Step one is about to happen! (Henderson, Brevard: sale, house, purchase)

[Father John]

First things first for our move to the Brevard area: a yard sale.

We have listed it, advertised it, and are finishing the sorting this week. This will be the largest yard sale I ever held! We are getting rid of 35 years of accumulation and the keep pile is smaller than I anticipated.

I have to enlist help from my sons and maybe others because this will be so big the two of us can't manage it alone.

Last time we had a "pre-move" yard sale, we put up a sign that said, "Yard Sale. House FREE with purchase of yard." We actually sold our house that day without an agent! We are going to do that again. Maybe lightening DOES strike twice...

We decided to sell our Christmas tree and ornaments (not the sentimental ones) because they will get more before Christmas than after. Moving a 9 foot tree isn't something I want to do and we can always get new stuff in NC. Ya'll do celebrate Christmas, right?

My wife and I are getting very excited. Here comes the emotional anticipation Jan warned us about, but it is hard to contain.

Wish us luck and if you know anyone in the Phoenix area, send them to our yard sale.

[migee]

Well, good luck Father John....

This past weekend, I assisted my friend in a yard sale...It's quite a bit of work, and some long days...(It was my only experience with one)...

The morning set-ups were a good bit of work...And, you are right about the early birds...They were coming at 7 A.M....And, running back and forth like mad people (setting-up) it was hard to be polite to them...("For crying out loud...I haven't even pee'd yet!")....

It's interesting, in the past few weeks you are the 2nd person that I've heard is moving from your area to NC...An old buddy of mine has been there for about 30 years, and is fed up with the heat, and want's to be back on the East Coast...

So, again, good luck....And, I hope that you do sell everything....If not, find a nice charity, like something that helps abused spouses and kids relocate...They would certainly appreciate many things...And, they are indeed people that you would feel great helping to get a new start...

[Father John]

Originally Posted by migee

Well, good luck Father John....

This past weekend, I assisted my friend in a yard sale...It's quite a bit of work, and some long days...(It was my only experience with one)...

The morning set-ups were a good bit of work...And, you are right about the early birds...They were coming at 7 A.M....And, running back and forth like mad people (setting-up) it was hard to be polite to them...("For crying out loud...I haven't even pee'd yet!")....

It's interesting, in the past few weeks you are the 2nd person that I've heard is moving from your area to NC...An old buddy of mine has been there for about 30 years, and is fed up with the heat, and want's to be back on the East Coast...

So, again, good luck....And, I hope that you do sell everything....If not, find a nice charity, like something that helps abused spouses and kids relocate...They would certainly appreciate many things...And, they are indeed people that you would feel great helping to get a new start...

Thanks, migee!

We will set up the night before and I will sleep in the yard to keep watch. Small things will be in the garage and only big things out over nite. Then I'll get up at 4:30 to be ready by 7:00. ugh.

We will donate non-sellers to my church which is having a rummage sale 2 weeks after ours. Anything they don't sell goes to Goodwill. So it is all good!

We are leaving AZ for several reasons:

1) we have more family east (dozens of families) of the Mississippi than west (5 families) and want to be closer

2) AZ is getting crowded and crime/freeways/pollution are all bad

3) we are in the 9th year of what some say will be a 20-25 year drought. The water will run out, I have no doubt.

4) home prices skyrocketed here for 2 years and while they are down now from their high, they are still pretty good

5) when we moved here, my wife and I thought it would be for 5 years - it has been 27.... time to go

6) the summers are bad and I want green trees and mountains, not brown and dust

I appreciate the support. We looked many places and Western North Carolina is "almost heaven."

[a2zmom]

Good luck with your sale, Father John! One of my favorite shows on TLC is "Clean Sweep"...hubby and I had to be very careful about what we brought to NC and what we were holding onto for emotional reasons. We kept telling ourselves, "Be practical, be practical..." In the end, if we hadn't touched it in the 3 years since our move from IL, it either went into the trash or to Goodwill. Now obviously, there were some items that could not be parted with, like hubby's entire Star Wars figurine collection, Millenium Falcon, and Ewok Village...

[Father John]

Originally Posted by a2zmom

Good luck with your sale, Father John! One of my favorite shows on TLC is "Clean Sweep"...hubby and I had to be very careful about what we brought to NC and what we were holding onto for emotional reasons. We kept telling ourselves, "Be practical, be practical..." In the end, if we hadn't touched it in the 3 years since our move from IL, it either went into the trash or to Goodwill. Now obviously, there were some items that could not be parted with, like hubby's entire Star Wars figurine collection, Millenium Falcon, and Ewok Village...

LOL. Yeah, I have some hard to part with stuff, too. I have all the Star Trek Hallmark Ornaments 1992-2004. The first one cost $20 and is now worth $150-$200. The others all cost $24 each and are worth about half that....

My baseball stuff from the 1960s and from the 2001 World Series (AZ D-Backs won and I was there for Game 7).

Lord of the Rings stuff (my favorite book and movie of all time).

Most will go. I can't take it with me when I die, so maybe I don't need to take it with me to NC....

[NCN]

When you get to North Carolina, you may be able to go out and cut down your own Christmas tree.

[vq1]

Originally Posted by Father John

Thanks, migee!

I appreciate the support. We looked many places and Western North Carolina is "almost heaven."

West Virginia is almost Heaven. NC is the southern part of Heaven!


p.s.: There a many a few Christmas trees around here. The White House has consistantly taken some, but plenty are still here. Better to leave the one you have behind!

[NCN]

I remember the scene from "Horn in the West." Look out there, it's so beautiful. Looks like you could reach out and touch Heaven. This is from memory and I may have it wrong, but the idea is right.

[mm34b]

The North Carolina Christmas Tree Industry is ranked second in the nation in number of trees harvested.

Tree Facts

North Carolina has an estimated 50 million Fraser fir Christmas trees growing on over 25,000 acres.

Fraser fir represents over 95% of all species grown in North Carolina.

Fraser fir is grown in the far Western North Carolina counties which include Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Buncombe, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, Mitchell, Swain, Transylvania, Watauga and Yancey.

There are over 1,600 North Carolina growers.

North Carolina produces over 19% of the Real Christmas Trees in the U.S.

The North Carolina Fraser fir has been judged the Nation's best through a contest sponsored by the National Christmas Tree Association and chosen for the official White House Christmas tree 10 times (more than any other species)....1971, 1973, 1982, 1984, 1990, 1993, 1995, 1997, 2005, and 2007.

The North Carolina Fraser fir Christmas tree is the most popular Christmas tree in North America and is shipped into every state in the U.S. as well as the Caribbean Islands, Mexico, Canada, Bermuda, Japan and other points all over the world.

The North Carolina Fraser fir has soft, pleasant-to-touch needles, incomparable needle retention, long lasting aroma, and more pliable yet stronger branches for even the heaviest ornaments.

There are approximately 400 Choose and Cut Christmas tree farms in North Carolina.

[the Parkies]

Originally Posted by Father John

First things first for our move to the Brevard area: a yard sale.

We have listed it, advertised it, and are finishing the sorting this week. This will be the largest yard sale I ever held! We are getting rid of 35 years of accumulation and the keep pile is smaller than I anticipated.

I have to enlist help from my sons and maybe others because this will be so big the two of us can't manage it alone.

Last time we had a "pre-move" yard sale, we put up a sign that said, "Yard Sale. House FREE with purchase of yard." We actually sold our house that day without an agent! We are going to do that again. Maybe lightening DOES strike twice...

We decided to sell our Christmas tree and ornaments (not the sentimental ones) because they will get more before Christmas than after. Moving a 9 foot tree isn't something I want to do and we can always get new stuff in NC. Ya'll do celebrate Christmas, right?

My wife and I are getting very excited. Here comes the emotional anticipation Jan warned us about, but it is hard to contain.

Wish us luck and if you know anyone in the Phoenix area, send them to our yard sale.

Wow. All that advertising for five bucks, Father John! I hope Lynda gets rich with that great Web idea! My only problem is... an image keeps flashing before my eyes... you... lying on the ground all night guarding your goods... them... coming at 5:00 AM to find you... lying on the ground... next to scorpions, tarantulas, horn toads, centipedes, and rattlesnakes!!

GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR YARD SALE!!! It really is the first step toward Heaven!!

Jan