Random 5 for December 13 – Crazy, houses, virus, friends, snow

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This is the new house! Most of the living area including the main bedroom is on the first floor.

An apology – We’re packing to move so I’m distracted and stressed out. My posts may be erratic (that’s erratic not erotic!) and somewhat singular in topic (except for stupid people who are everywhere). Just putting it out there.

Settlement – It’s this week. I’ve moved a lot in my life, buying and selling homes along the way and it doesn’t get easier as you get older. There are a lot of small moving parts to manage but it’s the big numbers on the checks passing back and forth that ignite the squirrel inside me. I triple check everything and then make the beloved husband check it to be sure I didn’t miss something. Next move is in a pine box.

It’s a pandemic out there – Our governor instituted more restrictions, shutting down gyms, restaurants (inside dining), theatres and other recreational activities. Despite the fact that we were in this stage in March through May, people are going bonkers. My sympathies are with small business owners. They worked hard to develop a business and now they are powerless. Our numbers are up so even if the restrictions weren’t in place, many people, at least the smart ones, would be staying home to be safe. We try to help by getting take-out but we’re only two people so we can’t save the world.

It creeps closer – A good friend is in quarantine as she came in close contact with someone who tested positive. Wishing her the best. It used to be that many people didn’t know anyone who had it but that is changing fast.

A snowstorm? – Our first real snow storm is predicted for Wednesday. It’s been a very mild fall. We had a dusting last week and that’s it. I wonder if the fact that it’s so early (for us) is a bad omen. It always snows/rains on moving day.

So how was your week?

 

100 thoughts on “Random 5 for December 13 – Crazy, houses, virus, friends, snow”

  3. Oh my gosh, the Stupid people thing. It has now become a category in my life, too. No, not the pine box! Who will make me smile every week?! The “it creeps closer” struck a nerve. Same here. Warm hugs to you and yours, Kate.💕

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  4. Well thank goodness all the moving is just making up boxes and loading them for now, so you don’t have to deal with the snow and can stay put. The predictions for your state that I’ve heard from the weatherman on my AM news station range from 12-18 inches in parts … he works for Accuweather and lives in your state. We had one inch of snow and a dab of freezing rain in it today- ugh. I’m not going anywhere in it, but we had 13 vehicle crashes and two semis go off the road. I’m glad to hunker down inside tonight.

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  5. Wow, that is a mansion! I am sending you warm weather vibes from Southern California for your move. I wouldn’t mind a little snow myself but that’s because I don’t have to deal with it. But a little rain would be welcome. So far I am very lucky not to be touched by the virus other than limited outings. Most of my friends are retired or able to work from home. Nobody I know has been ill. Knock on wood everything remains the same… and improves with the new year! Best wishes to you!

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  6. Your new home is lovely, Kate. I will be happy for you when the packing is over, and you’re moved in and hopefully very comfortable and happy. We in California have a lot of restrictions right now, too, and not everyone is cooperative. We’ve known a few people who have been ill, but fortunately all have come through okay. But even my doctor informed me that his own uncle had passed from Covid, so we just continue to cooperate with the restrictions. I am probably more fatigued from doing less, so I am impressed that you’re able to take on this move during this time. You’re a trooper!

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    • Actually it’s been a stressful time. We had some health issues and we’ve both had anxiety. Mentally we know it’s the right thing to do but emotionally we will miss our home, the pond and the neighborhood. We are hoping to come out at a better place but that remains to be seen. We are positive though as the house is beautiful and doesn’t require a lot of work.

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  7. Your new house is very pretty. Very smart to get most of the living area on the first floor. The year that my foot was out of commission I found out what it’s like when you have all your stuff upstairs and you can’t get up there LOL. My good wishes on your move. Since I wrote to you earlier today about my mom’s community there’s been two more deaths so it’s up to eight. I’m glad she’s in her own house, But it’s just horrifying for the other people.

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    • In our area the assisted living places have been hit hard, mostly the apartment dwellers who eat in common areas. So many deaths. About 10 years ago I fractured my kneecap. I was in an immobilizer and couldn’t do steps. I had to go up and down on my butt. I decided at that point that we had to get one floor living. It took so long because most ranch houses in our area were built in the 1950s and have really outdated floor plans — large living rooms with small family rooms and tiny kitchens. This one works.

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  8. That house is a lovely! (Not stucco! Wise. And windows for sunny lounging and Cat TV…also wise for cats and humans.) One floor living with access to garage works well – we had a similar floor plan to your new house last time – and I watched my aging parents gingerly go down the stairs from the upstairs guest room…made a memo about what floor plan was necessary as we aged.
    Your bills should be a lot lower with this one?
    Maybe get some crime tape to “seal the cat area” while movers there….just a precaution. Learned from a neighbor around the corner who thought the bunny was secure and everyone understood but someone peeked and bunny took off. Luckily it wandered into our yard and Olde Tiger took it under his paw…they were asleep together in the backporch green house. I put up signs ASAP and within minutes a grateful dad showed up…they were moving out of state, he was making his final drive looking around and kids, of course were hysterical. Good news for all…my daughter wanted that bunny, but it already had a family. (YEA)
    Positive thoughts for you med. appointment – those are so hard to secure appointments right now.
    Like you, we take what measures we need to take care of ourselves. Sigh. Even eating out on a patio would be such a luxury.
    Pack some “time for relaxing” in one of those moving boxes and put a “unpack this one first” label on it!
    Onward. Jingle with style

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    • I got home insurance today and that was quite a bit lower. Taxes are halved so it’s looking like it will be cheaper. No stucco. That’s touchy in our area. Sometimes it’s great (next door has it for 15 years now no problem) and sometimes not (two other neighbors had to do massive repairs after just a few years.) Cats sigh. Can’t decide if I want to keep them in a room at the new house when they load here or leave them here until they unload and leave from the new house. They do not try to sneak out but it will be chaos. Door will be closed with signs. I don’t have old parents so we weren’t too concerned about upstairs bedrooms but a fully one floor ranch would have been nice. Those we saw were pretty small. Cats wouldn’t approve. Packing some margaritas for the fridge at the new house. Never know when the desire to sing and dance comes on! Maybe my boom box and Jimmy Buffet too.

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  10. My friends, a married coupe, both got covid the week of Thanksgiving. They work from home and only go out to shop with a mask. So personally, I see no way to stop it from happening. The sick and vulnerable should stay home. Businesses should open. BTW, my friends are both recovered already. It was like any other cold or flu. In fact, the wife of that couple said it was easier than the flu. Her husband had it a little worse, but he is better now. I’m more worried about my mom, who uses oxygen daily. Hopefully, she’ll be soon to get the vaccine.

    I don’t envy your move. It’s tiring and stressful. Good luck, and I hope all goes smoothly. Hope the snow doesn’t get bad and stays mild for you.

    P.S. Thanks for the erratic/erotic chuckle. 😆

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    • Your friends were lucky. This summer a co-worker’s husband (age 51) died from it. Then it was followed by 2 other deaths. A friend’s son (around 30) had it for 3 weeks. Nope, it wasn’t like any other flu for them. Different people, even young people, react differently. Some get the sniffles and some die. I do what I can do to protect myself. If it doesn’t work so be it but at least I know I did all I could. Fingers crossed for your mom. I don’t envy my move either but that too must be done. I will miss my old home with the pond but I won’t miss the upkeep.

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      • I’m sorry about your coworker’s husband and the others. I thought I wasn’t going to make it from a flu I caught when I first moved back home, and I’m in my 50s. The kind I was diagnosed with in 2015 was very serious. It’s not good when the doctor winces at your diagnosis. Like you said, all we can do is take precautions and hope for the best. I wonder if my friends were able to get through the virus okay because they’ve been taking certain supplements before (and during) to help prevent it. I recommend their regiment; zinc sulfate, Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Quercitin with Bromelin and NOW Air Defense. I’ve been taking it all on their suggestion for some time now.

        It’ll be nice when you’re all settled in your new place.

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  11. Your new home is beautiful! I know what you mean about the small businesses – we try to do what we can, but it’s limited. We are also in lockdown, and people all around us having to be in quarantine for close contact, or actually sick.

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  13. The new place looks lovely! It really does help to write about things. And you relate how many feel but aren’t able to express it as well as you do.
    As for the comment that you are only “two people” to help. Make that two people X many many many others ….. helping in some way or other. We will get through it.

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  15. Your new home looks nice! I hope to never move again, too. But I bet in later years, I will have to. I hope not. I hope the Sassies will like it. Once they rub their scent around, spread a little fur here and there, it will all be good. Best of luck on moving day! Wish I were there to enjoy all the boxes!!

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    • That was the requirement. I’ve seen too many people including my own mother struggle when stairs became an issue. The only thing on the second floor which isn’t a full second floor, is that 2 guest bedrooms and a bath. I’ll only go up to clean it once every blue moon! 🙂

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  17. That’s a beautiful house. My house is the opposite of yours. My guestrooms, family room and a bathroom are downstairs. Everything else is on the second floor. The house is on a little hill, so you enter from the upper road directly to the second floor. I used to use one of the guest rooms as an office. Now I stay upstairs most of the time.

    Best of luck on the move and on the weather that day.

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  19. Your new house looks great! I’m really looking forward to seeing what you do with it (I get all of the pleasure with none of the work!). I was surprised to see that it is two stories but then read that most of the living space was downstairs. I’ll be very curious to see how often you go upstairs on a day-to-day basis.

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    • The second floor has 2 guest bedrooms and a bath. Unless I put my sewing up there I doubt I’ll go up much at all. The basement is a walk out with large sliding glass doors so it’s more likely that we’ll set up a nice reading/TV are by the doors. It’s already all finished so there is not much work to do. Technically I don’t have to leave the first floor at all except maybe to find the cats! 😉

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  22. When are you planning the actual move? I admit I’m secretly envious of your move … yeah, weird I know. I’ve moved so rarely and I tend to think of it as an exciting chapter ahead. I know it’s a TON of work, but … I’m sure you will have many stories to tell for a long time 🙂

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    • End of January is a target although a lot depends. If our house sells fast (please, please) we may have a “get out by” date. It’s an adventure but I’ve done it enough to know that most times what you have doesn’t fit or work so you end up buying more stuff than you expected.

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  25. We are truly working hard at trying to save the restaurants close to us. We did a lot of take-out during packing, moving, and unpacking and dang, we liked it. We are still ordering out way too much and we aren’t exactly making healthy choices! Sending good thoughts for your closing and hope there are no glitches.

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  26. Good luck with the move! I dread our next move, as we still have stuff a child or two left behind when they moved out. They don’t want to deal with it and don’t want Us to get rid of it either. I hope all goes smoothly for you and your love the new place! We are in the middle of our 5th snowstorm (more or less), but we’ve had some record highs up in the 50sand 60s between storms, which is a little weird. I hope moving day dodges your snows!

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    • We’ll see about the weather. Way too unpredictable. We got an estimate from the mover and I told him there would be a major snowstorm on whatever day is picked. We are unloading some things on the kids but they took their own possessions many years ago.

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        • We did a huge give away (well over 1K) books about 5 years ago. Most of what we do is digital now. Even cookbooks, I’ve only kept my very basic favs. Books both take a lot of room and they can get musty or moldy if it’s too damp.

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          • You are way ahead of me. I have thousands of books, a portion of which are reference books that I still use. Most of them are non-fiction. I really hate digital books, as my eyes go wonky pretty quickly and it’s harder to find what I’m looking for when i go back to review certain items. I do lots of margin-notes and just have not enjoyed the electronic books. I find them harder to loan to my friends. Good for you for fighting the downsizing fight and winning!

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  28. Moving in the winter can be the pitts! I moved from Syracuse NY to Berkeley once in January and it was not amusing. Snowed the day the packers came, etc. I hope your move goes as easily as possible. Don’t forgot to secure the kitties on both ends to prevent escapes because of stress.

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    • I’ve moved in the winter around Christmas twice before. One time it snowed and we had to clear off 4″ before they could load. Twice in the rain, also not fun. Cats will be secured in a closed room on both ends with a sign that says “do not enter — Cats”. We moved here in May and that was the best time to move! I’ve done 3 interstate moves but none were cross country. All were just hours apart. That would be tough. One of Dan’s friends moved cross country with 2 cats. The movers took everything but they drove with the cats PA to CA. That would make me nuts.

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  29. That house is so attractive, Kate . . . and it’ll be great to have a downstairs master. You just need to take it a box at a time for a few more weeks. Then? A huge EXHALE!

    Best of luck with the transition. Hope the cats like their new digs. I bet they will.

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    • It’s looks bigger than it is. It is the end unit of a row of 4 townhouses. Upstairs there are 2 bedrooms and a bath. Everything else is on the main level. Compared to our house now it is smaller and yes the yard is significantly smaller. We downsized in space, work and taxes.

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  31. The house looks wonderful! Good luck with the move. Our numbers have risen too, but we’re doing the same as always…….. masks and social distancing. I swear in some instances we’re going backwards as people refuse to follow suit.

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  32. My week was boring compared to yours. My last move was 15 years ago which means I was 15 years younger. Younger is good. 🙂 Our numbers are off the charts in comparison to spring and summer so we’re in almost total stay at home mode. Snow is coming on Wednesday here too. Hope you get things done in non-snow weather. Take care.

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    • We were having 600 new cases a day in the summer. We are bouncing around 12K a day with a lot of deaths. Yikes! Younger is better for a move. I always move in either snow or rain but the move won’t be until the end of January at the earliest. Fortunately we have settlement before the storm comes through.

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      • We made a move in the Midwest on Christmas Eve 1983. I remember it well – 24 degrees below zero, my daughter had the chicken pox, and we ended up throwing out real tree out the door because the movers had picked up our tools by mistake. It sure wasn’t funny at the time, but it makes me laugh to think we survived it.

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  33. I don’t envy you packing during the holidays. Our restaurants have been shut since the beginning of November and theatres since March. A couple of women I used to work with ended up in hospital with breathing difficulties but luckily both recovered. We have started a vaccination programme here so I am hoping my husband will be offered it soon as he is over 80.

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    • Even though we are in the older at-risk group, I don’t expect to be able to get the vaccine until spring because of availability. I’m glad to see it though. It may bring the end but it won’t be overnight.

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