Continuing our holiday-like approach—visit and run—in seeing the kids and grands before leaving for the winter, we were off early Sunday morning to Memphis to see Jenny, Brian, and Harper.  We traveled via Judsonia to drop off the Expedition for winter at my sister’s.  We met Jenny and family at the Memphis Zoo and enjoyed one of the USA’s top 5 zoos for a couple of hours before driving to their house for a continued visit and a late lunch.  After another couple of hours, Harper was ready for a nap, going ninety to nothing.  We had a wonderful visit, and drove the 2 1/2 hours back to Maumelle COE Park for much needed quiet time before a really hectic week.

There was nothing, absolutely nothing, on our calendar for today, Friday—definitely a change of pace from the last several weeks/months.  We drove to Karyn’s after lunch to wash clothes and download apps for the iPhones, iPad, and MacBook, staying for dinner, and enjoying lots of playtime with Ridge.

Again, for the second day in a row, we didn’t have anything on our schedule for Saturday.  We had a great leisurely morning, a walk around Maumelle COE Park, and a big breakfast before washing both the Expedition and Honda.  We will store the Expedition at my sister’s over the winter, and didn’t want to leave a dirty car for their use or for to come back to in the springs.  It was unseasonably warm, with highs in the mid-80s, necessitating the use of one of the air conditioners.  It draws over 15 amps, and when combined with phantom power uses, our consumption was a heavy 22 amps, meaning we couldn’t use any other major appliance without “popping” the breaker—such is life parked in a 30 amp site!

A bit refreshed after completing the move from Norfork and a good night’s sleep, we enjoyed a walk around Maumelle COE Park Monday morning.  With time on our hands, we shopped at Sam’s Club for a few food items, then drove to Kay’s daughter’s to wash clothes and download updates to the computer, iPads, and iPhones.  We met with Brandon Tedder, owner of Renaissance Homes and our builder, to finalize plans and the construction contract.  And then, it was back to Karyn’s for some play time with Ridge and a family dinner.  We were back at the motorhome by 8 PM, and in bed shortly thereafter.

We returned to the Renaissance Homes office Tuesday morning to execute the contract and make decisions about the new house, getting into such details as location of the return air, location of electrical and media outlets, location of outside water faucets, cabinets, built-ins, and a myriad of other details.  We spent all day, but picked out almost everything, including appliances.  Next Monday, before we leave for Texas, we’ll pick out tile, flooring, roof, and paint.  It helps tremendously to have done this before, and to have seen enough of their work to know what we like.  We would be remiss not to mention Cris, who works for Renaissance and assists with picking out everything.  She definitely has her act together, and is assertive enough, but not too much.  Cris made the process much less difficult and painful than it could have been.  And, we really like her tastes.

An early morning trip to Hot Springs Village was on the agenda for Wednesday.  Arriving at about 9 AM, we met the builder and surveyor at the lot to agree on the layout of the house on the lot, then drove to the bank to open a safety deposit box, then to the post office to effect a change of address to Texas for the winter, and then to the storage unit to straighten and tidy up the space for potential storage of new appliances and furniture.  By then, it was noon and we split a chef salad and rueben sandwich at Ponce de Leon Golf Club; it was fantastic!  Finally, it was back to Maumelle COE Park for a brief nap before heading off to dinner with son Ron and his significant other, Cheryl.  It reminds me of Christmas where we try to visit each of the kids in a short period of time, almost a race, but we’re getting too old for this hectic pace.

Up and at ‘em again Thursday morning.  We met with the mortgage banker at 9 AM just to say hello, and have a cup of coffee.  And then, it was off to Cajun Brothers Furniture Store in Conway, Arkansas, to begin looking at furniture for the new house.  Back in the greater Little Rock area, we drove through a Maumelle neighborhood to identify brick facades and roofing we liked.  On the way to Maumelle COE Park, we had a late lunch at a Greek restaurant, and the grilled lamb was excellent, as was Kay’s chicken gyro.  Finally, we returned to the campground, changed clothes, and walked about 4 miles; we’re tired!

Another busy morning awaited us today, Sunday.  Up early, we readied the motorhome for it’s final move south; we will spend a few days in central Arkansas contracting with a builder for a house in Hot Springs Village, and visiting grands and kids.  Dumping the tanks in darkness, we were on the road at first light, 7:15 AM.  Kay drove the Expedition and I drove the motorhome towing the Honda CR V loaded down with “toys”, i.e. bicycles and golf clubs.  We arrived at Maumelle COE Park on the Arkansas River at Little Rock, only to find a near full campground resulting from a rare U of A football game in Little Rock, the state fair, and gorgeous fall weather.   The campground was chaotic as many campers were leaving and others coming in; one idiot had blocked a oneway road with his truck and trailer, and his wife was directing traffic to drive on the grass!  We settled in a nice 30 amp site.  We drove to Maumelle to attend a party celebrating Ridge’s 3rd birthday—lots of sugar and kids on sugar!  We then drove to Trinity United Methodist Church for a concert by the Annie Moses Band—perhaps one of the best groups I’ve ever heard.  Comprised of 6 Julliard trained siblings, an award-winning father who played the piano, and an award-winning percussionist and an award-winning vocalist, the classically trained band played a variety of music.  Photos are from their website.  Awesome!  And what a way to start celebrate the first day of the rest of our lives.  

U+Haul trucks are basic to say the least—no powered accessories, a rough ride, and the front bounces all over the road—but they meet one’s needs for moving stuff.  I left Quarry COE Park Saturday morning at 7:30 AM driving the 20 foot U+Haul, and arrived in Hot Springs Village at 11:30 AM.  Kay left 30 minutes afterward, and arrived at 11:45 AM.  We removed loose stuff at the rear of the truck to facilitate unloading the boxes while waiting for the hired helpers to show up; they never did!  Consequently, Kay and I unloaded the entire truck ourselves, and got almost everything in the climate-controlled storage room except for a few outside tools which we placed in the outside storage room.  After unloading, we drove to Walmart to fill up with gasoline, then to the U+Haul return facility, and then back to Quarry COE Park, arriving at 7:45 PM—a long, hard day for us!  Tomorrow, we leave Baxter County for good, perhaps returning to visit friends, dentist, and doctors next spring.

Today, Friday, we said good-bye to my/our dream house in the woods, Dunnhill, in Norfork, Arkansas.  I spent almost 2 years designing it before deploying to Iraq in 2003.  And then, upon return, a fabulous builder, Dennis Charbonneau (recently deceased via a motorcycle accident), constructed it over a 10-month period.  We moved in on May 13, 2004, on a rain day.  With almost 5,000 square feet under roof, ceilings as high as 19 1/2 feet, and located in the woods, we loved living in it—we couldn’t see the street from the house because of all the trees; just yesterday as we were readying for the move, almost a dozen deer and 16 turkeys visited the feeders.  We spent many hours watching deer, turkeys, butterflies, hummingbirds, pileated woodpeckers, goldfinches, tufted titmice, chickadees, and other birds, a fox, a bobcat, armadillos, coons, squirrels, chipmunks, and other wild creatures while sitting in the house, or on the patio, or on the front, tree-top high deck.  And watching the deer and squirrels during recovery from cancer surgery in December 2010 and January 2011 was comforting.  We experienced a lot of sadness and many joys while living in the house.  Kay’s mother and my father and brother passed away, and I suffered through cancer and a mild heart attack.  But, on the joyous side, both daughters married, the son engaged, the older grandson off to college, two grandkids born, and another on the way—many memories for 10 years and 5 months.  Throughout the entire time, God richly blessed and protected us.  We said good-bye without any tears, and now, it is time for a new beginning!

First thing Wednesday morning, we drove to the dentist in Calico Rock for semi-annual cleaning.  Upon our return, we packed the Keurig and some misc items, finished packing the motorhome, and moved it to Quarry COE Campground; it’s the first time it’s been driven since late March!  Back at the house, we pre-positioned bulky items to the front porch to facilitate the move, and returned to Quarry COE Campground for the first night of living in the motorhome—for at least the next 6 months.  We were exhausted after the day’s activities and were in bed by 8:30 PM.

We both awoke at 4:00 AM Thursday morning, had coffee, and read email, etc. on our iPhones as the iPads were left at the house.  We returned to the house about 6:00 AM to do some last minute taping of boxes, and then drove to pick up the U+Haul truck in Mountain Home.  After looking at the choices, we opted for a 20-foot truck in lieu of the 26-foot model.  Two Norwood Moving Company workers reported to the house, and quickly loaded our meager belongings!  We spent the rest of the morning cleaning the shop/hobby room and lower garage, the refrigerators and freezer, disconnecting and packing the DirecTV hardware (good riddance), and disconnecting the Centurytel modem/router (great riddance).  We took advantage of a last shower in a BIG shower, washed and dried a couple loads of clothes, and drove to Quarry COE Campground for a quiet evening.  LouAnn, our sweet housekeeper, gave us a gift certificate to Colton’s which we used for dinner.  She will be greatly missed.  I was in bed shortly after 8:00 PM.

Don’t be fooled by the title; it refers to losing the blog entries for these three days, and having to reset the computer’s operating system back to square one—that’s what happens when one uses a beta version of a new operating system!

We continued saying goodbyes Sunday morning at the Crossroads Band warm-up, church, Sunday school, and lunch.  We have really enjoyed our time at First United Methodist Church in Mountain Home, and particularly enjoyed the Crossroads Band and the Sunday school class.  Dr. Paul Wilbur, our Sunday school teacher, is undoubted one of, if not, the best “teachers” I’ve ever had!  We had lunch with Al and Gaye at Chen’s and getting to know them has been one of the highlights of living in the area.  After a walk-thru of the house, we discovered that a lot of “little” things needed to be thrown away or packed, so packing continued packing into the evening.  No hummingbirds were observed today.

Happy birthday, Jenny.  One of my greatest blessings was your birth 34 years ago today.  Monday provided an opportunity for a last lunch with Wayne and Harold, two neighbors.  The three of us began celebrating our respective birthdays with a single lunch once a year several years ago, and while Wayne and I visit frequently, it gives us a chance to visit with Harold this one time a year.  Harold mentioned that Wayne is now the “old” man in the neighborhood while Harold is a close second—time flies!  We are nearing completion of packing personal things as a few more boxes were packed today.  In order to get a head start on all the things we need to do this week, I took down the real estate sign at the front of the property so that Kay could return it to her office later in the week.  We phoned Chuck and Sue Mercer, Canadian friends living in Alberta, to find them doing well, and signed up for curling, a popular Canadian sport, for November and December.  A number of hummingbirds were observed feeding today.

We were up early Tuesday morning and off to Walmart for packing paper and tape.  The light mist continued well into the morning as we loaded the power washer and canoe.  Loading the canoe proved challenging as the Expedition is high, and the canoe is long, heavy, and unwieldy.  Nevertheless, we finally got it on top and tied down.  The house received its final cleaning today; we were fortunate to find LouAnn as she does a superb job.  Kay and I delivered the canoe and power washer to my sister’s for winter storage, and it was a stressful drive as we had to stop and retie 3 times because of the 20 to 30 miles per hour crosswinds the entire drive.  Despite the hard drive, the brief visit with family was good.  We talked to Al and Sharon, friends from Ontario, tonight and are delighted that they will arrive in the RGV shortly after we arrive.  We enjoy playing bridge with them, and Al and I play golf together.

Despite cool weather and windy conditions, Kay and I witnessed our first-ever Monarch butterfly migration on Sunday. After leaving Early Church service, we saw many Monarchs flying in “formation”, then we saw the same thing at Walmart, and then again near our house during a delayed morning walk. We must have seen hundreds. Though new to observing butterflies, this is the first migration we have ever witnessed, and it was very special. We also saw several other different species that have been absent the last few weeks.
Today, Monday, marks Karyn’s 3? birthday; happy birthday!  She spent the day working from home as Ridge was a bit under the weather.  Today, October 6, also marks the day hummingbirds typically leave our area migrating south; only 2 of the last 10 years have we observed hummingbirds at a feeder later—one year October 7 was the last day and another year the hummingbirds appeared into November.  As for packing, we have decided to take a break for a few days, but we’re almost finished anyway.  Also, we decided to delay our physical move south for a week; we’ll pack the moving truck on October 16, and move on October 18, a day after the real estate transaction closes.  I was supposed to fish with Ed Richmond, his daughter Mary, and grandson Simon, but near constant generation on the Norfork prevented our wading.  Instead, twelve-year old Simon fished Dry Run Creek and had a blast, as did all the adults watching.  An excellent fly caster and fisher, he caught upwards of 30 trout, including a couple of behemoths.  Of course, grandfather Ed was all grins.  It was a hoot.
Tuesday was uneventful for us, except for having a new compressor installed for the house air conditioning, but since we’re selling the house we would rather it go on the blink while we can have it repaired than have new buyers have to deal with it.  We did have a hummingbird visit one of the feeders!  Does this portend unusual weather this winter?  
After our morning walk and breakfast, I fulfilled an appointment Wednesday morning with the cardiologist regarding my July heart attack and implant of stints.  Everything checked out okay, he removed baby aspirin (81 mg) from my daily meds—now, it is just Plavix and a senior vitamin—and sent me on the way without another appointment until July 2015!  Kay remained home for the repair of the ice maker; it was producing crushed ice, but not ice cubes.  Seems like a switch had stuck in the back of the ice maker, and the repairman “unstuck” the switch for $60+; oh well!  We rewarded ourselves for all the hard work the last couple of weeks by hitting a bucket of golf balls and working briefly on our short game.  We had lunch at a new Mexican restaurant (okay, but not great), then picked up absentee ballots for the November election, and then shopped for groceries.
Selling the house has been a roller coaster ride for us, with lots of ups and downs.  The break from packing this week has helped us cope with some of the consequent stress.  I resumed packing today, Thursday, trying to bring some sense of organization to the shop/hobby room, the mobilization area for packing and the move.  Kay drove into town for a “beauty shop” appointment and to take care of other business; while there she learned that the last potential obstacle to “closing” the real estate deal had been resolved.  Consequently, we will be closing on the Norfork house on Friday, October 17.  We will move the motorhome to Quarry Park on Wednesday, October 15, and then pick up a U+Haul truck on Thursday, October 16; with the help of two hired men, our meager belongings will be loaded on the truck that day.  After loaded, the U+Haul truck will be parked until after closing.  On Saturday, October 18, we will drive the U+Haul truck and one of our cars to Hot Springs Village and meet two workers who will unload the boxes into two storage units in the Village.  We will then drive back to Norfork and stay in the motorhome.  On Sunday, October 19, we will drive the motorhome, tow vehicle (Honda CR V), and Expedition down to the Corps of Engineers Maumelle Park near Little Rock.  We will be there for approximately 8 days to visit with Harper and family in Memphis, and Ridge and family and Ron in central Arkansas before departing for the winter in Texas.  While in Little Rock, we will finalize building plans, execute a construction loan and building contract, sign required permit requests, and arrange for mail forwarding from our HSV P.O. box.  Please pray for travel mercies for us.
We have begun saying our goodbyes to friends in Baxter County.  Today, Friday, we had lunch with some of our dearest and “oldest” friends in this area, Dick and Carolyn Todd.  We met them at our first church in Mountain Home, and I took an instant liking to Dick.  He has proved to be as smart and handy as first suspected, and loyal as can be.  And Carolyn is as good a person—compassionate, caring—as one will ever meet.  We took many short trips together, had a lot of fun nights playing cards, enjoyed a bunch of Dirty Santa Christmas parties, and both Dick and I suffered from some severe health issues.  They are the only members of the “in Betweeners” from Twin Lakes Baptist Church that have remained in touch. We will miss them, but will stay in touch.  Both before and after lunch, we moved a few more things into the motorhome.  We are nearing the end of packing, and are having to check lists 2 and 3 times.  We ’re down to almost nothing left in the house.  We saw a couple of hummingbirds again today, marking the second “latest of the season” sightings since we’ve lived hear.
We still have hummingbird(s) coming to the feeder today, Saturday, though some look pretty bedraggled.  Early this morning, with a break in the rainy weather, I dumped the fresh water tank in the motorhome, and refilled the tank half full with soft water from the house which I chlorinated, adding a teaspoon and a half for the half tank.  This should allow us to make it for several days without water, should the need arise.  The ice maker was turned on, but alas, no ice, even after several hours.  There is a secondary filter under the sink for the ice maker and potable water outlet that essentially removes odors; I couldn’t remember which way the valve was supposed to be turned, but given the “no ice” situation, turned it opposite the way it was and after a few more hours, ice appeared—one little hurdle at a time.  On a sad note, we received word today that our part-time next door neighbor, Charlie DuVall, passed away this morning.  Charlie played basketball and was on the 1973 Final Four Memphis State team.  He had a heart of gold and will be greatly missed; our prayers go out to his wonderful wife, Rima.

With guests leaving early, Kay and I went to church and Sunday school, and ate lunch at Chen’s with Bruce and Joan.  We resumed packing Sunday afternoon.

Kay received a call Monday morning from the buyer’s bank to schedule a time for their appraisal of the house; the appraisal was scheduled for Wednesday morning.  We continued packing Monday and Tuesday, but our enthusiasm is quickly subsiding.  

The appraiser came, did his job, and left Wednesday morning while we packed.  We took off several hours to drive into Mountain Home for high dose flu shots, “13” pneumonia shots, and a tetnus, etc. shot for me—what a circus.  Walgreens did not have the high dose flu vaccine, but Fred’s Dollar Store did, but when we drove there, the computer link to Medicare was down and they could not fill any prescriptions.  We run errands until 1 PM, returned to Fred’s and managed to get the flu shots and my tetnus, etc. shot, but they did not have the “13” vaccine, so it was back to Walgreen’s for that.  Some 30 minutes later, about 2:30 PM, we were finally on our way home, exhausted by all the convoluted system.  We packed like crazy for the rest of the day and early evening, and moved the boxes to the lower garage, our staging area, to make loading the moving truck easier.  For us, at our age and in this time of our lives, it has been “packing hell.”

By Thursday noon we were about 98% complete with packing, with only odds and ends remaining.  With temperatures in the mid-90s, the air conditioner had been on all week, and had been making a grinding and grating noise when starting up.  An inspection by Custom Heating and Air Conditioning revealed that the compressor would need replaced very soon.  Of course, we gave the go ahead to replace it—another $2,000 gone in a flash!  George and Nan arrived shortly before 6:30 PM for a visit.  Kay searched the near empty freezer and found some frozen soups, thawed and heated them, and made a large skillet of cornbread—after a tiring day for all, we thoroughly enjoyed the food—um um good!

Friday was family day, and we enjoyed George and Nan’s company.  George and I walked and visited with Wayne, while Kay and Nan treated each other to pedicures.  We all went into town for dinner at Chen’s, and upon returning to the house, laughed a bunch late into the evening with stories of kids, parents, and each other.

Geroge and Nan were up early, at least for them, Saturday morning as they had an almost 600-mile drive to Cincinnati.  We hated to see them go as we visit so rarely, but bid our farewell as they departed.  I drove to the feed store to buy corn for the deer and turkey feeders.  Kay filled bird feeders, and we filled the deer and turkey feeders.  As an aside, we’re making videos of the various systems around the house for the buyers, and Kay video-recorded the process of filling the feeder, replacing the battery, setting the program, and testing to make sure it works.  Kay packed a few things from the kitchen and her bedside table.  We’re keeping our fingers crossed—actually, saying a lot of prayers—that nothing will go wrong with the move, sale, and relocation
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