Moving

 by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

The box that was filled with flyers listing our home as FOR SALE is empty. That doesn't mean we are done with this whole moving process. Not at all.

For instance, as I tidied and prepped, boxed and bagged, I discovered that I had 3 of those old fashioned hair dryers.

You know the ones. The type that comes in a hat-type carrying case, with a long hose leading from the base to the plastic hat, and the lovely plastic hat that one puts on over curlers. Or, in my case, over my plastic bag wrapped deep conditioned hair. It really works.

But 3? Who needs 3 hair dryers of that sort? Last time I checked, I only had (and still have) 1 head.

What can I say? This scenario has been repeated several times with different items as I've cleared out closets, drawers, and cupboards. Hoarder? Yard sale hound? Bargain monster?

I prefer to call myself a collector.

The good news is, we can almost see the light at the end of the tunnel. Piles of this and that for various people have mostly been sent to their new homes. The debris is disappearing a little more every day.

The adventure continues! How to fit everything we need - or think we need - into an RV. It's a never-ending puzzle.

Hair dryer anyone?

He Sold the House While I Was Gone!

Colors from our garden



By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Go on vacation, buy an RV trailer.

Go to see my friends, the hubby sells the house.

What next?

The rest of the story . . .

When we sold our first home, I was at a conference in New Mexico with some wonderful ladies. Kevin repeatedly called me, updating the news and asking questions. Finally, his calls took on a list-like look.

"Honey, I sold the fridge."

"Honey, I sold the boat."

"Honey, I sold the . . ."

In desperation, I turned to my ladies, who were totally tuned in to the situation. "I've got to get home before he sells the kids!"

Many, many years later, the story is similar.

Last week was vacation. We enjoyed a few days with my cousin. We shopped for RVs but didn't find one we could live in for any length of time. We discussed in great detail EVERY single option of selling our home and finally beginning our bucket list plan to build a small home. And I mean EVERY detail.

After returning home, we made an appointment with our realtor to ask questions and prepare to sell. That was Thursday.

The following Monday we met again and listed the house. The signs went up and photos were taken.

Tuesday was the realtor walk through day, so I loaded up the cats and headed to the other Quantrell's for most of the day. Not only did several realtors visit our home, we had a showing with a different realtor. Just as I was putting quiche in the oven, we received a text for another showing. We quickly ate, grabbed the cats, and vacated the premises.

On Wednesday, I headed to visit college friends, leaving Kevin in charge of the home selling adventure. Kevin was texted for yet another showing. This one lasted almost 2 hours.

On Thursday morning, we received an offer! After another already scheduled showing later that day, paperwork was completed, and we accepted the offer for our home.

Guess where I was? Not at home. I was with friends on the other side of the mountains. Texts flew back and forth.

"We got an offer."

"We are meeting to discuss the deal."

"You need to sign these papers."

I really need to not leave my husband at home alone! There's no telling what he is planning on selling next . . .

Providing all goes well with the various sale-of-home proceedings, we will soon be living the RV life.

I guess that means we really are old Nana and Papa grandparents. (And we love it!)

Happy Earth Day!

Blossoms in the spring

By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

Happy Earth Day, Earth!

What a wonderful world we live in - beautiful, fascinating, safe, peaceful, dangerous, harsh, mysterious, vast, surprising, and awe-inspiring.

I'm glad I live here.

In honor of Earth Day, I think it appropriate to give a gift.

So I will do something good for the Earth today. Maybe several somethings.

My gifts shall be:

- picking up any trash I see
- making sure I water only what needs water, not the sidewalk, gutter, or driveway
- turning off electrical devices I am not actually using
- planting something pretty (or tasty)
- giving thanks to God for such an amazing place to live

Tulips opened to catch the sun

Earth Day Haiku

 

Earth home, designed gift

fashioned by God's mighty hand

habitat for us

Fruit trees in bloom

What will your gift be?

How We First Met

The fridge, our friend

 By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell

I remember the day I first saw you. I mean really saw you.

It was on Halloween, October 31, 2009.

That was the day we moved out of the spare bedroom of my in-laws' home and into our own space. Such a beautiful day.

I opened you, ready to put cold items in for storage. Oh, look! They forgot a lovely crystal glass bowl.

So I carefully washed the bowl and put it away.

The next day, you surprised us with a shelf and trays full of water.

THAT was why the bowl was left behind. For the leak. From the ice maker. Which leaked pretty much non-stop.

The picture became even clearer the more we got to know each other. We discovered that you really loved to have a dish towel beneath the bowl, just in case you spilled over the edges. And those spaces under the veggie bins? That was your favorite spot for letting water pool and become a lovely icky tan.

The bowl and dish towel

This went on, the emtpying of the bowl of ice and water, replacing the dish towel, and starting the cycle again and again, for years. Until finally, we couldn't keep up.

So we had to turn off the ice maker. It must have made you sad, but we couldn't keep up with the water.

Ah. Now we wouldn't need the bowl. We could use the entire inside of the fridge for our food.

Not true. From somewhere, deep within your beige walls, you had the capacity and urge to leak. Still. Even without a water connection.

Back went the towel and the bowl. It became a game of sorts. Some days there were no drips at all. We thought we might be able to dispose of both bowl and towel. But others days, a deluge of water filled the bowl and the bottom of the veggie drawers. Even with no water connection.

The end came, at last, when even the second shelf was often filled with standing water. One dish towel became two, then three. It was too much.

Good-bye, my leaky beige-y drippy friend. It has been good. Interesting. Confusing. Frustrating.

But you have been faithful. Our food stayed cold, even frozen.

Thank you for your service. I will always have fond memories of our time together, the good times and the bad.

The new fridge - without bowl and dish towel

Hello, beautiful. I remember the day I first saw you. It was April 15, 2016. Tax day.

Here's to a long, drip-free relationship. Without the bowl and the dish towel.


Thanks for stopping by.
I would love to hear your tales of appliances gone bad.

Home

Home. What a big word.

Home is . . .

where I reside
the body I wear
the spouse I adore
my family of love
the animals I adopt
the nature that surrounds me
the future I hope for
my faith that centers me
friends who nuture me
fellow writers who encourage me
the city of my residence
the state and country of my belonging
the planet I inhabit

Home is a big word.

What does home mean to you?

Mad Monday - aka - Tea with Me

Whoa, baby!

It's been Mad Monday here all day long.

Originally, I was going to spend the day off on a retreat by me-lonesome, taking photos, dabbling with watercolor paints, and chilling. Well. That didn't happen.

Instead:

I had to harvest the garden. Green beans, wax beans, yellow squash, and raspberries were waiting for me.

The gardens had to be soaked. This 100-plus spell is taking it's toll. Raspberry and blueberry leaves are positively baked on top.

Laundry. Oh, boy. For two of us, it is amazing. Loads of laundry and changing of the sheets. Not as important or exciting as the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, but necessary.

Grocery. Shopping. My usual store (first word starts with an F, second word begins with M) is in major remodel mode. Can't find anything and most things are non-existent. Still, I was there early and the crowds were light.

Spreading bark on my triangle kitchen garden was mandatory. The heat has been brutal. Poor plants. The cats loved helping me and the soil should stay moist and weed free(er).

Due to above cats, I had to recover a bird. Dead this time. My first hint was Monet trying to get something beneath the couch. As she walked off, I thought, ok, it's a toy.

Hours later, a I discovered feathers in two spots. Ok. It was not a toy. Up went the couch, and there amidst many kitty toys was a poor dead sparrow. After fighting off Mabel, who loves stealing Monet's prizes, and shooing off Monet, who wanted her birdie back, I was able to capture and dispose of said bird. The good news is that it was dead and therefore easier to catch.

Plenty of green beans filled my basket, so a second batch of spicy garlic green beans made their way through the pickling process.

Muesli was on the list of to-do's, but guess who forgot oatmeal? Kind of an important ingredient in oatmeal muesli.

So far, laundry remains on the list. As do tacos for dinner, numerous paperwork tasks, packing for a writer's conference, piling craft supplies for a rubber stamp fest,
and writing tasks.

I could sure use a tea break. How about it? See you in five. And then we can chat about your weekend.

Like Mabel, I'm exhausted. However, I will not recline on the table like a naughty kitty.

I suppose it will be Mad Monday until tomorrow, when it is Tuesday.

A Month of Thanks - November 8 - A Home

I am thankful to have a home.

Notice that I added a photo with snow. I adore snow. On my home.

I am blessed. I could be like the homeless I see walking around town. Homeless. Or I could be living in a country that uses dung as a major ingredient for home building. Or I could live inside a portable tent. Or I could have to live in a hotel (which is fun on vacation, but permanently?). I could be a refugee in a camp, with thousands of others in the same situation. I could be from a war-torn country and have no home at all except a pile of rubble. I could be remembering my home that was destroyed by natural disasters.

The Lord has blessed me. We have a warm, comfortable, safe home that includes running water, toilets, and electricity. And I have a home with people. People are what make a home, well, home.

I am thankful.

"Home is the nicest word there is."
- Laura Ingalls Wilder

Too Anxious to Paint

My husband may soon ban my trips to the home improvement store. He may also write some strong suggestive messages to those companies that now sell sample sized paint containers - all mixed in the numerous colors his wife has chosen to consider.

Really, it's his fault. He gave me a gift card to Lowe's. What else does he expect? I only went in for the brilliant blue I want to use to paint the backs of the kitchen shelves. I ended up with two more color samples and several color cards of almost for sure color swatches for the rest of the house. Hmmm. I cannot wait to paint!

When I was thinking about what I wanted to commit to for 2012, I told myself, I want to paint more. Now, in my head I was thinking of watercolor painting, which I adore. As I gaze at the several random paint samples displayed on walls throughout the house (in actual paint, non-removable paint), I realized that I may also mean painting on my walls...

It is only December 31. The earliest I can conceivably paint is spring break. That's in April. I think we will have to continue to gaze upon my color swatches for quite a while. We can't even pass it off as artistic. I've chosen to paint the same colors in different locations to see how the light hits it at throughout the day.

Cela vie! These new colors will make my home a rainbow of hues until painting day arrives. Maybe no one will notice?

Until then, I think I need a sample for the ceiling color, a non-traditional (for me) creamy off-white. While I'm there, I need to check on colors for the family room...Just don't tell anyone where I've gone.

The Home with a View

Special bennie's of our new La Maison du Lavande (ok, just trying out some names) aka Lavender Holme...We prayed for a place to call our own. We weren't too specific, but wanted (Kevin) a garage, (me) 3 bedrooms and 2 baths (hey, for what we pay for a home, you need AT LEAST that!), nice neighborhood, and not any further (it does add 10ish minutes to my commute) from school in the lower valley. We really didn't wish for much more, unless it was lots of property, which places us too far away from too many things, and a manageable monthly payment. What we've (esp. Angie) have always loved in homes are - old ones, bricks, wood floors, a fireplace flat on the floor with a mantel, built in storage, old outbuildings, short counters...Some concerns along the way were how much new appliances would cost when we needed to purchase them (we sold our old ones with the last house), close proximity to the parent's, and plenty of parking.

What God found for us - and it was not even on our list - Sold by owner (no realtor fees), owner paid most of the closing costs, appraised significantly more than we paid, owner dropped the selling price, very nice and old neighborhood, easy access to main street, 10 minutes from in-laws, BIG garage, an old outbuilding which will eventually be a pottery studio (por moi), hardwood floors in 2 bedrooms and supposedly under the living room carpet, a lovely fireplace (floor level) with a mantel, 3 bed/2 bath, master suite (converted garage), ANTIQUE very cool headboard and dresser (free from owner), a TRUCK (for Kevin, because we need yet another truck, but he swears this is his dream 4x4 Chevy S-10, and it's even gray like he wanted, canopy included - free from owner), one counter in the kitchen is exactly my height for working, mostly new paint inside, one bathroom is redone, lots of parking, AND appliances included!

Seriously, we saw the ad for an open house one Sunday afternoon, drove by, backed up, went in, saw it once, went back the same day and saw it again, made an offer 2 days later, moved in just about 5 weeks after our offer...Awesome.

Now we have a home with a view. Not necessarily a great view of anything but the homes of neighbors, but a home with a great view of God's heart. He has blessed us with things we didn't even consider (like Tieton irrigation water, instead of city water for outdoor use - $$$$), hardwood floors (which we liked, but hadn't planned to find), an older home (1953), excellent neighborhood, slightly larger than 2 car garage, built in shelves and storage all over, antiques (I have been looking casually for years for something like this headboard). It's overwhelming, to think what God put into this house deal, all in regards to blessing us. Taking care of us. Reminding us of His care. Even down to the appliances and a truck for Kevin.

Drop by sometime and see the great view. It's worth the trust.