The folks made a BIG decision while we were living on the road, but just announced it to the family today.
We are going to sell our house. The house became a burden for us while we were traveling. There was the constant worry that it was okay. The Grandfolks checked in on it, but that is a lot to ask of them. We hired my skin cousin to cut the grass, but our lawnmower broke the first time he used it, so then the Grandfolks had to bring theirs over for him to use each time. A storm caused some damage to a tree, so that had to be handled. I think it was on that day that Mama told Dad she thought they should sell. Dad said he had been thinking the same thing. We are spending about $3,000 in taxes and insurance and it seems silly to have an empty house. We don't want to rent it out because that would be more work and worry for us while we are on the road.
What will we do next winter? Well, if Dad is sent someplace cold, we will take the motor home to a warm location and spend the winter there. If we have to be away from Dad, we would like to be someplace warm. Houston's average temps in the winter are in the 60's and that is fine with us.
As soon as we got home, Mama spoke with the realtor we used to sell the other the house and buy this one. She told him that there was a 10% chance it would go on the market in November, but most likely it would be February. Well, all of that changed this week. The house will go on the market the week of Thanksgiving! As you know, Mama has been purging and painting like crazy. She has three weeks to have all our personal items gone and she is making good progress. We are selling our house furnished and if the buyers don't want it furnished, our agent will handle getting rid of the furniture. We worked with him for over a year previously and have full trust in him. We will not be coming back and he says that is not a problem. He has handled sales like this before. Dad will be very busy when he gets home. He will have two weeks to put up trim, doors, sell his truck, ATV and a few other items. It will be crazy, but once we reach Houston, we will rest.
Today, Mama had a Jeep full of items to deliver to Goodwill, the consignment shop and Aunt Pam. She gave Aunt Pam her favorite Thanksgiving platter as well as Christmas dishes, cookie plates and things like that. Mama said she was happy to keep those things in the family.
Mama is keeping only a few items that will need to go in storage. She really didn't want to put anything in storage, but since Dad said he had a few items he didn't want to get rid of, she chose a few things to keep. She is keeping Christmas ornaments that belonged to her grandparents (They are big silver balls that are heavy), her Dad's mantel clock, a China cabinet that Dad's Grandparents gave his Mom and a few of Dad's Grandmother's things. Mama is also keeping her Kitchen Aid mixer and sewing machine. Dad said she could keep whatever fits in the China cabinet, so she has a few ceramic pieces that she has had for many years. Mama is taking her wedding album with her. She hasn't decided if she wants to keep her high school yearbooks. Mama debated on a few other items, but she put them out on the counter for a few days and decided she didn't need them.
Scout says that all this purging makes her nervous. I think it is fun! I think just about everything is fun though.
Joey,
The Greyhound Who Will Have A Texas Address Soon