It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

The Important Things

When you have men pack up every one of your belongings, large and small, ordinary and precious, you view all of those things  as Important.

When you pack a bag to live out of for months  ,while you travel, stay in hotels, look for a new home, the things you pack are viewed as very Important.

When you are packing and repacking in hotels, moving around and trying to figure out what to wear each day , knowing where everything is , is very Important.

My daughter in law and son are the champions, they pack small bags full of things folded just so, and manage to wear them, look good and go months without buying new clothes or crying out that they cannot wear this thing one more time !!

We have been living out of suitcases for 2 weeks and I actually have different outfits to wear each day and I don't feel crumpled , like I am living out of a suitcase.
Which I am ... living out of a suitcase.

It helps that it is freezing cold and my coat covers everything anyway.
I brought a couple .. OK, 2 pairs of shoes and 2 pairs of boots to keep the foot story happy.
So far, there have been no complaints from the feet.

It helps a lot that the atmosphere in the area where we are staying  is very casual and full of vacationers, skiers and locals who are not fashion minded ..
I still don't blend in ..

Today we got our Drivers Licenses .
I have had nightmares and panic attacks about this.
I have been driving since I was 16.
I have never had an accident and I can drive both a stick and automatic as well as any teenage boy.
(I grew up in NC .. blame that for my attitude )

We went to get our licenses in Oregon when we lived there , I failed the written test.
Of course, I didn't study for it , I didn't expect to have to take a test to renew a current license.
Tests apparently now make me freeze up... lights go off in my head.. Fail Fail Fail !

So I kept my license from before and hoped I would have better luck / better study habits when my next license renewal came along.

Today we drove to a town where they could do the renewals.
I was having panic attacks when my husband called and found out that a test was not needed.
1-there was no one there .. well, a couple of people. No waiting time, no big lines.
2 - every person we met who worked there was friendly , sweet and helpful.
3- my photo is actually not as scary as I expected it to be.
4- I got my New York Drivers license and so did my husband within 30 minutes.
Yay !

We celebrated with tasty hot coffee and hot croissants smeared with chocolate at a French cafe .. Tres bien !

Then we went house hunting.
We looked at 2 homes.. in Connecticut.

One is a center hall colonial, beautiful outside, beautiful grounds, dead end street with a lake and bird sanctuary sort of place at the end of the street .. in the woods.
We saw a Heron !! and its nest.
The interior of the house was a nightmare of old wallpaper, damp spotted basement and a neighbor with 2 huge black pitt bulls who mosied on into the yard while we were there ..

The next house was Grandma's House or The Cottage.
Depending on how you feel ... I felt like it was Grandma's house.
All the rooms were on the small side, the kitchen was large and all appliances were new, the living room had a huge window and beautiful fireplace and the stairway and hall upstairs was papered with brown and white toile.
I would have bought it for the toile and the fireplace .
Upstairs was a wood paneled study, with windows looking out over a stream and deep woods.
The bedrooms were charming. Both bathrooms were too.
I liked it a lot but it was a bit too small, and there were doubts about over all condition..likely camoflauged with pretty wallpaper and carpets.

So the hunt has begun.
I enjoy it.
This weekend we move into a 200 year old house we are renting for a couple of months or until we find a house.

We are still having Fun. That  is the Important Thing.


4 comments:

  1. I've been living out of a shared suitcase with my husband since mid january. It's wearing real thin. I packed up all my clothes first thing and they were (as well as the summer tires that I need) stuck into storage first thing.....as in way in the back...impossible to get to. I may have to burn my clothes that I packed after this move is finally done next week. it's like being pregnant...after nine months all you want to do is never see them again.

    I even repacked that damn suitcase with the same annoying clothes for a week holiday over easter.

    I've been real proud of myself that I haven't attempted to purchase anything new....but come april 6th - there's no telling what will happen after I empty all the bags that are in storage. i will be making up for some retail therapy as well as possibly lighting some matches

    When putting stuff in storage....never ever, ever stack your clothes and shoes in first. Never.....

    ReplyDelete
  2. It sounds like you're having a blast. Aside from the panic attacks of course. I've had those off and on and they're awful, i know. Glad it was so easy, or relatively so, for you to get your licenses. :) Best wishes with the house hunting! And i'm loving hearing your stories!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Congrats on getting your license so easily! That must be a huge wait off. And best of luck with the house hunting. I myself am a sucker for a Colonial :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. oh, I remember well that living out of a suitcase thing. Well worth it though. We've been doing some spring cleaning and going through years of old files. Came across a file filled with houses we looked at while house hunting from Dallas. They were fun to see again. So, wanted to suggest to you that you might post pictures of houses that you look at as it will be a fun travel log and help you remember them all! (And, we would like to see them too!)

    happy hunting!
    xxoj.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are welcome..Thank you.

Living in Argentina

Living in Argentina

Blog Archive

Pages

And Don't Forget To Visit Me Here Too !

See more photos here

sunset in Buenos Aires

Powered By Blogger