Confessions of a One-Track Mind

Got a call from PJ literally two minutes after turning my alarm off. (8:02 AM) Alarming news: They were off the boat, on the road, and expected to be home by noon. Going by what I know of cruises, I hadn't even expected them to be off the frackin' boat before 11.

That blew my plan of going calmly to church and coming back to the house to pack right out of the water. And unfortunately, I *couldn't* skip church, because PJ had printed out the programs for this week and entrusted them to me to deliver.

Had a very Ogden Nash morning: "When in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout"... Add to that hospitality---I'd made a special trip to the price club on Saturday so I could do something nice: I planned tortellini salad with genoa salami, stuffed mushrooms, ruggala and grapes for dessert. Alas, packing took all my cooking time; I delivered the desserts---stressed spelled backward!---and dashed into WalMart on the way there.

Got to church and discovered that I was WRONG, that someone else was down for hospitality, although I think the fresh fried chicken was an improvement over cole slaw and cookies. (I have always thought cole slaw is a terrible thing to do to defenseless cabbage; if an atrocity is going to be committed on that veg, I much prefer sauerkraut.)

I went back afterward; the C's were back. I snagged my fridge stuff and departed. I'll have to got ahold of them, as I forgot my Tracfone charger and a loaf of bread, plus I need to let them know I have a package of fabric swatches coming. Honestly, when you place an order for something on Saturday, you except it to be shipped Monday, don't you? Certainly before Wednesday. Sheesh.

( In good news---yes, there is some! )

Supposedly my fence gets installed tomorrow. Fingers crossed!

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Pounds gained while house-sitting: 7 (Less than I feared; this is why I do not trust digital scales.)

Pounds of cans recycled so far: 20 (Good for $10 even. This was just what I accumulated at the C's and dug out of my trunk when I cleaned the car. Several more bags are awaiting egress at home.)

Looming crises: Too numerous to list. Assorted bills coming due, threats from the county about my yard, and what the hell possessed me to offer to bring hospitality for church this Sunday?!?!

"Ain't that just the cherry on the turd?" award goes to: The digital converter box, which picks up ONE channel (CBS)---when the weather is good. Raining pitchforks, not so good.

After three months, more or less, in relatively "normal" surroundings, I'd forgotten what an unholy mess I live in. Am in the mood to Throw Out All the Things---IF I had a shitload of trashbags and a clue where to start. It's times like this when I really miss GK---an hour of her whip-cracking and there was Serious Progress.

Thankfully, there are signs of autumn: It's still warm, but it's about three degrees away from being outright hot. They're predicting overnight lows in the 60s for this weekend, which makes me so happy, if I had a tail I would wag it. It reminds me that even horrible things eventually change for the better, if you just keep going.

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I've got laundry happending at J's...small load, because she has a teeny-tiny washer and the dryer only half-works. It doesn't like to spin, hence the title of the post.

Thursday morning, I met with the C's---they leave next Tuesday, and I'll be luxuriating at their hacienda. Well, except for The Bed From Hell and All Those Stairs. Otherwise, though, there's air, cable and wireless internet, a well-stocked pantry and fridge I'm invited to partake of, and the location is fab.

It's a funny thing, everything has various degrees pf desirability. J's laundry facilities and cable suck, but the air and wireless are great, and her bathroom is superlative. (Fully tiled, handicap-accessible, awesome.)

Mb has frosty air, wireless and she doesn't begrudge me snacking in her pantry (also, she COOKS), but there's no on-site laundry, and I'm OVER her five indoor cats. Also the floor plan, not that there's anything they can do about that. It's just that I often have to go the long way around depending on what beast has claimed a particular patch of floor.

Both Mb and J have Damn Short Furniture. Points off there. Like All Those Damn Stairs, they're hell on my knees. They both have wonderful dogs, though, as do the Cs. That forgives much. (J and the C's have one cat apiece, which is manageable. It's when there's a whole pride of them infesting the house that I consider violin lessons.)

My house may be a cluttered mess, and the neighborhood sucks, but I don't strain my knees getting up from my bed or the couch, the laundry area is adequate (albeit cluttered),and I have more than one clock in the house. Yes, I know my cell phone has a clock built-in, but it usually lives in my purse.

It's the little things that make a house home, I guess is what I'm getting at, but those little things are different for everyone. I miss my books and media. I miss good lighting to read by. I miss my lightweight Corelle dishes. I miss my full wardrobe and selection of shoes to choose from. Those are some of the things that define home for me. YMMV.

I'm not bitching; I hope it doesn't sound that way. It's just my brain poking at the events of the last month. There are trade-offs I've made to have air and net, and so far, they're worth it.

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I busted my ass yesterday working on my living room, and my ass is feeling it today. It was totally worth it, though, when I walked out there this morning and saw my cozy living room.

( Pictures and commentary )
Meanwhile, come out and support the Cheer-Up-athon! There are a lot of day-brighteners up there. The lovely and sympatico karaokegal gifted me with a gem of a drabble for Black Sheep Squadron, and upbeat contributions are always welcome! Feel free to pimp, too.

It may be a mess, but at least it's my mess. And the obnoxious neighbors are at least over there, and not in the living room bellowing. No, he isn't hard of hearing, he's just a bully. And he never shuts up. Mb says he's lonely, but when he has the TV on, why can't he watch the freaking TV and let me read quietly on the couch?!

Here, I can read in peace. And walk around in my underwear, or less and not scandalize anyone. My bed is less comfortable, but it's a platform and is much easier to get up from---gravity is good!---and the bathroom is not a hallway away in the middle of the night, and I *don't* have to leave a light on.

Hopefully, now that I'm back at my own desk, which is a sensible height, with a board at my side for my mouse and a chair whose height bears some relevance to the height of the desk et al, my wrist will stop hurting. I've made it this far without accquiring carpal tunnel, it's ridiculous that a week there should do it.

And WalMart. I'm thankful for my own happy little Wally right down the road, with its sensible and familiar layout. The Melbourne one is not laid out like any other WalMart I've ever seen, and it's wretched.

I'm looking forward to church tomorrow---it feels like I've missed much more than a week---and tomorrow evening is Supper Club. Huzzah!

I probably sound grumpy, which isn't my intent. It's just been a LONG week.

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ETA: Just got off the phone after a long chat with GK---she's talking about coming down for a solo visit in March! This is excellent news! I'm motivated to get my living room cleared out so she can use my sofa bed; she's slept on it before at Kat's and has pronounced it comfortable. Fingers crossed that this plan comes to fruition....


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I just had a call from T, letting me know they're coming home tonight rather than tomorrow as originally scheduled. I think it's safe to guess that things didn't go too well. S has probably been drunk the whole time, and knowing her, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out that she caused a scene/some kind of trouble. It wouldn't be the first time. It's T who I feels sorry for.

So now, I'm trying to do four things at once: Pack clothes, toiletries and food---including perishables---burn a couple CDs of the stuff I've been downloading---which has to be converted to MP3 from wav? whateverthefuck---try to figure out where I'm going and in what order aftr I leave---jolly.

The good part of it is, I will be home tonight and *not* have to run back over here after movie night and SPN. (Tonight's movie is "Taking Woodstock", which I have long wanted to see.)

There really is no place like home.

Unless catastrophe strikes, I'll be home in less than 12 hours. This makes me very happy!