FITTING A SQUARE PEG INTO A ROUND HOLE

Or in this case, nine dresser drawers and a walk in closet into half a closet and three dresser drawers.  I need to donate more.  It is going to have to wait until after we move into the lake house and out of this house, because for now, I just want it moved.  My brain is fried from trying to put everything into the right pile.  Friday, when Ray and I tackled the kitchen, we had four piles.   Fortunately, Ray had just walked in the door from work, and I had only just started the attack on the kitchen cabinets. (I timed it just right haha)  Then  the termite man was here to give us an "A-OK" on our termite inspection for the sale of the house, and while his inspection took one hour, it forced us to be here at the house getting the job done.  Dinner out for me, because now we have VERY LITTLE in our kitchen.  Case in point...we just made taco soup for dinner.  A double batch, because we are expecting MORE SNOW TONIGHT!  And Ray's office had already set a "two hour discretionary delay" as of eleven am this morning.  It hasn't even started snowing.  While preparing the soup, we realized we did keep a one cup measuring cup.  We do have a cutting board to chop the onions.  If we want the large bowls to eat out of, we have to raid our daughter's Rubbermaid bins (we will make do with the smaller soup bowls we have--better on the waistline to use smaller plates and bowls supposedly, or I will just refill many times!), and we no longer have large ladles or our favorite large blue or red speckled spoon to use to scoop it all out into the small bowls.  Oh, we can just use the measuring cup as a scoop.  Improvise.  Eat soup.  Eat out.  Order in.  Life is good.  It's all good.

Friday morning I was again having some dental work done, but I wasn't quite as numb this time, thank goodness!  I was having a new veneer done (the old one was perfectly fine in good working conditions, but it was eighteen years old and not looking as pretty).  Again, I pay only lab costs (since we have never had dental insurance), so I figure I should get things done that bother me now.  And then off to the lake house to unload some more Rubbermaid bins and clothing.  Saturday, repeat of Friday to the lake house.  Ray and I took both cars.  Again, his little car is amazing.  Then we spent some time making things work in the house.  We had unloaded our kitchen accessories into the lake house kitchen, clothing into our closet, wine and the like into the revolving cabinet and so on.  WE hung shoe racks in the garage for now, and some soccer chairs up on the rafters.  I told our Lake Anna roommates we have to enjoy many happy hours in the next four months, eat a lot of nuts (put them in pancakes, cookies, use as coating for chicken...), drink lots of iced and hot tea along with coffee, and make as well as eat ice cream sundaes every weekend, so we can get through all of the sprinkles!

And this morning, it was back to Lake Anna lake house.  We tried once before to fit a tall rocking chair into Ray's car to bring back to this house with us (to sell), but it wouldn't fit (what?!).  This time we tried to fit a smaller rocking chair (Ray's piece of furniture he is saving) into his car to take to the house, but this car has some trouble with rocking chairs.  We put together (Ray did actually) a no tools required garment holder, so we could extend our closet to the outside world for a while.  We also asked the roommates if we could move our Rubbermaid bins to some unused nook in the entryway of the house until we leave (then move the bins back to our bedroom).  No problem!  Dress it up with a curtain and the Costa Rican ox cart, and all seems well.  Busy, busy as we still move things out, and the future owners move things in.

As far as Panama goes, we have our eyes on a home in Chame to rent, and we are looking at two others now in El Valle (and there is one that our friends looked at already that is still in contention).  We have been reading on the forums that since the supermarket El Rey was built and is in operation now, along with the new shopping center that it is in, water is running low.  It is dry season and many people are saying that while the pipes are old and deteriorating and slow to being fixed, another reason for lack of water is the high demand of the new stores.  And another thing being written about is the lights are left on throughout the night of the shopping center taking away from the pretty dark skies of this charming town.  El Valle may have some kinks to work out plus the rental supply isn't great just yet.  Perhaps in a few months, the snowbirds will leave the rentals, and there will be more offerings.  Six months renting a house doesn't seem like a long time to live in a not so great house or neighborhood, but I would like to think that with as organized as Ray and I are being in this America, that we don't show up to a rental house in Central America that is not quite right.  It doesn't have to be perfect, but it has to appear clean, tidy, organized and not disheveled.  Sounds like someone I know.

What's behind curtain number one?

Our "stuff" of course!  (Our daughter's, too)

Don't judge, there are four of us that contribute
to this cabinet--for the past five years).  

Our wine runneth over.

The sprinkles extend to the back.

Baking and cooking oils and vinegars (round and
round it goes with nuts, chocolate chips, and essentials)

So much coffee and tea to drink.

More wine here.

My half of the closet (wedding dress made it to the top shelf)

Ray's half (with china on top)

Our extended closet

Looking pretty empty in this house.

Mostly uniforms left in my closet.

Plenty of luggage.  All those work pants and shirts!  Not for long!

Ray loses a bunch of tee shirts.  Lots of luggage.