The Honey-Do List

I found the moon last night. I’m on the wrong side of the building to see the morning sun and I thought I’d never see the moon again either. But I can sit at my desk after midnight and the moon looks at me from above the tree line in the distance. Now I know where to go when I’m having a hard time falling asleep and I want to know which phase the moon is in. Funny how little things can make you feel like your life is coming back together again after a major disruption in its flow. So many changes all at once can drive you batty from “where did I decide to put the measuring cups” to getting overwhelmed by so many new people to meet and remember. We finally got name tags we can wear (or not) which has helped. So far, only one person is on my Avoid-at-All-Costs list and another is on my Maybe-You’ll-End-up-There list. As for finding others with a similar sense of humor as mine: one of the Skinny Minnie Twins, a woman in my paining class and one of the other Jean’s on campus all do. Did I mention there are at least five Jeans living here? The weird thing about having other Jeans on campus is we all seem to be attracted to the same kinds of activities.

The maintenance man is a peach. He finally got here to hang a couple of shelves and my Paul Newman as Butch Cassidy signed and numbered print. (It was done for a fund raiser he and western artist James Bama did for the Hole in the Wall Camp that Paul started for kids with serious illnesses, to give them the experience of camping.) I’m nicknaming the maintenance guy M&M because he is so sweet that you want to see more of him like mindlessly popping candy into your mouth and he's the first person to notice my art as something more than furniture store decor`. We worked so well together, me handing him stuff he needed without him needing to ask. It felt like I was working side-by-side with my dad although M&M is young---mid thirties. We bonded over the fact that neither one of us can stand to see a picture on the wall that is hanging crooked. Even if it’s in a public place or a friend’s house we can’t control the urge to nudge it back in place. 

M&M apologized for it taking so long to respond to the work order---a week---and I told him it was quicker than my husband responded to my Honey-Do lists and being a man he felt the need to give my husband an excuse. “He probably didn’t have the right tools to do the job. That’s why most men put things off.” That made me laugh. There wasn’t a tool made that Don didn’t have from those big enough to work on antiquated street cars and those tiny enough to repair pocket watches---modern power tools to antiques. Oh, yes, M&M and my husband were cut from the same clothe---the clothe that says, “I can do ANYTHING if only I had the right tool!” He is going to be one popular man here in Lady Land. (I shouldn’t call this campus Lady Land. Probably 10% of the popular here has outdoor plumbing.) Aside from being someone to give our Honey-Do lists to, he had me at, “Hello---oh you’re an artist!” Said when he walked in the door and got his first view of my space. It was like he read my master plan for the vibe I wanted my place to have: Beach cottage artist’s den.

Aside from finding the moon I still haven’t fallen into enough of a routine yet to feel completely at home and mostly that’s due to not feeling ready to explore the shopping areas off campus yet. That will come after I finally get new a eyeglass prescription in December, weather permitting. I know my way to two grocery stores, both my banks, a hair salon and “doctor row’ where all my doctor’s have offices. It's just seven short minutes away. Before I had to allow 45 minutes to an hour to get to them because I had to go on a highway known for traffic delays at certain times of the day. As my youngest niece recently said, I’m at the right place, at the right time in my life.

By the way, keeping the Newman print was literally a last minute decision. I ran out of time to sell it and the-son-I-wish-I-had had it in the back seat of his truck for him to sell for me. “Are you sure you don’t want it?” he asked before leaving my apartment and just like that I have Paul back again and he looks great over my desk. Its a nice, unplanned nod to my husband's and my past decorating theme. My whole den is.

The photos below are from of my honey-do shelf project in my half bath. The little bookcase full of seashells my dad made for me when I got my first big girl bedroom make over at thirteen.  ©

 I really love the floating shelves you can layer stuff on, an idea I got from The Awkward Widow's blog.

 

The silhouettes are of my mom, done back when I was around 6 or 7 and I have one of me as well that will rotate to this shelf from time to time.

 

I used to have a lot of jewelry made of seashells. I wish I had better photos of those on these shelves. My hands shakes too much to do photography anymore.

The sand toys (except for the pail) on this bottom shelf were mine and my brothers growing up.