Friday, July 25, 2014

Millie will be “Sofa-less” in 4 weeks!

IMG_9607

What an incredibly strange and amazing week this has been!  I started the week in complete stress mode trying to get my presentation finished for my first library speaking engagement, and was also worrying about all the work still left to do to get the house ready to list by my self-imposed deadline of Aug. 1st.  It turned a bit chilly here this week, and with that, the realization that snow will be flying here in Chicago again in just a few short months started to sink in.

What to do? What to do???

Well, the Library presentation was just a matter of “getting ‘er done.”  I pulled a couple near “all-nighters”, got the 135 slides put into some rational semblance of order, got the handout document done, and most-importantly, got the tub of treats and audience participation game created. 

Before introducing each featured park, I had a “Jeopardy”-style slide with a whacky clue.  I asked a member of the audience to be our Alex Trebeck and read the slide aloud, while others  tried to guess the name of the park.

Now here’s a clue that clever WinnieViews readers should be able to answer:

VOLO BOG clue

Answer?  Volo Bog (featured in my last blog post)!

While I didn’t get all the info communicated as perfectly as I had hoped, none of the 30 or so in the audience fell asleep or got up and left, so I guess those were good measures of success!   In the end, I had a great time and hope to do more of these in the future.

Returning home from the Library, I could now finally get some rest and recharge my weary body.  I decided I’d take the next day to just lounge around before diving into the final house prep projects, but had to first go meet my family for our weekly breakfast at the diner.

There, my stepbrother-in-law mentioned that friends of theirs’ from church had just sold their house faster than expected and were now needing to find something quickly to rent until next Spring or Summer.  He had showed them his condo, but it was too small for what they were hoping for.

“What about my house?” I asked.  He had completely forgotten to mention it to them and quickly texted his friend.  A brief phone call followed and it sounded like it might be a good fit, so they asked to come see my house the next morning….as in 24 hours to mow the yard, dust and vacuum the house, and get the myriad of “stuff” currently strewn all over the house boxed up into some semblance of order. 

So much for my lazy day of post-presentation rest!

The couple arrived and we seemed to instantly hit it off just great.  They are recent “empty nesters” who just sold their big home and are downsizing, but don’t know exactly to what or where yet.  So, renting for awhile will give them time to sort things out.

For me, I was coming to the realization that listing my house this late in the season would likely be for naught and that I’d more likely now need to find renters for the winter (and what a challenge THAT could be to find good tenants!).    

This couple are not only family friends, but they’re also extremely handy and enjoy doing house projects!  So, instead of me chasing around hiring contractors, or doing all the work myself,  I’ll hire them to do these projects at their leisure over the winter,  and I can now just focus on getting rid of all my remaining furniture & household items…within the next 4 weeks! 

Win-win for everyone….except poor Millie.   I sure wish I could figure out how to replicate her comfy sofa in the View, but for now, I’ll try not get rid of it until the very end.

Hard to believe that a month from now, I’ll finally be a full-time RVer!

22 comments:

  1. Lynne, Things have a way of working out! Glad to hear this news, as I know it takes a load off your mind. I love feeling the excitement in your posts about your upcoming change to full time RV status! I'm sure Millie will adjust just fine--so long as she's with you, she'll be a happy camper! Glad your presentation went well--very creative way to do it, and I'm sure that the attendees not only did not fall asleep, but enjoyed it immensely. Anyone hearing you could not fail to be engaged by your energy and enthusiasm!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. aw, thank you Jack! I am loving reading the excitement and photos in your blog posts too. Looks like you're seeing some wonderful country out there in Montana right now!

      Delete
  2. Congratulations and so looking forward to your fulltime adventure posts.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Life can be so amazing! A solution that no one had even considered! Congratulations!!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, I could have never imagined I'd have my house rented without any ads or endless parade of showings. God is Good!

      Delete
  4. Wow - what a win-win-win post! Great that the presentation went so well that you're looking forward to doing more. That's a lot of work, good job! And the house thing? How lucky is that? Just think - if you had skipped the family breakfast because you wanted to take it easy after the late nights, you wouldn't have know about your new renters. Good fortune is shining down on you. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh boy, never thought about the "miss opportunity" had I not attended that family breakfast, but you're absolutely right, it was serendipity, divine intervention, or something up there that brought us all together this week!

      Delete
  5. Wow ... what a quick solution. NOW YOU HAVE ME THINKING.....lol.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. you just never know until you ask who might be interested!

      Delete
  6. What an amazing story and what a great solution!!! First, congratulations on a successful presentation...sounds like it was a fun evening!!!
    I bet you are very excited!!! Enjoy the process and keep that sofa as long as you can!! :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. oh yes, I might list the sofa this week, but I'll try not to let it go until the very end!

      Delete
  7. Isn't it amazing how we don't have to "control things" and the Universe takes over! It sure happened in my move to Mexico! Happy trails.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Barbara, yes, that's certainly what it felt like-- like throwing my brain into a spin cycle for a few days and going "whoa! what was that?" when it was all over!

      Delete
  8. How wonderful for you Lynne. A perfect solution and one that get's you motivated to boot. Who knows, maybe they will like living there so much that they will want to buy next year :) But poor Millie. I do have the solution, buy her a Class A RV with her own sofa. You will get the lazy boy recliner. Wish I was there to help you pack. Good luck.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha ha! Millie never did get to try out your rig's sofa last winter, but you're absolutely right-- I'd be she'd love it! Ok, let Millie know when you're ready to sell, she's not going to be satisfied until I get her another sofa!

      Delete
  9. Oops, forgot to mention your presentation. So glad it turned out and you learned something in the process. Maybe you can become a touring speaker.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Hi Lynne
    Learning to use twitter.this is how I got here. My T@B is going to Webster City,Ia to evaluate damage to the floor
    Pray it is not too bad. See ya

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good luck Jim. Sorry to hear about your T@B, but I'm sure a fix will be figured out soon-- fingers crossed for you!

      Delete
  11. That's wonderful Lynne, Now you really have to get things moved. I wish you the best in full timing.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jo! Yes, so far I've just sold garage stuff and little stuff. It will be quite something to now see big stuff going out the door (hopefully carried away by others and not by me!)

      Delete

Share Your Views!

Lynne's Camera Bag

Best RVing Stuff Under $50

Join Us On Facebook