Monday, December 30, 2013

Moving Day

I thought moving day was just that. A day to move from one place of residence to another. Well da'gum was I wrong. And not in the good way, like when you open your gas bill in the middle of the winter expeting it be like $400. But when you do open it, you see it is only $245.66. Man, that's the good kind of wrong.

We tried to plan right by preparing the house in May of '13 with pressure washing the deck, new gutters, paint and so on.  Then, a ton of packing. Then, move stuff to storage (two locations). Then staging the house so it looked emaculate. And now today  we have to be out by 5:00 pm.

We closed on a Friday, and they allowed us until Monday to be moved out.  Thst was awesome of them.  But we are about to drop.

We moved into an apartment and only plan to stay there for a few mons while we look for another house to call home.

Then we have to start this moving day thing all over again. BUT, we will not be unpacking ANYTHING Saeeet the apartment unless we need it.

That way, in theory at least, all we will have to is load boxes and only pack our clothes, personals, a bowl, a spoon, and the coffee pot.

But we will still have to endure yet one  more "Moving Day" that will take the better part of a weekend.

When it's all said and done this will have been the most stressful experience we have gone through. Even though we planned right to pack ahead of time. At the very least, it ranks in the top three.

If you are planning to move soon, plan way ahead so you can pack your stuff right ti make it a not-so-stressful experience.

Monday, December 23, 2013

Merry Christmas!!


Twas the night b'fore Christmas and all along the trail,
not a back was hurting, not even ones tail.

The food bags were hung in the trees with care,
In hopes that that Mr. Bear would not find them there;

The campers were sleeping, all snug in their hammocks,
while resting their muscles and bones, from that day's walk;

When out from the woods, we heard such a clatter,
we exited our hammocks to see what was the matter.

Away to my pack I grabbed my coat of down,
I put it on so I would be warm.

The moon was bright and our vision was clear
we all sighed with relief seeing that it was not a bear

Instead of a bear, we saw a man in a suit,
the suit was red and he had on black heavy boots

His back was bent from the weight of the pack,
he said he was beat and had a pain in his lower back


His name was Chris, and he was to hike across the land,
delivering presents to all the boys and girls and he needed a hand


We asked asked as we looked, why so much weight?
With a puzzled look, "I'm new at this and some help would be great,

He looked cold so,I offered him coco, as he stood by the fire,

he said with a shiver, I need to go a bit lighter."

I pulled from my gear a book called "12 steps to a lighter pack" and said here
He flipped through the pages while he drank his coco and I saw in his eyes a tear.

He smiled, and thanked me, "These are tips I have not thought of before"
this will make my Christmas better than before.

"Can I give this to others", he asked, "it will be great, to give the girls and boys,
to go in their stockings, along with other backpacking tools and toys."

Of course I said yes as he drank his last drop,
"The coco was good," he said, "it warmed me right up."

He donned on his pack, easier now that it was light,
With trekking poles in hand, he headed back up the trail,
As he turned, he wished a merry Christmas, and to all a good night.

For Christmas I will be putting my book up for free
"12 Steps To A Lighter Pack" to help you go lighter as you pack amongst the trees.


Go to Amazon and download it fast,
it will go back to 99 cents after Christmas

It will be FREE after Midnight on the 24th.

It should be free on Christmas eve after midnight
Download it then to help you go light.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.