Feb 28, 2016

The Sunday Salon: The Big Move

Happy Sunday everyone! As many of you may know, I've been a little absent from the blog lately while  trying to sell my house and prepare to move back to my hone state of Ohio.  I thought today would be a good day to post an update. Big changes are coming very quickly!

Fortunately, my house sold in just two months, which is a real blessing! The buyer is a very nice woman who I"ve had the pleasure of meeting. She is a widow and she has grandchildren that I'm sure will be spending a lot of time here playing in the yard and filling the house with giggles and laughter. After living here for 23 years, I'm happy to hand the keys over to such a nice lady.

I've had a range of emotions running through my brain since my realtor told me she accepted my counter-offer. My first reaction was relief, quickly followed by panic when she told me the closing date was March 11th! I was overwhelmed with the daunting task of cleaning out this 3-bedroom house. As part of the sale, I had to make some improvements such as re-shingle the roof and install a new drainfield. Luckily, through people I've met while working in the construction industry for so long, I was able to get these two things done much cheaper than most. Some really wonderful people stepped up and came through for me and made it possible to get this done in record time. I will forever be grateful for their help.

Now, I'm  within a week of moving out of my house and things are falling into place. I'm 90% packed, the movers are scheduled and it's all becoming very, very real. With the help of my wonderful sister-friend, Brenda, (already living in Ohio), she has helped me find and secure an apartment in my new city, Amelia, Ohio. She will fly down the week of April 12th and on the 16th, she will drive myself and my cat, Jax, to Ohio with my mom and sister following. It's a big move for my little family and we are so excited! My mom and sister will be living in Galloway, Ohio while I'll be in Amelia.

I will not be buying a home because with my disability, it is better for me to rent an apartment. I am simply not able to manage the upkeep of a home and property any longer. I'm down-sizing and will not have the worry of costly repairs and maintenance. My 2 bedroom apartment will be perfect. It even has a pool! I'm really looking forward to spending time with family members I've seldom seen in my adult life and re-connecting with friends from long ago. This is a very exciting time and I'm looking forward to the future! That is not to say I won't miss the people I'm leaving behind in Florida. This has been my home since 1979 and I plan to keep those relationships strong.

I've gotten so far behind in my book reviews and it's going to be a bit longer until I get settled in my new home. I hope you will please bear with me until all this craziness is over. I've got some really great books to share with you!

Since this is Oscar Sunday and the awards show is tonight, I'd like to take this opportunity to give thanks to all of the people who've helped me during this transition. Special thanks to: Emerson Clauss III, Emerson Clauss IV, Brenda Ryder, Kevin Whitaker, Susan Goebel, Julie Tankersly, Pam Drake, John Mills, John Hudson, Brendan Cromwell, Terry Rowe, John Rutledge, and most of all, Carol Amos (my mom) for your never-ending support and love! It takes a village to move a partially blind woman and these are them! Thank you all for everything! I am forever indebted to you!

The next time I post it will be from Ohio! I will be back with more book love very soon and in the meantime I'll catch you on Facebook and Twitter!