Moving From The Hobbit House

So moving day has come.

Spent most of yesterday afternoon trying to figure out how to get everything to fit in the tiny Uhaul trailer. Pop and Sis were there to help with the jigsaw puzzle. We got most of the trailer packed and then decided to call it a night. Headed to a favorite pub for some beer and pizza and to celebrate the Pop's birthday belatedly. Afterwards, I headed back to the Hobbit House to work on cleaning.

Didn't sleep well, since it was on the straight floor and there was tons of crap on my mind, but I did manage to squeak in a few hours.

Sis and Pop showed up at 7:30am with breakfast and coffee and we started back at it. Had to get the fridge emptied out and everything moved out of the house and to the curb so we could apply the jigsaw puzzle to the back of the truck. Amazingly, we were able to get everything to fit...we were all surprised by this, and the check out with the landlord went well.

I left the area to begin my drive to the Bamboo Lagoon around 10:30am. Trailer worked fine and I made the trip in 5 hours, which is much better than expected. Turned the trailer in after a quick unload at the other end.

This is the last post for this blog, as a new adventure has started at The Bamboo Lagoon, and you are more than welcome to catch up with me there.

Making Use Of Time At The Hobbit House

Trying to knock out some of the bigger tasks so the day of the move is just that, a move and not a cleaning expedition. As I mentioned before, I cleaned up the dining room so I could use it as a staging area for packing. I started on the bigger items last night...sprayed down the pans and racks in the tub from the oven and then did the inside of the oven and below the burners. It needed to sit overnight so this morning I had to make a trip to my local Starbucks to get some breakfast and coffee.

Today, I have to finish up the oven, and then get the refridgerator done (since I plan to use the tub for parts of it) before I can start cleaning the bathroom. I have two rooms (the mudroom, and the bedroom) that aren't being used anymore so I can get in there, dust and vacuum and call those good.

I have some running around I need to do as well. Have to make a trip to one of my favorite stores that I won't have access to for a few months (we are getting one there in the fall), and need to get a dolly for moving all this stuff. Need to get my change of address turned into the PO for the forwarding of my mail.

In the midst of this, I started a new blog for the adventures at the Bamboo Lagoon (the new house) and I have updated both my great great grandma's blog as well as my own blog (both of which have been weighing on my mind). Lastly, I have been applying for work, which was a huge step for me emotionally...and I am glad to be making headway on it even if I haven't found anything yet.

The Cleaning Has Begun

We are about two weeks out from the move, so today I decided to tackle some of the bigger cleaning stuff that doesn't need to be done again before leaving so that I am not overwhelmed with stuff when moving day is upon me. If you have read any of my first posts to this blog, you will know that this place wasn't even close to a standard of cleaniness when I moved it but I refuse to leave it a mess when I leave so the cleaning has begun.

I pulled out the refrigerator and the microwave stand and cleaned behind them and on all the sides I wouldn't be able to get to once they were put back in. I vacuumed all the baseboards and walls and ceilings in the dining room part of the kitchen and all the windows and blinds. I mopped the floor behind the refridgerator and microwave stand before moving them back into position. I removed all items from the front of my refridgerator so I can take them with me.

Obviously in a house that was built almost 100 years ago, I am not going to get anything completely spotless and I am sure that any work I put into it will not only be lost on the landlord (as he is an elderly man from Poland that probably is just glad that the house still stands), or any future tenants, but I will do my best to leave it as clean as I can get it with a reasonable amount of effort.

African Violet Bloom

I guess all my hard work has paid off...my african violet is finally starting to get flowers again. I am so excited! I have never had one bloom after being purchased. They have always lived and gotten new leaves, but never have been happy enough to bloom. Yeah!!!

Happy Plants

So when I bought most of the plants I have inside the Hobbit House over a year ago, several of them needed to be replanted. I even bought the soil and the pots to put them in....and then I never got around to doing it. Recently, I decided it was time to finally do it and have some happy plants around here. I also wanted to get the pots and the dirt off my porch.

This is the same day that I worked on the herbs too so I was kind of in a "plant" mood. What really put me over the edge was that my african violet was starting to get root-bound and had not bloomed in forever. So I dragged them all out the back porch, figured out who was going where, and go to work. After everyone had a new home and I was out of dirt, I moved them all to the shower for a good soaking.

Everyone seems very happy now to have some breathing room in their pots.

Happy Herbs

Amazingly enough, all my herbs from last year are coming back with the exception of the basil. They were looking a little haggard though from the winter and due to the fact that I neglected to cut them back in the fall. I was taking on a "plant" project for the day and the herbs were on the list. I had already purchased the replacement basils.

Easy enough, I just trimmed everything back...tried to get some of the legginess out of the sage and rosemary, pulled out the old basil ball and roots, and then planted the new stuff. Watered things up a bit and tada!!