Happy New Year!!!

I spent the day going thru my Dad's estate papers....shredding and tossing. I had forgotten how much work there was to that whole ordeal (thankfully!!)
I guess Miss Lisa got bored....she was outside coloring with chalk in 37 degree weather! I made her come in, but first caught this pic and yep, that's snow behind her!! Crazy woman!!
Have a wonderful, healthy 2011!!

Huge Hugs,

Carol

Stuff...

I attacked the upstairs bonus room again this AM....down to the nitty gritty of it all. Thank God Jessi said we could leave some stuff! We'll try and pack it in the RV, but weight is a problem....just can't load the big sucker up!
Anyone know how long you keep paperwork from doing a parent's estate? I'm thinking I'll pitch them....it's been over 5 years....and yet.....
Planning another trip to the thrift store tomorrow IF it doesn't snow too badly.
Lisa saw a "big car" the other day in a parking lot and got very excited....she points them out wherever we go, so I know she is excited....still....I also know there will come the day when she wants to go "home" and she won't understand why we aren't. Her Alzheimers seems to be ramping up a bit....forgetfulness, irritability and yelling....please God, let us keep her as long as possible.....I love my girl SO much.

Jackson Rancheria RV Park

We decided to get the heck outa this rain/snow and take a drive to check out this RV Park. Not too far away....2 routes to get there that we wanted to check out. We have definitely decided on 88 to Dalton....the other way was full of scary turns and overhead dangers. We LOVED the RV Park and the casino did what they usually do to us...took our money!! LOL! Luckily, we never cash checks, use debit cards or the like...just took a small amount of cash and were smart enough to get out of there with still some of it in our pockets! Lisa's luck was actually better than our's (it usually is)
Back to the Rv part...nice and roomie for beginner drivers, beautiful, clean grounds, pet and people friendly....we think it's a keeper!!
Came straight home as we were concerned the rain may have turned to snow here....very happy to see only rain and fog!!

Snowing!

It's a day late from Christmas, but it allowed my brother, Kevin, and his lovely wife, Deborah to join us! Kris brought his girlfriend April and it was SO fun to have everyone here, laughing and telling all the old family stories!!
Can't wait til we are following the sun and not stuck in a "bricks and sticks" home...at the mercy of Mom Nature!! LOL!!

Got out all the good china, wineglasses, etc.

It just hit me....this will be my last Christmas in my house.....it's sad, but I remind myself that life is a journey and you never know what is right around the next bend. If I learned anything at all from Dave's passing, it was that. Life changes, shit happens and you either let it bury you or you grab a shovel! We are grabbing that shovel!!
And that part is exciting. We are guaranteed adventures because, well,we are Carol and Alan and they come easily to a couple of dorks! We know there will be times when we wonder what in hell have we done, we know that, but I am really thinking it will be fun and different and when if it ever becomes not fun...we'll stop and change paths.

It's only CHRISTMAS????

Scheeesh....time is really starting to drag! I went thru Lisa's room today and got rid of a bunch of stuff...papers and such. It's best to do it when she's not around, so she never misses it! Kinda like I had to do with David's blankie to wash it!!
Everything seems to be coming together, tho. One HUGE concern is health insurance for Alan. He will lose his when we leave and everything is SO expensive! Just for him, the cheapest we could find was over $200!! It's outrageous what Americans pay. You can get better care in other countries and pay half as much..... something is VERY wrong here.
Another biggie, is our conservatorship for Lisa. We have to go to court and get that changed to our legal residence, which will be South Dakota. Can't find a lawyer to help us with that.....why can't it be a simple form like with the DMV, for Pete's sake?
We will struggle thru it, tho and it will happen. The Universe didn't bring us this far, so easily, to have it not work out!!
Happy Christmas....We love you all!!
Carol, Lisa and Alan

Christmas Tree

Just finished the tree and assorted decorating......SO many special ornaments! Some are easy to let go of, but there are those (Kris' picture on one he made in the first grade, silly nostalgic ones that we got for free off a pizza box and the boys loved, my great, great grandmother's glass heart, the silly elves my Mom bought my brothers and myself, ...on and on!) that I will keep no matter what. We'll just have to find a space for them!!
Bitter/ sweet feeling knowing this is my last Christmas here.....I'm sure when I'm taking the tree DOWN (why is it such a PIA taking them down, but fun to put up?? LOL!!) my feelings will be more on the bright side.
I trimmed trees yesterday that got damaged in our first snow....too much work!! I'm glad Jessi and Matt will be doing that stuff! :0)

Floorplan and misc. thoughts

This is the floor plan of the Vectra and the Horizon we want....the front part is more a typical living room with the TV in a console and at an angle. The kitchen is the roomiest we could find and often even comes with a dishwasher! Fold out bed for Lisa is a Sleep Number bed and very comfy. The master is perhaps the smallest, but we don't need much space there, plus there is a washer and dryer back there! All of the stuff at home on wheels!! :0)
I still look around my beautiful property and it makes me sad to leave, but I know Jessi and Matt will take better care of it than I am able to do with my illness. It is a cold, drizzly day as I type this and it makes me VERY glad that we can get away from this kind of weather. Cold/rain/snow equals PAIN for me and I struggle (sometimes) to keep from screaming from it. Pain pills make me groggy and weird, so I try not to take them. It will be very nice to follow the sun and stay warm, for sure!
Christmas cards are done and the tree is at least on the back deck! We will get it up soon. At that time, I'll do more weeding....some to the thrift store, some to save (those "precious to me" ones or my great,great grandmothers beautiful ornament)
Sometime soon, I have to get upstairs and start weeding up there some more. We did it for hours one day, but there is still "the stuff" that hit the "what the hell do we do with this" pile.......

First Post

Hi...thanks for checking this out! I started this blog because some of you didn't even know we were leaving! Yup, we are selling our house to Jessi and Matt (and little John Henry, too) in early Feb. Once that is accomplished we will fly to South Dakota to establish our residency. You only have to stay 1 night and take that receipt to the DMV to get your new license. At that time, we will also get our snail mail forwarding set up, so we will have that address. Then, we will go out and find that perfect RV for us.
We have settled on a 40' diesel pusher made by Winnebago. They make 2 models....the Itasca Horizon (2004) and the Vectra (also 2004 floorplan) We have spent hours and hours online and at RV shows and stores (there are A LOT of different models out there all with differing floorplans).....now we just have to find it! Our plan is to leave somewhere around mid to late Feb.
We are all so excited to begin our new adventure!! SO many places we want to see. Lisa can't wait to go in her "big car" and we have an entire bin of maps and brochures!!
I will be updating this blog as we get closer and then later, of course, with our travels so you can follow us. You can also reach us on Facebook or at ThreeGypsees@gmail.com.