Continuing New Chapters

 As I said in my last post: “a lot has happened” … a third thing is that I bought a van!!

Its a 2014 Chevy Express passenger van, with all wheel drive, a factory back up camera, a tow package, and has only been in NY for a couple years. I’m not planning on towing anything, but the backup camera was on my list, and AWD was a bonus.

The previous owner kept excellent care of it, meticulous maintenance records, and it was stored inside when not being driven. The motor is only a year old, along with many smaller things that were replaced or upgraded to ensure its safety and reliability.

The day it was posted I called the seller and arranged to drive the two hours to see it; my dad wasn’t thrilled, but was blown away after we checked it out. In his defense, the last van I asked him to check out ended up being a death trap. (I made notes and asked better questions this time around.)

 

Thankfully, he’s been keeping it safe since I don’t have room at my place. My house search includes having space for my van.

You’re probably wondering, “why was he selling it?”

Unfortunately the owner had passed away. He had a small taxi business, which often included interstate adventures. This van has seen miles! And its why he kept such good care of it. One of his wishes was that the proceeds be denoted to charity, and that’s what his estate was doing.

When I first talked to the seller he let me know the van had a salvaged title for unknown reason, and gave me the VIN number so I could look it up. We learned that it had been rebuilt a couple years after it was made and sold soon after. In this case living in NY came in handy - its originally from out of state and bought by the NY dealership who sold it to this last owner. Because NY has stricter requirements for dealerships than private owners, the frame would have been examined before the state issued a new title.

The executor and I helped each other navigate through the sale since neither of us had done one as an estate before. (The hold time for the DMV help line is no joke lol) He was so patient and helpful, and I’m thankful to have gone through the process with such a person.

I don’t know if he’ll ever see this, but if he does: Thank you for your kindness. You and your family deserve all the best!

Closing Old Chapters to Open New Ones

 A lot has happened since my last post, so I wanted catch you up before there’s more to add.

Back in May I had started fostering this five year old southern gentleman. I’ve never had a dog who wasn’t used to the snow before; its been fun watching him grow from being terrified of it to easily leaping through piles as he refuses to go back in the house.

He’s not doing snow angles yet, but he’ll gladly sit outside for what feels like forever and watch for squirrels (that don’t exist because its winter).

Another big thing is last month I pulled the trigger on selling my house. This week I started packing, which is both stressful and calming.

I’m taking the opportunity to declutter as I pack. Its something I’ve been doing for a while in preparation to moving out, but at that time there was no urgency; it was just the idea that I wanted to move in the near future. But now its not a hypothetical, its a reality.

If you’re wondering about the knobs in my kitchen that I posted about last time: I’ve taken them off so I can bring them with. I did the same with the shelves that I wanted to put up in my office space.

I guess the rule of thumb is that when you show the house, if its attached it goes with the house. I’m currently glad I dragged my feet with mounting my chandelier and replacing the bathroom mirror.

I always knew it would come to this, I just had to fully accept it.

A New Winter Means a New Beginning

 This week has felt freeing, and for the first time in a long time I’m not feeling stuck. I’ve been taking steps towards the life I want for myself and in the process gaining the skin I need to keep going despite obstacles.

I imagine in the not so far future I’ll be at a fork in the road, but I’m trying to not look too far and worry about it. That fork involves the house I’m living in and the fact my future with it has felt so uncertain for so long has kept me from taking the steps to make it feel like home.

This year I’ve been trying to get out of that mindset and have begun doing/buying things to improve the house and how I feel in it. Yesterday that involved buying the drawer knobs below.

When ever I picture my ideal kitchen, it has colorful cabinets with mix-and-match door knobs. Well yesterday while I was shopping with a friend I found a pile of random drawer nobs in the clearance section, and immediately started digging. The picture only shows 1 of each style, so these aren’t all of them.

At 11pm at night I was trying them out. They fit perfectly on the drawers, but I need shorter screwed for the cabinet doors. I’m sure I have the right size around here so I’ll be going through my inventory this weekend.

New Bullet Journal Setup

 

I started bullet journaling before I knew what #bulletjournal was. My dad keeps a pocket journal to write lists and reminders, and in college he encouraged me to do the same.

I’d always failed at using an agenda but as a young adult I needed some way to stay organized; I took his method and made it my own. Instead of using a small pocket journal I chose A5 as my preferred size. Instead of filling it with only lists and reminders, I included memories, doodles, and taped in scraps.

A couple years later I stumbled across a friend’s blog post about her “bullet journal”. It was much more artistic, but still resembled what I had been doing. I’d never seen anyone else use a notebook as a planner, but after searching the term I was face to screen with a whole community! I jumped into the rabbit hole - I watched all the videos, tried different styles, modified some and discarded others.

That was 8 years ago. Now in my 30’s I’m pretty secure in my style of journaling, but I still like to try new things. That means this month I’m trying a health tracker. I’ve learned that monthly layouts don’t work for me, so I’ve planned it out as weekly. Lets see how long I can keep this up … {Update: One week if I don’t draw them all out ahead of time.}

Happy Journaling!!

My Basement Workshop

 

When I was in high school I enjoyed taking shop classes and being on stage crew, and have missed it since graduating. When I saw the workbenches in this basement I swooned.

I’ve been collecting tools for years in the name of “incase I need this”, but never had anywhere to keep them accessible. Then I’d lose something and buy another, and before I knew it I’d have multiples of many things.

Fast-forward 4 years and I’ve yet to use my workshop; but I have a project coming up. Everything had gotten packed up when I had my drain tiles were replaced, but now they’re all out again and waiting to be used!

All the things have memories attached. This house is filled with my mom, and the tools and storage drawers bring memories of my grandfather. And still all of it reminds me of the hours spent at the hardware store with my dad - one of my favorite places to wonder around and dream.

My Farthest Road Trip So Far

Last month I went on my longest road trip! Broken over three days each way, I went down with my dad and then back up with a friend. We spent most of our time in Florida but also made a few tourist stops in Georgia, and visited family along the way.

On the way down my dad and I each chose places we wanted to visit, and my choice was the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park. The picture of the giant hill is actually a picture of the Great Temple Mound. The remains of it were found during excavation in the 1930’s and was restored along with other mounds at the park; the floor in the temple is over 1000 years old. It was breath taking, seeing a structure that has so much history and imagining the city that was built around it. It’s a huge park and I’d like to go back for a couple days so I can explore and read everything.

One of the places my dad chose was The Allman Brother’s Museum at the Big House. The stained glass above is the front entryway to the museum; not original to when the band was living in the house but an awesome tribute to their time spent. There was a former roadie who was giving someone a personal tour, and every time we crossed paths I enjoyed listening in on his stories.

While in Sarasota FL I took a day to explore by myself. A family member had told me about the Tamiami Trail, so I grabbed my water and set off. I took a wrong turn and landed in downtown Sarasota, so I pulled over and walked around the city before trying a second time; again I got lost but I found a plaza with two antique stores so I pulled over and checked them out.

The pink flamingos where at a store called Todburn Antiques in Sarasota. I hope to go back again because it had such cool stuff, and the owner and his friend were awesome people. (Shout out to Don & Janet!)

My third attempt got me on the Trail and I got to drive down it in time for a rain storm.

The ride back home was an experience, and I definitely came home more confident about my driving than I was when I left.

The giant sombrero is called Sombrero Tower at a place called South of the Boarder. It’s a tourist trap that we didn’t get to stop at this time, but my friend and I agreed we have to go back. The amount of money they spend on billboards must be crazy, but they catch your attention! After telling family about it I learned the place has been around for decades, and at one point everyone had known someone who’d been there.

 

vengefuleyes:

ponder - knuckle puck

{i drew this!! please dont remove credit :-) }