Taking out the Trash

Over the past few years I have thought of myself as a recycler. I took my bottles and cans to the recycle machines and I put my milk jugs and cereal boxes in the recycle bin. In Strawberry, I have to take recycling to a whole different level. The town is trying to cut down on the amount of trash that the residents put out at the curb. We are allowed ONE 33 gallon trash can or bag. (In NY we filled a 55 gallon can easily) For each additional bag, you must purchase a tag at town hall for $1.50. We do have unlimited recycling. Everything with a little triangle now goes in the green bin... now I just need a composter.

The Dirty "F" Word

No not that word. I am talking about the word "FILTH". I really wanted to take a picture but my camera would not look. It thought it was too dirty.

"Filth" was my first experience in Strawberry Point, Iowa.

Can I vent for a minute please?

The Filth is not in the town of Strawberry Point itself, but the house. Now, let me explain our housing situation. Sean's company asked him to take this job in Iowa because they needed someone with his leadership experience. It is a one to one and a half year position. They offered to find us a house and pay the rent, or we could find a house and they would consider what of that they would pay. Rental housing is hard to find around here. The company found us a house in Oelwein, which is where Abraxis is, but we decided against it. The main reason being that that town has had a meth problem. I called a realtor and he found this house for us. The pictures online looked awesome. Farmhouse with a front and back porch. The right number of bedrooms, 3 car garage and Air Conditioning. When Sean was here in Iowa for work he walked through the house. He ran in and ran out.... just wanting to make sure that the house would work for us. The company signed the lease for us and we were set.

We drove into town last Saturday, the movers showed up an hour later. I walked into the house and it reeked like dog and urine. Every inch of this house was filthy and I just cried. Just walking through the house turned our feet black. I did not have time to get the house clean before the movers started bringing things in. I did not want anything of mine to touch any part of this house. I could not unpack anything in the kitchen because of food remnants, dirt and dog hair. I could not put anything in Braeden's room because of the smell of urine. There was dog hair on every surface. The amount of hair under the stove looked like 3 dead rats. The back of the dryer was solid hair... I still need to get behind the fridge. A thousand dollars in cleaning supplies, a carpet shampooer, vacuum, steam mop, a scrub brush and bruised knees, the stink of dog is just about gone. It took days to get the floors clean. I found that the bottom stair was where a dog lifted his leg one too many times. There is still dog hair. I think there will always be dog hair.

One week later and things are under control now. My parents, Mr. and Mrs. Clean, drove here all the way from California to help us out. They saved me since Sean had to work on Monday. My dad has spent a lot of time with the boys so that my mom and I can clean, unpack and do a little painting. They are always there when we need them :) Thanks M & D.

I promise that the next blogs will be on a happier note. Strawberry Point Iowa is an interesting place... from the small town to the neighbors to the grocery store and the farmers market. I am excited for the blogs to come.

On the Move

I guess I can call myself a Calicogeorkian.

California. When someone asks "Where are you from"? My answer is "well, we just moved from (enter state) but I am from California". You can't beat the endless days of sunshine, that is what I really miss the most. I am sure that my skin is thanking me for leaving for it has had it's share. California will always be home.

Colorado. Loved living there. Camping, hiking, running... it doesn't get any better than in the mountains of Colorado. It was my first taste of winter. I was so afraid I was going to freeze so I bought a massive down jacket from Cabella's... Can you say Michelin Man? Best memories of Colorado: meeting my best friend Melissa, building our first house, snow that fell like glitter, the view of Pikes Peak every day, being in the best shape of my life and a near head on collision with an Antelope.. while running. Two things I learned living there: if you slow down for a yellow light you will be rear ended and if you don't lift your wiper blades off your windshield, they will freeze. And if you try to lift them off, you will be buying new ones.

Georgia. Hmmmmm, what can I say about Georgia. Hot, humid, cockroaches, piss ants, did I say cockroaches? Living in Georgia was an experience, an experience that everyone should have. It was a little lonely since Sean was gone for most of the two years that we lived there but I tried to enjoy myself. I had fun working with the 'locals' and learning the lingo of the south. "Mash" the button, push the "buggy", put some "bulled" (boiled) peanuts in an ice cold can of RC cola. When we left there I was able to work a mean Georgia accent. We lived in a historic home on Fort Benning called a White Elephant. I planted a flower garden, I learned to decorate cakes, I heard the bugle calls when the flag was lowered at the end of the day, I could see the guys with their parachutes jumping from the towers at Airborne school. And best of all, I lived by the muddy Chattahoochee River made famous by Alan Jackson. Did I say humid?

New York. Beautiful... in the summer. We have visited Niagara Falls. We lived on an island in the middle of the Niagara River where we had a view of Canada. That was our flipper house... we will never do that again. We have had the experience to see Lake Erie and Lake Ontario, watch boats go through the Locks at the Erie Canal, see the gorge at Letchworth State Park. The winters here are way to long for us. It turns cold in October and lasts until June. The sun is non-existent. Those rare winter days that we did have sun, myself and the house plants would soak up every last ray. To sum up our time in New York: I have become proficient at shovelling snow, I have become an expert at driving in the snow and I have become a disliker of snow. The best discovery: White Pizza. My realization? A girl from California does not belong in Buffalo NY.

This Thursday the packers and movers come.

Hi ho hi ho, it's off to Iowa we go.

Strawberry Point Iowa. Home of the World's largest Strawberry.

Population in 2008 was 1,247.

I doubt it has changed much.

Coffee

Roswell Park Cancer Institute sold these mugs for $100 last December. When you purchase a mug, you get FREE Coffee refills anytime through December 31, 2010.

This mug was a gift to us and now I will pass that gift onto someone else, but you have to live here in Western New York.

If you would like to have this mug, leave me a comment. Tell me how you like to drink your coffee. I will randomly select a winner on Friday the 11th :)

Happy Coffee Drinking!!

You live where?

This is a sunrise picture taken out my back door. Just on the other side of the fence is Greg's U-Pick Berry Farm. Blueberries and Strawberries.

When I tell old friends that we live in New York, they automatically think New York City. We are far from the city, we are in Western New York (for a few more weeks anyway). Home of the Buffalo Wing and Niagara Falls. We are currently in a little hamlet called Clarence Center, population of about 2,000 people. Clarence Center has an intersection called "The Corners". Most of the buildings and homes around that corner date in the early 1800's. I love it! I couldn't leave without taking a few pictures.

It may be a little strange but I love old cemeteries.
Especially when American Flags show their glory over the final resting place of a Veteran.


I tried not to get too attached when we moved here since we knew we would not be here long. 5 years at the most. This weekend it will be 4 years. I find myself a little misty eyed when I am reminded that we are actually leaving. I have met a boatload of women that I call my friends. I joined Buffalo Mothers Group when Braeden was just 10 weeks old. Being a new mom in a new town, they were there for me. Through the poopy diapers, rashes and the "why won't my kid eat" issues. The memories that I have formed here will last a lifetime.

Our time here has been a whirlwind. Sean left the Army. We moved here from Georgia to an apartment in June 2006, Braeden was born Nov 2006, Bought a house April 2007 and ripped it apart. Worked on that house from April 07 to October 2009. That October Miles was born. Sold the house in two days but had months of issues with the buyer. Moved to the current duplex in December, just before Christmas. Since we have been in NY, I have packed and unpacked a total of 7 times. Two of those times I was pregnant. Sean has held 3 job titles (which is a good thing). We have traveled to Canada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Virginia... I think I'm forgetting one or two. We have been to Niagara Falls at least 7 times. It is a beautiful sight to see!

So now we are waiting (patiently) for the company to finalize housing for us in Iowa. Then we are excitingly off to our new adventure!

Ouchie!

Would you like some carrots and spring veggies with that bruise?

I know, you can hardly see it but it is there... above his right eye.

If you squint a little you can see that it is turning purple.

It just happened, Miles' first boo boo.

He was sitting at the sliding glass door watching Braeden out the screen.

He went forward and hit the track with his forehead.

My Poor Baby.

My Good Deed for the Day

Well, my good deed was on Friday. It all started because of this...


This United States flag. When Sean was in Iraq in 2003, he had all of the people in his unit sign this flag. I secretly sent it to my parents and they made a frame and placed the flag inside. That flag has hung on a wall in our house in Colorado, Georgia and here in New York. So, when we moved out of our apartment on Grand Island into our purchased flipper upper, we did not have room in our last load for that flag. Jim and Ruth MacDonald lived downstairs and we asked if they could store it in their garage until we could come back and get it. That was 3 years ago...

Jim is a Veteran. You will never see him without his Korea cap or an American flag pin on the lapel of his sports coat. If you give him more than 10 seconds he will tell you that he is still kicking at age 82, that he survived war and he is more than willing to lift his shirt and show the 4 bullet holes in his torso from when he was shot a few years ago working in an auto parts store. He is a survivor and proud of it!

On Friday I was running errands and thought I would stop by to see if I could get the flag since we are moving to Iowa in a few short weeks. There was no answer to my knock at the door but as I was about to leave, Jim pulled into his parking spot. It probably took him a minute to place me but as soon as I walked around to his window he was typical Jim. "Can you believe it! Someone stole my handicapped placard and the cane that was in my back seat. They also took a small DVD player. Who would do something like that"? We had some small talk and I let him know why I came by. As we headed to the garage across the parking lot, he was limping. He said he had gout in his ankle and now that his cane is gone he is much slower. I thanked him and apologized that we never came to get the flag sooner. We said our goodbyes and I drove off. As I was leaving the island I took a detour to the local pharmacy. I ran in and purchased a nice wooden cane, drove back over to the apartment and hung it on his doorknob. I did not want to have the conversation of "you did not need to do that.... can I pay you for it..." etc. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when he opened his door and found a cane hanging there. See ya Jim!