Thought I'd give a bit of an update on our progress as we continue to clear out Mom's house, as I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks. This will be short recount of our past few weeks, but you'll get a good idea of what we faced.
We arrived to Cloquet on Friday May 9, and worked diligently to get the house ready to put on the market. We listed the house on Tuesday May 14 and got an offer at full price on Friday May 17. Wow! Closing will be on or before July 25. Lots to do before then, especially since our plans are to leave Cloquet on Sunday June 14, and head west.
Mom and Dad bought this house in 1965, and as is true with most folks who lived during the depression years, they found use (or thought they could find use) for almost everything. Not much was discarded over the years, so there was lots of stuff tucked away in every little available place in the house, garage, attic and backyard shed. You wouldn't know it to walk through the house, though. Every room was neat and clear of clutter.
As I mentioned in our last blog, my brother Ron and his wife Debby were able to spend a week here with us, to begin the arduous job of getting the house cleared out. Debby and I tackled emptying all the closets, drawers, and cabinets, while Ron and Dick worked on clearing out the attic, back shed and garage. And, Dick took on the task of photographing and posting items, such as furniture, on Craigslist and eBay.
Need I say that Goodwill loves us here in Cloquet?? (It's usually the policy of Goodwill here in Cloquet to send the local donations to Duluth for sorting, but that ain't happenin' with stuff from this house! They're keeping everything here, sorting it, and keeping the "good stuff" for themselves before sending it on. Funny.
Mom loved to entertain, which she did very well. No one went away wanting for anything if you were a guest in their home. She also did some catering, so many of Mom's serving pieces and special treasures, including her collection of Fostoria and candlewick glass, Swedish glassware, etc. (which filled a large shelved closet and then some...), as well as a good portion of her cook- and bake-ware--which she had TONS of--went to relatives.
Mom was an avid "canner" so in her cold cellar (or what we called the fruit room) we found over 500 clean canning jars with rings, and just as many jars filled with home-canned goods, such as peaches, pears, cherries, tomatoes, juices, meats, stews, etc., many dating back to the early '80s. Yes, indeed, we found some pretty interesting "science experiments" in those jars, as well. (We even found a couple jars of something she canned when we lived in Grand Marais prior to 1965. Good grief!) Our first priority in that room was to clear out those clean jars, and put them on Craigslist to try to sell. We sold them to a family who taps for maple syrup, and yes, they shared 2 quarts of it with us! Score!
In addition to the fruit room, there were 2 chest freezers (about 35 cubic feet) full of food: wild blueberries, strawberries (including jam), rhubarb, venison, elk, all manner of beef cuts, chicken, fish--you name it--it was in there! It was my job these past couple of days to clean out the freezer and discard everything in it. Since Mom hasn't been here in the house for over a year, and didn't do much, if any, cooking in the few years prior, the food was pretty old. Good thing there are Hefty bags!!
The local landfill accepted everything we could bring to them, including 2 "dump trailers" full of stuff. Also, there was quite a bit of "hazardous waste," such as old paint, cleaning supplies, insecticides, etc., that needed to be disposed of. Thankfully, the landfill takes that at no charge, as there was quite a bit.
We've sold bedroom sets, a living room set, a dining table, chairs, lamps, end tables, a printer, chests of drawers, all on Craigslist. There are still a few more items to sell, or get to Goodwill. And, we still need to get rid of an old refrigerator, stove and one of the freezers from the basement. Sure could use the help of some hefty football players about now!
Dick and I are keeping some of our stuff that we transported from Tacoma, for when we decide to come off the road. We wanted/needed a dry and clean storage spot. Mom's neighbor across the street graciously offered us an empty storage room in her basement, so we accepted her offer and moved our stuff in. Perfect fit! It helps that there isn't any furniture--just boxes and bins. (And no, the antelope is not ours!) Thank you, Kristi!
On one of our visits to Mom at Inter-Faith Care Center, we took this photo of her as she enjoyed a cup of coffee with us. She gets around quite well in a wheelchair, and does get up to walk a couple of times during the day. Mom was alert, conversant, and aware of us and who we were, so that was good!So you won't think we haven't taken time out to do anything other than clean, we have gone to a couple of niece MacKenzie's soccer games, attended church on Sundays, and have played a few rounds of Pegs 'n' Jokers with friends, as well as other miscellaneous things.
I may not post another blog until we're actually on the road, but wanted you to know what we're been doing the past month. I told Dick that when/if we ever have another house it will not have stairs! Can't tell you how many times we've been up and down, up and down, up and down, carrying, hefting,.. Uff-da!!
Anyway, hope this finds you well. We leave you with a photo of Mom's lilac bush--tree actually--in her back yard, right next to her huge rhubarb patch. What you see is about 1/2 of the rhubarb still available for picking. (Yes, I've harvested rhubarb and have done a bit of baking. Can't get enough of that stuff!)
Hugs to you all. Stay stay safe, healthy and strong.
RJ and Gail
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