To the auction house

Sleigh; Box with contents (Grammy Carter's hats...some of them...); Shelf and backsplash; Door knobs; Stack of old pictures in frames; 1875 box, handlettered but broken; Push sleigh (child's); Child's feather-back Windsor rocker; Wicker planter; Lap boards (drawing); Glass showcase.

Auction: http://www.auctionzip.com/Listings/1149788.html

Have you ever vacuumed your attic?

The things we do for love...

Offer received, countered, countered...

Accepted.

Closing June 16, God willing and the Creek don't rise...

Off to the SW to track a new teepee.

Make an Offer!

We're eagerly awaiting word from the folks who came through the house on Wednesday last, then came back on Saturday to measure and conjecture with their son-in-law the Master Builder. (I thought that term had been reserved for G*d, but hey...)

We expect to receive an offer on Tuesday afternoon, hopefully a good offer...that is, high enough to consider! As they indicated that they would 'redo the kitchen' and lay oak flooring down in the back room, they will probably expect us to 'pay' for those upgrades out of the price, but we are basically disinclined so to do.

Our Realtor let us know that they will be interested in a 30-day timing on the paper-passing, so we are moving into high gear.

Today we contacted an auction person, who came over immediately and speculated that one of his contacts would handle auctioning the glass display case, the horse-sleigh, and the baby snow sleigh. He also has found someone who will buy ALL of the old shutters from us at $3 per shutter. I figure there are maybe 75-80 shutters. Although that will not be a lot of money, it will clear them out of the barn, which is worth something more to us.

I still have to figure out how to get rid of old cast iron stoves and old file cabinets. Mostly everything else can be shipped to us or taken to Goodwill, if I get out there and sort through it again.

Now that we are 5 months into the new year, I am finally getting work again, in addition to moving labor. And looking for a new house.

But some of it (ALL of it!) is a good time.

The story so far

I see that I have not been here since last August. Then Phil had a stroke in January, which he is just popping right back from, thank goodness!

That leaves many silent months in between, but we are finally out of the ice age of this winter and raking the gardens and yard and finishing up the sorting in the barn. We've ripped and torn our way through 9 boxes of Mom's papers that we were going to pay to shred. Now we will toast the names and addresses in a fire circle and recycle the de-identified cartons of chaff down at the recycle bins. I spent time this morning moving boxes in the barn to make it neater (in case the 'buyers' wanted to see the inside of the barn without having things look too disorderly).

The daffodils are in bloom, and we were blessed with a visit from Jenn in March.

We are also crossing our fingers and hoping that the couple who looked at our house today for the second time! like it enough to send us an offer this week.

Today was nice and warm...60s fahrenheit...and I also took the time to pick up some dead branches from the back yard, so that walking back there was not hazardous. Having a soil of heavy marine clay means the yard is as full as a sopping sponge in the spring, especially after two heavy rainstorm-y days this week. Flood watches everywhere, but we are on a high rise, and if anything gets wet in the backyard it will not reach the foundations of the house.

It is becoming a lovely spring. I am eager to finish the barn and attack the basement again.

One thing that has been interesting this fall and winter is how well we are able to live with the four plates and six bowls and several mugs that we saved out from packing. Well, a little more than that, but not much. It does not make me wish I owned less, however, and when we get to open the boxes at the mythical new house, it will be like Christmas.

I just hope it won't actually be Christmas-time when it happens.

Always liked the stage(ing)

If I could take them to Houston with me, I would. To set up that new house that I am homesick for.

The stagers did a miraculous job with the pictures I saved out from packing and the furniture we have.

Found in box

Floradora doll by Armand Marseille (Germany)... (eyes rolled back -- detached -- in head, no wig, classy (!) silver paint in 'bra' area, cloth body, finish cracking off arms and legs, needs a facial.

Three tiny bisque dolls with 'pinned' arms, one with pinned legs...that means movable.

Cast iron iron, carpet sweeper, pedestal sink, bathtub, crib, and pram.

Miscellaneous tiny (doll?) clothes. Ok, not so tiny, but you couldn't get a real baby into them for more than a week-old infant.

Clutch of Christmas cards and Mother's day cards from Charles and Margy to Mom.

Clutch of Best & Co. catalogs from 1950s-1960 or so showing the latest styles.

Typed (quite elaborate) instructions for how to cut hair.

Newsletters from 1939-1941 or so from Warren Junior High, Newton, Massachusetts.

Toy trains, both plastic and wood, Uno, Pocket Othello, other various card games, American and Argentine.