Author: admin (Page 10 of 89)

(Amy suggest writing for 31 days in a row about the move. I think I probably have enough to say to fill 31 days of posts. We’ll see.  Maybe in the process, I’ll get better perspective about it all.)

1. The excitement wears thin pretty quickly.

          I counted the days until it was the day of the move. I was so excited to be leaving Chetek. Part of it, of course, was that Don had gone first, but part of it was that when I make up my mind to do something, I want to just get busy doing it. And this wasn’t possible with the move, because there were so many things we had to do first.

         But the day finally came and I had the rental car picked up and packed to the gills and everything else stored away and I was ready to leave town. To tell the truth, it was pretty anti-climactic. There wasn’t anyone there to bid me safe journey. I just hopped in the car (without my Sherlock) and took off south.

         It was indeed exciting to finally drive up to the new place and see all that Don had accomplished. It was a new challenge to figure out how we were going to live together in this unfinished space we were now calling home. The weather was more pleasant. The sky seemed bluer and the sun brighter. I was finally here!

         But that was first day excitement. Some of that excitement was worn off after one night of sleeping in a very uncomfortable twin bed with a very old mattress and stretched out springs. More of that excitement wore off when I began to realize just how much was left to do before we would have anything resembling a house. And the rest of it wore off as I settled into a life where there was nobody except Don who recognized me and talked to me. It became extraordinarily lonely in a very short time.

          I’ll admit I didn’t expect that. I had no idea how it would feel to be in a place where I had no friends or even acquaintances, no job, no role to play in society as a whole. I was totally adrift. Had I known how long it would take to even begin to rebuild my life, I may have turned around and gone back up north. But I didn’t know. I still don’t know, but I’ve come to grips with the fact that it is a very slow process. One doesn’t just wake up with a full roster of piano students or with schools calling for accompanists. Yes, it is possible to find opportunities to teach and to accompany, but starting again as an unknown has proven to be a huge challenge.

          I am now taking solace in the quote about a good life not being the number of breaths we take, but the moments that take our breath away (or something like that.) I wasn’t having any of those breath-taking moments in Chetek. And I have them frequently here. I don’t, of course, live in one huge moment of exhilaration, but the moments are there – moments that confirm to me that this is where I belong. I believe the rest will fall into place in time. And being absolutely delighted with where I am makes the process much more bearable, if not speedier.

         I love eastern Tennessee and south west Virginia more than I even expected. I feel so at home in the rolling hills and mountains where flowering shrubs bloom and bloom and hummingbirds visit my porch and the catalpa tree shades my backyard seating. And I love the people – kind, easy-going people who are not ashamed to openly serve God.  I feel like I’ve come home to where I belong. Now if I could just get some people to realize I’m here!

September 24. We did not, in the end, get this house. It is a sad thing, but not devastating, since we also love the house we have been fixing up. We will get our dream house some day, and until then, we will be content in the circumstances we find ourselves.

We keep reminding ourselves (and each other) that we might not get this house, but we did spend some time there taking pictures and measuring rooms while the home inspector was doing his inspection today. So I’m going to post some pictures, just so you can see why we jumped at this opportunity. If we don’t get it, we don’t, but still…. it would be nice!  A fireplace on each floor. A kitchen on each floor. Large master bedroom with attached bath. Another bath on each floor. 3 additional bedrooms, plus another room that could be a small bedroom, although who would need it? A huge area downstairs to set up a large dining table. Two patio doors. A sun-room, a deck, a back covered porch,  and a front covered porch on the upper level , and a tucked under patio downstairs (with a double swing). A decent sized yard FULL of vegetation.  I could go on and on, but you get the point. This is a sweet house, and so far we haven’t heard that we CAN’T get it, so we remain hopeful.

I feel like I’ve advanced to a new level. You know, like in a game when you finally finish one, then go on to the next, and it is, of course, harder.

There was the whole thing with the lawsuit. I came out of it realizing, probably for the first time, that there are really evil people out there and that they look like normal people and sort of act like normal people until you get on their wrong side. And I learned that the “systems” of the world are not necessarily on the side of right.

Well, I got another lesson along that same line today, totally out of the blue. We were going to get a puppy today. We’d gone to the animal shelter Friday, and they had a litter of puppies. We were told they were going to be ready to take on Wednesday and to be here right away when they open at 10, because there were a lot of people interested. I was so nervous that we would get there and there would be a lot of people already in line.

First of all, we got there an hour early, because Dad thought they opened at 9:00. I didn’t want to argue, because I figured an hour early couldn’t hurt, in case I was wrong and they didn’t open at 10, as I thought the man had said. So when we got there at about 8:45, we walked around outside for another look at them, just to make sure the one we’d picked was the one we really wanted. It was.

Then we left and came back around 9:30. We were the first ones there! We sat at the front door until 10:00. One other couple arrived during that time and they wanted a different one. I was elated. I couldn’t wait until we got our puppy. But when they brought them out for us to choose, he wasn’t there. Dad said, “Just wait, they’ll bring him out.” Finally we went in to ask  about him and were told that someone had come and chosen him earlier that morning. They were a little unclear as to what time, but it had to be between the time we left the first time around 8:55 and came back around 9:30. We were there for a half hour and they never let us in early to choose one.  We’d also found out earlier from the other couple that the one female was also already claimed ahead of time.

Long story short – I felt God was leading us to this puppy. He’d brought us to the shelter on the day they were almost ready, so we could choose one in advance. He got us there on time. But God doesn’t mess with the way the world works. He guides us, but sometimes we come up against people who don’t play fair. God’s Spirit helps us deal with it, of course, but He doesn’t remove us from being impacted by the evil in this world.  Christians get sick.  Christian’s houses burn down or get flooded. And Christian’s get cheated.

But God is with us, and I can only believe  that He has a better plan since someone wrecked this one for us.

I realized that I have not been posting here, but just posting anything worthwhile on the family site. Not sure why…?  I guess life is different here, so I just forgot to do it the same as before I moved.

We rented the floor sander and it is working pretty good getting the glue off the dining room and the tar paper, etc. off the kitchen. The big problem now is that there are black stained stripes across the dining room from where water got down between the stick-on tiles. There are also a few larger black stains. They are just too deep to sand out, even using the course grit. After watching a ton of suggestions on the internet, we decided to try oxalic acid on it. We should be able to get some from Lowe’s or Home Depot, so we’ll see how it goes. We have the sander until Monday morning, then we are probably going to rent an edger to finish the job. I’m not sure the sanders that we own will do the edges as well as an edger would. It shouldn’t take too long to stain and seal the floor, although there is that dry time, when we can’t walk on it. Dad says we’ll just climb in through the back bedroom window to access the part of the house we use. I’m not sure how we are scheduling the painting around the floor re-finishing, but we need to get both done before we leave on Thursday.

It is going to be a busy week. We are even skipping church tomorrow to work. (We won’t make a habit of it – don’t worry!) But one week from tonight we will be with Erica’s family, getting ready for the big birthday party for Maddie! And two weeks from now we should be pulling in with all our STUFF. YEA, STUFF!!  Furniture, bicycles, my car, more clothes, cleaning supplies, the big desk, our BED. Can’t wait! Then we can finally settle in.

Maybe we will even get our driver’s licenses.

 The Tennessee state bird – the mockingbird.

We have finally started our job hunt in earnest. Please pray for success – that we find the jobs God has waiting for us here.

I applied a few days ago for a job at King University – manager of a group of students who call prospective students and help them decide to attend. They need someone with good management and organization skills. But no word, yet. I also made flyers to take around to churches regarding being a substitute pianist. And I have a personal training sign in the windows of our car. I also talked to the manager of the music store a couple blocks away and I can teach there if I want, but I would need to provide my own keyboard to teach on. By the time I have my keyboard, I’ll be able to teach from home! But at least I made a contact there. The guy is really nice, but it is definitely a guitar, mandolin, fiddle store!

Dad is applying for three positions today. Some are more management and not just nursing.

We got A LOT done when Kylene and Justin were here this weekend. They arrived on Thursday and we mostly chatted and planned. Then we worked all day Friday on wiring and on Saturday worked on beefing up the support of the dining room and porch in the basement, as well as putting in some headers over openings on the main floor. Kylene and I also went to the Farmer’s market and explored the downtown a bit. It was an awesome weekend and now we are exhausted!

Prior to their arrival, we finished the bathroom, except for the flooring and caulking. And we installed a new 36″ front door, which we moved a bit to the side of the original placement, to give us a tad more room for chairs on the porch. Before and after pictures of that, but from different angles. We still have not put the siding on the porch, so we don’t have an outside after picture.

Everything is packed away, except what I’m bringing, which is quite a car – ful.

A link to a video I took when we were out in the country before we headed to the vet.

And a few photos.

Down to the last week, so I have the last this and the last that every day.

Today was the last time I played piano at the salad bar (and got free salad, soup and breadsticks!), the last piano lessons in Chetek, and, of course, the last Friday in the fish fry capital of the world (I just went to Gordy’s and got a fish dinner.)

Sunday will be my last piano recital in Chetek, the last time I play at church, and my last dress rehearsal for the Red Cedar choir concert.

And, of course, the whole weekend is my last weekend in Chetek, which includes my last Saturday morning run down past the school and my last Sunday morning walk down Main Street when there is absolutely no traffic.

On a more mundane note, there is going to be the last laundry done here, the last cleaning of the tub, bathroom, floors, etc., boxing the last of the possessions, doing the last cleaning of the yard, and other exciting events.

Still, who can argue with 4 1/2 more days? Whoo-hoo!!

Just so you know, we decided this morning that Sherlock will not be going with us. It was a very hard decision, but he has passed the point where life seems to hold much enjoyment for him, and making a move is hard on a dog in the best of circumstances. I’m taking him to the vet he has known all his life on Monday afternoon, after we go out to the country and spend some time there. Meanwhile, I’m feeding him whatever he likes, since I don’t have to worry about pancreatitis doing him in any more. And I’m taking pictures and videos of him.

The Roselawn program with the K, 2nd and 4th grades was last night. So my days of running to school multiple times is over. (Whew!) They honored both John and I (John is also retiring this year) at the end of the program with special words and confetti (yes, confetti all over the place). It was, of course, very embarrassing to me, but nice.

All that is left is the recital day on Sunday afternoon and the college concert on Tuesday evening.

I will be on my way one week from today. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed with all I need to finish in the next 7 days, but when I made a list and made sure everything was assigned a day, I can see that I can easily get it all done. My biggest worry is not being able to get everything I need to bring in the car. Actually I’m taking a small SUV, but I will need to transfer it into Dad’s car when I meet him in Bloomington, IL. So he is going to send me the dimensions of his trunk and I’m going to make sure everything I pack will fit into that space, plus have space for me and Sherlock.

To add to the excitement, I’m dealing with a tooth issue. I had a crown fall out – the tooth just to the right of the front two teeth on the top, so it is a VERY obvious place to have a tooth missing. I had it glued in, and the dentist told me it might not stay. Sure enough, it came out when I was (stupidly) eating a piece of toffee. (That was just after you guys left, Erica). The next step is to get a root canal and a post put in, then a new crown made to fit that post. Expensive and we are without dental insurance (or jobs) at this point, so that isn’t going to happen. I went on line to see if there is a way to keep a crown in without going to the dentist. You can use Vaseline, which works pretty well, as long as you don’t bite on it, purse your lips hard or exhale hard (like when you are working.) So I lost it when I was working outside, but found it (eventually). Then I got some dental adhesive for dentures, which works marginally better. I put it in when I have to go out in public, but don’t eat when I have it in. My goal is to keep from losing it until next Wednesday when I have an appointment right before I leave to get it glued in again at the dentist. This time I think I will be more aware of it and more careful what I eat. I’m hoping it will last until we can afford to get the work done, but if not, at least I know how to keep it in when I’m in public.