about two years ago):
So in May of 2012, I was on track to start Plan B. Somewhere I had forgotten this new plan of mine.
And don't get me wrong, having plans is a good thing. It's never giving up. It's being tenacious. It's always being on the lookout and making sure things are "going according to plan". And if not, there can always be a Plan C, I suppose. But for now, I am loving this whole Panama being my Plan B. It just took writing this post to figure this out! Now I can once again rest and relax at the lake house. All is right with my world again. Because now I know no one is going to ask me if I have a Plan C. Everyone is too busy watching how I will do with the changes in my plan, whatever letter it is.
Here is the small town in New Mexico I found (Silver City, New Mexico--population 10,000)
When another dental hygienist asked me this question, I asked what she meant and she said "in case you don't like it". I told her I would give it a few years to try, move to different places maybe to try different areas, and then she asked if I had given thought to where I would move if I moved out of Panama (say, Charleston in South Carolina). I gave that some thought (I do love that city) and then remembered Hurricane Hugo, 1989. I worked with a woman whose son lived on the water. Boats were piled up in his front yard. I thought of the expensive city with the large beautiful homes on the water. Nope, I can't say Charleston would be where I would settle next if I had a Plan B.
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| Looks like just the place I would want to settle down along the eastern coast of the US. Maybe not. |
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| A little wreckage from Hugo. |
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| We could live here in retirement.
The next person that asked me if I had a backup plan happened to be my boss this time. After telling him he was the second person to ask me this in a week now and that I appreciated his concern, I told him no Plan B for me. I told him and another dental hygienist that had been talking to me about buying cars in Panama a few minutes prior (and I rattled off all of the car dealerships I had walked by in Panama City along Calle 50) that I had to give Panama a chance, right? Three to five years of a chance. And after renting a house in one area for a while, perhaps I will then put my boots to the ground (with Ray, of course) and rent a house in another part of the country. Only if we decide we don't really love the first place will we feel the need to pick up and move around; otherwise, I will just travel and tour other areas or take road trips. And in that conversation, my big winnings of $40 came up at the casino. I was then told that once I retire I couldn't be spending money in a casino. Really? No more penny slots? Oh dear, I hadn't put that into my Plan A of "retiring to Panama and spending $10 in a casino every so often" plan.
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The final person that asked me about a Plan B was a patient of mine. I have been seeing this patient for many years in this office, and when I told her about my other conversations about this supposed Plan B and my lack of having one, we just laughed. That felt good. This patient has known me long enough to know that while I might not have a Plan B, I am not crazy enough (I still have a bunch of vanilla in me) to stay in a place that I don't love, a place that I am not comfortable in or a place that isn't working for me and Ray. I will pick up my boots and now that I have given a little thought to "what if", I am thinking a small, town in New Mexico perhaps. Of course, I will spend two plus years researching it all if I ever get to that point. That part will never change. Maybe this is why I don't have a Plan B--too consuming. I have enough to do with getting ready for take off to Panama.
But now I start to think maybe Panama is my Plan B. Plan A is what I have been doing all along-- working until that retirement age of whatever someone told me was the age (55, 60, 65?), moving to Northern Virginia so the commute wouldn't kill Ray, changing jobs possibly because I would now have a commute, watching my daughter get settled in Virginia perhaps (or when she marries, I would watch her move away and start her own new plan), traveling to visit grandchildren but doing so around the vacation time I was allotted waiting for retirement, playing at the lake house and visiting my sister, friends, and my parents along with Ray's parents (this again would be factored into having vacation time) and Plan A, by the way, would also include my parents still being alive through all of this--this is how Plan A would be if it were to have all worked out the "right" way. My parents would still be here in my Plan A.
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| Me along with a super healthy mom, and dad not so great (but so amazing he made it to this event). |
Looking back at this blog, I remember writing something similar about our plans. Our future. So I did some research into my own blog. Here is what I wrote in my post "HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY NEED?" May 10, 2012 (just about two years ago):
I am too excited and curious not to see if Plan B (retiring early to Panama) is the way to go here.
So in May of 2012, I was on track to start Plan B. Somewhere I had forgotten this new plan of mine.
And don't get me wrong, having plans is a good thing. It's never giving up. It's being tenacious. It's always being on the lookout and making sure things are "going according to plan". And if not, there can always be a Plan C, I suppose. But for now, I am loving this whole Panama being my Plan B. It just took writing this post to figure this out! Now I can once again rest and relax at the lake house. All is right with my world again. Because now I know no one is going to ask me if I have a Plan C. Everyone is too busy watching how I will do with the changes in my plan, whatever letter it is.
Here is the small town in New Mexico I found (Silver City, New Mexico--population 10,000)
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| Main Street, perhaps |
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| Looks small. |
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| No thanks! |
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