It's a long haul... clearing out the house completely; finding a home for my kitty boys; garage sale; tenant... It's difficult to keep foucused on the prize - South Africa for Christmas and Belize in March - with so much upheaval around. And my To Do list doesn't seem to get any shorter!
But it feels like it is all coming together now, with a lot packed up and more stuff gone, either sold through Facebook marketplace or the garage sale on Saturday (with another this coming Saturday).
Sad Echoes
The house echoes and footsteps are extra loud with it being almost completely empty now. Of course, I still have the kitty corners and their special sleeping areas. The sad thing is, they will be going to their new home this coming weekend and they know something is up! Such intuitive little creatures. I've tried to keep their routines consistent but when they see "their" furniture and stuff going out the door... well, they look at me in dismay! But they will be fine, I keep telling myself. They will probably adjust better than I do!
This week is more cleanup, trash runs, hazardous waste disposal, for sale signs for my car. And then I will move myself to Mardelle's for the last few days here, while the house is cleaned and prepared for the tenant.
The few days up in Port Townsend will give me the time I need for two articles I need to get done and which I am already late on! And Susan and I will probably go over to Ballard as I am not happy with the photos I took while I was there. Maybe by then, I will have my new camera!
Sanity Break
Susan whisked me out of here yesterday for a break from the mayhem and we went to a little cafe across the bridge called Butcher and Baker Provisions. Very cute place with good food, good coffee and good service. Then we strolled around Port Gamble and took in the dahlia garden which is spectacular and reminded me of Mum's passion for them. Growing up, there were always rows of dahlias leading down to the cottage. The Port Gamble ones are brilliantly colored and all with different shapes and styles and really brightened up a very dull day (weather-wise).
The Belize article in All at Sea just went online and I am very happy with it. They did a good job posting it and it's always a vailidation for what I do! I'm really looking forward to doing a lot more writing once all this stuff is done and dusted!