Adventures In The Pocono Mountains

 

Day 0:  Up around 4 and out the door slightly after 7.  Stop at Wawa for a half a soft pretzel and diet peach iced tea.  Pretzel isn't opened until 40 or so minutes later when we hit the last rest stop in NJ. (Because I cannot leave the state without going to the ladies’ room at least once.)  Arrive at the house and walk through.  Everything that I should be paying attention to or looking for, I don't.  I'm too overwhelmed. I spot a hummingbird in the garden and hear a rooster crow somewhere in the neighborhood. Sign some paperwork.  Hand over a check for an obscene amount of money.  (Of course I'm old so, I still think $20 is a lot of money and $100 is a pick deal.)  Head back to the house and unload the car.  

Seems like the owners had never (or rarely) opened the windows.  We're in the mountains.  It's warmish out.  Open the windows and let the mountain air!  The owners had a dog, so I need to get the ducts cleaned.  Had arranged for it today, but the HVAC guy gets a flat and it's rescheduled for tomorrow.  I think I can smell dog, so I use some Lysol spray and hope for the best.

The koi pond skimmer has not been cleaned in several days so I know I need to take care of it.  But I am short and leaning over to grab it and pull it out is not as easy as I thought.  (It also didn't help that I was wearing sandals and not sneakers).  In the process of pulling it out, I get flecks of fish poo all over me.  Then when I tried to use the hose (which I had to hunt for), there's no water.  I went to the connection and it seemed to be on.  I know I am missing something, but I am too frustrated to figure it out.  I end up filling a watering can and cleaning it that way.  It works but not well and I only get wet in the process.  Finally my husband figures out the issue and I hose it down...getting wetter in the process.  

Midday, we go to the local grocery store to get something for my husband to drink.  (I'm still working on my iced tea and pretzel.)  Then we headed to the post office to find out about mail delivery.  We were under the impression that we needed to rent a PO box, but the woman at the counter thinks that if a box were put up at the end of the drive that it would be delivered.  Her manager calls later to confirm that, but I'm still not convinced...there are no mailboxes on the short bit of road (or is it drive...or maybe even lane?)  Am I going to invest in this only to never get anything delivered?

We do some more unpacking and then shut up the house (leaving the windows open slightly for some air).  We headed back to NJ to pack up more stuff and have dinner (leftovers from the night before) and tried to sleep. 

Day 1:  Pick up  scheduled for 6:30.  We were up way before.  I knew I would need to eat something beforehand so I went and got a bagel but couldn't eat the whole thing (a first for me).  Our scheduled pick up went quickly and without any issues.  (When does that ever happen?  Why can't everything be like this?)  We were on the road around 7!

Traffic was surprisingly light.  As we neared our destination, I ended up behind a HVAC van.  I knew it had to be heading to the house as the ducts needed to be cleaned.  (Ductwork should be cleaned at least every couple of years and this home had NEVER had them cleaned.)  We did manage to get to our destination BEFORE the technician, but we weren't in the house for 10 minutes before he was, as well as the van with our stuff showed up.  CHAOS!  We were unpacking things; stuff was being brought in and cleaning equipment with wires everywhere.  Sounds like a great time to do a load of laundry, right?  I've never used a front load machine and I wasn't sure how it worked.  The manual doesn't show where to load the detergent.  So I went online and found instructions and tried to follow them .  I carefully put in the recommended type of detergent and in the softener section I put some laundry sanitizer  (just a little).  I set the machine and let it go.  A half an hour later (give or take), it was displaying "SUDS", but I didn't see any suds.  I Googled the error; I couldn't figure out what to do.  It seemed to run and then stop and then run.  I decided to just let it go and hope for the best.  Several hours later (I have no idea how long this went on), the machine played a little tune and let me know it was finished.  The sheets were sopping wet.  I decided to wring them out over the utility sink and then throw them in the dryer.  Somehow, miraculously, they got dry on the first run.  I'm not sold on front load washers.  (Anyone with hints?)

Once everyone cleared out of the house and we had unpacked most of our stuff  (and my hubby stopped throwing up...yes breakfast didn't agree with him and he "christened" 2 out of 3  bathrooms), we headed to Walmart and ShopRite to pick up a few things...Yes, late on a Friday afternoon during a holiday weekend we headed into these stores.  Yes, it was crazy.  But we got it done. (And got home before hubby threw up again; using bathroom #3.)

We crashed early that night, to say we were exhausted would be an understatement.  However, neither of us slept well.  Hubby was still not feeling well and was sore.  I was anxious (because hubby wasn't well) and overwhelmed by all the chaos of the day.  Exhaustion does not always lead to sleep.

Day 2:  Up way too early with lots of tasks to accomplish.  Hubby used the built in coffee/cappuccino/espresso maker to try and make coffee.  Somehow it makes two servings, so he has to pull his mug out and I have to slide mine in quickly to avoid making a mess.  (Note:  didn't work too well.) Why it came out slightly frothy (when we put no milk in) is a mystery.  He added  half and half and isn't thrilled.  I thew in some pumpkin spice creamer (it is Labor Day weekend so it's okay) and enjoyed it.  We need to figure all of this out.  (Note:  We still haven't and are determined to do so as well as purchase some Dunkin Donuts coffee beans.)

We decided to check out the 6-burner stove, turning each one on one by one.  Only one problem.  After we turn them off, the igniter for all 6 keeps clicking.  I'm in a panic and trying to figure out how to stop this. Tried searching online, but the answers didn't seem to help.  (They were all for 1 burner).  Finally, my (brilliant) husband goes down to the basement and starts turning off the breakers.  As he clicks one, I shout "no," and then another "No" and another "NO!" until finally hits the right one and the clicking stops.  He turns it back on and we are in a good place.  Whew.

Hubby got to work on figuring out the entertainment system in the family room and I had to run to the UPS store.  (Which I wanted to do first thing due to holiday traffic.)  I take care of my errand and headed back, stopping at Dollar General to pick up one thing.  Well, you know how that goes, right?  $25 later!  When I get back hubby is still working on the entertainment system.  He spends the rest of the day doing that while I spend the rest of the day continuing to unpack and organize.  (And break an antique teacup...I'm heartbroken.  There were 4 cups and about 12 saucers so maybe I shouldn't feel so bad?)  

I forced my husband to stop working around 4 to take a break.  We go for a drive up to one of our favorite places  (you can guess where) and see one of my favorite people (who shall remain nameless...he knows).  We took a few minutes to catch up and try to relax before we decided to head back as it began to rain.  We did a quick stop at a liquor store and to pick up some groceries for the evening.  (Heat and eat because we were too tired to do much else.)  We ate (hubby tossed his cookies again) and then we crashed.

Three days and we were done in...Day 3 was just around the corner with hopes of better weather. (It rained every day thus far.)  Our hopes were dashed as the rain came down, down, down.  So it was more puttering around the house and running a few errands.  (Because no matter where you are, there are always errands to run.)

Day 4:  Labor Day and I am not planning on laboring.  It was chilly in the morning, but the sun was out!  HURRAH!   Finally able to really sit outside and relax.  (Do I know how to do that?  Not really, but I try.  Is relaxing something you should have to try to do?  Shouldn't you just do it?)  I soaked up the sun, read a book and even took a walk around the neighborhood. 

(Which I wish I could have done every day, but with the weather...my walking this summer has not been what I would like it to have been.  Too much hot and humid or wet weather.)  Temperatures dip as the sun goes down, fall seems to have arrived rather suddenly.

And so our "Labor Day Weekend vacation" comes to an end.  Was it really a vacation?  Not in the typical sense.  But it was an adventure.  And more adventures are around the corner. However, for now, it's back to work (and back to school).  Take care. Drive with care.  And no matter where you are, remember that the double yellow line on the road means no passing.  (Yes, for everybody.)  

Enjoy the short week.  (Is it really going to feel short? Being on "vacation" for 2-1/2 days I think not!)