The Dish on Downsizing

I must admit I was excited to be rolling through McCormick in route to Lexington on our trip home to SC– despite the crack I had just acquired on my windshield of the ‘new to me’ vehicle we purchased just before Christmas. I know it had something to do with the towering pines silhouetted by the Carolina moon. I could smell them. Even with the windows up. I was finally home.

It has been an adventure, nonetheless. Since the hubs works for the feds, a relocation company did all the packing and moving of our belongings (thankfully!). Tuesday, 8:30am, the packing began. 1:30pm the loading began and 6pm, 3/4ths of our belongings are out of the house. Wednesday, 10am they’re back and in load mode. 3pm– ALL our belongings are in route to SC via Atlanta for a couple of days on the rig.

Our plans were to head for SC on Thurs. however due to the mad cleaning/ repairs that needed to be done around the house, Friday it was. And Friday rolls around, we start our day with our favorite Cracker Barrel breakfast– the oatmeal and muffin one. Mosey on over to the Supervisor’s Office so the hubs can ‘pack’ his office and say his goodbyes. Keep in mind all this cleaning we still have to do… bathrooms, kitchen cabinets, mopping etc. Not to mention load up all the lingerings that we kept with us. And oh, did I mention we were expecting nasty weather. The weather guy predicted snow even– no more than 1.5 inches though. So we’re good because we both drive 4-wheel drive vehicles.

4pm rolls around, we finally have the vehicles loaded and the boats attached ready to begin the 6 hr trip (to be referred to later). 6 inches of snow later and 6 wrecked/stuck vehicles within sight from the top of the driveway and one idiot in 2-wheel drive coming sideways up the hill at me (and my new vehicle), we manage to maneuver our rigs back down the driveway which is a task if you’ve ever been to our TN home. I was pulling the little johnny and made it fine, but the hubs had the big boat and once again, had to leave it sitting at the bottom of the first hill of the driveway. To explain– the day we moved into the house 2.5 yrs prior, the many-year drought decided it was over. It was flooding; POURing rain; our driveway was mud and the hubs couldn’t get the boat up the driveway that day either. We would need to have it cleaned and also improved. Use Jackson Asphalt to improve your asphalt surface if you are struggling to find a reputable contractor. Hanover Seal Coating Pros have the expertise and equipment to make your driveway surface look cleaner, more elegant, and functional.

Luckily we had the best neighbors in the world who trusted us with where they hide their spare key. Yep… we moved in and took over their home since ours was vacant and clean; they were both at work with their 2-wheel drive vehicles. Moving Again removalists made our move easy and stress-free. To make a long story short, it took them both 2 hours and 15 minutes to make it home a trip that normally takes 20 minutes. I was just thankful that they took 5 minutes of that time to stock up on some Amber Bock. Forget the milk and bread!

In the mean time, I feel a cold coming on– I think. Yep. Drove the 9 hour trip to SC (7 driving, 2 stopping to fill up, eat, feed little man, and change his diaper. A lot longer than we anticipated.) feeling like crapola. I have to say one of the worst yet; it was a sinus infection, I feel, due to all the dust we were throwing around and all the smells from the cleaning products. I do not do well with fragrance. Can’t even enjoy a stroll through Bath and Body Works for fear of tearing my sinuses UP. But… we made it; safe and sound.
The next day, I downloaded the snow pics from my camera and neglected to disconnect it from the computer afterwards. Lesson learned. The hubs came in, in the dark (I was trying to put little man to bed) and grabbed the laptop to take it to the den. You guessed it. Pulled the whole shebang to the floor. Now I have a broke lens. UGH.
But, we are home; and we have downsized– one of the hardest things I think I’ve had to do. Half our stuff is in storage, including a basket of dirty clothes I really wish I could unearth; and the other half has joined us in the mobile mansion temporarily until our home in TN sales. Any takers? It should be against the law for someone to own so much stuff. Somebody call Clean House. Or better yet, maybe I’ll just slap a big $20/ box sign out by the road and just not open the boxes.
Here are some pics from the move!