Nearing the end of all of this.

Today is the second day of the estate sale. Yesterday went pretty well, there's still some good items to sell today, including some big ticket items, but things are moving along. It's not as hard as Brooke and I thought it would be, maybe because we're so tired of going through everything.

I've decided to move back to Florida. I have some wonderful friends and family up here, and my aunt and uncle have been wonderful throughout this whole thing (we couldn't have done this without them), but I don't feel like this is where I belong. This is where I grew up, and I love Pleasanton, the Bay Area, and California, but this isn't home anymore.

Starting the end of this week or the beginning of next week, we'll be having the house touched up and staged, and the first (and hopefully only) open house will be the first weekend in March. While the house is being worked on, Brooke will be here at the house, and I'll be packing my stuff into a truck and moving it to a storage area in Florida (except for my furniture and essentials, which will be moved into my new home). If I'm needed back in California for anything, I'll fly back out here, but if I'm not, I'll be in Florida by the end of the month (I know, sooner than I expected too).

Some of you have met my friend John, he came out with me when I was moving my stuff back here from Florida, I'm pretty sure it was the middle of 2009 (_not_ the John that initially came out with me in the RV with his black lab Dudley). He lives in a two-bedroom place in Clearwater (in the Tampa area), and I'll be moving in with him, taking the second bedroom. He's a wonderful friend, has been support for me through all of this, and from what I've heard, all of you that have met him really like him, so I'll be in good, positive company, that will help keep me from falling into a funk again, which is something I really need. =)

We're all hoping for the house to sell relatively quickly, just so all of this can be over with and we can get on with our lives. I'll be kidnapping John and bringing him to Trinity with me at the end of May, and I'll be coming out probably every year to visit (I have some Christmas dishes I have to bring with me every year if I want my aunt's cooking... darn bribery *lol*), as well as other times of the year, but I'm looking forward to having my home again, not just a PO box and a place to store my stuff.

I'm keeping Mom's Facebook up, as well as mine, so if I don't update the blog as much (or at all), y'all can still keep in touch with us there. She's listed as Pat Mensing in Pleasanton, CA, and I'm listed as Olivia Mensing (in Pleasanton, CA, for now, then Clearwater, FL soon), so if I don't know you personally, just put a memo in the friend request that you followed the blog, and I'll be sure to add you.

God bless all of you for following along on this journey with us. It's been a hell of a 6+ years, and I know the next couple still won't be easy, but time will help heal the sharp pains, I hope.

We love you all, Mom, Brooke, and I.

Estate Sale

We set a date today for the estate sale. It will be February 11th & 12th, the second Friday and Saturday in February. We have a lot of work to do before the estate company comes in, but things are going faster than we thought they would.

Happy Birthday

Today is Mom's 60th birthday. She almost made it.

Service Slide Show

Thank you all that made it to Mom's service, we appreciated having you there. And those that weren't able to make it, don't worry about it, Mom knows you were there in spirit, and so do we.

I'm not sure what was going on with the slideshow when it was showing on the walls, it didn't glitch like that when we tested it, so here it is on YouTube.

I'll work on keeping up on this blog, letting you know what's going on with Brooke and I. Things are probably going to be a bit hectic over the next few months, with taking care of legal and financial stuff, as well as the house, but it'll just be a different kind of hectic. =)

Love y'all.

Obituary

Mom's obituary has been printed in the Tri-Valley Herald and the other papers in their news group. It has also been posted online: Pat's Obituary.

Memorial Service

Mom's memorial service is being held on Saturday, 12/11/10, at 11am PST. She's also having a simultaneous one held in Iowa at 11am CST

Mom wanted donations to go to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, and flowers are being provided by Bloomies on Main here in Pleasanton. Their number is 925-931-1290, and we're working with Sarah. Just let her know it's for the Mensing memorial, and she'll put together a beautiful coordinating arrangement.

Sorry folks, this is all the energy I have right now. I haven't slept much in the last couple months, and REALLY haven't slept much in the last couple weeks, so I'm running on average three to four hours a night... I'm an eight hour girl. I'm doing my best to just not get a cold. Love you all, love your support, we appreciate you more than you could know, and we look forward to seeing you next Saturday, even if it had to be under these circumstances.

Stories and Pictures

I'll elaborate on this post after I finish a few things that need to be done during business hours.

We're working on a slide show of pictures of Mom, and we're looking for your help. If you have digital pictures, email them to the celebrate_pat@yahoo.com email address, or if there's too many photos (absolutely nothing wrong with that, we'd love to have them), you can drop off a CD here at the house, I'll send you the address. If you have hard copy photos, and can't get them scanned, just drop them off here, and I'll scan them. I'll make sure they get returned to you in the same condition, I know just how precious hard copy photos can be.

Please make sure all hard copy photos are dropped off by Sunday, and all digital photos are in to me by Tuesday. This will give me time to go through them, edit, put them in a good order for the music they'll be going to. This meant a LOT LOT LOT to Mom, so it means a lot to Brooke and I. Please help us.

The second thing Mom REALLY wanted was stories. Memories you have of her, with her, etc. There may be an opportunity to say these at the service, there may not, we're not sure yet, but Brooke and I would love to have the memories of Mom for us, and to pass on to future generations. Again, please send those to the celebrate_pat@yahoo.com email.

Thank you.