Moving On

Today has been a pretty sad day for me.  My best friend, Johna, is moving to Montana. 

  

 

I’ve been watching her pack, and I’ve been trying to stay out of the way while still getting some last minute visiting in.  They’re not sure if they’re leaving late tonight or early in the morning… but they’re leaving soon.

Yeah, I know this move is better for her family. I know that this move will save them money.  I know I will still talk to her all the time on Facebook and on the phone.  I know that change is just a part of life.  I know that she will still be my best friend. But knowing all of those things doesn’t make me any less sad.

She is the one friend that I have in this town who has seen me at my very best and my very worst… and she loves me anyway.  She is the friend whose house I can drop by unannounced.  She is the friend who I can borrow things from or loan things to, and I never have to worry about what I owe her or what she owes me because we always end of even in the end.  I was at her wedding… she was at mine. She was there when my sister was fighting cancer.  I was there for her when her Grandpa died, and she was there for me when Granny Ruth and Grandma Sally died.  Our husbands are friends.  I was there the day her daughter was born and I have watched Elizabeth grow up into a beautiful, smart young girl of almost seven.

It’s hard for me to be rational and happy right now.  I know, I know it’s all for the best. But right now, while this wound is fresh, I just keep thinking about how much different life is going to be for me.  I won’t have anybody to watch really, really bad reality t.v. with.  Elizabeth is going to get bigger, and I’m going to miss it.  I’m going to have last minute ideas… things to do that normally Johna would’ve been all for doing… but I she won’t be here.

I’m going to take this day to feel sorry for myself.  I’m going to let myself feel sad today.  Then tomorrow, I’ll start thinking rationally again.  I’ll be a better friend than I am today… less selfish.  I’ll start thinking about all the fun times that still lie ahead… the road trips, the phone calls, the blog she will be starting, the stories of new, fresh places.  Tomorrow, I promise, I’ll focus on the future and the unknown journeys ahead.

I’m Finally Back

Oh my gravy, I have been so busy these past couple of weeks.  I think this is only the second or third time that I’ve even been online.  I’ll be honest, I really missed it, but I didn’t miss it enough to lose out on precious hours of sleep.  Finally a day has come with a little down time, and I’m so excited to see what everyone has been up to.

Here’s the breakdown on where I’ve been:

Packing my stuff

Painting at new address (see pictures here and here)

Moving my stuff

Missing a wedding that I really wanted to go to because I was way to busy.

Moving my sister’s stuff

Cleaning at the old address… and when I say cleaning, I mean CLEANING. I even wiped down the tops of the doors, people.

Unpacking

Cleaning out our attic

organizing and cleaning some more

Here’s how we’ve been living for the last couple weeks, but it’s getting better:

   

Whew… and the summer isn’t over yet.  I still need to:

Finish putting things away

Redo our nasty, nasty kitchen floor

Put down linoleum in the laundry room

Have a rummage sale at Granny’s old house

Start an Etsy shop full of vintage jewelry and antiques

Finish planning fall curriculum for the preschool

Yes, it will still be a busy summer, but it will be a summer with a sense of accomplishment.  The next thing I’m going to do RIGHT NOW is get caught up with all of my blog friends.  I have truly missed you, and I can’t wait to see what adventures you have been up to.

Unplugged... with a side of Hitler and Friday

Hi all.  I'm currently in the middle of moving.  It is so draining but it will be worth it when it's done.  Unfortunately, I won't have any internet service for a few days.  I'm going to use this time to get unpacked and organized.  I'll be catching up with all of you soon. 

Until then, I'll just share this little gem with you.  I love these Hitler videos. ;)

*warning* It does have some bad language but what would a Hitler video be without it?

Love,
Karen

Moving

As some of you may know, Chris and I are moving.

 

No, we are not moving out of town.  We are moving back to the house we lived in before.  It’s kind of a long, messed up story, but I’ll try to condense it as much as possible.

It all started in 2002.  Chris and I were working for my dad.  He owns a company that manufactures portable concrete mixers.  He promised us money, good work, and the opportunity to learn the business in order to take it over and run it someday.  As you’ve probably figured out, it ended very, very badly. I had a gut feeling that it wouldn’t be a good as he promised and I should’ve listened to my intuition.  He is not a kind person, and Chris and I had a hard time dealing with the way he treated us and everyone else that worked for him.  We decided to cut our ties and move to Idaho.  I have not talked to him in over nine years.

Fortunately, Chris had an amazing Grandmother named Granny Ruth.

She owned a house in Idaho that she was not living in.  She allowed us to move in, and consequently, Chris and I were both able to go to college and get degrees.

Last year, Granny’s health deteriorated enough that she was no longer able to live by herself. Her tiny house that we lived in was just not big enough for all three of us, so we decided to rent a bigger place.  We signed a year lease and moved in with Granny.

Unfortunately she didn’t last past the year.  We miss her so, so much.  The lease on the house is over, so we are moving back to Granny’s old house… a place where we feel closer to her and more at home.  It’s been a lot of work painting and cleaning, but I must say that I’m excited to go back home.

We have been working like dogs all week.  Tonight, we are going to The Coeur d'Alene Casino to eat at the seafood buffet.  Yummmmm… crab.  Then, hopefully we will sleep like this dog:

We should be nice and rested for moving day tomorrow.