Survived!

I feel like I need a t-shirt that says "I survived the Great Heat Wave of 2021". I've been through heat before, I mean I lived in Saudi Arabia...but to do that without AC...? It was hot.

The heat wave really started on Friday. It got into the 90's for me. The house got to the low 80's. Which isn't bad, except it never cooled off. Usually the temps drop in the evening and it allows the house to cool off. But for 3 days it never did. It rarely got below 80 at night. 

Each consecutive day it got hotter and hotter. Culminating in 109 on Monday June 28th according to the news. My phone said 106, which is still hot as hell. The house was 95 that day. And I thought I was going to suffocate with all the stagnant air in the house. 

I had fans. In fact, I have a fan that sends out "cool" air usually. It was not able to keep up. I had two box fans and my cooling fan pointing right at me and that's the only way I survived it. 

The cats just melted. I would put a wet, cool towel on them once in a while. They found themselves in front of the fans just as much as I was. The amount of fur dropping off these two was enough to make at least 4 other cats. 

One of the hacks that seemed to work a little was the bowl of ice in front of a fan. It "worked" but it certainly was no AC. And I ran out of ice. 

I know I had it better than some in the Seattle area. Some cities hitting 111 or higher. No thanks. 

Since this heat wave, I finally caved and bought an portable AC unit. I can promise now we'll never hit those temps again since I now have an AC. That's how it goes it seems. Although, the science people have said this high temp thing is going to happen more and more. Oh goody. 

Family and most friends survived just fine. Blueberry lives on a third floor condo and her place was so hot her fluffy cat started panting. Cats don't pant unless it's really bad. She was able to take them into her car and cool them off again. She too has bought an AC unit. She'll use hers for sure. 

In other news, we're completely open from Covid. Yipee! It feels weird after 16 months of wearing a mask. Now the big debate is whether we need a booster. Pfizer is saying yes, where as the CDC and WHO says no. Me thinks Pfizer wants more $$. 

Oregon Coast or Bust

 Sister in Law Janet and I took off to the beautiful Oregon Coast last Saturday. Janet had found some deal for us to stay in Lincoln City and we figured we'd make a looonngg weekend of it. 

Saturday, June 19th

Up bright and early this morning to head to Lake City to pick up Janet and then we're off to Lincoln City, OR. The plan is to go half way and stay in McMinnville, OR. Along the way we thought we'd stop in Portland for lunch and a little break. 

The sun was out and the top was down. It got HOT in Portland, but we survived. After Gladys (my navigation unit) got us slightly lost trying to find a restaurant we were going to have lunch at, we decided to try another restaurant. Downtown Portland was PACKED with people. Everyone out enjoying the sunshine. I had to pee like mad, so we found a public parking lot. Parked. Then the first restaurant we saw we ate at. Turned out to be quite good. Had a Bison burger that had a Bourbon bacon jam on it that was to die for. Little did I know that would be the start of the good food we ate all weekend. 

Refreshed and ready to go, back in the car and off to McMinnville. We took the back roads, avoiding the freeway whenever we could. Along the route we saw some beautiful scenery. The Willamette Valley is famous for wine these days, specifically Pinot Noirs. I haven't had very many Pinot Noirs and was looking forward to tasting what Oregon had to offer. 

As we drove along the highway we kept seeing winery after winery after winery. I had no idea Oregon had such a wine scene. Turns out there are 800 wineries in the Willamette Valley. That's a lotta wine. 

By the time we hit McMinnville we were about to be late for our first wine tasting. See most the wine tasting rooms require reservations - which we found odd, but whatever. We only made one reservation for the first day and figured we'd just wing it. 

Our first winery was R. Stuart. They focus on Pinot Noirs - shocking, and some bubbly wines. Janet and I both had two different flights. I chose to have the summer flight which was mostly whites (which I rarely drink) and two bubbly wines. All of them were super crisp and pretty refreshing. 

Our next stop was a wine bar that focused on all different types of wineries. Pinot Vina was a fun, comfortable little bar. There was a guy on guitar singing all the tunes from the 70s that I love. And the wine. Oh boy was the wine good. 

But wait, we learned something too in the winery. We made a comment about the glasses that had been used in the previous winery and how odd it was its in this winery too. Apparently these wine glasses were created specifically for Pinot Noir in that area. Odd in and of itself. But wait...there's more. They said that a full bottle of wine could fit in these glasses. Neither Janet nor I could believe that. So "Bill" the guy pouring our wine showed us. And I'll be darn if a full bottle of wine didn't fit in that glass, with a little room to spare. 

Ahem. Anyhow, I walked away with two bottles of wine from there. The Oregon Coast "collection" has started. 

We checked ourselves in to our hotel and then headed out to find dinner. We found a fun little Mexican place and filled our tummies with glorious Mexican food. 

Sunday, June 20

Up early-ish and out the door to find breakfast and then some wine to drink. We found ourselves in downtown McMinnville again - I mean, it's where the action is. McMinnville has shut down one of their main roads and allow only pedestrian traffic. It's such a good idea and really helped the tasting rooms, restaurants and other businesses along 3rd Street. 

Breakfast was at McMenamins. We had time to kill before our first wine tasting reservation at noon. After breakfast we walked the street to see what McMinnville had to offer. It was sunny and beautiful out again and it was nice to get out and walk. 

Our first winery of the day was called Terra Vina. As soon as we sat down the wine pourer told us that if we were looking for Pinot Noirs we would not find them there. They focused on BIG, BOLD red wines. I think I found my heaven. We assured her we'd be fine with whatever Big, Bold wines she poured us. 

And boy were we happy. Some delicious wines here. Bought a couple more bottles to bring home. The wine pourer was so fun to talk to. She had 30 years experience and was full of fun stories.

Our next winery was Willamette Valley Winery. None of their wines were overly thrilling. They were just ok. After we drank our flight, the wine steward brought us a taste of their Riesling. It was delicious.

A VERY late lunch, or early dinner at a Mexican place and we were off to the coast. 

Monday, June 21st

We stayed at a place called the Shalishan Resort. Great room. It's on the south side of Lincoln City closer to Gleneden Beach. It was a nice, woodsy place to stay. 

Our first stop today was breakfast. We took our time getting out of the room in the morning so it was a LATE breakfast. We stopped at a place called Otis Cafe. It was one of the top 10 breakfast places in Lincoln City so we thought we'd give it a try. 

Y'all...it was so good. HOMEMADE chicken fried steak, not that frozen crap people pass off as "chicken fried steak". But the best part was the unique breads they made. Your toast options were not the normal white, wheat etc. No. They were HOMEMADE Molasses or Pumpkin or Sourdough. They said we could split the toast so do a half and half. I originally said I'd do the Molasses and Sourdough then got the stink eye from Janet so switched to the Pumpkin. It did not disappoint. In fact, I bought a loaf and brought it home. Also bought a bag of their housemade seasoning that was on the table. I can see it on just about anything. 

After breakfast we hit the road. North towards Tillamook for ice cream was the plan for the day. 

The Oregon coast is beautiful The road was windy and the sun was out. It was a great day. 

We stopped at Tillamook to see a guy about ice cream. The place was packed. We swung around the big line for people wanting to see the factory and bellied right on up to order ice cream. We had our picks in mind, and yet...when we got to the front of the line I spotted a CHOCOLATE FLIGHT! WHA??? So we switched and went with that one. It contained our favorites; Chocolate & Peanut Butter, Udderly Chocolate, and Mudslide. MMMM

After polishing that off, we went in search of photograph cheese curds (I should mention I did a photo scavenger hunt for this trip - Tillamook Mudslide Ice cream and me eating it was one of the items). Once inside the store, Janet realized we could waltz on up to the "tour" which was a do it yourself type. So we peeked into how cheese is made. 

After Tillamook, we kept heading North. Our main goal was really nothing. We ended up at Canon Beach though. Stopping for any view points and cute little towns along the way. We took some photos in front of Haystack Rock and wrote our name in the sand. From there we hopped back in the car and headed back to Lincoln City.

On our way back down we stopped at two wineries; the Nehalem Bay Winery and the Blue Heron Wine and French Cheese stop. The latter was super misleading. I thought I'd get wine with french cheese. Not true. You got wine to taste and if you wanted, you could buy some cheese.

Because we had a late breakfast, we skipped lunch. I had a hankering for fish and chips. We found this fun little restaurant called Pub & Fish. Super fast service and REALLY good fish and chips. 

Tuesday, June 22nd

Today we headed South towards Newport. This part of the Oregon Coast is absolutely gorgeous. We stopped in Depoe Bay to buy taffy for Sherrie and while there walked in and out of all the fun shops there. 

Further down the coast we stopped at Cape Foulweather and watched for whales. Saw none, but did see some beautiful beach landscape. 

Slightly down from Cape Foulweather we took a road to Otter Rock. It was a one way, windy road through thick trees. It was beautiful. It spit us out at a look out and the Devil's Punchbowl. It's a rock formation that when the waves hit it inside it, they churn like the devil. 

We tasted wine at a small winery called the Flying Dutchman Winery. Mostly gross wine, but their cab was tasty. 

Back in the car we headed a bit further south to the Sea Lion Caves just to see them. Turns out there's a fee to see them. Nope. Not that interested. 

We ate dinner at the resort. Janet had $75 credit to use so we figured why not. It was surprisingly good. The best part really was dessert. It was a Stout Brownie. Oh man...they warmed it up and it was all ooey and gooey...so good. 

Wednesday, June 23rd

Homeward bound. We wanted to get an early start today to get home. We hit Starbucks on the way out of Lincoln City. We drove up to Astoria and then over to I5 on the Oregon side.

All in all it was a fun weekend. Tons of good food and laughter. The Oregon Coast is beautiful and a place I'd love to see again.

June comes rushing in...

As I was driving home from book club last night I was thinking how crazy it is that it's June. Time does fly and it is definitely getting faster. I pulled over last night at the top of a hill and just sat for a minute and watched the sunset. I rarely slow down long enough to do that. It makes me want to do it more. To sit and just reflect on the moment. Not think about the past, or put together some list for the next few days, or worry about a work assignment that's not done. No. Just sit. 

I sat and just focused on my senses. I sat and listened to the sounds. A dog barking, a bird chirping, some other sound I couldn't recognize. A sneeze in some house near by. A loud car driving by. I noticed the breeze blowing across my face (the top was down in the car...). The smell of cut trees or wood. 

I only sat for about 5 minutes or so. It was refreshing and oddly it re-energized me a bit. I made a mental note to do this more often. 

Other exciting things happening...

Work continues to be work. Learning a new job at a new company remotely is a challenge, but fun all the same. I was ready for a new challenge. And it's really hard to believe that Monday May 31st was our 90th day! Three months went by in a blink of an eye. 

The area is opening up more and more now that more folks are vaccinated. I've noticed places like Starbucks and Mod Pizza have no signs about wearing masks. Then this week the gym made masks optional. Whoa. I'll admit I'm not sad to see those masks go away. Especially at the gym. 

There's still a bit of caution I feel because of the variants out there. But I think I've finally just decided that if I get sick, then so be it. The vaccine will at least keep me from being hospitalized...or so they say.

I have a feeling summer is going to roar in and out and we'll be welcoming the fall in no time. I'm determined to enjoy this summer. After last summer where we couldn't do anything, I think I need it. 

So Much Change...

It's amazing what can happen in a month. Just when you think your life is on track, you've got savings, you've got some semblance of a social life (thanks Covid), WHAM out of no where you get knocked on your mental ass. 

Mom used to tell me that your life strings are never parallel at the same time. Meaning if your social life is going well, another string is shortened - like your work life. Either way, nothing stays "even" all the time. She was not wrong. 

I have a new job at a new company! That's what's changed. 

On Feb 23rd it was announced to our company that we were being acquired by one of our competitors. The next week we'd be interviewing for a new role and there was no guarantee we'd have a new role. Anxiety level shot through the roof. 

Logically I knew I'd be fine. I just didn't want to find a new job. The new company were offering a severance should we not find a role within their walls. So in a way it was a win/win. I just didn't want to look for a job right now. Ugh. 

As it turns out, my skills as Senior Director of MediaPro transferred nicely to one of their Director roles. I'm now the Director of Custom Courseware Services at KnowBe4. They are another adult learning company who focuses on security and privacy training. Their mission is "KnowBe4 enables your employees to make smarter security decisions, every day." Fits right up the security alley I've been in already.

In a flurry the last week of February we had to determine if we wanted to take the new role or not. It was a lot in a very short amount of time. I had a total of 45 minutes of interviews and then had to make a decision. It wasn't a hard decision, just stressful. I decided since they didn't need my role to be in Clearwater, Fl - which is where they are located - I figured I'd take the leap. 

Since then it has been full on training. They have an enormous training plan for each employee and while training isn't fun for most, I loved it. It was like peeking into our competitors war chest. To see the training they've been offering and comparing it to ours. They really have a solid combination of training options. Our courseware will add nicely to their existing. 

Most of my team also found jobs. Many of them are in transition roles for a year - with the goal of finding them something else within the KnowBe4 world. We all went through training together (the largest training class ever at KB4) and we all "completed" it together. So thrilled to have so many of the MP family over to KB4.

So... that's what's been going on! It's been insane and crazy and change around every corner. But KnowBe4 is a solid company. They love their employees. They are a positive group of people who love their job and their product and their company. It shows. In every conversation I've had with new folks they just love it there...genuinely love it. 

Other things going on in life has been more of the same. 

If you've been playing along at home, you'll know that I finally got ONE of my two chairs I ordered in September of 2020. LazyBoy has been nothing but lame with regards to getting my chairs to me. The second chair was MIA for a couple of weeks - which makes zero sense considering they were both purchased at the same time and went through the factory at the same time. Then suddenly they can't find the second chair. But alas, I will finally see the second chair tomorrow. They say. I won't believe it until my butt is actually sitting in it. The first chair has been completely claimed by the cats... good luck to anyone who comes into the house expecting to sit. 

Being thoroughly CAT scanned

They've claimed it!

Lastly, the Niece and her GF have left. They moved to Tennessee on March 8th. I will miss those two girls so much. It'll be weird to not have them here to do things with or to help around the house. I've come to rely on The Niece to help me to misc things around this place. She's always willing to help. Now the two of them are on a new adventure in Tennessee. I'm thrilled for them, but sad for me. I've not been to TN, so now I have a reason to go there.

Stay tuned. If I've learned nothing else in the last month it's that change is a constant. Death, taxes, and change are all guaranteed to happen. Oh goody!

 

And so it happened...

I miss my mom. Everyone misses my mom. There are days I miss her so much it hurts and days that I smile at the memories. 

The first year after she died was probably one of the hardest years of my life. Dealing with what the experts say "all the firsts". The first Mother's Day, the first Thanksgiving, the first Christmas, her first birthday without her. All so difficult. At times, buying eggs would set me off down the grief path. Crying in the grocery store for no real good reason, other than grief. 

As the years progressed those days still hurt and I still feel her loss so acutely. 

Every year I usually have a very hard day on the day we lost her, January 17th. I usually spend the day in and out of crying fits. And I usually don't realize why I'm so sad until half the day is over. Once I realize what the day is, I tend to "feel better".

This year...this year Jan 17th flew by and I didn't even notice. I realized yesterday that I missed feeling sad that day and didn't even think about it. Then I felt sad for not remembering. 

Grief is such an interesting thing and it's true what people said that you will eventually start just remembering ALL the days, feeling sad when you need to, keeping memories alive all the time, and one day you just won't care what day is what. 

Oddly I feel like I let mom down. Like somehow not remembering her on the day she died is letting go of her some how. Yet I know in my heart I think about her every day or a memory (good or bad) comes to mind every day. She's here in me. Shit, I've turned into her on so many levels it's like she's been reincarnated (only as a democrat).

Finally I realized, it's ok. She's still in my heart. And skipping feeling sad on the day she died is ok. It's been an odd year, so I'm not surprised I forgot. 

Hot Stove Virtual Cooking Class

I've been blathering on and on today about this cooking class and I figured I might as well go into more details here. I mean, that is what this blog is for right? 

Our company postponed our holiday party and today we finally had it. A poll was put out about what type of virtual thing we should do and the cooking class won. So our amazing office manager arranged it and today we all cooked. 

The cooking class was through a company called Hot Stove. And the class was with Chef Tom Douglas. He's a local chef who owns a metric crap ton of restaurants in Seattle. He's been on the news lately for cooking and feeding those suffering from the pandemic. In person he seemed mostly like all chef's seem...an egomaniac. 

Still it's Tom Douglas and I was determined to learn from him. But I am getting ahead of myself. 

The box of ingredients showed up yesterday with a menu and recipes. Unpacking the box was interesting. It reminded me of when I used to order those meals from Hello Fresh. Everything pre-portioned and pre-measured for you. It's part of what I really didn't like about Hello Fresh. In this case, it totally makes sense though. 

One of the containers that contained smaller containers for ingredients to make the dipping sauce. Two of those little containers had sprung a leak. So the soy sauce and rice vinegar were a goner. Thankfully I had those ingredients on hand. 

I really wasn't sure how a virtual cooking class would work out. I liked that I was in my kitchen using my tools. I had everything all arranged and ready to go for the class. 

It really looked like it was a whole production going on on their side. He had a camera man and a side helper chef. It was like watching a cooking show only I was doing the cooking. 

The best part about this was he cooks a lot like Julia Child...with wine. I had some wine poured too and I had to pace myself or I'm pretty sure the dumplings wouldn't have turned out. 

Anyhow, we made this cucumber salad first. It's called Smacked Cucumber Salad. You literally crush the cucumber instead of cutting it. Two things happened to me:

1. I couldn't smash it. My OCD side came out and said, "Ah no. We'll be cutting it like a civilized person". 
2. All I could think about was Gallagher

Now I love cucumbers. They, however, do not love me. I burp just thinking about them. This recipe was made with English cucumbers. Many people believe they are less burpy. For me they have the same level of burpy too them. But they're so darn good ... I suffer. 

After the salad, we moved on to the fun part. The dumplings. I've made wontons before but never pot

stickers. I was looking forward to learning how to fold them.

The interesting thing about how this class went is that sometimes he went slower than snot over things. Other times he sped right past them as if it were like we had all done whatever a thousand times. Folding the dumplings, I felt, was one of those speed right pass moments. He showed it twice, but the camera angle wasn't great so I didn't get a good idea how to do it. Thus I created my own fold. 

It looks like a little crown. The pork filling we put inside these babies came already prepared (the recipe for the Pork Dumplings is here). I made about 10 by the time we started cooking. 

The cooking is where it all comes together. Tom's method is to put some oil in the pan to begin with (he didn't really say how much) and letting them pan fry for a bit, then you add some water. Again, he didn't really say how much to begin with. 

Now having cooked some I think the problem I had with the first batch is the heat was up too high. Have I mentioned I really miss my gas stove? I burned the first batch. The second turned out way better. The "burnt" ones were just extra crunchy. Both were delicious. But what made them so good was the dipping sauce. Oh man I could have drank that sauce. 

The kit came with enough ingredients to make 66 pot stickers. There was a mushroom / tofu mix too for the dumplings. I haven't made those yet. I made the rest of the pork ones and froze them. I'll pull those bad boys out for an appetizer on Saturday when the Niece, her GF and the fam come over for dinner. 

On a side note, I jokingly said to the Niece a couple of weeks ago that I get her and the GF every Saturday night before they leave. I was joking (mostly) and this will be the third Saturday night they'll be here for dinner. I'm so glad they took me seriously. I'm gonna miss her. Maybe I can mail her dumplings.

How to Do Goals in a Pandemic

I was thinking about goals last night and how the pandemic impacted my goals in 2020 and if it's going to impact mine for 2021. 

In 2020 I had this massive list of 50 things I wanted to do. Suffice it to say, 75% of them had to get scratched out because they required being in public or going to a restaurant or something that meant you could get the 'rona.

This year's list is only 30 items. I wouldn't call them goals as much as things I'd like to do this year. Some are my actual goals like reading and cooking and such. There are several on here that I'm almost sure won't happen, but it's worth dreaming a little.

So with very little fanfare, here's the list:

1. Travel to a new country (this is one of the 75% that may not happen)
2. Pay it forward - buy a strangers coffee
3. Donate quarterly
4. Do a good deed without explanation
5. Send flowers to someone
6. Go on 2 road trips
7. Visit Paul and Suzanna in Bellingham (or someplace in the middle)
8. Go for a walk on the beach
9. Watch a sunset for real (not out your front door)
10. Try 10 new restaurants (if we can)
11. Go to Space Needle restaurant (if we can)
12. See a movie in the theater (if we can)
13. Read 50 books or 15,000 pages
14. Follow a cleaning schedule that includes the big stuff we forget (windows, baseboards, etc)
15. Ride a ferry
16. Buy a new mattress
17. Complete your outstanding online classes
18. Complete your TBR Leadership books
19. Complete you movie watch list
20. Finish the marvel movie list
21. Plan and complete 5 scrapbook projects
22. Review / Revise the Will and update the "death" book
23. Book a date or two with a friend you haven't seen
24. Bake a treat quarterly
25. 125 new recipes
26. Visit MOHAI (if we can)
27. Visit NW Trek (if we can)
28. Visit Tillicum Village (if we can)
29. Take the elevator to the top of Columbia Tower (if we can)
30. Do 10 wine tastings

Phew. I'm tired just typing it. Like I said, these aren't "goals" as such, but things that I like to try to remember to do. It helps my life keep in balance a little by doing some different things. 

In other news, we have today off to celebrate MLK. I had forgotten, or didn't realize it, until a colleague reminded me on Thursday. What a gift to realize you have an extra day off. I spent part of the morning reviewing some of his speeches and reading some of his story. What an amazing man. So ahead of his time. This is one of my favorite quotes from him: 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

So long 2020...it wasn't fun. 

Hello 2021...please be kind to us and our frayed nerves. 

I didn't stay up last night. I rarely do anymore. I mean, it's just another day. The universe had another plan for me though.

The new neighborhood, apparently, are allowed fireworks. They started around 8pm and were periodic. 

I went to bed around 10:30. Fell asleep and then was bolted awake at midnight. The amount of fireworks going of was amazing. And not the small ones. M80s are apparently the firework of choice up here in the hood. 

In addition, the neighborhood exploded in HAPPY NEW YEAR cheers. I had to smile at how loud it was from all the different condos. 

So here we are...2021. I'm still working on the full list of goals. I feel like there are a couple different ones I want to work on, but they haven't quite bubbled to the brain and haven't been formed into words. 

The regular ones are:

• 50 new books, or 15,000 pages
• 125 New recipes (up'd this from 100)
• Up the 401K by 2%
• Squash the random spending (practice the "need" versus "want")
• 300 scrapbook pages (I hit 340 this year, but without a major trip last year, this goal will be a touch one)
• Pick a charity for the year and donate monthly

The other thing that the world does is the "one little word" concept. I've tried this a couple of years in a row and usually make it about 90 days before I forget, or just don't care. I have one friend who's doing "12 words" this year. One for each month. Her theory is your life shifts and changes, so why be so rigid on "one little word". I kinda like that. I'm not going to do it, but I like it. 

Instead, I want to focus on a concept. The election this year showed me that I get worked up over the smallest of comments, and there is absolutely nothing I can do to sway or change the minds of people. So my "one little concept" is going to be LET IT BE. We'll see how that goes. 

Happy New Years everyone. Here's to making 2021 just a little brighter.

Recipes Galore

In Jan 2020 I had a rather aggressive goal to try 100 new recipes this year. I knew in my heart there was no way I was ever going to hit that number. It was my attempt to motivate myself to cook more and eat out less. 

Then COVID happened. In an odd way, I have COVID to thank for me not only hitting my goal but exceeding it by quite a long shot. Yesterday I posted my 132nd recipe of the year. I might hit 150 new recipes by the end of the year. 

I started wondering about how many recipes per year had I done on average. Over on the cooking blog I could find that answer. 

I suspect there are recipes I've tried that are NOT on this blog. I wasn't overly diligent about adding them back in the early years. In fact, in 2020 I added a couple of recipes that I love that were not on the blog. 

I have a similar goal for next year to cook more. I think I'm going to leave it at 100. Who knows what next year will bring? 

I was asked the other day why I was so interested in cooking. There's not really an easy answer for this. I was raised in a house where dinner was always home made. Dad was the one who started looking through cookbooks to find new recipes (this was back before the Internet bombarded us with recipes and the like on a regular basis.) Mom eventually got into it as well. So we designated Wednesday night as "New Recipe Night". When I was about 12, the parental units also designated Thursday night as MY night to cook. I could try something new or something old. It didn't matter. The rule was to have my grocery list to them by Saturday for the weekly shopping day.

Over the years I dabbled in cooking. I knew how, but never really wanted to become a "great" cook. Then when I dated this guy in the early 2000's who also like to cook I got a bit addicted to it. My project manager self realized cooking was just one big project. 

In 2005 I lost a bet and had to start this blog. Not too soon after I decided I also wanted a cooking blog. But, as I mentioned, I wasn't really great at being diligent with posting recipes. It was harder then because not many were on the net. It was "real" typing in the recipe. (Such 1st world problems).

Later I'll do a post about my favorite recipes for this year. There aren't as many as you'd think. 

Books, Books and More Books

I'm a prolific reader. I'm fond of books. I read all the time. I read a lot of different genres. Reading allows me to escape, for a moment, and live in a world the book I'm reading created. 

Each year I have a  reading goal. Some years it's a bit of a stretch. Other years it's just a number. This year my goal was 50 books OR 15,000 pages. In early December I was at 45 books and pretty sure I wouldn't make it. Then I buckled down and read 3 books in quick succession. 

I don't have any qualifiers on the type of books I read. Meaning, I don't try to force them to be literary masterpieces. I read everything from deep, thought provoking books to smut novels. Sometimes you need a little smut. 

I thought it'd be fun to do a quick review of my Top 10ish Favorites this year. These aren't in any order of favorite. Though if I had to pick one favorite I think it would be a toss up between Orphan Train and Where the Crawdads Sing, but I can't pick a favorite...don't make me do it.

Flowers in the Attic Back Story Books (V.C. Andrews):
We all read the Flowers in the Attic series back in the 1980's. We all loved it and we all secretly wondered how they got to that point. Well, turns out V.C. Andrews wrote several back stories of the characters. I found them this year and devoured them. If you're a Flowers in the Attic fan, you will love these books. 

1. Garden of Shadows
2. Beneath the Attic
3. Out of the Attic
4. The Shadows of Foxworth

Becoming by Michelle Obama

This was a book club selection. I'm not sure I would have read this book without it being a book club selection. It's one of those books I would want to read, but I'd never make the time to read it. It was a good book. It was interesting to read about her entire life and how she (they) got to the White House.

Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline

Probably one of my most favorite books this year. I didn't have a clue about the orphan trains back in the day. This books follows a little girl who's orphaned through her experiences and how her life turns out. I highly recommend this book!

The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony

This was also a book club pick (my work book club). I would never have read this book...ever. It wouldn't have been on my radar in any way. I was completely taken in by this book and felt the urge to go on a safari. The book is written by a manager of a game reserve called Thula Thula. He's asked to adopt some rogue elephants for his reserve. He agrees and the book is his story of how he "tamed" these elephants. It's a great book and such a clear look into the world of conservationists when it comes to endangered animals. 

The Family Upstairs by Lisa Jewel

Such a great book. Captivating! It's a great mystery that unfolds nicely. I hate mysteries that leave it until the very end to give the the "who dun it". Instead I like mysteries that unfold and allow you to slowly put the pieces together. 

The Hundred Foot Journey by Richard C. Morais

Oh my goodness. This book popped up because of my book bingo. I had one slot left to get a bingo and the box was "book with food as a theme". This book was beautifully written. The story of a young Indian immigrant who finds his passion in French cuisine. The movie is also fantastic, but misses several pieces of the book. I'm glad I read the book first then saw the movie. 

The Last Boleyn by Karen Harper

This is the story of the "other" Boleyn sister. We all know about Ann Boleyn, but almost nothing about her sister. In fact I think my exact words were, "She had a sister?" This was a Vines & Spines book club selection and I'm so glad we read it. Research I did after uncovered that there was some historically inaccurate parts of this book, but then I had to remember it is fiction. If I wanted to read about the actual facts, I could. 

When Time Stopped: A Memoir of My Father's War and What Remains by Ariana Neumann 

Ariana was a classmate of mine at TASIS. We didn't pal around together, but we knew each other. Or at least I knew of her. We ran in different circles. When she started promoting her new book I had to read it. Its the story of her father's family in German occupied Czechoslovakia. WWII stories are among my favorite. So much suffering and so much understanding I feel we must have in order to not repeat those atrocities ever! Her family's story was heartwarming, sad, and so well told. She's a true story teller. 

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

I think this was THE book of 2019 and 2020. I was thrilled when it was selected for Vines & Spines book club. This story was so fantastic. I had heard some murmuring from others who read it saying it wasn't very sophisticated and more like a young adult level. Ok? I like young adult books. It was also criticized for much of the court room part saying it was pretty unlikely. I didn't care about any of that. I read it and loved it. 

Hideaway by Nora Robert

And in the "smut" novel category, I give you Nora Roberts. Her stories are exactly the same every time and I love that about her stories. I know two people are going to meet, have something that will keep them apart, some danger, a little intrigue and finally happily ever after. It's perfect. This book had me captivated from the beginning all the way to the end. I read it in a day. Super interesting story line and the mystery kept me engaged up until the end. 

Thankful

Here we are! The end of November. The pandemic has reared it's ugly head again and the stupid people of this area aren't doing what's being asked of them, and so we're in a bit more of a lock down. 

The message given is to limit your family time for Thanksgiving. Which, as it turned out, wasn't too hard for us. 

Originally, it was to be Janet, The Niece and the Niece's girlfriend. So, being ever organized, I bought for 6 people - 4 to eat and then leftovers for everyone. 

The next day, literally, we find out the Niece has to work and the girlfriend isn't off her ship yet. So it'll be just Janet and I...with LOTS of food. 

I managed to find a 16 lb bird. It was so hard to buy a small bird. For as long as I can remember we've bought a 22 or 24 lb bird. So that's what I buy...regardless of the 3 of eaters at the table. Ahem. This time, there was ONE turkey left, so I grabbed it up. 

Day of Thanksgiving I get a call from Blueberry and her plans fell through and could she join us. Lord knows we had enough, so come on over. 

And so we laughed. We talked. We ate...and we ate some more. As is tradition, we had clam dip as we waited for the bird to cook. Checked the bird after about 2 hours (of the 3 it was to be in) and it was DONE! So we hopped to it and got the sides going. 

I spent some time the Friday after thinking about the Thanksgiving we had now 7 years ago. When we were in the hospital with Ric. It is one of those Thanksgivings that is the worst and the best all in one. The day of Thanksgiving I had run to Fred Meyer to buy something dinner ish. We sat in the waiting room eating in silence. All knowing that in the next couple of days we will have to say good by to Ric. Our hearts were breaking and there was nothing we could do about it. We all already felt the loss. 

We ate. We didn't talk. We waited some more. 

Then Friday evening we were still greeting people who were coming to say their goodbyes to my brother. The elevator dinged, a sound we had been conditioned to turn and look at the door when we heard it, and the door opened. We expected to see one or two people at most. Instead we saw a FULL elevator. Each person in the elevate carrying food. Ric and Janet's friends had brought us a FULL Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. They had tables. They had table clothes. They had decorations for each table. They had plates and silverware. They had wine. They had thought of everything. Even now I tear up just thinking about it. So much love in a room full of people who were all grieving. 

Phew...gotta go get a kleenex. Man. Still makes me cry. I miss that guy so much. Tomorrow will be 7 years since we said goodbye to him. He's missed every day and thought of often. 

And so here we are, about to start the last month of 2020. It can't get over soon enough. I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving whether you were with family or not. 

Happy Birthday Mom

Mom would be 73 years today if she was still with us. We all miss her like nobody's business. I think of her daily and honestly, sometimes I hear her come out of my mouth. 

She was often the life of the party. She spoke her mind with no remorse. She loved with everything she had. And if you crossed her...look out! She was mom to so many. Grandma to many more - you didn't even have to be blood. She loved her pets, and loved anyone's dog. If she was missing, find the nearest dog and you'd find her. 

She was brave and courageous in her career. She taught me that women can do anything with a little hard work.

Overall, she was my best friend. And while we would often debate over politics, which I admit I'd poke at her to get her going, I knew she would always, ALWAYS be there for me. 

I miss her with my whole being. 

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. 

4 More Sleeps

 Here I am. Packed! Oh the horror that awaits me as I try to unpack in a new location. 

What happened to me in the last 12 years? I used to love packing and moving and unpacking. I used to see it as a new adventure. A new opportunity. A clean slate. 

I realize I'm older now (and lazier) and that impacts the spirit a little. But man, this packing thing has sucked. I have so much stuff it seems, and yet  I know that I have what I need. When did I "need" all this stuff? 

The other thing is I never really loved where I was living. Nor was I attached to it. So moving was easier. I loved this place and I'm very attached to it. Twelve years in one spot! Definitely a new record for me. This place had everything I wanted 12 years ago and still want today; good light throughout the house, gas stove, room to groove, great location. It really has been a wonderful home for me. 

So that has been my attitude for the last week. Just meh about moving. I think it's the exhaustion and the month of unrest with boxes everywhere and total chaos in the house. 

But Thursday that all changed. I got the keys. THAT is what got me excited!

SIL Janet met me and we did the walk through with the property manager. Seeing the place, clean versus the disaster it was when I originally looked at it, really got my excitement up again.

This new place has everything I want NOW; good light, hard wood floors, a garage; and an open concept which will be good for entertaining. The only bad thing about it is it doesn't have a gas stove. It has a flat top, and I'll need to learn how to cook on that again. (And seeing it during the walk through disappointed me a bit; it's not really in good condition, but it is what it is). 

Having the opportunity to walk through by ourselves once the property manager left, I could really look to see if my plan of where I was going to put what would work. Turns out, we may have some problems. In most rooms, the heater blower thingy on the wall is in the middle of the wall! How are you supposed to put something against that wall with the heater blower thingy on it? Ugh. So we'll just have to see what happens. 

The other big difference about this move and all the others is that I got to buy some new stuff! I can't wait to get it all set up and learning to live in a new house. 

The cats however are going to be freaked out. My old cat Pookie moved with so many times he didn't even bother worrying when the boxes came out. These two have known no other house but this one. Lucy has followed me everywhere. She makes sure she can see me at all times. Their view of the world is going to drastically change. They won't as as much Kitty TV as they have now (way fewer windows). But they'll get on just fine. As soon as they see that their food and poop box made the move, they'll be fine. 

And lastly, the other thing that has, oddly, bothered me is Mom.  I had a small, and I'm aware irrational, break down the other day. I suddenly realized, or thought, what if Mom can't find me. Mom only knows this place! She'll never see the new place! This place has the memories of her, not the new place. So yah, I had to get through that. Again, I know it's irrational and makes no sense...MOM is with me, not anywhere else. I mean Jesus, I'm mostly her anyhow.

So yah. The move is upon me. Today I'm meeting the Niece and Blueberry up at the new place to do a little Wraspir cleaning. The property management company "cleaned" it, but it needs a Wraspir scrubbing. 

Assuming I can sleep, there are only 4 more of them before the big move! 

You've Got to Move it, move it!

Almost 11 years ago, I packed up my 2 bedroom apartment in Lynnwood, Washington and moved to Redmond to rent a townhouse from friends. I planned on being here for about 2-3 years. I mean I was so used to moving, it seemed that in 3 years I'd be ready to pack it up. 

Now almost 11 years later...I'm moving again. The landlords want to sell by end of the year so I had to start looking for a new place to live. I knew I didn't want to live in apartments and figured if I didn't find a townhouse or condo by end of year, I'd settle for an apartment. 

But the housing Gods smiled upon me and I found this fantastic townhouse in my old stomping grounds of Lynnwood. 

Its smaller, but it hit EVERY single priority for me:

1. Hard wood floors
2. Useful/nice kitchen
3. Garage
4. Parking for guests

The kitchen had me drooling immediately when I saw it. It's perfect for all the entertaining I do. I get to be in the kitchen AND chat with people in the living room. 

It has a nice big deck off the back and I can have a BBQ, so there's that. The living room is smaller than what I have here and my current couch/love seat combo won't fit in it. The couch will, but not the two together. I'll be getting rid of the love seat. I went to Lazy Boy on Friday with Blueberry and bought two new chairs to have one on each side of the couch. 

I've never had a chair that had a pattern on it. There was a couch near by that had pillows in this pattern so I took the pillow to the couch set on the floor that is exactly like mind to make sure it  matched! And it did. These are recliners, but not like the recliner I currently have. I'm super excited. 

That's the living room. Hard to see the size of it, but you get the picture. I also bought a new coffee table. I'd been wanting one but knew I wanted to wait to see where I moved to in order to figure out the size of it. 

Now the current house is in total chaos. I forgotten how much work it was to move. I've only just started packing and I'm already exhausted! 

The demons are a bit out of sort because they aren't sure what's going on. Pookie was the master of moving. If boxes came out he knew we were moving. These two have never moved and seem a bit out of sorts. Lucy keeps hopping on my lap as if to remind me to bring her with me. 

Move in day is Sept 30th. I'll do the walk through and get the keys on the 24th. They're giving me a free week to paint if I want, which is nice. 

It's bittersweet to be moving from here. I've enjoyed living in this townhouse for so many reasons. I'll miss Redmond and my favorite grocery store across the street. All my favorite restaurants will miss my business I'm sure! 

But Lynnwood has really grown up in the last 10 years. I'm looking forward to getting to know it again. A fresh start. New house. New furniture.