Spring is my favorite season. Not only does it bring warmer weather, but it means the appearance of bluebonnets, one of my favorite flowers. Every time I see a patch of them on the side of the road, it brings a smile to my face. Unfortunately, we don’t have a lot of them in the town where I live. But when we had to travel last week, we saw one large field of bluebonnets, and it was absolutely beautiful. I wish I had been able to take a photo of it to share with you all. There’s something about the bright blue against the green grass that makes my heart happy.
This spring, however, doesn’t just bring new life. It’s also bringing in a whole host of new changes for our family. We’re moving to the beautiful Texas Hill Country. Not only is that area green, but this time of the year, bluebonnets are growing everywhere. I’m looking forward to all of the photography opportunities that will bring. I’m also excited about the possibility of fireflies. We’ve been camping a short ways from the town we’re moving to, and we saw fireflies in the late spring/early summer. Fireflies have always fascinated me.
Meanwhile, I’ve been packing like a madwoman and trying to hold onto my sanity. lol It’s been a few years since the last time we moved. If you have any hints or tips, I’d love to hear them!
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Melanie D. Snitker is a USA Today Bestselling Author who writes inspirational and sweet romance novels. She and her husband live in the beautiful Texas Hill Country with their two children who keep their lives full of adventure. They share their home with two dogs, a guinea pig, two lizards, and four frogs. In her spare time, Melanie enjoys photography, reading, baking, computer games, and hanging out with family and friends.
Hi Melanie and Happy Friday the 13th. The weather is finally warmer in the Midwest and I am listening to a happy bird chirping this early morning. By thoughts are with you and your move. I have moved 20 times in my life. My first move was when my parents moved from Germany to the USA in 1955. I was five. We arrived with 2 suitcases and 2 crates. Twice I moved over state lines from Michigan to Illinois and back again. Several times I moved twice within a year. My tips on moving are: 1. Moving is a great time to purge. 2. Label boxes on the sides with room and major content. 3. I used linens as cushioning material for fragile items. Saves on buying packing material. 4. Cheap paper towels make good packing for dishes and you can reuse it. 5. I never emptied and packed up drawers – that is too much work. To move a dresser, easier to take out drawers to move and place drawers back in. Also placed dresser top items in drawers, clothes are great cushions. 6. I purchased at least one large wardrobe box for coats and Sunday clothes. 7. Large garbage bags are cheaper than boxes and good for blankets, closet items. 8. Depending on the length of move, I never emptied my freezer. 9. I had the movers immediately put labeled boxes in the proper room stacked nicely against a wall. Then had a designated spot for miscellaneous boxes (the basement or garage). 10. Kitchen / bathroom / bed linens items I need immediately, I moved in the car. 11. The beds were the first thing to be assembled. 12. Bathroom / Kitchen / Kids rooms were unpacked first. – Hope these tips are helpful. Moving is definitely stressful. Hope you can enjoy the bluebonnets. I appreciate in Michigan one road trips, one can enjoy flowers all spring and summer. First the daffodils, then flax, then daylillies and black eyed susans. Makes trips visually pleasing to the eye. Best wishes. Safe move.
I don’t have any tips that Renate didn’t cover. Wishing you the best as you make this big move.
Best wishes on your move.
Good Luck on the move. I love the idea of moving to a new place but packing makes it so discouraging. I love reading books with “a marriage of convenience” theme. I will be sure to add it to my ‘to be read’ list.
We used to move a lot (12 moves in 20 years), but have been parked in the same place for 17 years now. Still seems strange!
Renate’s got a lot of good tips! I’ll add that we have a bunch of smallish wooden bookcases. I laid those on their backs in the back of the SUV (on top of boxes) and in protected places in the moving truck with my plants wedged in them, and some other very fragile things carefully wrapped and placed in those protected nooks.
Happy friday. i wish you and yours all the best of luck in your move.
Valerie! We have been in the same place for 18 years. At my age not sure I want to move again, it would get me to purge! Great idea about the book cases.
Hey Melanie, I married a Texan. He has family in the tiny town of Medina in Texas Hill Country. We’ve visited countless times, but never caught the bluebonnets. We usually go at spring break which is mid-March, mid-summer, Thanksgiving, or Christmas. I’ve heard so much about them. One of these days I’m going to catch them blooming.
Wow, Renate, you’ve moved a lot. Thank you for so many great tips and tricks. I appreciate that so much! We’re taking a load of things down this weekend, and among those are some of the things you mentioned about needing things right away. Yes, moving is stressful. At least we’re managing to keep things somewhat organized, and my husband is amazing. We’re both organized people, so that helps. I’m hoping to get photos of bluebonnets on the way there or back. All of the flowers you mentioned sound beautiful!!
Thank you, Kimberly!
I appreciate that, Lucy, thank you!
Thank you!
Yes, moving to a new place is great, if we could just wrinkle our noses and have everything magically appear at our destination lol
Great suggestions, Valerie, thank you! We were in one place for nearly 13 years. Since then, this will be our third move in six years. so it could be worse. At most, we hope to move one last time from our rental into a house we own, and then plan to be there until our daughter is grown.
Thank you, Lori. Happy Friday to you, too!
You’ll definitely have to catch them blooming. Sounds like you just barely miss them when you go in mid-March. They usually appear that last week of March to the first week of April. They really are beautiful! That’s wonderful you get to visit your husband’s family in Medina regularly!
I hope you have a good move, Melanie. I’ve moved a lot but mostly in my younger days when I didn’t have much to move. You’ve gotten some great tips. When we built the house we’re in, we moved and unpacked the kitchen a few days before our actual move. We found this tremendously helpful but I know it’s often not possible for some moves. Ours was only a 45 minute drive. We unpacked everything immediately since we’re both retired. I’m embarrassed to say though that we still haven’t hung all our pictures and none of my quilts that I want hung. After all, it’s not been quite 2 years yet. (blushing)
I hope your move goes smoothly and that you don’t lose your sanity in the process!