08/03/08

Progressing to the new life

In January 2006 we made the decision to move to a new life style that includes selling the house, most of our "stuff", buying a new motor home and living in something less than 400 square feet of space as we travel the country.? We anticipate this whole transition could take 1 - 1 1/2 years, but we are working to make it sooner rather than later.? I think as we do updates here it will be like a blog and the most recent is first so that when you check in on us you can read the new stuff without paging down thru all the old.?

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April 2007

We sold our home in January, finalized ordering our new motor home that we have spent a year planning for and waited.? April 6th we took delivery and we are now living in the new home and really embarking on that dream of traveling North America for the next few years.? I think this page is done, but continue to follow our travels on the What Are We Doing Now pages.? To see the new motor home click on the "Our New Home" link to the left.? The dream is finally realized.?

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March 2007

March 18th - We are now at an RV park near Lake Lavon, probably about 8 to 10 miles from the house we sold.? We will spend most of this week here, cleaning up the motor home and getting a little R&R before heading to Oklahoma City.? Lee's contacted us last week and said the coach was finished and they should get it this week.? They are going over it and making sure everything works as it is supposed to and fix anything that doesn't.? We can pick up the coach on Monday the 26th.? Once again, we are SO EXCITED!!!?? Once we do pick it up, I will post pictures.

March 6th - We sit in Livingston, TX at the Escapee's park.? Came to see how the mail works and get our car registrations done with the new address.? No word from Lee's RV so we are assuming that no news is good news.? Will leave here in a couple of days heading slowly back to the Dallas area.? Don needs to do a couple of minor repairs.? One includes replacing a valve or some part in our hydraulic levelers.? We will be there for a bit before migrating to Oklahoma City to pick up the new motor home.? Have I said that we are SO EXCITED!!!

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February 2007

We spent most of February in Mexico, leaving on the 24th.? While there, our new motor home finally went into production on the 21st.? We did get the old motor home painted while in MX as the price was very affordable and the end result looks great.? The thought is that we will more than get the money we spent out of it in higher trade, sales price or time to sell.? We are told around 3 weeks to build this coach.? Once completed we figure another week to transport to Oklahoma City then the dealer has about a week to do their once-over.? We are hoping mightily to be able to take delivery by end of March.

January 2007

January 24th - This morning we got 3 drawings to fix the details of the one that was wrong.? We signed off on them and think this gets us in this Wednesday's production schedule.? Yippee!!

January 19th - On the 12th we signed off on 4 pages detailing our order and our coach was officially ordered.? However, now the next step is to get it into the production schedule.? On the 18th we received 16 drawings to approve.? These detail among other things, some of the cabinetry changes we are making.? We did sign and return 15 of them, but one didn't look at all like we had intended.? They are redrawing and hope to get it on this week's (Wednesday's) schedule.? If not, it will be delayed until next week.

January 9th & 10th - We got our order finalized with Lee's and have written a big check to them go get it underway.? However in the course of being here we found a bunch of fresh water leaks we have asked them to fix before we go.? Plus in trying to do a little organization of the chaos we have found several things that were meant for long term storage and we are missing a folder with all our membership cards and the cat's rabies & health? certificate which is vital that we have before going into Mexico.? Plus Don cannot find his new glasses.? Therefore we must stop back in Dallas to find it in the storage.

We spent 2 hours going thru boxes in the storage facility with no luck.? But just before we called the vet to see if we could get a duplicate, we once again went thru the motor home and Don found his glasses and I found the missing folder.? They were both in places we had put them for "safe" keeping in the hubbub of getting out of the house.? Well, at least we got to drop off the stuff that wasn't supposed to be in the MH.? Now we are on our way to Don's mom's house in California.? Plan to visit and play with her for a couple of days then head for Quartzsite for a week.? Then Sunday the 21st we head for Puerto Penasco with a group.? We have paid for a week, but plan to extend that another week or 2 depending on the fun factor.?

Lee's has called and they are emailing the "green bar" which evidently has all the drawings for our new coach and we need to sign off on that.? We must find someplace tonight that has wifi available so we can get that.? We are beginning to calm down now and enjoy this adventure.? However, we both still find ourselves tense and hope within a few more days that will dissipate.

January 7th - We are still reeling from the last few days.? When Don went up to OKC to pick up the MH, he found the baseplate on the car loose.? Lee's RV looked at it & determined the bumper has torn loose from the car frame.? So, he left it there for repair and drove the MH back to the house because there was so much to do still to vacate.? The last 4 days there were very hectic & very stressful for us both.? The day before closing there was so much to do, but people kept coming by.? Everyone wanted to visit a bit and that was good, but it slowed our progress on getting out of the house to a crawl.? Plus we tracked in so much mud that all the carpets now needed a major cleaning.? We had been scheduling just a light cleaning down the traffic patterns.? Oh well.? Went to the closing at 1:30pm on Friday the 5th.? Since we didn't have to give over possession until funding (when we got the $$) we went back to the house and began throwing everything into boxes and baskets with little regard to it's eventual resting place.? Much that we had intended to give to Goodwill this last day also went in the trash.? Good thing they already got lots of our stuff in the last 2 months.? We were in such a flurry of activity at the end that if it didn't look very necessary it went in the dumpster.?

We drove away at 5:00pm and the house looked good.? The one downer is that the switch on the hose of the central vac broke as we were cleaning up that morning.? Lucky for us our realtor stepped in and took it home and said he would fix and return the next day.? We dropped a load of stuff at the storage room (that 10 x 10 room is packed to the ceiling now) parked Don's van in the storage spot (where it will sit until it is purchased and we have a commitment from someone to do that before the end of March) and drove to Farmersville and ate dinner with friends.? We spent the night parked in an empty lot across the street from the local DQ.? We went to bed near 11pm and both of us slept until 9am.?

So, now we sit in the lot at Lee's RV and when they open today, we will place the order for our new coach.? We are so EXCITED!!? Our plan now is to leave here by Monday and head to see Don's mom in California before spending a week at Quartzsite then down to Mexico for at least a week (maybe 2 or 3 because we can do that now) on the beach on the Sea of Cortez.?

We made the decision to do this less than a year ago and planned for up to 18 months before we could make the transition.? Wow, a lot has happened this year and we are way ahead of schedule.

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December 2006

December 30th - Amazing....on the 11th we had an open house in very rainy weather and were hoping we would get someone thru that wanted it.? Only 2 1/2 weeks later, here we sit in a nearly empty home.? It has become just a house.? All our artwork is off the walls and has moved to storage.? Two days ago someone picked up all our office furniture so we have the computer & printer sitting on shelves in the closet now.? Yesterday someone picked up our bedroom furniture, dining room and breakfast room furniture so last night we slept on the hide-a-bed.? Someone is coming today to pick that up, so we will be on the floor in our bedroom with a queen air mattress we bought years ago and never used until now.? Good thing we got it as I am way too old to be happy on the floor any more.? We are thinking of having a one day sale on New Year's Day and the new cooktop is to arrive on the 2nd.? We have asked the people that are buying the refrigerator & washer & dryer to pick them up on the 3rd or 4th & they are agreeable.? Since we will get the motor home back probably Wednesday the 3rd, we need for them to hold till then so that we can transfer food out of the fridge.? We are so close and we are SO EXCITED!!!

December 23rd - We left the motor home in OK as they determined they could not fix, but needed to replace the gray water tank.? We have way too much to do here to stay away any longer than necessary.? We met the buyer today and are delighted at the people buying this house.?? I think they will love the place as much as we have and will care for it and make good changes to it so that is comforting.? We still haven't gotten the inspectors report, but believe we will today so lots of anticipation there.? Not everything is great thought as last night, Don dropped a glass bottle on the new cooktop in the kitchen and it now has a large crack in the glass.? We will have to replace it before the 5th.

December 19th - Yesterday our realtor came back with another offer that met our price (same buyer as from Thursday nite).? We've signed the papers and the deal is in the works.? Like all real estate contracts here these days, the first week is always in the air as the buyer can pull out for most any reason and pays you $100 for that privilege.? I find this incredibly bizarre.? What on earth is the earnest money for???? So we wait out the first week before doing anything more permanent.? However, since we will close January 5th (buyer was already approved for a loan of an appropriate amount), we are already moving stuff to the storage room and getting ready.? Tomorrow we drive the motor home to Lee's RV City in Edmond, OK to have them repair our leaking gray water tank.? Hope to finalize our order for the new coach then too.? Then once the house sale is final the new one is on order.?

December 15th - Last night we got our first offer on the house.? Not enough, but perhaps they will come thru today.? If not, well then we wait for the one that will.? If this one comes thru we will be scrambling as they want to close by the 5th of January.? That would be 3 weeks from today including the holidays thrown in.? They finally called from the glass place and are ready for us to pick up the motor home.? We are so behind in our planned travel schedule, but we must be learning patience.? They finally got the "virtual tour" of the house working up on the internet.? It's pretty cool.?

December 1st -- Yesterday we picked up the motor home from the Allison place with a new transmission.? Yes, transmission change out.? A little more moolah (actually a LOT more) than we had initially prepared for, but not much to be done about it.? Have taken it to the glass place.? Unfortunately when driving into the glass place, they didn't have their overhead door opened completely when they were guiding him into the facility and we did damage to the roof and one of the air horns will need replacing.? They will have both windshields reset by Tuesday.?? Then we can bring it back and look at removing the gray water tank for repair.? One more showing of the house today, but the person wasn't really interested in such a large lot.? Not sure why they came to look at it then.? Gosh the house looks so good we almost hate to leave.....just kidding.

November 2006

November 27th -- Well....we drove off on the 24th thinking that was our first step as part of the full time crowd.? Boy did we get a rude awakening.? We did spend two nights in front of John & Jill's property south of Bastrop.? As we were getting ready to leave Don noticed water dripping from the back side of the MH.? The basement was wet and he finally decided it was the grey water tank.? Thank goodness it was not the black tank!? Then......we were jacked up really high as the road where we are parked is very unlevel.? Don't know if it was then or when coming down abruptly, but the windshield has popped out of the channel very slightly.? We do have a new window gasket, but it is in the storage building back home.? So.....we decide we need to drive back to the house and get this fixed.? It took us 1 1/2 hours to get thru Waco as there was a very bad accident.? The transmission on the MH was acting up.? That has never been a problem before, but that is something we need to get someone to fix pronto.? Now we are back at the house.? Don has found a very fine crack in the grey water tank, so trying to decide if we can "weld" it instead of buying a new one.? Then we have to get that windshield and transmission fixed before we can head out again.? Trying to stay out of the house as much as possible to keep the need to clean up the place to a bare minimum.? Hope the next try at this is more successful.

November 22nd -- Update....signed the contract yesterday and the realtor took 150+ pictures.? We are hoping to be driving away by tomorrow sometime (a real Thanksgiving day, huh?).? House is supposed to appear in MLS today.

November 21st -- Real estate person to be here at 10 to have us sign the contract.? Believe they plan to take pictures for a "virtual tour" also.? We have been killing ourselves the last week to get everything ready and we still are not.? Windows are washed, touch-up painting done (until we find the next spot), we have made the sitting room off the master bed a delightful room.? Wish we had done that when we moved in.? We have always used it as that junk room type of space.? It looks good now.? Carpets are all cleaned now.? Must do a final clean up of the office & the kitchen before he comes over today.? The yard is all that remains for us to be out of here.? Have hired the guy who did our neighbors hedge trimming to come out today to do ours.? Don does OK, but this crew did a more professional look.? Think it is worth the expense since it is the last time (we hope so anyway).? We still have some clean-up in the flower beds and street entry to finish.? Although I thought we might be out of here by tomorrow AM, I now think it will be a couple days after that before we are on the road for real.? We do actually see the light at the end of the tunnel now.? The car is full (once again) for another run to the Goodwill Store facility.? It's not long now.

November 9th -- Have made a decision on real estate agents.? The one we thought we would choose going into this we did not.? We interviewed three and it was a very hard choice between two of them.? However, I'm confident we have picked the right one.? We are down to the last two weeks in this house I'm sure.? We are down to minor things.? Little things like painting a window sill or repairing nails popping out of sheet rock.? I'm sure the inspectors always have to find something (that's their job, right?), but I can't imagine what it will be.? I think we have checked everything off our list.? Had a BIG donation pickup this morning.? Still need to do a good cleaning inside & outside too.? Guess we will finally have to wash those windows ;-o!

November 1st -- Well, we have finally selected our dealer to make this motor home purchase with.? We will go with Lee's RV City in Edmond, OK.? Lee's certainly gave us the best price, but more importantly in the long run, they also will be the easiest facility in which to obtain service.? Plus we always have the added bonus of Don's sister living just a few miles south of there in Norman.? We have notified the other dealers that they are not our choice.?

October 2006

October 31st -- It's Halloween already.? We are cleaning carpets last night & today.? Most minor repairs done.? Our major things left are a good cleaning top to bottom for the whole house & a good yard clean-up too.? Then we are ready to hit the road.

We interviewed one realtor last week, another tomorrow & hopefully the 3rd & last later this week.? Our goal is to have that "For Sale" sign in the yard by end of month, but hopefully by Thanksgiving.? I'm thinking we can really do it within the next 2 weeks.? We are SO EXCITED!!

October 23rd -- This month has flown by.? Most of what we started out to sell in our "estate sale" is gone as well as a few things we didn't intend to go yet.? The house seems? pretty empty (but it is still full of furniture) and we are busy boxing up things to go to the storage facility.? Some of this will go in the new motor home, but there just isn't room for it in the present one.? We start interviewing real estate people this week.? Expect to have that for sale sign in the front yard within 2 to 3 weeks.? Some friends/family have expressed interest in some of our furniture, so plan to make it available to them the minute we get a firm contract on the house.? Then we might have a one day real (not virtual) estate sale to see if we can clear the house and donate whatever is left.? We are excited....and a little apprehensive.? This is a big change for us.? However, if we don't like it we can always change our minds.

October 1st -- It is hard to fathom that it is October already.? Almost 9 months has passed since our decision to make our new home on wheels and get ready for that.? We are very close to putting the "for sale" sign in the front yard of the house.? Yesterday we finished the tile repair in the pool.? What a relief!? That was the biggest repair job and it turned out not to be that big of a deal.? We just thought it was and that's why it has taken us so long to tackle it.? Most of our superfluous stuff has been sold off.? A little remains and we will get that up on the web site tomorrow and it will move soon hopefully.?

About time to make a decision on the motor home dealer that gets our business.? Actually we pretty much have made our decision, but want to do it right and consider all issues.? Our goal for October is to finish up all the little repair issues in the house and get a realtor under contract.

September 2006

September 20th -- This month has been interesting.? The first 2 weeks of the month was a flurry of activity in selling off some things to friends, relatives and friends of neighbors of relatives.? People have driven down from Oklahoma and up from Houston.? Things that didn't get much interest from people we know we put out on eBay and everything we have put out there has sold....so far.? Then earlier this week, I posted the site on "Craig's List".? Wow.? Lots of activity from that.? Lots of interest in little things.? Yesterday some friends from the Austin area came pulling a trailer.? Today they load up lots of stuff and head home, so we should be ready for the realtor before long.

We have now heard back from two of the dealers we sent quote requests to.? One is significantly lower priced than the other.? One of the things we sold was Don's telescope which was too big & bulky to ride in the motor home.? Plus he had had it for years and was very "manual".? He now picked up a new one that is smaller, lightweight and very with current technology.? Don says will travel with us well.?

August 2006

August 29th --Yea!!!? We finally sent off our order form with options checked and our list of special requests to build this new motor home.? Have no idea how long it will take to hear anything from any of the dealers we sent to.? If I were a salesperson, I would certainly send an acknowledgement immediately.? We'll see if we get anything like that.? Now working hot & heavy on our estate sale lists.? Have most web pages built to list our stuff and prices & pictures posted.? Think will do a once over and have Don review then just post and see if any interest is generated.?

August 23 -- We arrived home last night from a 3 week trip to California.? Don's mother was properly feted for her 85th birthday, which we couldn't miss.? Along the way out we stopped by Canyon de Chelly (d'shay) to see the canyon.? A worthwhile stop.? While in CA we bought 10 cases of "2 buck Chuck".? This is probably the last time we will be able to stock up in this manner.? We did visit with one of the motor home sales people we have talked to while out there.? He gave us some pointers on placing our request for quote, which we need to get done soon.? That is our goal for the remainder of this month, get the request for quote out and get our stuff ready for an on-line estate sale.?

August 1 -- Visited with the estate sale woman today.? A little disappointed in her response to our stuff.? She was hoping for antiques.? All our antiques are going to relatives or storage.? Guess she was a little disappointed in our stuff.? She says we are too far out in the boonies to get a good show for an estate sale and our stuff won't bring much.? Now revising our expectations.? She did advise us to get rid of our large items first as they don't go well in sales like this.? Think we will plan for an email garage sale soon.? We have rented our storage facility for the next 14 months.? That was a big step for us and the next step is to move stuff to it.? Now getting ready to leave for California for Don's mom's 85th birthday.

July 2006

July 28th -- People who do estate sales were to come this afternoon, but they rescheduled to next week.? Hope they can give us a better idea of what to expect.? Don has worked all week on getting the new air brake system set up for my car for use when it is towed behind the motor home.? He has worked very hard on it and I know he must be glad he is nearly finished.? Soon it is August.? Time is flying by.

July 20th -- The trip to Georgia was great as was seeing all the family members & seeing the area. After driving back, we had just a few days until we drove to Houston & flew to Bonaire for 2 weeks. That was a truly great trip. For 2 weeks we dove 3 times a day, ate at great restaurants & had a super time. On our return, we found the fan motor on the main house AC had frozen up and had to be replaced. Our water bill was nearly $400 so Don went digging up the yard to find a leak in the lawn sprinkler system. He actually found & fixed TWO. One in the front yard & one in the back. In spite of those issues, we still got the backsplash tile & grout completed. For the first time in a couple of months we are moved back normally into the kitchen. It looks good too.? To see "before" & "after" pictures, click here.? Our major hurdles remaining are to redo the waterline tile in the pool, paint the guest house interior and re-stretch the carpet. However, we will be leaving shortly for southern California. Don's mom turns 85 in mid August and we must be there for that occasion. This will just delay us a little. We still have to get an order to any dealer for a quote on pricing. Soon.....

June 2006

June 20th -- Well, we have the tile backsplash "almost" done in the kitchen.? We only need an hour or so to finish cementing the remaining tiles and then we must grout.? However, by the 9th we had company and then we left for Don's dad's 85th birthday celebration in Georgia.? We just returned and are now packing for a 2 week dive trip to Bonaire and we leave Friday.? It is unlikely we will finish the tile until after we get back in July.? We will have to hurry as we are planning a trip in early August that will take us to Utah to see the kids and to California to see Don's mom for her 85th birthday.? Our goal is to have real estate people interviewed before we leave.? We had hoped to have the house on the market by August before we leave for that trip, but now I'm doubting we can make that date.? Too much to do, so little time.

May 2006

May 31st -- It is hard to believe tomorrow is JUNE!!!? This year is flying by and we aren't nearly as finished as we should be.? We bought the tile for the kitchen backsplash last weekend and have worked out our design.? Waiting on a friend with a tile saw to get back in town to actually start the job.? Don has been busy cussin' & discussing the trim work in the wet bar.? Most of this is crown molding that goes around the odd angles for the overhead cabinets.? He has put off this until last, so what does that tell you?? After a couple of days of what appeared to be extreme frustration, he has it figured out and now has actually cut all the pieces so I must do the staining/finishing so he can get them up.?

I love the new faucet we got on the kitchen sink.? It is a monster (huge), but it is wonderful.? I need to see if there is a smaller version of it anywhere so we could get one in the new motor home.? It is the best faucet ever.? I will soon post before & after pics of the kitchen to show the improvement with the new counters, sink, backsplash & cooktop.

Have also gotten ALL our music CDs "ripped" and copied to a new external/portable 250 Gig drive.? Many are on our laptop, but ran out of room and had to get the added drive.? With this FM transmitter gizmo our friend led us to, we can play them on the radio...hence the surround system in the motor home..? This is a wonderful solution on how to take the CDs on the road.? This way we leave them in storage.? I would love to give them to friends or family, but I'm sure that is illegal to someone.? It is wonderful that a whole cabinet of 300 CDs fit onto a portion of a hard drive and are now portable.

We still have to paint the guest house interior which is a big job and some tile falling off in the pool still needs to be replaced.? Now the BIGGEST thing is still the sad fact that we have way too much stuff in this house.? We are not garage sale people....don't go to them & don't want to have one either.? This puts us at the mercy of others.? I must call this person who does estate sales & see if she will agree to do one or more garage sales up front.? We can never put the house on the market until we get rid of some stuff.? Hope our kids appreciate our doing this now and saving them from this task when we are gone!

May 18th -- The original person to give us a paint estimate came back with a "rock bottom" price after we told him we would do it ourselves.? It was very much more reasonable so we agreed.? This crew of 5 worked all day yesterday, scraping, caulking, repairing & painted the whole thing with primer.? Today they are to finish up with the color coat.? This is a relief that we don't have to do the painting.? Since the house needed to be painted not long after we moved in in 1998, there was a LOT to do.? We have too many other tasks on our plate.? Don is finally finished with my car.? It has been nearly 2 weeks and I know he is sick of working on the car.? He was very brave to do this as it involved drilling holes both in the frame and the transmission pan (yikes!), trimming the front bumper and running wires & new tail lights, and more....but we should now be able to tow the van behind the motor home now without the tow dolly.? We got new information from Newmar on their 2007 model motor home lineup, so we are changing our decision on the model of new motor home we are getting.? Now we will look at a 40 foot model instead of 43 foot.? A small difference, but I think better to stay smaller.? That will let us get into more places as we travel around the country.? Model we have chosen now is the 4037.? The change is because the slides on both sides of the coach will have flat slides (no 2 inch raised floor under the sofa).? This will let us order without the sofas and fit euro loungers in those spaces instead.? Link to the 4037 floor plan.

May 11th -- Spent the first week on the gulf at Pioneer RV resort in Port Aransas.? Had a great time with friends.? Yesterday the sheetrock guy finally was able to get started on repairing the damage from the leaking skylights and a few other things.? He should be done in 3 to 4 days.? They also got the new granite countertops installed in the kitchen.? Next we need to install the tile backsplash.? Now Don is the plumber and must get the water supply to the new sink and install the new cooktop.? He is also the auto mechanic and has installed the transmission pump and is working on getting the baseplate and tow bar installed so that we can tow my van behind our motorhome.? I know this is more difficult than he originally thought and is taking a lot longer.? We did get an estimate to paint the house.? We choked on it so had someone else come out today for another estimate.? If it isn't any better, we will paint ourselves.? Still lots to do around the house.

April 2006

April 24th -- Have gotten web site migrated to a web host.? Used to host it on our PC from home, but won't be able to do that on the road.? Also have arranged for email from the host that will address to our site.? This is all pretty inexpensive so hope it is a good solution.? Now to start migrating all our email that way.?

April 10 -- Well, the guys didn't have the skylights fixed when we got back (and it had rained a lot!), but did show up on April 3rd early & did the work.? The new ones look good and so far, no leaking!.? The guy to that will fix the water damaged sheetrock isn't able to come out until the last week in the month.? Don has worked very hard the last couple of weeks doing things like caulking around the pool decking.? He also has completely painted our current motor home's roof with liquid rubber.? We had several patches and the current rubber roof is chalking and streaking the sides of the coach badly, so hopefully no more leaks and no more chalking!!? Don also poured a concrete pad so we can step out the door from the garage to the patio onto concrete instead of into a dirt hole.? This is part of the loose ends of his bar construction that we need to tie up before we can put the house up for sale.? He has some trim things to do and one more cabinet door panel to complete too.? I am working on the soft things like where we will claim residency, mail forwarding, email changes, moving the web site & so on.? I am not sweating nearly as much as Don.?

Next month new countertops in the kitchen along with a new sink, faucet and cooktop.? Actually we are already using the cooktop as the old one broke.? We are only doing this because we have already upgraded to this same granite in two bathrooms and the wet bar.? The kitchen looks kind of tacky now and the house will definitely show better once this is done.?

Have migrated our 300+ DVD movies from the cases that take up a whole wall, to some clear sleeves that let all of them fit in 5 shoeboxes.? These are big shoeboxes though, the Men's Large Shoebox from the Container Store.? This will let us take them with us in the motorhome.? Now we have nearly 300 empty DVD cases.....I think eBay.

Have sold a few items on eBay, but not nearly enough.? Will get a bunch more stuff ready to put up there.? Still need to figure out how we are going to store some of our paper records....?

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March 2006

March 23rd -- Well at Pomona we did get to see what I think was every known motor home being manufactured today.? Whew!? A bunch to look at.? It was good though.? We have wanted an Alpine coach since we first saw one 3 years ago.? They just didn't measure up.? They are a good coach and if we were just taking trips it might do, but not for living.? Too limited.? The coach we wanted only had 875 pounds of available capacity for water, food & clothing.? Not nearly enough.? One by one we eliminated everything else that was on our short list too.? We have ended up deciding on a 2007 model Dutch Star (made by Newmar) model 4304 (that's the floorplan number).? Here's a look at the 4304 floorplan

March 1st -- We have arranged to get the leaking skylights in the guest house replaced (they said there was no fixing them).? Evidently initial construction was with cheap materials and there was no flashing.? It's amazing they haven't leaked until now.? Good thing the ones in the house are of better quality.? We are leaving for the whole month and the roofers are to do this before we get back home.? So now we are off to Pomona, CA to figure out what kind of new motor home we will get.? There are so many and we certainly want to make the right decision.?

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February 2006

Well, we are assessing what all needs to happen and it is overwhelming to say the least.? The house needs so much done to it to make it marketable so we need a list there.? We have so much dang stuff that it is embarrassing.? Just trying to identify it all to decide what to do with it is daunting.? So far I have catalogued over 800 books.? There are a few we will keep, but I'm sure it will be less than 50.? We have an inventory of sorts now of most stuff.? We are trying to get as much advice as we can absorb from friends who have done this already.?

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?? This site was last updated 03/20/10