Averygoodun's Personal File

So those who follow me on that other site will know by now that my life is in major flux right now, as Geoff accepted a job in Albuquerque, NM. Which is approximately 2000 miles from here. He moves (with our stuff) in the end of May, while Page and I stay here for another week or so to finish up the major school events.

It will be excellent, and we're happy and excited and all that, but, well, there's so much to be done in the meanwhile. We're fortunate in that two days after our home went on the market it received an offer (which we accepted). But... omg, there is just so much to do. On both ends. And logistics to unravel out the wazoo.

I'm writing this post as much to try and motivate myself to write a to do list as to communicate, because with the immediate blitz of activity out of the way, I'm struggling to motivate myself into doing everything else that needs doing. Granted, this is my first day of alone-time in nearly two weeks, so I may just take it as a (well-deserved) holiday. I'm happy to do all that I can do, but it's wearing. Especially the patience needed for everything.

That said, I really am looking forward to this move. I will miss my friends around here terribly, but I am so looking forward to sunshine almost every day. And the horizons. Both Geoff and I drifted toward the hotel's driveway to gaze at the horizon the morning after we arrived for our whirlwind house-hunting tour. It'll be weird to have the mountains to the east of us (volcanoes to the west!), but it's a surprisingly beautiful city we're moving to. Not pretty, per se, but beautiful. And the architecture is SO much more to our taste. While I like Cape Cod houses, and New Englanders, the preponderance of salt boxes and colonials here will make pueblo style buildings a happy thing to observe for the next decade.

The main benefit of the move, however, is going to be our proximity to family. It's only a 6-hour *drive* to my sister and her family, so if there are family emergencies or celebrations, we can go! (Alas, we'll be moving two weeks too late to attend my niece's graduation. Boo!) And everyone else in Colorado is way closer than she is. We'll be able to see Geoff's parents every month!

And, did I mention the weather's better in Albuquerque? Because, well, we left New England in the cold gray, and came back to it starting to drop cement-like snow two days later. This last week. We need the moisture out here, but I am not loving the fact we've gotten our winter's worth of snow (and frigid cold) over the past 6 weeks. That's supposed to be a Front Range thing, not a New England thing!

Ah well.

Anyway, that's enough muttering. And puttering, probably. I need to... do stuff. What stuff, I still haven't decided, but do stuff I must.

Cheers!

Whelp, they have finally started work on the backyard. I wish someone had let us know ahead of time that they would be chopping down our backyard tree, though. Geoff said he saw a shadow, both literal and metaphorical, pass over my face as I watched the tree come down. ( I was surprised by my reaction. )

Because there has to be something to panic about, right?

*shakes head* Yes, we're looking at a fairly sizable storm. Thing is, unlike the Snowtober storm, this is supposed to dump 12-24 inches of fluffy snow, not 18" of the normal heavy wet shit. Meaning, traveling will be foolhardy for a day and a half (or less), and then everything goes back to normal.

Woo. Hoo.

That said, I did go out and get a tent lamp and a couple of rechargeable glow sticks just in case the power does go out. I'm calling it storm insurance. The lack of light was the thing that bothered me the most about the last power outage. You can't really read by candlelight. Not comfortably, anyway.

However, with the assumption that the power is going to stay on, I also checked out a few movies from the library: "Kung Fu Panda", "The Muppet Christmas Carol" and "Amelie". Might as well take advantage of the power being on by secluding ourselves in the darkest room in the house, right? ;-)


( ION: Curry=yum )
( ION: Poor friend )
( ION: Gas leak )

Aaaaaaand... I need to get to my homework now. I've done a very good job of putting it off, but I can't wait any longer.

So, thinking about it further, I realized that taking the computer course over the summer would just be an excuse to get that little red Asus Eee, rather than the necessity that I was dubbing it. Taking it over the summer would, in effect, cost us $400 more than waiting to take it during the regular school year when I could use the school's fully loaded computers. Rats. Ach well. I will see what online courses the school offers over the summer that work toward my degree that don't require specific software. If they have any that meet that description, I will sign up. Otherwise, I have been lining up activities to keep my summer full.

One such activity (and expense) is redoing the front walkway. It's been a shambles ever since last summer when I thought the landscaping was going to happen all at once. And while the front yard's lack of grass is not my responsibility, I would like to leave the place with a nice looking front as I go off to my parents for three weeks. Or rather, I want to come home to a nice looking front yard after having stayed at my parents gorgeous abode for three weeks. It will help ease the luxury-withdrawal pangs.

Another (cheaper) activity on the docket is stripping the downstairs bathroom of its wallpaper. There's mold/mildew growing behind it, and it can't get put off for much longer. I am not really looking forward to this task, but at least it won't cost anything. We have loads of paint to cover the walls with once they're dry, so it should only cost us time and energy.

I'm loving my new shoes (and orthotics). I realized, though, that I still need something (cheap) in brown to go with my olive pants. *nods* I almost found a pair that would have been just about perfect at Marshall's, but they irritated my heel just a little. And the orthotics didn't fit in them. (I guess I'll have to go down to DSW to see what they've got.)

I just have to remind myself that every pair (or two) of shoes is a massage I'm depriving myself of. *shrugs* At least I'm picky where shoes are concerned. (Though I really wish the gold olive shoes had fit, darn it! They would have been totally worth it!)

Anyway, that's about all the blather I can come up with in a coherent fashion at the moment, so I'll sign off.

Maybe I'll go see if the other Marshall's has that gold pair of shoes in the right size...

I think I'm disappointed in my church's reactions to recent stuff. Which is disappointing.

I forgot how much I love the Eagles' good stuff. Damn, but "Hotel California" is a good song. I also forgot how much I remember of their songs. I was able to sing along with most of them.

Geoff's birthday is tomorrow. I should rewrap his gift (I gave him too much for Christmas, it seems).

Babe is sleeping over at a friend's house tonight. Which was a surprise, though welcome.

I think I'm sensitive to carrots of all things. Squash, however, is love.

Peeling squash is not love, however. Sliced my thumb pretty badly with the peeler. It hurtses, precious.

We have a mysterious bathroom ceiling. Seriously. Fortunately, it is not a moldy mysterious ceiling. Just mysterious.

Geoff has started getting out and going through his Magic card collection. There is hope yet.

Merry fucking Christmas, everyone.

I don't know if I'll be around much before Christmas (as this week just keeps getting better and better). I'm only barely holding it together now.

But I truly do wish you and yours every joy and happiness. And may your holidays be a hell of a lot better than mine are shaping up to be.

Not that that would be difficult to accomplish.

It's hard not to scarf food down when it's so darn tasty. (Salmon, onions, garlic and blueberries again for lunch. Yuuummmm!)

Received a very cranky, threatening email from the condo association about toys in the neighborhood. Grr. It wasn't aimed solely at us (though we are guilty of leaving Babe's bike out front on a regular basis), but it makes me cranky all the same. I hate being threatened, and I hate the anonymous nature of the complainers (mostly from Mr. Grumpy Gus, probably). If you have a problem with a neighbor's yard or behavior, TALK TO THEM DIRECTLY! It's the polite thing to do. If they ignore you, then go to the association and complain.

Yes, we have been breaking the "rules", but, you know, perhaps, Mr. Grumpy Gus, you should have considered that this was a family friendly neighborhood before moving in. Kids are kids and they don't like you and you can't expect them to be quiet or even sensible.

So ner.

*breathes*

So that was a downer this morning (on top of a downer of a dream involving childhood antics turning deadly, and then the child, as a teenager, having to face the social consequences of their past mistakes). But then I read an article about meditation in prisons. In this country!

Very, very cool. I hope it catches on, as that is certainly one step toward making the "correctional facilities" actually correctional.

Also, my lettuce seeds have sprouted in my garden beds! They are minuscule at this point, but they are growing and happy and yay!

I worked hard this weekend, and have a fair amount to show for it. The kitchen baseboards are in and painted, the island paneling is installed and will be painted today and I also figured out a way to install the toe-kick of the cupboards including the dishwasher, without having to adjust the dishwasher's toe-kick. Magnets! Then the toe-kick can come out if/when the dishwasher needs repair or replacement without destroying the toe-kick!

Woohoo!


And now I should go get changed so I can get started on today's tasks: mow lawn (first, to do before it rains), prime, caulk and paint woodwork, cut toe-kick and... laundry? games with Babe? Cooking? Yeah. Cooking.

(Last week, Babe didn't want to do something, and Geoff told him it was one of the things that he needed to do, like work. Everyone works. Babe replied, "Mom doesn't. All she does is do the computer and eat." Geoff disabused him of that notion, but that sure hurt, because it is true those take up the majority of my time, especially in the last month. It's not what I wanted to do, but... Having no energy sucks. Fortunately, since resuming meat consumption, my energy level has shot up to almost normal levels! Yay, being able to do stuff!)

I wish I hadn't left my camera at the church! Right now there's a wonderful photo-op of why it's a good idea to invest in good materials when building, rather than just cheaping out.

Our poor neighbors are without indoor plumbing at the moment because the sewer line out of their house needs to be replaced. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing it collapsed. After all, they are just cardboard with foil wrappings. *shakes head in disgust again*

This revives my desire to move. Soon. Before the association decides to replace everyone's. Because it is coming. These 'pipes' are more than 40 years old, which isn't young for actual metal pipes, and is ancient for these fuckers.

The upshot is that there are two back-hoes in our neighbor's driveway, a big pile of dirt and, I expect come Monday, another big tree down. *sigh*

Oh, and I heard one of the workers say something about finding asbestos.

Lovely.

Why is monotony so exhausting? I've used heaps less energy today than I have in the past three days, and yet, all I want to do is lie down on the sofa and go to sleep. Mostly to avoid the monotony of the chores.

However, today marks the day that I take back control of this house and get it in order again. Leaving things to Geoff has been a disaster so, organized multi-tasker that I am (I certainly excel at it compared to Geoff), I will get this place in shape even if the monotony kills me.

( Digression )

But, without the monotony, there wouldn't be visible results. Like fresh baked bread. Or clean clothes. Or freshly made beds.

And at least I know that I can always escape for a little bit every day, if I need to, by coaxing Babe out (or following him) for a bike ride, frisbee throw or such.

But, but... can I just go play now? Please?

Well, right now I am sitting here, waiting for Geoff to finish disconnecting the dishwasher so that we can move it and then go to bed. The kitchen is three-quarters demolished, with only the sink, dishwasher and side cabinet still in place. It's been a long, busy and productive day. Not bad, though, despite everything.

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