In the Middle of the Mess

Ten days before Christmas and yes, I have boxes all over the place.....but alas! they are not gift boxes nor are they wrapped. They are packed boxes or boxes waiting to be packed. I have made 11 trips to Raymondville with an assortment of stuff. And, I cannot really tell the difference....except for the mess....in my old house! Please note the picture of my temporary bed!!! Last week, I started checking about phone service and I found out that I don't have a lot of choices for internet. I contacted Sprint, my cell phone carrier, and discovered that I can use a "card" or whatever it is called and get internet service for my desktop. And, the little connection piece costs $300 + tax...however, it was a promotion until Friday of last week. It was free with a two year contract. So, I got it. Now, I am getting ready to take my computer apart and put it in the van. I will take it to Raymondville tomorrow and try to get it set up and working! I am so thankful that I called when I did....now during the 30 day trial period, I hope that it works and I will have good internet service and just use my cell phone, no landline, at least for now. Then also I contacted the moving company about the moving date. It cannot be scheduled until after January 5th due to heavy traffic on the international bridge and the company's vacation! And, the price for a medium sized U Haul type trailer is now up to $750. Oh, dear...I hope it doesn't keep going up in January. Well, it is back to packing and getting my computer ready for the trip to Raymondville. In about 1 month, I should be contracting the movers. But will this mess ever go away?.......

Moving On Again!

Well, almost all the blinds are up at the new house. Opie and I spent the night in Raymondville on Friday night after our Ladies' Christmas Celebration in Lasara. How nice it was NOT to have a long, dark drive to Reynosa. We slept on an inflatable mattress....not the best, but we did sleep. On Saturday, we went back to Reynosa and got the mirror for my chest of drawers. It would be hard to bring with other things. And, we slept in Raymondville for the second night. It was unbelievable to take only 15 minutes to get to church on Sunday morning. In the afternoon, my uncle helped me take the middle seat out of my van so I have more room for furniture. So, this will be another week of moving stuff to Raymondville!!! And, there are not many days before Christmas and NOT NEARLY ENOUGH days before I should have all my things in the new house. Thus begins another week of moving!!!!

Picking Up Speed.....as I Move!!!

On Monday, I went to make my last rent payment for the house in Reynosa. My deposit will cover the rent for all of January and I can use whatever time I need in February to finish up the cleaning and moving the cats and dogs in exchange for a window unit a/c and my gas stove. I am satisfied with our arrangement. Yesterday, my uncle and aunt who winter in So. Texas helped me get all the windows in my new house measured. Then we had a great lunch of Mexican food! Finally we went to Wal Mart and bought blinds for all the windows. Bro Balde from my church is scheduled to come and put up all the blinds tomorrow. I will be taking the first huge load to the new house tomorrow. Today, I will be packing....packing.....packing. So I am picking up speed as I move!!!!!

And The Moving Goes On.....

Another week has gone by and a glance at my countdown shows that as I write I have less than 48 days to complete this move. Wow! That is getting a little scary.

This week, I was able to set up accounts for gas, water, and lights and as of Tuesday everything will be in my name and I will be paying for the services. The wonderful news is that I did not have to pay a deposit for my electricity. I am so very thankful for that. I also met with the landlord, went over some things about the house, got the keys and paid the first month of rent. Then I was able to measure the windows for blinds and curtains. And, I looked again at how my furniture will fit. I have now taken four small loads of things to church and left everything in the office until I get the windows covered at the new house. I have another small load ready to go tomorrow.

Now, on Monday, I will get my retirement check so I will be doing the regular errands. On Tuesday, I hope to take my van to the dealership....it is making a funny noise I want them to check. On Wednesday, another load goes to Raymondville and I plan to buy the blinds and any curtain rods or brackets that I will need. Then one of the men from church is going to put up the blinds and curtain rods. I want to start playing Christian music and praying for protection and blessing in the house and for everyone who comes to visit. I will take another load plus Opie on Friday morning and hopefully, I can clean out the church office and set up for the Ladies Christmas Celebration that we will be having that night. On Friday night, Opie and I will be sleeping on an inflatable mattress in the new house for the first time. In the morning, we will go back to Reynosa, feed Chiquita and the cats, load up the van.....and go back to Raymondville to spend the night.

Well, those are the plans right now. I am so thankful for those who are praying for me during this rather stress-filled time. .....and the move continues...........

Another week passes....closer to my move

Well, another week has indeed passed. Mostly, I have been packing, boxes and bags and plastic tubs. They now decorate my living room, waiting for their trip to our new house. Then, there is the list-making! I have so many lists and so many items/things to do......but not one of them has been crossed out this week. I guess I am kind of in a holding pattern. I have all the information for connecting the utilities.....and will start working on that next week. Also, I will be signing the lease and getting the keys on Friday or Saturday of next week. Hopefully, things will start to speed up in another week or so.....especially since my countdown shows that the days are passing!!!! And, I keep on moving on........................

A Last Rose in Reynosa

Well, this morning, I trimmed bouganvillias and rosebushes.....I couldn't finish because there are still some rosebuds and I want to give them a chance to open and decorate my yard. I took a couple of pictures, realizing that this is the last time I will do the fall trimming here. I will have to leave behind my rosebushes. And, it makes me sad.

I will be leaving behind a lot.....really special friends, freshly made tortillas just down the block, a church that I spent lots of time attending, ministering in, and decorating. I will leave behind the real Pollo Loco restaurant,La Naranja--my friend Sara's restaurant, garbagemen who still use carts and horses, all the sounds of street venders, the extra slow, complicated way of doing things. I leave behind three lane highways that become five lane highways during rush hour. We (Opie and I) leave behind Maxie's husband and Opie's father, Carolino and his sister Carola. And, we leave behind two little graves...one for Chula and one for Maxie.

Tomorrow or the next day, I will consider all that I am taking with me and I will feel richer, blessed, and happy. But, for today, I am shedding some tears as I think about what will be left behind.

And, yes, I am moving on.......and it is okay.

Moving On Update

Just look at my countdown and you will see that I am approaching "two months" till I am moved to Raymondville. That is both encouraging and frightening....encouraging because a long drawn out moving process is tiring and frightening because there is so much to do. Right now, I have open boxes all over the house and I am organizing and packing in pieces while carrying on somewhat normal life here. Then, I have notebooks started....one has addresses that I will have to change and the other has measurements so I can see how things will (or will NOT) fit in the new house and lists of things that I will need to DO and BUY! NOTHING has been checked off BUT LOTS of things are being ADDED almost daily. I now know the mailing address of the house, that it is going to have a white hood for the stove (meaning that I need to buy a white stove which is fine since my refrigerator is white), and that I will need a shower curtain for the bathroom. I know that my living room curtains are too small for the new living room windows and that each bedroom has two windows. There is also a patio door which will need a curtain, two small windows in the laundry room, and one small window in the kitchen. I think I have decided to cover the one window in what will be my office/craft room with my entertainment center so it will only need blinds. It is the room that has patio doors so there will be windows or a way to have light in the room. Well, that is what I am thinking now. I am pretty sure that all my furniture will fit in the house....but I still need to get measurements to be sure. I learned that cats only need a current rabies shot in order to cross the international bridge....so I have to start updating their shots. Even though there is a terrible mess here (and Christmas decorating is probably not going to happen this year!), I am excited about my move. So that is where I am now.....and I am moving on.............