Nearly done!

Wow!!! There's a powerful story in yesterday's comments about cleaning out a house in ONE day. We've been at it for 8 years! But only sporadically, of course. 

I can't stress enough that you need to start looking around now. I don't care if you acquire new stuff but think about what you no longer need and get rid of that. Saying I don't care and will let my kids worry about it is irresponsible. Why should your kids deal with your mess? If you think it's too overwhelming, how will they feel? How do you think I feel right now -- I'm that kid. There are three of us, and NONE of us are jumping up and down and shouting - Oh look what our parents left us! 

It's exhausting mentally and physically, and I'm not even talking about sentimental -- I'm so over being sentimental about anything. I've taken a few pictures and enjoyed the memories these things bring, but I'm moving along. 

And it's easy to say, oh, pull up a dumpster and just dump it all. Yep -- easy to say --- but realistically? Even if you don't look at anything -- the physicality of that task is enormous! Nothing is packed, papers are loose - it's a horrendous job. So PLEASE do not saddle your children with it. Be a responsible adult and get rid of stuff you no longer need. 

I honestly think Mom is starting to realize that—at least after my little conversation with her the other day. She asked when I was coming back and if I could help her start getting rid of things in the apartment. GASP!!!!! I should come back next week before she changes her mind! That is monumental, and she admitted that she bought too much scrapbooking stuff. 

Our family has a thing for paper -- we are paper hoarders! 

I had a Zoom class in the morning that I was going to change, but I forgot about it, so I got a bit of a late start after the Zoom. Some furniture had to be removed, and I had arranged for some cousins to make that happen. I was apprehensive about moving one piece down a book-lined hallway, but it JUST FIT. I mean, we had NO ROOM for fingers. Thankfully, I didn't worry bout it, but the thoughts were in my mind.  

The rest of the day was spent sorting through the last of the boxes in the last bedroom. I can officially say that I've gone through the parts of the house that I want to, and I'm done—more than done! OK, there is one more spot that I'd like to spend a bit of time browsing: the book room in the basement. 

My Mom was and still is a big crocheter, and why make one when you can make hundreds!!!

We found boxes of crafts stuff—stuff to make crafts and then finished or half-finished crafts. Those were sorted, and I rescued some things I'll donate tomorrow. The rest of the stuff stays behind. I would have gotten great satisfaction to put in the burn pit, but I won't go there. It remains in the house. 

Could we have emptied this house in one day? I don't think so, but it would have been a lot easier to start with one room and go through it, pitch, and purge than to keep going back and relooking. Anyway, I'm done! Well, almost. I have to return today. Why? 

I didn't take a picture, but maybe I did years ago. There was a decent-sized closet in one of the bedrooms, and it was crammed with afghans and cushions that my Mom crocheted. In the past years, I had removed all the afghans, and they were donated or given to family and friends. But have you ever been to a thrift shop? Every time I visit, there are three or four crocheted afghans! 

I had dealt with some of the cushions, but there were still lots. So, I filled the nooks and crannies of my car with cushions. The pillow forms were foam, so we certainly do not want those, and she is going to rip out the yarn and remake something. She did that last time I was here. Oh yes -- this is NOT the first load of cushions I'm dealing with. 

So I told her I would bring the cushions into the apartment ONLY if she agreed that we removed the forms and they would return to the farm. I didn't have time to do that yesterday. 

I brought them in, and she kept saying, Oh - there's more? No kidding, there is MORE. When I offered to return and get the remaining TWENTY, she said - oh, there's more? YES -- there is MORE. She said getting the cushion forms out would take her a long time. OK -- give me a pair of scissors, and I'll help. Within an hour at the most, I had the forms out of the cushions. 

She said she would call her sister because she thought she wanted some. No way - I immediately called my aunt, and no more cushion forms are required! They will procrastinate on so many things. Call now and get it done!!

I had to leave them in the hallway and will pick them up this morning. I should have counted them, but I did not. So I'm trusting her that she doesn't sneak one or two away! I'm sure she'll have sneaked one or two. Why?????? So help me, God, but the need to have things is powerful! But let's go with trust. 

She had made a list of things she wanted -- LAST TIME. And I managed to find something she had asked for for many years. There were the readers they had in school as kids. Highroads to Reading. Of course, she had many duplicates, but some were in terrible condition, and I managed to find a good copy of the first six books. I also found two small books that were hers as a kid. After hearing a story from Dad about books, I will try to find one more book today. But getting to the books is a whole other story! 

At least at my house, if you want something, everything is readily available to browse. But at that house, there are rows of things surrounding the room, and so if you want something, you have to move the crap in front and HOPE you are in the right spot. Yesterday, I got very lucky with the books. I was also in the house alone then and had the leisure to browse, which I've wanted to do for a long time. 

I should not say this, but I threw out some hand-embroidered pillowcases last year. They went to the pet shelter. Now, I wish I had kept them. Well, not exactly, I was actually looking for the tablecloths, and I thought -- they were gone. Just before leaving the house, I returned to the spot, and OMG -- the tablecloths were still there. So I looked through them and didn't spot what I wanted, but I picked up a couple of the smaller ones. No regrets about donating the pillowcases! 

So, if anyone has a big hand-embroidered tablecloth that they do not want, I'd love to see it. If it works for my project, I'd love to have it. I want a long rectangle tablecloth. 

In this photo, you can't really appreciate yesterday's air quality. The previous day, it was clear. Yesterday, the smoke was crazy—worse than smog in the city! 

Smokey haze in the air

In the search for stuff, we came across some boxes of Phentex, but that stuff stayed behind. I accidentally brought in a cushion made of the stuff, and that is going back!! 

Who remembers Phentex?

We went into the old, old house that is still there, and it's also filled with junk!! It's an unbelievable mess, and when you see these shots on TV, you think -- no way. Well, I can attest to the YES way. However, no one has lived in this house for many years. I'm surprised it's still standing. 

The living room of the old house- the first old house!

Here's the interior of the little shed I cleaned the other day. There's still a ton of stuff in there, but at least they can easily access things. I got rid of the garbage - well, a good part. 

Inside my Dad's old electronic room

And now for an update on those dratted ticks. I found FIVE or SIX more before I even got to the farm. Imagine my surprise when I spotted one on the wall of the shower. 

Darn tick on the shower wall1

Two were on the back of my legs, which I discovered when I was getting dressed. One was inside the pants I wore the day before. The last one was in my hair, which I pulled out while driving to the farm. Oh yes, and the sixth one was on my foot while I was writing the blog. 

That made a total of 12 I collected that day. 

Yesterday, I faired a bit better. There are only four that I've discovered so far. Two were on my forehead/arm, one was in my hair, and the last one I spotted on the towel after I had a shower. 

Tick attached to the towel

Let's just say that I've never seen so much of the inside of my clothes in a long time. I turn them inside out and meticulously inspect them before putting them on. All the clothes are staying in the bathroom. 

Checking for ticks

I'm not in a routine here, and twice, I've left my key in the room and had to ask for a new one. Good grief!!!

The forgotten key

Here's the sunset last night as I drove to the hotel. It was beautiful. I woke up in the night and checked for the northern lights, but I didn't spot any. I was tempted to go outside, but I did not. 

Sunset on the prairies

And look -- BEAR is back in town!!!!!

Bear is back in town

OH MY -- this looks just like him, and it's soft and cuddly, just like the real one. Thanks to my aunt, who gave it to me! I'm going to call him Twin Bear! He's adorable and so cuddly!!! AH -- he could be Bear's stunt double!

What will I do when I come back the next time? There'll be nothing to clean up! WAIT —I have the apartment to deal with! I brought a big suitcase in the event I found anything of interest, but I'll likely go back with the little suitcase inside the big one, which is good as I don't need anything more at my house. 

With the time change and total exhaustion, there's no way I'm getting up to post the blog at the usual time. Hopefully, no one is that anxious to read the exploits. But progress has been made, we are closing the door and it's a good feeling. And while one should never say never, this should be my last day in the house. There are still many things to deal with, and my older brother has a great handle on making all that happen. He's done a tremendous amount of work and spent many days and made many trips out there to make it happen. None of us can thank him enough for all the work he's done!!! So thank you, Wally, for all your hard work!!!! His wife also helped, and while they may not get a thank you from the parents, I am thanking them as a sibling!!! 

On that note, I'm out of here - I might get a chance to walk before heading out again. It's just Dad and me today - everyone else is taking the day off, and the trip won't be long. 

Have a super day!!

Ciao1!1