Week in Review: Week 155
Well, THAT week was a doozy! Ha ha ha ha ha NOT.
Many days I didn’t go out. And looked like this.
Remember the To Do list?? Ha ha ha ha ha ha NOPE. Well, I did SOME stuff…I crossed out everything I actually did.
APT
* finish unpacking kitchen once spice rack arrives <- I only unpacked the spices when the spice rack arrived!
* move tall bedroom dresser (I never had to move furniture on carpet before! it’s a bear!)
* organize clothes closet (movers=boys=no clue)
* finish unpacking bathroom
* empty out car so I can…
* …get last things from Northport apt
* organize office area
* fix bedroom window blind (my bad)
* text Ms. Landlady about missing oven rack (it’s been a good excuse to not actually cook, but…)
BLOGGING
* shoot last of winter outfits, about 6 looks, offsite (Brooklyn??) <- only shot two outfits
* plan blog topics up through April break (8 wks away) <- got about 4 weeks of blog topics planned and partially written.
* write 2 blog posts a day (hey look, this counts as one!).
* go back through missed days of blogger workshop (I signed up for this January workshop just days before I found out I needed to move right away. I barely got halfway through it…and it’s good stuff!)
* find item for February Match Made in Seven post
EBAY
* get one box of stuff listed (this was voted Least Likely to Actually Get Done) <- accurate.
LIFE
* laundromat, UGH (I don’t know why laundromats aren’t bundled with other businesses, like coffee shops or bars or book stores or internet cafes – are those even still a thing?)
* grocery shop and make big pot of something for dinners this week
* find new registration sticker and put it in car
* do a day outing by myself somewhere, anywhere
* Very Important: identify location of Julia’s Instagram photo
* help friend purge wardrobe
* read (where are my books?)
* nap early in the week <- I never napped but I did sleep really late, which was lovely
* actually USE the online yoga thing I signed up for like a month ago!
* change renter’s insurance to new address
And…life goes on. I really needed the downtime. I’ll get caught up on the other stuff eventually.
I really didn’t do very much at all. I feel like I’m having a hard time focusing enough just to write this post! Ha. Here’s what I DID do:
Joined my BFF and some other friends who used to work where I still work for a night of crafting. We painted rocks, ha ha. I was not feeling that inspired. But I did stay out til 10pm which is LATE for me!
I discovered that a favorite Instagrammer has a YouTube channel…and spent a GREAT deal of time binge-watching the past 3 years of her vlogs. While eating the big pot of spaghetti I made. And leftover Christmas cookies.
Someone (Julia?) asked me about the difference between the windows/view here vs the old apartment. I took some little video clips the day I went back over there to get the last of my things from inside. But here is the old living room window. You could see out from wherever you were. And you could see stuff. Kids on bikes, the ice cream man, people walking dogs, neighbors getting home after work.
(video)
A dear, dear person from mine and Katie’s past passed away recently. I was so shocked and saddened by the news. When Russell and I first separated and I got a “real” job, Katie was only 7. She got off the school bus at 2:30 and I didn’t get home from work til 5pm. So I had an arrangement with the across-the-street-neighbors, who were also Katie’s best friend’s parents, and she would go over there every day after school until I got home. It worked out really well, Katie and her friend would have been together all afternoon anyway, so they were happy, and by the time I got home from work she’d already done her homework, practiced the cello and had dinner over there, so I could just crash and hang with her for a bit. This continued til Katie was around 12 and I said she could come home to our empty house as long as I knew the neighbors were peeking out from time to time to make sure our house wasn’t on fire. The dad was usually out front working in the garden/yard, and Katie and her friend would end up together anyway. So they were really like Katie’s second family all those years and I have so much gratitude to them for making it possible for me to have that job at that time.
I went to the wake on Thursday and saw some neighbors from the old neighborhood where I had my sweet little house. We chatted about old times when there was a really good group of families on the block, all with kids within a pretty close age range. One neighbor would always clear the snow from my walk and driveway before I even got up in the morning after a snow. For years I didn’t even know who it was and I thought it was the Snow Angels.
Oh! I’ve told you guys the story of the door – how a neighbor went to the house on the corner that was being torn down and asked if I could have it. That was the woman, the wife…of the man…who just passed away. Funny, that’s always been such an amazing story to me…and she doesn’t even remember doing it! No, I didn’t ask her about it at the wake (I have some manners!), we’d Facebook messaged about it awhile back.
Anyway. That was a sad day.
Janey is finally settling in and not on top of me all the time. She’s finding some new spots for herself.
She’s also destroying that chair. See all the little rattan twigs on the floor around it??
I finally cooked here. The stove is really teeny when you’ve got more than one thing going at a time.
The new dishrack arrived! The new dishrack arrived! It’s my first double-decker, which takes up a lot of visual space but I can fit a lot more stuff on it so don’t need to lay a dish-towel on the counter next to it for overflow items like pots and pans and glasses. For one person I can dirty a LOT of dishes in a very short time.
This is some really award-winning blogging, right here.
OH! The sofa! I noticed the sofa I liked was relisted this week on CraigsList so I reached out one more time and success! I went to see it, said yep, that’s the one, and gave them a 50% deposit. Now I just have to find a way to get it to the apartment! It’s at a landscaping company (who knows) and there are trucks all over the place and I asked if it was possible to have it delivered and said they would if I was local…but I’m not. I live at the end of the earth. I know I can rent a van pretty cheaply from U-Haul but I still need Strong People, preferably two, cuz *I* can’t lug it up to my place! So I have to add THAT to the MUST DO To Do list, cuz I haven’t done anything about it since I was there.
Ugh, so I never got to the video today, I’ve been sick all day (Sunday), fever, aches, chills, all sorts of stomach and vomit activity (thanks for reading!). I had to get out of the bed for a little while as my body was aching all over from laying down for so long but it’s way too hard to sit up so I’m getting back in bad, fingers crossed I can stay there…
Iris
Your week of mostly rest sounds like just what you needed. Sorry you’re not feeling well now.
Did’n’t know they make double decker dish drainers – learned something. Glad you found your sofa – want to see pics 🙂
Grace & Peace,Iris
http://www.IrisOriginalsRamblings.com
bettyewp
*I* didn’t know they made double decker dish drainers, either! Was quite a find. There’s so much more room in it without taking up anymore counter space!
Will definitely post sofa pics IF I CAN EVER GET IT HERE!!!
jodie filogomo
First, it is award winning blogging…just that sentence cracked me up. And we all need a good laugh daily.
Bummer you’re sick but it’s not surprising I think. With all of the stress of moving. It’s not just the move, but getting your life back in order. It’s pure craziness. Heck, just not driving to the old place out of habit can be tough!
I’m so sorry about your friend’s passing. I used to go to the neighbors like that as a kid too, and they do become like our second family.
Get well, don’t over do it, and relax.
XOXO
Jodie
http://www.jtouchofstyle.com
bettyewp
Thanks, Jodie <3
julia
I read all the way through this post! Not that I don’t read all the others through but I even read about the new dish rack! I’m chuckling this morning! I don’t even know what to say but I’m sorry for the loss of a person from the past and I’m glad you got the sofa you wanted. So, your new view is of nature instead of people is that what you were saying? I think you’ll grow to love watch the change through the seasons but I know what you mean about pretty view vs. interesting view and I think it has to do with movement. Ok, I hope you’re feeling better soon and you didn’t have any problem taking a sick day off.
bettyewp
Ha, the new dish rack, pretty exciting reading to be sure!
I think the thing about living in an isolated place (like here) vs not (like the last apartment) is that because *I* am alone, I like to feel/hear/see life going on around me. I LOVED when I was in Brooklyn and life was 24/7 and it was loud and crazy. People were out and about ALL THE TIME. I had two giant windows at the front where I could sit on the sofa and watch the world go by…and two more big windows at the back, one right next to my desk, where I could see all the backyards on the block. Not that much was going on back there but it was a view. Now, unless I go to a window and stand at it, all I see is sky. I certainly do appreciate nature’s changing beauty and that will be a welcome gift when it happens.
I’m quite prone to reclusivity (is that a word?). Staying home alone, hunkering down…alone. An apartment like this makes that Too Easy for me. This part is harder to explain.
And I did take today off. The fever, chills and shakes came back during the night and I still haven’t kept anything down…though at least today I’m able to get up out of bed for short stretches. Yesterday I was really down for the count. I felt weird calling in sick the first day back after vacation, but what are you gonna do? No one plans when they’re going to get sick.
Carol Glazer
I hope you feel better soon. It looks to me like you got a LOT crossed off your lists; pretty ambitious lists! Sorry to hear about your old neighbor. I lived in an efficiency apartment and the stove was even smaller. I thought everything was adorable, even the Murphy bed. Sure could have used one of those double racks for space saving. You have the best ideas!
bettyewp
Thanks, Carol. I think the fever is gone (though I cycled through it twice yesterday) and I’m trying to convince myself to try and eat something. I don’t have good “things to eat after you’ve been sick” in the apartment. Last night I tried a few tiny bites of yogurt and that did not stay down long.
I guess I did get SOME things done off the list. I would have gotten a few more things crossed off if I hadn’t felt so icky all weekend.
Did you have a two burner stove? And yes, Murphy beds *are* adorable, though I’ve ever only seen them in pictures or movies, never in the wild.
Susan
Sorry about you not feeling well yesterday. I think it’s your body telling you more time off is necessary, as well as the lists can wait until you’ve caught up with yourself, and had a minute to breathe. Breathing is good. I like it.
It is always hard to lose a friend, and it stays with you. Hopefully, not too much pain. Just keep breathing.
Sweet dish drainer! Space saving! Now you need an over the stove shelf. So glad you’re getting a new couch. Why don’t you contact Starving College Hunks? Do you have them where you live? They would send two guys and a truck. (Hopefully hunks, but who really cares?) Breathe on, Bettye. Maybe the landscapers will get sick of looking at it. They can’t be that busy this time of year.
That sunset photo is truly amazingly beautiful. This is why you need to live where it is quiet. You have the talent to see and hear the Voice of Nature, and to capture it for the rest of us to enjoy.
Your hair looks like mine in the morning. Well done, Bettye!
bettyewp
Yeah, I’ve been thinking of asking if I can put a couple floating shelves over on that kitchen wall. It will probably never happen.
College Hunks, Man with Van, Small Movers – all a FORTUNE!!! I’ve gotten two quotes of over FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. The problem is they charge by the hour, starting with THEIR place and ending back at their place…and MY place is not near ANYTHING. Eagles and water. I have a couple more places to reach out to, hopefully something will be more affordable.
The sunset photo is not here. It’s old and from the south shore of Long Island. It just seemed appropriate to the moment.
Ha, you should see my hair TODAY after being in bed for 24+ hours!
Karen
Bettye,
I recently joined a free private limited social network for my area in our city called Nextdoor. (you can google it.) This network is all over the country and it can connect you with neighbors in your town. I’m wondering if you have that in your area. You can use it to ask for help, day care suggestions, recommendations for home repair, reporting your lost pet, or asking if anyone could help you move your sofa! Anything you want to use it for!
I am very impressed by the benefits of it. The site tells me that 38% of residents in the
neighborhood in which I live have signed up. That is a good amount of interest!
bettyewp
BRILLIANT! Nextdoor Neighborhood is actually how I found this apartment…or actually how it found me! I just posted about the sofa moving – great idea! Thanks!
I like to call it Nosy Neighborhood cuz there are so many messages like, “X Road was closed last night, does anyone know what happened?” and “I see they’re doing work on the place across from That Store, does anyone know what’s going in there?” Ha ha. I admit I’m always curious, too, so….
Thanks, Karen!
Karen
Haha, Bettye! I’ve noticed a lot of people around here also use it to report suspicious activity too–kind of creepy but worth knowing!
bettyewp
Guess what?!? My sofa is getting picked up Saturday morning from a Nextdoor Neighborhood connection! Someone responded to me in like 10 minutes “I know a guy.” Amazing!
Karen
Yay!! 🙂
Karen
Oh, and another thing about laundromats…. A couple of miles away from where I live is a beautiful state of the art laundromat and cafe combination. The cafe serves freshly made European entree crepes as well as dessert crepes and coffees. They are delicious and I stop in just to eat (and do laundry at home-ha!) There is free wifi, a kids play area, and a fireplace to enjoy as well. When I drive by the parking lot is often full. You need to suggest this idea to your favorite business idea person! The concept seems to be well received here!
bettyewp
I KNEW it was a good idea!
Karen
Google “Crepes at the laundromat” and you will see pictures of it. 🙂
bettyewp
That’s awesome! Nothing like that around here. We’re lucky to have clean tables, a vending machine, and a clerk with a wire hanger to fish your coins out of machines.
Debbie from Illinois
I love Janie’s expression…..she looks pretty innocent or is that a guilty look in the photo. 😇
bettyewp
Ha, Janey is never guilty. I think I’d just woken her up by creeping up on her to take a picture.