Near the end of summer 2013, my old 1995 GMC pickup just quit working. I needed a truck to perform my Getaway Valet tasks. Plus, with a home and needing firewood and always working on projects, you have got to have a truck. Right, guys?

So, in August 2013 Sharon and I decided to bite the bullet and buy a new Toyota Tacoma pickup. We hadn’t had a new vehicle or a car note in umpteen years – now we did. But at least most of it could be expensed out through the businesses.

Now we’re departing for a new life in St. Thomas for a year and who knows where we’ll be after this gig. We don’t need the truck any longer. Need to sell it. So we created a flier, sent it out to friends and family and their networks. Also placed an ad in Auto Trader. Guess our “luck card” hasn’t run out yet … had a buyer from Auto Trader in a week of placing the ad. Cash money. And got the price we were asking that paid off the note. Toyota Tacoma gone and another hurdle out of the way.

Now we need someone to take over our Getaway Valet business. Lucky us … again. One of our neighbors we’ve know for a few years is retired from the military and U.S.P.S., is young, healthy, and looking for a business that’s not full-time and will bring in a little extra cash. We offer him the business. He decides to take it over. After a little training and learning what each existing client requires to be happy, he’s now on his way to growing a nice little business in Blue Ridge. Good luck, Mark! You will do fine!

About all that is left to do now is pack up our personal stuff to get it out of the way for the new renters coming when we depart. Sharon’s current office becomes the personal storage locker. It’s also a great time to purge and get rid of stuff we just don’t use or need any longer. Purging is good. Purging is fun. Purging makes us feel good. Purging is good for the local thrift stores (and relatives and friends who want our stuff – LOL).