Back from a Break.

Well, now that Sunshine and I have relocated I can get back to keeping this blog up to date. It has been a while (Almost an entire year) since I last posted and many things have changed.

We have sponsored Sister of Sunshine, from a far off land and have welcomed her to our new home. Oh yes,  we have moved to a new home. Still in the Northern VA area, and only new to us. 

Additional members of the family include Nickel  and Dime.   They are the new puppies. They are almost a year old as well.

Fast Food Favorites

We all have are favorite fast food establishments. Ask any one under 10 and it is most likely McDonalds. I am a Wendy's fan. With that said I must say, because the closest Hardee's to my house is 40 miles, I do try to stop there when the opportunity is presented. This past weekend was no exception. The Diablo Burger was great.  I surprise was the jalapeño poppers on the burger. Genius I say. 

Enjoy your week!! 

What happens after a long work week?

Have you ever had a long work week?  Maybe when you had a few extra hours tacked onto your normall work week?  It could mean your normal work week had especially challenging problems to address and your mind is just completely warn out. Well when t happens to me, I take a nap from Friday night until 4:30 on Saturday Morning.  Then I return to blogging at 6:00 AM.

Moving down the road!!

Well I have missed a few posts that I have been wanting to make.  I have been relocating Casa de Tronster.  Not a real big move, just 6 miles down the road.  But what a hassle it can be.

Sunshine and I are downsizing from a 3200 square foot home to a 1300 square foot home.  This means I have a lot of "stuff" to go through and find a way to store it.  We decided to get a storage unit.  This unit is now 80% full.  We have moved about 90% of our stuff and the new place is almost a home.  We have a couple of more things to unpack, but it is moving along well.

A couple of things I learned moving:

1.  First in last out.

When you load truck for moving, the first thing on the truck is the last thing out of the truck.  You may think this is common sense.  I have moved a few times and I normally remember this particular rule of physics.  I wanted to share this with you.  So if there is something going into the front room of a place you are moving into, make it one of the last things you pick up.

2.  A bigger truck is not always easier

This time, I elected to go with a smaller truck.  Make sure it has a ramp before you leave the rental store.  Ours did not have a ramp, not that big of a deal for what I wanted to do.  I know I have to pay milage of the vehicle, but It was only a six mile move, so we went with the smaller truck to make more trips.  I packed each room into the truck separately.  This allowed me to unload the truck for each room.  Starting with the room the furthest from the door.  The smaller truck was also able to navigate around the tight parking lots and drives I had to go through.

3.  Everything in a box, every box should close

It is difficult to stack stuff on round items.  When using a smaller truck, there is only so much floor space to work with.  So you should have boxes you can stack.  To stack boxes the boxes need to close.  If you are working on a tight budget, you may not be able to buy boxes.  So when you go to get boxes from friends and family, ask for boxes with lids and/or can be closed.

4. Big boxes are not always better

Big boxes are great to hold pillows.  Not so much for your collection of books.  Be careful not to make any one box so heavy it requires to men and boy to move.  Sheets may seem light, until you put thirteen sets into a large box and need to relocate the box.

5. Have a plan

When you beg your friends to assist with a move, and then waste their time, this not good stewardship of your friends time.  Have a plan.  Execute the plan. That way there is no question on what you are trying to accomplish while you have help.  If it will take longer than your friend has time, then have him assist with the items you need assistance.

These are some of the things that help me move.  I hope you this little bit of advice will help you too.  Have a great day.

Tronster

Road Trip

Okay, Okay, I know my last post was little on the side of politics.  I try to avoid that, just because i don't want to have to deal with it all the time.

So, back to the general stuff.

This past three day weekend, Sunshine and I took a little road trip to celebrate her birthday.  She has many great friends there and it has been a couple of years.  Oh the joy the fun, and the food. Oh my lord, the food.

As we wake, early on Saturday morning, the sun is not up yet.  It is chilly, and there would appear to be a threat of rain/winter mix.  Sunshine had packed our things a couple of days before.  We fixed ourself some breakfast, loaded the car and headed out.  It is still dark, Sunshine snuggles in to her seat, I tune the radio to the news station.  We head for the interstate.  It is two turns and twenty miles, then we are on the interstate, heading west.  The sun starts to come up behind us, not too bright, because of the cloud cover.  It is an eight hour journey to out destination.  To visit our Grandson and celebrate the previously mention birthday.

In the higher elevations, there is snow on the ground, but not the road.  Then it starts to snow.  Which looks like we could be in for a rough ride.  The temperature has dropped a few degrees.  However, the snow stops.  No worries, we carry on.

We enter the fine state of Tennessee right on schedule.  The only difficulty we had on the southern trip, finding a place for lunch.  We decided at about 12:15 we would stop at the next food place.  It was 45 minutes before we found an exit with food at the exit.  Oh there are a couple exits that say there is food at the exit.  Then you get off the interstate, it is 3 to 5 miles to the food establishment.  Well, that won't work for us.  The only challenge we face.

We arrived at our destination in time to take a little nap before we leave for the party.  When we arrived at the Party House, there were several old friends.  We spend a couple of hours discussing modern events and Volunteer basketball.  There were additional friends celebrating birthdays that day, gifts were exchange and fun was had by all.

We returned to Virginia to a cold front.  No snow, which was predicted by our crack weather staff here in town.

Have you ever noticed, returning home is always quicker than going somewhere?

Its always good to be home.

Take a trip every once and while, and enjoy your life.