Bat Party

Bat Party

Please note…that Mom’s phone has been disconnected and now the only way to contact her is through Teresa’s cell. If you do not have Teresa’s number…email her at teresabuster@live.com and she will send it to you.

NOW…..

The Estate Sales are over. Yay!!!  We were quite successful at trimming down. Furniture was sold, knickknacks carted away, the RV was sold and the garage is cleared. We met a lot of nice people who were very pleasant and just a couple of lookieloos who would not have been missed. Overall it accomplished what needed to be done.

Roger and Elena came down for the weekend. Roger participated in the 2011 Tuna Tournament that helped support the Food Bank and he brought us home twelve pounds of fresh Albacore.  Teresa arrived home Saturday after working for the week in Phoenix.  We picked her up at the airport and joined Roger for a steak dinner following his tournament. We had a very nice evening laughing together and enjoying each others company.

Sunday after the meeting, Mom’s Congregation gave her a Going-Away Party. Roger and Elena joined us, as well as Ryan, Kaila, and their children. We all gathered at Lake Marie, where Roger barbecued the fresh Albacore…IT WAS DELICIOUS and everyone raved about how moist it was. Burgers and hot dogs were also cooked and everyone shared in the feast that everyone had contributed to. Elena, Teresa and I all collaborated on a fresh Peach Crisp that turned out really yummy and was received quite well at the party. Everyone enjoyed the afternoon immensely. Roger and Elena went home after giving Mom, Teresa and I really nice long hugs and promises to visit in Ventura soon. (THEY HAD BETTER).

Friends referred a really nice family to rent Mom’s house, so that is a big relief…and things have been moving along pretty smoothly. It’s kind of ironic how things have been falling into place.

Until today….

Today Mom, Teresa and I were running around like chickens with their heads chopped off. (Stop for a second, close your eyes and visualize that…got it?)

Our plan is to move on Saturday. The list of “must-dos” is incredibly long and we are going a little Bat-Crazy…as in literally. Now visualize this: bats have invaded the attic, so we were on a quest to find this special wire mesh to keep them out and of course no one had it. Finally, the seventh building supply place in Coo’s Bay had a suitable substitute. Teresa was ticked.

We also needed to get some paperwork done at the DMV … well it turns out the DMV does not handle what we needed anymore, so we had to contact another Governmental office … and you know how red tape goes….sticky, sticky. (Turns out it wasn’t so bad). More chickens running around took place.

So all in all, our errands took us to seven building supply stores, one lawyer’s office, the DMV, one office supply store, a pharmacy, two Dollar Stores and three grocery stores…and one stop at an automotive place for a battery for the Ford … and oh yeah … one stop for lunch and another later at McDonald’s for some sweet tea. That’s a heck of a lot of running around.  I think we finished our list for the day…Yay. Now there is the list for tomorrow, Thursday, Friday and we are off to Ventura on Saturday.

So, helpful friends from the Reedsport Congregation, (Mike, Brian, Sarah, and Jonathan) showed up to combat the bats tonight.  Chuck and Myriam Harvey & Larry brought some fantastic chili verde, spanish rice and beans…we contributed enchiladas and salad and wham bam we have a bat party, complete with cheesecake, with blackberries. The guys and Sarah got up on the roof and took off the ridge, let the bats fly away at dusk and then went back up and stapled down the elusive mesh.

Larry Fitz & Chuck Harvey

Myriam Harvey

 

Jonathan, Mike & Brian

Do yourself a favor and do not visualize the next few sentences. The wonderful volunteers reported that there was a plethora of bats who left a hefty residual of deposit material that Sara said smelled like stinky musky poo. Brian said it is not as potent as old cow manure in a pile, but like cow poo that has old straw on top of it. Mike says it smells like bat poo, just plain old bat poo, which has a distinctive smell all its own. Well…we are grateful that our friends are so willing to help…and that their sense of humor remained intact. Hopefully the bats will now fly far, far away and poo somewhere else.

Sarah & Mom

So instead of beavers and ducks today….we had headless chickens and bats. Now let’s hope tomorrow is a little less hairy. We are almost done packing and cleaning. Randy will be here on Friday to drive the Moving Van down to Ventura and we are leaving on Saturday.

In true Cook fashion…we are sure to have more stories coming your way.