150 days to go!!!

I just noticed my counter and it is only 150 days to go!!

Australian Open

Well so much for clearing and sorting this weekend. With the Australian open on, not much has happened. I really need to get my act together. We are probably going to try and rent the place furnished. Our property manager here says that often the local nuclear power station will take a lease on a place for their visiting consultants.

Last week I managed to get 2 boxes of clothing out for the Diabetic Society to pick up. My late father's suit went out and  the pockets were still sewn up! That is how new it was. I think he wore it once. Oh well.

What does one do with electronics? I have so many cables and a scanner, old video conversion hardware. memory cards, etc. Cell phones I can donate to a company that gives them to women to use as an emergency phone.

I have so many photographs in frames and in boxes. I wish I had time to scan them all onto disks. That is not going to happen.

I have an all in one printer that I want to take, but will have to get a wireless print server, or get a wireless printer.

Roger Federer is winning this match, so maybe I will be able to get to other chores before too much longer. I recorded the match earlier and am watching a replay. So far I managed to avoid hearing or seeing the result, but I think Roger will win this one. WOW! How many Grand Slams is that??

Heat Wave

We are having a heatwave in Southern Ontario at the moment. Temps are a couple of degrees above freezing all of this week. Break out the Shorts, Tee shirts and sandals! It won't be long before we are back in the deep freeze.

Woo Hoo only 162 days to retirement!

Good progress made tonight.

I have several boxes of stuff put aside for donation to various charities. A bag of stuff for the garbage. Duvets and sleeping bags for Salvation Army. Books for the North York General Hospital book Sale. Progress is being made. The aim is to get the condo "dressed" for selling. The sooner we start the selling process, the better.

Winter Mornings

It gets harder and harder to get up in the morning, especially now that it is so cold and dark. All I can think about is getting on the road and getting to a warm place. Our first priority is to go to California for a few months to stay with our "American Mother" who has been diagnosed with breast cancer. She needs care and moral support. It is just unfortunate that I am unable to get there before July. Her 90th birthday is on August 20th. That would have been my father's 91st birthday!! However my sister is trying to make arrangements to go there after the surgery.

My resolve to shed all the trappings of normal life and lead a more simple life is strengthening by the day. Why on earth do we collect all our lives and then when we get to this phase, it makes it so much harder to shed all that stuff? I wish we could start out being so smart as to not collect all these things.

The things that I am going to miss the most are my amazing kids, their partners and my wonderful grandchildren, Noah and Owen. Everything else is just lint.

The beginning!

Well, I have started this clearing process today. There is so much stuff that I look at and think, Will I ever need this? I have found little treasures that belonged to my Dad who passed away in February 2009, 6 months shy of  his 90th birthday. They will go into a box and be sent on to my brother somehow! There is a lovely tapestry that my mother made many years ago. I have asked my sister if she wants it. Somehow we will get that to her in Maryland.

How does one collect so much kitchen stuff?? What about the papers? What do you do with all the paperwork accumulated?

I have some woven rugs that we bought before we left South Africa. I love them, but as they are predominantly cream, will be no good for the RV.

Old electronics, cell phones etc. will have to be disposed of in a responsible manner.

Everything is so overwhelming. The sooner we can sell the condo, the sooner we can move into our little home on wheels.

Some friends of ours who live in Cambridge, to the West of Toronto have offered to store a few boxes of things in their large unfinished basement. That is a relief. My grandmother's Spode china ware cannot be sold. A few pieces of family silver. maybe that can go to my sister as well.

Anybody want a 30 year old Passap knitting machine?? I really was going to do some knitting when we came here 20 years ago. Who knew that sweaters are no good at temperatures below 6C

Looking around, I don't know how I am going to be able to get rid of all this stuff....too overwhelming. I must make a start today!!

Decluttering

If we want to sell the condo by the end of June, I have to get my A into gear and start getting rid of all the stuff. I even have tons of junk that belonged to my Dad and he passed away nearly a year ago. Maybe I should plaster pictures of the motor home all over the place to keep me focused. I have notified the director of my department that I am probably leaving at the end of June (my birthday month). They will have to find a replacement and then I will have to train that person to take over from me.

My stomach is in a permanent knot and I am finding that I am very anxious about this whole thing. What a big step to take, but we have to do it sometime and the sooner the better.

The big question is....do we sell the condo or do we put a tenant in it. Another option is to sell it and buy a smaller, cheaper condo that is on a single level because my knees and ankles are not benefitting from the 3 flights at all.

Virginia, my American mother, is very excited for us and I think that she is very happy that I will be able to spend more time down with her. especially now in the winter of her life.  Of course, spending winter down in Southern California is no hardship at all. We will miss the kids and the grandkids though.  we will NOT miss the Canadian winters.

We have made a big decision

This weekend we have made the decision to go full time Rving. The plan is for me to stop work at the end of June and move into the Motor home. Initially we will probably park at Moodies Motel as it is cheap and we can get full hookup. We have not decided yet if we will sell or rent out the condo, but we are leaning toward selling. Once we have finished travelling, we will not want to cope with the stairs and will probably buy a condo on one level or a bungalow.

We will see how we go with the Regal. At 30 feet it will be a small living space, but if we are careful with what we put in it, it will be fine. If we do find it too small then we may rethink the plan slightly and look for a good used A class or switch to a 5th wheel.

I am dreading going in to work tomorrow and having to tell the boss. A very bad time especially as we are moving into a new phase of the project. Gulp!

I am going to try and keep this blog up to date with our news and post at least once a week until we are on the road. There is so much to do, the least of which is the disposal of all our stuff and still some of dad's stuff. There is so much sentimentality attached to a lot of things that it is going to be hard, but it must be done.

A new baby

Our daughter, Suzanne and son-in-law, Sandy, have given us a new grandchild, Owen Edward Robertson. Born November 14th, 2009. He is the image of his big brother except that his hair is dark. Noah just loves his baby and really enjoys talking to him and holding his hand.