I forgot to write about our first Christmas without Jim. Not much to tell. It was Lindsay and Kyle, Paige and Gabe and me. I went to Dragon House and picked up some Chinese food. It's become a bit of a tradition to have Chinese food on Christmas Eve. It started when we first moved back down here. Jim and I were always selling Christmas trees up until about 5:00 on Christmas Eve and there was no time and no energy for fixing a big meal so we always picked up Chinese food. This time I got the good stuff. Dragon House is the best Chinese restaurant in Riverside. Press Enterprise says so.
We didn't have many gifts to open. There just wasn't any time to shop this year and I certainly wasn't in the mood to join the crowds in the stores. I gave the boys gift cards and the girls got some trinkets plus a share of the family Christmas bonus. They were very happy to get a pile of cash. We opened the almond champagne that Ken and Sherri gave us. We laughed a lot and had a really good time, just like Jim was here. We drank a toast to the end of 2007 and toasted our hopes for a better 2008. Then I left to take Lindsay and Kyle to the airport.
I've been thinking about Jim a lot lately. Dreaming about him, too. In my dreams he never speaks to me. He's always just there hanging around.
Yesterday I had a grief moment. I hadn't had a computer since the day we moved out and I really wanted to get it set up. But all our equipment is scattered and packed away and I don't know what plugs into where so I probably wouldn't have been able to set it up anyway. The DSL had been activated but I was stuck. I was sitting in the family room when I noticed a package from AT&T sitting on the table. It was my new wireless modem and all the cords and filters I needed to set things up PLUS instructions. I just lost it. I sat there and sobbed and sobbed. Getting the computer set up would have been nothing for Jim. For me it's all a big mystery. Finding that package was almost like a message from Jim saying, "It's ok, you can do this." I plugged it all in and bang, I had internet. I still had to sit on the phone for almost two hours to get everything connected and to change everything to my name. I still don't have everything hooked up that I need but at least I can blog and get e-mail.
AT&T might be a big, evil corporation but they sure train their people well. They never once told me I'd need to send them a copy of the death certificate to remove Jim's name from my account. I sure ran into that roadblock a lot this year.
So, I have two more milestones to get through. January 14th, the day Jim had the stroke and January 18, the day he died. I think I'll ask for the 18th off. I don't think I'll be much use that day. And after this year I won't talk about January 14th on this blog. Stacey needs that day to be hers. Our mom died on January 14, 1987, which was Stacey's 21st birthday. When Jim had his stroke I didn't tell her until the next day. It's not fair to her to have so much sadness attached to that date.
It's still hard to believe he's gone. It still feels like it's impossible. I don't feel certain that my decisions are correct because I don't have Jim to knock it around with. Last night I was home alone and I kept having these long conversations with the cat. At one point I said, "Whoa there, girl. Grab the reins. You're not THAT old!" And then suddenly I felt very vulnerable. I was here alone. Sure, I've got three dogs here but they're useless idiots. I just got a glimpse into my possible future and it made me uncomfortable. I think when I reach a certain age I'm going to want to share a house with someone.
Looking forward to warm, sunny days. Too much dreary gloom right now.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Where to start?
The sun's in my eyes but I'm not too blinded to see the gunk on this keyboard. Another cleaning project.
Boxes are everywhere. I need to do a blitz on this house. Either unpack it or move it someplace where I won't trip over it. It's a little hard to get much done because my back is hurting right now. But once I'm up and moving it settles down. Boz has found the low spot on the back yard fence. I saw him wandering the neighborhood when I came home last night. That'll be my morning project after I finish up here. I brought fence boards from the farm for just that purpose.
Last Saturday the sibs and spouses helped me move in. We worked very hard all day but when we were finished they all went crazy on the wallpaper. It was so funny. Everyone was dead dog tired but they just HAD to attack the walls. It was great! The kitchen went from Grandma to project-in-progress in a matter of minutes. Suddenly the cabinets were the main focus.
Ah, I just unstuck the painted-open shutters in here. Got the sun out of my face.
I was here only a few days before going up to Dede's in SLO so nothing much got done. My new bed got delivered. Yay! Man, I knew that my old mattress was bad but after sleeping on this new mattress from Heaven (Sears) I know it must have been really messing with my back. This new one is reeeeally comfortable.
More later.
I had to go to the store to get comfort food and meds for Paige. She's got a nasty sore throat.
SLO was nice and relaxing. Well, as relaxing as it could be with a couple of rambunctious boys running around shooting nerf darts. Do NOT shoot at Aunt Donita. You'll be sorry. Anyway, it was fun. Thursday night the adults went to dinner at a very nice restaurant. That was after an afternoon of wine tasting, which was way fun. Dede was the designated driver so the rest of us were free to indulge and get goofy. Dinner was marvelous. I had the pork chop. It was the best pork chop in the world and probably the biggest. Everyone had a taste of it and all agreed that it was a pork chop that would be remembered for all ages.
Dad's behavior continues to get more and more out there. He's not as nasty but he's doing weird things. If he can't handle eating with a fork he'll pick up the food and eat it with his hands. His toileting is becomming problematic. I really don't know how long he'll be able to stay in his apartment. Not much longer is my guess.
I had to come home early because I had to be here to meet the phone guy. He was going to run some new wiring and add some jacks but when he got a good look at the job he decided he needed more time and some help. He's coming back on Monday. But at least he got my DSL going!!!!
Friday night Jeff and I saw Sweeney Todd. First we went to dinner at Ooka (mmmm, sushi) and then had tea at The Coffee Depot. We had a lot of time to kill before the show. I had never seen Sweeney Todd on stage so I didn't know much about it. I really enjoyed the movie and now I'd love to see a stage production. Next time one comes around I'm there. I loved the cast in this movie. Sacha Baron Cohen was a total crack up. Johnny Depp is always great to watch. Dude gets cuter every year. And hey, Snape and Wormtail get a lot of scenes together. It was a fun evening with a good friend.
And now I'm off to Home Depot to buy screws so I can keep my rotten dog from jumping the fence. I did a lot of work in the back yard yesterday. Most of the yard furniture, tools and decorative elements had been plopped down randomly during the move. I relocated them to the strip behind the garage. It looks much better out there now. It also was the first time I spent much time out there. The first time I really got a good look at the yard. Hoo boy, there's a LOT of work to do. There's Bermuda grass everywhere. I'm going to have to practically kill the whole yard, except for the trees. Actually, some of them are going to go as well. I won't be able to re-assemble the rabbit cage as it was. Gotta start over with that one. I'll need to cap off a sprinkler head or two. Can't have soggy bunnies.
But first the fence.
Boxes are everywhere. I need to do a blitz on this house. Either unpack it or move it someplace where I won't trip over it. It's a little hard to get much done because my back is hurting right now. But once I'm up and moving it settles down. Boz has found the low spot on the back yard fence. I saw him wandering the neighborhood when I came home last night. That'll be my morning project after I finish up here. I brought fence boards from the farm for just that purpose.
Last Saturday the sibs and spouses helped me move in. We worked very hard all day but when we were finished they all went crazy on the wallpaper. It was so funny. Everyone was dead dog tired but they just HAD to attack the walls. It was great! The kitchen went from Grandma to project-in-progress in a matter of minutes. Suddenly the cabinets were the main focus.
Ah, I just unstuck the painted-open shutters in here. Got the sun out of my face.
I was here only a few days before going up to Dede's in SLO so nothing much got done. My new bed got delivered. Yay! Man, I knew that my old mattress was bad but after sleeping on this new mattress from Heaven (Sears) I know it must have been really messing with my back. This new one is reeeeally comfortable.
More later.
I had to go to the store to get comfort food and meds for Paige. She's got a nasty sore throat.
SLO was nice and relaxing. Well, as relaxing as it could be with a couple of rambunctious boys running around shooting nerf darts. Do NOT shoot at Aunt Donita. You'll be sorry. Anyway, it was fun. Thursday night the adults went to dinner at a very nice restaurant. That was after an afternoon of wine tasting, which was way fun. Dede was the designated driver so the rest of us were free to indulge and get goofy. Dinner was marvelous. I had the pork chop. It was the best pork chop in the world and probably the biggest. Everyone had a taste of it and all agreed that it was a pork chop that would be remembered for all ages.
Dad's behavior continues to get more and more out there. He's not as nasty but he's doing weird things. If he can't handle eating with a fork he'll pick up the food and eat it with his hands. His toileting is becomming problematic. I really don't know how long he'll be able to stay in his apartment. Not much longer is my guess.
I had to come home early because I had to be here to meet the phone guy. He was going to run some new wiring and add some jacks but when he got a good look at the job he decided he needed more time and some help. He's coming back on Monday. But at least he got my DSL going!!!!
Friday night Jeff and I saw Sweeney Todd. First we went to dinner at Ooka (mmmm, sushi) and then had tea at The Coffee Depot. We had a lot of time to kill before the show. I had never seen Sweeney Todd on stage so I didn't know much about it. I really enjoyed the movie and now I'd love to see a stage production. Next time one comes around I'm there. I loved the cast in this movie. Sacha Baron Cohen was a total crack up. Johnny Depp is always great to watch. Dude gets cuter every year. And hey, Snape and Wormtail get a lot of scenes together. It was a fun evening with a good friend.
And now I'm off to Home Depot to buy screws so I can keep my rotten dog from jumping the fence. I did a lot of work in the back yard yesterday. Most of the yard furniture, tools and decorative elements had been plopped down randomly during the move. I relocated them to the strip behind the garage. It looks much better out there now. It also was the first time I spent much time out there. The first time I really got a good look at the yard. Hoo boy, there's a LOT of work to do. There's Bermuda grass everywhere. I'm going to have to practically kill the whole yard, except for the trees. Actually, some of them are going to go as well. I won't be able to re-assemble the rabbit cage as it was. Gotta start over with that one. I'll need to cap off a sprinkler head or two. Can't have soggy bunnies.
But first the fence.
Saturday, December 29, 2007
FINALLY!!!
We gots internets! I can read e-mail! I can send e-mail! I'm connected, baby!
This will be a short post because I've already been sitting here for two hours on the phone getting my DSL hooked up, authorized, effed up and fixed. We're mostly moved in but nowhere near set up and settled. We're tripping over ourselves. But it feels good to be here and every day it feels more like home. Most of the offending wall paper has been ripped down.
Yeah, I'll have to write more later. Lots of catching up to do. But right now the butt needs a break.
This will be a short post because I've already been sitting here for two hours on the phone getting my DSL hooked up, authorized, effed up and fixed. We're mostly moved in but nowhere near set up and settled. We're tripping over ourselves. But it feels good to be here and every day it feels more like home. Most of the offending wall paper has been ripped down.
Yeah, I'll have to write more later. Lots of catching up to do. But right now the butt needs a break.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
If we close today...
...you might not be hearing from me for a while.
I'll grab the computer out of storage right away but I don't know when it will be set up. This morning Lindsay and I are taking the rabbits over there. Cats, too. Damn house better close!
I'll grab the computer out of storage right away but I don't know when it will be set up. This morning Lindsay and I are taking the rabbits over there. Cats, too. Damn house better close!
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
One more day
Wait, wasn't that last post titled "One more day"? Yes it was. And we still have to wait ONE MORE DAY!!! We should have moved in a week ago. I'm so sick of this.
I was going to take tomorrow off work but I might as well go in. Maybe I'll take Friday off instead so I'll have three solid days to work on the move. I'm going to throw away my Christmas tree. It must be dry as a bone by now.
Boy, how's that for pouting? Christmas is RUINED!
Yesterday was a good day at work. I worked on finding lost people. Well, they weren't lost, just some of their paperwork. I felt like I was doing something productive and useful. Time just flew by. I'll continue that project today.
Maybe I'll move the rabbits to the new house this afternoon. They're just going into the back yard anyway. It would save us some time and it will feel good to have more over there than just my plants.
I was going to take tomorrow off work but I might as well go in. Maybe I'll take Friday off instead so I'll have three solid days to work on the move. I'm going to throw away my Christmas tree. It must be dry as a bone by now.
Boy, how's that for pouting? Christmas is RUINED!
Yesterday was a good day at work. I worked on finding lost people. Well, they weren't lost, just some of their paperwork. I felt like I was doing something productive and useful. Time just flew by. I'll continue that project today.
Maybe I'll move the rabbits to the new house this afternoon. They're just going into the back yard anyway. It would save us some time and it will feel good to have more over there than just my plants.
Monday, December 17, 2007
One more day
That's what I've been told. Tomorrow I should get the keys to the new place. I'm going to ask for Wednesday off so I can move some things. We'll get the U-Haul unloaded so Drew can return it. Then this weekend we'll do a big move.
My first big project will be the kitchen. Since I'm going to take my time moving in I want to do things right from the very beginning. We'll pull down wall paper, line the shelves and drawers, get the systems set up and paint. I don't have a grip on what color yet. Something happy!
My car is going to be about $380 to fix. Not too bad.
Yesterday I had Paige drive around in the new neighborhood. It's an ideal place to practice because there's almost no traffic. She did really well.
Thank you, Stacey and Scotty for letting us stay for so long. Three nights turned into ten days.
Ok, gotta go get ready for work.
My first big project will be the kitchen. Since I'm going to take my time moving in I want to do things right from the very beginning. We'll pull down wall paper, line the shelves and drawers, get the systems set up and paint. I don't have a grip on what color yet. Something happy!
My car is going to be about $380 to fix. Not too bad.
Yesterday I had Paige drive around in the new neighborhood. It's an ideal place to practice because there's almost no traffic. She did really well.
Thank you, Stacey and Scotty for letting us stay for so long. Three nights turned into ten days.
Ok, gotta go get ready for work.
Saturday, December 15, 2007
STRESS!!!
The day started out nice enough. I took Paige to Gabe's and stopped by the new house to check the mail. When I came back to Stacey's I helped them decorate their tree. Good holiday fun. Drew brought Dad over and he and Scotty settled in to watch a game on tv. I needed to get a gift for the office party on Thursday so I headed for Costco in MoVal.
I took a wrong turn and went a bit out of the way. No biggie, I was enjoying the drive. Then the car started making noises like gravel hitting the wheel well. Then that noise stopped and was replaced by an odd whiny whirring. I'm pretty sure a belt broke somewhere. I pulled into a shopping center where they were having a low rider car event. The place was packed and I had trouble getting through the people and cars to get to a place where I could park and call for help. First I called Scotty. He pretty much left the house right away to come get me. A few months ago I signed us up for Allstate's emergency road service. I didn't have my card with me so I called Lindsay to get the number. I called Allstate and had them send out a tow truck.
Scotty showed up a little later. Dad had come along for the ride. So, ok, it gets him out of the house. We waited for a while and then the tow truck came. I had parked in front of a furniture store, one space away from the store's big truck. It had a big sign on the side and a string of red and white balloons attached at the top. Scotty had parked right next to me on the other side. When the tow truck guy got there he tried to pull in between me and the furniture store truck. Oops. Not enough room. He scraped the side of the truck. Two guys from the store came running out. Dad, of course, considered it his duty to get out of the car and tell the tow truck guy what an idiot he was for scraping the furniture truck. Fortunately, I was able to head him off. I was stressed, cold and hungry. I was NOT going to put up with any bs from Dad.
The scrape wasn't a bad one and the store guys weren't upset so we got busy getting my car loaded up to take to Porter's in Riverside. We followed the guy most of the way to Riverside. Scotty got in front of him for the last part of the drive just to make sure he knew where to go. Everything went pretty smoothly but it took a lot of time and we had to listen to Dad's opinions the whole way. I left the key and a note in Porter's lock box. I'll deal with it on Monday. I hope it will be ok sitting there for a couple days.
After it was all handled we met Stacey and the kids at the Hawaiian barbeque place at Mission Grove. Drew and Mindy showed up a little later. Dinner was good. Just what I needed. As we were leaving we were working out who was going to ride with who and where and how I was going to go to Drew's to get Dad's car so I'd have something to get around in for the rest of the weekend. Dad had to get in one more nasty comment about me using his car. Hell, it's almost MY car since I'm buying it from him soon. Of course, he doesn't know that.
This is what I didn't need. I don't think it will cost much to fix and it probably won't take very long but jeez, cut me a break, will ya? I'd like to not have to be rescued for a while. I don't like being a load.
Tomorrow I'm going to Costco.
In Corona!
I took a wrong turn and went a bit out of the way. No biggie, I was enjoying the drive. Then the car started making noises like gravel hitting the wheel well. Then that noise stopped and was replaced by an odd whiny whirring. I'm pretty sure a belt broke somewhere. I pulled into a shopping center where they were having a low rider car event. The place was packed and I had trouble getting through the people and cars to get to a place where I could park and call for help. First I called Scotty. He pretty much left the house right away to come get me. A few months ago I signed us up for Allstate's emergency road service. I didn't have my card with me so I called Lindsay to get the number. I called Allstate and had them send out a tow truck.
Scotty showed up a little later. Dad had come along for the ride. So, ok, it gets him out of the house. We waited for a while and then the tow truck came. I had parked in front of a furniture store, one space away from the store's big truck. It had a big sign on the side and a string of red and white balloons attached at the top. Scotty had parked right next to me on the other side. When the tow truck guy got there he tried to pull in between me and the furniture store truck. Oops. Not enough room. He scraped the side of the truck. Two guys from the store came running out. Dad, of course, considered it his duty to get out of the car and tell the tow truck guy what an idiot he was for scraping the furniture truck. Fortunately, I was able to head him off. I was stressed, cold and hungry. I was NOT going to put up with any bs from Dad.
The scrape wasn't a bad one and the store guys weren't upset so we got busy getting my car loaded up to take to Porter's in Riverside. We followed the guy most of the way to Riverside. Scotty got in front of him for the last part of the drive just to make sure he knew where to go. Everything went pretty smoothly but it took a lot of time and we had to listen to Dad's opinions the whole way. I left the key and a note in Porter's lock box. I'll deal with it on Monday. I hope it will be ok sitting there for a couple days.
After it was all handled we met Stacey and the kids at the Hawaiian barbeque place at Mission Grove. Drew and Mindy showed up a little later. Dinner was good. Just what I needed. As we were leaving we were working out who was going to ride with who and where and how I was going to go to Drew's to get Dad's car so I'd have something to get around in for the rest of the weekend. Dad had to get in one more nasty comment about me using his car. Hell, it's almost MY car since I'm buying it from him soon. Of course, he doesn't know that.
This is what I didn't need. I don't think it will cost much to fix and it probably won't take very long but jeez, cut me a break, will ya? I'd like to not have to be rescued for a while. I don't like being a load.
Tomorrow I'm going to Costco.
In Corona!
Friday, December 14, 2007
We're off this weekend
Don't know for sure but it looks like the farm sale was funded today. That means it'll be recorded on Monday and I'll get to move into my house on Tuesday or Wednesday. We won't have the gas turned on until Thursday. No heat, no showers. Sponge bath city. We have electric space heaters. Somewhere. Buried in storage.
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii its brendan. donita's nephew
Brendan is guest blogging. Hey, Bill, B says he doesn't care about using punctuation or capitals. Evil Aunt Donita is enjoying watching him squirm.
Anyway... Work was mellow today. Half the people weren't there. I stuffed envelopes.
Ok, B is being a pain in the ass. I'm going to publish and go. If anyone has something fun to to this weekend give me a call.
hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii its brendan. donita's nephew
Brendan is guest blogging. Hey, Bill, B says he doesn't care about using punctuation or capitals. Evil Aunt Donita is enjoying watching him squirm.
Anyway... Work was mellow today. Half the people weren't there. I stuffed envelopes.
Ok, B is being a pain in the ass. I'm going to publish and go. If anyone has something fun to to this weekend give me a call.
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Nothing new
Yesterday I actually did some stuff at work. Stuff. I stuffed envelopes. Actually, I was happy to do it. At last I was doing something that was somewhat useful.
No new news of the land sale fiasco. Everyone on this side is working hard to try to get the dickheads to release the funds so we can close tomorrow. But it still might not happen until Monday. My animals are going bananas. Bozzie and Gracie's behavior is just plain bad and the kitties are as sad as they can be. The bunnies look stressed. They're stuck in cages surrounded by five noisy dogs.
That's about it. We're just hoping for some good news.
No new news of the land sale fiasco. Everyone on this side is working hard to try to get the dickheads to release the funds so we can close tomorrow. But it still might not happen until Monday. My animals are going bananas. Bozzie and Gracie's behavior is just plain bad and the kitties are as sad as they can be. The bunnies look stressed. They're stuck in cages surrounded by five noisy dogs.
That's about it. We're just hoping for some good news.
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
LARGE ANGER!!!
I can't write much now because I have to take Paige to school soon, The buyer is being a total DICK!!!! We might not close until Monday!!! He's being nit-picky about stuff that was left on the farm. We've done everything that he asked for and now he's finding new things to be unhappy about. Drew and the grader guy offered him some very reasonable solutions but he refused. I went there yesterday morning to take care of the cats and everything was fine. Then Drew showed up there at 1:00 and Dad's house was wide open. Someone had broken in. Fortunately, they didn't let Marty out. So, last night after dinner Drew met us there and we got all the cats out. They're in big cages and carriers at Drew's now.
This jerk is making things stupid hard for a lot of people. And I really don't know why. Everything is going to be bulldozed so why is he complaining about a few rocks and a sack of plaster? Some metal shelves were left in one of the barns. The grader guy told him that it would be an extra $3 in dumping fees. He even offered to do an extra dump load for free. No dice. Buyer bitch wants to be pissy.
So, this morning a lot of phone calls will be made. We're going to try to get it settled so we can close on Friday.
Ok, gotta go.
This jerk is making things stupid hard for a lot of people. And I really don't know why. Everything is going to be bulldozed so why is he complaining about a few rocks and a sack of plaster? Some metal shelves were left in one of the barns. The grader guy told him that it would be an extra $3 in dumping fees. He even offered to do an extra dump load for free. No dice. Buyer bitch wants to be pissy.
So, this morning a lot of phone calls will be made. We're going to try to get it settled so we can close on Friday.
Ok, gotta go.
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Things are up in the air
Boy, I'll be glad when this is over.
Let's see. We're all staying at Stacey and Scotty's. The dogs are in the side yard with the bunnies. Sunday night was awful. Stacey's dogs aren't used to having doggy guests so they were a bit jacked up. My dogs were HORRIBLE! I was worried they would traumatize the rabbits with all their barking. When I went to bed all I could hear was Bozzie barking. After a while I got up (oh yeah, I'm also in pain from the move), went downstairs and grabbed the little monster and put him in my car. Then I came back in and climbed the stairs and went back to bed. Then Gracie started up. I went back downstairs, out to the yard and got Gracie and put her in the car. Then I went back upstairs and back to bed. My body hurt all over and my brain was buzzing like mad. I lay there for a while trying to decide if I wanted to go downstairs again to grab some of Stacey's prescription ibuprofen. Fortunately I remembered I had a Vicodin in my purse. I took it and finally got to sleep. I hate my dogs. Ok, not really but I was pretty mad at them.
We had to get up early because it takes a while to get down the hill. I took Paige to school and then went to the farm. I took Bozzie with me because I was afraid he'd get bored and start messing with the rabbits. When I got to the farm I put him in with Marty to keep him company for a while. Marty doesn't have much use for us but he likes his doggy friends. I worked on gathering up the last of my things for a little while but I didn't have much time because I had to get back up the hill and get ready for work. The buyer was supposed to do the final walk-through. Ahem... Debbie, Bob and Dede took my plants over to the new house and dropped them off. Thanks, guys!
I came back up the hill to get ready for my first day of work. As I was doing hair and make-up I kept glancing at the clock in Audra's room. I was doing just fine, right on schedule. Then I wondered, hmm, is her clock right? It said 11:38. I went to Stacey and Scotty's room and looked at their clocks. They said 12:13!!!! I had to be at work at 12:30! I zoomed back to the bathroom and started RIPPING the curlers out of my hair! Curlers and pins were flying! My heart was pounding. I finished getting ready and came downstairs. The clock on the mantle said 12:15. The kitchen clock said 11:40. AAIIEEEE!!!!
Audra's clock was right. The kitchen clock was right. Stacey and Scotty keep their clocks set a half an hour ahead and the mantle clock is BROKEN. It ALWAYS says 12:15. I had oodles of time and a pounding heart. And my hair turned out pretty good!
When I got to the office almost everyone was still at lunch. A very nice young man was sitting at the front desk. He took me around to meet some of the people who were there. After a while two of the women I had met on my first visit came back from lunch. My first task was to reformat the schedule and add myself to the list. That was the biggest job I did the whole time I was there. They just didn't have anything for me to do. I sat at the front desk and studied the staff directory. I perused the RCC website and answered the phone ONCE (and screwed up). I poked around the office a bit and found the supplies closet. The most important thing I learned yesterday was where the pens are kept. And I get to do it all again today!
After work I went to the farm to see if I could find Zoey. Earlier, Paige had crawled under the house and scared her out. She sealed up the holes so Zoey couldn't get back under there. But then she was spooked and wouldn't come to anyone. I couldn't find her so I left and had dinner at Coco's. After that I went back to the farm. Zoey came out and greeted me like she always does and I nabbed her. This is not a cat that likes to be held. I had a hard time finding my house key in the dark while holding a squirming cat. I managed to get in and stash her in the room with Katie. Hooray! All the cats were captured and contained. I waited around a bit longer because I was supposed to meet Hector at 7:30 so I could pay him for the work he did the other day and so he could pick up his Christmas tree. He didn't show so I left. I was so tired. I just wanted to get back to Stacey's and end my day.
I found out later that the buyer never showed up for the walk-through. Sherri called me earlier and told me that he's being squirrely and might not want to close escrow on Wednesday. Dude! We HAVE to close! We've done everything he wanted us to do! The farm is cleaned up, the trees are gone and I moved out early! Gammer and Gaffer are waiting for their money so they can close on their new place in Oregon! I have people scheduled to come to the new house and install and deliver stuff! My plants are already there! GRRRR!!!!
I slept better last night. The dogs didn't bark at all. I guess they didn't want to sleep in the car again. I took a Vicodin right before I went to bed. But I still woke up way too early. S'ok. It gave me time to blog. I'll take Paige to school, go to the farm and take care of the pets and then come back here and get ready for work.
This time I'll know what time it is.
Let's see. We're all staying at Stacey and Scotty's. The dogs are in the side yard with the bunnies. Sunday night was awful. Stacey's dogs aren't used to having doggy guests so they were a bit jacked up. My dogs were HORRIBLE! I was worried they would traumatize the rabbits with all their barking. When I went to bed all I could hear was Bozzie barking. After a while I got up (oh yeah, I'm also in pain from the move), went downstairs and grabbed the little monster and put him in my car. Then I came back in and climbed the stairs and went back to bed. Then Gracie started up. I went back downstairs, out to the yard and got Gracie and put her in the car. Then I went back upstairs and back to bed. My body hurt all over and my brain was buzzing like mad. I lay there for a while trying to decide if I wanted to go downstairs again to grab some of Stacey's prescription ibuprofen. Fortunately I remembered I had a Vicodin in my purse. I took it and finally got to sleep. I hate my dogs. Ok, not really but I was pretty mad at them.
We had to get up early because it takes a while to get down the hill. I took Paige to school and then went to the farm. I took Bozzie with me because I was afraid he'd get bored and start messing with the rabbits. When I got to the farm I put him in with Marty to keep him company for a while. Marty doesn't have much use for us but he likes his doggy friends. I worked on gathering up the last of my things for a little while but I didn't have much time because I had to get back up the hill and get ready for work. The buyer was supposed to do the final walk-through. Ahem... Debbie, Bob and Dede took my plants over to the new house and dropped them off. Thanks, guys!
I came back up the hill to get ready for my first day of work. As I was doing hair and make-up I kept glancing at the clock in Audra's room. I was doing just fine, right on schedule. Then I wondered, hmm, is her clock right? It said 11:38. I went to Stacey and Scotty's room and looked at their clocks. They said 12:13!!!! I had to be at work at 12:30! I zoomed back to the bathroom and started RIPPING the curlers out of my hair! Curlers and pins were flying! My heart was pounding. I finished getting ready and came downstairs. The clock on the mantle said 12:15. The kitchen clock said 11:40. AAIIEEEE!!!!
Audra's clock was right. The kitchen clock was right. Stacey and Scotty keep their clocks set a half an hour ahead and the mantle clock is BROKEN. It ALWAYS says 12:15. I had oodles of time and a pounding heart. And my hair turned out pretty good!
When I got to the office almost everyone was still at lunch. A very nice young man was sitting at the front desk. He took me around to meet some of the people who were there. After a while two of the women I had met on my first visit came back from lunch. My first task was to reformat the schedule and add myself to the list. That was the biggest job I did the whole time I was there. They just didn't have anything for me to do. I sat at the front desk and studied the staff directory. I perused the RCC website and answered the phone ONCE (and screwed up). I poked around the office a bit and found the supplies closet. The most important thing I learned yesterday was where the pens are kept. And I get to do it all again today!
After work I went to the farm to see if I could find Zoey. Earlier, Paige had crawled under the house and scared her out. She sealed up the holes so Zoey couldn't get back under there. But then she was spooked and wouldn't come to anyone. I couldn't find her so I left and had dinner at Coco's. After that I went back to the farm. Zoey came out and greeted me like she always does and I nabbed her. This is not a cat that likes to be held. I had a hard time finding my house key in the dark while holding a squirming cat. I managed to get in and stash her in the room with Katie. Hooray! All the cats were captured and contained. I waited around a bit longer because I was supposed to meet Hector at 7:30 so I could pay him for the work he did the other day and so he could pick up his Christmas tree. He didn't show so I left. I was so tired. I just wanted to get back to Stacey's and end my day.
I found out later that the buyer never showed up for the walk-through. Sherri called me earlier and told me that he's being squirrely and might not want to close escrow on Wednesday. Dude! We HAVE to close! We've done everything he wanted us to do! The farm is cleaned up, the trees are gone and I moved out early! Gammer and Gaffer are waiting for their money so they can close on their new place in Oregon! I have people scheduled to come to the new house and install and deliver stuff! My plants are already there! GRRRR!!!!
I slept better last night. The dogs didn't bark at all. I guess they didn't want to sleep in the car again. I took a Vicodin right before I went to bed. But I still woke up way too early. S'ok. It gave me time to blog. I'll take Paige to school, go to the farm and take care of the pets and then come back here and get ready for work.
This time I'll know what time it is.
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Beyond tired
We worked like, well, like we usually do. It's hard to tell if we got most of our stuff out because there are so many particles left to pull together. The nervous buyer threw a monkey wrench into my plans. Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with our cats. I'll have to think about that when my brain isn't so tired.
Tomorrow Drew is going to pick up a big truck from U-Haul. We'll hang onto it for a few days so we can store the last of the big stuff in it.
I'm at Stacey's right now. No internet at home anymore. We'll sleep there tonight but tomorrow we'll be conmpletely moved out so we'll either be at Drew's or Stacey's. I'm here right now because I'm going to use their jaccuzzi. I'm just waiting for it to warm up.
I'm amazed that I still have space in my storage units. I'm sure we'll finish 'em off tomorrow.
Ok, that's it. I'm too loopy to blog.
Tomorrow Drew is going to pick up a big truck from U-Haul. We'll hang onto it for a few days so we can store the last of the big stuff in it.
I'm at Stacey's right now. No internet at home anymore. We'll sleep there tonight but tomorrow we'll be conmpletely moved out so we'll either be at Drew's or Stacey's. I'm here right now because I'm going to use their jaccuzzi. I'm just waiting for it to warm up.
I'm amazed that I still have space in my storage units. I'm sure we'll finish 'em off tomorrow.
Ok, that's it. I'm too loopy to blog.
Friday, December 07, 2007
Oh fer cryin' out loud.
The buyer is nervous. He wants to do his final walk-through on Monday and he wants me out by then. He's afraid escrow will close, the sale will have funded and I'll refuse to move and he'll have to have me evicted. Dude, if I don't get out on time then I'm screwing myself and my whole family. Don't worry about it.
So! We're outta here this weekend. We're refugees! I'll pack some clothes for work and some grubbies for the move. I'll use my travel toiletries bag and... uh-oh. I already packed the other two air mattresses. Well, I'm sure we'll have someplace to sleep for a couple nights.
Dede came down to have a look at the place and to help me pack. Thank you, Dede! She and I worked on the studio and got it ready to go. Now that I think of it, this will probably be my last post until after the move. Maybe I'll blog from Stacey's. I'm sure there will be stories to share.
The farm is telling us it's time to go. Things have been falling apart for a few months now. Trees have been dying. And tonight when Dede was leaving I noticed that the slow drip in the kitchen sink has turned into a steady stream. Just one more thing.
Gonna go get some dinner. Maybe Killarney's. Mmmmm, Smithwick's. No, wait, it's Friday. It'll be a madhouse. Aw, what the hell, it's still early and I really want that beer.
So! We're outta here this weekend. We're refugees! I'll pack some clothes for work and some grubbies for the move. I'll use my travel toiletries bag and... uh-oh. I already packed the other two air mattresses. Well, I'm sure we'll have someplace to sleep for a couple nights.
Dede came down to have a look at the place and to help me pack. Thank you, Dede! She and I worked on the studio and got it ready to go. Now that I think of it, this will probably be my last post until after the move. Maybe I'll blog from Stacey's. I'm sure there will be stories to share.
The farm is telling us it's time to go. Things have been falling apart for a few months now. Trees have been dying. And tonight when Dede was leaving I noticed that the slow drip in the kitchen sink has turned into a steady stream. Just one more thing.
Gonna go get some dinner. Maybe Killarney's. Mmmmm, Smithwick's. No, wait, it's Friday. It'll be a madhouse. Aw, what the hell, it's still early and I really want that beer.
Thursday, December 06, 2007
Puh!
The weather is going to be icky this weekend. That is so NOT what we need. We'll be moving in the rain. Grumble, grumble.
CONGRATULATIONS to Sherri and Ken (and of course to Robin and Paul) on their new grandbaby! Little dude arrived early this morning. I forgot his name (sorry). A happy day for all.
This morning Sherri and Brandon met Drew, Debbie, Bob and me at the new house for the final walk-through. It looks like the electrical repairs were done properly so plus points on that one. We found a few more problems but nothing too big. It's an old house so of course it will have issues. But one thing I didn't know. When we were in the sun room we were wondering what the windows were made of. I said, "Is this glass or plexi?" and poked at the window. My finger went right through it!!!! It's just some kind of THIN plastic! Ok, so it's just the sun room which is really an enclosed patio. We found out it's really a screened in patio with plastic sheeting over the windows. Ahem!
Oh well, it's still going to be a great house. This will be my best kitchen ever. I can't wait!
Today they're clearing out the last of the Christmas trees.
Keep moving, girl. Lotta packing left to do.
CONGRATULATIONS to Sherri and Ken (and of course to Robin and Paul) on their new grandbaby! Little dude arrived early this morning. I forgot his name (sorry). A happy day for all.
This morning Sherri and Brandon met Drew, Debbie, Bob and me at the new house for the final walk-through. It looks like the electrical repairs were done properly so plus points on that one. We found a few more problems but nothing too big. It's an old house so of course it will have issues. But one thing I didn't know. When we were in the sun room we were wondering what the windows were made of. I said, "Is this glass or plexi?" and poked at the window. My finger went right through it!!!! It's just some kind of THIN plastic! Ok, so it's just the sun room which is really an enclosed patio. We found out it's really a screened in patio with plastic sheeting over the windows. Ahem!
Oh well, it's still going to be a great house. This will be my best kitchen ever. I can't wait!
Today they're clearing out the last of the Christmas trees.
Keep moving, girl. Lotta packing left to do.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Go away!
The wolves are circling.
All of the trees in the front field are gone and we've had big machines pushing dirt and debris around. It's obvious that we're leaving. Signs are posted that say We're Closed and No Tresspassing. So, of course that means anyone can come up here, right? This morning there were a few cut trees left in the front field. These people were out there just helping themselves, dragging trees up to their car, which was parked in front of our house. The whole damn day was a big moron parade with people coming up here, asking about trees and blocking the driveways. I HATE PEOPLE!!!!! I want to make another sign that says, "The only people who belong up here are the construction crew and the family that STILL LIVES HERE. If that's not you then don't come up here."
I told one guy that there are no more trees and as he was driving away he slowed down and got all snoopy looking at the stuff I had piled in the driveway to take to storage. Asshole! I'm sick of it.
Tomorrow morning we're doing the final walk-through at the new house. Drew and Bob are going to inspect everything to make sure the electrical repairs were done properly and just check the general condition of the place. Gammer and Gaffer are gone! Hooray!
This afternoon I took the Excel class at the library. It was completely useless. I'll just take the Excel/Word class at RCC and learn it for real.
Today was pretty productive considering I was on constant moron patrol. I got a lot of packing done and the truck is almost ready to take another load to storage. But since I'm worried about rip-offs I had to take some stuff out and lock it up in the garage. The furniture guys came and picked up Dad's leftovers. They're coming again on Saturday to get the rest. They were nice. I enjoyed talking to them.
I'm having the dogs sleep outside tonight. It's not very cold and Boz can chase off the critters (animal and human).
All of the trees in the front field are gone and we've had big machines pushing dirt and debris around. It's obvious that we're leaving. Signs are posted that say We're Closed and No Tresspassing. So, of course that means anyone can come up here, right? This morning there were a few cut trees left in the front field. These people were out there just helping themselves, dragging trees up to their car, which was parked in front of our house. The whole damn day was a big moron parade with people coming up here, asking about trees and blocking the driveways. I HATE PEOPLE!!!!! I want to make another sign that says, "The only people who belong up here are the construction crew and the family that STILL LIVES HERE. If that's not you then don't come up here."
I told one guy that there are no more trees and as he was driving away he slowed down and got all snoopy looking at the stuff I had piled in the driveway to take to storage. Asshole! I'm sick of it.
Tomorrow morning we're doing the final walk-through at the new house. Drew and Bob are going to inspect everything to make sure the electrical repairs were done properly and just check the general condition of the place. Gammer and Gaffer are gone! Hooray!
This afternoon I took the Excel class at the library. It was completely useless. I'll just take the Excel/Word class at RCC and learn it for real.
Today was pretty productive considering I was on constant moron patrol. I got a lot of packing done and the truck is almost ready to take another load to storage. But since I'm worried about rip-offs I had to take some stuff out and lock it up in the garage. The furniture guys came and picked up Dad's leftovers. They're coming again on Saturday to get the rest. They were nice. I enjoyed talking to them.
I'm having the dogs sleep outside tonight. It's not very cold and Boz can chase off the critters (animal and human).
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Dad's new place
I saw it for the first time tonight. Man, this place is NICE. Like a good hotel. A really good hotel. And Dad is as happy as can be. I'm stunned. He fought like crazy against going to an "old folks home" but you never know it to see him now. He's living like a king.
Drew and Mindy took a small Christmas tree to his apartment and set it up. Debbie and I bought some decorations at Big Lots and took them over. Bob was already there. We had coffee and cookies in their snack area and then went to Dad's apartment. Debbie, Bob and I decorated the tree while Dad sat and listened to Christmas music on the tv. He was amazed that he could have nice music in his room any time he wanted. We had a very nice visit. All of his resentment towards me is gone. After seeing him there I really don't think there will be any trouble, at least until his Alzheimer's gets worse. You just never know.
This is just great.
Drew and Mindy took a small Christmas tree to his apartment and set it up. Debbie and I bought some decorations at Big Lots and took them over. Bob was already there. We had coffee and cookies in their snack area and then went to Dad's apartment. Debbie, Bob and I decorated the tree while Dad sat and listened to Christmas music on the tv. He was amazed that he could have nice music in his room any time he wanted. We had a very nice visit. All of his resentment towards me is gone. After seeing him there I really don't think there will be any trouble, at least until his Alzheimer's gets worse. You just never know.
This is just great.
A quick one
Didn't get a whole lot done today. I'm going to take a load to storage pretty soon and while I'm there I'll rent another unit. We'll probably fill both to the max this weekend.
We're doing the final walk-throughfor my house early Thursday morning. Drew and Bob will see of the electrical repairs are acceptable. Gammer and Gaffer will be out by then. Thank GAWD!
Today was more crazy stuff. So many people were up here walking around and blocking the driveways with their cars. Somebody parked in my driveway. I'm tired of having these people here. The grader guys are fine but the rest of them are people who heard from their sister's friend's mother's waitress's boss that they could come up here and get a tree. Some of them have an actual connection to our family and we do let them have trees. But everyone wants to chat for way too long and it pulls the focus away from the job at hand. I don't CARE that they've been coming up here for years and I don't CARE that they know Dad and want to know everything about what he's doing. Go AWAY! Yesterday we had some people from some other church actually giving trees away outside our fence. Caused a huge traffic jam. Drew had explained to them that no one could be on the property so they were waving people down as they drove by. IDIOTS!!!!!!! We put a stop to that pretty quick.
Ok, back to work.
We're doing the final walk-throughfor my house early Thursday morning. Drew and Bob will see of the electrical repairs are acceptable. Gammer and Gaffer will be out by then. Thank GAWD!
Today was more crazy stuff. So many people were up here walking around and blocking the driveways with their cars. Somebody parked in my driveway. I'm tired of having these people here. The grader guys are fine but the rest of them are people who heard from their sister's friend's mother's waitress's boss that they could come up here and get a tree. Some of them have an actual connection to our family and we do let them have trees. But everyone wants to chat for way too long and it pulls the focus away from the job at hand. I don't CARE that they've been coming up here for years and I don't CARE that they know Dad and want to know everything about what he's doing. Go AWAY! Yesterday we had some people from some other church actually giving trees away outside our fence. Caused a huge traffic jam. Drew had explained to them that no one could be on the property so they were waving people down as they drove by. IDIOTS!!!!!!! We put a stop to that pretty quick.
Ok, back to work.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Blogging on hold
I'm changing all my sevices this morning..llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll That was Katie sitting on the keyboard. I'm sitting here, typing one-handed, on hold with AT&T, holding an insistant kitty who's in the mood to be cuddled. The AT&T gal just told me that Gammer and Gaffer haven't put in their change order yet. Virginia, you're right. They're not leaving! Get the Granny Scram!
Ok, she just called them and got it handled. So far this morning I've called the thrift store to schedule a furniture pick up, the plumber, the sheriff's department, an antique store, Dish Network and now AT&T. Dang, we have to change our phone number. Ok, new life, new phone number.
Yesterday was a bit more mellow but still a lot of hard work. I left in the afternoon to go to the uke group meeting. It was great! A good friend of the Odiens was there and he brought his whole family. A sad occasion for them. They were all together because of a death in the family. They all really enjoyed it and it was probably a nice break for them. The quality of music was bumped up a couple notches. A fun afternoon.
We're almost finished clearing out Dad's house. The grader guys are back today. Back up beeps galore!
Today I have to go to RCC to get my TB test read. Later on I'll go to the sheriff's dept. for finger printing and a background check. The rest of the time I'll be working, working, working. Just as soon as I finish up with these phone calls.
Ok, she just called them and got it handled. So far this morning I've called the thrift store to schedule a furniture pick up, the plumber, the sheriff's department, an antique store, Dish Network and now AT&T. Dang, we have to change our phone number. Ok, new life, new phone number.
Yesterday was a bit more mellow but still a lot of hard work. I left in the afternoon to go to the uke group meeting. It was great! A good friend of the Odiens was there and he brought his whole family. A sad occasion for them. They were all together because of a death in the family. They all really enjoyed it and it was probably a nice break for them. The quality of music was bumped up a couple notches. A fun afternoon.
We're almost finished clearing out Dad's house. The grader guys are back today. Back up beeps galore!
Today I have to go to RCC to get my TB test read. Later on I'll go to the sheriff's dept. for finger printing and a background check. The rest of the time I'll be working, working, working. Just as soon as I finish up with these phone calls.
Sunday, December 02, 2007
It couldn't have gone any better.
I hope it lasts.
This morning they delivered the dumpster. Dad was here for a little while but there was so much activity and it was so easy to redirect him that he didn't get much chance to see what we were throwing away. Mindy took him... I forgot where she took him. She managed to keep him away for a long time. While they were gone the movers from Raincross showed up. Boy, what a frenzy! There wasn't that much to move so it went pretty quickly. When Dad came back Dede, Debbie and Mindy took him to the new apartment and got him settled in. He loved how it looked. He commented on how much he liked how simplified it was. No visual clutter. Dad really likes his new place!
We worked all day getting things moved out. It's amazing seeing the place look so empty. We're almost done. It's kind of unbelieveable.
We had dinner at Stacey's. I was kind of out of it. Reality is smacking me around a little bit. Leaving here feels like leaving Jim. I had a couple good cries and then felt a little better. Debbie showed us some videos of her grandkids. Soooo adorable! Dad watched a ball game, had some dinner and was just as happy as could be. It's really something. He could switch attitudes in a second but for today at least he was with the program and loving it. Dede took him back to Raincross. She's spending the night there tonight. Dad won't be coming back to the farm. As far as he's concerned I'm moving this weekend, too. We'll have to stall him as best we can until they tear this place down. We just can't let him come back here.
Tomorrow we'll pretty much be finished at Dad's. I'm getting started on my move. Gonna put more things into storage. One of Paige's friends is coming over to help move some of the heavy stuff. Next weekend is the big push.
Donita, go to bed.
This morning they delivered the dumpster. Dad was here for a little while but there was so much activity and it was so easy to redirect him that he didn't get much chance to see what we were throwing away. Mindy took him... I forgot where she took him. She managed to keep him away for a long time. While they were gone the movers from Raincross showed up. Boy, what a frenzy! There wasn't that much to move so it went pretty quickly. When Dad came back Dede, Debbie and Mindy took him to the new apartment and got him settled in. He loved how it looked. He commented on how much he liked how simplified it was. No visual clutter. Dad really likes his new place!
We worked all day getting things moved out. It's amazing seeing the place look so empty. We're almost done. It's kind of unbelieveable.
We had dinner at Stacey's. I was kind of out of it. Reality is smacking me around a little bit. Leaving here feels like leaving Jim. I had a couple good cries and then felt a little better. Debbie showed us some videos of her grandkids. Soooo adorable! Dad watched a ball game, had some dinner and was just as happy as could be. It's really something. He could switch attitudes in a second but for today at least he was with the program and loving it. Dede took him back to Raincross. She's spending the night there tonight. Dad won't be coming back to the farm. As far as he's concerned I'm moving this weekend, too. We'll have to stall him as best we can until they tear this place down. We just can't let him come back here.
Tomorrow we'll pretty much be finished at Dad's. I'm getting started on my move. Gonna put more things into storage. One of Paige's friends is coming over to help move some of the heavy stuff. Next weekend is the big push.
Donita, go to bed.
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