Daybook: Monday, March 26/18

My SIL arrived last Wednesday morning. Before we settled down to "get right to it", we talked a lot about how I was feeling and we went through each room of the house to discover which of my possessions I should get rid of. I shared with her my financials and it was during this discussion that I decided that the house was just too big and too much  to keep up. So I made the decision to put it up for sale this year and move into an apartment. Once I decided that, things sort of fell into place. I knew what I had to get rid of and I felt immense relief at having made a decision. That afternoon and the following day we both spent time in the craft room purging and organizing. It is a huge job that I continued both Friday and Saturday after she was gone. I will try to sell it "as is" because there is no way I can sink any more money into this place. I am hoping the double lot will get me the price I need, as I am very sure who ever buys this place will bulldoze the building down anyways to erect a duplex or triplex for rentals. At the very least, they could build their dream house immediately behind this house and live here until it is completed before then tearing it down. Fingers crossed.

Outside my window.....it is sunny but cold outside. The snow is almost completely gone again.

I am thinking.....I have made the right decision for myself.  I am nervous, but feeling relieved at the same time. Paying rent on a two bedroom apartment will be less than my remaining mortgage payments, gas, electric, water and sewer, property taxes, house insurance, furnace and hot water tank servicing contracts,  maintenance, etc., etc. I will have more time for living instead of maintaining the yard and gardens in summer and shoveling  the driveway in winter.

I am thankful.....for all the advice that was offered for me to ponder and take into consideration.

From the kitchen.....I roasted 9 chicken thighs last night. I ate 3 with a sweet potato and Brussels sprouts last night, and took the meat off  3 this morning to add into a stir fry later this week. The last 3 are frozen and will  provide another meal later on. This morning I shredded and sauteed a head of cabbage to which I will add cooked ground beef for dinner tonight. I  peeled, chopped,  boiled, and mashed a turnip for future meals. I took the meat off the turkey wings and leg I had in the crock pot overnight to make soup later on this afternoon.

I am wearing.....black jeans, black socks, a gray long sleeved T-shirt with my red with white polka dot zipped hoodie over top.

I am creating.....a more organized Craft space to keep all my crafting materials. I will pack up all my whole sheets of patterned paper and card stock and work only from the scraps that will be cut into usable sheets and sorted by colour. I have already purged so many items that I will never use. I did not make any more cards this past week, but I did manage to mail out the kids' Easter cards and some "Thinking of You" cards that I had already made up.

I am going.....to the Post Office on my way to a grocery store to pick up some cardboard packing boxes.

I am hoping.....to make a final stab at meeting my March goals. I need to look back at them to remind myself what I had hoped to accomplish since I was majorly derailed this month. I also hope to spend most of my time finishing the sorting and purging of stuff from my Craft room this week.

I am hearing.....traffic outside on the highway, as well as the cries of seagulls.

Around the house.....I will need to empty the pieces of furniture I hope to sell online on  Kijiji. I  will pack everything in Rubbermaid bins or boxes and label for either the yard sale in May, or items going with me. It could take a year or more to sell this property.  I will also need to go through each room and wash, pack up, and "price" everything for the first sale. If I sell the house this year, there will be more items to sell off.

One of my favourite things.....about this past week has been about making a decision. Some of my favourite things I have to get rid of because I cannot take them with me. I have strong emotional attachments to things which makes it hard to let go.

A few plans for the rest of the week.....include a trip to Smith Falls this Saturday with my son and his fiancee for Easter dinner with my brother and his wife. There is nothing else on my calendar.

Here's the picture I am sharing.....

When sorting through the Craft Room, I found a bag of pennies. I rolled up $4.50