Ready for long weekend

10/19/17
Ready for long arts & craft weekend, except I am tired

I have been getting ready for 2 weeks for my girls weekend with my sister, neice, aunts and cousins.  Now it is the day I will leave work early and drive down with one of my aunt's (M2).  I am driving my husband's car today, it is an older smaller sedan, and gets better gas mileage than my SUV.  M2 will have her husband bring her down to where i work so we can go from there in the other direction in my car.  M1, my other aunt is going 3 hours out of her way to pick up her grand daughter.  I am glad the grand daughter wants to come (she has come before when her cousins have come), but I am glad I don't have to add an extra 3 hours today and 3 hours sunday to my drive, because I am tired.  They probably won't get to RH until midnight.  Plus, I will have quite a few things to do Sunday to get ready for another 50 hour week.  I had hoped we could all ride together, but it is out of my hands.  My 2 aunts (M1 and M2) both live in the city I currently live in.  They are my mother's sisters.  I don't like to drive at night if I don't have to and I get sleepy around 10pm.  My main thing about avoiding the extra 3 hours is that my cousin and her SIL will be there at around 6 or 7pm to my RH and I felt uncomfortable hosting with people just waiting for me in my house.  I want to get there, get unloaded.  Open the blinds, turn on the AC, turn on some lights, sweep out any dead bugs, God forbid.  When you don't live full time in a house, there is the constant battle with bugs.  It is a pain.  We also have some issues with mildew from the house being shut up so tight and not enough air movement.  I feel really uncomfortable having guests get there before I do.  And not by a little while, by hours.  My cousin and I are close enough, I don't worry about that.  But I have never met her SIL and my cousin has only been to my house once.  I am sure I will be on the phone with her trying to direct her in.  I don't want to be driving through the hilly terrain in the dark with 3 women in the car, perhaps talking with each other. 

I am bringing everyone a pint of my apple butter and the pie I froze.  I packed it in ice in my car while I work 8 hours today.  I am currently  waiting on a project.  I hope this day goes by fast.  The sun is coming up and I am enjoying my nice hot tea.  I am excited about the weekend, but as a host, I always worry will everything run smoothly and will people have a nice time.  I also worry about who has to sleep on the sofa bed, because I know it is not the most comfortable.  But, it is nice to enjoy the fall with some women in my family who mean the world to me.  After our mom passed away, her sisters enjoy an even more important part of my life and I know my sister D3 feels the same way. 

I am also excited to be bringing 2 crockpots that I can't use to my neice and nephew, a 3 drawer plastic storage unit, and 2 Halloween tubs of decorations for them to take and use/enjoy.  More stuff out of my CH.  Win win!  I sold a pair of boots and a nice leather jacket this past week that I have been trying to sell for 6 months.  I put that money in savings.  I paid my personal property taxes last week in the RH state ($600+).  And my credit card balance was empty until my Sam's run last night (ouch).  It just occurred to me that the $200 cash I stashed at CH I totally forgot.  Oh well, I have $50 cash on me and  cash stashed at RH, so I should be fine!  I am buying nothing at the craft fair (Friday) or the shopping center (Saturday)...unless it is a big metal state mascot to put on our barn (my husband calls it barn, I call it a shed).  I have debated making one cut out of particle board - I could save prob 75%, but my husband nor I have ever used a jig saw...stay tuned on that one!

Have a great 3rd weekend of October fall weekend!  Enjoy your friends, family, traditions, sunshine, leaves, banana bread, apple butter, or pumpkin anything!  See you next week.

Mid Week pain

Mid Week Pain
So after such a physical weekend moving rocks, pulling weeds and planting/transplanting bulbs I am still a little sore, but my back is better.  I made it to hot yoga on Monday after work and pushed through it and it was a great workout and I did manage my afternoon walk Sunday afternoon once we drove back to the city, but Tues I went straight home from work, fixed my breakfast/lunch for the next day, kissed my DH and went straight to bed at 7pm!  Thank goodness for crockpot meals!  My tummy was feeling bad too, so I think I need to take my B12 at night instead of with my lunch.  I am going to try it today and see if it helps.  It was perfect night to go to sleep early because it was rainy and gray outside.

I did wake up at 3 (which I don't usu do), so I think next time I will have a melatonin ready by the bed to help me back to sleep.  I did use the 4, 7, 8 breathing technique I read about recently and it seems to help me.  I need at least one day a week like this to get 10 or 11 hours of sleep, esp during overtime.  I have been on overtime since July and I am really tiring of it.  But I am grateful for the income.  I keep finding things for the RH I want to buy!  LIke now that I have a new stainless range/oven I am thinking I need a new hood.  My husband is like, but it doesn't even show, but I think the fan and lights will be a much needed improvement (at least that's my story).

At least it is Wednesday and it is not raining, so I think I will get to walk after work.  I hope.  It really helps me relax and unwind.  I just listen to a book from the library or a podcat I  downloaded via wifi and I LOVE it!  When I need to go to sleep early, I listen to celestial or new age/yoga type music on Spotify and put my eye mask on and zone! 

Sunday Drive Day

This post is from sunday, but i had to delete start over, still cannot do photos

Well, we got 4 of the 6 projects finished at RH this weekend.  I will try to post a photo.  Every trip down we load as much as we can which involves unloading and organizing so we can fit more next trip.  But, its all good. 

Got sheets and towels clean for girls weekend in 2 weeks.  Got an old light taken down.  DH got lawnmower tire fixed.  We have a person we pay now, but never know when that could fall through.  He also patched a hole in porch ceiling and used spray foam master closet where I suspect spider enter (ewww).

I cleaned weeds out of 2 raised planters and rescattered existing flower bulbs, plus transplanted my peonies.  One of the planters was full of rocks, I moved those too.  My sister (D3) came and visited while I worked.  She got some peonie bulbs, some wild onions and some cypress vine seeds.  We told her to watch where you put cypress vibe, cause it will never go away once it starts!

We got to share couple dinners with my dear in laws, but SIL and BIL were away dealing with BIL mom's estate.  She passed this summer with a house so full of stuff, you could barely walk through it.  Literally a path.  Plus, she had barely a spot cleared on her bed large enough for her to sleep.  Between these stories and seeing my Aunt's (PA) place, i vow to give my stuff away while I am alive so I dont leave a mess like that to my loved ones.  We have no children (thats another post).  But I wouldnt want to put that on anyone.  My DGM (grandmother) has been great about this, every step of the way deciding she can no longer drive, downsizing from house to apt, moving from apt to indep living, etc.  She is my role model in aging (and many other things!)

So. I will continue as long ad i am alive to be aware and organized, and hopefully proactive. 

My MIL always cuts out articles on local history.  This time it was about a local lake and how a wealthy businessman from Chicago had arrived and built a resort.  The resort eventually flooded to create a lake.  My DH and I enjoy reading about history.  We enjoy her thought that we might enjoy reading something.  I wonder if hoarding is a newer phenomenon.  I suspect it is.  Maybe because stuff is so much more readily available.  I wonder about this, that is the type of dialoge in my head.  At least when I drive 4 hours home, my mind isnt doing such random thoughts.  If you have to work tomorrow, like me, have a great Monday.  We dont get Columbus Day if thus year at my firm.  But I am mighty grateful for the income.

One Can Google Anything

I was happy to google this:  "large, vigorous plants can be dug and divided for propagation purposes. September is the best time to transplant established peonies. Begin by cutting the peony stems near ground level. Then carefully dig around and under each plant."

 

Even though it is Oct, it is only the 7th day of Oct that I plan to move my peonies.  We are going to retirement house this weekend.  I have several things I want to get accomplished before we have our family annual craft fair weekend, in 3 weeks.  1)  paint the cubby around the water/ice dispenser on my side by side refridgerator.  It is white but this plastic insert has yellowed.  We just recently bought a new stove (oven died) and dishwasher.  I am not spending the money on a new fridge yet.  It works fine.  2)  I removed the glass shades from the small guest room fan to use on a painted/refurbished guest bathroom light.  I don't want the overhead lights anyway.  I just have to figure out how to take off that middle ring portion of the ceiling fan that houses the light sockets.  At least I hope this can be done.  3)  I am going to clean/paint some outdoor furniture.  4)  disconnect a built in light in the kitchen desk area, below the cabinets.  For 3+ years this has hung there when I unscrewed it from the cabinet so i could paint under it.  5)  move rocks out of outside planter bed and move my peonies to the planter bed. 

 

When we bought our RH it was Labor Day weekend 2014.  There were 2 large raised planters on the Northwest side of the house that had scads of wild onion and weeds in them.  I read that you could basically compost cut grass and leaves and cardboard and not have to till a garden area.  Well, the leaves and grass would not stay put and all around the foundation of the house there were large fist size rocks just laying loose.  Like the ones that matched the foundation rocks, but just laying there.  I did not yet have a garden tractor or wheelbarrow, so I just put a bunch of these large rocks in my planters to help control weeds. 

 

FAIL! 

 

Now I have weeds + rocks! in the planters.  Now that I have both a garden tractor and a place to put these rocks, so time to move them!  The peonies are just scattered near my backdoor making an unsightly trap for leaves and "things", no telling what kind of creepy crawly things are in there.  I prefer a much more tailored landscaping plan near my house, esp near a door.  Ick. 

First day of fall Friday

So I got my walk in last evening after work.  It was nice, a little warm but nice therapy.  I have been walking regularly (I jogged for a few years) for over 30 years, since I graduated from high school.  I walk outside and inside.  I have gone through two treadmills.  I just sold my last one to downsize. 

 

I walk as much for relaxation as anything.  The weather lately is not like fall, it is in the high 80's low 90's and pretty humid.  Oh well, it won't last long.  We need rain at RH or I rely on my in laws to keep things alive and I hate for them to have to worry about it.  My DH parents and sister are great to help us when we need to, or we could have never bought this house and started getting it ready for when we retire ahead of time, like we have done. 

 

This month officially makes it 3 years that we have been dealing with 2 house payments, 2 insurance, 2 real estate taxes, 2 utilities...it has been great, but a little stressful (first world problems).  But we could not have done it without dear IL and my SIL and BIL. 

 

Today SIL had to oversee 2nd delivery of our new dishwasher.  The first one they installed had large defect in the surface covering about 1/3 of the front panel.  Our existing appliances there are white (I hate) and the cabinets are white (I love).  We could not find a nice updated slide in electric range (and were not willing to tear up entire floor to run gas line) in white, so we got stainless.  I have heard all the stories of fingerprints, smears, etc.  But white was not working out and we did not want black.  The kitchen is sort of small and a little closed off and the black would have been way to dark for the space. 

 

The house itself is small ish 1400+ square feet.  Our current city house is about 2700, but has a large storage area and 2 full living areas.  We felt it important to go slightly smaller and with true range/one story lay out.  This RH is also older than CH, but we fell better built.  So both houses seem to have things they need at the same time - that has been fun.  This year we have purchased a water heater and washer/dryer (CH) and a roof, range/oven and dishwasher (RH).  At least we have paid case as we have gone along. 

 

Also last year we finished more laminate floors in CH (to get it ready to sell) and enclosed a car port at RH.  Next will be a new AC for RH, but at least we got the one for CH purchased a couple of years ago (the unit on CH was less than 10 years old and just quit). 

 

I am told that builder grade things are like that and we see this over and over in CH.  Even how the siding and doors/windows on the SW side was done wrong, leading to water rushing in when we first moved in and requiring a sump pump in the basement - which all fell on us and HOA, instead of the builder (not my decision, this was the mindset of the HOA person/hired by builder).  This eventually has lead to ever increasing HOA fees and a deficit to our neighborhood account.  Some of my neighbors are very concerned and try to get answers and some of the neighbors seem to just "trust" it will all work out.  DH and I are just looking forward to getting away from it before there is a large assessment. 

 

Oh, and while we feel lucky home prices seem to be rising which is good for sellers, taxes on both places has risen steadily in the past 3 years.  We are really basically just over the stress of two places.

 
Well, this weekend I have not decided what my project will be at CH to do something to help the process of selling it.  There are plenty of things to do.  Maybe I will scrub the white grout in the master bath.  Whose idea was it to use white anyway?  Duh.  There are lots of fall festival type activities in the city this weekend and a movie we want to see, so we will have some fun and make run to appreciate my gratitude for the present and not wish my time away too fast! 

Hope you have a great weekend if you are reading this, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday walk day

Well, I managed to get GM books up to date.  She is fastidious about doing her "books" since she was a bookkeeper by trade in her younger years.  She also worked at a boutique and was a later in life artist.  Her enjoyment of clothes and shoes is evident as soon as you see her and her painting talent is evident as soon as you see her artwork. 

 

My DH and I hung as much as we could fit on the walls, all around her apartment so she can enjoy it.  I share her love of clothes and art (although I have not indulged in learning to paint nearly as much as I would like, maybe in my retired/semi-retired years?).  She really began painting in earnest once my GF was killed in a tragic accident, when she was in her 50's and became a talented and sought after artist who sold her paintings and paid for her trips in her Golden years with her fellow-widow Sister in Law.  SIL is still alive also, in her early 90's and lives about 30 miles away in her assisted living facility. 

 

Up until about a year and a half ago, GM and I would shop regularly.  Then she started having some issues with her health and became unable to get out as much.  I still help her by ordering things for her and buying from the stores and bringing things to her to approve or disapprove of!  She enjoys the compliments others in her independent living facility give her about her cute clothes and shoes. 

 

I DO NOT share her love of bookkeeping!  I took over her books last year mid-year, so I basically just continue the entries as she started and with her direction.  When the new year started, she got sick and it took me about 4 months to get the entries to balance out because her annuity and pensions adjust  as do her insurance costs and so it is confusing. 

 

Then this summer there were some atypical entries and I was stressed about getting July and August done, which I finally did last night, to both our relief.  She had her baseball game on blaring so she could keep track of the happenings and I worked on the entries in the background.  Tonight I hope to go straight home after work and take a 4 mile walk listening to my library book since I missed Tues because I was tired and not feeling well. 

 

I am going to attempt to include a photo of the gallery wall I did in my RH living room.  The deer jumping is a large cross stitch done by my dear late mother (DLM) that I found last summer, the deer head was one of DH trophies, the barn and the pheasant were painted by my dear GM and the landscape painting was done by my dear MIL.  The small pheasant pictures are thrift store finds.  Have a great Thursday!