Saturday, April 12, 2008

We have to do what?!?!

From Gary: Since the last post a few things have transpired which have caused some lost sleep. Robin and I both do jobs involving some levels of stress, and we like to think we handle it pretty well, but preparing for a move has got to top most other things as far as being scary and intimidating.

Even though we don't have a firm date to report to our new facility in Miami, it looms ahead. As we consider the possibility of leaving Longmont with nothing more than we can fit in a truck and a 5th Wheel it becomes apparent that we have to make some tough choices on what to keep, what to sell and what to hand down to family or donate away. I think it's amazing as I look at the daunting task of sorting through our combined households as how much we've accumulated. We could easily fill a big truck and still pull a trailer load. I've been looking at stuff I've held on to for many years and am just now coming to grips with the idea of heading toward a minimalist existence. Not that we will ever be wanting for 'things' as I truly believe that it (all the material possessions) can all be let go, it's just a lot harder than I thought :). I guess that's where the talk meets the walk.

Monday (4/7) we met with our realtor (Jenni) and by the time we were done with the meeting we had some ideas about what the opportunity is to sell the house(s) in Longmont. While the market is waaaaay down from where we'd hoped, we may be blessed with a quick sale, even though we are slightly upside down in the money part and will likely had to bring some money to closing. This will probably hold true for both houses here in town, although we stil have hopes for an eventually profitable sale of the Argyle property.

We spent the week emptying cabinets and sorting through dishes, pulling down books and videos and CDs and processing them into smaller packages (albums, MP3s). I worked to comlete the kitchen flooring project and got all the trim pieces cut. Now I just need to paint the cove moulding area and nail it all down and do some caulking and the kitchen will be 'remodeled'. It looks great after the new paint and fixing the ceiling light panels.

The walls and hallway are repainted, as is the entry way. THANK YOU to Larry and Pam, the best friends anyone could ever hope for, for all your help and hard work! You are truly a Godsend and we will never forget you guys.

There was that moment when the realtor said that she'd like to get us on the market in three weeks, and that the house should be 'showhome' ready, that a bit of real panic set in. So much to do, so many things to sort out and put away and get rid of. We thought it would be imposible and it might well be, but we'taking the right steps to make things happen as quickly and reasonably as possible. Today we rented a storage shed and we'll be able to meter out stuff to give away and sell at our pace from there, rather than having to work so hard to clear the house out. I think it'll all work out fine. We need to address a roofing issue and a siding problem, finish trim projects, install sliding mirror doors in the closets and box, package, and box some more...
Oh .. and take a break to go to work (grin).

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