It all started with a tiny little classified ad for a garage sale of all things in the Casper Star-Tribune on Thursday, June 12, 2008.

It ended - or began again as I prefer to characterize it - on Thursday, Aug. 14, 2008, when I officially moved five zip codes to the east.

Am I keeping my job? Of course.

Am I "leaving?" Depends on what it is you're asking about.

I'm leaving a gigantic, thirsty lawn I've never liked to mow and don't know how to make look good. The neighbors deserve better.

I'm leaving great neighbors, the world's best newspaper carrier, and the only house Mouse ever lived in - until she moved out in May.

Did I really plan to do what I did? Perhaps, sometime, maybe.

But the thought that I could actually do this in eight weeks' time - and not lose either the friend or my sanity in the process - is really truly amazing. Of course, we did "lose" the dog, but he's been rescued - again - after discovering a hole only a 12-pound fluff ball could fit through in the friend's fence.

Am I getting married? Nope. But there is something to be said for his and hers residences, especially when one sleeps at night and one sleeps during the day, and this is the absolutely perfect living arrangement.

So what's it take for a single woman with a ton of debt and absolutely no financial savvy to sell - and buy - real estate today?

It's so simple it hurts to hear horror stories others have had. It takes great people. And I found three. And I'll never forget them.

When I saw that classified ad for the garage sale, it was in a development I had long teased the friend about wanting to explore. Then, however, he thought my musings were just that, because Mouse was firmly entrenched in school.

When I called him on June 12 to ask if he knew who lived where the garage sale was being held, he inquired why. Turns out, that was a life-changing mistake on his part.

Calling a realtor I had never met was not that scary after she said, "Everybody knows you, Sally Ann."

When I asked the realtor to keep me in mind for that development, never did I ever dream she'd call 11 days later - just before the trip to Green Bay that was consuming my one-track brain at the time.

First time I walked in, I knew it was for me, from the brown paint in the bathroom that will look fabulous with gold towels (brown and gold, who'd have thought?) to the blue paint in the master bedroom, which is perfect for a girly-girl but not the cotton candy pink or lemon I might have ill-advisedly chosen if I'd had the chance.

We're hoping the fence around the mini yard is dog-proof and have new tags with updated info just in case.

So then the lending was an issue, and that was not actually as scary, because they either say "yes" or "no." Period. And they said "yes." And gave me some financial stability in the process.

And then there was the other realtor, the one who looked at me and told me my house, with all of its numerous difficulties, was "sellable." And then when the only hiccup of the whole entire process happened, he was right there, with a solution when I needed it the most.

And all of them - the big three and all of the other players in the drama - will never, ever know what they have done for me.

Here's to new beginnings.

Community News editor Sally Ann Shurmur can be reached at (307) 266-0520 or sallyann.shurmur@trib.com.