I Love To Go A Gardening
Growing Our Life in Northern Michigan
Funny Miss Twiggley
This morning as I got out of bed, I glanced out the window and saw a deer grazing right outside. I snuck out to the living room and got my camera, and then snuck back into the bedroom and began taking video and pictures. I realize that you all may get tired of deer videos, but I’m so thrilled that I can’t help but video them and share them.
A bit later, I heard EJ whisper urgently for me to come into the bedroom. He also saw a deer grazing when he woke up. We haven’t yet mowed our lawn because we just brought the mower up last weekend and we haven’t had time. However, we discussed mowing very little of our yard so we can provide habitat for the wildlife. Of course, we couldn’t mow much of it anyway because we live on the top of a hill and there is forest and ravines around us. But we purposely want to leave as much of it unmowed as we can.
We were sitting in the living room drinking coffee when I happened to glance toward the kitchen window. “Oh, my goodness! Someone is here!” I gasped in shock. We don’t really know anyone yet and we are so surrounded by trees, ravines, and a long steep driveway that I’m always shocked when I see a strange car. And, actually, I haven’t seen many strange cars come up the driveway.
EJ was dressed but I was still in my pajamas so he went outside to talk to the strangers while I rushed into the bedroom to get dressed. When I was dressed, I saw EJ talking to two women on the porch. They carried what looked like Bibles, so I figured (correctly) that they were probably Jehovah Witnesses. I love God and I believe the Bible is true, but I’m not a JW and don’t like talking to them when they come to the door. I know some people engage them in a discussion–which is really what EJ did–but I just sort of say “Thanks, but I’m not interested” as if I were talking to a telemarketer. I think it’s the INFJ Introvert in me that makes me dislike these types of door-to-door visits from strangers. People might disagree, but I don’t really think such evangelistic visits work these days–although I also think God can work any way He wants. I prefer simply living my faith and remaining always ready to give a reasoned answer to anyone who asks [me] to explain the hope [I] have… (I Peter 3:15)
Anyway, I felt at first like hiding and letting EJ handle the visit. Then I thought, “Oh, my goodness! I’m becoming just like funny Miss Twiggley in the old children’s story that my family had when we were growing up! I still remember the first paragraph of the story:
Funny Miss Twiggley
Lived in a tree
With a dog named Puss
And a color TV.
She did what she liked, and she liked what she did,
But when company came
Miss Twiggley hid.
I always liked that Miss Twiggley lived in a tree with her dog, but I decided to go out and join EJ and the women, so I did. We had a nice little chat and EJ said later that he had told them about what we believe. It’s only fair, if they are going to come to our door, that we (or rather EJ) share our faith as well.
After the women left, EJ and I sat on the porch and chatted for a bit as we enjoyed the morning. Mostly I’ve just seen crows flying in our Enchanted Forest. I think crows are very intelligent and interesting birds, and I like them, but I’m eager to see other birds as well. I’ll be glad when we get our bird houses, bird bath, and bird feeders up here so we can attract birds to where we can view them. I’m not going to bring up my birdhouses until late summer after the sparrows at our old house are no longer raising their young, and I can’t put up the bird feeders until the bears hibernate for the winter. But eventually we will be able to enjoy the variety of birds up here. Anyway, I was idly watching the crows flying overhead when suddenly a crow flew straight across our land. Only…it looked sort of funny, and I thought at first it was carrying something in its mouth. I focused more intensely on it…and realized it was a woodpecker. It was HUGE, the biggest I’ve ever seen! It was a pileated woodpecker. Allaboutbirds.org says that
Photo from: thebirdpoint.wordpress.com
“The Pileated Woodpecker is one of the biggest, most striking forest birds on the continent. It’s nearly the size of a crow, black with bold white stripes down the neck and a flaming-red crest. Look (and listen) for Pileated Woodpeckers whacking at dead trees and fallen logs in search of their main prey, carpenter ants, leaving unique rectangular holes in the wood. The nest holes these birds make offer crucial shelter to many species including swifts, owls, ducks, bats, and pine martens.
EJ just caught a glimpse of it. Later, when we were in the house, we saw it pecking at a tree. I was so absolutely delighted! I’ve never seen a pileated woodpecker before!
I so totally love the Enchanted Forest!
Later in the morning, JJ and I decided to go get the mail. It looked as if it were going to rain, but I checked Accuweather radar and it didn’t really show more than a few little specks of green. So I told JJ that we would be fine, and we ran down the steep driveway, got the mail, and walked back up huffing and puffing. I have a park bench at our old house, and I declare that when we get it moved up here, I am going to put it halfway up the driveway so we can stop for a rest. We were at the top of the hill when the skies opened up and it began to pour. JJ and I ran to the house as he wailed, “I thought you said it wasn’t going to rain!!!”
After my guys left for work, I did a few tasks. First I hung a couple pictures in the living room. I will want advice for hanging the others–like where the studs are in the wall and such. Then I took pictures of the newly painted room.
Then I did a live chat with a Lexmark support technician to find out why my computer and wireless printer haven’t been communicating since I brought the printer up to the Enchanted forest. The technician worked with me for a couple of hours and, well, to sum up, I have to find the USB printer cord, which I’m quite sure is still at the old house, then do what my computer tells me to do, and somehow that will get the printer to communicate again.
I also did laundry. I wanted to wash the jeans I was wearing, so I put on my sweatpants that I wear as pajamas and a pullover sweater. It’s not like anyone ever comes up the hill. Except for this morning. I was folding clothes when I heard this big roar, and I looked outside and two trucks drove up the driveway. Oh, my goodness! I rushed around trying to find presentable clothes to put on, hoping I could find them before the people knocked on the door! I finally found the clothes, got dressed, and went outside. Two guys were consulting in the driveway. They were the guys that are going to fix the driveway. Well, the first guy is actually the one EJ called about getting gravel. He arranged for us to meet the second guy, who has expertise in fixing driveways like ours. The second guy is going to come out tomorrow to measure the driveway and write up an estimate.
And so my day pretty much ended the way it began: With me wearing pajamas and panicking when strangers came to my door.
Projects
The temperature dropped down into the 40’s last night…even though it’s mid-June! I think that is cool (pun intended). The high today was 71. I like the cooler temps.
JJ had to be at work at noon today. After he left, the guy EJ had called about bringing gravel for our driveway stopped by to look at our driveway, which is being nibbled away by erosion. There are deep chasms along our driveway–first on one side and then on the other–so driving down it is a challenging adventure. The guy said he could do something or other that would cause the rain to not run down the driveway and cause erosion and, I think, he can use some sort of road stuff that would pack down and become almost like blacktop. The guy is going to write up an estimate. He project will be more than EJ originally planned, but it will be cheaper if we don’t have to dump loads of gravel on our driveway every year.
After the gravel guy left, I drove to the lumber store to pick up the paint they had ready for me. Ugh. The blue walls in our living room was so dark that it took 3 gallons to cover it! EJ and I decided to get some Kilz as primer for the kitchen walls–which are currently red–so I don’t have to keep buying paint. The poor guys at the lumber store have to keep special ordering the base paint so they can mix the paint for me. One of them said that people are not buying much flat paint these days but are going with eggshell or gloss so they don’t keep much flat base at the store.
I have decided on the colors for the master bedroom and JJ’s bedroom. When I went to pick up the paint for the living room, I asked the guy if he could mix up those for me too. Of course, the lumber store didn’t have the correct base. I called EJ to ask if I should get the paint there or get it at the hardware store. I don’t know how to get to the hardware store yet, so EJ would have to go with me. We decided to just order it so I can pick it up when I need it. I told the lumber guy that I felt really bad that I was causing him to special order all the time, but we just moved here and his store is the only one I know how to get to. He said, “This is the only store!” as if he were using Jedi mind tricks on me. Ha! We laughed about me only knowing how to get to his store. We got to talking about where we used to live, and living up here versus living down south (much better up here). He told me where his sister lives down there and it just happened to be the town where I grew up. It is only about 30 minutes from our old house so we often shop…er, shopped, there. Small world, huh?
I told the lumber guy that I love living up here, and I love watching the animals that come into our yard. He said, “We’ve got bears up here.” I told him, yeah, I know, and bears kind of scare me, but I love the other animals.
After EJ left for work, I walked to the mailbox but I left Danny in the house because the hill is too much for him.
I spent the rest of the day finishing painting the living room. There is a sort of pillar that goes up and across the ceiling and that was more difficult to paint so it took me a long time. Tomorrow I just have a few little areas to touch up and then I will be able to move on to preparing the kitchen for painting.
After I cleaned everything up, it was almost time for JJ to get out of work, so I went out into the kitchen and made oven-fried chicken with strawberry shortcake for dessert. Yum.
EJ and I have been discussing whether to go south this weekend and bring up another load of stuff from the old house or take a break. We’d really like to get everything up here as soon as we can so we don’t have to keep making trips down south and so we can call a realtor and sell the house. However, EJ’s back has been spasming and I think it’s because the long drives are hard on his back. Since neither EJ nor JJ have to work this Friday, we are thinking about maybe taking the weekend off and doing something fun.
Boundary Markers
Yesterday, a couple of hours after I saw the doe and her two fawns, Danny asked to go out. It was about twilight. During the day I let Danny go outside with us without a leash–unless we are near the road. However, toward evening I use the leash because I don’t want to risk him running off after deer or other evening/night animals. While Danny was “doing his business” I heard a snort. I looked down the driveway and saw the Mama Deer staring at me. She took a step toward me and snorted again. Another step and another snort. I thought, “Wow, she’s going to come after me because she thinks I’m threatening her little ones!” I didn’t want to upset her so as soon as Danny was done, I got him back in the house. I love the deer on our property!
Early this afternoon I was going to take Danny with me to get the mail. I started to run down the driveway, expecting Danny to run along side me. I looked back to see where he was and there he was standing at the top of the hill looking at me. “Com’on, Danny!” I called. But he just stood there grinning and wagging his tail, letting me know quite plainly that he was not going to go down that hill. So I turned around and trudged back up. He danced around me with joy when I reached the top. “You are such a wimp,” I told him fondly as I let him in the house. I went alone to the mailbox. Later in the evening, JJ wanted to walk so we went to the mailbox and back. He wanted to run up the driveway but though I tried, I was just too tired. I walked up instead.
JJ didn’t have to work today so after his Dad left for work, he and I ran a few errands. We stopped at the lumber yard to get another gallon of paint. We actually decided that the color we had chosen before had too much of a greenish tint to it so, since we needed more paint anyway, we chose a very similar color that was more yellow. The differences between the colors were so slight that it’s barely noticeable–and yet it is. The other color felt slightly wrong. I think it’s difficult to choose paint because colors can look right in the store but not on the walls. I like the creamier color better. I painted again today. I should be able to finish the living room tomorrow and then I can begin working on the kitchen. I’m also considering colors to paint the master bedroom and JJ’s room.
Since writing yesterday’s post, I have been thinking a lot about boundaries and how difficult it is to set them. I think that people who can set boundaries would think it was utterly ridiculous how difficult it is for others to set them. It’s kind of hard to explain, although I can see where it began. I mean, I remember wanting to confront a sister about this or that when I was a child, and my Mother telling me, “She is who she is. Love and accept her for who she is. Don’t rock the boat. You’ll only make things worse.” That advice sounded loving and since I wanted to be loving and accepting, I didn’t confront my sister. In reality, the advice was not loving, it was unhealthy because issues were not resolved. When resentments and offenses built up among siblings to the point where they were voiced, it felt like a brutal attack–which only supported my Mom’s opinion that confronting would make things worse. So you learn to accept the offenses, be silent, smile, and be nice. As adults, I was still accepting, loving, and nonconfronting, which allowed my sister to continue abusive behavior. When I did finally set a boundary, our relationship ended. That happens sometimes. Either a person respects a boundary or the relationship ends.
There were also the message that my Mom taught and others throughout my life reinforced that to say no, to set limits, to want something for yourself was selfish. So, again, you learn to be nice, don’t rock the boat, and give and give and give to others without expecting anything in return. It’s good to be compassionate, forgiving, and giving, but abusers or other types of “takers” will take and take and take until there’s nothing left to give.
These messages make it difficult to set boundaries, and sometimes the boundaries that are difficult to set are ridiculous.
Like a few years ago, I had a terrible rash. A friend asked a mutual friend to drop off some medication that she thought would help. The friend dropped off the medication and then asked to be taken on a tour through my garden. I was completely unable to tell the friend that the rash was so unbearable that I hadn’t slept in days and the last thing I wanted to do was take her through my garden. Instead, we walked through my garden. Now I realize that there was nothing rude or “not nice” about telling her that the tour would have to wait until I felt better. Duh. But I didn’t know it then.
A few years ago, our neighbors and their visitors kept parking on our lawn. They didn’t park a little bit on our grass, but they pulled up right on our lawn between the street and the sidewalk. EJ and I really struggled with it and agonized over it for several months because we would never park on someone’s lawn. (Our other neighbors have a strip of pavement along their yard that our visitors sometimes mistake as the side of the road. It’s not, our neighbors pave and maintain that bit themselves. We always told our visitors that that is our neighbor’s property and please don’t park there). We didn’t want to rock the boat or make things worse by asking our neighbors to please not park in our yard. I had been learning about boundaries so finally when I saw one of their friends park on our lawn, I opened the window and asked if they would please not do it. It took all my courage. They said ok, moved their car, and no one parked there again. Wow. No attack. It’s sort of stupid to agonize over it.
I knew that I grown much when a few weeks ago, just before I moved north, our neighbor was out cutting down branches from a tree that was close to our fence. They were doing it right…with a rope around the branches they were cutting so that they wouldn’t fall to the ground. When previous neighbors had had professionals trim the tree, a branch had fallen on the fence and bent it. (We had said nothing and they didn’t fix it.) I was sort of expecting a branch to fall on our fence again this time. Sure enough, I heard a big KABOOM, looked out, and a huge branch (more like a trunk) had fallen and completely crushed a section of our fence. Without even agonizing over it, I walked out to talk to the neighbors. “Oops! We are so sorry!” our neighbors said when they saw me approach. “It was an accident. We were lowering the branch when it bounced and hit your fence.” I said, “But you are going to fix it, right?” They said they would. So I went back into the house and a little bit later one of the guys came to get me. They had straightened and fixed the fence and wanted me to approve it, which I thought was nice. I went out and looked at it and it was better than it was before. I thanked them, they apologized again, and everything was pleasant. Wow. I had actually spoken up and things were not “worse” because I did.
I never really understood healthy boundaries until I began to understand emotional abuse. In the past, I have felt that being accepting (of flaws), forgiving (without repentance), sacrificing and giving (without conditions or limits) meant that I was being compassionate, merciful, and “godly.” However, now I understand that being “too nice” can actually allow disrespect and abuse to continue and grow. If people have the tendency to be “takers” or abusers, they don’t see a person without boundaries as compassionate and caring, they see them as weak doormats whom they can control, manipulate, and take advantage of.
Photo from: thedeliberateagrarian.com
I’m not saying that boundaries means we are selfish, uncompassionate, and unforgiving (which is what I was always taught). It doesn’t mean that we have “no testimony.” Instead, it’s like…when we were buying our house, we had surveyors mark the boundaries of our land. Knowing the boundaries between “our” land and our neighbor’s land actually helps strengthen neighborly relationships because it prevents disputes over whether one or the other owns that bit of land. It also prevents an unscrupulous person from slowly creeping over the boundary and taking his neighbor’s land bit by bit. If there is a dispute, neighbors can point to the boundary stakes or the survey report and say, “No, this is MY land, not yours.”
Maybe that’s why the Bible says “Don’t cheat your neighbor by moving the ancient boundary markers set up by previous generations.” (Prov. 22:28 NLT, Deut. 19:14 and 27:17). Boundaries help define us, it makes a distinction between “me” and “you” and “mine” and “yours,” it stops abuse, it prevents offenses and resentments from building up, and it encourages mutual respect. In effect, it promotes peace and strengthens relationships–not just in context of land, but also within relationships. One person can move another person’s personal boundary markers just as much as a boundary marker for land.
I don’t know if any of this made sense. However, I want to tell you that it was a very big thing for me to be able to set the boundary and say, “This is OUR land and we–not you–will determine how it is to be used.”
This Land Is Our Land
This morning I began painting our living room. We chose a color called Kira Caramel, which is a neutral beige color that I think is sort of the color of butter. It’s so good to get rid of the dark blue walls! While I like to paint rooms different colors, I most generally prefer warm, subtle colors that make a room feel light and airy. Colors that are considered “cool” (like blue) or that are too dark tend to depress my spirits. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that a person is said to be “blue” when they are depressed.
The newly painted walls are looking good, but I ran out of paint about late afternoon. It takes a lot of paint to cover up the blue. I will finish when we get another gallon. After I finish the living room, I will paint the kitchen, which we decided to paint Sunbeam Glow, which is a warm yellow color. Then we can put in new flooring. We wanted to get the painting done before the floor so that we don’t get paint splatters on the new flooring.
After I put away my supplies, Danny and I walked down the driveway and then back up. We walked rather than ran because it was too humid and hot today. Neither one of us had the energy to run.
I was puttering around, cleaning the kitchen and putting some stuff away when I glanced out my kitchen window and saw the doe with two fawns. Awwww. They were so adorable! I grabbed my camera and started videoing them, of course. If I keep seeing sights like this, I am going to have to get a better camera.
I love our property! We really feel as if this place is a gift from God, a place of natural beauty and quietness where we can get a break from the chronic stress we have been under for so long and renew our spirits.
One matter of concern is that from the moment one friend saw our property, he has talked about bringing his friends (whom we’ve never met) to stay at our place so they can go snowmobiling, etc. At first he wanted them all to stay in our house, but when EJ said that we have no guest rooms (our third bedroom is our library, which is stuffed with books) and we don’t want strangers in our house, he said they’d stay in tents in our yard, and then he talked about asking a local campground if they had an abandoned RV that he could bring up and keep at our place. The RV seems to imply that him and his buddies staying here would be a regular occurrence rather than a one-time event.
This makes me feel that the friend doesn’t care so much about visiting us as he does about using our property as his private retreat, his base camp, to invite his friends to whenever he wanted to. And that causes EJ and me anxiety because using our land in such away is not our plans.
One thing I resolved is that when we moved to the Enchanted Forest I would set healthy boundaries and not allow anyone to disregard them. This is important because victims of Narcissistic abuse often find it difficult to set boundaries. Narcissists are like invaders who disrespect and ignore boundaries, sweeping in to force their demands on others. Victims are not allowed to be separate people, to say “no,” to set limits, to have their own opinions or possessions, and so on, and in the process their confidence and identities are destroyed. So victims often struggle to say “No” and this opens the door to others coming in to take advantage of them. Learning to set healthy boundaries–to make a distinction between “me” and “you” and “mine” and “yours”–is important to healthy relationships. I have been working on strengthening my boundaries, and I have been making progress, and I have resolved that I would continue to set healthy boundaries here in the North.
EJ and I discussed that our boundaries in this case is that as much as we love and value our friends, we did not make all these changes, and take all these risks, and make so many sacrifices, and work so hard to buy this property for our friends. Our friends are not co-owners of our property and neither are we in a co-op or time-share with them with us all having equal rights to the property. We are not managing a public campground, a semi-private retreat, a hotel, a Bed & Breakfast, or a deer/fishing/snowmobiling base camp. We bought this property for us. This is not our seasonal vacation property, this is our home and our land and we want it to be peaceful and quiet and enjoyable, a place where we can de-stress, recover from abuse and cancer battles, relax, and enjoy life. We all desperately need this beautiful, quiet place to rest. The thought of having strangers camped outside our door fills me with anxiety.
It might seem selfish of us, but if we can’t say “no” we could soon lose control of our own land. While we would genuinely enjoy occasional visits from friends, we have no intention of becoming Bed & Breakfast hosts or campground directors of any sort. We don’t want strangers staying here or RVs permanently parked here. If a friend is looking for a “base camp” to enjoy fun activities with his buddies, I’m sorry, but they all need to rent a cabin together or buy their own vacation property. We bought this property for us, not for it to turn into a private campground for others.
And that is my very first boundary in the Enchanted Forest.
Weekend Busyness
The weekend has been very busy.
Friday morning I was barely awake when I got a call from the hospital saying that JJ could have his port out that very day if he wanted to. He also could choose to have a twilight anesthesia when the port was taken out or to be awake and just have the actual area numbed. I felt those were decisions that JJ should make so I woke him up and handed him the phone. He wasn’t mentally prepared for the procedure that day so he scheduled it for June 23. Also, he wants to be twilighted. I mean, seriously, who wants to be awake when their body is opened and a port pulled out? Shudder.
EJ has begun working four ten-hour days and getting Fridays off. So Friday we went to a Menards store in the Emerald City to buy some tile because the rain runs down our steep driveway and erodes it so that there are widening gullies on either side. I think it’s sort of scary to drive. The tile lets the water drain away safely. A few years ago I asked why it’s called “tile” when it’s actually plastic tubing that looks nothing like tile, and EJ told me that in the olden days it was actually tile.
At the store we also looked at shelving for the books in our library. We considered the options and decided that shelves and bookcases are much, much too expensive, so we are going to make our own. We didn’t buy any supplies today because the tile took up all the room in the Buggy (Xterra).
After we got home, JJ helped EJ position the tile along the driveway. Monday EJ plans to call an excavation place and ask them to haul in gravel for the driveway.
Saturday we had to wait for a delivery, but afterwards EJ and I drove down to our old house. JJ couldn’t go because he had to work. Neither EJ nor I wanted to spend the night, so when we got to the house we mowed the lawn, loaded up the Buggy, and headed back up. We heard that there were bad storms–and even tornado warnings–in the area, but we encountered very little rain on our way home.
On this trip, we were able to get all but one of my potted plants–I’m so glad I have my cacti safely north. I had originally bought them in tiny pots from Walmart and now they are huge! We also brought up the missing parts of JJ’s bed, some boxes of food, some clothing, our small vacuum cleaner (which isn’t great but it’s better than nothing), a few more boxes of books, some of EJ’s tools, and our push lawn mower. We still have lots to bring up from the old house. I don’t know how we will ever get it all up here. We are taking another trip south next week, and EJ’s sister’s family is going to help us move more things the following week. I’ll be so glad when we are done with the weekend trips to the old place.
This morning we had to go to the hardware store to get a few things so EJ could hook up the washer and dryer. It was a misty, moisty day and the lake we drove by was very beautiful. As we were paying for our purchases at the store, we mentioned that we had just moved to the area–and EJ named the road we live on. The cashier asked, “So where exactly on that road do you live?” When we told her, she said that she lives just a couple of houses down from us. She’s our neighbor. We all introduced ourselves. She is the second neighbor we have met.
When we got home, EJ hooked up the washer and dryer. Yeah! In our old house we had a stackable washer/dryer in the downstairs bathroom. There was no room for the laundry baskets, so we stored them in the bathtub and took them out whenever one of us took a shower. In this new house, I actually have a real laundry room off the kitchen, and there are shelves and space for laundry baskets. I absolutely love it! I don’t love the color, but we can paint it later.
While EJ was hooking up the washer/dryer and working on other tasks in his wonderful garage shop, I used tape to mark off areas around doors, windows, and every other area where we don’t want paint when we paint the living room. I can’t wait to start painting. I really don’t like the dark blue color.
A little later I drove to the local grocery store to pick up a few things. JJ arrived home just a few minutes before I did. He said he saw the monster spider on our front porch. He agreed that it was so big we’d have to shoot it. I think I am going to name it Shelob after the spider that attacked Frodo in The Lord of the Rings. I hate spiders.
Unfamiliar Things
Last night I looked out the front door and saw a humongous spider on the porch. I texted EJ, “I just saw the biggest spider EVER on our front porch. I need a gun.” It was the size of my hand. Seriously. I took a picture of it. It’s kind of blurry because I took it through the door. There is no way I was going to open the door when it was less than a foot away. If I ever saw one of those things crawling across the floor or wall, I swear I’ll run screaming all the way back to our old house.
I suppose that every Eden has its snake and every Enchanted Forest has its giant spiders. Shudder.
I went to bed early last night because I wanted to be well rested when I drove JJ to the Emerald City for his appointment with the new oncologist. I was dreading the drive because the drive was unfamiliar to me–and I get lost very easily–and EJ and JJ have been telling me for several months how terrible the traffic is there.
Of course, when I want to be well rested, something always happens to cause a sleepless night. Always. From about 4 a.m. on–or maybe even earlier–Timmy decided he wanted lovings. Usually he and a few other cats just curl up on the bed and sleep with us, but last night Timmy was awful. He kept burrowing in the covers with me, or rubbing against me, or poking me. Ugh! I never woke fully to put him out of the room–I just kept trying to push him away. Unsuccessfully. Finally, I just gave up and got out of bed and got ready for the day.
Viki the GPS outlined the route and called out directions. JJ was also helpful because he drives part of the route to work every day and he lived in the Emerald City for a couple of months. We drove through forests, around curves, up and down hills while lakes played “peek-a-boo.” When we neared the Emerald City, we got caught in a terrible traffic jam–the worst I’ve ever seen. It made me think of the Gridlock episode in Doctor Who in which travelers were stuck in such a huge traffic jam that it took them years to travel only a couple of miles. I think it took us about an hour to drive 5 miles.
I didn’t mind so much because I had left super early for that very reason, and the traffic jam occurred right next to the bay so I could enjoy the beautiful scenery. The traffic going in the opposite direction was not jammed and cars were driving by quite quickly. I told JJ, “I hope those cars aren’t fleeing an alien invasion or a monster like Godzilla, who is crushing cars and flinging them around like toys.” In superhero or monster movies, clueless bystanders always seem to head straight into the conflict. If it was me, I’d run into a basement and hide out until the villain was defeated.
Anyway, after a long, long, slow, slow journey, the jam finally broke free and we went faster. Viki took us right to our destination. The drive really wasn’t that bad, and I now know that I can handle driving to and from and through the Emerald City.
The appointment at the oncologist was stressful because everything was so unfamiliar. There are things I liked about the new oncologist and things I didn’t. I don’t think the staff was quite as friendly as the ones we have known. I miss Chris, the patient care tech at the other center, who brightened everyone’s day with his cheerfulness. However, I liked the oncologist. He said that JJ’s treatment had been excellent at the other Cancer Center and that the doctors at Indianapolis were the very best in the world, to which we agreed. He explained things quite clearly, letting us know the plan for JJ’s followup treatment. JJ asked when he could get his port removed and the oncologist said he could get it done soon–like within 7 to 14 days. Although the procedure to have the port removed will be another stressful thing for him, he hates the port and has wanted it out for a long time.
I liked that JJ could get his blood tests right at the center instead of having to go to a separate lab. After the exam, JJ went to the infusion room and got his port flushed and blood drawn. I liked that our old Cancer Center had separate rooms and that there were extra chairs so loved ones could stay with the patient. This new place had seven wing-backed chairs (not recliners) in one room where people were getting chemo. I saw no extra chairs and no loved ones sitting with the patients. Perhaps this room was for patients who received infusions for a short time rather than hours like JJ had?
After we left the oncologists, JJ said urgently, “Now get me out of here!” He liked the doctor but being at a cancer center totally stresses him. Probably triggers PTSD. He is always rather irritable on days when we have to go to a cancer center. He dozed on the trip home and took a nap at home until it was time to go to work.
After JJ left, EJ, Danny, Tesla, and I walked to the mailbox. I didn’t run back up because I was so tired. Danny didn’t seem to mind. When we returned, EJ and I discussed what to do tomorrow. EJ has started working ten-hour days on Monday through Thursday and getting Friday off. We were going to drive down to the old house tomorrow, but we are expecting a delivery on Saturday so we have to stick around. We will drive down later on Saturday, pack more things, and then return on Sunday, I think. So tomorrow we are thinking about going to Menards. The rain runs down the hill and erodes our driveway so EJ wants to get some tile and then cover the driveway with gravel. While we are at Menards, I want to look at different types of inexpensive shelving for our library.
I was so tired that after EJ left for work, I tried to take a nap but I had barely fallen asleep when the new oncologist called to tell me that JJ’s blood tests came back clear. A good reason to be woke up. I considered trying again to nap, but I wasn’t able to get back to sleep. Oh well. I figured I’d just take the rest of the day off from unpacking, but I ended up doing a bit anyway.
JJ had to go to work an hour earlier so he got out an hour earlier. Although he was tired and stressed when he drove to work, he returned in high spirits because he had such a good day.
As for me, I’m going to go to bed early and hopefully Timmy will let me sleep.
Running
This morning I started to get out of bed but quickly lay back down–because a doe was grazing right outside our window. I watched her for several minutes as she slowly grazed and then walked into the forest. I wished I had my camera, but it was in the other room and I was afraid any movement would scare her off. I guess I’m going to have to start taking my camera to bed with me at night.
EJ and I had several errands to run this morning. First we stopped at a little bank in a nearby town to open a checking account. We wanted a closer bank for our day-to-day business because it’s too time-consumer to go to our other bank which is has no nearby branches.
After the bank, we stopped at the small lumber/hardware store to pick up the step ladder and paint for our kitchen that they had ordered for us. The guys who work there are friendly and–it’s hard to describe–but I could see them as characters in a TV series. Maybe a show like Newhart, a 1982-1990 in which Bob Newman played a character who bought and ran an inn in Vermont. I’m not saying that the guys at the lumber yard are hicks or anything like that–because they aren’t–but they seem to me to have a lot of charming character with a good dose of humor that make them interesting.
After the lumber store, we made a quick stop at the little grocery store and then headed for home. I rejoice in the fact that our daily errands take us past the most beautiful scenery ever!
I made lunch and then the guys headed for work. Because we had to run errands this morning, we didn’t get to do our mailbox run, so after the guys left Danny and I walked down to the bottom of the hill and then ran up it. I made a video of our run. We can’t yet run for very long stretches, but I’m determined that someday we will be able to run the whole distances!
After our walk/run/walk, I spent the rest of the evening putting things away. I focused on the library today. Mostly my work involved sorting and putting away papers and pencils and other doodads in the desk.
Tomorrow morning is JJ’s first appointment with his new oncologist. Ugh. I’m really dreading the drive because I’ve only driven to the grocery store and the oncologist is an hour away through the terrible traffic in the Emerald City. Hopefully Viki, our GPS, will get us there and back again in one piece.
Mailbox Run and Turkey Trot
This morning JJ, Danny and I walked down the long steep driveway to our new mail box. When JJ got his new smart phone from the cell phone store, I was given a mailing label and told that I had 14 days to return his old phone. I kept forgetting my packing tape at the old house and only yesterday remembered to buy some tape at the hardware store up here in the North. Last night I packaged it, put the label on it, and had it ready to take to the mailbox. I have always lived in towns so this was the first time in my whole life that I have ever lived in a rural area where we had to put up the flag on the mailbox to let the postal carrier know there was mail to pick up. A simple thing, really, but I think “firsts” are worth noting. JJ was happily surprised to open the mailbox and find that the computer mouse he had ordered a couple of days ago had arrived.
After JJ took the mail out of the mailbox and put our package to be mailed inside it, we looked at each other and said, “Ready? GO!” and JJ, Danny, and I took off running up the long steep driveway. We have decided that running up the driveway is a good way to exercise and get in shape. The driveway is so steep and we are so out of shape that it doesn’t take long before we are huffing and puffing and staggering to a walk. Even Danny can’t run too far up the hill. I figure if we keep at it, we will eventually be able to run up it all the way. Or else the driveway will kill us.
While we walked/ran to and from the mailbox, EJ stayed behind because he was utterly exhausted today. He just didn’t have energy for anything. We have been under tremendous stress for so long–with difficult job, abusive family, cancer, moving–that it takes its toll on us in various ways. I’ve been praying that we will have our spirits and strength restored in the Enchanted Forest.
This afternoon JJ glanced out the window and exclaimed in surprise. We joined him at the windows and watched the female turkey come right up to our house as if to check out her new neighbors. I love being able to watch wildlife come into our yard–something that doesn’t happen when living in town.
After EJ and JJ left for work, I continued unpacking and putting things away. I worked mostly in the kitchen today putting things away in the cabinets. I still have to find places for items, but most things are now put away and the kitchen is quite neat. The same is true of the living room, our bedroom, and JJ’s bedroom: I have small items to put away in drawers and dressers, but everything is mostly neat. I still have boxes of bathroom items to put away, but there aren’t many cabinets or drawers in the bathroom so I will have to figure out how to solve the lack of storage space. The library is the least orderly because I have boxes and boxes of books to unpack, but I can’t really unpack them until we get bookcases. By the end of the week I will have most of the house looking orderly…and then EJ and I will drive south to the old house and bring back more boxes and I will begin all over again.
Once we get all moved, we still will need to paint the walls, install flooring, get a mower, dismantle the hot tub, fix the driveway…there is tons of things to do yet.
At least life isn’t boring.
Unpacking
We continue to unpack and settle into our new house.
I began my morning by putting things away in the kitchen. I’m trying to get a feel for where to put things. Like…putting plates or cups where we’d expect to find them, or putting baking supplies near where I will mix ingredients, and so forth. Sometimes I put things in one place and then think, “No, that doesn’t work,” so I move them. I got a good start on the kitchen.
In our old house, we had a night stand on both sides of our bed, but in our new house there is room for only one night stand. I let JJ have the extra night stand but then I got to thinking that it would make an excellent printer stand so today I commandeered the night stand and moved it into our library. I told JJ that we could go to thrift shops later and find him a night stand. I needed totes to store blankets in so I unpacked some of my books and put them in the cabinet. I can’t unpack many of the books because EJ hasn’t had time yet to build me floor to ceiling bookcases. We still have many more boxes of books to bring up for the old house.
Between doing my own tasks, I participated in other activities. EJ, JJ, Danny, Tesla, and I walked down to the mailbox to see if we had any mail. We are trying to figure out exactly what time of day it is delivered. We didn’t have any mail at 11 a.m. It must come later. On the way back, JJ and I ran up the driveway. Well, we ran a little way. Our driveway is so long and so steep that we were huffing and puffing after a short time, so we had to walk up the rest of the way. We figure that walking/running up the driveway will be very good exercise. Much better than stupid exercise machines that try to kill me. As I was staggering up the driveway, I noticed a dung beetle rolling a ball of dung up the hill. I’ve only ever seen one in documentaries. I thought it was rather interesting.
Later, I went with EJ to a nearby hardware store. We needed several items, including a shovel so we can bury the Internet cable in our yard and a new mail box because the current mail box was dented. After we got home, I went with EJ to keep him company while he removed the old mailbox and installed the new one. The neighbor across the street saw us and came over to introduce himself. Among other things, he told us that a couple of years ago he wanted Internet so he built a tower in his yard, and our Internet goes from the ISP, to several towers, to his tower, and then to us.
I worked from early morning until late at night and only took breaks when my feet hurt so much that I could barely tolerate standing on them. Once I rested my feet a bit, I went back to work. By the end of the day, I had emptied many boxes and made much progress.
We have a pretty castle birdhouse in our yard. Or, It thought it was a birdhouse until one of the guys who helped us move said that it was actually a bee house. However, this morning I decided that it’s not a bird or bee house at all…it’s a squirrel house. I had a lot of fun watching the squirrel climbing around the castle. I watched it for a while and then ran and got my camera to video some of it.
Yawn. Time for bed!
Ugh. Moving is really hard work.
The Big Move
EJ didn’t have to work Friday so he and I drove down to our old house while JJ stayed at the new house to take care of the pets. As we drove away, we checked our mailbox and we had mail! It was the first day that mail arrived at our new address! And the mailperson had written “Welcome!” on a little note. So cool! It doesn’t take much to entertain me, but this is the first time in about 25 years that we have had mail delivered to our home. At our old house, we had to walk to the post office every day because everyone within the Village limits had post office boxes. Of course, at our new house our driveway is so long (and steep) that I have almost as far to walk for our mail as before, but, hey, it’s our own mailbox.
Anyway, we had driven several hours when JJ called to tell me that when he took Danny outside, he accidentally locked himself out of the house. Oops. JJ said he felt stupid…but who hasn’t locked himself out at one time or another? We helped him figure out how to get back into the house and he said, “Lesson learned! I’ll never do that again!”–except this morning he and I were in the garage and accidentally locked ourselves out. Oops. Fortunately EJ was in the house and could let us back in.
I’m glad EJ and I were able to drive down on Friday because we had a lot of work to do to get ready for the movers. We went to bed late and woke up early and got back to work. I packed the Xterra while EJ did other stuff to prepare for the move. About mid-morning, our movers arrived: Two of EJ’s friends as well as EJ’s nephew, his son, and his friend and his son. Besides our Xterra, we had a pickup truck, and a pickup with a large trailer. We spent several hours loading the furniture and boxes into the vehicles. We got a lot of things moved but we didn’t get it all so we will have to make another trip or two.
We all left about mid-afternoon. First friends in the pickup drove away. then about 45 minutes later EJ’s nephew and crew left, and then we left. Even though we were the last to leave, we were actually the first to arrive because the others got a bit lost. The others pulled into the driveway right behind us. Then everyone helped unload the trucks and trailer.
Meanwhile, one of EJ’s sisters had driven to our new house with food to feed us all. That was such a tremendous help because we didn’t have to worry about feeding the everyone. I’m very thankful for everyone’s help.
After everyone left, we still had work to do. EJ put together our beds. I worked hard too, but I was so tired that I really can’t remember what I did. We were totally exhausted when we finally got to bed. As we lay in bed, several cats settled around us.
We worked all day today getting settled in. We got most of the furniture in the places we think we want them. I mostly sorted through our clothes and put them away in dressers. I worked all day with only a few breaks. I had a hard time stopping for the day because I kept finding one more thing to do, and one more thing, and one more thing. I finally stopped because my feet were aching so much it was intolerable. There is still chaos in the house, with boxes everywhere. It’s going to take a while to get everything put away. And we also need to paint the walls and install new flooring. We wanted to do the painting and flooring before the move, but we ran out of time.
So, I finally quit working for the night, and I’m sort of laying on the couch with my feet up. I can look out our big living room windows and enjoy the beautiful scenery. And then I saw a doe walk out of the trees and graze. And I thought “This is why I wanted to move…I love being able to see wildlife in my yard!
First Days in the Enchanted Forest
We just got Internet installed today! Yay! I’ve been writing each day about our first week in the Enchanted Forest and I can finally post it.
Weekend, May 30-31
A week or so before we moved, I worked at hauling junk from the basement. I threw away things I knew were junk—like falling apart cabinets and old boxes. I didn’t throw away anything that I knew EJ wanted or anything that I was unsure of. This last weekend EJ continued the process—he sorted through the things he wanted to keep and the things he wanted to throw away. JJ and I mostly hauled the junk he was throwing away to the dumpster. When we were finished, the basement looked much emptier!
JJ’s phone had died last week, so Saturday we took the time to go to the cell phone company and buy him a new one. We aren’t eligible for discounted phones until our contract ends in January, so JJ planned to buy the cheapest phone he could and then upgrade it to a smart phone in January. However, we learned that there was a promotion on his phone, and if we changed our plan, he could have a smart phone with no increase in our monthly payment. So of course he got the smart phone. He loves it.
Sunday we decided what things were essential to take north with us this week. EJ crammed the Xterra so full that I think he couldn’t have packed even another toothpick.
Monday, June 1
On Monday morning we got up early and while EJ tied a few more items on the roof of the vehicles, JJ and I captured the cats, put the most aggressive ones in the three plastic carriers and the rest of the cats in the cardboard carriers I had bought from Amazon. We were on the road by 7 a.m. and the moment we started moving seven cats began meowing in harmonic protest. They protested for most of the trip but they didn’t escape from the cardboard carriers, which I had been concerned about. Only one cat messed in her cardboard carrier. Meanwhile, Danny rode with EJ in the Xterra. He was the perfect, calm, and SILENT companion.
EJ led us to our new house in the Enchanted Forest and then he got Danny out of the car before he sped off. He had to drive through heavy traffic to our bank in the Emerald City to get the money he needed for the closing and then drive back to another town for the closing. Meanwhile JJ and I got the garage door opened and released the cats from their imprisonment. When we opened the carriers, they all scrambled to hide in various parts of the garage. JJ stay in the garage to comfort the cats while I got the comfy lawn chairs unfastened from the top of the HHR and sat on the porch to enjoy our new property. Danny let it be known that he wanted in the house, but when that didn’t happen, he sat quietly at my feet.
I was considering how long I could last before I had to discreetly find an out-of-the way place to, uhm, relieve myself, when a car pulled up our driveway. It was our realtor. EJ had said he was a really nice guy; after meeting him, I thought so too. I’ve been told he doesn’t live very far from us. He unlocked the lockbox from the door of the house. We chatted a bit and he showed me a little of where our property line is before he had to leave to get to the closing. I’d like to find all the boundaries of our property, but that will have to wait until we have time.
Since the realtor hadn’t said we couldn’t go into the house, I went in to use the bathroom. Danny came in too, and then JJ and I started capturing the indoor cats and putting them inside.
The animals all reacted to the new house differently. Kee-Kee was angry and hissed for a while before he settled down and accepted his new surroundings. Little Bear explored the new house with large eyes and nervous meows. Timmy explored boldly. Luke fearfully scrambled up into the rafters of the garage and hid. Meanwhile, Danny acted as if he has always belonged here. He’s always had to be on a leash because we lived in town so I was planning to keep him on the leash until he learned to not run off. However, we quickly put aside the leash because Danny shows no desire to wander off. He follows us in and out of the house and stays close to us at all times. I only take the leash when we walk to the mailbox and put it on him just before we reach the road. We don’t want to risk him getting hit by a car. A few times Danny rolled in the grass with happiness.
After about an hour, EJ returned. The house was ours! Yay! We unloaded the Xterra. We hadn’t been able to bring much: Sleeping bags and pillows, some dishes and cups and pots, clothes, EJ’s Lazy-Boy (with his back problems, he needs to sleep comfortably), two foldable lawn chairs for JJ and me, towels, toiletries, clothes, cleaning supplies, pet supplies, and a small cooler full of food. After we finished unloading the Xterra, and looking around the house, JJ got ready for work and then we went out to eat in the Emerald City. Afterwards we dropped JJ off at his job while we went got a few groceries and air mattresses for JJ and me.
EJ and I returned home and talked and planned. Earlier, before EJ had returned from the closing, JJ and I had opened all the windows in the house. Little Bear found a ripped screen and escaped outside, but I quickly caught him and brought him back. I warned EJ about the screen, but he thought it was a different window so he opened that window. When I noticed it, I gasped, “EJ, that is the window with the ripped screen!” so we closed it quickly and counted cats to make sure they were all inside. We found three of the cats, but we couldn’t find Timmy. We searched every room, and every closet, and every possible hiding place, but no Timmy. We went outside and searched. No Timmy. Sadly, we went back inside. Then I happened to look up and saw Timmy sitting on top of the kitchen cabinets as proud as if he had won a game of hide & seek. That has become his favorite place. Silly cat.
We realized that there were no overhead lights in the living room, so on our way to pick up JJ from work, we went to a store in the Emerald City to buy a lamp. The Emerald City is very busy with traffic because it is a desirable tourist destination. It is a very beautiful city, but I wonder how I will ever learn to navigate it. We picked up JJ from work and drove home.
Back at our new home, EJ used the portable air compressor to inflate the air mattresses and I put our sheets and sleeping bags on them. JJ had gone out to the garage but still couldn’t lure Luke from the rafters. I lay on my air mattress and several of the cats settled around me. I was almost asleep when I heard EJ and JJ talking so I got up. JJ had had a nightmare about Luke in the rafters so he and his Dad went out to the garage to get him. Apparently it was quite an adventure getting him down, but they managed it and brought Luke into the house where he explored and settled down. The guys said they had heard a coyote, a screech owl, or maybe a whippoorwill outside.
I should describe our new property and house. A long driveway winds around and climbs up a steep hill to our house. Our house is in a clearing on a hill. There are forested ravines that circle the clearing like a moat around a castle. Our property includes the ravines and continues into the forest a bit. When on our property, we see no other houses–and although we can hear the occasional car drive by, we cannot see the road. We are completely hidden from the other houses and road by the trees that surround us. Alas, the trees block out our ability to see the sunrises and sunsets, but we can clearly see astronomical happenings in the night sky. The property is very beautiful and peaceful…but after lived in towns all my life, it also is strange. It would be easy to believe we were the only people in the world.
There are a lot of things I like about the house. It has a much better floor plan than the old house so that we never feel cut off from each other here. The kitchen and bathrooms don’t have as much storage space as the old house, but the closets in the bedrooms are bigger and the pantry is HUGE. The new house also has bigger windows so the house is filled with light. Our old house had narrower windows and we had to have lights on even during the day to fight the gloom.
The windows are all low so Danny can look out them. He already runs to the window looking out to the front porch and driveway when we return home. The new house isn’t as solid as our old brick house. Although it was hard work getting the firewood, I will miss our wood stove which kept us toasty warm. There are enough differences that the new house feels alien. I think it will feel more like home when we move our furniture up here. Curtains also will help the house feel more homey. The new house just has valances and blinds so even though there is no one around to look in through the windows, I know that JJ, especially, feels more exposed and vulnerable. Also, the sounds of the house are different. And the sounds outside.
In addition to the house being different, the scenery up here is different with lots of hills and valleys, trees and lakes. The climate is different too. EJ says that we are several degrees difference in latitude than where we lived before. EJ says that summer will not be as warm and that we could get 200-300 inches of snow over the winter. I cannot comprehend that much snow. Also, the towns all have unfamiliar names, and the business are different, and I do not know where anything is. Neither do I know much about country living. Everything is strange and I feel more like a tourist than a resident right now, although I know that will change soon–especially after we get our furniture moved up here. Our old village is already beginning to feel like a fading memory.
Tuesday, June 2
EJ noticed that the HHR needed new back tires so this morning we went to a tire place to get some put on. JJ will be driving this car until we find a winter-worthy vehicle so we don’t want him to have any problems. We had actually bought a used Suburban over the weekend. The mechanics at the dealership were just going to fix a few minor problems and EJ would pick it up next Saturday and stuff it full of boxes for the Big Move. However, the dealership called today to tell us that they had discovered a very major problem. We mutually cancelled the deal. We will have to find a different vehicle before winter that can handle the snow.
After the new tires were on the HHR, we went to the bank to get my name put on the account. We were going to go to a hardware store to get more house keys made and to buy paint, but the guys both had to work today and they were tired.
JJ left for work late in the afternoon. He got there all right, but made a few wrong turns in the dark on his way home. Thank goodness for Viki, our GPS! JJ is a bit spooked by all the changes in his life, not sure what he’s doing, nervous about driving to and from work. He thinks cancer sort of rattled him and made him a bit agoraphobic. I think he could be right, but he has to face his fears and conquer them so he can move forward.
EJ leaves for work a couple of hours after JJ. EJ worked his first 10 hour shift, leaving for work in the early evening and returning home the next morning.
Left alone in the evening, I puttered around doing dishes, putting some of our few possessions away. It’s very, very quiet here. I love it…but it is a bit freaky to see no roads or houses or people.
Wednesday, June 3
I was the first one up this morning and Danny wanted out so we went outside together and enjoyed the morning. Two of the outside cats—Rikki-Tikki-Tabby and Tesla–are adjusting very well to the move. They quickly learned to use the cat door in and out of the garage, and they are enjoying wandering around. They join us when we sit on our front porch. They both have followed us down the long, steep driveway when we walk to get the non-existent (so far) mail, which we preferred they didn’t do because we don’t want them to get run over by a car. I didn’t see the third cat, Annie, until last night in the garage. I was relieved because I had been beginning to think that she was a casualty of the move. This morning I spotted her in front of the garage, but as soon as she saw me she ran around the garage and into through the pet door in the back. I haven’t seen her since. I think she’s totally freaked by the North.
EJ is trying to adjust to his new shift, but he was able to sleep only 5 hours today. I worry because he said he fell asleep a couple of times on the way home from work. After he got up, I fixed a good breakfast and then we drove off to a town that is much bigger than Anatevka but is much smaller than the Emerald City. We have not yet given it a figurative name. It is where I will probably do most of my shopping. We went to the Secretary of State office—most states call it the Department of Motor Vehicles—to get our addresses officially changed on our driver’s licenses.
All week I have been quizzing us: “What’s our address?” I asked. I’m hoping that if we practice it, we will become more used to giving our new address instead of our old one. So far we can recite it quite well when we practice, but when we have to tell others we stumble over it.
We couldn’t find a hardware store, so we stopped at the nearby grocery store instead. Then we came home and ate lunch. After JJ left for work, I looked in the phone book and found the address of the local hardware store. EJ and I drove into Anatevka but couldn’t find the street so we stopped at a store for directions. The employee directed us to a different hardware store just a few miles away. We drove past a large beautiful lake that is very close to our home. We will definitely go to the park for picnics SOON.
We found the hardware store and bought a few paint supplies and got new keys made (which though they look exact, don’t work). We looked at the color samples and chose a cream-ish color for our living room, which is currently a dark blue color that we don’t like. We also brought home some color cards so we could decide what color to paint our kitchen. We almost like the red color, but not enough to keep it. We have to paint the kitchen a color that will work well with the blue counters. EJ suggested yellow, which I thought would be nice, so we brought home yellow paint cards. I don’t like pale yellow—I think it’s too cold–and I didn’t want the color to appear to be too similar to the living room, so we chose a warmer and bolder yellow. We will pick up the paint on another trip to the hardware store.
We forgot to look for mailboxes—ours is dented. We might have to go to a bigger home improvement store for the mailbox.
We were planning to rip out the carpet and get vinyl flooring installed this week, but we have been too busy and tired to take on that project so it will have to wait until after we move.
This coming Saturday is our big move. The following week we think we will return to the old house to complete some projects. The following week the furnace will be installed in the old house. We are thinking that after that we will stop working on projects and call the realtor to sell our old house.
Thursday, June 4
Early this morning I took Danny outside. We started walking down the driveway. I figure that if I can walk down the driveway and run back up several times a day, I will get in shape and lose weight. Tesla and Danny followed me down. Danny was nosing around near a line of trees when suddenly there was a cacophony of noise as a female turkey erupted from the trees. At least, I’m quite sure it was a turkey, but I have found that a lot of birds look very similar to each other. Anyway, Danny chased her across the driveway. I ordered Danny to stop, and surprisingly he did. I grabbed hold of his collar so he wouldn’t be tempted to chase the bird, who was on the other side of the driving running up toward the house. I put Danny in the house and watched as the turkey headed back to the place she had erupted from. I’m sure she probably has a nest there.
Later the Internet guy drove up. I was totally glad to see him. It’s amazing how dependent we have become on the Internet. We look up phone numbers, find locations, check the weather, connect with friends, do a variety of research…The Internet guy was friendly and it was interesting watching him get us hooked up. He walked around with an antenna to find the best connection. He had to put the satellite dish—or whatever—halfway down our driveway and then run a cable up to our house. He ran part of the cable through our forest, but we will have to bury the cable that runs across the clearing to our house. JJ is ecstatic about the new Internet–it’s much faster than we had in the south.
Ahhh! Life is good in the north.
Rubic’s Cube and Tetris
This afternoon–as late as I possibly can to reduce Internet withdrawal–I will cancel our Internet service at our old house and we will be disconnected until we can get Internet service at our new house. Hopefully that will not be too long, but the week ahead will be extremely busy. Since I have to approve each comment before it’s visible, any comments posted after the service is cancelled will be in limbo until we are reconnected. Please be patient!
Yesterday the dumpster was delivered. The man who delivered it jumped out of his truck and we discussed where to place it. The dumpster was bigger than I expected and I’m glad I just rented the smaller dumpster because a bigger one wouldn’t have fit in our yard! I thought it was fascinating to watch how the dumpster was unloaded in the tight space without hitting our garage or truck. I spent the afternoon throwing in the junk I had piled in the back yard when I cleaned the basement. I’m sure we will find more junk to throw in it this weekend.
I think that problem solving is like Rubic’s Cube. My mind constantly works through different solutions, trying to find the one that solves the problem. My mind seems to problem solve even in my sleep because many times I wake up in the morning with a new thought or solution.
Photo from Robertvanluan.com.
On the other hand, I think that packing and moving is more like Tetris, in which items have to fit just right in the boxes and tasks have to be timed just right so they fit together. At first the pieces move slowly so I can get them to fit in the right places, but as time goes by the pieces come faster and faster and there is less time to think, so the pieces don’t fit quite so well, and finally there’s no time to think at all and the pieces stack in wrong places and with a scream of frustration I give up and lose. I can’t play Tetris very often because, to quote Jayne Cobb from Firefly (a favorite science fiction TV series) Tetris “damages my calm.”
It was impossible to get the closing changed to today, but I was able to change the time to earlier in the afternoon on Monday. This will eliminate some of the problems–like JJ will have time to shower in the house before going to work and I probably won’t have to drive him to work or pick him up later. This will give me time to get my bearings. Also, the sellers have given me early access to the garage in case the cats are desperate to get out of their carriers before EJ returns from the closing.
For the last couple of months, EJ has been working first shift but on Monday he goes back to working second shift, which at this company is 7 p.m. to 3:30 a.m. Normally second shift is wonderful for us because we can spend time with EJ in the morning and we have time to get errands done. However, I focused on the problems of the cats, EJ at the closing, and getting JJ to work, which is resolved by the earlier closing, but I forgot about the shift change and how it affects EJ’s schedule. He said the earlier closing will not give him time to get much sleep before he goes to work that evening. AHHHHHGH! He solved that problem by asking for Monday off. Problem solved.
Photo: Dogster.com
But then during the night my mind was working on problems and solutions and timing and getting pieces to fit, and I woke up this morning thinking, “Oh, my goodness!” My mind has been focusing on arranging people to help us move and all. I had forgotten that EJ’s schedule was going to change. With EJ’s new schedule, he will have to work until 3:30 a.m. next Saturday morning (June 6th). When he gets to our new home, we will all have to leap into the car and drive hours to our old home so we are there when people arrive to help us move. We will have to help load everything into various trucks, trailers, and cars, and then drive hours back to the new home and unload everything…AND WHEN WILL EJ GET ANY SLEEP?? Oh, my goodness! I forgot to schedule sleep!
I have no solution. I mean, I could offer to drive down state so EJ can sleep on the way, but I have absolutely no sense of direction and get lost super easy. So that won’t work. Neither can I drive on the way back north for the same reason. I could stay down here for another week so that I will be able to be here when people arrive to help us move–and EJ can sleep a little before driving home. None of us would be thrilled by that solution, but it might work. Or EJ could take next Friday off, although he’s already taking Monday off work, and as a new employee I know that he doesn’t want to ask for too many favors. Still, they seem to be more understanding at this new company….? I’m not sure which solution is best so I texted the problem to EJ so he can be pondering a solution too.
Meanwhile, after work today, before driving down here, EJ has to contact the furnace guy to schedule the installation of the furnace, he has to call his two friends to tell them that we can’t use their help this weekend but certainly could use their help moving next weekend, he has to arrange to have the electrical service at the new house switched over to us on June 1, and he has to stop at a Verizon store to help JJ get a new phone. JJ’s phone died this week and I certainly don’t want him to be driving on lonely roads through the Enchanted Forest without a way to contact us if he needs help.
We will spend the weekend working at the old house. Monday morning we travel north–with me and JJ in a car filled of seven unhappy cats. (Danny rides with EJ). The plan is to spend next week tearing out the old carpet in the new house and installing new flooring. Also, we will be painting walls. Also, we need to get new Internet service, get some groceries since we can’t transport many things up with us, and probably a lot of other things that have slipped my mind.
Ai yi yi!
My body is tired, my mind is tired, my foot is hurting, and EJ and JJ are exhausted too. It feels like the Hell Week that Navy Seals must get through during their final week of training. We are beginning to get stressed. Last weekend JJ had sort of a meltdown and tempers flared. A couple of days ago I had a meltdown when my carefully orchestrated plans fell apart. I texted EJ last night that now it’s his turn to melt down.
We will get through this, I know we will, and we will get all settle into our new house and we will be able to relax and enjoy our new surroundings.
Well, I’ve got to go do some more packing. This is what my house looks like this morning. I will be SO GLAD when everything is moved into the new house and I no longer live in a maze of boxes. Disorder and clutter is difficult for me to endure.
I will see you all when I’m reconnected again in the North!
The Best Laid Plans….
Ok, the Plan is that EJ goes to the closing on Friday after work, then he and JJ go to the new house afterwards to drop off the boxes of painting and cleaning supplies, sleeping bags, pots, clothes, and other items that we packed last Sunday. Then he and JJ drive home. Saturday EJ drives the Xterra up with Danny and with additional supplies (food, towels, dishes, lamp, etc.) while JJ and I follow him with the HHR filled with seven cats in seven carriers (3 plastic and four cardboard). Two friends are to follow us, one driving our pickup filled with beds, a table and chairs, and maybe a lamp, and the other driving his own pickup filled with some of EJ’s tools. Then the one friend drives the other friend back home leaving our pickup at the new house.
That was the plan.
But as the saying goes, “the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray.”
The mortgage officer arranged for the closing to occur on Monday, June 1st, at 4 p.m. So this is what will happen:
EJ will drive home on Friday night with the Xterra still filled with the boxes that we packed last weekend in the expectation that he could have the closing by Friday and drop the boxes off at the house afterwards. (The mortgage officer had said she expected to have the closing this week.)
We will have to repack the Xterra with only the barest essential items since there will be no extra trips. We will have to choose carefully since we have limited room in the vehicle. So fewer clothes? Toiletries? A lamp? Food?
Our friends will not be able to take anything north for us this weekend since the house won’t be ours to move into. Since our big moving day is scheduled for June 6th, we will have a whole week of absolutely no furniture–no beds, no table, no chairs. We will sit and sleep on the floor. I find it almost impossible to sleep on the floor–and after two years of being unoccupied, I don’t know how clean the floor will be.
JJ and I will follow EJ up in the HHR with the seven cats in their carriers. Little else will fit. We will have to squeeze in kitty litter and pet food.
We will have to leave our old home early enough on Monday for EJ to get to the closing at 4 p.m. I will have to wait at the new house for EJ to return from the closing. He will go back to working second shift on that day so depending on how long the closing is, he might have just about enough time to hand me the keys before heading to work. Only then will the cats be able to be released from their carriers. I don’t know if EJ will have time to help me get the pets in the house or to unload the Xterra before he drives it to work. I will spend the next few hours alone in an empty new house. I don’t even know if there will be lights.
While EJ drives to the closing, I will have to take JJ to work. Since at that time I will not have the keys to the house, I will have to take the dog and seven cats with me. If I can get the dog to fit. Otherwise he will have to ride with EJ to the closing and wait –an hour? more?–in the vehicle after having already been in the vehicle for a long drive.
After dropping JJ off at work, I have to somehow find the new house which I have never been to located in an area I am totally unfamiliar with. I am severely directionally challenged, which means I get easily lost. I even get lost in movie theaters. I get so easily lost that my sister-in-law insisted on walking me to the bathroom at the hospital when JJ had his first cancer surgery because she didn’t trust me to make it back to the waiting area by myself. A couple of years ago I even went the wrong way when I drove out of a Boy Scout function at a place two blocks from my house. Yup, this is going to be a disaster and I’m scared I’m going to get totally lost in the Enchanted forest and never be seen again.
Assuming I make it to the house, I will then have to go pick up JJ when he gets off work at 10 p.m. It will be dark. I have trouble finding my way when it’s day and I get even loster at night. I don’t see well when darkness hides landmarks–and EJ says the night up there is the blackest black he’s ever seen. JJ will be fortunate indeed if I can find him and get him back home.
All this after a long journey and a tiring day.
Yeah, what could possibly go wrong?
I am so totally screwed.
My stress level has climbed to new heights.
Tonight I wrote an email to the mortgage officer–outwardly calm but inwardly desperate–asking if we could either:
1. Change the closing to Friday. This is the very best option. We could follow our original plan.
2. If that isn’t possible, change the time of the closing on Monday to earlier in the afternoon. The pets would still be cooped up for additional hours as we waited for EJ to return from the closing and we wouldn’t have any furniture and only limited supplies, but EJ wouldn’t have to rush off to work, and JJ could drive himself to work. Or, if he didn’t feel confident driving that way himself the first time, we could have a breather and get the pets settled before I dropped him off. I might do better if I didn’t have to rush him to work with a car filled with animals. Maybe.
3. Perhaps we could get the keys before the closing. If we could get them on Friday, we could carry out our original plan. If we were not allowed to move a few things in over the weekend, I still could drive directly to the house and get the cats out of their carriers.
Meanwhile, tomorrow the dumpster arrives at our old house and I will begin throwing in junk. Friday I have to cancel our Internet down here. I was going to also fill out the change of address cards at the post office, but I don’t know how that will work when we don’t close on the house until Monday. EJ’s sister, who used to be a realtor, said sometimes people back out of buying/selling a house even at the closing. So I would feel better if I could change our address on the day of closing–except I will be up north. Maybe I can post-date the change of address? Or something.
I really hope we can do option 1 and get the closing changed to Friday.
Redi-Care
My foot has been hurting more and more–along with a tingling numbness that I’ve felt ever since I fell over the stupid exercise thingy. I was getting concerned that I might have broken my foot. At first I thought that I’d just wait until next week and find a doctor in the Emerald City, but then I imagined the problems that could develop if my foot healed improperly. So this morning I gave up and called my doctor.
Alas, my doctor is booked solid this week. The receptionist said that her physician’s assistant could see me Friday morning, but the dumpster was supposed to arrive on Friday. So I said I’d go to an Urgent Care place instead.
I was on my way to the Urgent Care in the town 30 miles away, but before I had gotten very far, I decided to turn around and go to the little clinic in our village. I figured they would also be booked, but they are affiliated with the little hospital ten miles away and they could tell me if there was an Urgent Care there. It seemed to me that there was, but it didn’t show up when I googled “Urgent Care.” As suspected, the little clinic was booked until Friday, but there was a “Redi-Care” in the hospital that accepted walk-ins.
So I went to the hospital and sat in the waiting room for about an hour and a half. I figured I’d have a long wait so I wasn’t surprised. I think people and conversations in waiting rooms are interesting. The older lady next to me was cradling her hand. She said that her thumb started hurting the other day, and this morning all her fingers was hurting. She was born and raised and lived in my village all her life. Eventually another older woman came in for a Wellness check. She was very warm and talkative. She said she used to work at the hospital, and she shared her memories. She was called away for her appointment, and then the first lady was, and finally me.
I had another long wait in the exam room, but finally a physician’s assistant and a student came in. I explained my injury and she ordered an x-ray. She led me to another waiting room. The woman getting an x-ray before me came out. She was my neighbor, who lives just around the corner. She had fallen and hurt her arm. Apparently, people from my village are getting injured.
I enjoyed talking to the x-ray technician. After she finished the x-ray, she walked me back to the exam room to wait for results. When the PA (with the student) returned, she told me that the x-ray showed no broken bones, fractures, or anything. The radiologist will look more carefully at the x-rays, but the only thing that showed up was that a tendon had an area of calcification on it. She said that could be causing my pain/numbness but that was a separate issue completely unrelated to the injury. That seems odd since I felt no pain or numbness UNTIL I injured my foot. So we shall see.
The important thing is that my foot is not broken. The PA told me to take ibuprofen, ice my foot, and keep it elevated–which is pretty much what EJ had recommended. I took ibuprofen and am icing and elevating my foot when I am not packing. I am taking lots of breaks because my foot hurts. It’s a good thing I am mostly packed.
This afternoon the landfill called to tell me that they can drop off the dumpster tomorrow. Yay! Tomorrow I will begin throwing into the dumpster the junk that is piled in our back yard.
In the far North, JJ’s phone has died and he is trying to figure out what to do. It might be a simple problem–like a dead battery–but if he has to he will buy a cheap phone until January when our contract period expires. At that time, he will get a better phone.
The mortgage officer has not yet scheduled the closing. I’m so hoping it will be this week because otherwise I will have to stay down here for another week.
Oh, last weekend EJ told me an interesting story. He had to get homeowner’s insurance for our new house, and decided to use a local branch of the insurance company we use for our auto insurance. The company is located only a couple of miles from where EJ works so he can easily stop in after work if he needs to get with them. Well, the branch in the north called our branch in the south, thinking it would save time to get the information they needed from our current agent. However, our insurance agent down here went totally ballistic and screamed at them. Apparently, he felt the northern agent was stealing us as clients. Wow. EJ let the northern agent know we definitely wanted them to handle our homeowner’s insurance. EJ is thinking about having our auto insurance transferred north too. I mean, the insurance agent down here doesn’t own us, and it doesn’t make sense to have any business handled down here when we will be living hours away in the north. I expect more fireworks when the agent learns we are leaving him completely.
Life is interesting.
The Furnace Guy
The furnace guy came, as expected, at about 11;30 a.m. I let him read the note EJ left for him and then took him down to the basement where he looked at the old furnace and the ducts. The people we bought this house from had had the furnace installed just before we moved in as a condition for us buying the house. The furnace guy said that the ducts were too small for the furnace so it hadn’t operated efficiently and was probably the reason it died as soon as it did. He gave me an estimate of how much a new furnace would cost. He said he could install it in about two weeks, that it would probably only take a day, and that he works on weekends. That is a relief because I prefer that EJ be here when the furnace is installed. I did my best to answer the furnace guy’s questions about the ducts and cold air returns and gas line, but EJ knows the answers a whole lot better than I do.
Some friends have suggested we not worry about getting a new furnace and just decrease the price of our house but we didn’t want the lack of a furnace to scare away potential buyers. People are funny, and I’ve heard that some won’t buy a house simply because the walls–which can easily be painted–are a color they don’t like.
My foot didn’t hurt much for a week after I injured it on the exercise thingy, but now it’s beginning to hurt. There should be warnings on exercise machines that they can cause serious harm. I’m hoping I didn’t break any bones or anything. Yes, I know that I should have it looked at, but besides the fact that I really don’t have time, there’s no guarantee that I would get an appointment this week (although my doctor is good scheduling us in when we need her), and she’d probably send me to get an x-ray. Our doctor is in the City an hour away–and I have no idea where the x-ray place is and I would undoubtedly get lost. I don’t have EJ or Viki (our GPS) to help me find my way. I thought about going to Emergency at a hospital in the next town, but that costs a lot of money. So I figured that my best option is to wrap my foot and take Ibuprofen for now. If I have to, I will go to a doctor up north. We have several foot wraps, but I sent them all north with EJ in the boxes marked “bathroom.” Of course, I did. So after the furnace guy left, I drove to the grocery store to buy a foot wrap.
Since I was at the store, I bought a few other items as well and I was able to get six empty boxes from the produce department for moving. Yay! I had written a list before I went to the store, but I forget to look at it, and I had all my items on the checkout counter waiting to be rung up before I remembered that I had forgotten to buy the foot wrap–which was why I went to the store in the first place. I drove to a pharmacy a couple blocks away rather than go back into the grocery store. Hopefully the wrap will help my foot.
When not meeting with the furnace guy or going to the store, I packed. My bathroom and kitchen cupboards are mostly bare now–just a few more cupboards to go–although not everything is in boxes. I packed away most of the dishes and plan to use paper plates and bowls for the rest of the week. I’ll be glad to get up north and stop living in a chaotic maze of boxes.
I had left the door of a upper cabinet opened after I emptied it, and Timmy jumped onto the middle shelf inside. I was busy packing a few items and told myself I’d get him out when I finished. I was in the living room taking a break a while later when I heard THUMP! THUMP! I went to the kitchen to investigate and realized that I had absent-mindedly shut the cupboard door with Timmy inside. He was trying to open the door and get out! I scooped him out of the cupboard and closed the door.
After work EJ had to drive to our bank and drop off my Power of Attorney so he can sign on my behalf at the closing. Our mortgage officer said she has requested a rush and just needs the conditions to be final approved. I’m hoping we can schedule the closing this week–otherwise some of our plans will have to be reworked. It might even mean that I have to stay down here another week, since I can’t move north with the cats until the house is ours, and I don’t want to try transporting seven cats and a dog by myself.
EJ said the traffic in the Emerald City was terrible and it took him a long time to get back to the hotel room after he went to the bank. EJ picked up JJ and dropped him off at work and it took him another hour to get back to his room. With the construction and tourist season beginning, the traffic is getting worse. EJ said it reminded him of the gridlock scene from Doctor Who. He said that the traffic won’t be so bad between our new house and his and JJ’s places of work.
