Belated Hello from Beautiful Santa Fe

This great sculpture downtown just says "Hooray, I'm here"  IMO

Here I am in Santa Fe.  Finally. Reunited with Mr. SBQ and the cats. Surrounded by boxes. But I'm here.  It's taken me awhile to get back to blogging.  No sewing posts at the moment as I haven't unpacked the wall fortress insurmountable  numerous boxes labeled "quilt room."


I thought I'd give a quick recap of the trip in this post.

My beloved Dodge Dakota "Xena" on her way.

My dad, who I cannot thank enough, flew down from Michigan to Georgia to load up the last of the stuff, load up Xena the truck, close up the house, and drive across the country to NM.

By some sheer luck and karma, I planned this move the week between two crazypants weather events in metro Atlanta (an epic 2-inches of snow snowstorm and a shutdown-the-city-for-2-days ice storm).  With all the crazy, unprecedented winter weather across the country, we decided to take the southern route to NM on I-20 through AL, MS, LA, way too much of TX, and head north to reach I-40 in Amarillo.  We left Thursday, February 6th.

Mississippi River in Vicksburg, MS

Glad we took the "southern" route (and that my dad is an expert winter weather driver) as we encountered snow in Meridian, MS of all places and generally freezing cold weather everywhere else.  Snow flurries and horrendous road construction was the highlight of our drive through Dallas, TX.

View of the most boring road in America

We drove on the most boring road in America for approximately an eternity plus 8 hours.

beautiful sky through a very dirty windshield

After two long days of Dad driving and me commenting on how cold it was every time we stopped, we crossed the state line into New Mexico on Saturday, February 8!!

(Bad through-the-windshield photo courtesy of the city of Amarillo, who had approximately 2 inches of salt brine solution on the roads which covered our truck and Xena to the roof.)

 Starbucks boxes are great moving boxes (perk of working there!)

Mr. SBQ and the cats were very excited to see us; we were very happy to see them and arrive safe and sound; and Dad was happy to be done driving.  After getting everything unloaded, we took Dad sightseeing for the two days he was here before he returned to Michigan on Monday, February 10th.  We went up the mountains, drove along Canyon Road, walked around the Plaza and shopped for souvenirs, went to a fascinating cowboy exhibit at the New Mexico History Museum, and ate lots of great New Mexican food.

The remainder of the week, I ran errands, got driver's license, etc. and started unpacking all the boxes.



The cats are very happy to have both their humans to boss around. They are also happy to have their sofa and comfy chairs.  I am unsure of my position in the rankings versus the furniture.

Last Night in My Old House in Georgia

By Saturday and after a little over 1,400 miles, I'll be at my new home in Santa Fe and reunited with Mr. SBQ and the cats!!!

I will post more about my last week in Georgia but right now I am too tired from packing up the truck and just a little emotionally drained from all the goodbyes.

We have taken over your side of the bed and are not sharing

Square One

I discouragingly report that it is back to square one with the house sale.  The contract fell through on New Year's Eve and I was too disappointed to report about it here until now.  I am leaving all the messy details on this whole house-selling business off of my blog in the interest of keeping kvetching at a minimum level but suffice to say--I think I'd rather go through my horribly painful puffy-face wisdom teeth surgery from 2012 all over again than deal with dealing with this.

Moving on.....

Literally.

I am moving on to Santa Fe in about 3 weeks.  The holidays have passed and it is a good time to transfer to a Starbucks in Santa Fe, so it is time to gather up the rest of my belongings and head west to my husband and cats.  I have more potential buyers coming to see the house this week so hopefully my real estate agent can sell the house soon and we can be D.O.N.E. with the house sale.

It is definitely time to be with Mr. SBQ and the cats and get on with this new life of ours. Besides I'm also missing lots of napping in the Santa Fe sunshine time with this little guy

Remy enjoying a sunbeam on the kitchen table, where he is not supposed to be

In between cleaning out the attic and keeping the fancy towels out, I am working on a gift quilt for one of my dearest friends.  I had the top made for a long time and decided to get it quilted and finished for a special coworker. The pattern is "Minnesota Hot Dish" by Atkinson Designs and the fabric is a Sandy Gervais Moda line from a long time ago (I don't remember the name).  Here is an in-progress photo and I hope to get the quilting and binding finished in the next couple of days.

Mr. SBQ, as you can imagine, is over-the-top happy that I have a moving date.  He sends me photos via text to remind me of how beautiful it is in New Mexico.  This is from one of his weekend hikes on a mountain overlooking Los Alamos.

I don't think I'll ever get tired of looking at the wide open blue sky.

Tip Toeing Around My House that Doesn't Really Seem Like My House

Well the house has officially been on the market since last Friday.  In case I haven't mentioned, this is the first house I've bought and therefore the first I've sold.  Needless to say, the whole staging-a-house-and-pretending-that-you-don't-live-there-while-you-are-really-living-there is a new experience for me. It's more enjoyable than going to the dentist---but just barely.  I'm sure some of you can relate to the following:

I spend a lot of time Swiftering.

I spend a lot of time straightening the nice new towels (that I don't use) and hiding the old everyday towels that I actually use in the washing machine or empty drawers in the vanity.

I spend a lot of time stashing everyday things like mail, a wall calendar, books, magazines, coffee grinder, coffee canister, bananas, bread, dish scrubby, stapler, salt & pepper shakers, and remote controls in various places--some of which I may or may not remember by the time I get home from work.

I tend to hermit myself away in one room (my bedroom) because the rest of the house is big and empty and doesn't look like my house and I'm afraid to get fingerprints on the windows, a smudge on anything, or get dirt on the the brand-new carpet. Not to mention mussing the pillows or moving the artfully arranged magazines on the coffee table.

I do not spend time thinking about strangers rambling around my house when I'm not there because this would make me neurotic more neurotic.

There is not a speck of fabric anywhere to be seen.

I spend the vast majority of my time missing S. and the cats.

With the power of modern technology, at least I get daily updates and photos.

Dusting Off the Ol' Blog.....

Hello!!!!  How is everyone in blogland?  I've been incommunicado for 2 months.  Can you believe it?  I missed all of you and I miss reading all the blog posts and everything else that is going on. It has been a whirlwind of busy and too-much-to-do along with work and trips to Santa Fe and 50-11 billion other things.  Let's do a really quick catch up and then I'll try to get back into blogging again.  I also hope to get back to commenting and (fingers crossed) sewing again soon. I also need to respond to 700 emails at least so if you haven't heard from me--I'll be getting to that too.

Warning: there has been no sewing for me these past few months, although I did *enjoy* packing up my sewing room (not) and 50-11 million UFOs (double not).

Another warning:  LOOOOOONG POST follows.

OK. Ready. Set. Go. Two months in a flash-----------

September:  
Week of Sept. 6th 

S. and I drove to Santa Fe to find a rental house in his car packed to the roof with stuff.  I fell in love with Santa Fe.  I will dwell more on Santa Fe in another post.

Palace of the Governors

Downtown buildings

Our historic Route 66 hotel and homebase while searching for a place to live

After an exhausting (and at times discouraging) search for a place that would accept four cats (apparently this is an unacceptable number of cats even though they are the four cutest, most well-behaved, sweetest cats on the face of the Earth), we finally found a little adobe house and it was perfect! Wonderful neighborhood, S. can walk to work, we can walk everywhere, and it is just the cutest little house ever.

After finding a house and getting S. settled, we had some free time so we got married at the magistrate courthouse on Thursday, September 12.  Yes, we did.  We had a wonderful little civil ceremony, S. made dinner, and I bought a cake.  It was exactly what we wanted and we were so happy to get married and start our new life in our new hometown.

I came back to Atlanta on Saturday, Sept. 14, leaving S. to start work in Santa Fe.

Rest of September
Packing, packing, packing, and more packing.  Also repainting all the rooms in my house and getting house ready to sell.

Gomez was in charge of packing quilts.  

October:
More work on house. My parents came down from Michigan (Dad for 2 1/2 weeks and Mom for a week) to help.  I owe them forever for the amount of work they did and can't thank them enough.  Also, the cats loved having more people to spoil them. I know Stella misses my mom already.

We needed to get most of our furniture and stuff (including all the sewing stuff) moved to Santa Fe and leave some items to "stage" the house for sale so S. flew back from NM on October 12th to load up and drive the moving truck.  We also needed to get the cats moved so I rented a car to chauffeur them for the 20 hour drive.

Monday, October 14: Moving day.

I was prepared as one could be faced with driving 1,400 miles over 2 days with 4 cats who don't like car rides and have never lived anywhere else but our house in GA. And an overnight hotel stop.

2013 Dodge Dart fits 4 cat carriers in the backseat

Here are the cats all lined up in the back seat in their cat carriers ( from front: Gomez, Remy, Edgar, and Stella)

Gomez meowed in quiet protest from our house to past Birmingham, Alabama.  This is what he said:

MAOW
(pause)
MAOW
(pause)
MAOW
(pause)

(repeat)

The others meowed periodically just to remind me that they were in the back seat.

Otherwise they were wonderful during the drive through Alabama, Mississippi, corner of Tennessee, and Arkansas.  We stopped for the night near Fort Smith on Arkansas' western border.  5 states done!

After their first elevator ride (!), we set the cats loose in the hotel room and they all hid under the furniture.  After awhile they found their food, water, litter boxes (I bought disposable ones), and began to explore.

Gomez kicked back in the comfy bed

Gomez living it up at the Holiday Inn Express

Remy and Stella exploring the hotel room

After a take-out dinner of fabulous chicken-fried steak and mashed potatoes (yes, I treated good kitties to a taste of mashed potatoes--Gomez loved them), we settled in for some sleep.








At 3:30AM, the cats decided to run off all the reserved energy for the day and woke me up by running around like maniacs, knocking things around, and diving into suitcases ( a Twitter friend of mine compared it to British rock bands of the 1970s trashing hotels LOL). It was the funniest thing ever.  S. slept through it all. I just laughed and laughed.






Day two:  720 more miles to go.
The cats were well-behaved again although I could tell they were tired of being in the car.   We drove across the whole length of Oklahoma.  The cats slept through the Texas panhandle and finally after a 10 hour day, we arrived at our house in Santa Fe.

















The cats were happy to be out of the car and happy to have their cat toys and cat tree and food dishes and a new place to explore.  It wasn't long before they were settled in and made themselves at home.
After a very quick week of unpacking (except for the sewing room), I was flying back to Atlanta to get the house in order.

And that's where I am now--getting the house ready to list and working. S. and the cats are in Santa Fe.  I miss them.

All Packing and No Play....

makes me a very dull person and this a very dull blog.  Also, moving and selling a house is the opposite of fun.

Yes, every moment is being spent packing, sorting, cleaning, and more packing.  The second bedroom in my house has become the box room.  

Some days, I wish I didn't collect things (antiques, vintage dishes and glassware, miscellaneous stuff), had all my books on a tablet, and didn't have quilting as a hobby.... 

but that's not me so I just keep getting more boxes.

Here is another view a couple days later. My fabric is being buried in the back so I'm not tempted to sew...

Yes, those are my vintage snowshoes.  Can't wait to hang them up in New Mexico where they will have a more appropriate context LOL!

Needless to say, I am way behind on visiting and commenting on blogs, have an overflowing email inbox, and have no idea what else is going on in the world.  

This is my first house and at times I'm happy to be starting on a new adventure and a few times, I have shed tears for having to leave my little sanctuary.  S. wisely told me that my memories travel with me and are not left here when I leave.  I have been through a lot in this house.  But then again, this house is 101 years old and my 14 years here is a relatively short period of time. 

 Remy, on the other hand paw, is having the time of his life.

He thinks all the boxes are for him.

"ROOOOOARRR" ----Remy, First of His Name, King of Boxes, Lord of Cat Toys

Hear Ye, Hear Ye!!!!

Photo from Yahoo News

Big huge news at Stella Bella Quilts!

News so big that I needed a town crier.

Good thing Will & Kate had their baby and I was able to borrow this guy ----------------------------->
all the way from London.

Who knew that town criers still had jobs in this economy.

Who knew that town criers apparently belong to every house at Hogwarts (check out all those badges).

Who knew that town criers got to wear such fabulous hats.

I may have missed my calling 'cause I way dig that hat.  But I digress....

BIG NEWS ITEM #1

During our recent trip to OBX, S. proposed to me and I said yes!  Yes, it is true, S. is going to be Mr. Stella Bella Quilts.  Our families and friends are overjoyed as they have been waiting and waiting and waiting for this to happen.  After a decade of togetherness, S. and I are making it legal.  We are going to pass on the pageantry of a royal wedding, however, and are just going to have a civil ceremony at some point. Oh yeah and a town crier with an even bigger hat.

S. is overjoyed with his dowry of fifty-eleventeen UFOs, let me tell you.

The cats already consider him one of their staff and they see no change in the situation.


BIG NEWS ITEM #2

Also during the OBX trip, S. had a phone job interview for his dream job in his dream location and after anxious waiting of approximately eternity, which really ended up being a couple weeks, he was offered and accepted the job....

....in Santa Fe, New Mexico!

Poor dear S. had the most stressful vacation ever but it all turned out wonderful and exciting and exhilarating and fabulous.

And this means we are moving from the Southeast to the Southwest....with four cats.

The cats have not been told about the cross-country car trip nor have they been told about changes to their routine let alone moving to a new house that they have never been to.  Let's keep them oblivious for awhile, shall we.

S. will be moving out there in mid-September and I will be following (with the four cats) after I pack up everything and sell my house.  All fingers and toes and cat paws crossed that I can sell my house easily and successfully in this market. 

I have never been to New Mexico or the Southwest so I checked out every book in our county library system and instead of quilting, I've been reading. And researching online. And thinking of the zillions of details and questions and logistics and everything else possible. I am not thinking about goodbyes or leaving my house that I love so much yet.  Just thinking practical for now.

Does Remy know how adorable he is???

I also started the arduous task of sorting, cleaning, packing, etc. of 14 years worth of stuff in my house.  A Herculean task that I have spent 14 years hoping I would never have to do.

Remy, however, is thrilled to have lots of boxes and paper to play with and has proclaimed himself Box Packing Supervisor in Chief.

I am also lamenting the fact that I inherited my mother's love of collecting antiques and dishes.

All the paper is mine and don't even think about trying to get it away from me.