WE MOVED!

This has been in the planning since we decided to buy the house in Mandan, ND many many months ago. The house had previously belonged to my son and daughter-in-law and we had helped remodel the basement for a “mother-in-law” suite. They went on to do a bunch of wonderful updates to the house. Terry and I were both thrilled that we could buy the property.

We put our Florida house on the market in May. Packed only the essentials for this drive. I didn’t even have room for a sewing machine in our SUV! After the house sells we will be shipping some of the furniture to our Mandan home.

Most important on our trek was making room for the cat and her accoutrements. I was a wee bit worried about how she would travel–four days of driving plus three nights in motels. Years ago we made this drive with our Jack Russel Terrier Maggie every summer. She knew when two hours were up and demanded that she get to take a walk. She also shook like a leaf whenever it rained. Plus she had an issue with being left alone in the hotel room.

I got Athena some slow down medicine from a holistic vet. I used it the first morning. It was quite stressful getting into her mouth and it didn’t seem to effect her one way or the other. Didn’t use it again because she was a trooper the entire time. I think she actually liked the trip. Plus she didn’t mind staying in the room while we went out for dinner. She had a great time exploring every nook and cranny and then snoozing. Because cats need to nap!

When we made it to our new home, she again checked out every corner and managed to get up as high as possible. I had to get on a chair to get her down–she hasn’t tried it again but it’s just a matter of time!

One of the big reasons we moved was to spend more time with our grandkids. All three have been to visit several times. Athena is afraid of them (!) but getting better. At first she hid under the bed as soon as they walked in the house. Now she is able to stay in the same room. But she still doesn’t let them touch her.

We took the girls to the driving range for their first experience at hitting golf balls. They liked it! Since we couldn’t fit our golf clubs in the SUV, we plan on getting some used clubs and spend time with the girls on the golf course.

We were here for a week in April to get the house set up. We had almost no furniture. A TV, a bed, a couch. My daughter-in-law gave me a kitchen table and we found a couple folding chairs in the garage. We are a little better off now. Our first priority was to get air conditioning installed and that is happening NOW! (Yes even in North Dakota it gets to 100 degrees–not often but it does!)

I’m quite determined to only buy used wood furniture and restore it. (I’ll be buying new sofa and beds because buying used soft furniture kind of creeps me out.) Facebook Market Place and I are besties now! Here’s the chairs that I’m currently updating with paint and new cushions.

We bought a larger table, too, plus some little nesting tables. The larger table will be going into my new sewing room when I finally finish updating the piece. I will have a sewing room! Yippee! I think it’s supposed to be the dining room but we have a spacious kitchen with enough room for a table and do not need a dining room.

First step–the room was carpeted which is a magnet for pins. My daughter-in-law and grandson took care of that very quickly. She had put luxury vinyl in the kitchen and family room. I was able to buy more and she installed it into my new sewing room. Next step–I’ll be painting and installing new curtains. And then–I’ll eventually have doors put on the opening so I can hide my mess. But that is low on the priority list! I don’t even have a sewing machine yet!

Once our Florida house sells we will be putting in a new kitchen. The one there now has a bad lay out and just needs updated.

We will be here until the end of September. Hoping I can get all of my projects done before we leave!

Meanwhile….

Reading

I read four books this month. I started out June with reading the “The Judge’s List” by John Grisham. And then mostly because I don’t get car sick and had four full days to read while we traveled I read “Fairy Tale” by Stephen King. The next was “Still Me” by Jojo Moyes. A friend (Terry) left it at my house back in December and I finally picked it up. This is the third book in a series. After I finished it I downloaded the first book from the eLibrary, “Me Before You”. I have placed a hold on the second book. Four week wait. (Not as bad as the other two books that I put a hold on–another 13 weeks for the novel I placed in April and another 12 weeks for the other book.)

Sewing

Zip, nada, zilch. This has never happened. I’m really feeling withdrawal symptoms. Maybe I’ll get a machine in July! I did bring along two quilts to finish and the fabric to make a matching pillow sham for the Dinosaurs quilt. I want to make some curtains, too. Gotta get a machine!

Gardening

I planned on putting in a small vegetable garden as soon as we arrived. Didn’t happen. I think this summer will be all about the interior. Next year I’ll be doing landscaping. So no flower pictures this month!

Meanwhile…

Since I won’t be sewing for awhile nor gardening this summer, my posts in July will be about our renovation and progress!

Hope you keep following along–I’ll be back to sewing soon!