CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN .. THE REST OF THE MOVE!!!!

 July 30th .. Two Men And A Truck are scheduled to arrive July 3rd to do the big move .. Ken decides to fish for the last time in the lake at 10434 Lake Crest Drive .. Raintree Plantation!!

The Mimosa tree has at last decided to bloom .. of course I had to get a pic!!

I was hoping he would get lucky and catch a big one but no such luck .. for a video of Ken NOT catching any fish click on the link below ..

FISHING AT RAINTREE FOR THE LAST TIME!!!

July 1 .. Remember all those boxes and "smaller" things we moved to the Villa and piled in the basement????  Beth, Mary, Sidney and Lydia are meeting us there and going to help us do a bit of organizing now that the house is ours and we can do what we want!!

Look what we saw in the woods at the side of the road on our way out of Raintree!!  I am so glad I was able to get a couple of pics of the Deer before we moved away!!

Of course I had to get a picture of our helpers ..

Beth had to get back home to pick up Wyatt from school so she missed lunch at Subway .. Sorry Beth!!!

Great picture of Ken .. LOL!!!

 I think Lydia thinks her Grandpa is just a bit goofy!!!  She COULD be right .. LOL!!!

We got a very heavy rain the evening of the 1st and when Ken and I got to the house on the 2nd .. this is what we found in the basement!!!  Ken talked to Jim, the builder, about it and he came in and looked at it and told us that this won't happen after they do the ground work and put the sod in!!  Oh great .. they're not doing that until Fall .. are we supposed to deal with this until then?????  Needless to say we were not happy!!!

MOVING DAY JULY 3

They are here at last .. 9:00 AM!!

The top of the table is wrapped in a heavy pad and then plastic is wrapped round and round it!!  The amazing thing is .. this thing is really heavy and it is being carried out by ONE young guy!!! 

They tape cardboard on the floor where they will be making trips back and forth!!

The couch getting wrapped and ready to move!!

My computer desk!!

It's a good thing these guys are young and strong!!

Empty rooms!!

Kids will be kids .. LOL!!!

They took only the stuff in the upstairs of the house and the garage on the first trip .. planning to do the stuff in the basement on the second trip.  By the time they got everything unloaded at the new house it was 5:30 .. we went back out to the house and they started on the basement and that heavy workshop equipment.  Sad to say they ran out of room on the truck and weren't able to load Ken's workbench he wanted to keep .. it had been his Grandfather's workbench .. and a couple of other heavy tables.  We got back to Sawyers Ridge about 9:30 and they got a call from their boss telling them they were to put the ramp back in the truck and head back by 10:00 .. what they had left on the truck would have to stay on the truck until Monday .. since this was 4th of July weekend they would be closed Saturday and Sunday!!!  Ken told them not even to pull the ramp out .. no sense messing with it for only 30 minutes!!  Needless to say we were not happy about this .. not only was all that expensive workshop equipment going to be sitting on the truck all weekend but they were charging us $125.00 for each day it sat there!! 

July 5 .. remember that big puddle on the floor of the basement from the last big rain????  Since the builder wasn't concerned about it and not planning to do anything Ken decided he would ..

Can you tell we're unpacking those boxes????  LOL!!

JULY 6 .. Remember the beautiful picture of a covered bridge we bought to put above the fireplace?  It's time to do it!!!!

A job well done .. Kenny is happy .. so am I!!!

And then we have the basement .. YIKES!!!!  The "Two Men And A Truck" crew arrived with the rest of our belongings  .. Ken called and told the "powers that be" that he wanted more than just 2 men to unload that truck full of stuff .. much of which was very heavy equipment .. and lo and behold .. we got FOUR men!!! 

Ken's first step in getting his workshop together ..

They weren't able to get everything squeezed into the basement .. a few things got put in the garage and we would move them down later .. Thank Goodness they weren't heavy things!!! 

And back upstairs .. it's a mess up here too but not quite as bad as the basement!!

Below is the cabinet we bought at "The Green Goose".  It is filled with "memories" .. items from our Mothers .. a shelf of "memories" of our wedding and our honeymoon .. and a few of the Phaltzgraf dishes I used to use on the holidays with my kids .. and a tin playset of the Phaltzgraf dishes that Oceanna and Lindsay used to play with when they were at my house!! 

July 7 ..  We've been working on the basement .. Ken got his  blue metal racks filled with colorful bins .. and the workshop begins!!! 

Computer area is a bit piled but starting to look like a computer room ..

We've moved the metal shelves from the garage to what will be the storage area ..

We dedicated a week to "organizing" upstairs and downstairs .. then took a break to celebrate our second anniversary!!!!   July14 .. We loaded a suitcase in the car and headed for the Savanah House in Branson!!! 

We felt that we just had to go see a show on our first night there .. we chose to go to the Clay Cooper Theater and see "The Haygoods" ..

I hate to tell you .. this show was a disappointment!!  We have seen the Haygoods before and they were very good .. this performance was a lot of very loud music and bright bright lights!!!!  It doesn't help that we bought our tickets in the evening and it was a sold out performance .. our seats were waaaayyyyyyy up in the balcony .. practically the very last row up in the balcony!!!  AND the theater was freezing cold .. I had taken a zip up sweat shirt to put on and was still shivery cold .. Ken was even freezing .. which means it must have been REALLY cold!!!  We hung it out until the intermission and we left and headed back to the Savannah House for Cobbler, Cookies and Ice Cream!!!  We weren't surprised to see that their were other people leaving also!!!  No more Haygoods for us!!! 

July 15 .. Silver Dollar City .. of course we stopped at the smashed penny machine so Ken could smash a penny to take home to Madonna  ..

We stopped and watched the cloggers in the gazebo before moving on through ..

And we watched a Cajan Band perform in one of the outdoor theaters ..

Then to the "Silver Dollar Saloon" to watch a performance there .. AIR CONDITIONING .. FANTASTIC!!!  Did I tell you the temperature in the area was over 90 degrees????? 

As you can tell our table was right beside the stage .. can you guess who picked it????  LOL!!! 

The lady in the black bonnet is "Carrie Nation" .. she and her groupies came in and tried to reform all those liquor drinkers .. LOL!!! 

A little of the scenery as we're walking through ..

Another outdoor theater performance .. I was sure I would remember the name of this trio but alack and alas .. I was wrong!!!  Maybe I'll think of it later!!!

I just had to get a picture of this a group of about 20 kids came by the theater .. hanging on to long ropes with an adult at the beginning of the rope and an adult at the end!!!

Taking a ride around Silver Dollar City on the "train" ..

Ah Oh .. looks like we're in trouble .. we're going to be robbed!!!

We were planning to get something to eat when we got off the train and then spend a couple more hours going through the place to wait for their big Echo Hollow show and the fireworks afterward BUT once we were off the train we discovered the food places were closing up shop for the day!!  And it wasn't even 5:00 yet!!!! 

This Ice Cream Shop / Hotel was still open so we ventured in and enjoyed some Ice Cream while we talked our situation over.  It had been such a hot day and we were both really worn out from walking up and down the hills and hollers in the heat .. we decided we did not want to spend 2 more hours in the heat waiting for the Echo Hollow show so we headed for the line for the ride to parking lot number 3 and headed out!!!  We stopped and ate something .. whoops .. can't remember where .. LOL!!!  Then headed for Savannah House and our nice cool room!!!  Ken curled up with his book .. I stretched out on one of the beds and my eyes slammed shut almost instantly!!!  This was about 6:00 or so .. Ken woke me up at 9:00 to tell me he had been down to the Hospitality Room and brought me a cup of Coffee and a Cookie .. bless his heart!!!  I was afraid I wouldn't be able to sleep later but I ate my Cookie .. drank my Coffee .. took a hot soak in the tub .. got in my jammies .. stretched out and zonked out again and actually slept all night!!!! 

The next morning we had our hot Breakfast in the Hospitality Room then loaded the car up .. took care of our bill .. and took off.  We stopped and checked out the Apple Antique Store before leaving town .. and another Antique Store along the way .. and finally made it home .. to our new home!!! 

However, I wouldn't be there long!!! My daughter Cris's birthday was the 13th and we had planned several months ago that Madonna and I would spend the weekend with her and do some "treasure hunting" on Friday and go to "The Little Theater On The Square" in Sullivan, Illinois to see a live performance of "Wizard of Oz" on Saturday. 

JULY 17 .. Madonna arrived in the wee hours of the morning Friday (5:45 AM!!!) I gave my dear husband a hug and a kiss and an " I love you" and we headed for Toledo, Illinois.  The sun was just coming up as we were driving down the highway ..

We arrived in Toledo around 9:00 .. Cris had bummed her hubby's truck for the day just in case we should find some really big treasures and after a cup of Coffee and a short rest for the two of us who had already been on the road for almost 3 hours .. we climbed into the truck and headed out!!!  This is a nice two seater truck and I opted to take the back seat just in case I should decide I might need a bit of a nap along the way .. LOL!!!  Our destination for the start of our day's adventure was "The Raspberry Tea Room" in Elwin, Illinois.  This is not only a Tea Room but also an Antique Store with several rooms of nice old "stuff" to wander through!!!! 

Madonna had a Bacon Quiche that came with various pieces of Fruit and a Banana Nut Muffin, Cris had a Salad Sampler plate that came with all kinds of delicious stuff and I had their French Onion Soup and a piece of French Bread.  And of course we each had to have one of their delicious desserts ..

Madonna's was a Raspberry Torte, mine was Peanut Butter Pie with a Pretzel Crust and Cris's was Amish Peanut Butter Pie.  Of course we each tried a bite of each of the desserts.  My vote for best dessert goes to Cris's Amish Peanut Butter Pie .. that's what I'll be getting next time!!!! 

When we got to the Tea Room it was already pretty full of ladies at the tables so I waited until we were getting ready to leave before taking pictures .. that was a good idea because by the time we were finished it was almost time for them to close and the place was pretty empty!!! 





Next stop.. the Salvation Army store in Mattoon, Illinois!!!   

If there was a prize for the person finding the treasures Cris would have won the prize!!!!  She got that little kitchen set for the little kids Sunday school room at their church!!  It had a $14.99 price sticker on it but when she got to the register the lady told her the toys were 1/2 price so she got it for only $7.50!!!  What a bargain!!!  It's a good thing we brought Jack's truck .. LOL!!!

This was my real "treasure" of the day .. a frog soap dish to take home for Kenny!!! 

We stopped at several more thrift stores before heading back to Toledo .. the picture frame on is mine .. the frog soap dish and a Werther's candy tin are somewhere in the bottom of that tote .. that was my collection for the day .. I didn't buy a lot but I sure had a lot of fun!!! 

Saturday .. Cris baked some Raspberry Scones and fixed Scrambled Eggs w Bacon in them for Breakfast.  Those Scones were deeeeeelicious!!  I told her I wanted her recipe for them and she and Jack both started laughing .. she had bought them from the Schwann's truck!!!!  Oh My .. I'm going to have to find the nearest Schwann man around Festus and get some to put in my freezer!!!! 

Shortly after Breakfast we once again borrowed Jack's truck and headed for Vandalia, Illinois to see if we could find any treasures there!  First stop ..

Of course I had to get a picture of my two daughters under the Sisters Resale sign!!!! 

We went to so many shops that day I don't remember them all!!!  Had a late  lunch at KFC / Taco Bell.  We wanted to get back to Cris's house for a bit of a rest before going to see "Wizard Of Oz" so we had to pass up a few places .. but that's okay we had all found enough treasures to make us happy!!!  

Finally we are at "The Little Theater" .. notice the yellow brick road!!!!

Of course there were signs saying NO VIDEOS OR PICTURES would be allowed .. I hate that!!!   I was determined that I would at least get a picture of the cast as they were taking their last bows on stage and had my phone out and ready but by the time I hit the button to take the pic everybody but Dorothy and Toto had already turned around to head backstage .. I was hoping they would come back out again but they didn't!!! 

So .. this is the only pic I got!!  However, I found a few pics on "The Little Theaters" Facebook page and snagged them ..

TO BE CONTINUED!!!!!!!  

July 30th .. and it's about time I finished this chapter .. LOL!!!  

This was Sunday, July 19 and Madonna and I would be heading back to Missouri after our wonderful visit with Cris, Jack, Ethan and Tyler.  BUT FIRST .. I just had to get a picture of their garden and their delightful scarecrow!!!

I'm afraid she's way too cute to scare away any crows!! 

Come on girls .. time for a "selfie" with Mom!! 

Crawford County Courthouse .. on the square!!

Can't hit the road without a quick stop for Breakfast .. at Quik Stop of course!!!

A slice of Breakfast Pizza for Madonna and a big thickly iced Apple Fritter for me!! 

We stopped at the welcoming center if Vandalia, Illinois and got some info and LOTS of info from a very nice older lady there about things to see in Vandalia.  Honest Abe spent some time there and as a lawyer he presented some cases in the court house there!! 

This statue is titled "The Madonna of the trail" .. of course we had to get some pictures!!! 

Vandalia used to be the State Capital of Illinois .. this is the State Capital Building .. 

After leaving Vandalia we continued on our journey to Missouri .. and eventually made it to Sawyers Ridge and 25 Jackson Circle .. look at what we saw as we pulled into the driveway ..

We accused him of sitting out there waiting the whole time that we were gone .. but of course he hadn't .. looks to me like he's been very busy ..

Lots of organizing in the garage .. GREAT JOB!!! 

He helped me carry my suitcase and my "treasures" in and then sat patiently waiting for me to show them off .. LOL!! 

Not bad for only 2 days of "hunting"!!! 

There you are .. that's what was in all those bags!!  Nothing terribly exciting .. well .. I don't know .. I'm pretty happy with the bargain of a shower curtain I got .. the fabric you see with the burgundy and white checked squares and the hearts and stars and berries!!!  I got that for only $7.99 at the last resale shop we went to .. a real bargain!!!  

We had a great time in Illinois celebrating Cris's birthday .. but now it's time to buckle down and get busy .. time to work at making this house a HOME!!!