An Anniversary

Today is our ten month anniversary of moving to Essex--time enough for a woman to have a baby, but I haven't even finished unpacking. Oh well. I wish I had done more, but there really isn't a rush. Moving is a lot of work; I definitely underestimated the difficulty. In addition, I want to have some bookshelves installed in the dining room to make it a combo dining room/library. I need to get working on that. 

Today was an important day for another reason. Jeff and I signed our wills and health care directives. We also agreed to a investment plan with our financial advisors. This is a big thing to cross off our to-do list.

We can be proud of ourselves. 

Dining Room

Yes, we have an actual dining instead of a storage room. Our neighbor Diane is moving tomorrow, and we bought her dining room set and coffee table. For the past four days, I've been unpacking, cleaning, and moving things around. It was worth it. The dining and living rooms look nice.

I also moved two small bookcases. We're using one (with a scratched top) as a temporary "entertainment center." I placed the other on the other side of the room and put out some books. I managed to recycle four storage boxes.

I'm happy with how things are shaping up. 

Six Months

Today is the sixth month anniversary of our moving day. I still remember the details of that day and the days around it. They were intense. So many boxes. So much confusion. 

We didn't have to do anything with the condo itself. But we didn't bring a lot of furniture--we've slowly been taking care of that. Just Thursday, two dressers were delivered. The best thing about the dressers is that we can better use our closet. Now, we have piles of clothes on the shelves, and it gets messy. 

Then there are the little things. I'm surprisingly happy about my blue tablecloth with lemons (an Aldi find.) Another find in the Fuquay-Varina Aldi was matching dishtowels. I also bought some yellow tulips. Looking at the kitchen table makes me happy.

By the end of the month, we'll have a dining room set and a coffee table. I also found a nice end table online.

We're getting there. 

March Miscellanea

 I always look forward to March--it feels good to get out of February. It's been a hard winter. Snow from the January storm took a month to (mostly) dissipate. There are still small patches and large snowplowed piles. But, at the end of February, I began to catch a whiff of spring and hear birdsong. In the final weekend, temperatures rose to the high 50s. Jace and I returned to the trails and the boardwalk.

That didn't last, of course. The following Monday, it snowed for several hours and left a coating on the ground. Luckily, that snow dissipated quickly. I'm waiting for the 70s predicted for a few days next week.  

Jeff and I have tried a few more restaurants. One was a breakfast and lunch place with good steak sandwiches. We also went out for a good seafood dinner with friends. We have many other places to discover. 

We watched some of the Olympics in February. I'm most interested in figure skating. I saw the men's and the ice dancing competitions, but somehow missed the women's and the pairs. Oh well. Now, some of our other shows have returned, such as Matlock and Ghosts. 

We also rediscovered Nancy Drew--a series that we had started to watch on the CW back in 2019. We had seen most of the first season, but the show went on hiatus or the timeslot changed, and we never got back to it. We found it on HBO Max recently and watched the first two of four seasons. TV Nancy is not much like the Nancy Drew I've read. In the premiere, she's having sex with Ned (now called Nick) and he's black. Nancy's mysteries also involve the supernatural: ghosts, witches, wraiths, and the like. 

Most of our days revolve around medical appointments. Jeff has physical and speech therapy each week. We've also scheduled other medical appointments. Plus it's tax season. I spent most of last week stressing about getting the tax documents together. I got them to the accountant on the 28th.

Then there's still unpacking and organizing. I got a lead for someone who can install wooden bookshelves in our dining room. I haven't figured out exactly what I want, but it's a start. 

Done!

I'm happy to report that I crossed a big to-do off my list yesterday yesterday. I got Jeff enrolled in a Medigap policy. Bonus: we got a policy for about $200 less than I expected. 

I'm relieved that, to quote my law school professor Bernard Schwartz and Rocky from The Rocky Horror Picture Show, that particular sword of Damocles is no longer hanging over my head. 

In other news, our freshly-painted Norwalk condo is officially on the market. It's listed as "coming soon," and the pictures look good. Here's hoping people agree. 

Hoping for a Better Day

This has been a horrible week--so far. 

But it's only been two days, and I'm hoping that will turn around. 

Everything I do ends in a cycle of frustration. When I decide something or do something, it opens up a bunch of additional questions or things to do. Which leads to stress. 

The latest issue involves ordering a refrigerator for our Norwalk condo. I've already spent hours on this yesterday and today. Now I'm listening to a ringing telephone.

Maybe things will start looking up this afternoon.

Update

Once again, I've neglected this blog for too long. I wish I understood why.

We've been back from Delaware and Maryland for a week. We finally had a little luck. We found two places that we liked. We've been doing research since then, trying to get a better sense of both areas, considering what work we would want to do to the bathroom in one condo, etc. I've been going back and forth on which place I prefer. Our Baltimore realtor sent us listings of six other places. There's one that will work for us and I hope we can see it next week. I think we'll be returning Sunday or Monday.

We finally caught up with a friend we hadn't seen in months. We talked, listened to music, ate some munchies, and drank some wine. It was a relaxing afternoon.

I had volunteered to work at the Merwinsville Hotel last Sunday. Unfortunately, I had a bout of colitis and had to cancel. I ended up sleeping most of the afternoon. My sleeping patterns have been a mess lately. I'm waking up in the early mornings and having trouble falling asleep again. It's been frustrating, but I'll muddle through it.

The Latest Domestic Drama

A few weeks ago, I noticed that one of the kitchen cabinet doors wasn't closing completely. I planned to get it checked out, but was busy with packing for our Alexandria getaway among other things. Last Thursday night, the cabinet started separating from the wall. This cabinet is part of a wall of cabinets over the counters, sink, and stove. I emptied the hanging cabinet as well as the double cabinet next to it. I also removed everything on top of the cabinets (vases, glass bottles, candles, etc.) I left the two small cabinets over the stove and the narrow cabinet next to the stove and microwave as is. I also moved the small bookcase with teas so the worker could have easy access.

Now I have glassware and foodstuffs all over the credenza and dining room table and bookcases in the living room/dining area. It makes me realize that we have too many things--especially wine glasses. So as part of this cleanup, I will wash and wrap up some glasses and take them to Goodwill. This also gives me a chance to reorganize the cabinets. This was something I was planning to do, but kept procrastinating about. 

Luckily the cabinets are covered by a lifetime warranty (as long as we own the condo) although we do have to pay for labor. 

It's always something.

Home Work

The painters are back today. They've already been here for about eight hours and are close to finishing up. Now I have to thoroughly clean the baths and rehang all the pictures. Then clean the living room. It had already gotten a bit dusty, but I didn't see any point in dusting the past few days--it would only get more dusty. 

Last week I returned to purging. I went through the closet in our second bedroom (primarily) and gathered up several things and took them to Goodwill today--about three boxes and five bags. I still have a box of books to donate to the library--I may have to may an appointment for that. 

It feels good to have the repair work and painting done and to get rid of things we no longer need. 

Thursday Surprise

I answered the doorbell at 8 AM to see Ray a painter and two assistants to work on the ceilings in our baths and the living room. Damage in the baths are caused by our upstairs neighbor. The living room damage is related to the outside of the building. We had the exterior bricks sealed last week. 

Back to this morning, I didn't expect to see Ray. The condo super coordinates these kinds of repairs, and he forgot to give me a head's up. Of course, this happens on the day that Jeff and I slept in; Jeff was still in bed when Ray showed. I had been up about 30 minutes and was still in my nightgown and hadn't even had coffee yet. Ray said he could work on another unit and come back in 45 minutes. 

Ray and his assistants were here till around 3 and replaced both bathroom ceilings. The last time we had ceiling repairs, the property manager went the cheap route. I didn't realize until after I talked with Ray and our super that the cheap route was inadequate. At least now we'll get the proper ceiling material.

Sigh. I guess it will all be worth it next week. Ray will return on Monday--maybe he'll need another visit after that. More cleaning for me after that. 

What's Been Happening

For the past three weeks, we've been dealing with household problems, specifically a leak in our bathroom ceiling. I don't want to write much about it, but it was frustrating: we had to fight with our management company to get the problem resolved. The ceiling was finally repaired this week.

Jeff's back at physical therapy, which was postponed because of issues with his insurance. I've been taking care of my own health to-do's (one item left.)

I mentioned that I've transitioned out of a job. I've been purging work-related books and papers. I'm not quite finished with the process; I had accumulated a lot of material. I've also purged my mother's old financial records. I have to take them to get shredded. 

I've been thinking about my food shopping habits and expenses. The pandemic has changed the way I shop. I'm also at least trying to be more frugal. This week for the first time I bought frozen vegetables. I wasn't crazy about some of the combos available. I got broccoli florets and a combination of greens. I had my most expensive shopping trip in a while because I stocked up on chicken and other things I needed for specific planned meals, as well as paper and cleaning products. 

I'm back in a cooking mode. I tried a new recipe with lentils, sweet potatoes, and spinach that we liked (though it was too watery and had even used one fewer cup of broth than the recipe indicated.) Today, I made a batch of bison chili. I'm also planning to make a carrot ginger soup. 

Bad news for Lola. Yesterday she was running across a field to Jeff, yelped, and stopped short. At first I thought she had stepped on a thorn or something. Unfortunately, it was more serious--a cruciate ligament. She's on pain pills and is moving slowly. Our poor baby. 

Moods

On Thursday, I realized that something had changed for me: I was feeling pretty good. The things that usually annoy me (e.g. Lola trying to roll in something unsavory) didn't. I didn't let those little things bother me. It felt like a breakthrough of sorts. 

The good feelings extended into yesterday, then evaporated with another water problem relating to the neighbor above us. Jeff first noticed a problem Wednesday and reported it to the super. I went to see the super yesterday because the problem got worse. Last night I realized we have rusty water leaking into our tub. 

I need to think of good things. 

Exhausted

I woke up at 3 AM this morning. At first I assumed the need to use the bathroom woke me. But something was wrong--there was a weird noise. Jeff heard it too. We soon discovered water was leaking in our closet from the unit above ours. I dressed and went upstairs and banged on the door. No answer. I called our management company, got the answering service. Our property manager called me back at 3:20. He suggested I try the neighbor again, and he would try to contact our super. I literally pounded on our neighbor's door for four minutes. Then I visited the unit owner who lives under us to warn her. She also heard the water. I went back to our place and Jeff had placed several trash cans, pots, and a plastic tub to catch water from numerous leaks. One leak was directly over my pillow. 

A little later the super showed. The neighbor did not respond to his knocking or a phone call. The super told us he would be back the next morning, with a locksmith if necessary. Most of the dripping had stopped by this time--it was about 4-4:30. I knew I couldn't go back to sleep even if I had a dry pillow, so I stayed up. At least Jeff managed to doze off a few times. 

I had planned to go to the opening reception of the Student Art Show at Rowayton Arts Center today, but I felt like a zombie. I didn't think I could handle normal conversations. I'll check out the show later this week. 

Instead I washed pillows, changed the bed, and did some clean up, including drying the wet part of the carpet with a hair dryer. This situation is very frustrating: this is the third time in about a year that the neighbor's negligence has caused water leaks in our unit. We just had the painter here the week before Christmas. 

As an added bonus, Lola threw up. 

Tomorrow will be a better day.

The Week Before

I woke up around 4 yesterday morning thinking it was Saturday. Luckily, I soon realized my mistake. I've been wishing that we'd get another day before we leave for North Carolina, and in a weird way, I did.

As usual, I didn't get all that I wanted to do done. Had a few obstacles this week. On Saturday, a portion of the ceiling in our master bedroom collapsed. Oddly enough, one of my neighbors had a similar problem, but it was in her bathroom. Another bathtub leak created problems in our lobby. At any rate workers came to repair all the damage. They patched up the ceiling Thursday and painted it yesterday.

On Tuesday, we had a full day of freezing rain. I only left the condo to take Lola out. The next day, my car was encased in ice. As I worked on the car, ice slid off it in sheets. Some fell into my trunk (I had opened it to get my ice scraper and brush.) Ice also fell around my car and made the ground slippery. I started to dump some ice on the small grassy divider between parking spaces, but I realized the ice would slide back in my spot. I ended up filling a large grocery bag with ice and dumping it into my bathtub. This kind of day is another reason to move south.

The rest of the week has been cold. I remembered that Sherwood Island is always paved and well-tended after storms. Lola and I have gone for long walks there the past few days. It's going to be a little warmer today and hit the 40's tomorrow when we leave for North Carolina.

I have a tutoring session later today and need to finish packing. Jeff and I are getting take-out for dinner to make it a little easier. Hope to get on the road by 8 AM tomorrow.

This Week

I'm glad the week is winding down--it was a long one. Funny how one week can feel so differently from another. The Superbowl feels like a month ago.

I had a busy work week. I dealt with a student who missed one appointment and had to cut a second short, a parent who was annoyed with me about a technical glitch, extra pressure that I put on myself by poor planning, and a few minor household problems. The last session of my ACT class was Wednesday. It snowed, sleeted and rained all day, but we managed to get the class in and everyone attended. I didn't feel I was at my best. That's not a good way to end the course, but I received a glowing email from one of my students so I guess it wasn't as bad as I thought.

To top the week off, Lola got sick yesterday. Luckily the vet was able to squeeze her in, and Lola's much better today.

And so it goes.

January: A Partial Review

I expected this month to drag. Instead it seemed to fly by.

As usual, I didn't accomplish everything I wanted. Technically, I didn't have a January-specific to-do list but I did want to start off the year right.

The first week was a blur. We were in the middle of a cold spell--temps didn't crack the freezing point for two weeks. I didn't work much--two tutoring cancellations. I had the first of three consecutive weeks of taking my mother to doctors' appointments. These appointments ended up taking four to five hours each, and they are my responsibility. Yes, my mother could get to the doctors without me, but nowhere near as conveniently. Plus it's good for me to stay in the loop concerning her health. Usually these appointments are spread out over months. January was bad luck in that regard.

I tracked my time for two weeks. I still need to do a thorough analysis, but time-tracking forced me to focus on how I wasted time. My time-wasters weren't surprises, but the amount of time wasted was. "Just let me check this blog, read this one post" can be dangerous.

I've been enjoying my walks with Lola. It's too easy to stay inside in winter. Lola gets me out when I would otherwise hibernate and miss some beautiful days. In the cold spell, we had some bad walking days even when wearing multiple layers, but these were few.

We got a new couch and love seat over the weekend. We chose them on MLK Day. We had our old couch hauled away to the dump and gave the love seat to Jeff's co-worker. One more love seat to go--we've had a spare in our spare room for too long.

I got a raise this month. It was nothing specific that I did; it was part of a simplification of tutoring options. Instead of having three separate tutoring rates, I now have one--the highest of the three. Let the new tutorials commence.

Overall, January's been a good month. On to February.

It is Done.

I mean the bathroom. The shower doors were delivered Thursday. The contractor arrived today to install them. It took about 45 minutes. Now we have an almost brand new bathroom. I can rehang a picture in the bath and return corner shelf and pictures in the hallway.

On to Christmas decorations.

The Saga of a Bathtub Scratch

Sometime last year I noticed a scratch in the bottom of our tub. We had a tech from Kitchen Magic (KM) here because of some minor thing in the kitchen. He looked at the tub, said it as a crack and not a scratch. A crack is more serious.

An engineer came out and recommended that the tub liner be replaced. Time passed; my calls were unanswered. Finally a the tech came out to do a  patch on our tub.

The patch didn't last. About a year later, I called again, and the engineer returned. I waited. Apparently KM no longer does bathroom work; Bathroom Magic is gone. Sub-contractors came to replace the tub liner in September. Unfortunately, there was miscommunication between KM and the sub-contractors. The tub liner could not be installed without removing all the tile on the walls.

We had to re-schedule. We also had to re-order tile in case the tile wall broke when removed. But that wasn't all. The color of our tile was discontinued. No more tarragon. KM sent us tile samples of the closest colors: cilantro and rosemary. We chose cilantro. (What's with all the spice names anyway?) KM agreed to provide cilantro walls just in case. I was curious about the tarragon colored sink if we ended up with cilantro walls. We reserved the right to switch out the sink if necessary.

We scheduled installation for early November. Unfortunately, one installer had a personal emergency and had to reschedule.

To make up for the inconvenience, KM offered to give us the sink in cilantro. I figured that was part of the lifetime warranty. I asked if KM could fix a scratch on our kitchen counter. The manager agreed. So last Thursday, the tub installers and Greg, the Corian repairman, arrived.

First the Corian. It was another crack, not a scratch. The difference? A crack goes all the way through the material. On closer inspection, Greg determined the crack was due to a manufacturing defect. Yay--covered by warranty! The downside was that Greg said it would be best to take the counter off site to repair it. It's never easy to lose counter space in a small kitchen, but at least we still had our longer counters available.

As Greg left, the bathroom installers arrived, Roman, Yuri and another (whose name I never got.) As Roman told me, nothing was easy. One of the walls cracked when they removed it. They were here for the long haul--almost three full days. I expected that they would finish by noon or 1 PM on the last day, Saturday. But no such luck. As they were reinstalling the shower doors--we heard a crash--shattering glass. There goes one of our shower doors.Yuri headed to a nearby Lowe's to get us a collapsible shower rod and curtain.

We may have a new door in a week. Maybe not, but it should be installed by Christmas. Sigh.

At least Greg repaired and returned our counter top by Monday. He also buffed all the other counter tops.

And so it goes.

Morning at Oyster Shell Park

We're having our bathroom renovated. Today was the second of three days--well, maybe a half-day tomorrow. The workers were scheduled to arrive between 8 and 9:30 AM. So I figured I should take Lola out to a park early each morning.

Yesterday I took Lola to Taylor Farm around 7.Today we went to Oyster Shell Park. Here are some photos of the sunrise.

Lola wasn't much interested in the sunrise, but there were many good scents for her to peruse. 

Mis-Scheduling

Last Sunday we bought a dishwasher. Our current machine hasn't been working properly for some time; it would stop in mid-cycle. It wasn't so bad if it happened once, but it got to he point that it took all day to run a full cycle.

I thought the dishwasher would be delivered today. I had selected an 8 to 12 window. But d'oh. The actual delivery date is next Thursday, the 15th. I was annoyed because I adjusted my schedule around the delivery time today. It's not a big deal; I worked on some things that I could do at home, but it wasn't the best use of time.

One of my most exasperating traits is that when I have extra time to get somewhere I manage to just make it or I'm a little late. Similarly when I have a full day to do something, I often don't accomplish anything.

Sometimes this failure to accomplish things extends into weeks. When I have a week free, I often waste most of it.

I've been working on this by tracking my time, making to-do lists and plans. But it's frustrating to see how easily I can be thrown off my game. Next week, I have to devote another morning home for the real delivery. Another day I have to take my mother to her ear doctor.

And so it goes