10 days to go, a nice week and a bit of good chaos....

I am in a very good kind of chaos right now.  In 5 days our packers will be here.  This will be our 14th move in 25 years of being in the Army so it's nothing new to us.  We know what we have to do and we are doing it.  The good thing is that this time we know what's waiting for us on the other end.  It is so comforting to move into a house you already know, and know the good places to visit and of course our wonderful friends.  

We have officially started packing up today.  The pile in the garage is growing larger every day.  Non essential things are being packed away while wool and patterns remain on the shelves until we cannot possibly deal with any more sales, which will probably be next Wednesday.  We will be loading our truck with shop stuff while the "real" movers take our household.  

In the meantime Mom and I still working everyday to fill orders and make sure all our local customers have everything they think they need.  Nothing motivates a woman to shop like the knowledge that her "wool fix" is not going to be here anymore.  I tell them, ladies, I'm online, but I certainly know it's not the same as running that luscious wool through your fingers or seeing the latest design all hooked up or punched.  We said Goodbye to Nancy yesterday, but are happy to announce that she will be working with Kathy at the quilt shop in Rolla called Uniquely Yours.  Nancy will be teaching punch needle, rug hooking and wool applique.  Nancy is probably the nicest woman I have ever met and just genuinely loves to create and create she does.  Her work is beautiful as you know if you've read my past blogs.  I'm happy that she will be continuing on with these great arts and passing her knowledge on to others.  In no time at all she'll have a big group of ladies to gather with every so often.  

So as you can see below, the move has started.......

Ugh.....the garage.....

Lots of organizing as things go in boxes......

Punch needles all ready to be packed.....

 So, as we prepare to move, a very important milestone in our lives occured last Friday.  We officially said "goodbye" to the Army.  My husband's award ceremony was followed by a nice luncheon.  He's a very humble man and didn't want any fanfare, but I urged him to do it as I felt it would be the closure we both needed.  I like to keep my personal comments between my husband and I, but as you can imagine, I am extremely proud of him and have always been honored to be by his side.  It hasn't always been easy, there have been more year long separations than I care to think about, but I know it was for a very good reason, he had to do his job and he never complained about it.  He has always taken, in his words, "the hard right over the easy wrong" and  that's a very noble characteristic I've always admired.  

So, with that said, the boys and my Mother in Law flew down for the weekend and we had a nice family weekend.....

Mike and Julie in 1986 and today.....

Mike and BG Spindler

A collage of the years I made to display at the luncheon...

.....the family.....

 In the midst of packing, the boys and Mother in law coming down and the retirement I celebrated my ..............46th...birthday.  Mom asked me what I wanted and I said, "well you could hook that rug pattern that I bought from Betsy a year and a half ago".  So she did!!  Just like that!!  Isn't is beautiful?  

Lady Liberty, pattern by Betsy Reed

Beautiful flowers given to me by Mike at the ceremony...

What a vision!!  This is what we woke up to the morning of the ceremony.  That's what happens when you give both Grandma's the same PJ's....

 And last but not least, what would any post be without Baxter...  He is starting to feel that something is amiss, with us packing and all and is a little on edge, but as you can see, he always does manage to relax....

A dog and his bone!

Moving just stresses Baxter out!!

So, starting next week, orders might be delayed a day or two until we get back to NY.  Have patience with us, we  do try our best to get everything out quickly.  We have been working on new things when we can, but until they are ready I'll try to keep you up to date on the move.  

Until next time......