The joys of selling the farm and one last harvest

Wednesday, October 13

Today was a work day. After all the difficult mental work and decision making of the last two days it was a nice, much-needed break. It was another easy day which is surprising since October is a very busy month at the B&B. Actually, since it re-opened from the pandemic a year and a half ago it has been busy so I guess I’m just used to the amount of sheets that need tended to.

CountryBoy went to work also – doing the final cleaning of the cabin to get it ready for today’s guests. Speaking of cabin, we’ve had bookings trickle in during the month and it seems we always have four more guests before calling it a wrap. However, there aren’t that many open nights left so eventually the countdown will get past four. But, for now, another batch of banana breads will need to be made and a few more gallons of water will need to be picked up next time we’re in town. He also worked on the door handle situation up there. We let the buyers know about the door handle that got broken so they are aware that something more permanent will need to be done. Meanwhile, CountryBoy put a latch on the exterior and there was already a dead bolt on the interior. It’ll do for four more guests!

This evening I culled my yarn stash. I pulled almost half if not more for the yard sale and kept my favorite cotton yarn skeins. I also culled my pattern books. It’s a start.

While I was at work CountryBoy went ahead and put the ‘Garage Sale’ signs out by the road and our driveway. We’ll be adding more stuff each day but we’re out of room on the tables. A neighbor came by and snatched up a few things and her husband is buying CountryBoy’s gang box chock full o’ tools. (The gang box is so heavy he’s going to have to come by later and pick it up with his tractor!). I also made a post on Facebook about the yard sale. Several people will be coming over tomorrow. The King bed is spoken for and will be picked up this weekend.

CountryBoy also took a day off from all the sorting and decision-making. It gets overwhelming at times even though we are constantly reminding ourselves of our new life ahead and what we want that life to look like.

Thursday, October 14

It was another productive day. Only a couple people dropped by today to check out the yard sale but quite a few things sold so it was worth the effort. Just about all of the outside items and tools are gone. It’s funny how quickly that kind of stuff goes at yard sales. Men and their tools!

Our neighbor came by with his tractor to pick up the gang box he had bought. It was stuffed full o’ tools that CountryBoy had used over the course of his career as a traveling Millwright and all sorts of other tools as well. Tools that when he saw it triggered a memory of a particular job or machine that he worked on. These tools were his lifeline for many years so needless to say it was an emotional moment as he watched a huge part of his life being hauled off. Those tools helped us get where we are today and where we will be in a few weeks. Bittersweet.

I managed to sort through about ninety percent of the attic stuff which resulted in opening up some floor space in the upstairs landing/craft/sewing room. In doing so, I came across a couple of my halloween costumes and wound up not being able to part with them. Especially my witch outfit with the cool shoes, striped socks, and all! Why you ask? When I saw the little matching cape I had made for LizzieBelle and her cute little witch hat I just couldn’t. She was so tolerant and so adorable in it that I just had to keep them. We also have no idea the types of events that will be held in our new neck o’ the woods so we’ll keep them for now just in case. Since I kept mine CountryBoy grabbed his pirate outfit off the yard sale table and packed it with mine. We do like to dress up in a fun costume. We’re how old?!?!

I packed up the contents and glass shelves of the curio cabinet and took that tote to the camper. I took my fabric stash out there as well and packed up my Featherweight. The storage cubbies are slowly being emptied out. I still don’t see light at the end of the tunnel in that room yet but it’s much better than it was and a lot less stressful when I go in there. Over the course of the next two days I’m hoping to have the upstairs wrapped up short of the last minute stuff.

With another busy and emotional day we spent the evening at the fire pit cooking a few of the hot dogs and S’mores kits left over from last weekend’s Fall Festival. Not exactly on the diet but it was certainly therapeutic.

Friday, October 15

I just wasn’t into tackling the sewing/craft room today. I did manage to pack most of the photo boxes into a tote with various quilt batting and stabilizers as well as my rulers. I took the embroidery arm off my sewing/embroidery machine and put on the sewing arm to make it easier to handle when moving. I did all that before CountryBoy headed to town to do the errands. After he left I sat on the porch and read in case anyone showed up for the yard sale. (I didn’t want to be upstairs and miss them.) There were a few small things bought throughout the day and not very many people stopping by so I felt the need to make another post on Facebook to remind people. By evening my beautiful roll-top desk was on its way to its new home (sniff) and my favorite chair across from the fireplace (that I literally live in during the winter months) will be gone tomorrow. Little by little the house is getting larger and larger.

I was thinking today that it’s not the big pieces of furniture that’s a pain to move it’s all the little stuff. Why are there SO many little things? and do we really need all of it? will we miss it if it’s gone? For example, all the stuff that was in the roll-top desk – from paperclips to papers to Nertz cards. Of course we need the Nertz cards, ha, but how much stuff do we really need to keep? Paperwork always seems to accumulate and we’re always questioning how long do we need to keep it. With no desk now I’m going to have to make it a point to find out.

This move is wearing on us. Even though the whole process is going smooth it’s just the nitty gritty of actually getting rid of things, packing, and waiting. It’s getting old and tiresome. I’m praying we close early not just to have it all over with but I really want to be out of here before it gets cold. We have had some beautiful weather, some days are even on the hot side, and for that I’m grateful but the forecasters are calling for much cooler days and nights coming soon and I really don’t want to have to mess with bringing wood in to burn to stay warm.

I received a message today from a friend of mine asking if I would be able to make another baby blanket. Since the baby isn’t due until next year I said I would be able to do it. What an honor to be asked!

Saturday, October 16

Gosh, it’s been quite a busy day. I woke up to a message asking about the small desk we had for sale. Immediately after coffee I started cleaning it as they were coming by this morning to look at it. Once I finished it I started on the treadle sewing machine. I was halfway through cleaning it when they showed up. They wound up staying quite a while as they were telling us about the people that lived here long ago when it was a tobacco farm and that he used to work here when it was time to harvest the tobacco. We’ve met many people ’round here that have worked this farm harvesting ‘bakker back in the heydays of Kentucky’s tobacco farming. They also love antiques and they loved the house. After they left I finished up the treadle and started on my little rocking chair from way back when I was a girl. My great niece will be getting these pieces so they stay in the family.

After I finished cleaning the wood pieces I started in on the dining table. In the midst of that the aforementioned great-niece stopped by. We chatted for a while then she shopped the yard sale, ha! She took lots of goodies home but is coming back tomorrow with reinforcements to load the treadle. She’s bringing supper – yay!

While she was here a neighbor’s Mom and then a bit later his sister stopped by and each picked up a few things. Shortly after that the feller that bought the roll top desk came back to pick up the chair they had forgotten. Good thing they only live a mile or so down the road. He bought the last of the tools and helped my niece load her van. Such nice people ’round here. Said he’d be by tomorrow for supper too, hahaha!

No sooner’n they were gone some friends showed up to look at a few pieces I had posted online. They bought two chairs, two rugs and a glass bowl. They’ll be back Monday afternoon to pick them up. While they were here a feller came by for eggs. Unfortunately we only had one egg since we hadn’t collected today’s eggs yet. He knew the people that were here and they struck up a conversation. While all of ’em were here today’s guests showed up. mercy! Could it get any crazier? Probably!

Meanwhile, the house is a complete disaster with barely any furniture now and boxes and piles of stuff waiting to be sorted and/or packed. What can ya do?!

I finally finished scrubbing the dining table right before supper. Did I meet my goal of wanting to have the upstairs finished by Sunday? Nope. Never even made it up there today other than to sell the curtains right off the rod in our bedroom.

After supper Miss LizzieBelle got a much needed bath. shewee, she was smelling up her blankies which made the corner of the living room stink. Just what we need with so many people traipsing through the house.

This evening we’re all on the couch. LizzieBelle under my fleece blanket, CountryBoy in the recliner section of the couch and me next to Belle. We’re going to spend the evening relaxing and will hopefully get a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow’s another busy day.

Sunday, October 17

As soon as we finished our coffee this morning it was all hands on deck in the master bedroom and guest room. The buyers of the king bed in the master bedroom were coming by this afternoon to pick it up. This means that the guest bed needed to be cleared of stuff to pack or get rid of and the room readied to now become the master bedroom. Someone else was also coming this afternoon to pick up the nightstands in the guest room so I hauled them downstairs and gave ’em a good cleaning.

Once all that was taken care of I hopped in the shower then went on in to work an hour early. My great-niece and her family were coming over this evening to pick up my childhood rocking chair and an old treadle machine that was in the family. They brought fixin’s for supper and we enjoyed a game of Nertz. We even tried to teach the kiddos how to play.

As is typically the case when I need to get home for one reason or another there was a pile of sheets waiting for me and another huge pile in the hamper. sigh. Good thing I went in early however I still had to leave three sets of sheets for another day. No one was checking out until Tuesday so there should be plenty of pressed sheets on the shelves for the girls to use to get the cabins ready.

Speaking of cabins, we still have four check-ins/guests. When today’s guests left we were down to three and then someone booked a night. It’s crazy! Good thing CountryBoy made another batch of banana breads and picked up an extra gallon jug of water.

Monday, October 18

Another non-stop day. After coffee we emptied the master bedroom so that I could scrub the baseboards and mop. The only thing left in the room are the clothes in the closet (which we’ll pack up last), the chest of drawers (which will be picked up some time this week), and my dresser (which I’m leaving for the youngest girl that’s moving in). You may be wondering why we don’t move our clothes to the guest room but our winter clothes are already hanging in there. The weather has been fairly warm but not knowing when the cold days could be upon us we are needing both warm weather clothes and cold weather clothes to be available. However, it feels really good to have one room almost emptied.

Speaking of empty, our house is looking quite bare and big. The people that bought our ‘his and her’ chairs across from the fireplace came to pick them up today. They were also getting two out of three rugs. They wound up getting all three rugs AND the dining room table. The original buyer of the table backed out. I happened to mention that I hoped to be able to sell it this week and they decided they wanted it. Hallelujah! Two trips later they had a table and six chairs, three rugs and the two chairs they originally came for. The only furniture left in the house is the couch, coffee table and queen bed in the guest room now turned master bedroom. The rest of the stuff is exactly that – stuff. We’re sorting through all of it and yet we have the feeling we’re still going to wind up taking more stuff than the lake house will hold. I guess if that’s the case then we’ll sort through it some more. I know one thing, I’m going to do my level best to get to the point where we have all that we need and nothing that we don’t. It will be a process for sure but I think we’re off to a good start.

The yard, or rather porch, sale is going OK. There’s still a lot of stuff waiting to be picked up by someone that needs it. We’re thinking that whatever isn’t gone by the end of the week we’ll pack up and take it the Salvation Army or Goodwill. It would be nice if they would pick it up but I don’t think they’ll come out this far. Maybe we’ll call them and ask.

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We’re still waiting to hear back from the appraisal. He said he would have it wrapped up by this week. I know it’s only Monday but I sure was hoping to hear something today. I’m sorta chomping at the bit and hoping that we could close early so that we can be at the lake house before it turns cold. Please Lord?!

Tuesday, October 19

As we drank our coffee this morning we relished the thought of not having anything pressing to do today. No one was coming by to pick anything up and the only thing that needed to get done today was finish getting the cabin ready for today’s guests. CountryBoy wanted to wait until it warmed up and dried up a bit before heading up so he packed a few boxes of kitchen stuff while I packed up my camera equipment. After that I headed upstairs and started packing up the sewing/craft room. I honestly have no idea where I’m going to put most of this stuff but at the moment I don’t want to part with anything because I’m going to have a lot of time on my hands once we’re at the lake house.

I made a huge dent up there and managed to get all the sewing stuff packed up. All that’s left is the shelf unit that contains scrapbooking and cross-stitching supplies and a few other odds and ends. At times I envy the people that have just one hobby. Seems it would be simpler and a lot less supplies/stuff.

While we were packing we got a call from the buyer. He wanted to know the names of the utilities companies. We told him and we asked a couple questions as well. I was wanting to call him today but he beat me to it. One of the questions was whether or not he thought we would have an early closing and he didn’t think so. Once the appraisal comes in then everything will be at the underwriter for about a week which puts us almost to our original closing of November 1. So, Lord willing the weather will continue to be on the warmish side until then.

After hanging up with him we reserved a moving truck. Closing on the farmhouse first thing on a Monday morning meant that we had to reserve it for a few extra days. We’ll have plenty of time to load the truck but unloading it after closing on the lake house in the afternoon is not going to be fun. I don’t want to reserve it for an extra day so we’ll have to knuckle down and get it unloaded the same day so that we can return it by 8:30 the next morning. Thankfully most of the stuff will be in the camper where we can take our time.

It’s been a perfect Autumn so far. The weather is cool during the night and quite pleasant during the day. I sat outside in a lounge chair for quite a while this afternoon soaking in the sunshine while reading.

I wanted to take advantage of it while I could.

Wednesday, October 20

It was a mite chilly this morning with temps in the upper thirties as I headed to work this morning. I had on a short sleeve shirt, long pants and a jacket but since I only had to get from the house to the truck and then the truck in to work it wasn’t bad. I knew that it would warm up nicely and I would be quite comfortable by the time I left work.

While at work today I did a little bit of everything from making room sprays for the gift shop, to ironing, to creating a newsletter and getting it scheduled to be sent via email. There were odds and ends of things that I did as well but the hours flew by and before I knew it I was on my way back home. When I got home CountryBoy was making supper. We were out of milk and low on dog food so I went to town to pick them up along with some orange juice and pomegranate juice then stopped at the bank before heading home.

We enjoyed our supper on our dinner trays while sitting on the couch. CountryBoy pulled up a movie, one I had no interest in watching whatsoever so I did a little reading, and after that we were in bed at an early hour.

Thursday, October 21

Last night, as I lay there trying to fall asleep I decided to take pictures of CountryBoy’s banjo and get it listed on Marketplace and Tradio today. I did that right after breakfast. Hopefully the perfect person will find find it – always my prayer when I list things on there.

The only thing that needed done today was calling the vet and refilling two out of three of LizzieBelle’s medications then picking them up which I did this afternoon.

This morning I tackled two of the totes that contained memorabilia. I honestly think those items are the most difficult to go through. I mean, it’s fun going through them and reliving the memories each item conjures up but how does one decide what to keep and what not to keep especially when downsizing? I managed to pare the two totes and wound up keeping two notebooks – one with memorabilia from my Disney days and the other are various certificates from junior high on up. Since my long term memory is not the greatest I think I’ll hang on to these for a bit.

CountryBoy stayed busy today mowing the grass probably for the last time here at the farm. Bye bye riding mower. After that he went up to the cabin to grab the dirty sheets and dishes and clean the bathroom. Tomorrow we’ll put it all back in order and clean it for tomorrow’s guests. We are finally on the guest/check-in countdown. Seems we’ve been stuck on four check-ins for the last two weeks but that’s OK! It kind of seems surreal that we are now on the final stretch of greeting guests and cleaning the cabin. Three more nights on the calendar before we blocked it and three more check-ins which means a slew of back-to-back one-nighters and cleaning the cabin everyday. I asked him if he wanted me to unblock the last week of October (the week before we close) and he said “NO. We’ve got too much to do”. He’s absolutely right. I just wanted to make sure.

Speaking of closing, we were truly expecting a call from the realtor today regarding the appraisal. We were both sorely disappointed when the call never came. Hopefully tomorrow.

Friday, October 22

More stuff was sorted through and packed. It’s just incredible the amount of stuff that we have accumulated over the course of seven years. Although I have to admit that the memorabilia stuff came here with us and was put in the barn due to lack of space to put it and it has stayed there all this time. This time around we’re making the effort to go through each tote and each item and making the decision to keep it or toss it.

I worked on the sewing/craft room again today. All my scrapbooking stuff and miscellaneous craft items are packed. There’s a few baskets of shipping paraphernalia to sort through and my loom needs to be packed. It shouldn’t be long until that room is a wrap.

We just keep thinking that we’ve not pared our belongings down enough and that we’re still taking too much stuff. If so, we’ll just have to do some more sorting after we’re settled. After we see what fits and what doesn’t; what works and what doesn’t, then we’ll go from there. I feel like I’m trying to find the balance because I sure don’t want to get rid of something only to turn around and buy another one.

After waiting all morning to hear something about the appraisal yet hearing nothing I called the realtor this afternoon. She said she doesn’t usually hear anything about the appraisal but that she would check to make sure we were still on track for the November 1 closing.

The boss called while I was working upstairs to ask if I could come in this evening for a few hours. I said I would. I did a little bit of ironing, helped deliver dinner to one of the cabins, answered the phone, and backed up one of the computers. It was an easy two and a half hours.

Before leaving for work CountryBoy and I got the cabin ready for today’s guests. Two more to go.

Saturday, October 23

Wow, eight o’clock and it was lights out last night. ha! Our days are filled with nothing grand but sorting, cleaning and packing has taken its toll. It’s simply unbelievable how much stuff we keep finding. As much stuff as we have thrown out, sold, given away or donated there is still that much stuff that we are keeping. Or, at least, THINK we need to keep. Our biggest dilemma is trying to decide whether or not we may need it and will we use it at the lake house. With the price of things these days we sure don’t want to give it away and then find out in a few months that we need it and have to purchase it again at a higher cost. So there’s that. I know I’m repeating myself day in, day out but that’s the way our days our going. We seem to be on an endless loop of sorting, cleaning and packing.

It was a beautiful day! A few people came out for the yard/porch sale and a few items were purchased and a few items were given away. We really just want it all gone but it looks like we’ll be spending Monday packing it up and making a trip to the Salvation Army or Goodwill to drop it all off. I think once all that is gone we’ll feel better about the remaining stuff.

Throughout this whole yard sale thing and selling the bigger pieces on Facebook Marketplace we’ve met a lot of people. The ones that have grown up in this area told stories of our ol’ farmstead and how they visited often or worked the ‘bakker’ (tobacco) come harvest time. Apparently this was a happenin’ place back in the day but the common thread of all who stopped by was how beautiful it is here. We couldn’t agree more. Again, it’s all bittersweet but a new chapter is ahead with a whole different view.

Our guests left mid-morning so we headed up to the cabin to get it ready for today’s guests. One more guest after this. It’s hard to believe.

Thursday, October 28

It’s been five days since I’ve written a journal entry. Sunday’s are difficult days for me to write anything. Usually by the time I get home from work I’m spent and I don’t have the mental fortitude to put any thoughts into words. But then this past Monday happened. With one phone call mid-day everything came to a screeching halt and the stress levels soared to the sky. That phone call revealed that there was a possibility that the buyers would not be buying the farm for unforeseen reasons. We were devastated. Everything was going so smooth and here we are one week until we were supposed to close and BAM. Two and a half days later we got the phone call that it was official – there would be no closing on the first of November. With that horrible news we had to let the lake house go.

We know God has a reason but sometimes it would just be nice to know sooner rather than later what the reason or reasons are. It would make the whole emotional part of things a lot more tolerable. I guess that’s where faith comes in. If we knew the reasons we wouldn’t need to have faith.

After coming to terms with our current situation we sat in our nearly empty house drinking our coffee this morning talking about the ‘scary’ things of the house that might have a potential buyer running the opposite way. Things such as front and back doors being ornery; the leaky roof in the greenhouse/sunroom; and the downstairs bathroom with its partially exposed subfloor; and the cutout in the wood floor in front of the fireplace that was created when the previous owner installed a gas heater. These items would probably scare most people away so we decided to try and tackle some of these ourselves and possibly try to hire someone for the others.

Today was supposed to be a rainy day so we decided to spend part of the day going to the city to pick up a few things. First stop was Hobby Lobby so that I could pick up the yarn I needed for the baby blanket I was commissioned to make. I figure I might as well get started on it since we may be here a while. After that we grabbed a bite to eat then worked our way back stopping at Aldi’s for some fruit & veggies and milk and then on to Lowe’s. We decided our first project would be replacing the back door, the roof on the sunroom and while we were at it, replacing the screen door on the end of the sunroom that opens onto the front porch with a storm door. By doing so we won’t have to cover the screen with plastic during the winter months since I over-winter my outdoor plants in the sunroom. We managed to get the storm door and a new back door but there was no metal roofing to be had.

As soon as we got home CountryBoy got to work on the storm door…

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while I washed some eggs, gathered some more eggs and fed Mabel, did laundry, and moved our only remaining bed from the guest room into our room where our dressers were. All that while our supper of leftovers was warming in the oven.

Today was a nice break from sorting and packing. Last Tuesday we dropped literally a truckload of stuff at Goodwill then returned the tables we borrowed from our church.

Bit by bit I’m trying to arrange the few remaining items in our house in such a way so that if someone wants to look at the property it will look sort of cozy and not quite so bare. And hopefully they’ll ignore all the boxes which are in no way cozy whatsoever.

Since we have no idea how long we are going to be here we decided to open the cabin up one month at a time. We also raised the price to help cover the cost of the propane from the fireplace and the wood we supply for the fire pit. We didn’t gather much wood this summer so dipping into what little wood we have and letting our guests use it leaves us with less to use to heat the house. Raising the price will help us stock for both.

Saturday, October 30

We spent yesterday finishing up the storm door installation and straightening up the porch and the sunroom. The new door looks so good!

We received a request to book the cabin tonight so we scrambled and got it ready then we whipped up a delicious stir-fry using some of the vegetables that are still putting out like green and jalapeño peppers. We added onions and mushrooms sautéed in olive oil with turmeric and thyme then threw in some cooked orzo, cooked shrimp and simmered all of it in some of our own canned tomato sauce. We weren’t sure how it was going to turn out but it was SO good! I think it will be even better as leftovers.

Today started out rainy and continued to rain off and on all day. We spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing. I did a lot of cross-stitching; we watched some movies; CountryBoy made a batch of banana bread; we rearranged the living room; and while he went up to grab the dirty stuff from the cabin I started heating up some leftovers, washed the dishes, gathered the eggs and fed Mabel. After supper we watched another movie then spent the rest of the evening reading (me) and browsing on the iPad (CountryBoy). We’ve gotten three bookings since raising the price so we are thankful the price increase has not run people off. Overall, it was a day where emotions weren’t running so high and it was nice.

Sunday, October 31

Happy Halloween!!! We haven’t celebrated or decorated for the spooky day in more than a decade ever since we migrated to the rural side of life. Things are different nowadays as well. Halloween was observed last Friday in our town. Town folk handed out candy from their front door and some churches held a ‘trunk or treat’. What did we do on this All Hallows Eve? We worked.

This morning we put the cabin back together and got it ready for today’s guests. Our last guests left it a complete disaster.

As I was getting ready to go to work our realtor called. The house has been back on the market for a day or two and she received a call from out of state with an offer. We won’t know anything for a couple days. This afternoon, while I was at work, another realtor brought someone by. These people had driven up our driveway this morning, turned around and then drove real slow on the road, then pulled into our neighbors driveway to look some more. When he was notified that they wanted to look at the place CountryBoy had to run around and quickly tidy up a few areas. Not that there’s much that can be done with boxes, both empty and packed, stacked here and there.

It was a longer day at work for me. Laundry, ironing and some computer work kept me there for five and a half hours. I came home, ate supper, we watched a movie, then went to bed. That’s how we spent the holiday!

Monday, November 1

Today is the day we were supposed to close on the farm and the lake house. Instead, we took the canned goods we had packed in the camper and brought them back in. The forecasters are calling for some night time freezing temps this week and we didn’t want to take the chance of having any jars break. With the boxes of canned goods safely back in the pantry CountryBoy could now get to the sinks to finish winterizing the camper.

This morning we decided to return the door we bought the other day. We were both dreading the installation. The back door is working fine, not great, but it works so we decided to put that money towards the metal for the sunroom roof. We found a source that will custom cut the metal to the size needed. You can call in the morning and pick it up in the afternoon. So we measured, ordered ten sheets, then drove an hour and a half to Amish country to pick it up . We stopped at Lowe’s on the way to return the door. It will be so nice not worrying whether or not the pails and buckets are in the right spots to catch the rain coming in from the leaky sunroom roof.

It’s amazing what a little motivation or even a deadline can do. Now that some of the projects that we’ve needed to do are getting done I’m not sure how I’m going to feel leaving it all behind. After the letdown of the past week my prayer is simply whatever is best for us. Whether it’s to stay here and modify how we live or whether it’s finding a simpler property with less maintenance. It’s always best to be where the Lord wants you.

We got home some time after six o’clock and quickly went about feeding everyone and gathering eggs. After that we sat on the couch. I did some cross-stitching while CountryBoy caught a cat nap then we watched a movie. I continued to cross-stitch during the movie.

Tuesday, November 2

The day started nice and slow. It was cold and raining when we woke up so we casually drank our coffee and looked at more houses for sale online. We found a couple contenders but until we have an offer on the farm house we’re not making a move nor getting our hopes up.

While CountryBoy browsed for houses I cross-stitched. The piece is coming along. It has taken years to get this far but most of that time it has been tucked away in a cubby. In fact, I found quite a few pieces that I’ve started but haven’t finished. I’ll continue working on this piece some more but I need to get started on the baby blanket.

Mid day we had a snack and watched a movie. Well, CountryBoy watched while I half-watched and mostly cross-stitched. After that we went out and picked the rest of the jalapeños and green peppers since the forecasters were calling for frost tonight.

Not a bad haul for November!

No sooner’n we came back indoors the realtor called informing us of a showing tomorrow. Immediately we both had the same thought – ‘do we think we can get the sunroom roof done with what’s left of the afternoon?’. So, at 3 o’clock we started taking off the old roof. I handed the sheets of metal up and tried to clean up as we went along hoping to make the final cleanup quicker and easier. It was 6:30 by the time we finished. The old clear roofing material was so dry-rotted it literally crumbled. The sunroom is a bit darker now with the solid roof but there shouldn’t be any more leaks.

• 

• 

before

One less thing for the new owners to deal with.

• 

• 

after

I have a feeling we’ll both sleep good tonight – glad that the roof is done and thankful for another showing.

One of these days I need to make the time to proof read this novel, er post, and get it published. It was the middle of October when I last posted. In fact, a friend emailed today letting me know that she had been praying for us all morning. It meant the world when I read that. She asked if there was anything she and her husband could do for us. Other than praying there’s really nothing at this point that anyone can do but the simple fact that we know that she and so many others are faithfully praying is comforting and all the help we need right now.

Wednesday, November 3

Rather than heading off to work right after coffee I spent the morning cleaning the house and trying to get it looking somewhat presentable for this afternoon’s showing. I’m so thankful my boss and my job are flexible. I left for work before the people arrived and worked for four hours. CountryBoy said the people stayed for about an hour and a half. We currently have no idea whether or not they’re interested. At this point, we’re taking it a day at a time and not getting our hopes up. It’s too much of a letdown as we recently experienced. If and when we get an offer it will be a pleasant surprise and we’ll go from there.

We’re now into November and the days and nights are getting colder. We had such a great October and used the fireplace maybe twice but with the colder days and nights that comes with winter we’ll be using it on a regular basis. So much for being out of here before it turned cold. That being said, we’ve called a fella to bring us a couple truckloads of wood. Hopefully that will be enough to get us through. If not, we’ll order some more if we’re still here.

At the time of this post there’s been no word from the out-of-state potential buyer that made an offer.