Day one at Amazon

Heartland Campground
Campbellsville, KY

Today was my first day at Amazon!

SDF-1 as it is affectionately known.

Each Amazon FC (Fulfillment Center)

is labelled by what airport it is nearest to.

SDF used to be the acronym for the airport in Louisville,

so that's why this FC is tagged with those letters.

The first day is a lot of learning about Amazon corporate,

getting name badges made up with my picture,

and some record keeping stuff.

We also had some safety training in the afternoon.

I was happy to have some familiar faces in our group #10,

Pat & Diana Brown, and Fran Smith,

who we met at the RV-Dreams rally in NC last year.

That's me third from right in back row :-)

I'm officially on 'K' shift, 

which is Wednesday through Saturday, 6 am to 4:30 pm.

I will be in the receiving department,

which is where George started out.

The next two weeks are called 'hardening' weeks.

We will only be working 5 hour days so we can get used to 

standing on cement floors :-)

George got some quiet time today while I was across the street.

He got caught up on some movies he likes,

and it rained today so it was nice for him to relax.

So now it begins!

8 weeks to go, lol.

:-)

Getting ready for day one

Heartland Campground
Campbellsville, KY

Since I arrived in KY last Monday,

I've been busy getting prepared for my first day at Amazon.

George and I went grocery shopping on Tuesday.

He went back to work on Wednesday through Saturday,

so while he was gone, I made lasagna, soup,

and spaghetti sauce for the freezer.

It was nice to be able to ease back in to eastern time,

and have some quiet time those 4 days.

I've been slowly getting up at 7 am, my normal time.

The sun doesn't rise until 7, but getting some nice sunrises..

Yeah, it's through the window :-)

Saturday night we were invited to join some other "Amazonians"

at the state park for a campfire and potluck.

We were happy to reunite with Al & Karen,

Janie & John, Dan & Jonell, Pat & Diana Brown, and David & Fran Smith.

We met some new people as well,

and since they are working the night shift,

not sure we'll see them too much.

We ended the night with a nice campfire..

Yesterday afternoon we celebrated our anniversary

by going out for a great meal at Garcia's mexican restaurant.

It's pretty popular with the locals,

and we weren't disappointed.

Today I'm going for annual bloodwork,

so no coffee or breakfast :-(

Hoping for good results!

Tomorrow starts my first day of safety orientation at Amazon.

I work from 8-4,

then Wednesday-Friday from 6-11:00 am to get used to the work.

Looking forward to getting some money flowing in!

Finally home :)

Heartland Campground
Campbellsville, KY

Last night I landed in Louisville, KY about 7:30 pm.

I had one smiling George picking me up outside baggage claim :-)

This last week has been a blur...

Mom got packed up and moved on Wednesday.

My cousin Kalene came up from Morro Bay to help

get everything that was left behind staged into a 2 day yard sale.

There was stuff everywhere!

We got a lot of people on Friday,

so 75% of everything was sold and cleared out.

Saturday there were a few more people,

so most everything else was cleared out.

Kalene loaded the rest into her car to take down to Morro Bay

to include in her garage sales.

In the meantime I slept at a church member's house.

Kalene, my mom, and I were invited to the Pastor's house for dinner on Sunday evening.

It was delicious!

I'm happy to say the piano ended up selling to a nice guy who owns a music studio.

Everything ended up going to nice homes :-)

My Mom is getting settled in her new apartment, 

and has a lot of people helping her get organized.

George and I went grocery shopping today.

I plan on making some meals for our dinners

so after work we can heat them up quick.

It's funny, but being gone for 3 months,

I'm having to get used to the RV all over again!

Tonight Harry & Jessica invited us to dine with them at the

Campbellsville University Dining Hall.

The food was pretty good,

and they sell 10 meals for $60, not bad!

We also walked around the campground a bit,

and said hi to Jane & John (Flamingo on a Stick).

They are working night shift, so we probably won't see them much.

It was also nice to see Martin & Kathy, who we met at the rally in NC last year.

I'm looking forward to starting my job here at Amazon on the 28th.

I know there are a few more people coming in 

that we know that will be starting the same day.

It sure is nice to be home!

Oh yeah, this was waiting for me when I opened the door..

Things are falling into place

Laurie
Prunedale
Monterey County, CA

The move is in motion!

Wednesday and Thursday the movers are coming

to pack my Mom's belongings and move her to Villa Serra.

This will work great because we're having a whole house

moving sale on Friday and Saturday.

People can come in, and everything they see will be for sale!

Goodwill will come on Sunday and pick up anything that is left.

We sold a lot of my Dad's tools also.

Some to the new buyer, and a lot to a friend from church.

He took some of my grandfather's tools, which I appreciated.

We just don't have the room for them, and I know they're in a good home.

One thing we're still having trouble getting sold is this:

It takes a special house to fit this in.

It's been in our family since my Dad was in high school.

He was training to be a concert pianist,

and I learned how to play on it as well.

Hope someone will buy!

I'm getting ready for Amazon again.

I had to take another drug test,

as the one I took before expired.

George has gotten to fill the role of 'PG',

which means he gets to walk up and down

the receiving line to help people sort out issues.

Pretty cool!

We're making plans to celebrate our 3rd anniversary when I get to Kentucky.

His job is to find us a nice place to dine :-)

The money streaming into our bank account from Amazon

 is starting to help make a difference.

Can't wait until I'm there adding to it, and then there's OT, yay!

Quick sale

Laurie
Prunedale
Monterey County, CA

I have never seen a house sell so quickly.

The contractor who remodeled my parent's kitchen and bathroom

told her if she was thinking of selling to get ahold of him first.

Turns out his son and DIL were looking for a house.

Since the contractor knows this house so well,

he recommended it to his son.

A couple of weekends they came by and looked at it,

then the next weekend they came by for a second look.

Saturday morning they came and made an offer,

we haggled a bit,

and accepted!

The nice thing is that they're pre-qualified,

it should be a short escrow,

and all done without paying a realtor high commission.

We are getting a realtor involved to do the paperwork,

and are going to split her fee between us.

Now the push is on!

Mom is going down to her new digs to pay her first month rent.

She's ordering new furniture too.

She's more comfortable getting professional movers

to pack her up and move her,

so that's next on the agenda.

My cousin is coming up in 2 weeks to help me do a moving sale,

and the rest will get donated to Goodwill or to the local

veteran's rehab center.

I had some fun on Saturday evening with my son Adam's girlfriend Candee.

As I said in the last blog she works for Richard McDonald, the sculptor.

He had his fall show in Carmel over the weekend.

We drove over to Carmel early, and had dinner at  Porta Bella restaurant.

It's a great little place on Ocean Avenue, and since it was so warm, we sat outside.

We had a great meal and good drinks.

One of the traditions at Carmel beach is to watch the sunset,

and afterwards everyone applauds its beauty.

That night's didn't disappoint!

We walked back up the hill to the gallery for the show.

There were a lot of people oohing and aahing over his sculptures.

Some people were making purchases..

Richard was more than happy to sign his work :-)

Sorry the pictures are a bit blurry, 

it was dimly lit and I used my phone.

There was a gentleman playing soft guitar music..

George was happy to know I didn't bid on anything.

The prices weren't marked (don't ask!)

and I'm not into sculpture anyway.

Not sure our budget could take the 5 figure prices anyway!

The weather here in Prunedale has been HOT. No one has AC because 

the hot weather comes for a couple weeks, then it's back to the 70's.

George is getting cold weather in Kentucky and has been using the heat.

2 more weeks, babe, I'll be back!!

Winding down

Laurie
Prunedale
Monterey County, CA

My time here in California is winding down.

Mom and I have gotten a lot of things sold on Craigslist,

the house is looking void of furniture!

We sold the dining room table, 

so had to drag out a card table to be able to have a place to eat!

The couple that looked at the house is trying to get financing,

so we should have an offer soon on it.

If it falls through, we'll list it.

My cousin Kalene is coming up the 15th,

and we're going to do a moving sale that weekend.

The estate sale companies we talked to weren't all that

interested in doing it due to the lack of antiques.

Not even for this grand piano..

I've decided it's time to head back to Kentucky and Amazon.

I'll fly there on the 20th right after the moving sale.

My Mom has a lot of friends that are willing to help

her finish up if the house sells.

She's decided to have a professional mover come and

help her pack and move to her new place.

We'll be back in January either way and can help finish up.

Hoping she's in her new digs by then!

I told you last blog that I'm going with Candee to Richard Mcdonald's fall show.

Since I don't have any nice clothes with me,

we did a little shopping.

Found the perfect thing..

That'll work just fine :-)

George has started his 10 hour days,

and though his back is a bit sore, 

he said it's a piece of cake.

I'll start on the 28th, and we get to be on same shift

and same department.

Nice of Amazon to accommodate me!