Another Interesting Life Adventure!

I was going to start off with, “someday this will be funny” but truthfully — it already is.

Selling a house is stressful. You have to allow strangers in your home and the cleaning!!!! Who lives like this in real life?! Not me.

It is like you have to erase all evidence that you exist.

All the things you see in that photo disappear when there is a showing. So does my toothbrush, shampoo, dog water bowel, and any evidence that clothes are worn or towels are used in this house.

Harper B needs rugs to navigate — they all disappear.

In addition to frantic cleaning and general existence erasure, I also have to herd cats — and I mean that literally.

I lost sleep trying to figure out what to do with the cats, which includes two who are feral rescues and never let me forget it. One minute I am slightly acceptable and the next they are hissing at me 🤷🏼‍♀️

Interestingly, managing the cats has been easier than dealing with five excited dogs who think we are going someplace super fun every.single.time when in fact, we just drive on the dirt road at approximately 2.5 mph. So far we have seen a small elk herd, a brand new fawn, and we are tracking these beautiful lupines.

There are good reasons I never, ever take the dogs anyplace together and I am reminded of this every time I have to load them up. One of those reasons is my van isn’t really big enough and so Sparkle gets to be the co-pilot, which is why we drive very slowly and only on the backroads.

Sparkle is enjoying living dangerously 😬

I read someplace that a house is shown between 10 and 25 times before it sells. I decided to be average and so I am thinking I have to show the house 18 times before it sells. I keep track on my white board.

Six frantic showings so far — 13 to go!

As I was trying to leave preceding one of those showings, I knocked over a can of cleaner as I was putting away the window cleaner. Much swearing and speed vacuuming ensued.

Another time I was cleaning the floor downstairs and rePete helpfully threw up on it. That taught me to herd the cats before doing anything else down there.

I have figured out the exact best process for loading dogs for our thrilling backroad adventures — by doing it wrong and having a dog who shall remain shamed but unnamed be so excited that she tore a soft crate.

Hint.

There is an offer and maybe two — but I am not sure it/they will be acceptable. We’ll see — that is my new motto for everything, btw.

There is another showing this afternoon — and so the Big Fun continues 😂

I hope your day is just a wee bit less adventurous ❤️

The Veterans

Claire, age 7.5 years.

Sparkle will be 11 in nine days!

Harper B for Beautiful is 12 years and 8+ months.

That photo of Harper is in my yard 🤯

I hope your Sunday is asmazing ❤️

Big Sigh

The past 2.5 years have been all about deconstruction and reconstruction. I mean this, of course, in every way.

It is not possible to appreciate the now without understanding where it started, and the words want to tumble out of me, illustrated with photos and videos.

But this is a blog and not the book. And that past is not today’s story — for that I am filled with gratitude.

Yesterday my house went on the market. This is bittersweet and hard and exciting and terrifying and sad.

Listing the house represents what I have done continually for the past 2.5 years: The Next Right Thing.

The Next Right Thing is not always easy — in fact, it is often very, very difficult.

And when it is hard — like listing a house I have lived in for more years than any other place in my entire life — you do not think too far ahead about the future Next Right Thing because that gets scary and overwhelming.

Besides, how can we know what direction to go until we finish the present Next Right Thing?

This current Next Right Thing comes with a lot of sorrow and trauma and baggage. It has been hard to talk about. Getting here has been so much work — in all ways.

Although you cannot know the starting line and therefore cannot fully appreciate the here and now, I am very proud of how the house — and I — have turned out.

This is the link to the listing (with photos).

I feel so much gratitude to everyone who has helped for the past 2.5 years. I am so so fortunate to have such an outstanding team.

What’s next for me and my little zoo?

You know what they say about Karma.

The Next Right Thing, of course ❤️