This, not that

I went for a walk around my yard this morning, taking in the perfect 55 degree, lush, green, cloudy spring morning. I know I will miss the yard. I just made a little pond last year. Right near it grows Japanese irises from my friend, Marie. The bird feeder, which looks like a little building with siding, has not been used in years, since the squirrels and deer eat everything. Besides, the thing is huge. Then there are shrubs, vinca (which is everywhere now) and ribbon plants, which are, at this point contained. They would take over the whole yard if they could, with the mint and strawberries.
The year my dad passed, we got a big load of plant mix and had a decent small garden on the north side of the yard. The tomatoes were great, the sunflowers were tall. We haven't been able to grow tomatoes in years now, since the deer eat them all up and besides, the plant mix is depleted. We won't be getting more. Last year, I tried to grow a few things, and realized nothing was working since the groundhog eats whatever he/she likes, and invites the relatives. I guess they do not like asparagus, since I can harvest that without any problem.
The peonies are getting tall. They will be in bloom before we move, so that's cool. I simply love peonies. I will miss the lilacs I've babied for 3 years. They just finally got blossoms this year. I will miss the redbud from our friends, but there will be others. I might miss the few bulbs that bloom here, the lilies of the valley, the bee balm, but they can all be moved if I want.
I will miss  the violets the most, with their 6 shades of pink and purple and their sweet fragrance, right under my window every April. I can pot some of those, too, and bring them along.
Gene planted male and female hollies many years ago. The male died. Our hosta can come along too, and maybe not be nibbled to death.
But it is the quiet and the privacy that I really love about my back yard. Not one resident, if you count the 5 people around our back yard, spends time outside, if they live there at all. I can sit back there with my coffee and it's all mine to take in, jammies and all. That is also the flipside-- no neighbor friends. The folks who moved in across the street are all to themselves, each one of the 4 families who moved in. We have just one that is friendly and we see from time-to-time. What a lonely street.
I will not miss our garage, which I've hoped would get destroyed in a storm, while the dead tree falls on it. I will not miss the stuff we have no room to put away into the tiny, no-door garage. I will not miss the gutters that back up in the winter and drip in the rain into a bucket. I won't miss all the thistle, the bumpy lawn, the crummy driveway, the awful side porch.
I won't miss feeling bad about all the improvements I could not make, due to time, strength or money. I am letting it go.

Moving Right Along

I told Gene I drink my Pepsi like a whiskey drinker. I do, but with ice and a big glass. He laughed.

He cooked me a steak for dinner. I "rarely" (get it?) have red meat, but I wanted some tonight.

Lots of my neck ache left me about 5 am or so when I finally started to cry about having to move. I needed to cry. I put too much pressure on myself, and blamed myself for "losing" the house. I am not actually losing it yet, because we chose to sell it before we lose it. We've had dreams of moving before, but always hoped it would involve some choices and improvements, which it still might.
I can tell you this though-- it is exhausting, this giant addition to my calendar. Whereas I could kick back and watch soaps and eat bon-bons with my free time, (AS IF) now I will be taping clear tape on cardboard and finding the Sharpie.
There are lots of things we will not miss about this house. The things we will miss will not be apparent until we move. There is no turning back at this point, and that is fine.

Furnishings

Living room: 
Sectional: Yard sale down the street $40
Entertainment center, end eables, coffee table, lamp, chair: Gifts from friend who was moving
Fabulous, low, long and heavy bookcase: Curb

Hall: Bookcase: Gift from friend who was moving

Kitchen: Hutch from relative who passed
Microwave Cart: From relative who moved
Cupboards: From relative
Table: Curb
Chairs: From customer who was pitching them
Buffet: From Relative Who Moved
Bookcase: ?
Bench: Curb
BTW: We bought the fridge and stove

Office: Desk from garage sale
Cabinet: From friend who passed
Cupboard: From childhood

Bedroom: Both dressers and closet from childhood
End tables: Curb and garage sale
Cabinets: Free from garage sale and moving friend

Kids' rooms: Gifts, my childhood, curb

Pro-Life Feminists and the March

I was wondering about this.

Veronica

I just happened to stumble upon her story, I am not sure how. It's too bad she never found relief.
From a blogpost by "Shadows and Satin":
"In 1961, Lake found a job pasting felt flowers on lingerie hangers in a small South Broadway factory and the following year, the press had a field day when she was discovered living at the Martha Washington Hotel in Manhattan, paying a rent of seven dollars a day and working as a barmaid in the hotel’s cocktail lounge.
...In June 1972, Lake was married for the fourth time, to Robert Carlton-Munro, a sea captain with the Royal Navy. But this marriage, characterized by drinking bouts and fights, ended in divorce the following year. By now, years of heavy drinking had taken a toll on Lake’s health, and during a visit to friends in Vermont in June 1973, she was hospitalized with acute hepatitis. She died there on July 7th, penniless and alone. She was 50 years old."
Sometimes, you wish you could reach out to people who fade like this, then sometimes you realize, you still can. There are so many still out there who still suffer. 

January 3rd, that's all zzzz

I'm working on a personal revision. For one, I got off Facebook. I am hoping to stay off until at least springtime, if not longer. We do have two business pages on Facebook, and I maintain the church site as well, so I will see the thing, but not for long and not in my overposting way. Even long before FB, I posted events and info and such outside my cubicle at work, on those gray fabric walls. I seem to naturally want to advertise.
Then, I got into a program of intense accountability in regards to food intake, what and how much of it. I feel very hopeful and grateful for this, as I have a lot to lose. My way of attempting this in the last two decades has resulted in weight gain, so that didn't work. I appreciate the people in this program who are very kind and dedicated to serving the next person who comes along.

I know the video is sideways.
My house is trashed, holiday trashed. The house is already small and untidy, so decorations make it so much worse. Little houses, trees, versions of Santa and fake snow are closing in on me; I don't want to be home.
My kids went back to school today. Dakota informed me that he is going to be in yet another honors math course next year. That is really cool. The stuff is fun for him, which makes me very happy. Des is just tired. She and Gene went to the movies with a group and saw Assassin's Creed at 10 pm. She will give me as little information on school as possible, assuming I know it all or should. As if.
Gene is still out driving. I had to drive as well today, since he was booked. I did four hours and got to visit my old gallery in Little Italy as well as have a sandwich next door until my clients were ready. With all the rain today, and with my choppy sleep, I haven't been getting enough rest, so I took a nap. Now making dinner.
So, not much excitement around here. I am hoping to devote one of these days to clearing the decor and cleaning up so we can see what year it is.

TurboTax 2017 TV Commercial "Kathy Bates Scary Dependents" (Official :45...

Nice ceramics blog.

http://gallagherpottery.com/archives/1250