Life's a Stitch

The majority of our possessions are going into a shipping container for at least 18 months, while our "new" house is waiting for permits prior to being rebuilt requiring a huge amount of stuff sorting. For me the items that are hardest to leave behind are made of paper: photos, letters, invitations, announcements, tickets, programs, the kid's artwork, my newspaper columns, certificates and diplomas… These minuscule pieces of paper, toted along for over 40 years and now in the trash, gave us an moment of entertainment particularly in regard to the pricing:

 Two things have aided in this monumental task:

1. I allowed myself a treasure chest, a rubbermaid container that I can fill with whatever items of paper deemed keepable.
2. Take a picture: some things are easier to get rid of if I take a photo prior to discarding.

Here's someone we're leaving behind: 
C had warned me that there was a bear wandering around. I had my phone for an impromptu photo just in case, but I didn't expect to meet him so up close and personal when I went out the front door. He wasn't interested in me, but I could see and smell his breath while he lumbered past, down our walk and up into the neighbour's yard. 

As our house is being torn down shortly after our exit, we have permission to take the plantings of our choice. Our new location features an easy care lot, perfect for our retirement, but sadly there is no room for our 12" tall palm trees. In anticipation of an eventual move we planted two Japanese maples in containers, easier to transfer. We've found a unique way to take items from our garden while repurposing small items that we technically need to get rid of. Two things in particular were difficult to throw out: a chipped mug I bought my mother while in Rome when I was 14 and a teapot, also bearing chips. Chuck dug up some of our dependable hens and chicks and voila, the damaged containers as well as part of the the garden will accompany us to the new place:

And then things keep arriving, just prior to our exit. Bryant has brought home a replacement for the huge motorhome of two posts ago. 

This one consists of an ex-RCMP truck: a 2000 Chevy with 137,000K and a 1978 camper, manufactured before his dad and I met. That puts it into perspective. At least it's going in the right direction in the spirit of downsizing as well as motherly anguish.