Grandmother's Limoges

Tomorrow I'm selling my grandmother's Theodore Haviland Limoges china to a friend I met on Freecycle. She lives close by and already invited me to park in her driveway and in front of her house so I knew she was good people.

The set is probably worth $1500 to $2500 and I'm selling it for $100. It's been in the Reynolds family since my grandparents were married in 1906. But I have no children, grandchildren, siblings, cousins, nieces, nephews, or distant relations to hand them to.

I haven't held any dinner parties since 1985; and even if my life turned around and I was once again well-known, well-liked and had more than one friend to invite for dinner, I still have a complete set of Minton china that was my father's and step-mother's. They married in 1959. The pattern (Greenwich) was discontinued in 1979. Their marriage lasted until 1977 when my step-mother died of cancer.

It is worth it to me to sell my grandmother's Limoges china for a modest price to a young family that will be able to enjoy them for many more years. And selling the set now means two fewer boxes for me to move to storage for who-knows-how-many months or years. But I have photos of all the pieces to remember, and I think my grandmother would be happy.

Cheap Thrills (Romantic Dates)

I've published a mini-ebook: Cheap Thrills: 65 No Cost, Low Cost Romantic Activity Ideas in time to plan your St. Valentine's Day. I want to help you keep romance alive without going into debt. I'll send it to you myself when I get your order.


Contents
Love Notes
Declare Your Love
Talk to Each Other
Make a Promise
Show Thoughtfulness
Rekindle the Flame
Have a Picnic
Go Exploring
Be Kids Again
Plan a Surprise
If You're Single

$3.95 Yes, this is another way I am raising money to defray living expenses besides selling all my furniture and giving up my apartment. Thanks for supporting my efforts.

This arrived yesterday

Brand new. No cost to me. Haven't opened the box yet. To read the story behind this, click here. I'm going to be warm! Thank you, Holmes!

Ending my lease

Today is the last day I can legally give my 30 days notice to the Property Manager at Landmark Square Apartments. I've given them multiple opportunities and offers to do the right thing and they continue to let me down. Their slogan is "Expect to be impressed." I'm still waiting. My experience is that their behavior toward single women of a certain age is cold-hearted bordering on age discrimination.

#1 For 11 months I have had a wet basement and notified them of it 4 days after I moved in. I'm required to step into puddles in order to put clean wet clothes into my dryer. This is dangerous and they know it. I know someone whose wife and unborn child died by electrocution because of the same situation.

Are they hoping I will be electrocuted? Their lease says that the tenant must pay the rent every month to the end of the lease even if they are dead. Dead tenants can't complain, so perhaps I've discovered their agenda.

Management insists that the only acceptable solution (to them) is putting more toxic tar on the wall. That solution doesn't work, as anyone can see, and I don't want to have to live with any more toxicity in my environment. Because they refuse to address the cause of the leaks, not just the symptom, which is to repair the outside of the foundation, I suggested an economical false floor of wood or plastic pallets so that I could keep my feet dry while the water flows underneath to the drain. I found a source of plastic pallets that would cost them $162.50 (about 20% of one month's rent). They refused.

#2 About 10 days ago I called their office and asked if they could refer me to someone who could dig my van out of their parking lot. The snow was packed solid around all 4 tires, and I had no boots or snow tires to get out. They wouldn't even return my phone call.

I did dig myself out and the exertion triggered an awful kidney stone attack. My first, so I didn't know what it was. It felt like I had a poker thrust through my lower abdomen back to front. The pain was so bad I was trembling and sweating.


#3 Two days ago I slipped and fell in their icy parking lot, landing on my hip - where the kidney stone is still lodged - and wrenching my shoulder. Fortunately I have enough personal padding that I didn't break a hip, but I'm sore. But what if I had osteoporosis?  Many older women who break a hip don't live long and rarely leave the hospital except in a hearse. These three things - and there are so many more issues - give me cause to not only leave, but to tell others why they should not live here. 

The tenants in the adjoining townhouse moved out in September. They were my age. The unit has been vacant ever since. That's a loss of $3,140 income to management, so far. In 30 days my unit will be vacant too. That will double their loss. I guess they feel their need to be right justifies the cost to their bottom line.

I offered to turn their business around to become fully occupied and profitable - I did it with my bed and breakfast - for one month's rent and they rejected my offer. Actually they completely ignored it. How rude.  I tried to be part of the solution and was ignored, so I feel no guilt in letting the public know what I've experienced. Too bad the owners won't consider replacing me as their Property Manager, but they don't even want me as a tenant, so why would they want a profitable business?

What do you want to bet this post will turn up when prospective tenants do a Google or Bing search on Landmark Square Apartments in Erie Pennsylvania?

Frustration cake

I made this Pineapple Upside-Down Cake last night. I had a piece this morning for breakfast. Want a piece? Just think: If I'm parked at your house I could make you one of these.

I bake when frustrated. I'd offered a Shop Vac to a guy who said he needed one for the 4 homes he just bought to refurbish. Never met him but his emails are long and rambling. I don't have that kind of time. Well, he keeps saying he's going to show up to get it but he seems to have too much on his plate. And he let me know in multiple paragraphs that his time and activities were more important than mine. I call that bad manners and disrespect.  One of his emails said he was sitting outside my door in his car waiting for me. What, he couldn't knock on the door? I'm supposed to bring the Shop Vac out to him? He's what I call high maintenance. That's not how you treat a woman 20 years older.  Next.

You can help

I have 500 copies - 2 heavy boxes - of my printed booklet that I don't have the energy to move. And with a kidney stone that moves when I exert myself, I shouldn't be lifting anything heavy.  That's why I'm selling and giving away everything heavy. I won't be able to afford moving help, so I'm doing it all myself.

And by buying 2-500 copies you can help me finance a mailbox at The UPS Store, and a storage unit at UHaul. Both are in Erie in case anyone wants to make an anonymous donation on my behalf.

The title is...  No Surprises: 365 Critical Questions You Need to Ask Each Other Before You Marry... and how to ask them.  Click on the title at the top of the post to take you to the order page.

Preparation Required

In no particular order:
1. Pull credit reports.
2. Pay off utility bills.
3. Give notice to landlord.
4. Do 2009 taxes.
5. Collect money owed to me.
6. Pay personal debts.
7. Promote 2,398 units of book.
8. Attract driveway invitations.
9. Write news release to distribute.
10.  Sell most of my big, heavy things.
11. Give away things I'll never need.
12. Mend clothes to wear.
13. Purge and consolidate files.
14. Shred old papers.
15. Empty old computer of files.
16. Pack what I'm keeping.
17. Find/rent storage facility. (Found, not rented.)
18. Rent a mailbox. (Found, not rented.)
19. Change address and have mail forwarded.
20. Empty van contents into storage unit so I can use the van for moving.
21. Secure van insulation with sticky Velcro.
22. Use up food in fridge and pantry.
23. Move everything to storage by myself.
24. Clean empty apartment.
25. Take photos of clean apartment.
26. Have carpets steam cleaned.
27. Get security deposit back.
28. Have dental work done.
29. Post The Generosity Experiment on Pledgie.com.
30. Build up my strength and stamina to survive moving.
31. Take my father to Pittsburgh for a surgical consult.

Pizza for brunch

In a continued effort to cook and eat up what's left in my pantry and fridge, I just made this pizza: sliced green olives, diced ham slice, pineapple bits. I won't be able to do much pizza baking in my van.

Also today I'll make a quiche with the remaining ham and shredded cheese, and a large pineapple upside-down cake with the rest of the pineapple and maraschino cherries.

I'm making progress and eating well.

My first driveway invite

I just gave away this TV stand through my local Freecycle group. The woman, Clara, who came to claim it reads this blog and invited me to, not only park in her driveway, but come in for a not shower.  Totally unsolicited invitation and she gave me her address. Not an empty offer. She's in Millcreek, the west end of Erie.

I wish others who came to pick up freebies or purchase items from me at extremely low prices would offer to let me park outside where they live. Now that one person has got the ball rolling, maybe more will follow suit.... not just locally, but anywhere in North America.

I might bribe a church

I wonder if a local church would accept this in exchange for the right for me to park - a letter of acceptance would be nice to show police, security guards - in their parking lot when few cars are there, and let me plug into their outside power.

Maybe this statue/art piece is worth some money and could be raffled off to raise funds for the homeless. That would be ironic.

I was a host

A year ago during a blizzard I hosted strangers from Florida in my apartment and parking lot. A natural response from my bed and breakfast hosting days, it's in my blood to be a good host. I provided electricity during the night, Wifi, water, hot showers, laundry facilities, warm beds, daily meals and even some Canadian coins. Before they arrived I received packages on their behalf from their families. At the end of their stay 3-4 days later, I provided a ladder and broom to get the snow off the top of their rig.

From that experience I rrecognized that if I want to be a welcome guest it would be a good idea to not waste my host's utilities unnecessarily, but contribute something to meals and supplies that I consumed, do something to make the host's life a little easier, and write a thank you note.

What's in the van

Here's a list of what I'll carry with me in the van:

• Koolatron fridge
• Solar shower + shower curtain
• Hot water dispenser*
• Mini-clothes washer*
• 5000 BTU air conditioner*
• Heater*
• Solar panel
• Power box to recharge cell, laptop
• 4 man tent
• 4 sleeping bags
• Adult potty
• Camp cot
• Cat litter box
• Step stool
• Mail box
• Screen room
• Screens for front windows
• Pillows
• Microwave*
• Toaster oven*
• Electric skillet/dutch oven*
• Solar/windup radio
• 13" TV + antenna*
• Laptop and printer
• Personal shredder*
• Tools
• Cell phone
• Magic Jack powered by laptop
• Laptop desk/podium
• Stool (for speaking)
• Furniture dolly
• Bundle buggy (shopping cart)
• Cable modem*
• Wireless router*
• Dog crate (for cat)
• Tarps + Tie downs
• Pots, pans, dishes
• Office supplies
• Paper supplies
• Privacy curtains
• Mop, broom, shovel for cleaning van
• Camping stove
• Non-perishable foods
• Golf umbrella
• Sun glasses
• First aid kit
• Road maps
• Compass
• Solar lights
• CD player
• DVDs and CDs
• Back up software
• Binder of important documents
• 100 foot outdoor utility cord
• 50 foot garden hose
• Drinking water jug
• Washing water + sink
• Gas can
• Flashlights, batteries

*These items require electricity and can't run off the solar panel/power box.

The Itinerary

Your invitations will determine my itinerary.

I hope to head in the direction of North Carolina and Tennessee in March, Texas and New Mexico in April and May, and then start heading north again to spend the summer in Ontario, Canada. After that, who knows?

If you live in one of those states (or province) or along the way, I'd love to receive a personal and private invitation to spend a night or three... or more outside your home.

If you'd like me - a former bed and breakfast host/owner - to house-sit or business-sit for you for a week or a few months, please just ask. I'll look after customers, plants, pets, as if they were my own.

What makes a good host

Ideally, a great parking spot would have shade in the hot weather, some kind of buffer from winter winds, access to an outside water faucet/spigot, and access to an outside electric outlet to power a small box heater or 5,000 BTU window air conditioner when they are necessary. Electricity will also power cooking appliances like a small microwave and toaster oven, water heater, small TV, night lights, a power box that supplies power to a small fridge, and a tiny clothes washer.

While it's not absolutely necessary, a great host might allow me to take a hot shower, do laundry, put up a screen room or tent in a secluded spot to sleep and write, invite me to share conversation over a meal, re-freeze my freezer packs, and invite the neighbors to come meet me. I'll even show them my van.

The Plan

I've been in Erie Pennsylvania since early September 2008 because my 90 year old father has been having some medical issues. I aborted my travels to do this, but Erie offers me little human contact, no stimulating conversation, no income, and a lot of personal rejection. As much as I feel an obligation to be my father's health advocate and chauffeur, I am losing myself and my physical health is deteriorating. I need to find soft places to land where I feel acceptance and inclusion by kind people.

Not wanting to intrude on other people's privacy, I prefer living in my van in safe places than taking up space in people's homes. A fan of tiny houses, I actually feel more peaceful living inside my van than anywhere else, but I'd like to house-sit or business-sit for absent owners. Additionally, I'd be happy to act as "night watchman" in parking lots owned by churches, doctor's offices, veterinarians offices if I can have access to an outside electric outlet.

So, toward this end I am selling as much of my heavy, bulky items for much needed cash and so I don't have to put them in storage, and giving away what doesn't sell and what I absolutely don't want to keep or take with me in my 2002 Ford Econoline 250. (More about the van later.)

My apartment lease expires at the end of February so I intend to be out of the apartment and living full-time with my cat in my primitively outfitted van by Feb. 28, although it may be March 30 if the weather isn't conducive to moving (by myself) and living in the van. A blizzard will slow me down considerably.

This blog will update you on my progress. I hope you will become a follower.