Goodbye old "friend"

  

Well, as hard as it is to let some of my own things go, it's even harder to watch my husband get rid of a car that has been in his family since 1973.  His Dad bought this 1973 Ranchero when it was new.  He had it till he gave it to David when we moved to the ranch in Fort Rock.  Here it is on the ranch.

 David drove it for years till we moved here in 2006.  Then, he would drive it now and then, but it started having problems and he decided to work on it and restore it.  A few years ago, he began that process but ran into a few problems getting a radiator support.  It took him four years to find one that would fit the old car.  Then, he got that in and started to do some other work on it and then had to quit for lack of funds.  It sat, covered under a tarp for the last few years, with David working on it any chance he got.

Then, came this idea in the back of our minds to make this life change go live in a 5th wheel and travel here and there and he decided to sell it, because it would have been too expensive to store it and we definitely couldn't be towing it along with us everywhere we went. :-)

He was beginning to think he wouldn't get it sold, as although he had a lot of inquiries about it, no one was that interested in a restoration project.  Until a few days ago.  A man called, came and looked at it with his 15 year old son...who was beaming like crazy. They took it for a test run to make sure it would make it back home with them  And, after he paid for it and they drove it off, it was hard to watch David watch it drive away.

But, you know, nothing is forever!  We have a lot of photos of that old car...and lots of memories.  What is it about a car or a house or things in general that we get so attached to them?

When we first started this 'journey' several years ago, wondering if we could just sell everything and go on the road.....I was telling a gal at a RV place how I felt and she looked at me and said, "Well, you know, I have never seen a hearse with a U Haul towed behind it".  I have never forgotten her words.

After both of my parents died, I had to go through all of their stuff each time, it just reminded me of how much we collect over the years...including memories and then we leave it all up to someone else to get rid of because 'we' can't stand to part with it.

So, that's why we are getting rid of as much as we can NOW....so that our family doesn't have to go through that process someday down the road.  It's hard enough losing someone without having to make them deal with your 'stuff' after wards.

And, you know, to be honest...it's been so 'freeing' to get rid of some of this stuff we've been hanging onto.

Of course, with that being said, I was going through old photos and things my kids had made me...and I WILL be hanging onto those things.  Let them toss them out when the time comes :-)

Well, back to getting the garage sale organized....just one more week!!!  Then, maybe we'll know something for sure and we can move onto Phase 3.

And, YES, I am working on my class cards this weekend, so I will have some cards to share soon!!  And, maybe some fun little give aways!!!

Thanks for taking this journey with me.

Hope you have a fantastic day!!!  Remember to take time to Paws N Stamp!!

 Hugs,
Char

Phase 2 of our adventure has begun

Well, we have begun Phase 2 of our plan.  We are now setting up for our huge garage sale to be held April 7th and 8th.  We cannot fit everything that we are getting rid of into the garage, all at once, so that's why we have had to do this in 3 stages.  :-)  Time consuming and exhausting but FUN at the same time.  Still lots to go through, but we are on target for the date we set.

We moved the remaining craft stuff to two aisles of two tables each...and it's really tight but that left us with four tables in two aisles for garage sale stuff....plus the cabinets along the sides of the garage.  As you can see, they are not completely filled up, YET.

Then, if all goes according to plan, we'll have the final stage....stage 3...a  HUGE moving sale.  Then we can add stuff we would keep IF we stayed here....but things we are willing to part with if we don't.

Phase 3 date will be sometime in April.....just can't post it yet, as we don't know for sure when.

But this whole process has prompted us to also go through a lot of mementos and to decide just what to hang onto and what we need to let go of.  HARD....but like someone told me one time, "I have never seen a U-Haul on the back of a Hearse"...and that is so true.

I want all of my stampers friends and customers to know that as soon as we do get the go ahead, I'll be starting a blog just for our travels and what we are up to on the road, and this blog will go back to sharing ideas and cards!!   That way those that are interested in following our journey, can still do so...and those that really just want stamping information and card ideas won't have to read all our personal stuff :-)

Just too much to do right now to have to try and keep up with two blogs :-)

Class is scheduled for April 6th, and am working on that at night!!  Can't wait to see my girls!!!  They are the absolute BEST!!!!

Have a great day!!!

Hugs,
Char

Craft Sale over and now onward to a Garage Sale

Well, the craft sale was a big success...even though it rained and was so windy.....but, surprisingly we didn't get rid of even a 1/4th of all the stuff out there in the garage.  But, we did 3x better than I had anticipated in sales, so I am not complaining.

The idea was to have the craft sale first and then have a garage sale, then we'd have more room.  Well, we did get rid of a ton of stuff but it didn't make a huge dent like I had anticipated :-)  So, now how to set up for the garage sale.  Oh gosh, I had no idea how much stuff I had accumulated over the years.

A lot of stampers and scrapbookers went away super happy so that made me happy!!

And, it was so much fun visiting with different gals from all over.  We had a couple from Portland and another one from somewhere else that was just visiting the area and saw it on Craigslist and decided to stop.

A couple of Special Needs teachers came, (I have a love for Special Needs teachers...as we have a Granddaughter that is special needs) at different times that weekend, to find stuff for their classes so I showed them where I had a bunch of boxes of free stuff that they were excited to go through.  They also bought a bunch of stuff to use in their class rooms!

Now we are beginning to set up for a huge garage sale in less than two weeks! We don't have room for more tables in the garage, so we need to find more tables to put out in the driveway and then figure out how to keep everything from getting wet should it decide to rain.  We don't know of anyone that has tables or canopies we could borrow.  What to do....what to do!!!

Yesterday, we just happened to go up for a community lunch at the Fire Hall and the people that we sat with had known about the craft sale and asked how it went. I was telling them all about it and that we were getting ready for our garage sale, next, but, we needed to find some tables.  Well, come to find out, they told us that city hall rents theirs out for $2 each.  WHAT?  That solves our problem!!! Now, to find canopies on sale so we can put them OVER the tables to keep everything out of the elements.  I am sure the Lord already has that taken care of.

I haven't had a moment of free time to stamp but I DO have a class coming up on April 6th so will be working on getting that finished up this week.

It's just so amazing to watch the Lord work out all the details!!  So much to tell, but so little time, right now.  I have been keeping a journal.....as I want to revisit this time of our lives....and remember all the tiniest details!!!

Thanks to those of you that have contacted me, privately, and told me that you are praying for us!!  I appreciate it more than you know!!!

I'll be keeping you posted and I PROMISE to get a card or two up on the blog soon!!!

Have a fantastic day!!!!

Hugs,
Char

HUGE CRAFT SALE

Well, it's DONE....the sale is all set up and ready to open the doors at 9am this morning.

Wow, I was beginning to think I wouldn't get it all priced in time, but I finished yesterday afternoon!!  

 Lots of stamps and even more on the table behind that I didn't get a good photo of.  I have Stampin' UP stamps, some Angel Company stamps and various other stamps from other companies, both wood and unmounted.

 

 SU punches, Framelits, Embossing folders and even an older Big Shot plus a Textured Boutique embossing machine.

Designer Series Paper, ink pads, re-inkers and various other mediums.

Carl cutters, lots and lots of embellishments....way too much to list.

Ribbon your fancy?  You will find a ton of ribbon!!

Eight tables about 6 feet long each full of crafting supplies.

We'll be open at 9am sharp and will stay open till 5pm both March 24th and March 25th 2017.

If you are looking for something particular, don't hesitate to e-mail me and ask if I have it.  IF I have it, I can let you know what the price will be including shipping to your address and you can pay pal me.  Otherwise, it's first come/first serve.

Gotta make room for the new catalog, right? :-)

Have a fantastic day!!!!

Hugs,

Char

Craft Sale almost ready 4th

Well, we've been working all week on the craft sale and have made huge progress. By the end of this week, we'll be ready to open the doors for business. 😁

I have purged, big time, and am only keeping the most current SU products. Oh, ok, and a few of my most favorite sets, punches etc.

We had the Inspection of our home and are now waiting for the assessor to do his or her thing and then we can really kick it into high gear, depending on what he/she says.  Please keep us in your prayers.

Card class will be on April 6th at 9:30 am. I'm also planning on a class in May, too.

I have to say, its actually been a "freeing" experience to get rid of so much stuff that we've been hanging onto.

Eventually, I'll share some card ideas with you. I just need to get this sale out of the way.

Have a great week. I'm trying to finish getting set up and then can play!!!!!

Hugs
Char

The Purging has begun

And, this is only the very beginning.  I took this photo before we got all the tables full of stuff and some stuff still in boxes.

It's two 6-8 foot tables long and 5 rows wide.  Plus still have more to put out.

How on earth do we acquire so much stuff???  And, I still have a stamp room with stuff to teach classes with.

The inspector is coming this Saturday, March 18th.  After that, there will be an assessor.  Then, HOPEFULLY, we'll have time to get a moving sale IN before we close.

Anyway, for those that live close, our Stamp/papercrafting/craft sale will be held on Friday March 25th - Saturday March 26th from 9am till 5pm.

Then the next weekend, we will be having a garage sale.  THEN, if we have time before the house closes (if indeed it does and nothing keeps it from closing), we will have a moving sale.

IF there isn't time, we'll put everything in storage and have it at a later date and time.  I don't like this 'not' being able to plan things....lol  It just goes against my very nature.  But, it's all in God's hands.

I will also be having a class on April 6th, here at my home.  So, I will find time to get my class cards finished and be ready to have class that day.  My gals are the absolute BEST.....and are so supportive.....even though we may miss a class or two in the upcoming months.

But, I'll be like Scarlett....and I won't think about that today.

Have a fantastic day!!!!

And, remember, you only have till the end of this month to take advantage of the Sale A Bration free stamps with a $50 order.  And, they are now while supplies last!

Hugs,
Char

A Brand new day!!!

Good Morning or whatever time it is when you read this.

UPDATED!!!   This was to have been sent out a couple of weeks ago....and just realized it hadn't been sent out.  So, read it as though you are reading it two weeks ago....  :-)

I am so excited that you are following along on this journey with us.  I wish I had thought of it earlier!  But, it is what it is, right?

It's basically a way for me to journal this adventure.  I wish I had did it the other two times we put a fleece out before the Lord, but I didn't.

Yesterday, we had a showing of our home and today, we have another showing later this morning.

So far, since we put the house on the market on February 22nd, (actually the sign didn't go up for two days) we'll have had 8 showings in 2 weeks.  That's not tons and tons...but consistent.

I am having you join me on this journey because, I need to talk about it and journal it and what better way.  :-)

There have been questions, naturally, of what we'll do IF the house sells and what we'll do if it doesn't.

Well, this is our plan...but you know, God could change it.

First, IF the house sells in the time frame that has been set and for the agreed upon amount, (between us and the Lord) then we'll know that this is God's Will and we'll proceed with the rest of our plans of buying a 5th wheel and a truck.  If it doesn't, then we'll know that God wants us to stay put and HE will provide the necessary finances in order for us to continue on.  What will that be?  Maybe a job, maybe something else, I guess we'll know in time.  That's the hard part of waiting on the Lord....but we are confident that HE alone knows what is the ultimate best for us.

Our plans, as some of you know already, is to buy a 5th wheel and a truck and to just go on the road working when we can with the Volunteer Christian Builders on different projects, and volunteering for other types of jobs, visiting friends and family and living here in Central Oregon during the summer months.  We want to be available to help out whenever we can, whereever we can.

I have had some ask me, what will be the outcome IF you do not sell your house? Well, that too is in God's hands and we'll have our answer that this constant thinking of going full time is NOT from Him...but one of our own.  I do know that I will continue teaching card classes in my home and will just amp it up quite a bit and hubby will look for a part time job.

But, we just need to take it one day at a time and that can be so hard to not try and look ahead but at the same time, you have to plan ahead in the event it all comes together.  :-)

And, I may be talking to an empty room, here, and THAT'S ok too....I am 'journaling' basically because I can look back at a later time and see God's handiwork in how this all came about.

So, for today, I wanted to add a little touch of stamping to the blog for those that may not really care about our journey :-)

I received a card from a friend in PA and I just had to case it using my own ideas and stamps.

Hope you are having a fantastic week!!!

Char

A Counter offer was made

Hi,

Well, we got an offer and we counter offered for even more than the original price of the house.  We figured if this WAS from the Lord....then they would either take it or refuse it and we could move on.  We weren't going to play the game of back and forth.  If they were truly interested, then do it...if not, let's move on.

They accepted it.  NOW....we wait for a house inspection, next week....this house is only 10 years old so we don't foresee any hiccups.
BUT, we also don't count our chickens till they are completely hatched.

I took the photo of the 5th wheel, we plan on buying, off the blog...as David told me that he really didn't want to share what we were thinking of getting till we actually had it and THEN he said it would be ok.   Whooops, I guess I hadn't thought it would be a big deal, but I honored his request and removed it.

So, if this all goes through....and after we have picked it up and our family has seen it, first, then I'll share it on here.   Not a big deal but honoring how he wants it done.  :-)

For those of you so inclined, please be praying for the inspection to go through...and that we will move forward!!  But, only if it's in God's will for us.

In closing, we are having a big stamp/scrapbooking/craft sale on March 24th and 25th from 9am till 5pm both days.  We have to get rid of a lot of stuff so we can have a moving sale next.  But, the craft stuff goes regardless.....but depending on if we are moving for sure or not,  more will be added in the next week.

Now because we have been so busy with the sale of our house, I haven't had time to do any stamping.

But, I'll share a card that I received in a swap from my up-line, Jan Farring.  I will be doing this card as one of our cards at class in April!  It uses the "Nailed It" stamp set from the Occasions catalog which is still available through May.

If you are local, the class will be held on April 6th at 9:30 am.  If you are not local and would like the Card Buffet which will include 3 cards and the directions for those cards, then all you have to do is just place an order at my SU online store http://charwilson.stampinup.net and I will send the PDF file to your e-mail.

One word of caution, if this is the first time you have signed up for my SU website or are not a current customer, you will need to check the box that says you want to be notified of upcoming events.  It only means that I will have a way to contact you if I have questions or in this case...to be able to send you the Card Buffet to your e-mail.  Otherwise, I won't know who ordered and will not have any way of knowing who to get in touch with.

Thanks for reading this far!!  I promise when things settle down...I'll be sharing lots more!!

Have a fantastic day!!!

hugs,
Char

Got an offer on the house.......but

Well, today is sort of an up/down day.   The weather is icky....gray skies....yuck.

Last night, we met with our realtor.  He brought us an offer on our house.  To say it was low, is an understatement especially since they wanted us to pay all the closing costs AND include our washer and dryer, stove and Refrigerator.  Well, we already had decided to include the stove as it's sort of built in....and the refrigerator is 10 years old, so that was a given.  BUT, the W&D are only four years old and cost us about $800 each back then.  NO, not at the price they were offering!!! What did they think WE were going to use if we had to buy another house.

So, we were just not going to accept it and be done with it...but then we thought, what the heck, we'll counter offer with our original price plus the closing costs. Our realtor agreed, saying that it was pretty low especially with expecting us to pay all the closing costs.

We are pretty sure they won't agree to that....but in the event that they do...we'll get the full price of our asking price and that would pretty much offset having to include the W&D.

But, as I said before, this is entirely in the Lord's hands.  If it doesn't sell, we are OK with it.

Hey, anyone know of anyone that would love to buy an old 73 Ford Ranchero???  Let me know!  Hubby has one for sale.  :-)

Till tomorrow.....

Hugs,
Char

Some Thoughts on the subject!!

What subject, you ask?  Well, I have been doing a lot of thinking, lately, and I have decided that I want to share other things than just my Stampin' UP! life.  I will still post cards and stamping ideas but I am going to share other ideas, as they come up, as well.

First though, here is a card we made at my class last Thursday.

I love this stamp set called Avant Garden in the Sale A Bration catalog.  Sale A Bration ends on March 31st, so you still have time to put in a $50 order and receive this stamp set for free.

Now on to what I am thinking about doing going forward!

Lately, I seem to be drawn to blogs of people that share what they've been up to and places they have visited, things they have done, new ideas they have tried and it has peaked my interest in trying some new things, myself.

So, with that said, I am going to start sharing not only cards I have made, SU classes and workshops that are coming up but just my life in general!

I am more than just my card making and so when I am doing or taking part in other things, the blog sort of goes to the wayside. :-(

Will it be interesting to you?  I guess I'll find that out but at least I'll be blogging several times a week rather than playing catch up all the time.

The biggest thing in the forefront of our lives right now is finding our purpose. Now that our kids have grown and our grand kids are in their 20's and my husband has retired, we are sort of  at a loss as to what we should be doing in our 'golden years'.  I still find that funny, as I still feel like I am in my 40's or 50's.

For a couple of years, now, we keep having this idea of getting a 5th wheel and truck and volunteering with the Volunteer Christian Builders organization or another organization and just being FREE of STUFF and being able to travel and visit people.

We have fluctuated back and forth and back and forth.  I, for one, didn't want to give up my home and live in an RV, but on the other hand, I really want to do something with the remaining years of our lives. My husband feels the same and we keep having this idea come up over and over and over again....we'll do a lot of research and decide, yes...let's do it. Then, we have some concerns and wonder if we should or not so we quit talking about it for a month or two and then it pops up again and we start more researching and wondering if this is the route we should take.

So, we decided to put a fleece before the Lord to find out IF this is what we are supposed to do or not and if you don't know what that means, it basically means that we aren't certain that we are supposed to do this life changing event or not or if it's just our idea or it really is the Lord's .....and we only want to do it if it's what the Lord wants us to do.

So, we made the decision to put our home up for sale and IF it sells by July 25th, AND for the amount we have decided on (our realtor doesn't even know the exact amount we have written down), then, we will know that it's what God wants us to do.  It's sort of scary but at the same time, exciting!!!

And, just in case you think we are stark raving mad...we have done this two other times in our lives......and when it's what the Lord is having you do....it's amazing how everything just works out exactly like it's supposed to.

IF this is His will, the house will sell for the price we decided on....we will get the money from the Craft sale and Moving sale that we need and we'll be on our way.  If it doesn't, then we have our answer.

So, with that said......be watching for updates and follow along with us on our journey.

And, if you are of the persuasion, you can be praying that God will show us what He wants us to do either way.

Sorry this post was so long, but wanted to give you a little idea of what to expect going forward.

I am attending a demonstrator get together on Thursday, and I hope to have some cool cards to share with you after I get back.  :-)

Have a fantastic day!!!

Char