talk on...

 Today was an eventful day for me.  First we went to church, my first time back since my hospitalization in January. There I was able to touch base with several friends and introduce my husband to those who didn't know him.  Also, of course, we enjoyed a blissfully beautiful worship service.  My son and granddaughter joined us which made it even better.  In the afternoon we had dinner for ten, the first time I had been involved in any kind of hosting since January.  The party included my son and granddaughter and myself and my husband, his son, daughter-in-law, two granddaughters and one boyfriend.  What pleased and amused me was the fact that we sat at the table and talked and ate for over three hours.  Let me assure you, the art of conversation is not dead, and I didn't have to start any of it.  Topics ranged from gross injuries seen by those who are in the medical field to modern music and how the boyfriend of one step-grand has know my granddaughter for ten years because they were both in FW Children's Choir.  This included a few shared memories of choir trips they had taken together. Then there was robotics and the competition season that is just finishing. I was sitting in the middle on one side of the table.  When I tuned in to the older adult end of the table, conversations were ranging from a new job to an old dentist to a late paying tenant, laced with lots of praise for the deviled eggs provided for the feast in the cutest bunny shaped deviled egg tray I've ever seen.  We also caught up on what absent members of our families were doing (leading a high school class tour in France and teaching high school math in Florida).  That led us into a brief discussion of math majors we have know. By the way, all of the food was delicious, thanks to my Wonder Spouse.  But I was most amused when the conversation turned to the topic of forks. Specifically the difference between salad forks and dessert forks. Why some are three tined and some four, and why some have little notches at the tip of the left-most tine? We may have had more than enough wine by this point (or I may have) but I found this discussion quite fascinating.  Needless to say, phones came out and sources were checked.  Please note, if you haven't already, that there was no discussion of politics or religion.  What a great dinner party.  I hope you all had a fine Easter celebration also.  

Playing house...

 Ever since I was a little girl and my mother showed me where the knife and spoon and fork go, I have enjoyed setting the table.  As I grew older one of my favorite parts of getting ready for a dinner for family or friends was setting the table.  Today I was able to enjoy the same experience.  My husband and I are having Easter dinner for ten tomorrow afternoon (some from my family and some from his).  Because we don't have small children I was able to set the table today.  We're eating at the dining room table which easily seats ten, and it gave me great pleasure to get out my china and stemware and set the table in my new home.  It was also reassuring to see that nothing had been chipped or broken along the way.  

 
Here's the finished product, just waiting for the food and guests. If  you're wondering why I seem so calm it should be obvious to those of you who are regular readers.  My Wonder Spouse is doing the cooking.  Ham, sweet potatoes, coleslaw (with his homemade dressing) rolls with butter and jelly, and, from my son-in-law, deviled eggs.  Wine, water, coffee, etc.  Wishing you all a Blessed Easter.  

a little break...

 My west coast brother informed me that today is "No Homework Day" and also "National Lemon Chiffon Cake Day."  In honor of those two events and because I've had a long and sometimes frustrating day, I've decided that this blog is the closest thing to home work that I have, so I will cut it short for today.  I think I'll go eat some cake.  I hope everyone has had a blessed Good Friday.

a plot???

 It may have been coincidence, but I suspect collusion.  I had my taxes 'done' this morning and all went as I anticipated.  I owe a teeny dab to the IRS ($47 if your curious) and a little more to the state of Indiana.  I was anticipating this so no problem.  My very nice H&R B tax man gave me a voucher to mail to each entity with a check.  I came home and put those papers away, knowing there was no rush, and I couldn't pay them yet anyway.  The reason being I was checkless.  Here's where the plot thickens.  Almost three weeks ago my ever patient spouse and I visited the two financial institutions where I have checking accounts, provided all necessary proof of marriage and legal name change, and, as part of the process ordered new checks.  Time passed and I received emails that the checks were on the way but none appeared.  Yet today, after my taxes were filed and accepted, they miraculously appeared in the mail.  It's obvious to me that the IRS is taking no chances that they won't get paid.

Good eating...

I've commented several times in this blog about the excellent meals I've eaten at various restaurants.  For example, yesterday evening we had supper at Shigs n Pit.  I had the rib dinner and it was excellent.  I do not want anyone watching me when I eat ribs.  It is not an elegant sight. But today I want to comment on home cooking.  This morning my dear husband surprised me by making French toast.  It was  delicious, served up with butter, powdered sugar and pure maple syrup.  My spouse is allergic to anything with corn syrup in it so we always get the good stuff. Yummy!  One of the things I particularly  appreciated was that he served the toast one slice at a time, so I could eat all I wanted, all piping hot.  Needless to say, I did not stop at one. I do not want to weigh myself tomorrow.

And speaking of sweet treats, a girlfriend made this cute Easter treat and gave one to each of us at a recent lunch. The car is made of a twinkie with with Golden Oreos for the wheels, a sprinkles covered pretzel stuck down in the middle for the steering wheel, and of course the marshmallow bunny.  I just thought this is so clever that I had to share,

it's taxing....

 I spent several hours today sorting through all of the papers I had put in my 2023 tax folder during the past year, to sift out the really pertinent forms and information.  I'm meeting with my handy dandy tax man from H&R Block on Thursday and wanted to have things as organized as possible for the meeting.  Many years ago my first husband always did our taxes.  We were never audited so I assume he did a good job, but almost every year he would say to me "You really should learn to do this in case anything ever happens to me."  To which I would reply "Hah! If anything ever happens to you I will pack up all my papers and take them to H&R Block (that being the only tax firm I had ever heard of) and that's exactly what I did.  But fast forward to today - the sorting of paperwork went very well until I realized that one 1099 form seemed to be missing.  In my file of many papers I had tucked away a multi-page document from a company who took over distribution of one of my pensions way back in February 2023.  I also found a letter from said company telling me that my tax form would be mailed to me.  It told me that, if I had any questions or hadn't received my form, to call the company using my previously activated PIN number (which I had never set up).  I was really beginning to panic when I decided to look through my papers carefully one more time and found, to my intense relief, the form I needed with the name of the company printed in teeny tiny font, not anything like the bold letterhead I had been looking for.  So, hooray, all is well, unless I learn differently on Thursday.   

do it yourself...

 I love brunch, particularly when it's served in restaurants, and one of my favorite meals for brunch is a half order of biscuits and gravy with one over-easy egg on top.  So good!  Usually the meal comes just as I order it, but there is one exception.  Klemm's Candlelight Cafe, which is a very good neighborhood restaurant, does it differently.  It happens that we have a gift card for Klemm's (yes, a wedding gift) so we went there for brunch this morning.  I ordered my usual and it came, not as I had envisioned it, but in do it yourself style - one large unsplit biscuit, one small bowl of gravy, and two eggs (yes two) over-easy just lying on the plate, by themselves.  Once I had assembled my meal it was really quite delicious.  I guess "making" my own breakfast isn't that bad.  

thank you...

 I spent most of today writing thank you notes for gifts we received for our wedding on January 14.  I know, that's more than ten weeks ago, and I do know better.  Thank you notes should be sent promptly after the event.  My mother raised me right, but, alas, life got in the way.  So now you can relax and stop wondering if your note got lost in the mail.  It didn't.  It will come as no surprise to my regular readers that this note writing spree reminded me of the thank you notes I wrote after my first wedding.  It was a noteworthy event (pun intended).  I clearly remember sitting in our car, on the side of an interstate highway, somewhere in Illinois.  Ours had been a driving honeymoon and we were on our way home.  I'm not sure why it happened but we ran out of gas.  So I sat and waited while my spouse hiked back a mile and a half to an off ramp where a gas station sign could be seen clearly in the distance, and came back again eventually with the necessary fuel.  I'm pretty sure he got a ride back but not positive about that.  But, in the meantime, having nothing much else to do, I wrote my thank you notes.  Those notes went out on time.  I'm not sure why I even thought to take the note cards and list with me on my honeymoon, but there they were, ready for action.  It never hurts to be prepared.  

My way.

 The Frank Sinatra version of "I Did It My Way" is running through my head right now, and there's a good reason for that.  The Philharmonic Pops Concert this evening was "Sinatra and Beyond with Tony Desare."  I had never heard of Mr. Desare before tonight, but I will certainly make it a point to hear him any time he's back in town.  He travels with his own small ensemble - guitar, bass, drums and conductor and tonight they were accompanied also by the full orchestra.  His voice carried strong and true over all the background music and he sang Sinatra's songs they way Sinatra sang them, true to the originals.   But, honestly, I really enjoyed his own compositions more than anything.  In addition to singing, he's an excellent pianist.  Such fun.  But there was more.  I've mentioned in previous blogs that I like to see my music as well as hear it and this evening's production was a visual feast.  All of the brass instruments and some others were on risers, arranged like an orchestra of the 40s or 50s.  I loved having a clear view of the trombones who played a lot.  All in all, a wonderful evening at the Pops.

flashback...

 Today was a rather chilly day.  Actually I would call it cold with a high of 34%, but I won't quibble with the weather person.  In search of something warm and comfy to wear for just working around the house, I came upon a pair of flannel lined jeans.  I'm still finding clothes in several second floor closets, wherever my spouse could fit them in when he moved clothes from my apartment.  But I digress.  My west coast brother and sister-in-law gave me these for Christmas about ten years and 20 pounds ago.  They were tight at the time so I didn't wear them much, but today they were loose and comfy and very warm.  Interestingly, just pulling them on made me remember my first ever pair of flannel lined jeans.  I was in first grade and may have been the first of my girl friends to ever wear jeans.  At the time, Central Lutheran School in New Haven, where we had just moved, allowed girls to wear pants to school, instead of dresses or skirts, in cold weather.  Very progressive I think.  That bubble was popped when we moved to Woodburn when I was in third grade.  At Woodburn Lutheran leggings were accepted, but only for getting to and from school.  Some how seeing twenty or so little girls at the back of the classroom stripping off their leggings does not seem less risque than simply letting them wear pants. But back to those wonderful jeans. What I remember most vividly was that the lining was plaid (with lots of red) and when my mommy turned up the cuffs, you could see the lining.  So cool. Today's jeans have a dark green lining but they aren't long enough to turn up the cuffs so it really doesn't matter.  At my age warmth trumps style every time. 

get in line...

 I know that patience is a virtue, and, based on today's experience, My husband and I should have earned a few stars in our crowns.  It started very simply. I had a prescription to pick up at our nearest Walgreens so my spouse drove me there.  This was early evening, about 6:00pm.  When we arrived, the line at the drive through was quite long so I suggested that he park and I would go in and get the pills since it was my ID they might need to see, and it should be faster inside.  When I got in line there were three people ahead of me and a couple already at the counter.  Twenty five minutes later (I am not exaggerating) the same couple was still at the counter.  I admit, by this point I was eavesdropping, but a little too far away to get the whole story.  What I did get was that they were trying to pick up a prescription for someone else, her dad maybe??? and couldn't figure out how to get their insurance to cover it (or anybody's insurance evidently).  In case you're wondering, this was the only indoor counter that was being manned.  Meanwhile, the drive through window was moving people through at a merry clip. I finally gave up, because I really couldn't stand there any longer, went out to the car and admitted to my ever patient spouse that we needed to go through the drive through.  When we got in line, there were four cars ahead of us.  The first one took ten minutes after we pulled up, but then things started moving.  We finally got my prescription, with no problems because of the name change, and headed home.  As I said, we earned some stars in our crowns today.  

Game on...

 A few days ago I introduced my husband to the game Quiddler and he really likes it.  It's a word game, similar in some ways to Scrabble, which we also like.  I should explain here that it's our habit to play a game in the evening as a way to relax after a long day of unpacking boxes or trying to merge more of our stuff.  I'm happy to report that I have managed to fit most of my books into the available shelf space, but I'm never quite sure what I'll find in any particular box.  Today, for example, I found several games.  Mostly games are stored on shelves in the basement here so I had set some apart in a box, to be taken downstairs.  Naturally my spouse wanted to browse through the box.  He was impressed by my complete set of mahjong tiles that came from China.  Thankfully, he didn't suggest we learn to play that.  He did get intrigued by my Chinese Checkers board though and we decided to give that a try.  We refreshed our knowledge of the game, chose our colors and had a good game.  I won this time, but not by much.  Who knows what tomorrow might bring?

cluck, cluck

 My west coast brother has informed me that today is "National Backyard Day" and "National Poultry Day."  That leads me to think about chickens in the back yard.  In the 1930s and 40s it was not unusual to have chickens in your backyard.  My first husband once confessed that his mother kept chickens when he was small and that's why he couldn't eat chicken.  He saw them as pets while she saw them as dinner.  There has been some revived interest in raising yard chickens in recent years, but happily, to me, the neighborhood covenants and restrictions where I live now forbid chickens in the backyard.  If you wonder about my backyard fowl aversion let me explain.  When I was in third grade my family sold their little house in New Haven and moved to five acres in the country to live the dream of "Five Acres and Independence" which also happened to be the name of a popular book of the time.  As it happened, our five acres had, in addition to an old house and garage, two chicken coops.  That's where chickens belong.  Before you knew it, we were in the chicken business.  1500 delightful baby chicks delivered every three months, so cute for about a week, after which they evolved in twelve weeks into big smelly but very marketable fancy flock fryers.  The best memories of those chicken years are the chickens we had butchered and kept for our own use. Fried chicken every Sunday in the cold months and my father's amazing barbequed chicken during the summer.  Sweet convoluted memories.  

part two..

You may have thought, like me, that once Saint Patrick's Day was over there would be nothing left to celebrate, unless you insist on finishing off the green beer.  But, surprise!  There was an even better follow up.  For some reason, my spouse and I had mentioned soda bread and soda crackers over the last couple of days while finishing up some very dry crackers from a Christmas gift basket.  No, they weren't stale, just dry. Today, while shopping at Kroger's, my clever husband came upon something in the bakery section called Irish Soda Bread, which was half price on the day after SPD.   He was curious, since we had been talking about soda bread, so he bought a loaf.  It is a dense moist bread studded with bits of fruit (but not heavily, like fruit cake) with a sugar coated crust.  Very good with butter.  Did I mention the sugar crust?  I think it's time for my bedtime snack.

Shmrocks all around...

 I hope you all have had a fine Saint Patrick's Day.  I did not eat corned beef and cabbage, although I do like it, and I did not drink green beer, but that's understandable.  I am not much of a beer drinker.  Generally one a year is my limit, and that one is a good dark beer at Germane Fest.  If you think about it, this is reasonable since I am of about 90% German heritage and 10% the rest, which includes a little bit of French and some Scots Irish.  That's my only claim to a right to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day, and then I should probably be wearing orange not green.  I did wear green today though, if a comfy old sweatshirt counts.  My husband and I celebrated by doing more unpacking and putting away and another trip to Good Will.  It's amazing how many duplicates we have.  And thinking of green things, does anyone need/want an extremely sturdy avocado green blender?  We really don't need two.

Here's proof of our industry.  We actually got some of my weavings hung up and some organizing done in my loom room.

surprise!

 

These days I am not hosting any parties or family get togethers.  I'm actually not planning ahead for much of anything.  But I do love it when accidental entertainment happens.  This evening was a great example. My husband's son (mine too, steps count) stopped in to spend the evening while his daughter (who is temporarily without a car) was working the sound board on a play at First Pres Theater. He came after supper so no meal prep necessary.  Since he had a few hours to pass with us, I invited him to join us for a game of Scrabble.  He agreed but said it had been a long time since he played. My husband helped him install the "Scrabble Spell Checker' app and we played.  We do not use any kind of timer so our game pretty much filled the whole evening.  We had a good time, lots of laughs and some really weird words, and he finished very close to his father's score. Not a bad showing for "the first time in a long time." Did I mention that I won?  Like I said it was a fun evening.  

fun times three..

No problem with the Ides of March for me, but then I wasn't wearing a toga or mingling with a group of knife wielding friends.  I did have three kinds of fun though.  First, I am sitting at my own pretty well organized desk to write this blog.  Second, my son and daughter-in-law went with us to supper at Guadalupe's where we caught up on each others news and I was able to enjoy their fabulous pineapple water.  Then, to top off the evening, we went to, if not the funniest, certainly the strangest store I have ever been in.  It's right next door to the restaurant and I think the name is Red Hot Deals.  Across the front of the store is a huge banner that tells you that anything in the store is available for $10 on Fridays, $9 on Thursdays, $8 on Wednesdays and so on.  I may not have those numbers exactly right but $10 is the highest.  Evidently they get their big shipment of new stuff in on Fridays. Lucky us.  There is no rhyme or reason and they are certainly not paying anyone to keep the shelves organized. Long rows of tables are stacked with the most unbelievable assortment of stuff, just all piled together.  Since my husband and I have spent the last couple of weeks in our own personal jumble, we were not remotely tempted.  But in among the piles of anti-barking dog collars, cat toys, dried foods and children's books, my son found a sealed package of material to use in a 3D printer.  He was very pleased because what he got for $10 usually costs $25.  The rest of us just walked out feeling that we had saved a lot of money by not buying anything.  All in all, a very fun evening.  

Run, little rodent!

 Have you ever watched a gerbil or hamster or pet mouse run on a wheel.  They run and run and run without ever getting anywhere. Today I felt like I was in a similar situation.  First I received an 'urgent' email warning that I was late on a payment on a credit card.  I did not click on to that email but I did log on to the credit card site, where I always make my payments. and discovered that my next payment was due April 8 (not late by my calendar) but they seemed, indeed, to think I was late, so I decided to go ahead and make a payment.  I pushed all the usual buttons (several times) but kept getting the message that they were unable to process my payment at this time.  Finally, after several attempts (my spouse even got involved) I decided I would just phone the company and make a payment over the phone.  So I found the phone number, made the call, answered all their robo questions to properly identify myself, and finally got a message that their customer service people could no longer accept payments over the phone.  I stopped trying before I tore all my hair out.  I will try again before April 8.  In the meantime, my husband found the perfect way to calm my nerves.  We took our first trip to Zesto's for the year.  Yum!

reward!

 My west coast brother sent me this quote today - Einstein supposedly said "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then is an empty desk a sign?" Something to think about.  I am happy to report that there is no fear of me having an empty desk any time soon. I did, however, spend several hours today replacing files, that had been packed in boxes for the move, in my filing cabinet, and even managed to throw away some stuff, like my most recent 20 page lease agreement.  My husband has a more powerful shredder than mine, which really helped the process. As a reward for this diligence (and because it was already planned) we went out to dinner with my spouse's son and family for a delayed birthday celebration for said son.  We went to Ziano's, so the food would have been reward enough, but it turned into one of those really delightful family get togethers where conversation flowed freely and no one had to rush away after dinner.  That was my reward for my desk work.  By the way, if you're looking for something to celebrate tomorrow, it will be March 14, also known as pi / pie day.  I was very impressed that my step-granddaughter, who, by the way, is heading off to Ball State in the fall (that's my school) could rattle off the numbers for pi to the tenth digit.  No, she won't be a math major.  She has been accepted in the theater department.  That's my girl.

pictures

 

View of my still to be organized office.

One drawer in my nicely organized bathroom vanity.

my day...

 According to my west coast brother, today is "National Organize Your Home Office Day." It's also "National Plant a Flower Day."  I did not run out and plant a flower but I did start thinking about planting some bulbs in the fall along the south side of the house. But my real focus is organizing my home office.  Actually, I spent some time this morning organizing my bathroom vanity.  That may not sound like much, but it's a lovely new vanity with six drawers.  Over the last couple of weeks I've accumulated some interesting drawer dividers and organizers which really helped with the vanity today and gave me some good ideas for my desk.  So I guess the bottom line is, I'm still at the 'mentally organizing my home office' stage.  Ah well, it will all get done eventually.

Nap on...

My west coast brother, after some careful research, has discovered that today is, among other things, "Oatmeal Nut Waffles Day." And, if you eat enough of those for brunch, will lead right into "National Workplace Napping Day."  People who know me know that I am a big fan of afternoon naps, a habit I've had since childhood, but few know that I have also indulged in workplace napping.  Not every job lends itself to workplace napping, but sometimes it works, one way or another.  During my last year of full time teaching, when I was pregnant with my first child I had the "afternoon sleepies" (it's a real thing, ask any pregnant woman) so I cleverly arranged for my first class after lunch to have their required independent reading time during that period, bliss!  On another job, a desk job this time, I really did nap.  I almost always lunched at my desk, and after lunch, with the door closed, put my head down on my desk for twenty minutes.  It does help.  Now, of course, I just nap when I feel like it.  Retirement is great.   

A sweet surprise...

 After a long day of unpacking, finishing moving clocks forward, arranging my new office, searching for a misplaced cell phone (which was set on 'do not disturb') and intense research to decide which of two blenders (decidedly not new) is the best to keep, my husband and I realized that it was after 7:00pm and we probably should make supper plans.  Nothing in the frig sounded good. so, after a quick check to be sure they were still open (yes 'til 8:00pm) we headed to Guadalupe's Mexican Grill in Georgetown.  As usual, the burrito (his) and bowl (mine) were delicious.  They make everything fresh and it's always very tasty.  I have to be careful about what I drink these days, no caffein, no carbonation, mostly water or fruit juice, no sugar added.  So when we got there tonight I was delighted to discover a new item on their menu, pineapple water.  It's made with real pineapple mixed with water, then strained, no sugar added, and absolutely delicious, naturally very sweet.  I brought a refill home with me and it's like dessert in a glass.  So, if you're thirsting for a sweet treat, try Guadalupe's pineapple water.

Music seen and heard...

 I love to hear good music, but I also like to see it, so this evening was a special event for me.  My husband and I decided, as a treat after this busy moving week, and because I'm feeling better, especially in the evenings, to go to the Philharmonic.  We have season's tickets but have been giving them away for the last months, but tonight it was our turn. This evening's program included "Impressions - Suite for String Orchestra" by Assad, personally my least favorite piece (we both agreed that it went on too long).  The second piece was "Concerto for Violin and Orchestra, Op. 14" by Barber.  This one featured violin soloist Rachel Barton Pine, who was excellent.  But, far and away, my favorite was the final piece, Dvorak's "Symphony No. 7 in D minor, Op. 70."  I mentioned earlier that I like to see my music as well as hear it, and this evening did not disappoint.  The strings got a really good work out, my favorite oboe player was there, the bass section got more attention than usual, the drums rumbled and all in all it was quite entertaining.  Hooray for music, heard and seen.

fait accompli...

 And that's about all I remember from my high school French.  But, using English, "mission accomplished."  After the very busy week we've had, my husband and I decided that this rainy day was the perfect day to relax, take it easy, and approach unpacking slowly.  Eventually, we did unpack three boxes, all dishes and other kitchen implements, and, and this is the good part, I managed to fit almost all of the dishes in the CC. Almost.  I fitted all of the 12 place setting of china with all of their accessories and another eight plates and cups and saucers plus other odds and ends, but I'm sitting here now staring at 12 white soup bowls that simply don't go anywhere.  I must keep these casual bowls because I use them to serve my family's favorite ham and bean soup.  I will find a place.  In the meantime, here's how the CC looks now.  

four strong men...

 Well, the big move is finished.  They advertise themselves as "Two Men and a Truck" but four men showed up at the apartment at 8:30am, as scheduled, and got right to work.  Unfortunately, the large maintenance elevator which I had requested days in advance wasn't in place when they started packing, but they didn't let that stop them.  It was after 9am, when the office opened, that we finally got the big elevator, but the movers did not waste the time.  They made several trips down in the regular elevators with small items and had lots of larger items waiting in the hall for the maintenance elevator.  I watched in awe as they carefully wrapped large furniture items in large blankets, then miles of what looked like heavy duty Saran Wrap.  Everything was done and all items in the truck by 9:30am.  Due to my husband's morning chiropractor appointment which took longer than usual, the men weren't able to start unloading the truck until 10:40am, but, even with our special requests (moving the heavy old kitchen table to the basement for example), they were finished and out of here by 11:30am.  I have never seen four men work faster, but still very carefully.   And I marvel at how they just picked up and carried pieces that looked immovable to me.  My desk and filing cabinet are now safely housed in my office up stairs.  After they left, my husband and I took a few deep breaths, and realized that all we need to do now is unpack all the boxes and find places for all of my stuff to co-mingle with all of his stuff.  We actually took a large bag of place mats, Christmas towels and other goodies (some mine. some his) to Good Will this afternoon, making room on a cabinet shelf for my silverware chest.  That sort of thing will continue for some time I suspect.  But the bottom line is the big move is done.  

Happily, my corner cupboard and round dining room table fit perfectly in the breakfast nook.  Now I just need to put the dishes back in, but tomorrow is another day.

a conspiracy?

 Once again, thanks to my west coast brother for bringing this to my attention.  Today is "National Oreo Cookie Day," "National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day" and "National Frozen Food Day."  It's also, and here's where I suspect the conspiracy, "National Dentists' Day."  After a long day of finally, finally getting everything ready for the movers tomorrow (all boxed and taped and ready to go) my weary husband and I went to Culver's for a quick supper.  There I celebrated the day by having some mint chocolate chip frozen custard. We must support our dentists.  

men at work...

 As you no doubt have gathered from previous blogs, my husband and I are in the process of (one way or another) getting all of my worldly possessions out of my apartment and into our house, or otherwise disposed of.  Today we took the ultimate step in disposal.  We hired "Two Men in a JUNK Truck" to dispose of a couple of items.  First. I must admit to a bit of stereotyping.  I expected two big burly type men.  Not so.  The two men who came to dispose of our stuff were young, slim and not particularly bulky at all.  But when they picked up my big old double recliner and casually carried it out of the apartment I was impressed.  The rest of removal day involved getting an elderly pool table out of our house basement.  Piece by piece they got it all out in under two hours.  All very impressive.  What makes it even more exciting is the space in the basement that will soon become my weaving studio.  Hooray!

Ouch!!!

 There is a well known saying "No good deed goes unpunished." which played out today in another 'moving' adventure.  My dear grandson agreed to take my queen size guest bed and a tall book shelf, the very last items in my apartment waiting to be rehomed.  My son, who is younger and stronger than my spouse or me, came to help with moving the furniture.  We were at the apartment by noon, waiting for my grandson to arrive in a U Haul truck.  Because he works for U Haul, he knew of some special moving equipment to bring along.  The heaviest piece he brought along was a very sturdy roller on wheels made specifically to carry a mattress and box spring, on edge, side by side.  Did I mention it was heavy?  As he was getting off the elevator, my big strapping grandson suddenly collapsed on a bench beside the elevator and looked like he was going to faint.  Turned out, as he was getting that big heavy contraption off the truck, it fell on his right big toe.  It hurt a lot!!!  Eventually he recovered, and after examining the toe (the nail was already purple) was able to get on with the move.  Ironically, the mattress moving equipment didn't work with my queen set which has the newer thicker mattresses.  What did prove to be most helpful were the two clear plastic mattress covers, which hardly weighed anything at all, slid over and completely covered each piece, and allowed the mattress and box springs to be slid along the carpeted hallway, into the service elevator, and ultimately into the truck.  In case you're wondering, my grandson will have the nail removed tomorrow, the best treatment according to his mother, who is a surgical technologists and assists in many foot surgeries.  So perhaps "All's well that ends well." is a better old saying.  

be happy...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "I Want You to Be Happy Day" and I do.  I want each and every one of you to be happy.  If you need a little extra nudge toward happiness, it's also "33 Flavors Day" and "Mulled Wine Day."  It seems you can have your happiness hot or cold.  Personally, I'm happy on three counts.  First, a friend responded to a recent blog and is taking my ironing board.  I love it when my things get re-homed.  Second, my spouse and I got two big 'dish barrels' packed full of almost all of the china from my kitchen and my dining room corner cupboard.  There is a teeny tiny concern here.  All of the china from my corner cupboard will, of course, fit right back in once we get the CC installed in its new designated corner.  However, that leaves quite a lot of dishes and glasses that must co-mingle with my husband's in the kitchen cupboards.  It will be a challenge.  And third, I'm happy because we were able to donate a bunch of good stuff (even a Vera Bradley bag) to an upcoming charity garage sale.  Sigh!  Three reasons to be happy.  I hope your day was triple blessed too.  

I'm a bag lady.

 True confession time?  How many of you, when you receive a gift (Christmas, birthday, whatever) in a lovely gift bag, instead of traditional wrapping paper, carefully fold that bag and put it away, so you can use it to wrap someone else's gift?  I have had that habit for years, as I discovered when emptying the guestroom closet in my apartment today.  Or maybe I'm just a closet hoarder.  One of the things I loved about my apartment, when I moved in eight years ago, was the closet space - two large walk-in closets,  four standard size closets and one good size linen closet, all of which I was able to fill quite thoroughly in eight years.  Most of the closets were filled with clothes or household equipment (does anyone need an ironing board?).  But the linen closet and the guest bedroom closet, the ones we emptied today, in our drive to be ready for the movers on Thursday, were the excitingly mysterious ones.  The linen closet because it's so easy to push stuff to the back.  How many bottles of partly used, dried up nail polish does one person need?  And the guest bedroom closet because, well, because, even when I left hanging space for guest clothes, had ample room all around the sides and on the shelves for stuff.  All my yarn and weaving equipment lived there, also all my Christmas decor, including the tree which we actually moved to the house before Christmas.  And, as I alluded to above, lots and lots of wrapping paper and a fine collection of gift bags.  Not only that, I discovered another bag full of bags of the non-gift type.  You know, the kind with nice little handles that you get when you shop at some of the better shops.  In case you're wondering, all of the bags were disposed of.  But never fear, I have plenty of time to build up a new collection, and a big basement to store them in.  Shush, don't tell my husband.  

peanut, peanut butter...

 According to my west coast brother, who knows such things, today is "National Peanut Butter Lovers Day" and also "Read Across America Day."  As it happens, I am a pro in both of these areas.  I eat peanut butter (crunchy of course) on crackers or celery almost every day for lunch.  True but not particularly exciting.  As far as reading across America, I have certainly done my share of that.  Back in the olden days, before every child had their own private entertainment devise, I read to my children (and my husband who preferred to drive and listen) as we took long drives across the country.  We were on the road in our VW bus camper conversion for two to three weeks each summer.  Driving across states like Kansas and Nebraska gave me plenty of time to read.  Nothing against those states but they are rather flat.  On one memorable trip I read the first several volumes of the original Tarzan series.  If you're familiar with those books you know that each one ends with a cliff hanger so we had to go on to the next one.  I think I had the first ten volumes.  The problem arose when we ran out of books with a day and a half of driving to get home.  Happily, rather amazingly really, we came upon a book store in a small town, whose owner was an Edgar Rice Burrows fan, and who had all the rest of the Tarzan books.  We never finished the entire series but we certainly read several of them, so I think I qualify as a reader across America.