Ohio BMV OMG!!!  So exhausting.  Not lines, but having to go back three times with the proper official approved documents, so much bureaucracy!  It took hours to get it right.  Good thing we just happen to live down the street.  Expensive, too.

Next we went to the PO to find out where the hell our mail has gone.  The official change of address and date had been confirmed, but apparently our carrier didn’t get the memo, so it’s lost in limbo somewhere.

Then we set up our new credit union account.  That went more smoothly, though once again we had to go get more info and come back to complete the transaction.  So another hour or two of that.  We “unwound” by buying supplies at BB&B.

Tomorrow we have to go to Social Security and sort out all our various Ohio business there.  Hopefully it will proceed without a hitch.

I haven’t been home long enough to grab many photos, and the “wildlife” is pretty sparse around here.  Here’s Misu relaxing with “Skully” in my office, and a cute mantis on a trash bin.

This move has proceeded like a speeding freight train.  Amazingly, we just received word of our closing date about a week from now!  That’s fast, and a relief.  We’ve already made our rental car and motel reservations, and will take care of final TN business while there overnight.  That’ll be it for the third world of Tennessee.  It’s no utopia here in Ohio, but it’s already proving to be a relative improvement.  At least it functions better.

We’re still working our way through mountains of boxes, trying to be creative with squeezing it all into smaller spaces.  Did I mention we “downsized”?!  Right.

Here are some initial scenes of setting up shop, including E’s curio cabinet, our first Shabbat of sorts, and Misu’s new hangout.  I even managed to scrounge up some flowers outside.

Well, it’s been a long, grueling move, but we made it.  Hundreds (thousands?) of miles of round-trip commutes in a matter of days, loading and unloading, business to take care of (ongoing), all the while waiting on our house closing in TN…it’s been, uh, challenging.  At least we were able to time our trips to avoid the parking lot that is Cincinnati.  The bridge is still shrouded for repairs, and much of the route was a continuous construction site.

Misu was on drugs to relax her, but experienced some unpleasant anxiety-related symptoms at first.  Finally she settled down for the most part, and turned into a zombie.  Here she is being a doped-up stoner, poor thing!  All things considered, she was a real trooper, considering how traumatic and alien it all was for her.

Having finally gotten some sleep, we’re setting up shop.  This place needs some serious work, but it’s livable, and has two (2!) bathrooms and two (2!) offices, one for each of us!  Though I think Misu has appropriated mine.  Here she is going crazy over my incense bag, for some reason.

She has inspected and approved all the rooms and kitty amenities.  She especially likes the enclosed sunroom i.e her playroom, and the garage of the mysteries.  So many caves to explore!

Our time in Tennessee is drawing to a close.  Soon we’re going offline until we offload a truck in Ohio.  If they can’t provide us with our truck, we may have to make two back-to-back round trips, hundreds of miles each, with a cargo van, which would suck.  Hoping it won’t come to that.  Then another trip in the car with Misu.  Then repeat once more for the closing.  Anyway, talk to y’all on the other side.  Eventually we will get there!

I thought it would be fitting to go out with a few shots of empty rooms and boxes.  This house served us well, and we definitely left it in much better shape than we found it.  I wish the new owners many happy years here, surrounded by flowers and trees planted with love.

Today we had the buyers’ appraisal of the house.  The guy was an efficient measuring machine!  Everything appeared to be in order and went smoothly.  One step closer to closing!

Also today it finally dried up long enough between deluges to mow, perhaps for the last time.  After this we’ve paid our good neighbor to mow until closing.

We’re seriously in countdown mode.  Sunday our internet goes offline.  There will be radio silence until we offload in Ohio.  That is, if the rental truck comes through.  It seems a reservation made months ahead doesn’t necessarily guarantee the actual vehicle these days.  But I’m hoping for the best.

After several inches of rain in just the last few days, the flowers are really bursting back to life, and some hectic pollination is going on.  Almost every one of these had at least one visitor, sometimes two competing.

I thought I’d add a post showcasing some of the flower action in the “prairie” after all the rain.  The area is filled with goldenrod, pink and purple asters, black-eyed susans, purple coneflower, some milkweed, and the latest bloomer, purple ironweed (Vernonia).  There are some new volunteer flowers as well, not necessarily natives, but still pretty.  Lots of diverse pollinators are busy at work, as well as goldfinches feeding on the goldenrod.

It’s been raining for days, mostly due to a tropical storm or two coming up from the south.  We needed those several inches of rain badly, so no complaint here.  The garden and field had become a parched desert.  Now they’re looking alive again.  The “prairie” actually looks somewhat like one now, full of flowers.  As long as we can drive the big moving truck between downpours, we’ll be OK.

The packing process is down to tweaking and repacking to reduce the load to fit the truck.  Downsizing is good, but also complicated.  We’re navigating a labyrinth through constantly shifting mountains of boxes.  Times like this, I envy ancient indigenous people before the stupid white man arrived.  It wasn’t an easy life, but it was so much simpler to travel light and migrate.

These are our last few days in TN.  I have mixed feelings, but mostly I won’t miss it.  It served its purpose, and taught me some things.  At this stage in life, I’m just fortunate if I have a roof over my head and even a tiny garden.  Access to dwindling loved ones is a bonus.  I’ve adapted to worse, and will do it again.

Here are a few rainy flower scenes, heading into the final countdown.  On Sunday I’ll go offline until we get to Ohio.

One advantage of having had a couple of weeks between moving trips is having time to think of every little f***ing  mundane item to pack or do.  This may be the most OCD pack job I’ve done yet.  I’ve thought of almost every contingency, with corresponding lists.  And still I’m sure there will be pesky last minute scrambles, and items lost in the shuffle.  But hey, it’s all organized, somewhere!

Here are some of the latest bloomers in the garden.  I’m going to appreciate their appearances until the very last moment.  Taking nature breaks is what keeps me sane and sustained through upheavals.  Plants and animals calmly go through their processes and changes, adapting to all the toxic crap humans throw at them, and still manage to look unfazed and fabulous.

Misu is here to demonstrate how to totally relax, even as all her familiar, comfortable lounge furnishings are dwindling around her.  Only a cat can luxuriate this decadently anywhere and time.  She’s even snoring.

Here are a few flowers blooming around the house.

Still waiting…and changing our address on all our accounts.  We’re getting closer to the finish line.

Pollinators are busier than ever.  I’m glad I was able to accommodate them.

Did I imply I wasn’t going to plan another garden?  I lied.  I’m already plotting my next landscape designs, only this time in miniature.  A tiny yard can be as challenging as a huge one, maybe more so.  But having manageable soil will make all the difference.  I’ll finally be able to grow some of my favorite natives that wouldn’t grow here.  I guess it’s in my blood.