I plan to include any helpful tips in the future in the main posts that I create but this one is so good I decided to make it a separate entry.
While shredding the mountain of material I began to worry that we would have to buy another shredder after we burned the existing one out. That is when I got an excellent tip from my wife's nephew and that is to buy lubricating sheets for your shredder from Office Max or Office Depot. Since our shredder had never seen a lubricating sheet I immediately ran one through and could tell the difference right away. After about 1/2 the recommended time between sheets I ran another one through and then one at each recommended time so now it is only occasionally that a new sheet is needed as our shredding pile is greatly reduced.
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Update on progress towards fulltiming - Part 2
I know it has been awhile since my last post but I was waiting until we could declare victory on the dreaded basement, and now we can! Finishing the basement coupled with our first garage sale (more on that later) has finally broken the logjam in our very cluttered abode. Imagine approximately 1000 sq. ft. of unfinished basement stuffed from floor to ceiling with only a couple of very narrow paths to navigate through. Now imagine a corner of that same basement with stuff for the next garage sale, Christmas in October, and another corner with stuff accumulated from the relatives that will be gone through before the next garage sale. The rest of the basement is clutter free and ready for the furniture and other stuff that the professional house stager tells us to remove for the sale showings. Depending on timing this furniture and stuff will be for the next garage sale or the estate sale at the end.
The garage sale also did wonders for removing some of the clutter. There were good bargains to be had, about $1000 in exercise equipment for about 10 cents on the dollar but hey it is gone and is now a place to hang cloths in somebody else's basement :) Although we did earn almost $300 it was a lot of work, so much that we decided it on only one more garage sale.
To keep our eyes focused on the prize we recently journeyed to a local RV dealership to look at 2 of our favorite floorplans. One of the them had just sold so it was in the shop getting prepped for the new owners. Seeing them outside you do not realize how big these units are so seeing them in a garage was an eye opener. The slides were also in so we got to see how cramped it is with them in and also how easy it is to open the unit up, simply at the push of a button. We plan to keep visiting every few weeks because we left there so fired up!
I am also pleased to note that I have been keeping in touch with some of those I left behind and are still working. This of course involves food as you know it had to as we meet for lunch. I also keep up with goings on at the old plant via the RIN (Retiree Information Network) and I got to say it is pretty good.
We are still working on the outside work while the weather cooperates. The new grass seed is doing quite well, the trees have been trimmed, new plants have been added, retaining wall was fixed, and tons of mulch added. Have some edging and mulching left to do along with some brush cleanup. Then we will tackle the painting and cleaning of windows and doors, cleaning the siding and concrete. At some point we will get a professional home stager to give us some advice.
I imagine some are wondering if we are still planning on fulltiming with the gas prices and supply questions swirling about. To be honest it has caused us to pause a little but I think that has been good. We have talked about how we may have to stay longer in places and thus move more slowly across the country but we are still planning on it and really looking forward to it. Our fulltiming 'carbon footprint' will be significantly less even with the diesel. Instead of trying to heat and cool a 3500 sq. ft. home and all that goes with living in a sticks and bricks we will be in a 400 sq. ft. RV in 70 degree weather. Every time a situation arises which may impact our fulltiming plans we talk it through and so far have emerged each time more determined to live this lifestyle.
Finally I have made some updates to the KC list based on some suggestions.
Till next time,
The garage sale also did wonders for removing some of the clutter. There were good bargains to be had, about $1000 in exercise equipment for about 10 cents on the dollar but hey it is gone and is now a place to hang cloths in somebody else's basement :) Although we did earn almost $300 it was a lot of work, so much that we decided it on only one more garage sale.
To keep our eyes focused on the prize we recently journeyed to a local RV dealership to look at 2 of our favorite floorplans. One of the them had just sold so it was in the shop getting prepped for the new owners. Seeing them outside you do not realize how big these units are so seeing them in a garage was an eye opener. The slides were also in so we got to see how cramped it is with them in and also how easy it is to open the unit up, simply at the push of a button. We plan to keep visiting every few weeks because we left there so fired up!
I am also pleased to note that I have been keeping in touch with some of those I left behind and are still working. This of course involves food as you know it had to as we meet for lunch. I also keep up with goings on at the old plant via the RIN (Retiree Information Network) and I got to say it is pretty good.
We are still working on the outside work while the weather cooperates. The new grass seed is doing quite well, the trees have been trimmed, new plants have been added, retaining wall was fixed, and tons of mulch added. Have some edging and mulching left to do along with some brush cleanup. Then we will tackle the painting and cleaning of windows and doors, cleaning the siding and concrete. At some point we will get a professional home stager to give us some advice.
I imagine some are wondering if we are still planning on fulltiming with the gas prices and supply questions swirling about. To be honest it has caused us to pause a little but I think that has been good. We have talked about how we may have to stay longer in places and thus move more slowly across the country but we are still planning on it and really looking forward to it. Our fulltiming 'carbon footprint' will be significantly less even with the diesel. Instead of trying to heat and cool a 3500 sq. ft. home and all that goes with living in a sticks and bricks we will be in a 400 sq. ft. RV in 70 degree weather. Every time a situation arises which may impact our fulltiming plans we talk it through and so far have emerged each time more determined to live this lifestyle.
Finally I have made some updates to the KC list based on some suggestions.
Till next time,
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Update on progress towards fulltiming
Although progress on getting the house ready for sale has been made it has been slow going since my last day on January 22nd; I cannot believe it has been almost 6 weeks already! Think about how fast time seems to go during Christmas break or vacations and then double or triple speed is how fast retired time goes!
It has been a little too cold to spend a lot of time in the basement which is the first really big task so we have concentrated on the inside of the house. We organized the pantry & cleaned out all the refrigerators and freezers. We worked on the filing in kitchen desk, office desks, computer desks with stuff ending up in the shred pile, garage sale pile, recycling pile and throw away pile. I think I have shredded more in these 6 weeks than while I was working and have recycled a lot of paper. With all of the stuff we have accumulated over the years we are going to have a huge garage sale as part of the subdivision garage sale weekend in May. I then organized our 7 years of receipts that we will have to maintain. For this we used the Ziploc large bags and crammed one year into one bag. That way I can get three years in a box that used to hold only one year. Each year I will then shred the oldest year and relabel the bag.
Other news of note since I retired. I am drinking less caffeine, doing more exercise and getting more sleep. One of my Lenten obligations this year is no sweets and I am dieting per Weight Watchers and the "Eat This and Not That" book resulting in an approximate weight loss of 8 pounds to date with a lot more to go. Our 22 year old furnace bit the dust last week so that was an unexpected expense but a brand new furnace has to be more appealing than an ancient one.
We attended the RV Show at Bartle Hall and was a little disappointed that one of the floor plans on our short list was not there but the other two were. There were also a couple others that caught our eye but right now our current leader (subject to change w/o notice, etc.) is the Carriage Cameo F35SB3. We will not be buying on until the house is on the market at the earliest so it could be a while.
The next two big tasks to tackle are the dreaded basement and yard work.
It has been a little too cold to spend a lot of time in the basement which is the first really big task so we have concentrated on the inside of the house. We organized the pantry & cleaned out all the refrigerators and freezers. We worked on the filing in kitchen desk, office desks, computer desks with stuff ending up in the shred pile, garage sale pile, recycling pile and throw away pile. I think I have shredded more in these 6 weeks than while I was working and have recycled a lot of paper. With all of the stuff we have accumulated over the years we are going to have a huge garage sale as part of the subdivision garage sale weekend in May. I then organized our 7 years of receipts that we will have to maintain. For this we used the Ziploc large bags and crammed one year into one bag. That way I can get three years in a box that used to hold only one year. Each year I will then shred the oldest year and relabel the bag.
Other news of note since I retired. I am drinking less caffeine, doing more exercise and getting more sleep. One of my Lenten obligations this year is no sweets and I am dieting per Weight Watchers and the "Eat This and Not That" book resulting in an approximate weight loss of 8 pounds to date with a lot more to go. Our 22 year old furnace bit the dust last week so that was an unexpected expense but a brand new furnace has to be more appealing than an ancient one.
We attended the RV Show at Bartle Hall and was a little disappointed that one of the floor plans on our short list was not there but the other two were. There were also a couple others that caught our eye but right now our current leader (subject to change w/o notice, etc.) is the Carriage Cameo F35SB3. We will not be buying on until the house is on the market at the earliest so it could be a while.
The next two big tasks to tackle are the dreaded basement and yard work.
Friday, February 1, 2008
Kansas City is NOT boring (restaurants, sightseeing)
When I think back I became real serious about restaurant lists and well known for it when I was made aware of a comment quite a few years ago that
Top things to see or do (in no particular order)
- Harry S. Truman Presidential Library, Home, and Farm
- Zoo
- Local Theater (WSJ calls the New Theater Restaurant one of the best Dinner Theaters in the country, American Heartland in Crown Center, and others keep talent in the KC area - the shows are excellent!)
- Liberty Memorial (WWI museum)
- Union Station (restored to 1930’s glory, now has
- Professional soccer (indoor and outdoor)
- Professional baseball
- Professional football
- Plaza
- Alexander Majors House (he founded Pony Express)
- Lyric Opera
- Gambling on River Boat Casinos
- more multiplex cinema houses than you would believe
- Missouri Town
- Kansas City Museum
- Toy and Miniature Museum
Here are the best places to eat (in no particular order)
Best BBQ - anyplace in town but the most authentic is Bryant's at 1727
Best Steak -
Best Filet - Main Street Inn in
Best Mexican - Manny's or any place on
Best Italian - Il Trullo, Lidia’s, Carmen’s, Milanos, Garozzo’s
Best Breakfast – Corner Café (local) or First Watch (chain)
Best Chicken Fried Steak - Stroud's
Best pan fried chicken - Stroud's
Best Sunday Brunch – Peppercorn Duck Club
Best Desserts – Andre’s (local) or Chocolate Bar at Peppercorn Duck Club (local) or Cheesecake Factory (chain)
Best Reuben - Pumpernick's
Best Pizza - D'Bronx
Best Mashed Potatoes - RCs
Best Salmon Patties - Family Cabin
Best French Restaurant - Tatsu's
Best German Restaurant - Rheinland
Best Chinese – Genghis Khan’s Mongolian Grill at 39th &
Best Mongolian BBQ – Genghis Khan’s Mongolian Grill at 39th &
Best Seafood –
Best "joint" – Main Street Inn in
Best upscale – 40 Sardines
Best Tenderloin sandwich – Main Street Inn in
Best sport’s bar – Nick & Jakes
Best vegetarian – Bluebird Bistro (local) or Sweet Tomato’s (chain)
This is a lot to absorb so I'll summarize the things to do and places to eat for you.
Overall Top things to do
Truman Library
Steamboat
Zoo
Plaza
Crown Center/Union Station
Overall Top places to eat
Tatsu's
Bryant's
Main Street Inn
Stroud's
Il Trullo
Rheinland
Lidia’s
40 Sardines
Jack’s Stack
I know I probably left out some places to see or eat, but these are my personal favorites, others may have differing opinions, especially on BBQ
YMMV
Monday, January 28, 2008
Welcome!
I plan to update this blog periodically on our travels; updates will probably be infrequent as we are working on house selling portion of our plan. After the house sells and we begin traveling in our Fifth Wheel as a full-timer I will include sightseeing and restaurant information. Before that I will be adding my known restaurant recommendations.
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