Gettin' it done

June 24/11.

Hours up at the "hidey hole" today. Since we can't get an extension on the closing date for Mum's house, it's going to be a mad dash to the finish line on July 7th. (not to mention, my radiation treatments will likely start before that date!) Crazy days. Will find out soon. (NEVER a dull moment, as usual!)

When I pulled up at the house, the movers we hired to take the antiques to the "Of Things Past" showroom were there, working away, loading the truck. Awwwwwwww. They were taking Mum's beautiful vanity dresser and mirror. The one she used every day of her life.

Carrie got this cool shot of the dresser and her own reflection, waving a fond farewell. Love it!

The guys are movin' it on out the door!
I think the men were a bit taken aback when I asked if I could shoot pictures of them "for the blog"! I'm driving everyone nuts with this thing! - (but I don't care. I'm having a blast!)

Arby & Hilary from Arby Cartage and Moving Inc. (Hilary seems concerned about the ditzy blonde taking his photo. Can't say I blame him) - But I'll give you guys a good "blog plug"!

Waving goodbye to Mum's special things.

By the time Hilary & Arby took off, we were friends. I gave them the blog address so they can see their pics later! Thanks guys! - Arby Cartage rules!
Spent the rest of the afternoon with Carrie, wrapping all kinds of things, from broken glass (to protect the garbage men when they pick it up!), to more items for Goodwill, to a few special treasures for Auntie Ray. Moved tons of books upstairs from the basement to the livingroom shelves. Next, have to call a book person to collect them. Mum had SOOOOOOOOO many books. It's hard to part with them. In fact, when I went to drop off her old set of encylopedias at Goodwill, (the ones we used as kids), I got as far as the front door, stopped, set them on a chair for a sec, then Carrie happened to call on the way to the ballpark with Lee. She asked where I was. Told her I was in the Goodwill parking lot, standing there in tears, unable to part with the friggin' set (which Mum bought in the '50s!) Each and every edition has several yellow sticky notes inside, which she put there to mark "the important stuff." The first book I grabbed to look at, had a bookmark at World War II. Just couldn't seem to get my feet to walk inside to donate them. Carrie told me, "Keep them in the car for now!" (till we decide what to do). So I did. - Great. - Now I have a full set of 1950s encyclopedias in my trunk. I'm an idiot. (what else is new?)

Anyway, onward to tell you about the rest of the day. Ran out of newspaper to wrap stuff. So, drove over to my parents-in-law's condo, four blocks away, and collected what THEY had!

Mum & Dad B had plenty of newspapers & packing material for us! Can always count on them!
Also had to decide about our Mum's favourite teddy bears.

Something tells me, these little guys aren't going anywhere either!

Not to mention, Mum's favourite birds (who whistle!)

Hey, we still have 13 days to decide what to do with all these special things! Hang in there little birds!
By the time I got home, my daughter, Kate was all ready to go out for "anti-prom!" She and her friends aren't into "prom", so invented their own event to protest the real thing. She was wearing her fabulous new sparkly blue dress - and her boyfriend, Damian was all decked out. I took this shot and was happy it turned out so well. They're both stunning!

So adorable!

Happy anti-prom! Have fun!
Meanwhile, my son, Max, was watching Stepbrothers and playing video games with his good friend, Ben in our den. I'm tellin' ya, Ben is hilarious and I'm predicting - on his way to a BIG career, whatever he chooses to do!

They were yelling at me, "NIGHTHAWK!!!!" - one of the characters in the video game they were playing.
As for me? Back home, (with major league humidity hair), hanging out, wondering what the heck will happen over the next 13 days till closing?????

It's been a long day. - And (lucky) 13-more-to-come. Adios everybody. Talk soon! Have a fabulous weekend!
Hey! - P.S. - 10:20 p.m. - "BONUS TRACK"! - The whole anti-prom crew just dropped by the house. YAY! I get to see everybody! Here's a pic I took of the gang.

(left to right) - The fabulous Cadence & Matt, incredible Kate & Damian, amazing Arena & Emily! - Love you all!