Two cats, some soup and a dog

Tippy

Howie

Vegetable beef soup and cornbread

My very first toy... a dog

 On November 8th I decided to do surgery on the little dog that came home from the hospital with me in 1964. He now sits up on his own again. My stitches joined those of my Grandma where she had taken the stuffing out to wash him many times... to save his barker... yes he used to bark but not anymore

The Catio and the truck

The three cottage kitties had a rough 2 hour drive from Greenville and a scary night out on the porch/Catio. But have settled into a new routine and are starting to get along with Greg's kitties; which I am thrilled about. Of course Piper the Princess still grumbles about them being here and Coal and Tippy are always hissing at each other and trying to start fights... but even that is becoming less.Sally and Callie just try to avoid them all and spend a lot of time looking for places to hide. 

October 22, 2020 - We rented a 26 foot U-haul

Loading the U-haul together was quite the job for two middle aged persons but we got it loaded... I'm still not sure how we did it. Thankfully Greg was able to help us some with the unloading.  But still we were so exhausted by the time we turned the truck in  the next day. 

A lot has happened since the pictures below and I have an area mostly set up but there are still boxes to go through and probably more things will go to Goodwill before it's over with but I have no sense of urgency anymore and am taking each day and working a little at a time and trying not to overwhelm myself again. Life has taken on a much different role for me now. I want to take each day, appreciate it and create beautiful things for myself and others. I want to have time out in Nature everyday as it rejuvenates my Spirit and brings me joy. It really is the little things in life that makes it beautiful.

 

Back in Cayce

 It has been several weeks now and we are slowly getting resettled into our home. I have been so involved in going through things and purging so much STUFF. It's really ridiculous the amount of things we have burdened our lives with... it happens so easily. I am glad we had this move to and fro as it has really opened my eyes to how much we hold onto for no real reason.  Things aren't the memories they are just things that weigh us down.  

October 12th, 2020

We moved so many things to storage in Greenville... then brought them back and sorted more out to go to Goodwill. It really was ridiculous... but alas I fear it was the way it HAD to be for me to let go. Let go of the STUFF... it's only holding you back. 

October 18th - Setting up my new creative space

Because our bedroom is still not complete and we are sleeping in the middle bedroom at the moment; the room that was my hobby space I am having to locate in the front living room area for now. I NEED a space to be creative to help me cope with life... especially now in these uncertain times. So once we got all our stuff back down here I began organizing and sorting and have been working toward getting an area that I can let my creativity out.

October 21, 2020 we said a final farewell to the little cottage. We had a love nearly 5 years there and we learned a lot about what we can and can't live with and without. We are thankful to Adele, Scott's sister for allowing us to stay there. Now we will wait and see what  the future holds for us. 

Packing Continues

 I am packing up my supplies (Art )but am keeping my sewing stuff handy until the very last minute as next week I am planning to do some sewing before we wrap things up up here in Greenville. It has been so lovely living near the mountains and I am so hoping we can retire back close to some mountains but only time will tell. For now we will return to our house in Cayce and complete the work that needs doing on it while Scott looks for another job. 

We made a little headway on the Catio last weekend and will go down and finish that up on the 17th-18th before we start moving things back. It will give our cats a safe place to settle in while we are unpacking and re-setting up a household there that works for us. It all feels so strange to be honest. TIME... that's what it will take to re-adjust. 

Sunday Morning

 Good Morning! I've been up since about 5:30 AM thanks to Tippy cat wanting breakfast and then wanted out... and Howie wanted in and then back out... Ahhh cat herding! When we get down to the house these 3 will have to get used to being indoor cats and lucky to have the porch (Catio) set up for them to go out on it. I am so hoping they settle into their new lives easily but I am sure they will not be happy for awhile. Poor kitties , but it is for their safety and to keep us from paying the fines from the city. 

I was lucky to find Marta live doing a free class this morning from Ireland. I just love her Art!.  Her process is so interesting and enjoyable to watch.  It is so lovely to find someone live  first thing in the day.

It is much later in the morning... now it is 10:30... been awake for 5 hours. Scott is still snoozing away!  At least one of us is getting some sleep. I guess I should get some other things going for the day. Take care and perhaps I will get more sleep tonight or perhaps a nap later today.

Just Three More Weeks

 

 I am busy decluttering and packing things in boxes to go back to Cayce. I have donated SO much as I want this to be a fresh start for us. I want life to be easier with fewer "things" to burden our creative spaces. I figure if I do my stuff now I can help Scott with the garage and the bonus room. If we do a lot of this purging and organizing now when we retire and relocate for our retirement we will be ready! We really do not want to stay in South Carolina in our retirement... but then we have learned that we have NO CLUE what the future will hold and we need to embrace where we are right now. SO.... we will return to Cayce and see what Scott is able to find as far as employment.

We will be able to get control of morning glories and wisteria. As well as rediscovering what is growing and blooming there now. This lovely Portulaca was growing where my vegetable garden used to be. It was a lovely surprise. I will NOT be putting the vegetable garden back in place. My plan is to focus on all the flower beds and getting grass to grow where the garden used to be. I may grow vegetables IN the flower beds around the house. Doing that will improve the health of the flowering bushes as well as some fresh vegetables for our table. 

We are going to turn the above porch area into a catio where the cats can go for a bit of fresh air without being loose in the neighborhood since the City has really gotten strict about loose animals. We will work on that project the next trip down to the house. Until next time... be safe!

The Storage Unit

 This past week I made 2 trips to our house with loads of stuff out of the storage unit. I am trying to get it emptied before the 18th as I will have to pay for another month if I don't get it cleared out. I have a full week of appointments ahead so I am not sure I will meet my goal but I am going to try. I have been purging a lot of stuff out of the storage unit  so there will not be nearly as much to move back down to the house. I will most likely purge something I will look for later but I want to lighten our STUFF. 

Trying to save as much money as I can. Cutting bills we don't NEED; all those things that are little extras like Netflix. I will keep the Internet as it is my Socialisation and I consider that a NEED ; especially now with social distancing due to Covid19. I am not big at being out in Society anyway but feel I would get really depressed without the contacts I have made through the Internet. I love the Arts Community on You Tube and am getting back into sewing and have begun watching and subscribing to a lot of sewing channels. 

It's going to be weird living back down in Cayce but we will adjust and who knows where we will end up. I've decided to just focus on one day at a time and not worry about the future. Just focus on the joy and happiness in each day= no stress. Stress and worry will drive you mad... at least that's what I believe.

Scott is talking about doing something completely different for the next 6 years; til he can retire. He may teach electronics; be a handyman; do wood work, etc... I want to remain a homemaker if we can make it without me working outside the home. We will see... I do make a little money doing You Tube videos but it is nowhere near a living wage. I need to do a LOT more work at home to make that successful... you know WORK. LOL 

First I have to get us settled back in down there and then we will see. We will be just fine until March as Scott's severance pkg lasts until then.  

HERE'S TO AN INTERESTING FUTURE!

And Another Bump in our life's road....

 About a week and a half ago Scott was told he was being laid off and his job has been eliminated. SO here we go again. We are moving back down to Cayce into our house that we've been steadily working on in the hopes of having it ready to sell so we could move forward up here but we have been given a step back. It will be good to be near Scott's Mom again and of course Greg is happy we are moving back down to the house.

Our biggest dilemma? Cats... we love them all but it is going to be a FULL house with 6 cats. I am trying to come up with a way to let the cats outside some without them leaving our yard and becoming a nuisance to our neighbors. I've been researching "Catios".... patios for the cats. I'm not sure Scott is onboard with that idea. I just worry about them getting caught by animal control and put down and or us being charged heavy fines for loose animals. UGH! But seriously we can't leave these 3 behind... we love them so much... 

Callie And Tippy

 Howie

And then there are Greg's 3 kitties that are already living in the house.. And he loves them all dearly too... what are we to do? 

Piper

Coal

And then there is Sally... I can not seem to locate a photo of her.... Finally found one on Greg's FB Page...  

Sally

Stay IN - COVID-19

We are currently in a "STAY IN" order for COVID-19 to try to get it under control. I wish more people took it seriously but unfortunately it will probably take them getting ill OR them loosing a loved one to the virus around here. It is NOT the flu... it is so much worse. Anything that can land you on a ventilator is some serious stuff. So PLEASE STAY IN FOR YOURSELF AS WELL AS THOSE AROUND YOU.

Scott is still having to go in to work as he is deemed "essential" and I am staying home here at the cottage and only venture out on Tuesday's for groceries and sometimes a stop at the Post Office. A co-worker of Scott's made us each a mask to wear out in public and I am going to make us a couple more. And we also keep space between us and others even when they won't respect the distance themselves. I will turn and go down and around aisles to avoid people.  We have gotten take out only 2 or 3 times and are planning to limit that to just once a month if at all for the rest of April and May. I want to support our local restaurants but I also don't want to become ill.

I've been making LOTS of Art and working in the yard a bit here at the cottage to keep myself busy. OH and cooking... cooking a LOT.  It is Easter morning and I have bread pudding in the oven for breakfast. Scott is still snoozing away in bed. I hope everyone has a safe and lovely Easter no matter your Religious beliefs.
TAKE CARE EVERYONE!!!

Feb 2020 - in less than an hour

It is currently 11:10 PM January 31rst... can you believe a month is GONE already? WOW! I have been a horrible Blogger once again and we have fallen off the Vegan Wagon. I can do it... Scott seems to need the "meat".  Perhaps I just need to do more research on how to get alternative proteins. If anyone has any recommendation on a book or website with GREAT info on getting all the right Nutrients from a Vegan diet; please let me know in the comments below.

2020 is HERE!

Today is January 4th, 2020... CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I remember my 16 year old self standing in the barn on the farm thinking ... wow I will be OLD in the year 2000... woo hoo a whopping 36! I never thought I would live to 2020 at that time. Not sure why but I thought my life would be so short. I am so thankful I found Scott and had Greg; they have filled my life with so many happy memories. May 2020 be filled with many more special moments.

We worked on the house over the Christmas Holiday and I will be painting in my old hobby room the next time we are down there. I have primed everything and even got  the ceiling painted so next I will paint the trim, inside of the closet and the walls. Scott will work on replacing the two windows while I paint. We are hoping to have it completed so we can move our bedroom furniture into that room so we can get started on the Master bedroom next. We also need to sand and paint  the closet and room doors in a nice crisp white. Just doing that makes the rooms look fresh and bright as well as larger. All the little things ad up and we are hoping will give us a better chance at getting top dollar when we sell.

Scott has some repairs to make in the sheet rock in the Master bedroom before I can start painting in there. Baby steps but we are planning to list the place in May. I have a list of tasks to complete by then and we are slowly getting things checked off that list.

While Scott starts  the sheetrock repair work in the Master bedroom later this month and in February I want to clean the yard up really well and mulch all the flower beds. There are still a couple raised beds in the backyard that need to be taken out and the dirt spread about and grass planted. We also want to dismantle the original shed we built and Scott wants to save some of the lumber to reuse for shelves up here in the garage at the cottage. If only we could find more hours in the days we are there. 

Next time we are down I will put the To-Do list here on this blog so you all can see how we progress. I may have to start going down more when areas are available to paint. I can't next week as I have a Doctors appointment - just routine check-up to check  that I am keeping my A1C down. And the dreaded PAP smear... UGH! 

We also have to be courteous to Greg and be as quiet as possible in the mornings as he works so late and is sleeping in the mornings. We are on a similar schedule so we know how hard it is to get good sleep and Greg works to  the wee hours of the morning and then doesn't get to sleep until 5 AM or after. Anyone that thinks a person can come straight home from work and fall straight to sleep is fooling themselves. There is winding down time, fur babies that need love and attention, a bath or shower, prep for the next day. Well you get the idea. 

I need to get better about taking photographs again. My camera has been giving me fits even after the trip in for repairs and I am not willing to spend anymore money on it. I have another really nice camera... just need to learn how to use it. 

Until next time... have a wonderful weekend.