Last Night to Cook

I hate using disposable plates, utensils, and napkins. I hate contributing to more things in a landfill. 

I figured I would use disposable on our last night or two here and our first night or two in Essex. But I underestimated how soon I would to want to give up cooking. The prepping and the cleanup take up too much valuable time. I reluctantly brought out the disposables last week. Many are recyclable, so I feel obligated to clean them, but it's not saving much time, and I'm still generating crap. 

Yesterday was supposed to be the last night to cook. Instead, we ate a late lunch--so we had a salad for dinner. Tonight I cooked the crabcakes--the last from Connecticut with green beans, carrots, and shallots. 

Spent the day doing laundry, running errands, packing, and frankly, fighting with tape dispensers. 

It will be an early night.

In Other News

The packing and decluttering continues. I hired two people to pack up dishes, glasswork, and miscellaneous including our Mets paraphernalia (how sad, that reminds me of the Mets.)

My brother Jim also came; he was a big help. Much more in the next few days.

It's Over

I mean the Mets season. It ended in a whimper. 

I really believed that they would make to the post season--hanging by their fingernails or by the skin of their teeth--maybe. But I thought they'd make it. 

"Wait till next year" is hollow. This was supposed to be the year. 

It will take a while to get over this. 

What's Going On?

Yesterday was Jeff's birthday. It was low-key; we went to O'Neill's in Sono for lunch. We were too full for a regular dinner. We had a salad and chocolate mousse cake. More cake tonight and more left.

I spent the morning setting up an electric/gas account and condominium payments. I had to go to the physical bank to change my address to buy checks because one organization required a voided check.

Then I started packing.

We also had visits with our nephew Matt yesterday and our friend/neighbor Cynthia today.

It's scary, having so much to do. One week left. 

Now, back to work. 

There and Back Again

Back from what I hope was our visit to Maryland. I hope our next trip will be a permanent relocation (though I doubt it.)

We had a decent ride back...that is, until we left the Garden State Parkway for the Tappan Zee Bridge. The Bridge itself was fine.

Okay. I'm writing several days later. It's been a blur of packing and making appointments. Worrying about the Mets. 

It's too much.

Update: Moving, Stress, Another Walk-Thru, and An Anniversary

Jeff and I have been married 37 years today. With all of the moving to-dos, expenses, and stress, we're not up to a big celebration. We were going to go out to dinner, but I was leaning to getting takeout. Then Jeff suggested lunch. It was a late one. We had a new mattress and box spring delivered and were the last of the jobs. 

In the middle of the mattress delivery, I quickly vacuumed the floor--years of dog hair and dust. Hmm, dog hair and dust. Could be a cologne on Wednesday. 

Anyway, it was drizzly when we finally headed out around 2:45, and we wanted to take Jace.  As we were waiting for the mattress, I researched dog friendly Norwalk restaurants that had covered outdoor dining areas. I selected Tavern on 7. It's basically a sports bar, but had some interesting specials. Unfortunately, they were out of the special I really wanted, shrimp bisque. A good lunch, but loud being right on Route 7. Our take-out dinner entree (I didn't want to cook today) and dessert were mediocre. 

People are telling me I'm going to miss Norwalk when we go. Right now, I'm pretty jaded with/by Norwalk Of course, it's more the people I'll miss. I've spent over half of my life here in Norwalk, in this condo. I hope I will find some fond memories.

We're driving down to Maryland tomorrow. Friday will be our second walk-thru of our condo. I'm packing some basic supplies in my car--what I can fit. It will be our first time seeing it empty.

We changed our moving date from September 25th to October 2. That gives us another week;  I hope it will be enough. 

Decluttering, Packing, Making Appointments

The appointments started with Jeff going to the dentist. Then Jace had his annual checkup, I got my car serviced, and Jeff got a haircut. 

Tomorrow, I get my haircut, and someone is coming by to buy/junk a lot of our things. At least I hope.

I took two boxes and several bags of jackets, sweatshirts, and coats to Goodwill today. I also bought some things at Kohl's and Home Goods--bowls to replace some we're planning to give away, towels, pillows, a king blanket. I'm wondering why I'm buying. Yes, I'll need things, but that's enough buying for now. 

Tonight I'm overwhelmed and stressed. I'll never get it all done. But I have to. 

Book 15: The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I enjoyed this thriller. The main narrator (of three) is Rachel, a depressed alcoholic. She is the prototypical unreliable narrator. I liked hearing the story through her voice, as she agonized over the nights that she couldn't remember due to alcoholic blackouts. Ultimately, Rachel was able to piece together the shards and solve a  murder. 

There was one quotation that moved me. 

           "I don't know. I don't know where that strength went. I don't remember losing it. 

            I think that over time it got chipped away, bit by bit, by life, by the living of it."

I like that I guessed who the killer was. It was no brilliant deduction worthy of Sherlock Holmes. Instead, it was hmm, that person is sketchy and could be the murderer. 

Pat myself on the back, anyway. 

Book 14: Anne Neville Queen to Richard III by Michael Hicks

This was a recent library book sale purchase. I didn't care for Hicks's style. I found myself often rereading a sentence or two because I needed clarification. 

Most information I had about Anne Neville was based on The White Queen--especially the TV series. This history helped, but didn't fill in many details because Anne's life was poorly documented. Hicks did a good job explaining the various obstacles in canon law regarding Anne's marriage to Richard III. He concludes that they were never actually legally married. 

I have a major issue with the book. In discussing court gossip that Richard planned to divorce Anne, Hicks refers to "the comfortable single life after marriage of Katherine of Aragon and Anne of Cleves". Katherine experienced nothing close to a comfortable single life. I was appalled at this mistake, and it made me a bit distrustful of Hicks's gifts as a historian. 

First Week in September

Has it only been a week?

Jeff and I bought a Sleep Number king bed on Monday. It's a splurge, but I think it will be well worth it. 

Tuesday, I drove Jeff to the dentist. It had been a while, but he had a good check-up. I took the opportunity to take Jace to Bruce Park for the last time. We also got our favorite crab cakes from  Bon Ton for the last time and a steak sandwich from Greenwich Prime, yes for the last time.

We went out to lunch with friends Elaine and Marti, not for the last time. At least, we'll try for another lunch.

The rest of the week was spent on shopping, cleaning, and not enough packing. 

There's so much more to do.