A tale of two summers

I have two big projects going on this summer: emptying out our house in anticipation of our departure, and helping to prep the farm for MJ's wedding.

The former had been delayed by number of factors (Frank's bday party, LIFE is Good, trailer swap, and, oh yeah, my procrastination), but I got it underway in earnest these past couple weeks by cleaning out Koyo's room (as it's now called with the arrival for the summer of a  Japanese student--Frank's friend from Kendo--here until he leaves for UND in August) and starting to empty out the tremendously overstuffed laundry room.

Koyo's room is where we had stored a whole bunch of things (things we considered "keepers" before we decided to hit the road again, including our 800+ VHS tapes) while Frank redid the flooring in the basement family room. So that was a big job. Some got relegated to the donation pile I'm growing near our front door, and a lot got moved elsewhere in the house.

In case you're wondering, after much debate, we're keeping most of the VHS collection. VCRs can still be found, and it would cost thousands to re-create the library on DVD or cloud. But problem: where to store them. Solution: the murder room. It's a cubby in the basement, behind the furnace. It had been open to the furnace area, but when Frank built the second closet in Koyo's room, it became its own little space behind its own little door. Chloe and Casey took one look and dubbed it the murder room, and so it is now named.

Did I say emptying Koyo's room was a big job? Ha. Yeah. The laundry room puts it to shame. Our laundry room is large, with eight big deep shelves. LOTS of storage space. And we have used it well, most recently as a dumping ground for "keepers" scavenged from all over the house. The room had become so crowded that it was down to a single walkway to the machines. Not cool.

But it's better already. A significant portion of the keepers turned out not to be keepers after all. We decided to keep our LPs due to sentimental value (plus, they sound better, says Frank) and part with our cassette tapes. The LPs joined the VHS tapes in the murder room.

A significant portion of what's left in the laundry room (not including sporting goods and Christmas decorations) is trash, not even worth donating after nearly thirty years of dust, damp, and neglect. I see at least one dump run in my future.

As for the aforementioned sporting goods and Christmas decorations, I'm ready to be done with 90% of it. We'll see how Frank and MJ feel.

The last category in there is paint and other home-improvement supplies. I suspect at least half of that can go, but Frank is more familiar with what's there.

As for my other project, I had my first workday at the farm yesterday. MJ and I worked together to rake out the amphitheater, bridal walkway, and play area, and we strolled all the grounds making my assignment list. I'm the only member of the crew who doesn't work, so I'll be out there on my own some days. Pity me: all alone on wooded acreage with a couple of friendly dogs.

It's a hard life, but somebody's gotta live it.