October Currently

Well, here we are a week before the election. The number of folks who have voted is off the charts. I think people are finally waking up and realizing they might have a say. Regardless of which side you fall, voting is a privilege and everyone should get out and do just that. 

Because everyone is likely tired of politics, let's do a "Currently" list for October. 

Loving: Fall. Fall is my favorite season. The colors that tend to explode here in the PNW is always so beautiful. In addition, I love to see everyone's photos from around the world of their beautiful fall weather. What is different this year is it's like we skipped fall and went directly into winter. It's been a cold couple of days. But I wouldn't expect anything less from 2020. 

Watching: I'm late to the game, but am binge watching Chicago PD. I stumbled onto it on day and watched several episodes in the middle of a season, then decided I needed to know what the heck was going on. So I started from the beginning. 

Listening: I've finally moved into my office in the new place. And by "office" I mean my scrapbook room. In unpacking, I specifically set it up so half my desk is work related and half is scrap related. Since I've moved up here, I've been listening to Pandora's Eagles Rock station. Basically 70's music. It really is less distracting to have music going in the background instead of the TV. 

Eating: New recipes. I had a goal of trying 100 new recipes this year. I just cooked my 87th recipe. 13 to go...I should have no problem hitting that between now and Dec 31st. We also just did the the annual Hunting Wives dinner - chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes&gravy, and corn. The usual suspects were here to enjoy it. One of the usual suspects suggested that we don't have to do this mean only once a year. I like the way she thinks. 

Drinking: Oddly, not wine. I've not unpacked the bar yet. Still waiting for it to show up this week. Instead, I've been a wee bit addicted to the Crystal Light Peach Ice Tea. Though I only really make one packet a week and when that's gone I do water. Lots and lots of water. 

Going: No where. We're still a bit locked down thanks to Covid. Though we did just take a brief trip south to visit some cousins, but that's it. No plans for travel. Which sucks really. I just hope we are in a good place to take our big trip next May. If you would have asked me in April when we were debating on whether we should go or not (ultimately it was decided for us), I would not have thought we'd still be in a position where we might not get to go. 

Reading: I'm not going to hit my goal of 15,000 pages (around 50 books). I think I wasted too much time watching TV while being locked down that I missed an opportunity to read. Still, I've kept up on all the book club books and have been able to read about 38 books so far this year. I mean, maybe I can get 12 in 9 weeks. I am taking time off in November and Dec. Huh? Maybe I can hit this goal after all. 

What I'm actually reading now is Notorious RBG. It's a book club book and I'm loving it. What hit me the most is how audacious she was in the 60's and 70's to have so much confidence to push against what was considered traditional woman roles. Man, she was something else. A true pioneer for woman rights (and men rights actually).

So there you go...all caught up.

Fun, Food, and Family

 Being in a new house I feel like I'm getting back into some of my more useful habits...you know, like sleeping in my bed (instead of the recliner), taking a shower in the morning, doing dishes before bed, etc. It feels good. It feels right. 

This weekend was busy and relaxing all at the same time. 

On Sunday, I focused on getting the scrapbook room/office unpacked and ready for use. The room faces south and has a big window. A ton of natural light and will make it my happy place. It feels bigger than the other room, even though it's technically smaller. I feel like everything has it's own place now, which makes a big difference. 

Standing at the door looking in. My desk fits nicely against the wall and window. 

A view from standing inside the room towards the desk.

Standing at my desk looking behind me. The colorful box on the floor is the "cat" box. Meaning Lucy has claimed it for her sleeping while I'm in the office. 

I'm really happy about how it all came together. The shelf with the crab wasn't in the last room and I think that shelf made all the difference. More flat space for my crap. The only thing missing now is photos on the wall. Those are on order and will be here soon. 

I also found my dining room table this weekend. I love the dining room here. It's bigger than the last one for sure. I'm still waiting for the bar I ordered to come in to finish unpacking that stuff (they say October 28th delivery). Once that's here and put together, then that'll be everything. I can then move all the boxes downstairs and make this place home. 

The Niece and the sister in law and I hopped in a car on Saturday and headed to visit some family in Lacey. Every year we say we're going to and every year goes by and we don't. So this year we purposely put it on the calendar. Because if it's not on the calendar it doesn't happen. 

On our way to see them we decided to stop at a Diner, Drive-Ins, and Dive location in Tacoma called Southern Kitchen. It's what you think it is...all southern, deep fried goodness. The place is definitely a dive, but a clean dive. The waiter was so happy and friendly. He was busy though as he was the only one. If you go and expect fast service, you will be disappointed. 

We ordered our sweet tea first...and MY GOD was it sweet. It was like drinking syrup. But man it was good. The next thing we know these little corn bread pancakes were delivered to our table. 

Now a little something about corn bread. Mrs. Braspir makes the corn bread in our family. She has a special pan that she swears by and a "special" recipe (it's not special it's a family joke now that she uses Jiffy). Her corn bread is the BOMB. It never occurred to me to EVER put corn bread in the form of a pancake...but y'all...it was sooo good. Crispy on both sides, fluffy in the middle...a little butter and orange marmalade ...man. So good. Mrs. Braspir will still hold the title, but she's got competition now. 

Next came our meal. Which after eating a corn bread pancake we knew we'd not finish. Sister in law had catfish, cornbread stuffing (that was dynamite!) and mac n cheese. The Niece had BBQ Brisket, mac n cheese and corn. I had fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy and corn. It was all delicious and, of course, way too much food. 

But we couldn't stop there. The waiter, bless him, told us what they had for dessert and one of the items was Peach Cobbler. Which is one of my all time favorites. So we ordered ONE to split between the three of us. We figured we'd have plenty of room for a couple of bites. Instead...THIS showed up. 

I wish I would have put a spoon in this photo for scale. Suffice it to say that's an entire serving bowl of peach cobbler! Ugh. We took half of it home. 

After gorging ourselves on southern food we headed off to visit the cousins. It was so good to get caught up with them. I used to see two of them every Christmas when I'd go to Tucson. But since I haven't been going to Tucson I've not been seeing them. They aren't getting any younger, and neither are we. 

We also got to see their daughter who made a pumpkin Bundt cake for us to share. I was sure we couldn't eat another thing, but when she said pumpkin, cream cheese and caramel...well, it'd be rude to  not at least taste it. 

The only other exciting thing that happened this weekend was the smoke detectors started chirping at 4am on Saturday. Why do they always go off at 4am? At any rate, I couldn't figure out why when I changed the battery it didn't stop chirping. So I left it until I could hear from the Property Manager. I posted on FB too and so many people told me I had to reset it. Finally, I got brave and hit the reset button for 15 seconds...which makes the alarm go off for 15 seconds ... and it worked. The cats were so far under the bed I didn't think I'd ever see them again. But oh...the fun of getting to know this place. 

Ok...that's it. I'm going to take my cup of coffee and head up to my new office space and get to work! 

It's kinda coming together...

It's been just over a week since I moved into the new place. The amount of boxes that came into this house left me doubting I'd ever see any dent.

Slowly, very slowly, boxes have been unpacked and taken out. I've had helpers for sure. Janet, Blueberry and the Niece have all put in plenty of time helping me unpack. 

The kitchen is 98% unpacked. There are still a couple of things on the counter I'm not sure what to do with. I suspect I'll just cram them into a cabinet and be done with it. I need to use the kitchen to determine if the stuff is in the right places. I'm sure I'll reorganize at some point. 

I've gotten in all the extra items I needed so I can unpack more. Bought a pantry and had it put together by a guy from Task Rabbit. What a great service that is! It has people willing to help you with just about anything...for a fee. 

Once the pantry got put together then I could unpack several boxes. Had to wait for new canisters to come in so I could finish it up. Now the coffee/pantry "nook" is ready to go. The boyfriend (the Keurig) awaits visitors. 

The Niece came over last night to help me put together the new shelves for the living room. She's a good kid and is always willing to help, so I take full advantage of it. It usually costs me dinner, though she often protests that. Yesterday it cost me frozen yogurt AND dinner. 

I got to thinking about the items I put on the shelf and why I chose to display them. Then I thought about how so many items I brought home from Mom's house had stories to them that I didn't know. I wanted to know why she bought some of the things she did. Where she bought them? Why did she buy them? What were her and dad doing when she bought them? I felt like she probably told me at some point, but I neglected to write them down, and or I wasn't paying close enough attention. 

So I thought it might be fun to talk about the items on this shelf. 

Top Shelf: 

• Photo of Mom: She had professional photos done in 2015 I think it was. Some person came to the Voyager offering to take photos of people and their pets. Mom jumped at the chance and got a great set of photos of her and Beau. She sent me this 8X10 and I had it up in the den at the old house. That is until mom passed. Then it became part of the downstairs. Now she's part of this house. I realized I need a photo of dad now too. I'll start searching for that as soon as I find my hard drive in some box upstairs. 
• The brass camels: Those guys came home with us from Saudi. Mom and dad had them in their houses in Washington. When they moved to Odessa mom was over them and gave them to me. Now they are on display from my friend The Pantry Goat to rearrange every time she's over. 
• The Pineapple: That is a gift from Queen PopUp. After our trip to SC where we learned a pineapple was left on a porch banister when the host was ready for people to leave, we joked about that being my signal to let people know Sunday Dinner was over. 
• The fake books and Tall box: No story at all. Just two items I liked the look of. 

Second Shelf:

• Blue Elephant: That little guy I bought in the airport in Barcelona. I thought it'd be a perfect gift for Blueberry (old college story about her soul animal being an elephant). Then when I got him home I realized I thought he was pretty cool and that I should keep him. Sorry Blueberry.
• Traveler's Notebooks: I've been converting my 12X12 albums to these little Traveler's Notebooks. I love how clean and organized they look on this shelf. One year is done in the wrong font...I'll need to fix that later. 
• Greek Vase: This was another treasure I brought home from Mom's house. And yet another item I have no idea what the story is behind it. I'm sure it was bought in Greece, but what island? 

Third Shelf:

• Purple bowl: That bowl sat in Mom's guest bathroom in their house in Catalina. I don't remember where it was displayed in the house in the Voyager, but I do know I brought it home from there. I always loved it. I think she bought it in Tubac, AZ, but I can't be sure. I remember seeing them there when she took me there one day to visit. It's a fun little artisan place where you can find some unique items for purchase.
• Stacked Camels: These little guys I bought on the Canary Island cruise Janet and I went on. These were bought on Lanzarote, Canary Islands. We stopped in a small gift shop area and I saw these guys and debated, then decided to buy them. They seemed like a grey souvenir for me. Unlike the blue elephant I never thought about buying them for anyone else. 

Bottom Shelf: 

• Owl: The owl is actually a coin holder too. I found him at a garage sale and for some reason decided I needed him. I brought him home, cleaned him up and started putting coins in him. He's not full and I have doubts he'll ever be full. 
• Travel Books: So my travel books. Every time I go somewhere I buy a book on the place. I love to look at them and see all the places I've been fortunate enough to visit.  And now as I look a them I can revisit the trips in my memories and plot where I want to visit again.
• Mojacar Vase: In the summer of 1986 Dad, Mom and I went to Spain. A friend of dad's had a little villa on the costal town of Mojacar and offered to us to stay in. We visited Madrid, Grenada, Sevilla and more while in Spain. But the little stay in Mojacar seemed to be one that I have some of the fondest memories. First, the beach was right there, so we could go layout all we wanted to.  Then there's the memory of dad finding this Rioja wine in a jug that was like 99cents. For the first time I tried red wine and loved it. 
• Aztec Mask: The mask was a gift from Blueberry after one of her trips to Cabo...I think. I can't think of any other trip to Mexico she's taken, so I'm sticking to Cabo. 

That's it. Aren't you glad you stuck around to the end. Now that I've wasted time typing all that out I think I need to go unpack another box. 

Move #28 in the bag

When I turned 40 I did a Trivia game at my 40th birthday. The winner would get a 5 course meal made by yours truly. One of the questions I had on the quiz was how many times I had moved in my life time. The answer was 27. Yes, in 40 years I had moved 27 times. I counted the moves back from college each year, I counted the move across town to a new apartment, and all the times we moved states/countries as I grew up. I have to admit, I was a bit stunned at the number. 

When I moved into the townhouse in Redmond, that was move #27. I figured I'd be there for a couple of years and I'd move on. That's what I do. That's what's in my blood. I swear somewhere in our family tree is a gypsy. I hadn't a clue in 2009 that I would stay there for almost 12 years (I count the year of 2009 because I moved in January). Go on...do the math..I do it with you...2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020. IF I made it to January 2021, that would be 12 years...so I'm rounding up. 

Now as I sit on my davenport (do people call it that now? My grandmother always called her couch the "davenport" and for some reason that word sticks in my noggin). Ahem... anyhow, as I sit her looking around the chaos that only a move after 12 years can bring, I realized this was move #28. 

As for the actual move...what a nightmare. Naturally, the well laid plan I had made (and the plan B I had made) didn't really come to fruition the way I had planned. Which I knew would happen. I couldn't stop thinking all day on Wednesday why I ever enjoyed moving. Yuck. 

My move window with the movers was from 8am-10am. I selected the morning time on purpose. I wanted to get it done then have the afternoon to start unpacking. I only took Wednesday off, so I had to work on Thursday. I got a call on Tuesday from the Movers confirming my window and did I have any last minute questions for me. Nope, I said, all is good.  They said the "team" would call when they left dispatch. 

On Wednesday at 8:05 I got a call from dispatch with a story to end all stories. The first issue is they would not be making it to my house until noon! NOON! The "team" didn't finish the job the night before and had one last run for the previous customers. All I could think of is, "this is my problem how?" I mean, I resource people all day every day. You have back ups. You have a second plan. Ugh.

Then about 10 the dispatcher called again. "You see", he said, "the last customer is a couple who's getting divorced and when the truck got there the two couldn't decide who was getting what, so they send the team away." And lucky me they were on their way to me, AFTER they came back to the office. So my new ETA was 12-12:30. 

I had reserved 3 guys and I got 2, so the move was going to take longer than anticipated. They estimated 6 hours. It took 4 hours to unload the old townhouse! I knew it would take the same amount of time to unload at the new place. 

One of the movers wasn't in the greatest of shape and was struggling with the stairs. It slowed them down a bit. At the end of the whole day, I was charged for 9 hours - apparently you have to pay for breaks and travel time. A very expensive day!

Since then I've been unpacking slowly. I've managed to throw my back out and so it's taking a bit longer. That and I needed to have my new pantry put together and other new furniture to arrive. I have a book shelf and and a bar that are still pending delivery. Once those are here and put together, I can finish up the unpacking. 

The demons are settling in well. There are some new noises that freak them out. Linus appears to be freaked out if ANYONE rings the doorbell and then comes in. He's very unsure about people it seems. Meanwhile, Lucy is in the middle of the fray and wants more attention than normal. 

This will be a good home for me. I'm looking forward to the memories that will be made here.