Feral Cat -- Problem

we have a feral cat that lives with us.  i got her about 5 years ago when she was itty bitty and meowing underneath the floor.  i didn't move her at first because i kept thinking the mother would come back, but i finally gave up on mom.  i got her to come out by offering food but it was still a challenge to get ahold of her.  she hissed and spat and clawed and hissed and spat.  i have only once been able to get her to the vet.  i tell this part because we're moving! and she needs to move with us! and i cannot get her to take her to the new house.  very frustrating.  i'm not leaving her here either.  so today i called the vet and explained the problem and he said he'd give me a tranquilizer for her.  that'll be great.  i'll go get it first thing tomorrow.  i sure hope it's a put-her-OUT tranquilizer, not just anti-anxiety.  she needs to be flat out on the floor if she's gonna get moved to yadkin county.  she is a beautiful tortoiseshell cat, gorgeous colorings of black and gold.  i hope everything works out for her tomorrow.

Radon Mitigation and Plants In The Ground

The radon level in the basement of the new house is now only 2.0, thanks to the hard work of Scott Hopkins at Tarheel Basements.  This is great news.  I feel comfortable about staying there now.  And we'll now bring the kitty cats and fish tanks and the rest of our stuff!  They had to drill 3 pipes into the earth beneath the house, rather than just 1, because of the density of the clay and the way the house had been added onto. It took them almost all day.  Congratulations to Tarheel Basements for such a successful mitigation effort. 

TheBoys did a great job yesterday planting in the yard.  We had so many poor plants that had survived in patio pots way past the time for that.  The red Japanese maples were way past due getting to spread their toes, and the red Knock Out rose has been soooo patient.  Now they're in the ground, along with our irises, shasta daisies, golden mums, marigolds, lilies, and the birdbath has a beautiful new setting also.  Such a great feeling to get everybody planted.  It's been fun watching as the early Spring weather is prompting trees to bud and little flowers to appear.  There seem to be quite a lot of flowers and decorative trees&shrubs here.  Two stunning weeping mulberries.  At least one other red Japanese maple.  Lots of daffodils. Lots of little wildflowers.  I can't quite focus on gardening yet since we don't have the move completed, but soon..... real soon!  

Today we packed and rested and packed and rested.  Tomorrow is another moving day.  I like this moving pace because I can absorb one day's load, or most of it, before the next day's load arrives.  That means we actually know where things are, for the most part.  

The dining room is currently painted "Resort Green".  While this is a cheerful color, it doesn't match my dining room things which are blue and blue-grey.  So I've been looking at various blue paints and have decided to repaint the dining room Glidden's "Island View".   It's a pretty blue without being cute.  I'd like to get that done before the moving pace picks up to include the china cabinet and buffet, so hope to start that tomorrow.  Life is good!

Moving Van Day

We had moved many car & pickup truck loads over to the Yadkin House.  Cleaned out a storage unit and a half that way.  But hadn't gotten a moving truck until yesterday.  I reserved a Budget 16' because you have to get at least a 16' in order to get the lift gate rather than the ramp.  We needed the lift gate for the piano and other heavy pieces.  However, when we went to get the Budget truck, they had given away my reserved lift gate truck.  I could probably get one around 4 pm, she said, maybe earlier.  My moving helpers were already on their way to the old house though; I couldn't wait.  Frustration.  So we drove over to U-Haul and rented a 14' truck with a ramp.  Therefore, we didn't get some things moved that we had planned.  The best-laid plans....   Here's a picture of me resting my back in the new house's sunroom.

Altogether, we think we've got between 1/3 and 1/2 of everything into the new house & yard now.  There's still 1/2 of the second storage unit to go, 2 out of the 3 bedrooms, and the heavy pieces downstairs.  But we'll get there; we are getting there!  TheBoys and my very favorite daughter came to help us.  She helped me figure out furniture placements and paint colors, and she kept a steady upbeat attitude towards everything.  It's always great to have her around.  It sounds like she may be back again next month and that'd be good timing.  TheBoys were indispensable as always and cheerful also.  That sure does make a difference on a busy day!  We'll continue the car & pickup truck moving a little longer and then get professional movers to finish it all up.  Even though this is the hard part, it's also a good part because it's nice to see our things coming over and filling up the Yadkin House.  It's fun to have a place to put things that had to be in storage before this.  It's nice to see all the plants have enough room and enough sun.  Life is good!