Goodbye Huntsville

We woke up before six. There was no reason to get up so early, but we could not go back to sleep, so eventually we got up and showered. Chris went to find breakfast while I showered, dressed and exercised. I posted to Freecycle all the liquids and sprays and supplies that would be leftover. We packed and I grabbed my pillow. As we checked out, the clerk asked Chris if he spoke French. Then the two of them had a conversation in French until the desk phone rang. We went to Chris' car and drove back to the house. The light in the stairwell was on but I clearly remember Chris turning it off. Hmm. Everything else was as we had left it. I made breakfast and finished off all the liquid supplements even though there was plenty left. I started cleaning in the kitchen but soon moved to the hall bath. I scattered powdered cleanser on the tub and poured toilet bowl liquid in the toilet bowl. We had packed the tb brushes, so I put on a rubber glove and used a sponge. I was cleaning in the small bathroom when it was time to leave. We went to the Tuesday group to give Beverly the Texas license plate. Jane gave me one from Oregon. We had a good time talking to the ladies. Then we drove to the Asian store for one last package of kimbap. I wanted to say goodbye to the proprietress, but she wasn't there. So we told one of the clerks that we were moving to Korea tomorrow and she said she would pass on our goodbye. We went back to the house. I ate the kimbap and started cleaning again. Chris told me he wanted to leave by two and that came as a shock since I planned on cleaning all day. We settled on three. I called Denise and she came over for moral support. She also brought some tomatoes from her garden. We talked as I cleaned. I checked my e-mail several times to see if the Freecycle post had gone out and if there were any replies. Nope. I finished the bathrooms and turned my attention to the fridge. When Denise learned that I had intended to sell it, she and Chris posted it to Craig's list as a last ditch effort. I took some pics of it for the posting. She also called around to find someone to take the food and cleaning supplies. The local soup kitchen said they would take the cleaning supplies and unopened food. Denise took what she could use and said we might as well give them the rest of it and let them throw away what they did not want. We did throw out some stuff from the fridge and freezer. I kept some things to eat in the hotel room. Chris was able to upgrade my ticket to business class before he turned in the wifi equipment. I went around with a damp mop on all the floors upstairs. We did not get to the downstairs but it was swept out yesterday. Finally the last bits went into the trash or out in the carport. Chris left the keys on the counter since we could not get the agent to do a walkthru. We said goodbye to Denise who offered to deliver the food and supplies to the charity. Then we locked the doors and left. I started crying and then Chris did, too. He said 'But you didn't like this house' and I said 'It was never this clean.' We drove to the airport hotel. We carried one load in and went to the second floor of the airport to check in. Then we used our key cards to access the elevator's fifth floor. We discovered a nice big room waiting for us. Then we went back for the second load. On the way back we stopped at the luggage check-in to weigh the suitcases. Chris only weighed the two biggest ones and since they were only a little over 50 pounds, he figured the lighter ones were fine. We took them to our room. Then he left to drop off his car at someone's house. Josh met him there and drove him back to the hotel. Meanwhile, I figured out how to get my laptop on the hotel internet and wrote up notes for my blog. There were still no calls on the fridge at that time and the Freecycle post had gone to the list but not sent out so no one had seen it. Since the Freecycle items were no longer at the house, I sent a post to that effect. Chris arrived back from dropping off the car. We ate some of the food we brought from the house. Then our phones rang at the same time. He got a call from his mother, and I got a call about the fridge. Denise had offered to drive me back to the house if someone called, so I called her but she wasn't ready to go yet, and Chris wanted to get to bed early. So I tried calling the rental agency but there was no answer. We ended up sending them an e-mail with the man's contact information asking them to let him in and collect the payment. The outcome is in God's hands. As an afterthought, we e-mailed the man to see if he wanted the sleeper sofa as well. I repacked my suitcases and carryon to fit in as much as possible and protect the fragile stuff. That took quite some time. I was worried about the remaining food, but Chris said that it would go through security, just not into Korea, which means I can eat it in Dallas. Then I worried that my flute could get stolen from my suitcase. Chris managed to get it in my carryon. I cleaned all the non essentials out of my purse and put them in my suitcase so it too would fit in my carryon. Finally everything was in place and zipped or locked shut. Then Chris asked where we were going to put the clothes we wore today. I said I planned to throw mine away, having chosen them just for that purpose. Then I posted to my blog but was unable to upload a photo because of the suddenly slow internet speed - just like at the other hotel. I guess every one gets on the net at night. And we went to bed.