And the beat goes on. . .

We continue with the sale of the house. It is all but empty and the closing is set for September 17. Whoo hoo. . . so what have we been doing?

Getting Terry in shape was priority #1. The Entresto tried to kill him. . . shut down his kidneys and he started filling with fluid. When his tissues started leaking fluid, we knew it was bad. But going off the Entresto was bad as well, because you must be off it for three days before going back on his old meds. But he made it through that. He still wasn't losing the 30+ pounds he gained in the last month, so more adjustments were made and the water started leaving. It took over a month to get it gone, but he is now doing better than he has in two years. Now we think the entire problem was that he was retaining more fluid than he should have been and need a little help with that. He continues to do well and has been a bigger help in the process of selling the house.

We had visits from all the kids and their families in June/July. Jocelyn came first and stayed almost two weeks. We babysat for the kids while the adults took in some activities down in Fort Wayne. That was fun for us and we enjoyed the time with the kiddos.

Brandon's came over the fourth of July. They were here for a shorter time and visited some friends along the way, but we got to spend some quality time with them as well. Love seeing the kids and grandkids.

We sprung for a new jack system on Phaeton Place.  That was pricey, but leveling is not overrated on these big rigs. We went with the "Big Foot" system by Quadra Manufacturing. They are in White Pigeon, Michigan, not far away and we were able to boondock there the night before. They got the new system installed and we were trained on it afterwards. It seems to do exactly what we want it to do. It is different than the other system which was all done with the engine running. This system requires only 12-volt, so the engine is off when it works. Bit of a learning curve.

After checking in with some doctors late in the month, we hit the road in MinnieMee and the trailer to take a load of household goods to Jocelyn. There were items she wanted from the house, so we were happy to oblige. The trip went off without a hitch and we first arrived to her storage unit to off load some stuff, then on to her house to leave the rest of the treasures. We did stay an extra day to visit and to haul the box springs she had bought. Then we headed back to Elkhart. Again, a good trip and MinnieMee seemed to enjoy the outing. We really love that little motorhome.

Since then we have continued our garage sales all summer. I think it has been 7-8 weekends, but we got rid of a lot of stuff. We made around $2000 on stuff we have sold. We rented a 10x40 storage locker in Nappanee which will hold the stuff we are keeping and Li'l Red. We have taken one load and the trailer with another load. Sad to say we couldn't get it all in one load. Once we decide where it will all go, we will decide how to get it there. Our friends Tab and Deanna came last weekend and he used his trailer skills to get the trailer into the storage locker. It was a very tight fit and they never make those lanes wide enough to back straight in. Getting it out should be easier, but that will be next year. We still have some stuff to take over in the car, but it is just one load at the most. We want to do some rearranging of stuff and make sure nothing is setting on the concrete where it will draw moisture.

Everything at the house is now out of the cupboards, etc., and in bags marked for distribution. Today we are taking a load to storage. Monday and Tuesday Terry tore the front end off the Miata to further complete the work he started on the baseplate. He wants to tow it behind MinnieMee. I am so thankful that he is feeling well enough to do that. He is really doing so much better. I know those docs who told him last year he needed a transplant would not believe how he is doing. He's really back to where he was before he got sick two years ago. . . actually I think he is better.

So, we continue to finish up here in Goshen. We will no longer be landlords. Yay! No more headaches there. Not sure what our schedule for this winter is. Virginia for sure to see the kids; Florida for sure to see the kids; after that? Who knows. Probably will end up in Texas at some point to check on the property there. With Mom no longer there, it's not the same going there.

Till next time. . .

Dale

Closing a chapter. . .

When we first started fulltiming, we were owners/managers of 10 apartments, five duplexes to be accurate. One we didn't rent, but stored some stuff there and let the kids hangout there when they were in the area visiting family.

Over the last few years, we have sold four of the duplexes, but held on to the last one which is where Terry's parents lived for the last years of their lives. Today we signed a contract on that last home and we have been in the process of getting it emptied out since we have been here. Actually I started the process last summer, while Terry was sick, and got lots of stuff boxed up. We have had a few garage sales and more to come, but Terry's health has again changed somewhat and he hasn't been able to help much of late. That's okay, because I had 50 years of records/taxes/papers of his parents to shred and 40 years of ours. Why did we keep this stuff so long?

I had been shredding regularly and burned up my large shredder, so I bought Walmart's heaviest duty one. It did not last a day. I returned it and bought a Bonsai Shredder off Amazon and it was delivered the next day. It performed flawlessly and with a 60-minute run time, it never shut down on me. I actually have another much smaller shredder which is about 15 years old and it continues to run, so I could alternate between the two. All told, I took about 33 bags of shredded paper of 33-50 gallons each. I know I could have taken the boxes of papers to a commercial shredder, but I found Terry's parent's marriage license and Terry's original birth certificate, so I wanted to go through it all. Proud to say I finished the other day and we took all those bags to recycling, so now I can concentrate on other things.

Some of the furniture was promised for pickup after the kids all left and the families came and picked up all their stuff. I still have several pieces of furniture to go and I'm hoping to get it outside at my next sale. I have several offers of help to do that so I don't think it will be a problem.

We will be having to put a small amount of stuff in storage and we planned to get a unit big enough for Li'l Red as well. MinnieMee is already safely tucked into storage. If we buy a house elsewhere (and Florida is sounding pretty good), it will have to have space for all the "stuff." Are we buying a house? Not yet. We have decided if we do, it will be in Florida because that is where son Brandon is and they have some good heart hospitals there. Since Terry cannot breathe in cold air, we couldn't choose Virginia, where our daughter lives; but we will be able to visit and they can always come to Florida to visit us! Indianapolis is just not some place we want to be in the winter even though Terry's doctors are there. He needs warm air year around. We have some decisions to make. But. . .one step at a time.

We are doing well. Terry tried that new heart drug Entresto and they won't be calling him to give a glowing review. One of those "rarely mentioned" side effects laid him up pretty good and he had to quit it. So now he is trying to get back to his "normal" and that is taking some time. He is sleeping better than he has in two years and once he is rid of the side effects, we are hoping for his "normal" to return.

Till next time. . .

Dale