Background proceedings

I previously observed that Susan and I were doing okay in the current coronavirus shutdown (which does not at all change the fact that, though it’s working out okay for us, it’s bad for the nation as a whole!). We not only aren’t losing money, we not only aren’t falling behind: we’re spending money, because we have it to spare, as the continuing process to prepare for the move to Malaysia.

Much of this began before Malaysia was even on the boards as a possibility. (A great deal of it is work done rather than money spent; be patient, we’ll get there.) Lots of stuff has been cleared out of the house, and 1) thrown away, 2) given away, to the Salvation Army or to people of our acquaintance who were happy to have various things, or 3) packed away for storage or later disposal. Meanwhile, of course, various improvements have been gradually made. Excess trees were removed from the front of the property, since we didn’t have the means to keep them properly trimmed, and copious brush removed from the back. A leak in the ceiling of one of the rooms has been fixed, and that section of ceiling repaired. A leaking toilet repaired and returned to useful service. A sink replaced, and the clogged pipes unclogged. The deck repaired, and in the process of being repainted. Our heat fixed and brought back into operation (though it begins to appear that it’ll take more than that to bring our A/C back up to snuff). Light fixtures repaired/replaced in four different rooms. An entire door ready to be replaced (we have the door, the replacement just hasn’t taken place yet), with another which will probably be done sometime soon.

Almost all of the major repairs we foresaw have been either completed, or shown to be less major than we believed at the time (and then completed).

We still have to get some floor repairs done, and then Susan wants the floors resurfaced in the entire house. The deck hasn’t yet been completed (though those repairs may be finished in just another week). Susan really wants to do some renovating in at least one of the bathrooms; I’m less convinced, and believe that those aren’t really necessary if we’re just getting the place ready for sale.

And we still have a lot of things we need to throw away, give away, pack away. (I observed to Susan the other day: “We spent so many years living so close to the bone, when did we reach the point where our biggest problem turned out to be how to get rid of a bunch of stuff?”)

Susan’s retirement income — not even counting what she earns with part-time work — is more than twice my current full-time income; we could actually live on her retirement, if we were very careful, and that doesn’t take into account what I’ll be eligible for once I’m ready myself to retire.

It’s odd to recognize how far we’ve come, and how close we are now to what had never even occurred to us as a dream three years ago.

It isn’t a dream now. It’s a process. And we get closer every day to its completion.

Far. Freakin’. Out.