1870 pearl

Paradise

For 8 long years I have lived in a small town in Arizona. I felt as if I was bird trapped in a tiny little cage, that became smaller with each passing year. At times it was almost more than I could bare. However today, I am free - gloriously, wonderfully free!! The cage has been removed and I am free to fly where I please. My husband has taken me to paradise!

Jensen Beach has so many stores and restaurants that I can hardly decide where to go or what to do first. Do you know how many Libraries are in my local area? Three! Three huge libraries just waiting for me to delve into it's treasures.

Now guess how many yarn stores are around here. Did you guess five? Can you believe it, five yarn stores!!!! (I'm jumping up and down wildly!) I've only visited Great Balls of Yarn so far and inside the front door I found two very large baskets of Koigu sock yarn!!!!! I almost fainted and had to sit down in the chair next to the Koigu to recover. It took some time as the wool fumes were overwhelming.

You know whats almost better than two huge baskets of Koigu sock yarn? Knit Night! GBY hosts one every Tuesday evening at Borders Bookstore that has a Starbucks bar tucked inside!!!! If this is a dream don't you dare wake me. 

I took a week off from knitting during our long drive home and we have been so busy settling in that I've been to tired in the evenings to pick up my needles. However, I left GBY with four hanks of Koigu and now I feel inspired, invigorated and recharged. Let the knitting begin.

Oh how I wish you could hear the sounds of the surf and smell the salty sea air. It's heavenly. And the view from the back porch is spectacular. Tis truly a great location to read a book, knit or visit with our family.

Thanks for all of your well wishes and cheerful "Welcome Home".  Every comment means a great deal to me. As soon as life settles down a bit I promise to start responding to them again.  Have a great weekend.

Turn the Page

A new chapter in our lives started today when we arrived safe and sound in Florida. Would you like to see where I'm living now? Look carefully at the large building on the bottom right hand corner, and you will see me waving back at you!

I'm off to the beach for a refreshing swim to shake my tail feathers. They have gone decidedly flat in the past 4 days as we driven across the massive expanse of my beloved United States, that I am honored to call home!

Head East

Our long journey across the US began yesterday evening. We are going home my friends - home to the sea! I could dance and sing with joy! Acutualy I did - the whiskey was quite helpful:D

My last picture of the Arizona Sky.

Have a good weekend.

Checking out

The packers are here, my house is in total chaos, the dog has gone completely nuts, the yarn is packed, the car is loaded, hubby is doing the last bit of yard work, RB has an army of friends over for one last ho-rah (All of whom are looking for food in my empty fridge and claiming that they are starving to death. I really don't believe them.) and last but certainly not least, our friend "The Plummer" is here fixing our loo for the very last time! I think I shall loose my mind in the next few minutes. Is it to early for a medicinal glass of whiskey?

 

Got to go........ see you on Saturday. 

Got Ravelry?

I do and I might not ever be seen here again - just kidding:D Ravelry is positively brilliant!

This weekend I  whipped out a pair of anklets. A simple Thuja modified for my gauge, knit them toe up and finished them with a tubular bind-off. Does this surprise you?

We are now in the final count down of of great Exodus! The packers will arrive next week on the 26th and box our belongings. The following day the moving van will load the boxes and start its long journey to Florida. Saturday the 28th, we will follow suit.  We hope to be in Florida by August 1st.

Good Tidings

I, the lowly Town Crier, am pleased to announce the following:

"At 2:15 p.m. today, Mrs. & Mr. Pearl happily signed a contract to sell their home, for a goodly sum! The couple wishes to thank each and every one who sent well wishes and prayers their way."

There will be much rejoicing, revelry and good old fashion "merry making" in Arizona tonight! Be sure to come and join the celebration:D

Stand Down and Knit

Now that the big purge is over and my home is ready for the pack out, I can "Stand Down" and again resume the wonderful act of peaceful knitting. And I really think I deserve a pair of socks for all the hard work that I did.

Remember that luscious sock yarn that LaVerna sent me? Well shes on the needles! I'm so in love with this be-speckled yarn. However, I soon discovered that the Stockinette stitch was just a little to un-refined and juvenile for my tastes. 

So I added a little Shimmer to her life

and she blossomed into a sophisticated classic beauty!

Abigail

BTW: Stand Down in military terminology is defined as "All hands will return to normal routines and regular duties as assigned."

No rest for the weary

I've been running on fumes in the last week but I'm happy to report that every last bit of the shake down in done! Every nook and cranny of this home has been re-organized and purged in ordered to prepare for long term storage of our belongings. It is not an easy task to say the least. Each item must have a high value if it is to stay with our family. Not to mention that it costs 60 cents a pound to transport it from here to Florida!

The last zone was our bedroom, not to messy but needed a little TLC. Knitting is much more interesting than cleaning a closet, if you ask me.

Anyway, I blew up the master bedroom and the closet yesterday. I sorted our clothes into 3 categories: 1. Clothes that will go into long term storage. 2. Clothes that will go to the condo. 3. Donations. I sent 3 garbage bags full to Goodwill and about 2 boxes of books for the library. I must admit that I did find it difficult to part with dresses that were too big and oh so pretty, but the has time had come. Sniff! Sniff!

I found my dear old friend though shes missing a few ribbons. For fun I did try her on and she still fits. How cool is that and it's been 14 years! Woot! Woot! I confess that I did enjoy our little walk through memory lane for a few minutes. I miss the US Navy.

Then I turned my attention to our closet.

We must look our very best when a potential buyer comes to visit. All gussied up and ready for the movers to pack it up. 

Just so you know - this is not fun my friends and frankly I've had my fill of this. However, Stage 1 is done, which I'm sure you have guessed by now is the ultimate purge of all unnecessary items. Stage 2 commences next week - deciding what comes to the condo and what goes into storage. Stage 3 will begin the week after that. This will consist of the traveling pack - what goes in the truck for our 3 day journey to our new home.

Oh well, onwards and upwards as they say.

Abigail

Wiped Out

The moving sale was a tremendous success. We are happy to report that we net $616.40! Much better than I expected. Though it wiped us out - ache knees, sun burnt faces, and mentally drained. Hubby tells me that I can sell ice to an Eskimo. When all was said and done, all that was left was one small trunk load of stuff bound for the thrift store!

The last 2 items that are going on the block are the dining room table and the ugly Futon bunk bed, that belongs to the teen. I won't miss that monstrosity.

We have showing tomorrow. Pray ladies pray.

I want to thank each and every one of you who have left me comments and support in the past few weeks. It really means a lot to me. As soon as life settles down a bit I will try to reply to them again.

Cyber hugs, Abigail

Clean Sweep

In the past 6 days we have shaken down 1 kitchen, 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 man cave, the living room, the attic and shed. Removing everything that no longer has a valid purpose in our lives. I can not begin to express how thankful I am that we live in a small house! My mind is positively shattered with all the decisions that we have made in this week. I fear I shall fall over from exhaustion!

Today and tomorrow we are hosting the grand moving sale. Hopefully 90 percent of this stuff will find new homes so we don't have to haul the lot to the thrift store.

The good news is that Stage 1 of the Exdous is done. Stage 2 begins on Monday - deciding what will go in long term storage and what needs to go into our temporary home. If all goes well, we should be there by July 3rd. Just in time for the big 4th of July party! The count down in on - 30 days to departure! 28 days to the pack out! No need to panic. We are 5 days ahead of schedule.

On Sunday we are headed up to Woods Canyon Lake for some much need R and R. Please continue to pray for the house to sell quickly.

Have a good weekend, Abigail

P.S. I'm happy to report that I am at the toe for each sock!