Yep...it's a done deal. Charlotte Ave just shed 7500 pounds of Amaro belongings. Those mover guys zipped in and whisked all the boxes and various household items away....in the rain no less. What was left was a house that doesn't even look familiar to me anymore. Weird, I must say. Reality is setting in.

So tonight we had dinner - our LAST DINNER - at Claim Jumper w/ Nancy and Leslie. It was great visiting with them - of course, there's the goodbye part....those are getting a little old. After dinner, we headed back to Charlotte Ave to do a little "clean up" before tomorrow's activities (cleaners, final electrician and plumbing work). Abby jumped right in and was a huge help, as usual. The movers were kind enough to leave all kinds of random things behind! We found a slipper for one of Abby's dolls, a plastic kangaroo, a pair of socks (which incidentally were right in the middle of the room - hello? what's up with that? throw them in a box and put them on the moving truck - what are we paying you for anyway?), lots of dust bunnies and about $3.29 worth of coins.

One item that really threw me for a loop was a big, huge, massive box of used toiletries. Let me stop right there - I have a confession to make...I am a toiletry junkie. There. I said it. I was faced head on with my addition as I sat and looked at this 4 cubic foot box of various toiletries - all used. See, the movers can't take anything in the toiletry realm that's been opened. Just my luck.....all my cool lotions, body washes, body sprays, mouth washes, astringents, bubble baths and the like....I had to say goodbye to it. Of course, I'm getting good at goodbyes now!

So - that's it for now....empty house. Lots and lots of errands on tap tomorrow including a trip to the doctor for Abby, whose cough is just not going away. It will be a good opportunity to also say goodbye to Dr. Chua-Lim...Abby's pediatrician of 5 years now.

Today I'm especially thankful for: Ann and Tyson K. - they took Abby today so she could play and have fun while Mom sat and watched movers all day. Also, Shelley and Natalie O. for taking Abby on Tuesday. They will probably never know how much that meant to me to have Abby cared for while all this boring stuff was going on at home. I'm also thankful for my long, long time friends Nancy and Leslie....who I've known longer than anyone else in the Bay Area! Saying goodbye tonight was harder than it looked (I've run out of tears at this point). Lastly, I'm thankful for Harv - who, even though is the most un-sentimental person I know (don't call me mean for saying that - he would tell you the same!), managed a hug and a "it's been nice" for me as we took off this evening from the house. It has been nice, Harv! You've been one of our best friends here in town and I would eat a fish eye to prove it to ya.

Prayer requests: please pray for health (esp. for Abby) and safety as we take off tomorrow for Patterson.

love and dust bunnies,
k