farewell double-wide

We are two months post double-wide moveout and she's finally gone.  The double-wide.  She's gone.  Gone to her new home somewhere up the hill from the us, destined to house yet another young couple just starting out.  It's kind of sweet.  And in honor of her moving on, I'd like to celebrate the various wall textures she proudly displayed.

Clockwise from top left, we have:

** what I like to call the "fancy" wood paneling

** the awesome kitchen wallpaper in mustard and brown, complete with corn and onions

** standard wood paneling, the predominant wall covering

** the orange and gold metallic wall covering, which we thought was wallpaper, but upon trying to remove a piece of it for a keepsake, we realized, that indeed, it is NOT wallpaper

This past week and weekend brought more dirt moving, and finally the pad for our house is complete.  Ready for digging footings and building forms and pouring concrete.  Hopefully in that order, although I'm sure it will take much longer to actually accomplish than it did for me to type that little list.  Also, somewhere in there, some permits will be needed (still jumping through county hoops for that) and probably an inspection.  You know, so our house doesn't sink into quicksand or something like that.

When you have a big job like this, you truly appreciate knowing people with some big equipment.  The dirt moving, pushing, scraping, grading type of equipment.  It is also nice to know people who are skilled at operating said equipment.

The odd thing is, now that all this work has been done, it's as if the double-wide were never here. There isn't a trace of her anywhere, unless you look at the giant pile of concrete in our field, or the stray piece of insulation that blew off in the last week.

What once looked like this...

...now looks like this.

Where we once drank our morning coffee...

...we now...well, we can still have our morning coffee there, but it just doesn't have the same appeal.

It's all very exciting, and overwhelming, and stressful, and happy.  Thankfully, Laci went to bed early tonight and I'm going to go sit in the quiet, with the hubby, and let my mind be empty for a while.  Free of decisions about house placement, or county codes, or what to make for snack, or if someone needs a nap.

cutting a house in half and a picture of dirt

Big things are happening around here.  Big things like splitting apart our old home and moving it out of the way so that we can start moving dirt.  It didn't happen over the weekend as originally planned, but Tuesday brought me this.

It's sort of like looking into a doll house, with all the rooms missing their back wall.  Except life size, and not as cute.  The guys used this doo-hickey thing, which I'm sure has a more technical name than "doo-hickey thing", and (insert best white trash drawl here) done broke our house in half.

The good ole' double-wide was moved in halves to either side of my driveway as a sort of holding area, so that now when I look out the window, this is what I see.  Don't mind the glare on the glass, as I actually took this picture looking out my not-so-clean window, during the peak of sunlight, and the glare was unavoidable.  Plus, I think it's more realistic with the glare there.  Sometimes photo flaws really tell the story.

I can honestly say I don't mind the view.  I'm so glad it is out of the way so we can start working on pushing dirt to build a pad for the new house.  And look, a picture of the dirt, just for historical purposes.  Just a picture of dirt to you, but it means so much more to me.  To think that by this time next year, I'll (hopefully) be typing from that pile of dirt, except with a new house around me.

making progress

As I anticipated, the weekend was refreshing, and warm, and sunny, and brought me out of my funk.  I spent some much needed time with my mom and sisters, sewed, crafted, made wedding favors, and even caught up with a few friends.  I soaked up the sunshine wishing it was here to stay, but of course, the rain has returned this morning, and it is still pretty chilly in my shop "living room."  I know this is just the part of Spring that is inevitable and uncontrollable, so I'll deal with it the best I can.  Right now, that means I'm focusing on all that has been going on around me while I've tried my best to roll up like a pillbug.

Ryan has been working hard at rock wall demolition and, after two weekends of tractor work and shoveling, has successfully freed the double wide.  It is ready to be split apart and moved to its new home.

These were my front steps.

This was my back porch.

And while I obviously want the double wide gone, and soon, I can't help but feel a tiny bit nostalgic about seeing it all go.  We've only lived here about 3 1/2 years (it will be four years this July), but it was our first major purchase together, the home we returned to after our honeymoon, and the home we brought Laci to when we left the hospital.  It was good to us, the double wide.  I had my doubts about how it would withstand the elements, and while it was often cold and drafty or hot and smelly, it sheltered us and held together long enough for us to make it to the next chapter of our lives.  The chapter in which we take up occupancy in a shop and attempt to build a home from scratch.

And now, here is where our porch and our steps and our rock lay in a giant, heaping pile.

As with all things construction (and demolition), rain means delays, and I'm disappointed that progress will be slowed once again.  But for today, I'm satisfied to see at least a little progress in the direction of our goals.  And tomorrow promises sunshine again, so I'm hoping for a little extra bounce in my step as I go about the daily business of living life...groceries, laundry, killing shop bugs...you know, the usual.

It's time to move

Sometimes she eats Goldfish in the bathroom sitting on the edge of the tub.  And sometimes I feel the need to take a picture because I like how the light comes in through the south-facing bathroom window.  After Friday, though, we won't be eating Goldfish and taking pictures in this bathroom anymore.  No, because this weekend is moving weekend.  We'll officially move our necessities to the trailer, setup a make-shift living room in the shop, and start on what is no doubt going to be the most challenging experience we've had yet.  I'm excited and overwhelmed, and slightly dreading the whole experience, except for the fact that I'll have my very own home at the end of the all the struggles.

The last week has consisted mainly of packing up stuff, organizing, and creating a mountain of items that I need to donate.  Fortunately, the snot monster has dried up and she has started sleeping again, which helps tremendously.  Somehow in all the preparing, I have managed to pick up a new bookkeeping job, which kept me out of the house all day yesterday and will most likely keep me very busy this weekend.  I haven't exactly figured out how to do a job and move at the same time, but I'm pretty sure the solution involves a lot of help from a lot of other people.

Although I'm positive this is something I'll never forget, I'd love to document this experience daily.  If for no other reason than to entertain the masses, OK, the handful of people who visit here. I foresee a great need for humor in my near future.  Isn't that the best way to deal with stress?  But I have to be honest with myself, I'm not exactly the champion blogger lately.  AND, I'll be without internet for a few days until we can get the satellite moved to our new "home."  At this point, I think the lack of internet is more scary than anything else.  I'll be back, if I survive the internet-less calamity that is about to befall me.  Dramatic?  A little.  One thing I can be sure of, I'm going to fully document this double-wide dream I've been living in for the past 3 1/2 years, because when things get really tough, I know just a few shots of our metallic wallpaper, wood paneled walls, flaking linoleum, and gold carpet will be all that is needed to get me through.

Doing Laundry & Complaining

We're doing laundry today.  Well, at least one of us is. 

What else is there to do on a rainy June day? 

Rainy June day? 

Did I really just write that? 

Have I moved to a tropical island?  Let's see...

Warm temperatures and misty rain...check.

Humid and muggy...check.

Surrounded by greenery...check.

Sandy beach and beautiful ocean...no.

No, I have NOT moved to a tropical island.

Bummer, tropical island sounds so much better than anything else that would describe where I live.

Speaking of where I live, can you observe the beauty of my laundry room/kitchen above?

Yes, laundry room/kitchen.

Ok, they are two separate rooms, but they are right next to each other.

Who does this?

Do people really want dryer lint in their dinner?

Apparently people who designed mobile homes in the 70's did.

Oh, so many things I could criticize those designers for.

I could post for days about the flaws of this place.

Like the carpet in the dining room.

Who does that?

People who do not have kids.

People who do not feed their kids.

People who do not feed themselves.

People who put a table in the dining room, but never use it.

People who like to vacuum a lot.

I am sure any of these people would be pleased to have carpet in the dining room.

I am not one of these people.

I understand that in its "day", this mobile was probably very nice.

But its "day" was about the time I was born,

and I of all people should know that was way too long ago.

One of these days, I plan to fully document the double wide in all its

wood paneled, orange rusty carpet, decaying linoleum glory.

Why?

Because I'm sincerely hoping that by this time next year we are deep in the anxiety of building a new house and when I have had enough of making building decisions and I'm ready to strangle my husband's neck and ready to give up on the whole thing

(and yes, I'm positive all of these things WILL happen),

I will look back on this double wide and remember, it could be worse.

Sleep...or rather, the lack thereof & other randomness

Laci and I have spent the last week or so getting up every hour or two for quality mother/daughter time.  Her choice, not mine.  Tylenol has successfully reduced these quality moments to about every two hours for the past few nights, and for the first time in my life I am pleased to say I slept for TWO HOURS in a row.  The culmination of these sleepless nights:  two very sharp teeth peeking through Laci's lower gum.  I can feel them and just barely see them, and she finally has teeth for real.  Unfortunately, they are wreaking havoc on our sleeping patterns.  As if there was a sleeping pattern to begin with.  Since I am currently dealing with my own teeth issues I can totally relate to her pain and discomfort, but it really doesn't help my mood when she awakens me six or seven or eight times in one night.  To be honest, I've lost track of how many times we are up and have actually considered giving up on the concept of sleep altogether.  I think babies should come with a vat of patience in liquid form so that when I feel like running out of the house like a crazy person I can just take a swig and feel all better.  Fortunately, she is beautifully packaged in a cute little baby body.  This is definitely to her advantage as it keeps me smiling at her in between gritting my teeth while wondering, "Aren't you tired too?"  I mean seriously, she is up as often as I am.  Apparently when you are a baby, and have nothing to worry about, or think about, or dwell upon, your brain and body require much less sleep than an adult.  Oh yeah, and you get to nap whenever you want to.  Unless you are Laci and then you hate napping. 

But enough about sleeping.  No sense in rambling on about something I can only dream of. 

Here are some random pictures from last week.  At least I think they are from last week, they could be from the week before.  Lately my pictures have been living in my camera for a good few weeks before I make the effort to load them on the computer and browse through them.  Maybe that has something to do with the impaired brain I've been left to work with. 

Laci's first lawnmower ride.

She didn't really enjoy it, much to the disappointment of her father.

Isn't it awesome how everything is green again?

Yes, yes it is.

I know it will be dead and brown before I know it, so I'm enjoying it while I can.

Her favorite thing to do.

All the time.

And her bitter beer face.  Love this face.

Laying on our gross carpet.

When we first moved into our awesome double wide,

I swore I would never have children while living here.

I couldn't imaging our sweet little baby learning to crawl on this disgusting carpet.

Then my biological clock started ticking like a time bomb

and I conveniently forgot we had disgusting carpets.

When Laci was born, I obsessively put blankets down wherever she was playing.

Of course, blankets and crawling are not really good partners

and I've just had to learn to not think about the carpet.

It is vacuumed regularly and has been shampooed, and that's all I can do.

And apparently, Laci doesn't seem to mind its hideous gold/red/orange brilliance.

Our awesome double wide.

Pretty impressive, isn't it?

You know you want one too.

And finally, I'll leave you with this image.

This is what happens when daddy gets up with the baby in the morning,

so mommy can sleep in,

and the baby gets bored of every toy in the house,

and daddy runs out of ideas.

Reminds me a little of ET when the kids hide him the closet.

Our Home...

Last summer, Ryan and I bought a home together, and I think only a handful of people have seen it. This is really OK because it isn't exactly the Taj Mahal, but we like it and it includes 6 acres so I can't really complain. So here it is in all its glory:

This is our driveway looking from the house to the road. Obviously we're having a really dry summer...I don't think there is any other kind of summer in Oroville.

I have tried to describe to many people the various shades of brown/orange/rust in my house, but words can never really convey the true brown-ness of our home. From the carpet to the walls to the bathtub everything is some shade of hideousness. Here is a picture of our livingroom, and yes, that is rust-orange colored wallpaper with gold metallic accents. I removed the pink curtains as soon as we moved in. I don't think they had been washed since 1978.

I don't want to sound like I'm just complaining. We are really enjoying living here and are slowly making progress.

Before/After:

I swear it is the same wall!