What's Next

My parents just settled on a house. It'll be a very cool house, so completely them when it's fixed up, but there's quite a bit of fixing to do, and they'd planned on doing it all, then moving the mile from where they've lived for twenty years by Christmas time.

That was the plan until yesterday evening. We'd (my parents, my sister, and I) spent the day working on stuff at the new house, most notably hauling a really stinky full refrigerator out of the house, then up ten feet or so of steps using wooden rails, broom handles, sheets of plywood, logging chains, and a block and tackle--talk about your sense of accomplishment! We got rid of stuff, aired the place out, washed the deck, then went home to wash up before going to dinner at friends'.

Mom checked the mail on the way into the house, and found a letter from a lawyer's office notifying them that they and all of their personal belongings need to be out of the house no later than October 31st because the farm is being sold at auction on November 12th. Let me reiterate, they've lived there for TWENTY years. I was already planning on helping the week of the 12th, but I may be extending it through the end of September, at least.

This is the part when I say I'm extra-glad I put so much into savings while I had a full-time job with annual pay increases. The yarn diet is pretty much a foregone conclusion, but luckily I have enough in stash to keep me occupied for a while.