Snow birding

We hit the road the day before it started snowing in Indy.  Great timing! After 18 hours in the car with two cats (Lucky went out on the leash once during our stop for grits and bicuits and half the staff came out to look) we landed at our new home on Thursday. After a few hours of napping we were ready to get busy on the billion and one projects that awaited us. Brian did a very cool rehab on the floors so we needed the right paint to complete the look. By Thursday night we had 9 paint samples up all over the (previously) yellow walls. Brian indulged my desire to try so many (very) slightly different colors and Lori was pulled in to help us reach a decision.  In the end we all got to about the same favorite and the painting began the next day (24 hours in Tampa.) Three coats later we finally finished today. We had to get it done before the moving truck arrives with my stuff tomorrow.

Every day, all day we play musical chairs with the animals and endure hissing, growling, and one very bloodied dog who hasn't yet figured out that the fur balls are in possession of deadly weapons. It is incredibly tiresome. I believe Annie's lifespan has been shortened by a couple years from the stress and Gracie is going to need reconstructive plastic surgery on her snout. Today I was home alone painting and Gracie was bored so she came and dropped her toy in the roller pan then as I was getting up to clean it and put her out I heard the distinct sound of Lucky eating plastic, when I went into the (gated) cat room I found not only that he had eaten both handles off of a shopping bag, but Annie was sitting in the litter box (for the hundredth time) except I hadn't cleaned it since last night so she was litterally hiding in a shit box. I hit the wall a little.

We've had one night out and about and Brian took us to the Ike and Jonesy's of Tampa (Frannie O's for my VT friends.) He told us there would be a great mix of young and old people and there was a mix, except the young people were us. One woman who looked to be over 70 was wearing some long white cape all night yet still got down on the dance floor to Back that Ass Up.  I went to the bathroom and waited in line, old cape lady comes out of a stall and says "sorry ladies, that appetizer really stopped me up." At that point I decided we might want to move along to a place where we were the older folks not the young whippersnappers. See pics of the hotspot below.

As of tomorrow we'll officially be classified as hoarders (once the truck arrives.) Not only are we stuff hoarders we are also people and animal hoarders. If someone wants to call the A&E show on us, feel free as we could use some organizational help and junk removal.

H-bomb...Out

Hectic last week in the Rip. Lori Ann and I do not make things simple, we both get all crazy and it's like a massive tornado blowing across hoosier country.

We hosted an unsuccessful open house on Saturday. About 5 looky-loos came through but no one had any real interest in the place.  Then tonight when we are both knee-deep in wardrobe boxes (and there is still a massive bucket of alcohol on the counter) this guy calls me asking if he can see the place.  Of course! And by the way...he's parked outside my house. It was an awesome showing.

More fun/successful than the open house was our Halloween night out with friends on Saturday. It was a blast. We had cops and robbers, an elf, the tooth fairy, supergirl, one of the brokeback mountain guys (Jake Gyllenhaall I think), Mario and Luigi (Mario had massive moose knuckle issues), Tubbs, a pin-up girl (me - I had to look cute!) and an unfortunate celebrity wreck (Lindsay Lohan.) I fell down no less than 3 times, which would lead someone to assume I was wasted (I wasn't TOTALLY sober) but noticed the next morning that my heel was askew so I started with a wardrobe handicap.

You can't read the whole bumper sticker, but it says Bennett's Smut and Eggs. It is the 5-star home of porn in the morn that we patronized when in Madison, WI. And yes, it is exactly what it sounds like.



Brian is just as crazy getting ready for us. I had him install a cat door out to the garage so we could keep the litter box out there. He had to buy the door for "large cats and medium sized dogs" to account for Annie's stress-related weight gain. Between a major floor refurbish and the cat door he has been flat out with projects.  Lori Ann and I are painting as soon as we get there and then tacking in all the baseboards - and this is prior to putting all the furniture back into the main living areas and with a dog and two cats running around. The cats are getting anxious with all the activity. Lucky has managed to eat a lot of plastic and even found some 5 year old catnip which is currently strewed all over my bathroom floor. I think they tolerate the anxiety better when they are high on the nip.

We pull up anchor on Wednesday. All readers wish us luck please!