Almost retired

Well I have just two more days of work and then retirement! Yea! I finally did it. 
It's snowing again, I sure hope I don't have to put chains on to get to work.  This is the first snow I have had to navigate in without my trusty 4x4.  I had a 1988 GMC Jimmy 4x4.  That was a great SUV.  Back when we bought it they were not called SUVs, in fact the DMV called it a station wagon when we bought it in 1988.  So now I have a new Jetta TDI with studded snow tires.  This will be the last year to drive in the snow.

Thanks to my new followers, I really appreciat e the fact that someone might want to read my blogs as sometimes they may go on and on without saying much of anything.  So Thanks to Donna aka Froggi (aka 2 taking the 5th), John & Ellen, Mike Mills, Rick and Paulette and Kate. 

I was not aware of all these travel blogs and I am having a great time reading all of them.  You have all given me great ideas of things to see and do when we start our full timing adventures.

Sunday some of my co-workers and patients joined me for a Retirement Brunch at Bob's Burgers and Brew ( this is a local place that has very good food and good prices too)  We had a great time visiting everyone.  Several of my patients have been with me for six years or so, they will be missed.  Hopefully they will be able keep up with me on my blog to see where I am and what I'm up to.

We are still going through the house and garage trying to eliminate stuff.  We've been collecting items that will go on Craig's List.  Hopefully we will get a fair price.  It sure is hard to eliminate things and decide if it will go in the trailer or into our small place in Lacey.  We have been taking stuff to our place in Lacey and it seems to be getting smaller as we start to fill it up.

We aren't nearly as organized as some people but we are working on it bit by bit and hope to be out of our house in a month or two.  The outside needs to be painted, but it needs to warm up a little for that.  About the middle of May we will be on our first trip as a retired couple.  Wow that sounds good, "A Retired Couple".  We will be heading up to BC for about 6 weeks with a group of other Airstreamer Folks.  We are planning on a trip covering the very northern parts of BC.  Should be lots of fun as we have traveled with most of these folks before.

Thats about it for us.  Not too much going on.  Hopefully next post will have a couple of pictures.

Safe travels,
Nancy & Joe

One more thing checked off the list

We keep making check marks on our TO DO LIST.  Last week I went to the dentist and I haveanother apt this week.  Joe has an apt next week and then I think we will be done for awhile. Now I need to see the optometrist, yearly check up and probably so other medical things.

Almost every weekend we take a truck load of stuff to our new place in Lacey.  Our house in Lacey will probably end being a storage area for a couple of years and family can also star there when we are not there. 

Our place in Lacey. 
 

Another item on the To Do List was to attach a Hubodometer to the center hub of the front tire.  I might be calling it the wrong name but is to keep track of the mileage of the trailer.  We took it off our old trailer and it had 23,617 miles on it.

First you have to take the tire off to get to the hub and then punch a hole in the hub to attach the Hubometer.

Carefully backing up on this little lift ramp.

This will lift the trailer with the rear tire and

the front tire can then be taken off.












And then the tire is finally off

After Joe pulled the hub off he had to find the

exact middle.

This is where he will then drill the hole to attach the Hubodometer

The round canister on the right is the

Hubodometer

This is the Hubodometer showing 23,617 miles on it

Drilling the hole and of course Buddy is on guard to make sure no squirrels will come too close.














I forgot to take a picture of the finished product. 

I would have posted this sooner but I had forgotten how to post pictures.  Remember I am real new to this.

Safe travels to all,

Nancy & Joe

Where does the time go?

Wow!, it's already been one month since I started this blog and this is only the second post I have made.  Just where does the time go?  I can't believe that I already have 10 followers.  Thanks to Carol and Dave (Carol K) from Vancouver WA for being the first follower, we are going to be neighbors (well almost, we will be about 110 miles apart when at home).  Also thanks to all the other bloggers: Randy & Pam, Kenny & Angela, Judy & John, Dennis & Donna, Gail & TC, Dawn & Denise, Bob & Vickey, Heyduke50 and The Old Geezer.  Thanks to all of you, my very first followers.
I am still working full time and trying to go through "stuff" that we need, don't need, might need. and things that we think we might need.  I have sent bags and bags of stuff to Goodwill.  We have been taking a pick-up truck load every week to our "new to us" manufactured home in Lacey which is 86 miles south of Everett.  Since we are moving into a house with about half the square footage we are also having trouble putting everything away. 
Then on Monday 1/31/11 my 90 year old father passed away.  This was expected but it is still hard when it actually happens.  He will be missed.  He started fulltiming way back in 1980 and continued until about 4 years ago.  Back in the 80's there were no cell phones so people had to find a pay phone to use.  If you were in a place like the big "Q" you had to stand in line for the phone.  If you were on the phone too long the others behind you would kind of give you "the eye" and look at their watch every 30 seconds.  My how things have changed.
My last official day at work is 2/26/11.  About the same time heyduke50 is retiring.  We still have lots to do at our house to make it more desireable than all the others that will be flooding the market this spring.  We live about 5 miles from Boeing in Everett so I sure hope they get the contract for the refueling tanker.  Since this is a government contract it really should go to a U. S. company.  It will really help our economy here.
One thing about retiring for me is the fact that I have to say goodbye to all my patients (I am an RN at the local kidney dialysis center).  Some of them have been my patient for 5 - 6 years.  I already had to say good bye to the first ones, J & C (can't say their names, HIPPA rules). They are going to California for a few weeks and won't be back until March 1st.  I will have to stop in to see everyone when I am back here in the area.  And, of course we will all be able to keep in touch through email and my blog.
Remember I am new at this, I will try to have pictures next time and hopefully it won't take me another month to post again.

Safe Travels to ALL
Nancy