Julie's 365 Day Journey

 I am a grandma to a healthy little boy!  No pictures. No info. Out of respect for the wishes of his parents, this little guy will have no social media presence. That’s kind of a refreshing idea!

 Poor Leah. She is still in labor. Yesterday was not the day so today will be the day I become a grandma! I’ll post again later today update. More construction is happening at my house today so that will keep me preoccupied. The electrician is here this morning to move a couple outlets and upgrade my smoke detectors. Yesterday was a Drywall day so everything is covered with that film of drywall dust. Later on today my fabulous contractor GINO will be here. He really is a great guy. He speaks multiple languages which is important in Florida. Frequently the workers need to call him during the day. Most of the conversations go like this: Blah blah blah Julie’s house. Blah blah blah blah blah Julie blah blah blah blah. Blah blah Julie blah blah drywall. Blah blah electric.  Then Gino calls me and says whatever the workers needed. It’s usually something simple but the process to communicate is slow. I have started using google translate to get things accomplished quicker. It’s a funny scena

 Leah is in labor and could deliver my first grandchild today! When Leah was a little girl she made this bracelet for herself. She was probably in 2nd grade. I never threw it away. While unpacking a kitchen box this morning, I found her creation lying at the bottom of the box. Today of all days she needs to see it. It's a symbol of what she has always know about herself. 

My parents came to help me with the move. Thank goodness they were here because I couldn’t have done it without them. The painters loved my mom and dad. My dad’s big project was to change out all the door handles and hinges. He also put together 3 big book cases to showcase my polish pottery collection. The painters didn’t speak English but this gal and my dad became fast friends and she watched him, learned from him and helped him.  I found 21+ of these crazy cherubs all over the house. They just kept popping up!  I kept this one and used it as a door stop.  Messy but at least the old furniture is completely gone from the previous owner. Buying a house “turnkey” doesn’t  mean that it’s good lookin. It just means it has a couch and all the stuff you need to live there. Mom’s domain was the kitchen and she killed it!  Every single solitary fork, dish, bowl, pot and accessory found a home. She put it all together so nicely but then I decided to change the countertops. Now the kitchen loo

 So  Many Changes When I started this blog, I had no idea that I would be moving. I knew I wanted to get out of my old house but I didn’t really know I’d be doing all of this. You can’t just move. It’s so much harder than that. Here’s the timeline by months. January - decide to move and talk to a realtor about homes options in my town February - realize the homes in Indiana are just as expensive as the homes everywhere else and I can live somewhere fabulous with wonderful weather March - start a house hunt in Florida  April - put my house up for sale and actually find a buyer so quickly it made my head spin May - find a house in Florida in a golf community in a great location  June - drive both cars down to Florida in two trips while I wait for the closing on my new home in hopes that I can get all moved in by the time Leah’s baby is due at the end of June Reading that makes it sound so simple. It wasn’t simple, easy, carefree or a delight. It was backbreaking, mind blowing, nerve wrac

 I’m back home and getting ready for the big move. Thanks to the college boys down the street. My attics are completely empty. Would anyone like a Christmas tree? I have five. How about a trophy? I have many trophies that little girls collect that I will be happy to share. Need a vacuum cleaner? I have three of those. And there are boxes and boxes and boxes of junk. The funniest thing I found in the attic are the light up deer that we used to put in the yard at Christmas. Unfortunately, the neighborhood hooligans always put our deer in compromising positions. The deer have lived in uncompromising positions in the attic for at least 10 years. It’s time for them to find their final resting place at Goodwill!