This is beyond daunting.  I can’t believe how much stuff I have to go through.  This weekend it was my office/retreat room.  The books are easy – this was a recently established room so the books were already everything I wanted.

I opened up a cabinet – a huge stack of Dollhouse Miniatures and Nutshell New magazines. At least one of those, Nutshell News is defunct.  A few more how-to-make-stuff for your dollhouse books.  I started sifting through them.  This was not a great plan because I began to remember how nearly twenty years ago I built a dollhouse and enjoyed the process so much.  The dollhouse is gone, and I only plan to make roomboxes now with the furniture, etc I collected.

This then got me thinking over what I thought I wanted when we move.  I should note that Al, realizing that I followed his cute butt from Illinois to SF and now am following it again to SoCal, says “The lady gets to pick the house.”  As was previously written here, I was set on a house near the beach with an ocean view.  Then I started to really look at the map and because I am nothing if not a practical dreamer, I started to worry about the commute to Irvine for Al.  San Clemente is not prohibitive but it is not 15 minutes away either.  A quick internet search answers the question nicely: – 25 minutes or 3 hours.  We will be able to assess that a little better when we get down there but for now I’m thinking I’d rather have Al home than on the road.  This takes us a little inland and there really are some nice areas.  It’s hilly – like here.  I’ve survived with a lovely valley view that graces this blog for 22 years I guess I can tolerate it again!

I check out a home for sale website daily and today I did two things – I changed my search a bit inland, which means a bit cheaper, and also decreased my purchase price about a third.  I was delighted to find that those prices are more likely to get you a single story home in an older neighborhood. This includes established landscaping and cute little yards, and may include a view as well.  It is a little more difficult to find a floor plan that is light and open – also one of my “musts” – but it is not impossible.  One I really fell in love with had a long lap pool!   All this because a lower mortgage will allow me to follow my work dreams and play with my dolls again.

Back to my room – I put my beautiful Cleopatra doll on eBay.  I got her at a school auction for a song – she’s Franklin Mint and just gorgeous.  Of course, I knew nothing about collectibles at the time so there is no box nor certificate of authenticity.  Had I kept those, she’s be worth about $200.  As it is she’s only worth $50-$75.  We’ll see if she goes.  If not, I’ll take her with me but it was really an impulse at the auction (isn’t it always?)  Big dolls aren’t really my thing, I like the minis.

Then  – to the temple of doom, my case of journals and writings and emails from time gone by.  For some reason I felt compelled to make several copies of everything I’ve ever written.  So it wasnt’ simply a matter of closing it up and putting it in the packing pile, I had to go through it all and make sure I wasn’t taking all those extra copies.  When I get to SoCal I will do it again and toss half of it.  My emails were pretty good though – I often did exactly what I am doing now, so the descriptions of life-as-it-was are like journals in themselves.

So my plan to write about something else is not coming to fruition.  My kids never rode their motorcycles through the gymnasium anyway…however my journals tell of other exploits that should prove useful fodder for this blog someday.