Did you miss me? I've been gone the past two Sundays and so have not done my usual weekly posts. I'm so sorry. Last week I was in Orlando (the Magical Adventure I'll talk about soon) and the week before I was in Texas at my aunt's funeral. And now it's March! Oh my!
I see things being crossed off my checklist for house projects and moving projects. This feels good. The only things I, personally, have left to do on my house are refinishing the wood floors and painting the basement. I am hiring someone to replace the vinyl flooring in the kitchen, breakfast nook area and the small bathroom. Then I will hire a professional carpet cleaner and "spruce up" the yard.
I have been reading a book called "The Intelligent Home Seller" which has some great advice on how to hire an agent and gives a detailed insight into the entire process of selling a house. I hope to begin interviewing agents the beginning of next week.
I have done some research on climate controlled storage units and am pleased that I can rent one for about $75/month. As soon as my house is listed I will need to put things in storage as I don't want people walking through my house and seeing my art, collectibles and personal items.
Next week I should be ready to put my profile on some house sitting web sights and then I can start looking for what's available in France in the next few months. Although I still can't put anything in writing until my house sells. I am headed to Albuquerque on Thursday for an interview with a branch of the NSA so that I can get what's called a "Global Entry Pass." This would allow me permanent TSA precheck on all domestic flights and a special passport check (very short lines) on international flights. The closest and soonest I could get an interview is Friday morning in Albuquerque. Denver is booked til July! Since I will be traveling from here on out with CoCo I don't want to be standing in long lines with her in a carrier while in airports. I'll let you know about the interview in next Sunday's post.
It feels good as I look around my house to see how much I've accomplished in the past year. I may be a little off my game plan for being in France the first part of 2016, but everything happens in its own time and I don't have to be in a rush. "Que sera sera" as the saying goes! (I love that song, by the way!)
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| The Hogwarts Express |
Last Sunday Renae and I left for our Magical Adventure - The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at Universal Studios in Orlando. We had so much fun! It actually felt like we were in England and Scotland and a part of the magical world of wizards and Hogwarts students. We were amazed at the attention to detail in every aspect of the parks. It felt like we had walked into the books and the movies! If you are at all a Harry Potter fan you need to visit these parks.
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| Info about my wand |
We spent all day Monday at Diagon Alley which is the magical part of London where Harry first is introduced to the magic world. We rode the Hogwarts Express into Kingscross Station and got off at Platform 9 3/4 which then led us to the Knight bus at Piccadilly Circus before entering the "secret" passage way into Diagon Alley. We explored every shop and corner and pub and event. I bought my wand at Olivander's. We loved the ride at Gringott's Bank so much that we rode it 4 times over the 3 days that we were there!
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| Gringott's Bank |
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| A performance of "The Three Brothers" from the Tales of Beadle the Bard |
Tuesday we spent in Hogsmeade, the magical village closest to Hogwarts castle. We had breakfast at The Three Broomsticks and then wandered the streets. I practiced casting spells with my wand (there are wand stations throughout both parks!). We rode the castle ride and then walked through the castle so we could take our time and see everything without being in a line which made us hurry. The castle is wonderful - the talking portraits, the Fat Lady welcoming you to Griffindor house, the quiditch and house apparel, the copies of The Daily Prophet, a welcome from Albus Dumbledore, a warning from Ron, Harry and Hermione - we walked through three times.
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| Inside The Three Broomsticks |
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| Hogwarts Castle |
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| Hagrid's Hut |
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| Buckbeak, the Hippogriff |
Wednesday we went back and forth from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley and took in some stage performances that we had missed on the previous days and also some shops that we wanted to revisit. We had breakfast that morning at the Leaky Cauldron. We were so sorry to tell them all goodbye Wednesday evening as we left the parks. Then we flew home on Thursday.
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| One of the streets in Diagon Alley |
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| Olivander's Wand Shop |
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| Walking through Kingscross Station |
The first thing I noticed Friday morning was that the robins had returned! My backyard was filled with the sound of birds welcoming me home - like magic! The finches, the chickadees, the robins, and I even caught a glimpse of one of the neighborhood falcons soaring overhead. I love Springtime!
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| The robins are back! |
I thank you for reading this post. And as always I thank you for joining me on my journeys, wherever they may lead.
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