The End and the Beginning

It's the end of another year and the beginning of a new era for me. I still cannot believe I am actually here and enjoying it so much. Time already flew by so fast I couldn't keep up with it and it seems to be going thrice as rapidly here.

I'm really not doing anything special but it feels so wonderful to be accepted for myself that I have trouble describing it. Here, I'm just another person. There, I was an anomaly. It's a great feeling to blend in so easily. Again, it's so friendly here that I have to pinch myself to believe it. You would think it would be the opposite but I feel more welcome here than I ever have anywhere else.

I'm looking forward to what the New Year brings and I wish everyone the happiness and contentment I've found along with prosperity, good health, and peace.

Milestones

Two milestones since I came to Atlanta occurred today. Three if you count that I finally have a real mattress to sleep on. One was that it didn't rain for the first day since I moved here; and second, I actually turned on my stove tonight. I confess that it was just to warm up something I'd microwaved earlier but I did turn it on. Trouble was that I couldn't remember where I had stashed my cookware and had to go through several boxes and all the cabinets to find it but at least I know where it is now. Hopefully, I won't forget by the time I get around to using it again!

Health Problems?

Back home early. Flowers and dinner were nice but I'm afraid the guy isn't very well. He definitely has a bad case of "I" trouble. "Sigh." Should have known better! I miss a special someone who is 4,000 miles away!

Hello from Louisiana

I'm doing a very brief post, since Little Bit will be waking from her nap anytime now. Oh, and as I typed that, Roo came in looking for her Barbie's shoe (talk about finding a needle in a haystack!). We've had a good visit so far, and our hosts, DHs aunt and uncle, are very gracious and helpful. It's exhausting being so far away from home with a two year old, though. Five is fine, but two is something else. Both girls were exceptionally good on the long trip, but Little Bit's schedule is all upside down and her crankiness is pretty severe sometimes. I'm keeping an eye out to see if it might be ear-related, since she's prone to infection and both girls have slight sniffles and cough, but she says her ears and head do not hurt. Anyhow, I'll be very very happy to be home and back to our boring routine in a few days.

P.S.

A post script to my earlier posting: Yes, it's raining again! Definitely should get the key to the city or some type acknowledgement.

I forgot to mention earlier that I have a dinner invitation tonight from a very nice gentleman I met the last time I was here (before moving). He's driving 40+ miles to pick me up and take me to Ted's Montana Grill here in the city. Should be interesting in that I've stopped eating meat but I'm hoping my "charm" will override any little eccentricities I've acquired. If not, c'est la vie. Just wish it were the guy I'm missing so much but I suppose I have to settle for less if I'm to have any social life at all.

This and That

I've been here two weeks and have no idea where the time has gone. The days have slipped by so easily that I find myself checking the computer to verify the day/date.

I told a friend yesterday that I thought I may have broken the drought because it has rained at least a little bit (much more at times) every day since I arrived. Not complaining. It hasn't bothered me in the least.

I never thought it would take so much work to downsize! If I had brought furniture with me, I'd never be finished! I'm still waiting on my mattress. It's been promised for Monday morning so hopefully I can say goodbye to sleeping on the sofa for good. (This one almost makes me wish I'd kept the soft white leather one that I sold.)

Thirtysomething called about 4 p.m. Friday and said they were about 10 minutes from her grandparents-in-law's home. That meant they had been on the road with two little ones for about 12 hours. Give a good old-fashioned root canal anytime!

A Very Good Day

Early riser that I usually am, I managed to oversleep this morning and the girls had already gotten into their gifts before their uncle and I arrived. Even so, they had a great time and everything went well.

Thirtysomething had decorated their home beautifully with family ornaments they (and I) had collected over the years along with extra lights given to them by her in-laws. Everything not only looked great, it gave us all a warm feeling to see them displayed once again. It felt like family Christmas.

By about 11 a.m., the little ones were pretty worn out from all the excitement of Christmas, so we parted company after brunch at the local Waffle House. This might not sound "Christmasy" to others but we had a very good time. The girls behaved beautifully and we enjoyed our meal too.

The best part was that in the spirit of the season, each of us, unknown to the other, gave the waitress some extra money. Despite having to work Christmas Day, she was exceptionally friendly and sweet.

It felt really good to help someone have a better day and maybe a better Christmas too. After all, that's what Christmas should be all about.

First Christmas Here

Christmas is here! And it arrived before I realized it this year. It's my first one in Atlanta and while I'm thrilled to be here, I haven't had time to even think about decorating. My only Christmas decor is an animated Hallmark snowman with a bouncy dog and penguin.

Right now, I'm just grateful that I took care of Christmas shopping early. I ordered the girls' big gift shipped to their home so Dad could assemble it so that's done. No goodies for friends this year though. I did dip some Amaretto Chocolate Cherries for some of the restaurant staff who have been taking such good care of me but that's all.

I always get the "Bah Humbugs" this time of year but they don't seem quite as severe this Christmas. Still, these double holidays seem as though we're having four weekends in a row. By the time New Year's is over, I have to look at a calendar to see what day of the week it is.

Despite my annual aversion to stores on Christmas Eve, I was at Lowe's at 7 a.m. this morning to order a washer and dryer and pick up some needed supplies.

Wishing for a blessed Christmas and a much brighter New Year for everyone...

Family Tradition

Glad to hear you're carrying on the "family tradition." Remember how much fun it was to find forgotten gifts long after Christmas had come and gone?

Funny you should say that

Well, I just tapped into my hidden assembly talent as well. Of course, it was made by Playskool (not a typo, they actually spell it that way for some reason) and only had about five pieces to snap together, but still. I feel pretty darn proud of myself!

In case you haven't guessed, 'tis the season to be assembling kids toys for Christmas morning. I'm taking a break right now since DH is taking the dogs for a walk around the block. After being up until the wee, wee hours of the morning the previous two Christmases, we have vowed "never again" and are actually getting a headstart. I can see I'm already passing on the family tradition my mother began of losing toys here and there and giving them to the children as I find them throughout the year instead of the intended holiday, however. Funny how that works, right?

At least since we agreed to dine at chateau de Waffle House on Christmas Day, however, I'm not sweating anything else. We're to leave the day after to visit his relatives in Louisiana, since we missed the Thanksgiving trip. Actually, not sweating anything else except: laundry, cleaning the house, blah blah, but you know what I mean.

New Career?

Bless my other "son," he has assembled many of the things I ordered shipped here and I deeply appreciate it. I appreciated it even more after putting together a table today. I left the apartment for a while and when I returned, a large box was leaning against my door.

It turned out to be a sofa-type table I had ordered to put the television and radio on and at first glance, looked to be a snap to finish. After all, it only had a dozen screws to fasten the frame together and, voila!, the table would be ready to lay the glass shelves in place.

It wasn't quite that easy though and the fact that the instructions were omitted didn't help either. After leaving it upside down for a while, looking like a giant bug with three legs waving in the air, I finally figured out how to make it look like the picture. If it doesn't fall down when I add weight to it, perhaps a new form of employment is in my future. Not!

Sunday Morning Coming Down

Technically, this isn't my first Sunday here but I can't remember anything about last Sunday so I won't count it. It's a bit chilly out so maybe I won't have to run my air conditioner as I have for the past 3-4 days.

I decided to take a break from everything this weekend and start fresh next week. Or next Or next. I went to dinner with a friend at a new restaurant in Peachtree City last night. It's called Maxwell's on 54 and served absolutely some of the best food I've ever tasted. Wine wasn't bad either. A little pricey for my budget but since I wasn't paying, I enjoyed it even more.

When I dropped my cell phone last night, the battery came loose and I didn't realize until this morning it wasn't powered on. It seems Thirtysomething tried to call me twice so guess I'd better find out if anything earthshaking other than the dog tossing his cookies has occurred.

More later.

From the mouths of babes

Well, for some crazy reason I got this notion to bake cookies for several neighbors. DH gamely took the girls to a friend's birthday party so I'd have a few hours to bake. Although my kitchen turned into a disaster zone, I got most of the baking done (note to self, however, that Hershey's kiss peanut blossoms do not travel well, even the short distance to the neighbor's home...).

Unfortunately, we only made a couple of deliveries since Little Bit was completely exhausted. One we did make was to the very kind lady who gave us a gingerbread house (see previous post). My girls were so cute-looking in their little jingly reindeer ears and Christmas duds, bearing the treats. When the lady exclaimed how precious they were and asked Little Bit how she was doing tonight, she decided to announce, in very clear tones for a two year old, "Rusty threw up!" Rusty is our aging terrier who indeed did throw up today. Twice. Did I mention how elegant and refined this neighbor is, by the way? Neighbor looked a little stunned, so I said, laughingly, "Well, since Rusty didn't help make those cookies, you should be safe, hah hah!" Not very smooth, but I'm glad I was able to make any comment at all, frankly. Oh, well. We'll try tomorrow to deliver the remainder and hopefully, without any comments from the peanut gallery.

This too shall pass

You're right to keep that perspective, for the little frustrations of relocating (of course coupled with some big frustrations) will pass soon. Hopefully.

I've just completed phase one of a gingerbread house a kind (?) neighbor gave to us. Actually, it was very sweet. It was from a lady who has one daughter that is grown, and she said she thought of me and Roo when she saw it and knew it was a project we would enjoy. If I can just make sure the walls and roof stay glued together long enough for us to decorate it, things will be fine. I thought it would be a nice surprise for the girls for me to have the structure done tonight and then tomorrow all they have to do is the fun part, decorating.

No job prospects for DH yet, at least until January. Nobody wants to speak with him until then, I suppose to figure out budgets and such. The bright spot is that I just checked our bank acct. and we did receive his first unemployment check. It's not much, but it'll help keep us afloat for awhile. It feels very strange to be taking it, but with two kids we're not too proud at this point!

At Least Something Works!

I'm glad my Internet is up and running smoothly. Now if my body would only follow suit! It's a wee bit tired and bedraggled right now.

With the apartment glitch, I've had to make several changes and all of them involve extra time, especially getting the address and telephone thing changed. I remember being happy to be able to get most of my contacts updated before I moved and now it's starting all over. Only this time, it's more time consuming since I just made one change and it blows some of these places' minds that I am changing apartment number and telephone number so quickly.

The worst part is that I've gotten the list of "notified" mixed up with "not notified" so some have the info twice while others still don't know! Oh well, this too shall pass.

If you don't count putting most of a lamp (with wooden base and shelves) together before discovering part of it was broken and having to unassemble it and pack it back up, the only bad thing is I haven't had time yet to do much for pleasure. It's been mostly trips to Target, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. then back to get rid of all that cardboard again. I've had to turn down a couple of nice invitations but maybe they will be kind enough to invite me again.

BTW Thirtysomething, my son-in-law is special anyway but he has been a rock during this moving thing and I appreciate him even more than I already did. And that was a lot!

Here comes Santa Claus

Can you believe that Christmas is almost here? It's as if the month of December has been moving in fast forward mode. I still have a few Christmas cards to get together tonight. Thankfully, the kids are down and will hopefully stay that way.

Roo had her Christmas program for the preschool yesterday evening. Being the smart, thinking ahead mom that I am, I made both kids take a nap. In hindsight, not the best decision I could have made. They are both programmed to not sleep at night if they have any sleep during the day, even the little one, who last took a nap before our Halloween party in October. They were awake until after 1:00 a.m.!!! Needless to say, we are not going to repeat that mistake again. That is, unless someone wants to volunteer to party with them all night.

The girls and I made Christmas cookies today, which was a huge mess and lots of fun. Little Bit decided to put her face to the plate and lick all the frosting and sprinkles off. Then, when her daddy came up from the basement, she offered him one with a sweet smile on her precious little face, saying "Eat it, Daddy! It's nummy!" I took pity on him and did warn him he might want to consider that decision carefully. All in all, a fun afternoon, especially considering the exhausting start we had.

BTW, you're going to give your "handsome" son-in-law a big head if you keep up these flattering postings ;-)

Making a Little Headway

Things are slowly coming together even if the floor still looks like the leftovers of a war zone. Bed and mattress still not here but sofa works for now. Not only did my handsome son-in-law load all the boxes and stuff before we left South Georgia, he assembled the sofa and barstools that had been delivered to his house before going home. My son met us here and the two of them got the trailer unloaded easily.

Murphy's Law really kicked in big time for me though. When I inspected what was to be my new apartment before moving, it was nothing like the one I had been shown and I refused to accept it. My clothes and shoes alone would have filled it up!

Fortunately (for me and them), they had another place in the same building. I'm not totally satisfied with it but it's much better than the first one. The apartment itself is nice but I ordered furniture with a more open floor plan in mind so the look won't be the same thing I had planned on having.

The worst part is that I had to go through the whole changing my address thing again since the apartment number is different. Then I was informed I could not be put in the apartment directory so I could buzz visitors in unless I got a local number so there went my plans to keep the same cell phone number for a while. At least, I still have the same email. For now anyway.

Even with all this, I'm still loving it here. When I finally get everything squared away and have a chance to recuperate, I want to do some more thorough exploring and maybe I will have some more interesting things to post.

Tell You Later

I do have Internet for a few seconds at least. This Wi Fi I'm piggybacking on keeps dropping me every few minutes. My connection is supposed to be installed between 2 and 5 tomorrow. Maybe by then, I'll be able to elaborate on the "snafus" I've encountered. Suffice it to say, Murphy's Law is working overtime for me (as usual) but I'm here and contented. More later.

A few snafus

Well, I'll let Life tell most of the story, but bottom line is she's okay and getting settled into her new place (and life) in Atlanta. There have been a few snafus and aggravations along the way, such as the wrong apartment plan being available, but hopefully things are calming down and they will just be minor setbacks. Her Internet is spotty and not secure, so I don't know when her next posting will be.

I have to admit that it's a really nice thought that I'll be able to call and we can meet for lunch or the girls and I can go and visit and not have to travel, sherpa-like, for the three hour trek and stay. We have minor colds right now, so we're hoping they'll get better in the next day or so and we can go check out her new digs.

Finally!

The worst of packing etc. is over now and my sweet son-in-law and I will be on our way in about two hours. Bless him, he loaded all the boxes while I kept running around like a chicken with its head chopped off trying to get last minute stuff together. To my credit, I did keep the boxes small so they wouldn't weigh a ton and kill our backs when they were moved.

Most of yesterday was a nightmare with people in and out of my house all afternoon, moving furniture, scratching my beautiful hardwood floor, etc. Not that I'm complaining (not too much anyway), but I'm really glad I asked the thrift shop to wait until I came back down in January to pick up the remnants. If there had been more confusion, I may have just closed the door and said forget it! I'm grateful for the money but it was so nice when everyone cleared out and it was calm for a little while.

Next posting will be from Midtown. Not quite sure when that will be. It depends on whether or not I'm still wired up or just collapse and sleep a while after we get the stuff in the apartment.

And BTW, Thirtysomething, the "ants in my pants" are still crawling a little but much better this morning.

Less Than 48 Hours Remain

It's been three weeks since I've been out of town except for a brief doctor's appointment about 10 days ago and I'm about to go stir-crazy. The fact that I've been really busy has helped, but it's really beginning to get to me. If I had to spend one more week here without relief, I would probably have to be carried out of here in a straight jacket!

All the furniture has been sold but storms over the past two days kept a couple of the buyers from picking up their purchases. If they don't have whatever they bought out of here by tomorrow though, they will just have to wait until I come back down to dispose of the leftover remnants sometime after Christmas.Time and I are waiting for no one for this move!

It made me feel good to learn that some of the people I met while I was in Midtown have been asking my son when I will be moving there for good. (That's probably two more than will even realize I'm gone from here.)

For now, I keep taking deep breaths and saying, "Saturday morning, Saturday morning" over and over.

From My Publisher

I was more than a little surprised at an email that came in from my publisher about 12:30 a.m. this morning. He's a night owl too (as well as a workaholic). He actually said something quite nice. especially the part about being missed. I was almost tempted to frame it but decided to share it here instead.

****, I am so very amazed -- and impressed -- at the "new life" you are heading off to live. I may even be a bit envious. Congratulations on starting this exciting new chapter in your life. Thank you for all you have meant to The Telfair Enterprise over the years. Being near grandchildren, and children, will mean you are in for many wonderful opportunities and that is great. You will certainly be missed, but we wish you much happiness as you start this new adventure.Best regards,******

Even signed it with his first name! Definitely impressed!

Thank You

Thank you for clarifying that, Thirtysomething. Your lifelong love of all things Christmas paid off for you. "Silver Bells" is one of the classics.

Left Us in Suspense!

But what was the trivia question!?!

Great Day

I think that last statement could be applicable to both humans and objects alike.

Today was one of those really nice, nice days, and I say that without a hint of sarcasm. DH and I took the girls to the zoo since we have a current membership. I packed peanut butter sandwiches and drinks for a picnic, and I had some passes for a couple of free rides on the train and carousel, so we figured the only money we'd have to spend would be the gas to get there.

There was hardly anyone there, which I initially attributed to the temperature, which was only in the high 40s. Turns out, they were having a party for the newest panda cub and everyone was there. We took our time at the exhibits and the girls had a blast. The animals came much closer to us than usual, and we were able to take our time. We got to the panda exhibit when the party was almost over, and got free Chinese food, panda cookies, and hot cocoa. I went back and told the lady thank you for the Chinese food, and she gave me two more cartons to take home!
We had such a good time, and it was a morale boost we desperately needed.

Then, this afternoon, DH and I took turns giving blood at the local drive. On one hand, it was a little rough because they missed the vein on my arm (again like last time, but not nearly as bad), but they got it together and it was okay. The fun part was I won a cool T-shirt for answering a Christmas trivia question correctly. I am all about the free stuff these days...it makes me inordinately happy!

Anyhow, just a really great day all around. I'm looking at my retro Christmas stuff and family and just so thankful for all that we have, and for having days like today to make memories.

Feeling Older?

Does having your cherished family ornaments referred to as "retro" make you feel a little older, Thirtysomething? It makes me happy that they were a hit and brought back some good memories to those who saw them.

The star on your animal tree sat on top of Christmas trees in our home from about 1970 (maybe a year earlier) on. I still remember buying it at the old McConnell's 5&10 on Oak Street in McRae, Georgia. Wow! Now that dates me!

If your visitors thought those were retro, they need to take a look at those in my attic. Some of them go back at least to the 50s . Many are still pretty but are so dated you never see them anymore. Time changes things but doesn't always improve them.

Getting into the retro holiday spirit

Well, we had our neighborhood Tour of Homes this afternoon. For some crazy reason, I volunteered our house to be in it since we were going to be in town after all. It was actually a lot of fun, and we had a good turnout. What was funny, though, was that I apparently had a retro-decorating theme and didn't realize it!

I lost count at five people who said they hadn't seen icicles in forever (I actually decorate with them every year). That combined with the other old -I mean retro-stuff caused much gushing and reminiscing about the good old days. I'm happy to have brought back so many memories for people, but it was pretty funny that it was unintentional.

Patridge (Family) in a pear tree, anyone?

Getting There

Today has been a good day for getting "stuff" out of the way. The buyer picked up the furniture and paid me in full which was very nice. The lady who was interested in my bedroom suite and said she would call me about it, did call and is going to bring the money for it tomorrow. Very, very nice.

She got a real deal on a solid cherry Drexel Heritage set but in this economic climate, I was just happy to unload, er, sell it. What I don't think she realizes is just how difficult it's going to be to move, especially the amoire. I've warned her but am not sure it is sinking in all the way. It took two very strong professional movers to get it into the house and they had to struggle to do so. Every piece of it is extremely heavy but that will be her problem now.

On the low side, I've been fighting a sinus infection/allergy all week. I can't seem to get warm enough, then all of a sudden, I'm burning up. Lord, please let me make it through next weekend even if you throw me to the wolves then!

Sales Are Slow

Sales have really slowed the past couple of days and those who call want stuff I've already sold. Go figure!

The worst part is I keep finding stuff and adding to it. I decided I had used the Paul Revere flatware so long that the British had actually arrived and it was time to get rid of it too. Lots of pieces collected over the years but just no money here. The local thrift shop should be pretty happy next Friday afternoon.

It's really sad to see so much need here. I almost feel guilty about being so happy to leave. Almost.

Should Have Known Better

I absolutely know better than to send photos to the paper when I'm dead tired and sleepy but I did it anyway.

A brain lapse or something like it led me to decide to submit the library pictures taken at Authors' Night Out to the paper last night so I wouldn't have that facing me today. Turned out to be a really bad decision, albeit a funny one, and one that might cause others questions my character to say the least, and likely my sanity too.

The first five were a snap. Smooth sailing, no problems. It was the last three that got me in hot water. (I might have even blushed if I still bushed.)

I wrote the cutlines, attached them to an email, and hit send just as I did the first ones. That part went just fine. What wasn't fine was I also attached a racy photo that a friend had asked me to share earlier. It was not of me (or anyone else). It isn't pornographic, just a photo of a somewhat graphic instructional poster, but you can imagine how I felt when I discovered this morning that I had sent it to the editor along with the other photographs. Luckily, he was thought it was funny and was still laughing when I walked in the office this morning. Fortunately, he has a better sense of humor than I thought he had. Of course, he had shared it with the others there too!

Thank God I didn't have the library director's new email or it would have gone to him too as I promised I would share photos with him. Knowing me, I would have copied him on it to keep from doing the same job twice. Today, I was doubly glad for small blessings.

A Little Time Off

I broke down and agreed to stay a while at the library tonight during their Christmas Night Out Authors Program (only because my friend asked so sweetly). I have to admit it was nice to take a break but when I sat down and got still, I couldn't stop yawning. Guess I really needed a little time off!

It was very nice though. Too bad so many people don't read anymore. Some of the people I've met recently seem not to have ever read a book. (Not sure they would recognize one if it bit them.)

It's back to work now. I am beginning to see a little daylight at last. Now if something else doesn't pop out of the woodwork to bite me!

Making Progress

It's been a hectic few days but (slightly) profitable ones. Almost all the furniture has been sold, all the silver except for 3-4 pieces of silver plate, and several other things. Tonight, I donated the contents of the linen closet to the library to use for programs etc.

Lest you think that doesn't amount to much, you never saw the linen closet here. I've already given several sets away and tossed those too stained to be of any use and I still managed to give them 118 napkins, six table toppers, ten large tablecloths, and ten small tablecloths!

Before you leap to conclusions about my sanity, I did not accumulate these things. I inherited them, many of which date back to the 40s and 50s. Good riddance!

I find myself a being a little slack about posting but there's so much to do here, plus, I lost most of the day today taking take my car in for past due service and keeping a doctor's appointment so that put yet another hitch in my progress. To top that off (and you may question my sanity about this), I volunteered to make some candy and dip some Amaretto cherries for Christmas night out Thursday. I don't know what came over me but it's a shame I wasn't stricken with laryngitis when I opened my mouth!