getting rid of more stuff

Good morning.
It was a beautiful weekend, and we got some good long walks in.  :-)
 I've started filling in the online change of address forms for the post office. We have 6 address changes i need to make. Craig wanted a change for the 2 of us from the old Grand River address, besides the 2 of us from our apartment. Then we also have 2 business names to change. Our LLP and our DBA.
We also closed another credit union account. This one was at Lafcu. I had that account just for PayPal. I used that account for online purchases that took PayPal so I didn't have to worry about our regular account getting compromised. I'll do that again once we get settled in Vegas.
I've also cleaned out the tall pantry cabinet we have in the kitchen.

It came in very handy for our tiny kitchen, but we won't need it in Vegas. Ont of the stylist at work is picking it up later this week. I also have a microwave and 2-6 drawer storage units to get rid of that sit next to it. The 2 drawer unit at the bottom is already gone. Any takers?
And now, time to get ready for work. I have to leave earlier since I'm walking now. It looks to be a crazy busy last week!

getting closer

Good morning.
 It was a busy end to the work week, and now just one more work week to go.
Got in 2 good long walks yesterday. One first thing in the morning. Walked to Quality Dairy store for the Sunday paper. That was about 1 mile round trip. later we both took a 2 mile walk. Beautiful day.
Patty, (the new owner) and her husband Tom came and picked up Craig's Hyundai.

We are now listing it for sale. Tom will park it in his front yard. He lives on a very busy street, so it'll get a lot of exposure. It's 4 years old and only has 9200 miles on it. I tell people it was only driven by a little old man back and forth to work. Craig doesn't find that amusing, but I sure do!   :-)
So for the last work week, with just one car, I'll walk to work each day. It takes just under 15 minutes from the apartment to the Salon. An easy walk. Hopefully we can get the car sold before we head to Nevada.
I also put some things on Craig's List to get rid of...

Some storage units and a dresser. Was lucky to get one person that took them all.
We are starting to pack up things we don't really need for the next couple of weeks, like coats, sweaters, long sleeve shirts and long pants. We'll start on the kitchen stuff next weekend.
I also went over to the Marriott Residence Inn and made a reservation for a room.

It's a one bedroom suite. Normally we wouldn't have stayed in such a nice place, but I have a customer that works the desk and offered his discount which makes the room a very good value. We need a room after the relocube is delivered, filled and waiting to be picked up. It comes on a Monday, and won't be picked up until Tuesday. We have to be here when they pick it up, and with the apartment empty, I need a nice bed to sleep in.  :-)
So we'll stay at the hotel Monday night, then go back to the apartment and do a final cleaning while waiting for the cube to be picked up.
Looks like today and tomorrow will also be nice so I should get.

another blast from the past.

Good morning.
It's been a busy week in the Salon, compounded by many long goodbyes. With just a week and a half left to work, customers are scrambling to get one last haircut in before we leave.
I got a little present yesterday. A folding picture frame with 2 pics inside.

The left side is 2 little girls I've cut since they were old enough to sit still. The pic was taken about 19 years ago. The right side is the same 2 girls but this pic was taken 2 weeks ago when they came in for their last haircut with me and wanted a selfie. They are now young ladies in college.  I actually cut the entire family, brother, mom and dad. The brother is an intern in a hospital in central Illinois and the girls are majoring in sports medicine and nursing. They've turned into fine young adults. They've friend-ed me on facebook so I'll be able to continue following their lives.

I can hardly believe I ever had that much hair!
I've also hugged more people these last 2 weeks than I ever had the previous 60 years.
So just 6 more days of goodbyes and hugs. Well, then probably more at the retirement party. Now time to get to work.

why Vegas

Good afternoon.
I was asked why we choose Las Vegas as a retirement destination.
Well.....There were several factors that went into that decision.
First, and foremost was weather. We didn't want those long Michigan winters anymore. Now Ideally, southern California would be the first pick, but the cost of living there was prohibitive. Florida you might say would be a good second choice, but Florida has never been a favorite of ours. It's not a pretty state, it's very crowded and traffic is a nightmare. So you ask, is Nevada 'pretty'? Las Vegas is surrounded by mountains. Everywhere you look are mountains. And, within a few hours you can be skiing in the mountains, or swimming in the ocean. There's a lot fairly close to Vegas. But back to weather....

 While not ideal year around, The temps aren't nearly as hot as Arizona, nor as cold as the Midwest. It's a dry heat so not as miserable as anywhere in the south east. And there's a lot more sun!
We also wanted a city big enough to have a lot of variety and things to do.

 And Vegas fits that bill. There are just over 2 Million people in the valley. And it has all the amenities of any large metro area.
If you look at the map above, the famous strip is that orange dashed line. If you go due north of the strip to that bend in highway 215, our community is just north of that. We're 15 mile from the strip.
Another factor was cost of living. Vegas was hardest hit during the great recession. The home we bought nearly 2 years ago we got for $97,000 less that when it first sold back in 2006.  Currently, our floor plan is selling for nearly $40,000 more than we paid 2 years ago. A good investment I think.   :-)

We have the sheep mountains just to the north of our community.

Just off the highway is the Aliante Casino Hotel. Our community of just over 2000 homes is right behind it. The green you see is a golf course that weaves it's way through our community.
So there you have it. Our choice for Vegas is weather first, cost of living, city size, and sunshine.
And with that, my balcony calls. It's a beautiful day here in Michigan. Right now.   :-)

sad goodbye

Good morning.
It ended up being a fairly busy week in the Salon.
Sunday, we headed over to Muskegon to see my Mom one more time before we move. Will probably only get back to Michigan once every summer. Was hard to say goodbye to her when I left. She understands why I'm moving, but of course, not happy about it. I promised I'd e-mail and call more often. Cut her hair, and took her to her favorite restaurant, Red Lobster. She really likes the Stuffed Mushroom and Cheddar Biscuits. My brother Bruce and his son Ben joined us. Ben is really growing up fast. Then we headed over to the VFW for cocktails and pull-tabs. Had lousy luck as usual. Told my Mom that's why she doesn't have to worry about us gambling away our retirement because I hate losing, and that's what happens 99% of the time. So we just don't go very often.
Got back to Lansing safe and sound despite heavy traffic. But Craig is a pretty safe/sane driver. Not at all aggressive like me. I don't know why I am, but stupid, inconsiderate, people just really annoy me! I'm really trying to be more patient. It's not working too well.
Anyway, time to get on with the rest of our weekend. Weather's looking real nice.