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.

October Job List Woes

Can you believe it’s almost November! I can’t. I don’t want it to be November because that means we’re getting closer and closer to snow season. I’m not ready for that. I still haven’t done a few things around the yard that I should---divide some plants, cover the A/C unit and what outdoor furniture I still have left, throw out my pots of perennials.. I sent a text to my lawn care guy to make sure I’m on his schedule for a fall cleanup and he’s coming tomorrow. At least that’s what he says. In the spirit of fairness it’s been so wet and rainy and the leaves aren’t all down off the trees yet. It’s just that he doesn’t inspire trust in me after the fiasco over my deck staining project last summer. At least with text communication I have a record of what the daffy-as-a-doorknob guy says. Judge Judy would be proud.

On the good side of fall jobs to check off my list, the furnace guy was here and mine passed inspection with flying colors. That’s always a good feeling with a unit that is almost two decades old. While we were down the basement I mentioned I needed to check my sump pump to make sure it was working and he did it for me. He said I probably need a new back flow flapper so in a week or so when my schedule gets less crowded I’ll call the plumber. I’m so afraid of falling into that sump pump pit and I should have tipped the furnace guy for checking it for me, but it didn’t occur to me until a minute ago. So who’s the daffy one now? 

At least my car is ready for winter. It sends me e-mails so I can’t neglect getting oil changes and the battery, tires, fluids and wiper blades checked. With only 21,000 miles on the Trax she still likes going to the dealership for her bi-annuals so she can say ‘hello’ to the guy who paired us up. I just have to remember to stay away from the new car showroom because the last time I "looked" I bought the Trax with no plans or forethought to replace my 2-3 year old car. It only took one question from the salesman, “How do you like your Chevy Cruze?” And I told him about how I couldn’t get my friend’s walker in it and I hated how low the trunk was and the fact that I missed having a cargo area and, “Oh, did I mention I hate the sick-baby-poop color? It didn't grow on my no matter how good of a deal you gave me when I bought it.”

One of the things I’ve had on my fall schedule was an appointment with my audiologist. My hearing aids are living on borrowed time and I think in the spring I might get new ones. I could afford new ones now but by ordering them in the late spring that will switch my yearly ‘ear checks’ to a time of the year when I’m less busy. I did the same thing with my Reclast infusion for my bones when I saw the internist two weeks ago. The infusion center is so busy that the doctor’s order for my infusion would have put it right at Christmas so we decided to cancel it and start ordering them with my April bi-annuals. I’ll be eating a lot of spinach in the meantime and popping calcium pills like they are candy. Just kidding. I don’t over-medicate but occasionally I don’t get my second calcium pill in for the day because it has to be taken with meals and sometimes I don’t eat after having a late lunch when I’m out and about. So I’m changing to the kind of calcium pills you don’t need to take with food which are big enough to qualify for horse suppositories. I hate them but I hate winter appointments more. 

About the only thing left on my fall job list is to check the expiration dates on my over-the-counter flu and cold stuff and restock my stash of Kleenex, frozen OJ and soup plus buy some foods for the freezer in case I get snowed in. I don’t like fall and how busy it keeps me, I think I’ve established that to everyone’s satisfaction. 

The auction house where Tim, the son-I-wish-I-had, took four loads of stuff of mine has not paid me for the last batch and I’ve been expecting a check for roughly $700. I tried calling a couple of times over a week’s time and got a recording that they “aren’t taking phone calls at this time” and I’ve tried e-mailing but they aren’t answering. So I’ve texted Tim and he’s going to drive out there and see what’s going on. If they’ve gone out of business it’s going to affect Tim’s business big time and it will force me to get another backup plan in the event that I don’t get all my downsizing done it time for my move. There are so many moving parts involved in moving and starting a new style of living and it will be a miracle if something doesn’t put a hitch in my giddy-up. 

One day I got obsessed with wondering where the heat ducts will be in the CCC unit I have a deposit on because it will make a difference on how many and where I can put bookcases when I move in. So I called them up to ask and was told I wasn’t the only one who wanted to know. The answer is they’re in the ceiling. In the ceiling? In the ceiling! Who does that? So now I’m obsessing about how I’m going to dry my mittens and boots in the winter with no register to put them on. Yes, I know, If I wasn’t obsessing about one thing or another I’d be obsessing about not having anything to obsess about.  ©