A little more than two and half weeks ago we put all our possessions into the control of a moving company.   The house was packed when they arrived and it took about 4 hours to load everything into the van.  Now all our possessions are in storage with the moving company in Melrose Park, IL and we are parked in our RV in a campground outside of Rhinebeck, NY.  Some of the things we need were put in storage, like Jerry’s pants and we have 2 vacuum cleaners with us.  So, to catch you up:

When we came in early September in hopes of finding a home, we left the RV in NY so we did not have to drive that when we actually moved.  We had two cars packed to the limit with things the moving company would not take, liquids and valuable and things I did not want to give them, huge glass pictures and a sewing machine and of course two vacuums.  We had already brought out a load in July that is in my sister-in-law’s house, another load sitting in the RV and two loads in the cars.  There was no way we could keep it all with us, so we have a 5 X 10 storage unit in Red Hook.  I thought it was too big and we would not need it but there is very little available space left in the unit.

When we left the end of September to drive here permanently, I was very aware of driving for possibly the last time down 294 and across the bottom of Lake Michigan on Route 80 and being very happy to not have to do that again!   On the other hand, it was very sad for me to leave 45 Castle Rock Lane.  I lived in that home for 19 years, the longest I have ever lived in one place, even my childhood home I lived there only 18 years.  I was very comfortable in that house and I had put a lot of improvements into it, new furnace, air conditioning, hot water heater, patio doors, all windows, storm doors, garage door, wood floors throughout and just before leaving a new washer and dryer.   Just before we left, we tried to see everyone we could but time did run out and we did not get to see everyone.

It took us a while to replace our home and, before we did, we saw a lot of homes (the good, the bad and the ugly) and eventually had to make a decision.  We wanted to live in Red Hook because of the community there.  We bid on several homes and it did not work out.  It is an older town and many of the homes are need in repair.  Some of the problems are visible and others are not.  After not being able to complete a contract and not wanting to spend all our disposable income on a home, we started looking in other neighborhoods.  We were able to find a beautiful home in Hyde Park about a 15-minute drive to Rhinebeck and 25 minutes to Red Hook.  The house is in excellent shape.  It needs interior painting since I don’t like the colors and to have the hardwood floors refinished.  The home was built in 1964 but renovated in 2019 with a new roof, kitchen, furnace, air conditioner, on demand hot water heater and bathroom.  It was maintained impressively. When the inspector went through the house he told me all the mechanicals were top of the line. It even has two washers and two dryers.

We have been spending our time after we found the house, completing loan papers, having inspections done and finding painters, contractors and floor refinishers.  We have also driven around to find the shopping, restaurants and a church.  We spent Saturday at the Farmers Market by our house.  We spoke with a lot of people and found out places to volunteer.  We have gone to the State Park about 10 minutes from the house and on the Hudson River.  I have found some of the people I have worked with when I lived here before.  We went to the church 10 minutes from the house, but it was not very active so we went to a different one in Rhinebeck on Saturday.  They have lots of opportunities to help.   They have a knitting/crochet group that makes blankets for the sick and chemo hats along with other donations.   They invited me to their next meeting on October 26^th and I am excited to meet them. We ate excellent NY style pizza!

 This brings me to how to establish a new community if you ever have to.   First rule – talk to everyone!  Even Jerry has gotten into the habit of talking to strangers, and that’s something.  One conversation leads to another and another connection.  We were in Millerton, a really nice town on the CT border and while I would have loved to live there, it is isolated.  But we spoke to a woman who told us about a movie theater that plays independent films on Fridays with conversation afterward and some people go to dinner.  We have been watching for the movies being played but so far none we want to see.  Someone we spoke to told us about Holy Cow the best ice cream shop I have ever been to.   Two scoops of homemade ice cream for $3.   I had maple walnut today and the walnuts were huge!  Jerry had peanut butter chocolate, not my kind of ice cream but he said it was delicious. 

Then there is MeetUp.  It took me a while to find the groups we would fit in with, but I found 3 and Thursday next week we are going on a hike with a bunch of retired people.  There are a bunch of dinners scheduled but we will be in London.  I also signed up for a reading group and I will start with them in December when we return from London.  We were going to go to the many National Park sites here, but they are of course all closed because of the shut down.  We have also transferred our Rx and scheduled doctor appointments.   Next week is setting up electric service, finding home insurance and garbage pick-up. Jerry has already contacted the food pantry.

Now about the RV, we have traveled for two months before but being in one place for almost 3 weeks and not moving is different.   We are a bit stir crazy in the RV.   There really is no good place to sit, and it is getting colder outside so you can’t stay there very long.  And there is nothing new to look at.  Today’s highlight was doing the laundry and going for ice cream since it was National Dessert Day.    It is beginning to look like winter and I am not ready! 

This could be us!