Going Through Stuff Yields a Treasure!

When I was a little girl, my father was into photography in a serious way, taking 16 mm films as well as color slides. One of the films that I remember was of me at two years old. It was called "Betsy's Day" and followed a story line of my day, with a clock illustrating the hours as they ticked away. I loved this old film, but didn't know where it was and hadn't been able to find it in recent years.

This morning, I ventured into the area under the basement stairs and pulled out my mother's old suitcase. There, packed away by her many years ago, was "Betsy's Day"!! Mother always said that when you do some housework you often get rewarded by finding something that you thought was lost.

The film looks to be in good shape and I plan to have it converted to a DVD. If you, dear reader, have had experience with conversion of old films to DVD and know of a reputable firm that does this work, please send me a comment.

Today's post illustrates the value of going through your stuff in order to get ready to move -- finding long-lost treasures. This is an important benefit of moving to a CCRC. We're doing the work so that our children won't have to after we're "gone".

Trying to Remain Calm

In the past week, I have had two opportunities to meet with Beacon Hill at Eastgate staff to discuss issues relating to the construction and the moving process. I learned that the construction is proceeding according to schedule, in fact, some aspects of it are ahead of schedule. I also learned that the B wing (or East wing) where our apartment is located, should plan on moving in December, 2010. With that information, our realtor advises putting our house up for sale in September, or even August!

A mild state of panic can easily overcome both of us as we think about all the stuff that needs to be organized and disposed of before we can consider "showing" the house to a prospective buyer six months from now. It's not that we are messy people. We're not. We're just the usual pack rats living in a large house with lots of storage space for stuff.

This morning, my dear husband and I had a serious conversation about how we can accomplish the task. As we talked, several creative ideas came to mind which we will explore. I felt a lot calmer and so did he after our heart to heart talk. I'll share some of those ideas in another blog.

Happy Valentine's Day!

It's Electrifying!

Slowly, we are getting our house ready to sell. At this point we have less than a year to go. I want to be ready for the most particular buyer who may hire an inspector who feels like he needs to find something wrong with the house. I've identified several electrical issues that must be addressed.

Perhaps the most important one, and certainly the most expensive to update, was replacement of the old circuit breaker box. When the electrician came to connect our new air conditioner, he told us that the breaker box couldn't handle the A/C and would have to be replaced. So, on a cold January day my husband endured six hours without power while the work was done. Imagine, no heat, no computer (after the battery dies), no CNBC or PBS, and of course no light except what comes in through the windows. The photo above is what our house looks like in winter. Brrrrrr.....

Today's repairs were less complicated -- installation of GFI outlets in all the kitchen wall outlets and repairs to two bathroom exhaust fans that had stopped working. Both fan motors will need to be replaced. One was original to the house 47years ago, but the other was a new fan in the main bath and had been installed just a few years back. The electrician will have to come back with the replacement motors to finish the job.

Now, we know that some people who are planning to sell their house might not go to the trouble and expense of upgrading the electrical system. We are doing these things because we want our house to say, "Buy me. Can't you see I'm ready for you to move in?"