The Week In Review

 Every time I've moved I've said the same thing: this is the last time I'm gonna do this. I hate packing, I hate the mess, I hate the work, and I don't want to do it again. Famous last words.

Guess what I've been doing all this week? That's right, packing. My house is filled with boxes. It's the kind of chaos that feels overwhelming and gives me anxiety. At the same time, I'm filled with hope for what God has in store for us in Central Florida, and that's what keeps me going even though I'm exhausted.

This is what you see whenever you first come up the stairs to my house. I took down all the decor from the walls except for the large clock, so I can see the time. I emptied out the bookshelf, then put some of the boxes in the cubbies for two reasons; 1 - to get them off the floor and out of the living room, and 2 - to see how well they fit. My plan is to fill the spaces with boxes once it's in the Pod container, so we can use every bit of space that we can. There's a lot of boxes and furniture to load, and we have to use the space to our best advantage.

Since I moved those boxes the living room doesn't look near as bad. I could barely get in and out of the living room thanks to all the boxes on the floor. This gives me a better idea of how it'll fit into the Pod.

Boxes in walkways, boxes on counters...

Boxes and bags and rolled up rugs in the dining room. The dining room table is leaning up against the mirrored wall, legs removed so it takes up less space as well. The bags are filled with throw blankets and pillows. I like using throw pillows to decorate, since it's an easy way to change up a look. I didn't realize how many I'd accumulated till I started packing them up. And here I thought I didn't have more than a few. 

I actually have two Pod containers coming, a large one and a small one. The small one will be the last to be loaded and the first to be unloaded. It'll contain all of our essentials: the beds, bedroom furniture, bathroom and kitchen necessities, things we need right away. I'm keeping these items in the master bedroom so they don't get loaded onto the first Pod.

The kitchen cabinets have been emptied out, and on top of the counters I've just got the toaster oven and some cleaning supplies. The cookie sheet is old and will not be making the trip. The pantry has some food items but those will be going to my daughter's house.

I've confirmed the first Pod for tomorrow, when we will start loading boxes from the garage and inside the house. Then Tuesday we'll have church volunteers helping us load the heavy furniture. I can't begin to express what a blessing it is to have this kind of help. My son E and I could never get this done on our own. 

The tiles came off the balcony. I was sorry to see them go, especially when the workmen confirmed what I already knew: the tiles were not the cause of the leaks in the neighbor's unit. It was a structural issue. I could tell just from the look of the slab whenever they removed the tiles. No cracks, no water damage, nothing to indicate any seepage of water anywhere.

Now the workers have to come back to smooth out the concrete so it doesn't look like this. I've emailed the management letting them know they have this week to get the work done before we close on the sale of my home.

My neighbor was in an uproar whenever he saw the men working on my balcony. He made all kinds of noises all weekend long, then stayed home from work on Monday just so he could slam doors, bang on the walls, throw things, play loud music and television, and make a general nuisance of himself. I emailed the management to let them know what was going on so they could tell him the work was being done for his benefit, not mine. He calmed down a little after that, but the noise hasn't stopped entirely. It's affecting my health in a negative way. I feel my anxiety rise whenever he starts with his ruckus. Add to that my allergies and asthma, and I can't wait to get out of here.

I have to remind myself constantly that, no matter how bad my circumstances seem, I have a lot to be thankful for. I was able to sell my home in just two days. I have my daughter who has opened her home to us so we don't have to pay for a hotel or a short term rental. We have food, clothing, and help from our church family. God has provided just as He always has. He is so good! It reminds me that I have nothing to fear because my God goes before me. He has a plan and a purpose for all this, and will use it for His glory. 

The Week In Review

I know I always say this, but this week really was a whirlwind. From day one it has been non-stop, and I won't lie, anxiety starts to creep in whenever I feel overwhelmed. Thankfully, God is with me every step of the way, calming my heart as He guides me and answers my prayers.

Let's start with last Sunday, February 21. We set out for Orlando because it was close to both my son and daughter-in-law, and not too far from where we were going to look at houses. We left home at 1:00 pm and arrived at our hotel at around 4:30 pm. We were pretty tired at that point, since we'd gotten up early and driven straight up, so we just stayed in the hotel. I'd made pizza for lunch and brought whatever was left over so we had that for dinner, then went to bed early because we were going to see the first house at 9:30 am. At around 4:00 am my Ring doorbell app went off. As I suspected, my neighbor had called in a noise complaint. This is the third time he calls the police complaining about noise whenever there's no one in the house, and I've figured out why he does it. We haven't slept in our house since January 26. We come to the house during the day, then leave around 10:00 pm and sleep at my daughter's house. He can hear the garage door open and close because my garage is attached to and directly in front of his unit. Whenever he doesn't hear the garage door open and close, he assumes it's because I'm still at home, so to annoy me he calls in a false report to the police. Little does he know that I turn around and call the police, letting them know that no one is home. Rather than hurting me, he ends up hurting himself because it cements the fact that he's lying just to be spiteful. I let the police know that we wouldn't be home till Wednesday so they could keep an eye out.

We were out bright and early Monday morning since my daughter-in-law was joining us for the day. I was so happy she agreed to come; we had some fun and good bonding moments. Day one we were in Lake County, a beautiful area of Central Florida where the town of Mount Dora is located. Most of the state of Florida is flatland, but Mount Dora is famous for having lots of hills (the Mount in the name is a bit of an exaggeration, LOL). I could just drive through there everyday to see all the natural beauty. We saw five homes, but the first one was the one that stole my heart. It was perfectly situated, not too big but not small, on a nice piece of land with a firepit in the back, very well maintained and nicely decorated. After seeing all the houses I decided to act fast and put an offer on this house. Sadly, I wasn't fast enough. The owner, who was also the realtor, really wanted to accept my offer, but she'd already countered an early offer and they accepted. I was so heartbroken! But then I remembered that God is the one choosing my house, not me. If this wasn't the one for us, I'd wait until He pointed me in the right direction.

And He did just that. The next day we were in Volusia County and we saw six different houses. Some were definite no's, some were maybe's, but one stood out from the crowd. Both my son E and my daughter-in-law raved over and over about the house, and while I still liked the one we lost more, I had to admit this house was not only super cute but fit our needs entirely. It was built in 2014 so it's very new, yet the neighborhood is established. That was something I had to consider whenever we looked at new construction; brand new homes have all the bells and whistles, but you can't find out anything about the neighborhood, and after my experience here I don't want to take any chances. This house is about 1500 square feet, slightly smaller than where we live now but laid out so well that the rooms are actually bigger. There's no formal dining or living room which is fine with me; we had both in our old house and they rarely got used. With three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a two car garage with plenty of storage, and a quarter of an acre of land (to keep the neighbors close but not too close), it was all we needed and then some. The only issue I had was the smell. The owners have two very large Great Danes plus a cat, and the house smells of animals. Like, kitty litter. Whenever I mentioned it to my realtor, she said we could ask them to do a professional cleaning of the house, especially the floors since they're all tile and the grout looked pretty dirty. I decided to go ahead with an offer and see if they'd accept my terms. 

There was one bigger issue, though. The owners of this house are having a house built. They have 3 small children along with all the pets, and they are bursting at the seams. Their new house is set to be completed by the second or third week of April. This would mean us staying with my daughter for over a month. So we negotiated terms and dates. I gave them two options: we could drop the price by $1,000 and they would have to be out of the house no later than April 23, or we could close on the 23rd and then do a lease back whereas they pay me $100/day for every day they stay in the house after the 23rd, and they have to be out no later than May 1. They decided to go with both. The price was dropped, they agreed to pay if they have to stay, and Thursday afternoon the contract was signed. Y'all, we are buying a house in Central Florida that is actually cheaper than what I paid for the condo where I'm living now! This is definitely God working His miracles as only He can! I'm so thankful for His provision!

We came back home Wednesday afternoon, and we've been packing ever since. The church graciously provided over 20 boxes for us to use which was an immense blessing.

These have already been filled up and I still need more, so I ordered some off of Amazon. So far I've boxed up all my home decor so the house looks bare. Next I'll be packing up the kitchen and bathrooms. Then next week the pods arrive. I've asked for help from the church to load up the pods as well. This church has some of the most generous and giving people on the planet, and I'm so thankful for each and every one of them. 

The tile removal began on Friday. After letting the association know that my lawyer would be only to happy to sue, the board voted to pay for the removal. That was a huge relief; I didn't want the tiles taken out, so of course I didn't want to pay to have it done. I was sure any damage to the man downstairs was not because of my tiles but they were insistent. So the tiles are gone, and over half of the grout and mortar is gone too. This is what it looks like.

Absolutely nowhere is there any sign of water damage, cracks, or anywhere that water could have leaked to the unit downstairs. I'm positive that any water coming into his house is from his kitchen bay window and not my balcony or my tiles, but there's nothing I can do at this point. The tiles are gone. They'll be coming back to finish the work this week and I'll be one step closer to leaving.

Having to do all this moving work is stressful, not to mention tiring. It's also bittersweet; I really do like this house, the community, the city...it's just the one neighbor that has ruined it so bad that I can't stay here anymore. But I know that God has a plan, and this was just a stepping stone on my way to wherever it is that He's prepared for me (Jeremiah 29:11). The countdown has begun!