These last few weeks have been a whirlwind. The kind that gives you pause and makes you wonder if and when a sense of normalcy will ever return. But now that we’re settled in BAM for the next few months, it’s getting there. Painfully slowly mind you, but getting there, and progress IS progress.
Let me start with where I left off, just prior to Sarissa and Josh’s visit August 21st through September 7. They mostly stayed in New York but I spent a day with her in Westchester for lunch and shopping, and they then spent a few days with us at the cabin over Labor Day weekend. We also went to NY the weekend prior for a night out in Manhattan. We stayed at the Orchard Street Hotel which is chic, clean and in a great location, but the room unequivocally qualifies as the smallest room we’ve ever stayed in. I’m talking literally having to walk sideways at the foot of the bed or you’d hit the wall, and we did. But what’s a few bruises when you’re in the thick of it all, and here I am doing my best to look sophisticated and carefree and like I belong in the city.
We started the evening at Employees Only, Sarissa and Josh’s Singapore sister club, and moved on to dinner at Estelas, a wonderful tapas type restaurant that, typical of many NY restaurants, has tables way too close to each other. It’s a pet peeve of mine when you’re forced to sit as close to strangers as the person you’re with, but since the table next to us was occupied by Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biels we managed to tolerate it. For nearly two hours we heard snippets of their conversation (not that we were eavesdropping mind you), witnessed them being lovey dovey, and yours truly just happened to go to the unisex bathroom at the same time as Justin (one person at a time though. Darn it). He’s taller than I thought, a little better looking in person and has great posture! Yes, I notice these things. Leaving NY the next day we drove by the Freedom Tower, an impressive structure surrounded by well thought out, lovely parks that reminded me a bit of Savanna. Definitely visit if you can.
The following weekend we took city boy Josh to his first ever country fair in Goshen, Connecticut, where he won a teddy bear, tossed hay bales and we all ate way too much junk food. We parted ways on Sunday night then Fisherman and I got to work doing the fun task of packing :/.
Just about all our furniture was sold with the house, but we still had enough stuff to fill a 16′ Penske truck top to bottom. We were scheduled to pick up the truck Wednesday morning, spend the day packing it up then leaving Thursday as early as possible, first stop College Park, MD, before moving on to Wilmington, NC Friday morning.
Here is where the fun begins my friends. After driving 40 minutes to get the truck, we were told they didn’t have it! Yes, we confirmed prior to going. Not once, not twice, but three times, the most recent confirmation being the day before. They admitted this sort of thing happens frequently, and I politely (ok, I might have been a bit sarcastic) suggested that perhaps they should revamp their system.
After checking other locations, they found a truck an hour and a half north of where we were. I asked if someone could drop it off at our house and they arranged it, but the truck didn’t get there until three in the afternoon, at which time it started to rain. I mean seriously, it’s like someone is up there testing us!
We loaded up the truck from 3:30 to 8:30, but it was dark and drizzly and we needed a break and some dinner so we called it a day and started up again early the next morning. We pulled out at 10 and made decent time to College Park where we stayed at a lovely Holiday Inn with a comfy bed, soft pillows and a view of one of my favorite stores, IKEA. Life was good, at least until we got to the storage facility near Wilmington late Friday afternoon and when asked for photo id I discovered my license was missing from my wallet!
The lady was very nice and processed the paperwork anyway, so we unloaded everything and finished at 10:00 pm, finally ate something at around 11 and then headed to our dump of a motel. I’m talking about a place Norman Bates wouldn’t touch with a stick folks. Half used shampoo bottles on the shower shelf, dirty floors….just gross. I mentioned it to the manager and he said it would be taken care of, but the only thing housekeeping did was remove our towels and not replace them. I asked for some towels at the desk but was told they probably didn’t have any. You can’t make this stuff up! I found a maintenance man who promptly brought us towels so we showered and headed to our favorite down town restaurant in Wilmington, Circa 1922, and had a lovely evening in spite of the days events.
But there was one thing looming over me. We were scheduled to fly back on Sunday and of course airlines require a government issued photo id, and without my license I didn’t have any. Now, if you’ve been following me for a while you might recall last year I lost my license while in Ft. Myers. Yes, this is a pattern. Don’t mock me. I ordered another one but the person who found it sent it back to me, so I have two, one in our other car that we left at the cabin, and while I wasn’t 100% sure where the other one was, I had a pretty good idea. More on that later. I asked a friend to scan it and send it to me and we went to Staples and made a colored copy and got to the airport a little earlier than usual as per the advice of the airline (I called on Friday to explain my predicament).
So…we get to the airport but our names are not on the passenger list. When we showed the agent our print out, she explained our flight was the day before! I can’t even. Between my license and the reservation snafoo, we can give Abbott and Costello a run for their money in the doofus department.
Fisherman made the reservation with Expedia, which gave us a full refund (yay!), but the airline fare was twice as much (boo!). At that point we were just happy they had two seats available, and in case you’re wondering, unless you don’t mind getting felt up, you might want to avoid finding yourself in the same situation. (Extra precaution is taken by the TSA, in spite of the fact I had a very clear copy of my license.)
When we got home Sunday night, I immediately checked a small shoulder bag I wore when we went to the Goshen fair and sure enough, that’s where my license was. Sometimes when attending venues like that I don’t like to carry a traditional bag but I still need my license (I usually do the driving), a place for my phone and maybe some $$. I just don’t always remember to remove my license and replace it in my wallet when we get home!
Monday, the next day, we went to the real estate attorneys office to sign some documents for the closing that Friday the 15th, picked up BAM then started the packing process all over again on Tuesday, and spent most of Wednesday tidying up the cabin. We took off early Thursday morning, stayed at an rv park just outside D.C., that night and once again, got up early Friday morning and made it to Wilmington Friday late afternoon, just as the closing was completed up in Massachusetts.
Our park is super convenient to downtown Wilmington and just about any store you could possibly imagine, quite a refreshing change from the isolation we experienced the last 3+ years.
Our showroom appointments are scheduled for this Thursday and Friday! Lots and lots of decisions to make, from paint colors to flooring, appliances and hardware, cabinets and doors, light fixtures and so much more my head is spinning. I’m sure many compromises will need to happen, as the house is not a custom build and the builder only has so many choices from which to choose, but we will either live with them, make immediate changes or change things up in the future if we really want something different.
In the meantime I’m sure I’ll want/need some feedback and opinions along the way so stay tuned. I don’t have my MAC and I am still not super comfortable blogging without it, but I’ll snap out of it ;).
In other news…
Mrs. Kravitz is alive and well folks!
Remember our fire pit that we built two years ago? Well, apparently some of it was on common property. We received a call from the manager of the community that ‘someone’ had brought this to the attention of the Board. She of course didn’t say who it was but we were fairly certain we knew, and in fact it was later confirmed it was our immediate next door neighbor who just happens to be good friends with the President. A day or two later we got a phone call from the manager asking if the Board President, herself and the maintenance guy could come by and have a look.
Our biggest concern was that we would be asked to move the boulders, which would have required a back hoe, a lot of $$$ and would tear up the yard. Thankfully that didn’t happen but we were asked to reduce the size of the fire pit and stop mowing the part of the yard that was on common property. There was no specific discussion of an exact date as to when it should be done, but of course the unspoken obvious understanding was it would be done before closing.
Now…that weekend we had a moving sale and a day later I went to NY to see Sarissa for a day of shopping and lunch, so it was a very busy time. (For those of you that don’t know, we see each other only once a year). After I returned we started on the firepit and completed the lions share of the work when lo and behold we received a rather aggressive letter the next day from the Association’s attorney threatening a lien against our house if the firepit was not finished by September 5th.
Now here’s where I got my knickers in a twist: the President should have discussed a completion date with us during our initial meeting. To have an attorney get involved just one week later was a waste of funds and unnecessary. It’s odd to us that this was the way she choose to handle the situation, when during her tenure literally tens of thousands of unpaid dues went uncollected and not one letter from an attorney was sent for several years because it was ‘too expensive’. But when a VERY small piece of property was found to be infringing on common property (we are talking a few feet), property that borders wet lands and would NEVER be used by anyone, it was deemed necessary to get an attorney involved. How petty!
When we purchased the cabin twelve years ago the previous owners told us to be aware of the nosey neighbor, but we pretty much kept our distance and had no major issues. It’s unfortunate for us she choose to show her true colors when we were knee deep in everything a move entails and had a million other things to deal with.
We are so glad to be out of there!
Dewena says
Unbelievable, all of it! Doreen, my dear friend, you better find a good spa as soon as possible there in Wilmington and book a massage! You know this sounds like some crazy movie, don’t you? I see Tina Fey playing your part.
But no wonder you’re about to lose your mind as well as your driver’s license after the way you’ve been treated by your own neighborhood association! Mrs. Kravitz indeed! I can think of a few other names for her but had better not put them here but I have to surmise that some people really need to actually get a life, don’t you think? I’ve heard other frustrating stories about neighborhood associations. Nitpicking might be a good word for them.
What happened to the good old days when neighbors pitched in to help each other?
I do hope you will be surrounded by neighbors with big hearts and big minds in your new home.
Keep us up with new developments and go get that massage, girlfriend!
Dewena
Emily says
Dear Doreen, you have had a schedule that would make most of us panic! I’m happy to hear you were able to meet up and continue your plans in NY, sounds like you had a good tine in spite of the big move you had to pack and plan for. I’m also happy to hear you did get out of the fire pit problem without having to bring in the backhoe! I’m sure you can’t wait to get to work choosing your new everything for your home. I know you must be so excited and I’m just betting you’ll have wonderful neighbors there……..You deserve a break now 🙂 It will be fun to follow along with you as your home is being built……..
Melanie says
Oh, Doreen…I’m sitting here shaking my head over all this! Except for the Justin Timberlake part. 😉 Here’s hoping from now on out, that things go much smoother for you. Maybe you can take an hour to go get a good massage!
Marilyn @ Pink Paper Cottage says
Doreen…. you amaze me doing this blog post amongst all of the other goings on! Kuddos to you! What an “adventure” you’ve had so far! I too was just shaking my head and going “oh no” “oh really?” oh no!”……… I believe everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Did you drive BAM from your cabin? wasn’t sure if you did or if it was already parked at the park in NC. hard to keep track of you girl! I loved all your photos and would love to see a picture of the park you will be living in for the next few(?) months… you say six… but… well you know… building a house usually runs into glitches along the way too! I didn’t realize your RV was as big as it is.. went and looked at pictures of it. I think I could live there very comfortably!
I bet you are so relieved to be “home” now and begin your next fun adventure. Please keep us in the loop all the way! I would love to also see pictures of your lot where your house will be built. Sounds like the park is in a nice area and you’ll be close to many things to do.
That was the “be all to end all” about the firepit! I just can’t imagine the neighbor doing that right when she must have known you were leaving. Some people……..humph.
I’ll be anxiously awaiting your next post and hear the things you’ve chosen for your new home.
Hugs… Marilyn
Doreen says
I know it’s confusing Marilyn! Here’s exactly what we did: Fisherman drove the moving truck while I drove our SUV. Once we arrived in NC we parked our car at someone’s house who lives in the community we are moving to and wasn’t there for a few weeks. Our realtor, who happens to be their neighbor, arranged it. She also drove us to the airport on Sunday. Our friends in Massachusetts picked us up at the airport and we had one last dinner together, then we drove an hour with our other car to pick up BAM on Monday. We hitched the car to BAM Wednesday night and we were both in BAM for the entire trip down. Whew!
I’m sure you’re right about the building process too. It will be at least six months…
xxx
tammy j says
well.
I picture mrs Kravitz as the witch in the wizard of oz. I can see her now…
circling the innocent little fire pit on her broom. LOL! not enough to keep her busy obviously.
she is laughing that cackely ( I don’t know how to spell cackley) is it a word?
but I can HEAR it! anyway. that laugh of hers. she has won a great victory apparently!
the fire pit that only wants to give pleasure to the new owners.
the new owners who have NO idea what kind of nosy and aggressively petty neighbor she is.
sad.
because if she were half way decent she might have been invited to said fire pit for s’mores!
she must be a bitter old lady very lonely in her persnickety ways. really more to be pitied than anything.
and number 2 news!!! elbow to elbow with Justin Timberlake and his wife!!! I liked her in 7th Heaven.
such fun! and they ALWAYS seem taller in real life!
be careful.
if you weren’t so talented and so glamourous I would dare to call you LUCY!!!
it was like watching an episode!
but all sounds to have ended well.
so happy you got to visit with your darling daughter and her own darling!
happy times ahead!
you are FREE! and it’s all very good. 🙂 XOXOXO♥
Red Rose Alley says
Doreen, Yes I know Kim still posts. Her blog is Imagery by Kimberly and I visit every time she posts. I just got an e-mail from her. I wondered how she did during the storms in Florida, and she e-mailed me back. She is one of the dearest blog friends, and her posts are genuine. She still posts about Daisy Cottage and about the lake swans near her house. I will always love her.
The Freedom Tower is a grand building. That is cool that the table next to you was occupied by Justin. I love the picture of you by the graffiti wall. The country fair in Connecticut sounds fun! I miss the county fairs here and have been wanting to go to one lately.
I hope all goes well with your move. So many little details, but everything always tends to work out. Those nosey neighbors are in everyone’s neighborhoods. : )
~Sheri
Penny says
Well Doreen, don’t feel like you are the chosen few as we have had our share of run-ins with Mrs. Kravitz as well. First as Accessor for the Town, she raised our house assessment when we put on an addition while lowering hers for an addition in the same year!! Also, rules, rules, and more rules under her presidency, which she doesn’t have to obey. Parking on the roads is Ok for some but not for others. It’s time she stepped down as President and allow the beauty and peacefulness of the community to return.
Stacey says
Man alive!! You need a vacation from all of this!
The kicker is your nextdoor neighbor and that HOA. The neighborhood we recently moved from was just like you are describing. Our house backed up to the greenbelt. I put a bird feeder in the greenbelt right next to our fence and got a dirty letter! I just don’t get this kind of stuff! What’s the point?
Well anyway…keep us posted and I hope things go better. The license snafu is just a result of being out of your normal surroundings and routines. We all do those things.
Brenda Pruitt says
Wow, sounds pretty darned crazy to me! Did you check to see if there was a vintage Candid Camera spoof happening?
Brenda
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
reading this I am beyond words 🙂
Rita C at Panoply says
Oh wow, Doreen, what a month it’s been for you. First, let me say how gorgeous both YOU AND your DAUGHTER are! Josh is quite handsome too. How fun to be in the city and, if you have to have your space invaded, to have it be a couple like Justin & Jessica.
The move….forgive me, it’s been awhile and I had still been thinking FL, but did recall NC once you wrote that. What a comedy (not funny really) of errors leading to it….glad you finally got it all taken of.
Neighbors…..good fences make good neighbors. We had a similar instance last summer with our next door neighbor rip-rapping (rocking) over what appears to be our surveyed stakes on the river property. We’ve just decided to let the surveyors fight it out if it ever comes to it. Ours was done in 2004. It’s only inches, a foot at most. The good news is we both hire the same guy to cut, lol, so it’s all good.
Hope your coming months are good ones. Be sure to take care of yourselves.What you’re doing is exhaustipating!
Nana Diana says
Doreen, I am on the road but read every word…just hard to reply using this device. OMG—-you deserve a reprieve after all of that. Deep breath—-next week will be a whole lot better!!!!
Amy says
Yowza, Doreen! You have certainly had your share of aggravation. I hope all of that is behind you now, and that it’s smooth sailing going forward. That neighbor – ugh! you’ve got to wonder about people who get their kicks from making other people miserable! I just love that picture of you in front of the hotel sign, and I can’t help but notice how much your daughter looks like her beautiful mama!
AnnMarie says
Is this a whirlwind adventure you will later laugh about?! Maybe not! Too much craziness all at once. Hopefully that is the end of it and you will live happily ever after in your new home. I think the picking out paint and flooring and stuff will be the fun part!
SharonFromMichigan says
Oh Doreen, I think every neighborhood has a Mrs. Kravitz!! I wonder what makes people like that? It has to be something in their past or they were just born a pain in the a**! I started laughing out loud when I read about your driver’s license disappearing. I thought for sure you were going to say it was stolen like your passport long ago. Looking forward to your posts on your home construction process! Take care! Sharon
Cecilia says
And I was just wondering how all the moving went. Good grief, girl! Glad you are out of the cabin with its less than nice neighbor. Goodness, to call three times to verify the truck only for it not to be there? Seriously? (Tearing out hair). I’d been livid! Sounds like the time spent with your daughter and son-in-law went well, thankfully! And I shouldn’t laugh, but the whole drivers license thing kind of tickled my funny bone. Not that it was funny while it was going on. I’ve left mine in my smaller purse too. Only I didn’t need it to get on a plane!
Now, here’s hoping your building process goes much smoother! It will be fun to see and hear about your process. It was good to hear from you, Doreen! Take care,
Cecilia
Penny at Enjoying The Simple Things says
What a time you had!! Did you have any issues with Irma?
Kris @ Junk Chic Cottage says
Oh my Gosh Doreen this is incredible. Sounds like I was ready the next best seller. You could not make this stuff up. Sounds like you had a string of bad luck with everything. Selling a home and moving is stressful enough and then throw in more stress!!!! Yikes. Sounds like you are handling it all pretty good. Love the pic of you in NY. Hey let me pick your brain about NY sometime. Terry is turning 60 years old next January and I want to plan a trip to see the 911 memorial. He has wanted to go and see this. With it being in lower Manhatten
I just do not know about places to stay. We might make this a family trip so I was thinking maybe we could rent a vacation home outside somewhere and commute into Manhatten. The hotels in that area are really expensive and we would have to have about 3 rooms. So if you are familiar with that area let me know. Hope now that all of this has happened you will be on a better journey forward!!!! A girl can dream right!!!!
Cindy says
Wow Doreen, I’m tired from reading all of the things you had happening at once. Good thing you took the model like pose before all of this happened. I did the license thing a few times. I remember going to fairs and not wanting to carry a big bag.
How horrible about the disgusting hotel. Did you get any sleep being in filth?
You’ll have fun picking everything for your new place. I am happy you got there and can begin a new adventure.
By the way, I’m happy you had fun in the City and could hang out with the rich and famous.
Cindy
Carrie@northwoods scrapbook says
Holy hell – you have been one busy Lady! Like yikes!! I”m sorry – but i laughed out loud about the license cuz I remembered the other fiasco. Reminds me of my Mom always misplacing her keys. I keep getting her tracker things for her ring, but she never uses them. Mothers. (hee hee) 😛
I’m SO jealous you got to sit by the Timberlakes!! Squeal!! How cool. Although I was just partying with Ed Sheeran. Just sayin 😉
I’m infuriated about your idiot neighbor and the firepit. Like geez for real Lady?? I don’t know why some folks just don’t have enough joy in their life to know some things are just not worth the energy. Just feel sorry for her I guess.
I hope the adventures ahead will be lovely and worth and all the headaches Hon, and that BAM is good to you!! Blessings to you. xoxo
Karen says
Wow! Nice neighbor – too bad you won’t be around to kiss her, you know what, goodbye! You sure have been through the ringer with the whole moving thing. It sounds like a bad dream……Glad you are looking forward to happier times and places! So exciting to spend time in NYC star-gazing and visiting loved ones. Hope things go smoothly from here on in. xo Karen
Kim says
I am in the library reading your post, gasping and laughing in alternating breaths. I am sure to get shushed very soon. I cannot believe what you have been through. You are an excellent (and funny) writer and I think when this whole journey is complete you should write a book about it…from the old house sale to the completion of the new build and all the mishaps, triumphs, gross hotels, interactions and famous people you’ve encountered along the way. I’d totally read that. Just not in the library. 😉 xo
Debbie - Mountain Mama says
Holy smokes lady, you can’t make this stuff up!!!!!!!!!!! You’ve really been through it lately, haven’t you? Please, God, things will be a lot smoother moving forward! SO happy for you that you are in a place surrounded by people and businesses, just like you wanted!
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
WOW! loved that first photo of you. Fancy dinner with celebs so close…and then it all went downhill from there, sheesh!
Vashti Q says
Wow! 😮 I’m so sorry you had to go through all that hassle. At least you had some fun times in between. Before you know it you’ll be in your home.
That neighbor of yours is a piece of work. I don’t understand why some people take pleasure in making other people’s lives more difficult. Well, you won’t have to deal with her anymore. I’m glad things turned out well in the end and you didn’t have to remove the boulders.
I wish you smooth sailing from now on and sending positive vibes your way! <3 xx
Jane says
Sometimes wherever you go, trouble follows. I’m sorry—just a thought. The license thing would have had me in a panic, and I’m thinking of how I change purses when we do a fancy thing-the license, a credit card and lipstick. I’ve been spared lately. A long time ago in downtown Chicago I suddenly realized I didn’t have my purse. I simply had no clue. About a week later I received a large packaging envelope with the contents of it. A little note explained that this guy found my purse in the street (uhhhhh…). He also said that he kept the whole whopping $16 to cover the expense of sending the vitals to me. hahahahaha. I was such a nitwit. And this happened-gasp-in Chicago!!
I love that you had a great time with Sarissa and Josh. I can’t begin to think how distraught I would be if I only saw my daughters once a year. You are very strong, and that doesn’t imply you don’t miss her. You just seem to live with it well.
So much to say…an unlucky start, a very bad, very, very, bad neighbor. Terrible hotels, other than the Holiday Inn (who would have thought?) and major decisions. Fasten your seatbelt. But keep us up to date!!! ;-D
Love and hugs,
Jane
Mary says
Doreen you have been so busy. I am glad to hear you got to see your daughter and visit NY. I too have to go and see the Freedom Tower, last I remember it had not been completed.
As for all of your adventures. What is going on? I guess the stress of a major move can do that to you. Just try and stay as calm as you can and take it one day at a time. That’s what I’m doing.
And good riddance to that pesky neighbor. The sooner you get out of there the better.
Vicky Hunt says
Oh my gosh! So much going on in your life right now…most of it good stuff it seems. The nosey neighbor incident sounds like a big pain in the butt though! I’m so glad you got to see Sarissa and Josh. SOunds like you all had a lot of fun! Some of your predicaments had me cracking up…I would have been stressed but it sounds like you handled everything with grace. 🙂 I know this new chapter of your life has you beyond excited! Enjoy every moment! Happy weekend!
Poppy says
Wow! You have been through a whirlwind of adventures, with surreal settings, crazy characters and twists in plot development that have brought you to where you are today, the here and now, and you have lived to tell the tale!
Perhaps the lesson learned from this particular story is ‘what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger’. Having conquered your nasty nemesis with your very cool attitude and sassy smarts, I believe, illustrates my suggestion re: the moral of this story!
Enjoy your new surroundings, my friend, go with the flow, literally, swim your butt off, bask in the sunshine and smile up at the skies!
xxx
Kelly says
Oh my word! What a time you’ve had! I hate nosy neighbors. We use to have some but thankfully they moved. I look forward to following along with you while getting your new house built.
Julie says
Hello Doreen, wow so much has happened to you with the move! I do hope that things will settle down for you and that you can enjoy decorating your new home. That will be the fun and exciting part for you I hope. Wishing you a lot of happiness in your new adventure.
Hugs, Julie
handmade by amalia says
That is some adventure you are living. I’m picturing you now with your feet up and a glass of wine, enjoying a well deserved rest.
Amalia
xo
Carla TePaske says
Catching up…and all I can say is OH MY!
Sending hugs and enjoy the simple days ahead.
Carla
Amy says
Oh my goodness, LOL. I hope all has settled down for you by now, but what a comedy of events! You really had me laughing, although I’m sure at the time it didn’t seem as funny. Best of all you got to spend time with your daughter and son-in-law and squeeze your way through the big apple. I’m never been, but it’s on the bucket list.