More of the same...

Just came from spending time with my sis - it was the wrap-up day of a 3-day garage sale. The cold, rainy weather was NOT helpful for driving folks in to shop. A very, very slow process that did NOT pick up until she and her daughter went into their "whatever you can fit into a bag, for a buck" mode. So lots of things got toted out the door at that point. And still, and still... lots of leftover plates, glasses, wineglasses. The ususual thought is that college students would want things for setting up their apartments, etc. But maybe parents are more flush, can afford to buy these things new for their kidlings? The economy in this area is very tight, lots of unemployment. So maybe another reason for slow and low sales.

L and I are getting along a bit better now. I know that he feels overwhelmed by "stuff", and believe me, I would have pared down things much MUCH more, if I had had ANY clue that this was my destination. In fact, I HAD started getting rid of things in the early spring, figuring that I would end up in a two-bedroom apartment or condo or some such situation. But then I did not have the luxury of the time that I had counted on. I estimated my house being on the market for probably months... be careful what you wish for, I keep saying. I am looking into a storage unit here - I have things that I want to have in a climate-controlled area, such as many 45's and some albums which are possible collectibles. I need time to research these on E-Bay, to see what possible value these things might have. Don't want to throw out something that might bring in some coin!

We are back this afternoon (Saturday) at his shop. He's working on his product site, trying to put in keywords that will bring the site some page-one visibility on Google and Yahoo, when folks look for cleaning products. We have contracted with an SEO company. The SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, for those who do not know. And believe me, I did NOT know about SEO's until just a few weeks ago! Anyway, they are schooling us in the steps we need to take, to make L's product site sit higher when you search for glass cleaner or carpet cleaner on the 'net. (He has other products, too.) He has put his whole heart and soul and 15 years of development to try to make this a "go". And his products ARE very good - not just sayin' that - they really ARE good products. Of course, I am using them -- and the All Purpose Cleaner will safely remove many more stains from laundry than most products will.

It was fun to spend some time with my sis and her daughter during the garage sale. And weird to step into the room of her house that was formerly my sis's and her late husband's bedroom. Her house is now occupied by her daughter and her fiance, and the young couple have made that into an office. Sis still owns the house, plans to sell it next year.

God help me... I think I am adjusting to the cooler temps! I was outside this a.m. with L and was NOT too cold, wearing a fleece zip-up and temps in the mid-60's. He was setting up to pull down a very tall, very dead birch tree, so I helped with the extension ladder that he moved into place, before he began climbing said ladder and tying a rope high in this tree. Tomorrow he hopes to pull it down - his worry is that a strong storm or bad winter will fell the tree onto the house and/or power line.

Strange to be living here now and running into people that I know, when I am doing just day-to-day things. I was leaving a fabric store this afternoon, and as I turned to go towards the exit door, I saw a high school classmate and his wife. So we chatted - they were not aware that I was now living in this area, as my original plans were to move to a Twin Cities suburb. Nice to be able to chat in a leisurely fashion with hometown folks.

Tonight we are meeting Sis and her Significant Other (boyfriend, whatever), R, for dinner. That was L's idea - and it gives us a chance to have a nice, slow visit where neither I nor Sis has to cook OR clean up after a meal. R and L seem to get along well, too, which is a bonus. The place where we will eat tonight, is the place where the waiter accidentally spilled an entire glass of pinot noir all over L's shirt several weeks ago! Fortunately, L's all purpose cleaner product DID get the stain out - and it was not laundered until a few days AFTER that incident.

Anyway, end of commercial. As I mentioned, we are melding our styles, slowly. He DOES have affection for me - as I do for him - but it is just not so easy to make two strong-willed folks into a cohesive unit in a short amount of time. We are both trying to make this work, and that is something we both agree on. I think we will be fine - just difficult to make things go so smoothly in "crunch time".

And thanks for your input on the comments, friends. You are my support, and I thank you for that!

Another quickie update!

So here I am in the Holiday Inn Express in the general Kansas City area. And what is going on? I am sitting on a pc in the office area of this hotel, chatting with a young man who is manning the desk. And he and I are "clicking", and I am so glad to meet a complete stranger (the age of one of my nephews) and find that we have some things in common. He is a descendant of Quannah Parker (Texas natives will know about this) and I found that out just by asking him about his mother's ancestry (she has the high cheekbones and just general appearance of a woman of Native American ancestry). He had shared his MySpace pages with me, and I saw some great photos of him and his family.

Anyway, I have had a long day (we hit the road from Houston about 12:40 AM - just after midnight, folks) and it has a been a long, testy day. We checked into this room about 5 pm or so, and then went to dinner. Needless to say, tempers and patience are short. And so He is asleep upstairs (my Yahoo partner) and I walked to a nearby liquor shop and bought a bottle of wine... and have been chatting with my new friend, M, here. So nice to meet new people and just be able to chat so easily. I feel like I have known M for a long time, and he is the age of one of my nephews. He's a nice guy, very much a people person... and in EVERY sense of the word.

So I have been slightly anesthesized by one glass of wine (following a dinner that happened in TOTAL silence) and now am enjoying human (humane?) company, while the man in my life has dropped into an exhausted slumber. He has worked very VERY hard at getting my possessions packed up and ready to travel. But he is as bullheaded and stubborn as I am - and we butt heads from time to time. Sigh....

No perfect matches, and we are still trying to meld our styles... tough, and difficult to do when you are so used to the way your prior relationship played out. Guess time will tell (doesn't it ALWAYS?).

Good to report that the closing on the house went well. And so I will wrap up this quick entry and sign off... Now I only hope that most of the stuff gets up north okay and that I can sort thru and throw out things in a timely manner. Hard to box up your whole life in only a few days - but I know that even more down-sizing is necessary. Just not easy to do.

Wish me well, folks... the older I (we) get, the more stubborn we become!