Final stages

Yesterday was jam packed.

After coffee and blogging (our new normal!)

we both went through our clothing..

Do I have to??

Now, you have to understand George..

he's, can you say, afraid to get rid of

anything..

It was very difficult for him to downsize

not only some of the clothes that he never wears..

but also his extensive shoe collection ;-)

Looking very sad..

Now me on the other hand..
if I haven't worn it that season,
it goes. No matter what!
So my purging was pretty easy..
shoes and clothing that won't work other
than in a work setting, went right into
the Salvation Army bag.

After that deed was done,

we cleaned Harvey very thoroughly.

We vacuumed his vents,

put away the knick-knacks for traveling,

and got his interior all shiny.

After a busy day of cleaning, then grocery shopping,

we went out to kick up our heels a bit.

Our good friends Steve & Mary

met us for a night at the local hangout

for karaoke.

We really had a great time,

got up and sang two songs,

but it was too dark for proof :-)

Matter of fact, the pictures we took

with our cell phones had

to be doctored up a bit to even 

share them here.

Do we look like happy campers?

So today is wash and final preparatons.

We have our lists that we printed off

the internet on two separate clipboards..

one for inside, 

and one for outside.

Tomorrow at 10 am, EST,

we should have liftoff!

Retirement has begun

Never would I have thought

that at the age of 13 when I began

my first paying job,

that I could say..

"I'm retired!"

Except for the short period

of time raising my two sons,

I have worked in the following jobs:

babysitter

McDonald's

American Handicrafts

Children's Photographer

local CPA firm in Salinas, CA

local CPA firm in Lafayette, CA

temp jobs:

Passing out perfume in K-Mart

Filling in at State Farm claims office

and finally...

3 Springs Water

Yesterday was a day of mixed emotions.

I spent the day in the plant

with the employees..

getting pictures..

Chris, production mgr, Joe, plant mgr, Bill, forklift

Matt Jr, Joe, Matt Sr (two sons and dad!)

Theron (Dollar!), Shawn, Phuoc (his wife does my pedicures!)

Our CDL drivers, Jeff, and Paul. Robbie our route supervisor.

Gary and Carlton...and Van our new GM

Cheri, our route manager

It hasn't sunk in that I don't have to
get up at 5:30 am anymore.

I will still be consulting with 3 Springs,
and working 'behind the scenes'
until the end of the year.
I will be making a trek back for a
 week in November and December as well.
So I guess for now,
I have one foot in retirement,
and one foot at 3 Springs :-)

But...
it all feels SO GOOD!

Surprise!

I got a nice surprise today..

the gang at work threw together

a going away luncheon for me!

George was even in on it :)

I had not one clue what they

were up to.

They sent me out today to

pick up some things at Sam's club.

While I was gone, the caterers came,

and set up the food in our lunchroom.

The guys in the plant even 

worked through lunch today, 

and got the orders out early,

so they could be a part of it.

We had great food,

a terrific cake,

and fun & laughter.

My production manager 

came into my office later,

and handed me a bag

and said it was from he & his wife.

I opened it and burst out laughing..

it's PERFECT..

a miniature crystal ball!

I'm famous for replying when

asked one of those hundreds of 

questions about 'whatever'

"I don't know, my crystal ball isn't plugged in today!"

Two more days left of work..

It's starting to get emotional.

I told everyone that I don't want

to see any tears..or I will start!

Even some of the guys warned me

they may get emotional :-)

Dinner with the kids

Last night we got the gang together..

George's daughter, Heather,

and her boyfriend, Ed..

George's son, Chris, his wife Jeanann,

and his granddaughters Jillian & Jaelyn.

We had a great time,

talking and laughing with

them about their childhood.

George enjoyed his granddaughters!

Good thing there is Skype!

Starting the goodbyes

We're in the single digits now!

Doing a lot of 'this is the last time we will...' things.

Wednesday

I had a plant-wide meeting

to announce my departure.

My management staff knew,

but we kept it under wraps

from all the employees for awhile.

It went really well..

and I only cried a little :-)

Their only questions were..

'you're going to live in an RV!!??'

Friday

My car finally sold!

I didn't get what I wanted for it,

but I made a few bucks,

and paid it off.

We didn't want to have an

extra vehicle to pay for on the road.

We know a lot of RVrs who do

have that extra vehicle,

and it could come in handy,

but we'll be on a pretty tight budget.

Friday night

I had my last hair appointment.

Got it all done...cut/color/hilights..

I got it cut short :-)

After that..

I met for the last time (for awhile!)

my good friend, Karen..

We had a nice dinner, and I stopped

by her house to say 'bye' to her

husband Bob. 

They've been such good friends

for many years, helping me

when I lived alone,

watching my cat Milo

when I would go on vacation,

and helping us pack up and move when I left

my house in Hazleton.

Please keep them in your prayers..

Bob has cancer and is not doing well :-(

Tonight we are getting together

with George's son, daughter, 

spouses, and grandkids,

for pizza.

Another 'goodbye'...

Hershey RV Show 2012

I already posted about last night,

but I didn't have my camera handy 

to post pictures..

...so here are a few..

we had a great time!

Today we met Nancy & Neil for

breakfast at a cute little place

called 'The Filling Station'.

We all had a great breakfast,

and then headed off to the RV show.

It was packed!

We looked at some newer 5th wheels,

and even a couple high-end motorhomes.

We still like ours best :-)

George and I played a game,

where we collected 11 buttons

from different spots at the show.

Then we got to spin a prize wheel..

we both won a year's membership

to Good Sam's Club.

Since we are already members,

it extended our membership to 2015!

Best prize on the wheel!

We did make one purchase:

We think it will look good outside Harvey :-)

Visit with friends

Since I have only two weeks of work

left to go..

I decided to take a day off :-)

We left yesterday morning to

head south to Hershey.

On the way we stopped at Perkins..

for their new Brioche breakfast..

..blueberry with lemon filling..

way off the charts!

We got to the Hershey area,

and checked into what might be

our last hotel stay for awhile!

Our intent is to go to the

Hershey RV show on Saturday.

While we're here we met up

with Nancy & Neil where

they are staying at

Hershey Thousand Trails.

They are full-timing 

stationary..like we are :-)

Hopefully they will be able 

to set sail soon.

We had a lovely time sitting outside..

and talking and laughing..

Neil grilled burgers, and we then sat by the fire.

Today we are meeting them for breakfast,

then walking around the RV show for a bit.

I have more pictures..but I'm in the room

right now..and the camera is in the truck ;-(

More later tonight!

Things are falling...into...place...

Thanks to some great neighbors..

we were able to dry Harvey out,

with the use of a huge air dryer.

I was afraid it would blow

his sides out!

So on to other stuff..

Everything at work is

getting taken care of.

I will remain president 

through the end of the year.

We will remain on the health insurance,

and get paid an hourly rate

to consult from the road,

and do some background

work for an hourly rate

based on my salary.

They may also fly me into

PA to help with any transition

as the company may be going

through a sale before I leave.

We are finally confirmed for our 

first workamping job!

We are going to work at

Coyote Valley Resort

in California

beginning in January.

It is perfect for our first

stint at workamping..

no office work,

only some outside stuff..

escorting people to their sites,

guiding them in (it must be done!),

filling propane,

etc, etc.

I love it..

NO STRESS!

It's also perfect, as it is only 

30 miles from my parent's home.

It'll be nice to be close by them for at 

least 3 or 4 months.

I still haven't sold my Honda Fit.

It's been on the lot for a few months now.

I'm starting to get nervous as

our current insurance company GMAC

will not insure it if it's sitting on a

consignment lot. :-(

However...

we stopped and talked to them 

today..(the car lot)..for suggestions.

He's decided to take it to auction tomorrow.

He (Joe) thinks it will do well there.

Although it may not get as much

at auction as a direct sale,

it will save us having to 

acquire short-term insurance

for the vehicle.

Wish us luck tomorrow!

Things are falling into place..

!!!!!!!!!!

A little flood

How appropriate,

that on the 1 year anniversary

of the flood that helped

push us to full-timing..

..we had a minor flood.

Not the kind that rivers cause..

but..

suffice to say..

water is not our friend!

I got up to use the 'facilities'

at around 11:30 last night.

Got back in bed,

then for some unknown reason,

I got back up at around 1 am.

Soon as I put my foot down on

the floor, I realized that

we had an issue!

The carpet was wet!

George flipped on the light..

and we saw the bathroom

floor was covered in water!

Of course it wicked into the

carpet in the bedroom 

and in the hall.

We sopped up all the water

with as many bath towels  

as I could pull out..

..then we went outside to

check the basement area..

..and it had water in it :-(

We figured out what had happened..

a little bit of TP got caught in

the magic flap in the toilet bowl..

which caused the water to not shut off.

The water ran slowly from 11:30 pm

until I got up again at 1 am.

Thank GOD that I did!

I came home early from work,

as I was very s-l-e-e-p-y..

and found George

cleaning up the basement,

and reorganizing..

labeling..

..and repacking..

At least the basement's clean!

One year ago - 3 weeks to go..

One year ago today our

house in Plains, PA was

flooded by Tropical Storm Lee.

A year later, this is what

our neighborhood looks like:

On our street there is only 3 families..

soon to be two :-)

We're down to the last few weekends

to get things ready.

Today we cleaned, 

did wash,

and got a few things organized.

George got the water hose 

that we've been using for one year

all cleaned up and the heat tape

taken off it.

He's been working on getting the 

basement cleaned up and organized.

There are things stowed on the 

back seat of the truck now.

Next weekend we've decided

to take a trip down to the 

Hershey RV Show.

We will stay in a Holiday Inn,

the same one we stayed in last year!

We will be meeting up with

our other RV friends

Neil & Nancy

while we are down there.

After that, there will only be 

two more weekends to get ready!

It's finally happening..

woohoo!

Harvey gets a bath

Today, Harvey got a good scrubbing.

His roof was grungy,

and he had black streaks

down his sides.

George did some research

on what would be the best

cleaner for the roof.

He looked at Dicor and Thetford,

and felt both were very expensive.

He picked up a rubber roof cleaner

at Wal-Mart:

It worked  beautifully,

and 1/4 of the price.

Then he used a great

product called 'Awesome'

that we've heard other RVrs

have used..bought at the Dollar Store.

It did a great job

taking all the black streaks out.

George also used a car wash

soap with the Awesome.

I helped by spraying Harvey off..

George installed the back-up camera..

and took the heat tapes off the

water lines..

4 weeks from Monday!