Time to shuck it and chunk it!

We are loving the cooler Autumn days and quiet moments in the Texas Hill Country.  Our new routine is surprisingly comfortable.  Ol' Abner is still avoiding crowds and small children, but we have adapted to a nice lifestyle.  The playhouse, completed last fall, but never fully enjoyed is calling him. Daughter in Law's mustang and Ol' Abner's newly acquired vintage corvette are housed therein and multitude of partially unloaded boxes surround the machinery.  The riding lawnmower was damaged as he and son pulled the corvette off the trailer, and he has tools scattered for it's repair.  I'm perfectly ok with an indisposed riding lawn tractor.   I prefer to mow with a power mower that I can push.  It's a much more satisfying process for me. Lawn tools only occupy a small amount of the space. I don't care if he gets the rider repaired any time this year, unless it's just to move it elsewhere in the playhouse.  All the boxes, as yet unloaded, should probably be discarded and never worried over again.  The wardrobe box with my tablecloths hasn't been needed, and I'm really out of the mood to serve meals on lovely linen. The stuffed animals from our children's early childhood can go home with them or I'll say bye to them. Boxes of empty picture frames should be donated to a thrift shop.  Now Ol' Abner's stuff may be another story, but I'll see if I can prod him into action. Perhaps it's time to pare down and simplify.  I know I've said that before...but this time I mean it!...because I can FEEL it! 

A Mystery is Solved

We left the Houston condo just over a month ago.  Ol' Abner made his exit with a loaded pickup as I gathered the last of our belongings and awaited our landlord's visit to retrieve keys.  I had most everything loaded in my car and with only a couple of trips to the dumpsters needed to finish my mission.  She came in and surveyed the items we would leave behind for the next occupants and we had a lovely visit.  One last walk through to be sure I wasn't leaving necessary items, and I was out the door and through the front gate.  It was late that night when I pulled my loaded car into the garage, came inside and promptly crawled in bed.  The next morning, Ol' Abner had unloaded my car and stacked it's contents neatly on a table in the garage, that is the things he hadn't already put away. I was ever so grateful that I didn't have to unload that cargo.  It was a few days later when a certain piece of costume was necessary to complete my look.  I went to the closet in search of my jewelry travel bag. It's where the most of my accessory pieces are stored, and when I could not find it, panic began to build.  Well, perhaps not true panic, but a sick level of concern.  I replayed each step of the load and questioned Ol' Abner extensively about the unloading process.  I called the new occupants of the condo, asked Dancin' Girl to search the room where we sleep when visiting at her house, and finally unloaded all the shelves of my closet, all the travel bags, and boxes with no travel bag found.  I was distraught, Ol' Abner felt guilty and suggested I go buy more jewelry.  I explained that these things can't be found when I'm looking for them.  Costume jewelry just speaks when seen at the the right time and place. Once in a while, when purchasing a new item of clothing, coordinating accessories can be located at the same time.  That's when shopping is really serious and I am not much of a serious shopper. My bag is an ever evolving collection to which I must add and subtract frequently as my wardrobe dictates. 

Dancin' Girl and Guitar Man made a quick trip to the lake this weekend.  They have been unable to come down since we have been back. They brought our mail and checked in with neighbors to keep our homeplace going while we spent the necessary months in the Houston Medical Center.  When a funeral appearred to have sidetracked their plan to come this weekend, they decided a short trip was better than no trip and came anyway.  We gathered the makings for dinner, marinated meat and chopped some veggies to meet them as they arrived.  She has been concerned about a spike in the water bill.  I make a trip over and walked through the house listening to running water.  We stopped by and looked at the water meter to see if it was running with no apparent activity, but still no clue to the mystery water flow.  She texted to let us know they had arrived, and that a mystery had been solved. She told me she would show us when we arrived.  As we walked in she pointed out the shampoo bottle I had left on her counter (over a month ago).  I was horrified that I must have left the shower running or some such stupidity.  I'm not always good at reading clues.

 She sent me into the room where we had slept when we were home before the move with an ailing air conditioner.  We took advantage of a cool place to sleep at their lakehouse and I left for my quilting retreat the next morning.  I suddenly remembered unloading several undergarments AND my jewelry travel bag to lighten the load I was carrying.  I'm relieved to have found it.  Once again, Dancing Girl has resolved a trauma in my life and I have added a few pieces that may become favorites to my collection.