Packing our suitcases today. Not enjoying this--having to get rid of clothes and shoes because they don't fit or are too heavy is no fun. Though I really don't "need" them, it's hard to just chuck them out. Dr. B wants to play it safe and way low-ball the weight limit, which I completely do not agree with. If 70 lbs./bag is allowed, why not fill them to 68??? He wants to stop at 50 lbs. Argh!

Am worried about our friends M&D, who live in New Orleans, which is preparing for a category 5 hurricane. Yikes--this may be the end of the French Quarter.


Dinner at friends' tonight--should be fun. We have a lot of friends we're really going to miss.

AGH! We leave in 3 days!

Well, we officially have no furniture. And camp mattresses do improve the sleep on a rough campsite in rural Menomonie, but leave much to be desired in comparison to a comfy mattress--neither of us woke up feeling refreshed this morning. Could be partly because we didn't get to bed until midnight, but the lamb burgers and fried cheese curds at Dotty Dumpling's Dowry made up for it.

I drove Dr. B to pick up the rental car at 7AM (I was bushy-tailed, but definitely not bright-eyed!) Now, after a breakfast of coffee, a scrambled egg, canadian bacon, and munster cheese on toast breakfast sandwich (made by yours truly) and some leftover fruit salad, I am now ready to face the day. OK, not really ready, but I have no desire to crawl back into that camp mattress bed.

Today the plan is to take the sleeping bags to the laundromat (to try to get rid of the musty smell), clean up all the little junk and box it up, load the truck and take over some of the little junk before we lose the truck Friday at 4 PM, and pack some books for mailing to France.

Maybe I'll also get around to sorting all our papers for France, and loading more CD's on to the computer for the iPods.

Dinner tonight at Gail's, tomorrow a SMG party, Saturday dinner at Christine's, Jeff and Shalynn will be here (sleeping on our guest room floor because there is no bed)--think we're busy enough?

Ah well--all the "hardships" will be worth it. We're moving to Paris!

Dr. B and friend Jeff went to get the truck to move our "big stuff" today. For the next week, we'll be sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags, and our only furniture will be a card table and chairs (but I think I can save the TV for a few days!) We only have the pickup until Friday, and will rent another car to use until we pick up the SUV he rented to drive to Chicago. (I know this is confusing, but bear with me.) This is it--we are really going!

I've been working with Lucy on the crate issue--she likes it fine when it doesn't have a door attached. I'm trying to convince her the door is a good thing by giving her peanut butter covered biscuits when she is in there with the door closed. So far she is a little skeptical about the whole thing.

Well, I better get some breakfast and shower so I can pack some more boxes.

Yay.

We sold our car! I can hardly believe it. First day it was in the paper--got a call at 7:49 AM, and that's the guy that bought it. Got several others as well, and another test drive, but this guy offerred us very close to what we asked, in cash, and it was above blue book value. Yay! And "Sob!" I really loved that car. I will definitely buy another Honda some day.

I guess that means we're really going. We're car-less. Dr. B. will have to rent a car to get to work next week, but we'll make it. Wow, we're really going to France! It's starting to sink in. There's no backing out now!

The total just came in: there were 26 tornadoes in our area yesterday.

Wow.

What incredible devastation. And unfortunately, not without casualties. One person died after the storms.


See more photos at http://nbc15.madison.com/unclassified/1782077.html



I guess I can't complain about soggy boxes anymore.

Crazy storms happening today--lots of rain and several tornadoes in the area. Right now they are reporting about 5 or 6 tornadoes at this very second--pretty crazy. Not fun! Of course, we were driving and unloading a truck full and everything got completely soaked, including us. Not fun carrying sopping cardboard boxes through pouring rain in flip flops. I just about flip flopped myself when I slipped on the water in the hallway of our storage unit. They are reporting quite a bit of damage, including the roof being ripped off the nursing home in Spring Green, where Dr. B is working this summer. I hope his company is OK. Yikes-- flying glass!

We had Dr. B's parents here Tues-Wed. and they helped a lot with packing and moving things into our storage unit. Sis is coming tomorrow, and I'll put her to work, too. We're making pretty good progress, but there is so much to do. Got some of our services (phone, electric, cell) cancelled today. Dr. B rented an SUV to drive us to Chicago on the big day. The ToDo list just keeps growing, though!

Off tonight to celebrate Mrs. Rutherford's birthday--as long as the tornado doesn't take out the downtown area!!! Happy Birthday, Mrs. R!!!

Got the truck! Blue Dakota with a CD player and extended cab. Yay! Amazing how much you can get done when you have wheels. (They frown on carrying large cardboard boxes on the bus.) Consigned a bunch of clothes, took others to Goodwill, got stuff from the bank, mailed 4 boxes of stuff to us in France, and got the dog microchipped and health certificate filled out--all in an afternoon! Too bad so many things are so far apart here--you really do need a car for so much. I will be taking loads to our storage unit now, in the back of the truck. :)

Dr. B is in Minneapolis tonight, so I am by myself with Lucy. They are showing our apartment tomorrow, so will have to clean some, plus the in-laws are coming tomorrow for a visit. I do have leftover birthday cake, so tonight won't be all bad by myself.

*NOTE* Clasen's Bach Torte--worth every calorie! (4 layers of chocolate cake with rum, vanilla buttercream, raspberry preserves, dark chocolate and crushed hazlenuts. MMMmmmmmmm... maybe I'll just skip dinner and eat cake.)

Happy Birthday to me!

Not much sleep last night--had to get up with the dog. Usually Mr. B does it. Had a hard time falling asleep--I hate that.

Mr. B awoke me with a lovely "where are the cookies you made last night?"

When I said I ate them, he stalked off, mad.

And made himself breakfast. A mushroom and tomato omlette. None for me.

And tea. No coffee.

Then he wondered why I was pouting.




Now, I have coffee and he's taking me out to breakfast.

I think I'm gonna make him sing "Happy Birthday" at the restaurant.

Heh.

OK, panic is over. Yes, I have way too much stuff, and will be making a sizable donation to Goodwill this year. Lots to do now, going through all the items for the now cancelled yard sale and figuring out what to do with them, but it will get done. Dr. B has rented a pickup truck for me for the next two weeks, so I can begin hauling things to our newly rented storage unit, and Lucy has an appointment to get a microchip inserted and her health certificate filled out. We now need to sell our car. I get the pickup on Monday. Yay! I hope it's black or red. And has a CD player.

My bud Maggie is coming Saturday (my birthday!) with her beau G-love, for one last visit. We warned them that they would be wading through boxes and the place would definitely NOT be clean! B's parents are coming next week (and have been warned to bring grubbies, as they will be put to work) and Sis is coming next weekend to also help a bit. Funny--now that we're leaving the country, we get more guests in 2 weeks than we've had all year!

Now we need to find some big burly people to help move the heavy stuff. I love my kitchen table, but it weighs about 4,000 pounds. (I can't even shift it to vacuum under it.) We'll definitely need some help with that.

You may be missing the pictures--in all the mess, I can't find the cord that links my camera and laptop, so I haven't been able to download the ones from the reunion, or any new ones. So here's one of Lucy, doing what she has been doing a lot, laying around and wondering what's going on.

I have been fighting migraines again, and spent Saturday and Tuesday face-down in bed. I upped my nightly meds to my normal dose again (had been going on 1/2 doses for a few months), and that makes me sleep much more deeply. So on Wednesday, Lucy decided that I had been spending too much time in bed. That morning, at 9:24, she came in the bedroom, looked at me, and let out a loud *BARK!*. Time to get up! So I followed her, thinking maybe she was out of water, hadn't been fed, wanted to go outside... no. She just wanted to sleep in the living room instead of the bedroom, and wanted me in there, too. But by that time I was already awake, so it was pointless to try to sleep on the couch, and so I showered and started packing boxes while she happily slept under the coffee table. Brat. He who coined the phrase "dumb dog" never met Lucy.

Back to packing! We leave in 2 1/2 weeks!

Oh NO!

Our resident manager has cancelled the yard sale. What am I going to do?

Any body out there need any random stuff you want to come and get?

Argh...

By the way, yes, I changed my template/background. Got tired of the pink. I guess I am only a girlie girl a certain percentage of the time. After awhile, it just all starts looking like Pepto Bismol.

Had my last rehearsal with the band I play with last night. It's real--we're leaving. Ack! I will miss playing with them so much. Got a chance to talk to Dr. Bear (trombone player) who hails from France. He said we'd like the Place D'Italie very much, but not to go into Chinatown at night. OK, fine with me. Also gave me restaurant and music store suggestions. I don't know if I'll remember it all!

Enjoyed a Wisconsin original at Irish Waters after rehearsal with everyone--a burger with a slab of cream cheese and sliced black olives. And I mean _slab_--this had to be at least 1/2 inch thick! Absolutely delicious. Will I miss it in France? Who knows...

Got a call that we have a storage unit today, and we've had the OK to have the dog in the Pd'I apartment, so things are moving along. Have been packing, hauling, and preparing for the yard sale. Amazing how much junk we have. Also had a flat tire yesterday (thanks again, Anne, for the transportation!) Busy working on this and finding a microchip that will work in France for the dog. Life is harder (in America) when you have no car. Jeff has it out at CG/CG, and doesn't get home until 5.30.

Final doctor's appointment today, and the buses don't go close (without riding for 3 hours) so I will have a long walk in the 90 degree heat. Yay. Dentist tomorrow. Lots to do, lots to do!

We're back! Lots of driving, lots of eating, and lots of good times with family, though it's hard to say goodbye. So we'll do as the french do and say "Au Revoir!" (Until we see you again!) Maybe in Paris? (hint hint!)

Lucy is pooped, but happy to be home. I was finishing a few things last night before bed, and came in to find her curled up next to Mr. B, right on the bed (where she's NOT supposed to sleep.) OK, curled up is a little bit of an exaggeration--a 60 lb. dog curls up in about a square meter. She did move when asked, and I enjoyed the wonderful feeling of my own bed once again. Today she is sleeping at my feet and having puppy dreams where she runs and barks at something. Very cute.

Now we are in the push to really go. I have so much to do, but the laundry from this weekend, the mess I left the house in, and the lack of anything fresh to eat are pressing on me more than the packing. (The apple I had for breakfast was weirdly elastic.) So it's off to the bus and to Woodman's for groceries, I guess. Fun, fun, fun. :)