Yikes, a new post after almost a year

I do not know how Granny Sue and Elloiuse do it everyday. By "it" I mean blogging. Now I read a bunch of blogs everyday and am glad the bloggers do, do "it." My friend Diane was here for the afternoon this week and she mentioned that I haven't had a new post in a long time. So Diane, this one's for you.

Diane and Jim - 07.15.10

Here's an almost year recap:

We moved in late August of 2009. We love the area, the apartment, our neighbors (well, now that the "herd of elephants" moved from upstair. Her mother called her, yes, one person, that.) We spent Thanksgiving back in TN, Christmas here, the 4th back in TN.

4th of July - I got to be in the parade!

We're volunteering at some of the events the City of Greenville have in the summer. We sold beer tickets and beer wristbands at a couple of the concerts.

Tony and I selling away

If you want live, free music you can get it here just about every night of the week. The downtown farmer's market is great.

Greenville Farmer's Market July 10, 2010

Tony got his disability (5 months from application to notification, a little longer to first check). I'm not working, but more on that later.

Sissy loves it here, especially our porch. She thinks it is her right to have the door opened every morning so she can take her nap out there. It's been a little too hot for us to enjoy it during the day, but she'd tell you it's her spot anyway.

Let sleeping cats lie

Patrolling the area

We've had TN, GA and NC visitors and we've visited TN, GA and FL. The last was my trip to Miami to help my niece move. She, my sister and I had a great time. Cheryl and I convinced Nicole that the suit of armor would not be needed in her new home. We set it out on the curb with a few other things and within five minutes it had a new home. I took the picture peeking out the blinds and behind a screen window. I was laughing so hard that I'm surprised that the picture didn't come out worse.

A new home

Other events that we enjoyed were a Greenville Drive baseball game with our Sunday School class and raising money for St. Baldrick's.

The team is affiliated with the Boston Red Sox, so when in Rome. Thus the hat I'm wearing. Flour Field is awesome. They have a Green Monster and turn the scoreboard by hand, like Fenway.

And the Drive won!!!

And we both got buzzed for St. Baldrick's.

March 2010

I'm not working, but have some ideas for an Etsy shop. The one I'm seriously kicking around now is a fabric needle roll to store knitting needles, etc. So to everyone?, anyone? someone? out there reading this, would you have a need to buy a well made, reasonably priced, cool design needle roll for yourself or as a gift? This inquiring mind needs to know.

Ok, that's enough for today.

Our new home

I thought I'd post some pictures of our new home: Greenville SC

An ariel view of downtown

One of my favorite intersections downtown: Main St and Coffee. There's a great coffee bar down the steps to the right of the building. It's called Coffee Underground.

Up the street from that corner is the Hyatt where Friday Night Jazz is held. And it's just one of many free regular events. If you check out the link, you might notice that nowhere on the schedule is bluegrass found. (And before you ask: yes, I like bluegrass......in moderation!!!!)

I can hear them now.

This is Smoke on the Water. The food is great.

Sat. Farmers Market. It continues on thru Oct. so we'll be able to take advantage of it.


I can't explain this picture, except to say, "Now, that's my kind of mowing!!"

And this is my kind of way to observe Breast Cancer Awareness month. Those are bras hanging from a bank building downtown.

Two shots from Fall for Greenville. We always enjoyed it in the past and look forward to this year's. I'm thinking about volunteering through Operation Bear Hug. On one of our trips down we donated some of the bears to go to live with some boys and girls who needed them.

All pictures can be found at: Greenville Daily Photo.

We decided against the loft apartment. We're moving back to a complex where we previously lived. We loved it there and the location and neighborhood is much better. Once we get settled, I'll take and post my own pictures. We are looking forward to exploring all the old spots and the many new one since we left. Me and the digital and Tony on his scooter with the 35mm. Look out Greenville, here we come. Until then, back to packing boxes.

Oh and I applied for 2 great jobs. Both with the Greenville Public Library. Boy, has the main branch changed in ten years. They have a coffee bar in now and there must be a room with sixty public computers. It has 119,215 square feet and is the second largest public library in the state. Keep your fingers crossed.

Ah, Moving

It's not like we are strangers to the process. When we were younger, we moved a lot due to employment. So over the years, the process has been refined.

We were (still are??) collectors. In the younger days, everything was packed and moved. Of course, in the younger days, "everything" didn't consist of much. But it was moved!

Now, we are "downsizing." I'm not sure I have wrapped my head around it's exact meaning. Are we doing the Lean Manufacturing equivalent of the 5 S process? Sort, Straighten, Sweep, Standardize, Sustain. Are we just getting rid of large furniture we can no longer physically move from place to place? Are we contributing to other people's up sizing, i.e. yard sale and Free Cycle? I don't know the answer, but I do know there won't be as much "stuff" this time.

Some things we have given away. A garden flag to a little girl, a stuffed bear to another little girl. Those things we won't see again. The patio set will be visited when we visit Jonesborough as will the fire screen. We look forward to that. It will mean we are seeing dear friends who now have our "stuff." And the friends are the important thing. A friend bought a Christmas item to remember us by at our sale last weekend. It was one of those things that got moved every time. It was first bought at a Christmas bazaar. Where? Charlotte? Richmond? Idaho Falls? Reading, PA? Middlefield, OH? Who knows now, but it's new home will be Jonesborough until maybe she has a yard sale and it goes to Limestone or Key West or Rhode Island.

In the younger days, we had at most a week to pack. Now this time the physical process has been going on for about 2 months and the mental process has been going on for about 4 months. And there is still 2 months left before we actually are in Greenville. I'm not sure which was better.

Is this the last move? Probably not, but we go into it with more experience, more time and a whole lot less stuff. It's the easiest one by far.

It's Official

The Smiths are on the move. After much prayful consideration, we have decided to relocate to Greenville, SC.

There are lots of reasons, but since it's been almost a year since I've posted to my blog, I'll do some catching up first.

In Jan 2009, Tony was one of 109 laid off from Mountain States Health Alliance. That was the factor that started us thinking. He made the decision to go for early retirement. Then his doctor told him to quit driving. He's now in the middle of the process to get SS Disability. That all started the ball rolling.

We love Jonesborough, but it's not a place condusive to mobility problems. There is no way for a person who shouldn't drive to get out. We knew we should leave, but where.

Greenville was the logical choice. We probably would never have left there in 1997 had it not been for a job change. We love the area, the town, the cultural aspects, the weather and the people. They have a good transit system, so Tony will be able to get out and about. Employment opportunities for me is much greater. It's close to my hometown and friends around there.

So we drove down (2.5 hours from J'boro) and made sure we still loved it. It's always the place we would go for a long weekend or just to run down on a Sat. And yes, we still love it.

So the ball picked up speed. I let my work know what's happening and they are very graciously letting me work until we leave. Our friends all know around here. We're having a downsizing/yard sale on the 25th. We'll be going back to apartment living which I so look forward to. I've decided that having a lawn is just not something I want anymore.

We've found a great place not far from downtown. It's an old textile mill converted into modern loft apartments. Each floorplan is named for a well known Greenvillian or other famous person. Being a huge baseball fan, I think it's neat that the plan we chose is the Shoeless Joe Jackson, who was from Greenville.

Our anticipated date for moving is by Sept. 30. We won't be here for the storytelling festival this year, but I'm sure we'll be back in future years. We already have plans to be back for Thanksgiving.

We rented a storage unit there on Monday and left a van full of boxes. The plan is to head down at least once a week with a load. That way when it comes time for a truck, it will be a small one with just the remaining furniture. Then we can move out of the storage unit at a slower pace.

That's the Smith news for now. If you know of any job opportunites there, pass them on. If you are in the area next Sat. stop by the sale. I'll try to take pictures and post them and more here as things progress. I've missed blogging.

So if you are in the Greenville area after Oct. 1, let us know. We'd love to show you around.

ABC's of Homemaking

I've seen this on several blogs I read and thought I'd join in.

Please feel free to copy and play along on your blog. Just take out my answers and put in your own.


A ~Aprons--y/n If y, what does your favorite look like? Yes and my favorite is my brown one with some candies screen printed that says "Nobody knows the truffles I've seen."

B ~ Baking--Favorite thing to bake? Bread and cookies. I've found a good simple oatmeal cookie recipe that the folks at Tony's work love. Now every Wed. I have cookies to send in for his team meeting. Also, I'm making Grandmother's Bread. (Thanks Suzanne)

C ~ Clothes line? No, I'm a dryer person.

D ~ Donuts--Have you ever made them? No, never made them. I get my donut fix at the Shell station which sells Krispy Kreme.

E ~ Everyday--One homemaking thing you do everyday? Clean the kitchen. I'm a messy cook.

F ~ Freezer--Do you have a separate deep freeze? Yes, it's not huge, but the right size for the two of us. I fill it with soups and stews and chili, mainly.

G ~ Garbage Disposer? Yes, and I use it, but I also am trying to start a compost pile out back.

H ~ Handbook--What is your favorite homemaking resource? The Joy of Cooking. It's the one I go to for basics and other helps.

I ~ Ironing--Love it or Hate it? Or hate it but love the results? HATE to iron. I'd rather clean 10 gas station restrooms. I'm not crazy over the results either. I'm not good. Tony is much better and would rather iron his stuff himself. Works for me!!

J ~ Junk Drawer--y/n? Where is it? Yes. Kitchen, study, living room, uh, too many

K ~ Kitchen--color and decorating scheme. White

L ~ Love--what is your favorite part of homemaking? Having a baking day or a soup making day. I like seeing and enjoying the finished product, but I also like the processes.

M ~ Mop--y/n? Yes, after trying the swiffer thing, I'm back to a regular mop and bucket. Works much better. I hate the smell of the swiffer cleaner. The kitchen always smelled like old, dead cigarettes to me after I used it. Yuck

N ~ Nylons, machine or hand wash? Machine wash when there are any to wash.

O ~ Oven--do you use the window or open the oven to check? Both. It depends on what I'm cooking. I don't like to lose the heat by opening the door, but sometime you gotta.

P ~ Pizza--What do you put on yours? First, it's my homemade so I control the quantity of ingredients. Lots of pepperonis, mozz cheese, fresh mushrooms. I'm a traditionalist.

Q ~ Quiet--What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Knit

R ~ Recipe Card Box--y/n? What does it look like? No box. I have a notebook of favorites, plus a bookcase of books

S ~ Style of house--What style is your house? 1950's ranch

T ~Tablecloths or Place mats? Both. It's usually placemats for daily and tablecloths for company or when the table isn't in use.

U ~ Under the kitchen sink--organized or toxic wasteland? Organized and not too toxic

V ~ Vacuum--How many times per week? Minimum of once a week. I've been doing more lately because of all the little bits of dried leaves coming in.

W ~ Wash--How many loads of laundry do you do per week? Gee, I've never counted. I wash when I need to.

X's--Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off? I try to, but I'm not always successful

Y ~ Yard--y/n? Who does what? Yes, with lots of trees. I do the yard work and the gardening. I love to mow!

ZZZ's ~ what is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? Make the coffee so it will be waiting on me the next morning