I miss him....

Look how lonely he looks…;o(   Sitting, silently just waiting…. Waiting for me to rev up his engine, push his buttons and slam on the foot pedal for some serious sewing!  

That’s right, I’m talking about Sven, my Scandinavian Viking.  I’ve ignored him the past few months and I’m going through withdrawal.  Let me tell you how bad it is….. while I don’t have time to quilt or sew lately (due to my move), I attended our monthly quilt guild meeting (you know, vicariously living through others).  I sat next to a woman who had brought her “show-n-tell”.   Barely able to concentrate on the guest speaker, my eyes kept roaming to her quilt and wanting to touch it.   Before I started to drool, I reminded myself I was new to the group and shouldn’t show my “weirdo” so soon.  It’s maddening with my sewing room still in boxes.  It’s gonna be ok, right?

The action around my new house….

I’ve got Naked Ladies!  Up until now, the only perennial I thought I had is one lone peony.  Soon they will be joined by my perennials I’m storing at my daughters. 

We’re gettin’ the Fiber – this is big stuff in the neighborhood. 

Now, does this mean much to me?  Not really.  My sons look at me like I’m crazy.  I don’t understand this need for speed, I think my currant provider does just fine.  I’m a product of dial-up internet.  Remember when you could run to the bathroom, come back and still not be linked to the internet!  

Popcorn and a movie? Not even...

Who invented popcorn ceilings?  Who thought spraying crumbly crap all over the ceiling was a good idea?  A textured ceiling is nice, it’s flat and paintable.  One swipe of a paintbrush/roller on popcorn and you’re wearing half of it.  Since I’m staying with family, I’m fortunate to be able to do painting and upgrades before moving in.  So I thought, hey – let’s remove this nasty popcorn and repaint the ceilings!  Watch what you say out loud, for fear of being asked to help remove popcorn, my friends and family stopped answering my calls. So hurtful – just sayin’.  No worries, I’ve done this before (about 16 yrs ago) so this should be a cake walk – I mean, I only have every room in the house but the bathroom……I’ll carve out a week for removal.  Three weeks later, plus an emotional break-down over the kitchen sink and I finally finished.  I think my recent divorce was easier than the three weeks of torture I just put myself through. 

Geared up and ready to strip some ceilings….

Living room partially stripped.  

By far, this is the nastiest job I’ve ever done.

Once the ceilings were painted, my family thought it was time to start clearing out their garages of all my stuff.  They’re bringing loads over much faster than I’m getting the walls and trim painted.  I mean I’m climbing over boxes just to get to the bathroom.  There is sooo much stuff - Once I’m arranged and settled in, I see a huge garage sale in my future.

Ah-hum….sturdy apron, pretty gloves? Yeah, that would have helped with my move, a good sturdy apron!  

The Leaker

It’s going to be ok…..I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve said that to myself over the past few months.  I’m three days into being a home owner.  Just THREE shorts days - when I notice a trickle of water flowing down the street, upon investigating I realize the trickle is coming from my yard.  MY YARD.  You’ve got to be kidding me!  The moving Pod hasn’t arrived with my stuff yet and I’ve already got problems.  While I’m on HOLD with the water company I’m stomping around the yard with thoughts of the movie “Money Pit” spinning in my mind (except there’s no Tom Hanks to snuggle up too).  

What I deem as an emergency, the water company peeps didn’t.  If it’s not spewing water about 8ft in the air, it’s considered a “leaker”.  Let’s just hope I’m not billed for this “leaker”!  Long story short, they sent a guy out (an unfriendly guy at that), he did his survey, said the water was coming from a main going to the fire hydrant. Since it's not a spewer, I’d be added to “the list” and could be several days before it was repaired.  I have to think because it’s a fire hydrant, the troops showed up bright and early the next morning.  

With my keen investigating skills, I find a “leaker”……

The troops assessing the problem…..that’s a lot of eyes on that hole….just sayin’.

My brother (in khaki’s) talking “man speak” about the process.

We got us a hole…. 

Not long after the pipe was fixed, I was told I’d be contacted by a Sod company for grass replacement.  Perfect!  Half way into the phone call, I should have put my bossy brother on the phone, as the sod dude repeated about 15 times how I would have to water the sod 4-5 times a day depending on the weather.  And, It would die if I didn’t care for it properly.  This sounds like serious business….(had I been a man, I don’t think the repetition of watering would have been so extreme)….so I ask if I should quit my job to insure the sod’s survival?  Ah no, but make sure you water!  This is worse than having a pet….now when I have dinner plans after work, instead of saying I’m letting the dog out, I say “I’ll be late, I have to water the sod”.

I'm baaaackk!

After a long search, I've found my new little house!  The size might be about a third of what I had before, but it has a garage, basement and family room for my sewing area...what more could a middle aged chick ask for....right?  

 As you can expect I was nervous and excited all at the same time.  Once a contract was drawn up, I made appointments for the house mechanical and termite inspections.  At times, I’ll admit my maturity level is in question – but I can’t tell you how intrigued I was to find out my “termite inspector” is a dog!   I had to Google termite dogs to make sure I had heard the Exterminator correctly.  The company owns two dogs – Crockett & Tubbs.  You gotta love the Miami Vice reference! 

 Tubbs and "what’s his name"….!

Once papers were signed on the dotted line, moving commenced.  The Pod moving/storage unit arrived, and with the promise of pizza my family began showing up for the big day.  It was a great day, but I had mixed feelings – wondering if I would be able to keep my emotions in check after my marriage ended and having to move on…..and then it happened…..I’m carrying a somewhat heavy box up 7 steps from the family room and I turn my ankle, something pops and I tumble back down the stairs with the box landing on my shoulder.  Back story: It’s quad level house, you can’t get any place in that house without having to go up or down stairs.  The Ex looooved the house, but then again he didn’t have to vacuum it either.  Me, I talked about moving to a ranch all the time (dream come true right?) Oh yeah, if I had any sentimental thoughts swirling around in my head, they were gone now.

X-rayed and ready to go home.  Nothing broken, but it hurts like the devil.

 Normally, I wouldn’t post pics of my feet - especially since I’m in need of a pedi!  But a few hours later I removed the bandage and couldn’t believe the swelling and bruising.  From then on I was forced to sit on a kitchen chair and “oversee” the movers my family. I'm sure they'll make me "pay" for this later!