Living in an Even Emptier House -- December 27, 2006

And I thought the house was empty last week! Silly me! Now I have a mattress on the floor of my bedroom (borrowed from the basement guest room), and a folding chair. Tomorrow even the lamps will be gone, and the little television set. My friends are hosting a dinner for me in Kenai, so I'll gift them each a precious bag of condiments, oriental sauces, chutneys, the "parts", as my son used to say, for cooking. I already scrubbed out the freezer, so the refrigerator is next. All the shelves are empty, the house is clean, even the car is half-packed and ready to go. My dog got a clean bill of health from the vet, so now she can travel through Canada. Two more nights here, then unless this storm gets worse, I'll drive to Anchorage on Friday afternoon. Tomorrow the tenants have their satellite installation done, and Friday they move in.

I'm ready to go, I think. Heaven knows what I may have forgotten. At this point, I figure it's too late to worry about it, and the remaining things will get crammed in boxes and shoved into storage. I've spent enough time thinking about every possible thing. Now we throw the cards in the air, and see where they land. The plumber has his keys, the power-of-attorney has his keys, even the snowplower got a key to my truck. I'm probably still taking too much with me, but I figure I can drop things along the way, like crumbs to mark the path back home.

Since I'm driving in the winter through Arctic Canada, I decided to take an old down comforter as survival gear. I'll ask someone to mail it to me in Romania if I find out that the rumors of freezing apartments turn out to be true. But I'm not taking a sleeping bag, despite the advice from young PCVs in Eastern Europe. It takes too much room in my suitcase. Besides, I want to only take things I can leave there or give away later. In a way, it'll be nice to be away from the house, at last, and past the point where I can change anything. Jump in! The water's fine!

Living in an Empty House -- December 23, 2006

Well, my house is almost empty. Last Sunday I had an old friend help me, even though he's older than I am, move the heavy loveseat and my desk into the storage trailer. Except for my bed and box springs, those were pretty much the last heavy things to move. I've been so exhausted every day, and suddenly there's not that much left to do. I arranged for a cleaning lady to come over the day after Christmas, next Tuesday, and the veterinarian will be here on Thursday afternoon. Once he signs my dog Cheyenne's health certificate, I only have ten days to be in Canada on the Alaska Highway. My fingers are crossed that the weather will cooperate. Today we got ten inches of snow! I really should have gone cross-country skiing, but I just feel too worn out. Maybe tomorrow. My shoulders ache and I have bruises all over. I've torn almost every fingernail down to the quick, so even typing hurts.

I wrestled the Danish furniture fittings out of my teak tables this morning, even though they were completely stripped. The hardware store finally found me some replacement machine bolts to put in storage with the table. Every day it's something else.

Six days to countdown... then Cheyenne and I will go and live in my car. On Sunday afternoon, New Year's Eve, I'll probably drive up to Anchorage and stay at my friend Jane's house for a while, trying to get used to the idea that this chapter is over and the next one is about to start. Suddenly after being so busy every moment, I'll have stretches of time. Long hours of beautiful scenery through the snowy Yukon and Western Canada. Today I looked up online the hotels that will allow a guest to bring in her dog. Lots of them! What a surprise, I guess things have changed since I was on the road.

The tenants are already moving in, their boxes are stacked where mine used to be. They had a workman come over to decide how to install their satellite dish, and they already got their new phone number to be hooked up next week. The phone company will keep my number on automatic relay to my cellphone until I actually leave the country. Who would have ever thought there would be so many things to think of? I made a list for my mail service of the magazines to throw away, and which ones to forward. I already have my big suitcase packed, and am sealing the three boxes to be mailed over in a few months. I hardly have any clothes left in the closet, so I'm practicing wearing the same things for days. It's scary not to know what to expect, but that is part of the adventure, tring to think of everything and anticipate every need... then realizing that it doesn't really matter at all. As I've always said when traveling, all I really need is a contact case and a credit card. In fact, this will be the heaviest I've traveled, but this time it's for years, and I'll have to wear business clothes, carry the technology of the modern world, and plan to (hopefully) have an apartment.

Details, details! -- December 12, 2006

I make lists every day, hoping I'm not forgetting things to do before I leave. I arranged for new insurance to cover the house when it's rented, personal property renter's insurance to cover my stuff that's stored here (it also covers the things I take), and a third policy for extra coverage on my computer and electronics that I'll have with me. I arranged for the vehicle insurance to be suspended for storage. The teanants already started moving their things in, and with the house getting so empty, I feel more and more removed from my "normal" life. They'll take occupancy on December 29, that means I only have two more weeks here! I can't quite grasp it. I still need to make new landlord agreements for the natural gas and electricity, arrange to cancel my phone and Internet service. I'll keep my cellphone until I leave the U.S. What else? What else?

Do I sound fragmented? I sure feel like it! Yesterday I packed up my dishes and glassware, the stereo equipment, and sold my dresser and headboard. It's strange how I can finally see how to use my favorite things differently. My teak tables make a simpler and nicer bedroom. I love the house so empty, but taking the artwork and pictures off the walls is painful!

The weather suits my mood, overcast every day and occasionally spitting snow or rain. Of course, we prefer the snow. But generally it's been pretty dreary all week. Somehow it doesn't seem like Christmas,even lthough it's white.

Finally, Tenants are chosen for my House! -- December 2, 2006

It's hard to believe it's December already! I'm cuddled into my favorite afghan, crocheted by my daughter Dara, my dog by my side (shedding hair, as usual, I swear hair comes off her by ejection!), I sip my espresso and snuggle in the Alaskan dark under my reading lamp and wonder how different it'll be in Romania? On the day after Thanksgiving, what is known as the biggest shopping day of the year, I bought some knit pajamas for my PC nightwear, warm enough to wear in public and not be embarrassed. I don't expect to have a lot of privacy, at least for a while.

I am scheduled to lease my house next week, chosing to have faith in this young couple and their commitments to me, that they will make their payments and take good care of everything while I'm gone. Their love for my beautiful home won me over. It's a big decision and it means so much to me. I know it means a lot to them, too. I'll have until the end of the month, after Christmas, to be be gone. My plan is to drive down the Alaska Highway through Canada, to the States, with my dog. I don't mind driving it in the winter, and have done it many times. I only dread encounters with serious ice along the way, so hopefully the weather will cooperate, and my car won't break down.

Finally we have snow! It's absolutely gorgeous and sunny today, and is somewhat warmer. I'll get out my cross-country skis or snowshoes, and go out to enjoy it. Cheyenne the dog will be so happy, she's gotta be tired of just laying around, watching me pack boxes every day. Here's the view out the window behind my computer, and the lake from my bedroom...