They Were MORE than Amazing. My MAYDAY!

Good Morning All;
Thoughts from a blogging universe that has been neglected by me for ever so long. My most sincere apologies to those of you loyal friends and followers I once had on here.
Hope all is well with each of you; and that somehow you do make it back to my posts.

It has taken me some while to write this- On Sunday I typed a paragraph or three on Facebook, and my hands of a sudden, became very painful; cramping up bigtime... I gave up trying to type.  Ideally I could stomp my foot, cuss, and move on. (But the stomp action would probably break something else)! 

Even now, after these past 3 days adjusting my potassium intake, they still hurt- thankfully not as sharply as then...

OK. Here goes nuttin'...

Kathy's note was quickly followed by a reply from Sue W.:

"We all turned out to be amazing women!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Another reply from Laurie L.:

"I second Sue, absolutely amazing! " 

Adding also, "And a big thanks to everyone for their time and efforts!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

How does this possibly fit into a blog? 
(and) 
Where has this come from, you ask? 

(Oh. Yes, you did).  And it does!
Read on...

I am sure that, by now, you are all aware of the trainwreck I raised.

That said, these wonderful, much-loved, daughters of mine are not to be counted on for any type of help. 

And, as most of you have also, NE Wisconsin has gone through one of the coldest, (and sh*tt*est), winters on record. 
My checkbook took a necessary predilection for giving money to the oil man. 

My health took a necessary precedence over almost everything else.  
With respect to my breathing, I had my 2 doctors' orders to stay out of the weather. (Read "on the inside")...   
... You all also know that I -on the inside for any extended period of time- am not a happy camper.  
With respect to my bones, those same 2 doctors' orders are that I was not to even shovel any snow that fell. 
I would add that, even though my snowplow man was quite lenient, patient for me to pay him; it's an awful feeling to be so indebted to someone so very kind, still willing to help out. 

(Oh, NOW you know where I am going with this line of thought)! hehehe

Me. Giving up. (No! Not that way)... 
Reluctantly, honestly, I am to the point where I need my outdoor maintenance to be covered by someone else. 
And, as long as my dog is welcome too, I will move. Happily too.
Truth be known, I am now even looking forward to moving. Just that I haven't settled on a solid 'where'.

Me. Prioritizing. 
First things first though. I need to sell what I have before I can move. 
And before that happens, it must all be cleaned out, aired out, and dusted off, washed off, scrubbed, and polished.

Yikes. I cannot do this!!!

Me. Being smart.
Desperate times calling for desperate measures, a while back I emailed a plea to my fellow classmates (from our long-ago high school era). 
With the thought that told me, "oh, one or two might reply; at least to the negative." 
Oh here I am, taught well- See, you hit a brick wall enough times, you come to expect it.

Me. Being wrong.
My expectations were so very wrong!!!
('Variety' being the spice of life, I love it when I'm wrong)! hehehe

Them. Doing the impossible.
It took but a few weeks to land on a date acceptable to those that replied, but once Kathy took to organizing it, it was all but done.
Viola, !!!, my house has undergone a very special and magical transformation. 
I am still shocked that so many came, yet I am SO pleased at everything that got done!

Here is the original note from Sunday last that inspired the 2 replies above-

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Promptly on Sunday, Kathy V. wrote:

"Everything went great Saturday @ Anne’s home…  [We] got the majority done... 'cept the basement… 

There were those on the list, plus even Wendy Vandenlangenberg who drove from Appleton to help for a few hours! 

[It] looks good-- 

Anne can get the ball rolling, put her home up for sale.. and start packing…[She] mentioned she wanted to be out before the snow flies… [I] just want to reach out and THANK ALL who came out to help… [We] could not have done it without everyone’s assistance…. 

So many giving friends all bonding together….. 

We are somethin'…

Appreciative,
Kathy 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"AMAZING"?!?

Did you two just say we are amazing? 

ALL of my elves proved that they are nothing short of amazing either.

(Truly, I am at a loss for a better word).

My home was 'found' on Saturday!

I knew, somehow instinctively, that it was here all along.
But now I know it is...

Completely. 

 ... And almost entirely. 

 ...  ... Found.

I have a few little places to finish myself, (but honestly!, I really am supposed to do something)... 
That is, instead of what I did do. Which was to sit here, nurse my wounds, and be overwhelmed at everyone as they came in, gloved up, and dug in. 

It was WONDERFUL!!!! (I highly suggest doing the very same if you are in need). 

Not being in denial, and lest you be trying to picture my little hoard, it wasn't.  A lot of stuff left behind by Mama, Pa, - and my daughters; who have been called, and written to, too many times, to come and get whatever they want out of here. 

There are a few bags of stuff that didn't fit INto the dumpster for today's pick-up. They will wait happily until next week.  

Somewhere too, I have some burning to do. It was WAY~TOO~WINDY to do so then.

I haven't 'found' a few things, but God only knows how many things were ultimately 'found' that I had already written off as "lost forever" anyway. 

Sandy Decker brought along her hubby, Steve.

And so he dug in, outside, all day; even cleaning the attached garage!

As for the other garage, I am sure I have LOTS of things that were brought out there, and that will be making me lot$ of moola in my next rummage sale.
Whoo-Hoo!  I am even looking real forward to having that!

Sue T. Who remained forever in the back entrance, getting it spic-n-span;
(She's probably still there)!;
With Miss Bonnie C. (Who has forgotten her vacuum here). 

OH! I could tell gossip and spread stories, but I won't. I could also drop names, but I think the pictures tell the story! hehehe

The Dancing Divas...

Kathy P dancing with the vacuum,
Sandie F. dancing with the dog pillow,
Julie K. dancing with my duster!

Sister Kris came to help- Bringing Judy too! 

Judy took to working on the outside of the home; plugging up a few holes that left access to the attic and the eaves- 
Bats? Bees? Lions? Tigers? Bears?

After a quick cup of coffee, Kris worked wherever she was needed!
And that was pretty much everywhere!

Kris, drained of coffee; wearing the new style of duct tape!
Punk, waiting to escape the house!

Gosh!
They truly are, ALL, so beautiful!

Caught blue handed...

Wendy V. (I won't even try to write her whole name).
Lisa K. (Stealing a game and the coasters that one of my girls made).
 Julie K., hiding in back- (Stealing a stool one of my daughters made).
Kathy P. (Aiding and abetting "The Great Stool Caper").
Sue W. (Stealing the bubble glass vase with the ivory in it).
They ALL look the very same as they did in high school.

Carmen's son "?",
Along with friend "?"

Mary C. worked all morning and got here a tad late;
But jumped right in, cleaning Noah's Ark.

I am mad though too- 
Mad that I didn't get Lori P. and her hubby, Ed, in a picture- Or Miss Carmen's friend from work. Or Judy. 

I had taken a picture of Judy, Kris and Steve -all walking across the yard- 

But No-o-o-o-o-o-o- ....  All I got was this!!!!

Also bee-you-tee-ful are Steve, Kris, and...
And Punk?
Give ya a quarter if you see Judy... Anywhere???
How did you react so darn fast Judy?

Kathy P. cleaning the dog feeder-
Punk, making sure it's done correctly.

Almost finished!
Carmen having to leave soon-

Lisa K., Karen H., Julie K., and Carmen F.

Ladies, (besides Laurie L. that is, she has threatened my life if I post her pic); please tell me all/who else I am missing?

I shall just HAVE TO bring my camera to our next get-together. And catch up then!

Kathy got one stupid wooden chair for all of her organization skills-
And I sure hope that you others took a little something too. 

If not, rest assured that there was/is 'method to my madness'. You will ALL just have to come back! (This time just for the fun of it). 

Time to close and shower...

My love, my complete respect, and my deep gratitude to you all! You have NO idea how much you are appreciated!
And almost the best thing of all?
Was to have the house full WITH EVERYONE LAUGHING!

I must also Miss Kelli and Tim too, for taking Sputty away for the day!

Have a "wunnaful" day!

XOXO

Me. Being done.    (For the morning anyway)!  :-)