Back in May, we moved the stuff we needed to live in a 2-2 apartment. Coming from a 3-2.5-2 house, this left a lot behind. A couple of weekends ago, we had a big moving sale to get rid of furniture we couldn’t use and some of the stuff we didn’t need. However, since we had not yet considered packing the entire house, that still left a lot.

Thursday, I drove over to Bryan to pack as much as I could. Of the 7 rooms to do, I got 3.5 done and felt good about it. Friday, I only made it through ~2 rooms, though. Emil joined me on Friday night in a U-Haul truck and we attempted to dig through the rest of our stuff. By Saturday afternoon, we were finally loading the truck. At about 2pm, I had a mini-panic, I could see a lot more stuff than we had truck. I could see a lot more stuff than we had time. I was frustrated that we had already had four garage sales in 2 years, had given/sold a ton of stuff, had planned this move to Austin for a year and had known about it for ~four months. HOW could we still have so much stuff we don’t need? I had to keep reminding myself that we weren’t just moving a household; we were also moving a business.

Between Saturday and Sunday, the following people were super-helpful and we wish to thank them:

• Charile: took some Hallowe’en decor they will use for their party; loaned us a jack so we could replace yet another tire on my truck; helped us move a credenza.
• Casey: helped us move Daddy’s (very heavy, large, solid) desk and later helped us clear out a bunch of stuff from the garage.
• Jes: helped us clear out stuff, took a bunch of half-filled containers of cleaners and yard chemicals (that we didn’t want to put into storage) off our hands.
• Mr. R: purchased several pieces of equipment from us; helped schlep stuff to the curb for the neighbors to pilfer, and will be making trash runs for us  by refilling our curb-side dumpster and refilling and placing it where it will be picked up tw0 times on trash day (“that” side of the street early am, and again on “this” side of the street later in the day when the truck makes another pass).
• Mom L: housed us for Thur-Sat nights, made cinnamon rolls, and helped me load stuff on Sunday morning (she didn’t lift, she manned the door!) when I was in a huge hurry to grab what I could and then catch up to Emil who was already on the road.
• Neighborhood “elves”: several neighbors we know from HOA events stopped by and pilfered our “junk” for their own uses. We are grateful that they found purpose for the items and kept them out of the landfill.

We resigned ourselves to staying over one more day and made a very detailed plan for Sunday. We accounted for every 15-minute time slot and planned to get the truck returned on time.

We buzzed through cleaning and packing the rest of the house as best we could. At ~9:15, Emil told me it was 10am, so we cranked things up a notch. We decided against trying to get the stuff at his mom’s. He got on the road and I went back to Mom’s to get our clothes. While there, I took 9 boxes I could fit into the pickup. During the drive to our storage unit in Austin, I caught up to him within about five minutes. We went to work on loading stuff into the storage unit, went without breaks, drove to the apartment, loaded the rest of the things that were to go there without a moment to spare, and went to U-Haul to return the truck. The truck was supposed to be back at 5:30. U-Haul had closed at 5pm, so we had to use the drop-slot. I was frustrated that we really pushed to be on time and could have easily taken more, but also relieved that it was almost all done. We had fabulous burgers at MooYa and then came back home to rest.

We have at least one truckload left at Mom’s, but we’ll be back in two weeks for closing. Whatever we don’t get then, we’ll make a weekend run for at another time. This whole move to Austin has been a long time coming (a year of planning and wishing) and seems like a longer time to process (May-August moving). We are grateful for the light at the end of the lo-o-o-o-o-ong tunnel.

Well, our moving sale was a big success. By estimations of “stuff” in the driveway, we got rid of about half of it. We sold the dresser, the coffee/sofa/end tables, the craft desk, the bookcases, and a bunch of smaller things, too. Emil’s mom came over for a while, and we got to hang out with Jessica some and even see Casey for like a minute. We even got to see one of my brides and her mom who were sprucing up a new first grade classroom in Bryan!

At the end of the day, we were both exhausted. I was also in quite a bit of pain from head to toe. Still, it was worth getting rid of all that stuff and finding new room/space in our lives.

The next phase is for me to go to Bryan for a couple of days and pack the remaining stuff. Then, Emil will join me with the moving truck to take all our remaining stuff to Austin (to a storage unit.) That gives us a weekend before closing in case we need extra time for any projects. Hopefully, we’ll get to spend that wekeend in Austin just hanging out in our town.

Guess where we’re going this weekend? That’s right, Bryan!

We’ll be holding a

We need to get rid of some furniture we don’t want to keep/store. Hopefully, we’ll sell enough stuff to be able to rent a smaller storage unit or one that isn’t climate controlled.

So, stop by Saturday morning if you need any of these things:

• coffee, sofa, and 2 end tables
• couch (hide-a-bed, one corner of torn fabric)
• wooden office cubbies
• dresser
• long, black “crafting” table (one draw is broken)
• 2 bookcases
• heavy duty extension ladder, one of the long ones
• microwave (super nice)
• birdbath
• fishing poles
• unbuilt models
• CDs
• end tables
• Halloween decor
• Christmas decor
• Aggie tshirts
• 8′x12′ bound carpet/rug

I’m sure we’ll find more.

For years, I’ve been hoarding “good” boxes. I use them not only for wrapping gifts, but also at events to create height and interest in displays. They are especially good for silent auctions! We had waaaaay too many. I had every intention of culling them and taking them to the recycling center, but for a couple of years, now, it just hasn’t happened.

One of the things I did in December (as I was trying to get some of our home in order) was purchase bins for recycling. So, while I had not been doing this good deed for our planet as much as I should have, now, I am. Diligently. So, I had 3+ months worth of glass, aluminum, plastic, etc.
Neighbor South, Jessica, had almost as much as we did. So, we loaded up the truck and made a run to the local recycling center. Wow. We looked like Sanford & Son going down the road! And, the faces of the staff at the recycling center were hil-air-i-ous! Jes pointed out that, as neighbors who are friends (and I’ll add, and as home owners instead of apartment renters) many of the parties are at our homes. Of course, this is true, but we mostly needed something to keep us from feeling like total lushes with all the beer boxes, beer bottles, and wine bottles.

Baby Truck was full

Of course, it’s not as bad as it looks. Most of it was cardboard. And, the stuff underneath was all sorted.

Lesson learned: I knew there was one kind of glass we couldn’t recycle. Turns out, it’s green. So, no more purchases of Dos XX (or Hiney or Rolling Rock). And, I need to be careful when purchasing red wine as some of my favorite brands come in green bottles.

OK, so most of you know that my new job came with some giant first/urgent tasks (don’t they always?). But, given the calls and emails I’ve received, most of you don’t know just how giant these tasks were. While I appreciate you all checking on me, I hope you’ll understand why I have not yet responded. After all, I even had to “close” As You Wish for a few days, a rare occurrence—maybe first ever—on a non-holiday. Since there are a ton of new-engagement-ring-wearing girls who have been a bride-to-be since the holidays, this is baaaad timing.

• Sunday – came to work at 4:30 in the afternoon; left at 10:30 or so
• Monday – came to work at 7:30am, left at 12:30am (yes, am); was too wired to sleep and was up until ~2am
• Tuesday – came to work at 8:30am, left work at 8:00am (yes, a 23.5-hour day); went home to work by Internet so I could shower, be in a quiet environment, and settle my tummy from the junk food I’d eaten that night; worked until ~11am; Emil brought me lunch and then I slept from ~1pm until 7am!

So, thank you all for checking on me. I appreciate the “you’re done, right” messages yesterday. I’ll start getting back with you all today.

Today was our annual “Thanksgiving 2″. We got up at six, left Bryan at seven, and got to Paris just after 12noon for Thanksgiving dinner with Lori’s mom and grandparents. We spent the day with them, watching the Aggies beat the Longhorns (Whoop!), and catching up with family. Lori worked on a scarf project, too.

Around seven, we headed over to Mom’s, unloaded the truck, and settled in for the night. It was easy to crash when it came time to crawl into bed.

Garden-safe Fire Ant Killer

(as described by a manager at a local nursery)

Supplies

• 5 gallon bucket of water
• shovel

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup Turpentine (not “turpAtine” sold at places like WalMart)
• 1/4 cup ammonia
• 1/4 cup Lysol® cleaner
• 1/4 cup Dawn® dish washing liquid

Instructions

1. Add each of the ingredients to the bucket of water and mix gently. (Add the Dawn last to keep the suds at bay.)
2. Quickly and carefully, dig up the fire ant mound at lest 1-2 feet into the ground. Remember the queen lives at the bottom. Work quickly so you don’t get stung.
3. Gently, pour the entire 5-gallon bucket into the mound. The water will carry the ingredients deep into the mound. The suds will coat the ants. If you dug down far enough, you have a good chance of killing the queen.

Notes

• I like to leave the mound uncovered for a day or two to monitor activity. If necessary, I make another batch, dig further down and try again. When I stop seeing activity, I cover the hole back up.
• My grandfather shared this recipe with everyone on his street. They had enormous success in getting rid of the ants in their corner of the neighborhood.