Stargazer

Doors open

In a literal sense, not having Mari here has allowed me to keep bedroom and bathroom doors open, which has taken some re-training. I don't believe in cats in bedrooms (at least, not mine) and Mari enjoys romping around with the toilet paper if she gets into the bathrooms. However, due to Ziggy's litter box situation, I need to remember that my downstairs bathroom door has to stay stay open. Except when someone is using the toilet of course! ;) The kids come tomorrow morning, and everything is as ready as it can be. I've decided that there is no way to be 100% prepared. As my late husband used to tell me, "Go with the flow." I will try! Hopefully, I won't "drown."

Don't worry, I still have two more bathrooms: one with a shower and bathtub and one with a combined shower/tub. Ryan will stay on New York work hours (6-2 on the West Coast) so his schedule will be much different from mine. We will all adapt, right? (perhaps not easily, but eventually)

Mari's pit room has been transformed into Grandson's by vacuuming 1,000 times, taking a bunch of junk stuff into the garage, and organizing the rest. The door always remained open to this room, but now will be closed a lot of the time. If I had taken a "before" photo of the mess, you would be lost in admiration. No wonder I'm exhausted though.

John was kind enough to put Ziggy's cat scratching post together for me yesterday. He's a very nice person, but driving me a little crazy right now for several reasons: he talks about how his daughters are perfect, he's cheap, he likes to watch too much YouTube, and he allows himself to be bamboozled by his financial advisor. The latest is that Glenn is pushing him to set up an irrevocable trust to avoid Washington state estate taxes. It will cost a lot of money! My question to him: Why not just gift $15,000 a year to your kids to keep your estate under the 2.1 million? That's what I intend to start doing. I don't like Glenn at all or his crappy advice.

Old Copper is coming along nicely. I'm a huge fan of coral colored flowers, as many of you already know. The weather has been lovely, thus my doors and windows have been open. The smell of fresh air is intoxicating. Due to the 70 degree sunshine, I even enjoyed mowing the lawn today and doing some weeding!

Every year my mom insists that I send a picture of this single peony to my friend Becky, whose late father loved this flower. Every year I tell my mom that Becky already knows! Today I realized that she really wants to communicate to Becky that someone is remembering and thinking about her father, Mike. My mom also has been sharing wonderful and touching memories of my dad, like why she fell in love with such a quiet man. He was kind and good-looking. She thought he would make an excellent father. (he did) She is missing his commentary on some of their more eccentric neighbors. It's hard to believe that Dad has been gone for only two months. It feels like forever. It is forever. 

 

Recovering

I've been many places where I've had to work with jet lag, but the hardest ones are sometimes those pesky three hour changes. I knew to stay up until a normal bed time here in my current time zone (then slept like the dead), but I didn't take into account a week of interrupted nights and very early mornings taking care of Grandson so that his parents could get some much needed rest. There is a reason why 64 year olds don't give birth! I also jumped straight into getting my house and a few rooms ready for the kids' May 30th arrival: outlet covers in,  Mari's my younger daughter's room completely cleaned out and vacuumed within an inch of its life, a nasty area rug thrown away, etc. I took an overdue picture of my vaccination card for next time I travel; when I boarded the plane to Seattle, I introduced myself to my father/son seatmates thus, "Hi, I'm Margaret and I'm fully vaccinated." The father: "Hello, I'm Vincente (showed me his Pfizer vaccination card on his phone), and this is my son (couldn't catch his name) who is a nurse and fully vaccinated too." After that, we settled down comfortably to read, and sleep. :)

In a little less than two weeks, my flowers awakened and gave me a beautiful homecoming.

I didn't miss out on my bearded irises either and I'm happy about that! 

My "Old Copper" rhododendron is beginning to bloom. 

Walking in 70 degree sun was a delight. Being outside is such a gift.

Since Sweet Baby had his one year appointment today, I dragged out photos of his mother at that age. He's 21 pounds and 30 inches while she was 22 pounds and 29 inches. There's something familiar about that smile! :)

Our little guy didn't enjoy his shots or blood draw which was heart rending and exhausting for his mom. In addition to that stress, his pediatrician diagnosed a heart murmur, so Grandson will need to visit a pediatric cardiologist. :(  Dr. Google assures me that the condition is very common in children, and mostly benign. In fact, Ashley had one and I still do. As my elderly parents frequently told me, "Don't borrow trouble." Yet none of us in our family is particularly good at following that admonition, although we've come up with strategies to deal with our worrying. Exercise and reading are mine. Lest you think I'm super healthy, Ben and Jerry's ice cream as well. ;)

 

On the Road Again AKA In the Air Again

As I sit here in Newark/Liberty Airport waiting for my flight back home, I'm revisiting a few of the more dramatic moments of my trip. 

• There was the evening my property manager and friend called to tell me of an issue with a neighbor of my rental. Bob has always been a PITA an issue; my mother-in-law, who loved everyone, hated him, and my late husband wouldn't work out in the yard if he saw Bob out there. To make a long story short, my 22 year old tenant came out to weed and mow (since I had complained about the state of those things), and Bob harassed him, going so far as to threaten him. "I'm going to go inside, get my gun and shoot you in the head." The kid, who isn't confrontational, went immediately inside and called the police. Their "brilliant" advice was for the tenant to buy a weapon. Thanks a lot for exacerbating the situation, Pierce County Sheriff's Department! (said sarcastically)Good grief. 
• 
• Since there were no expensive Ubers available from Ashley's town when I tried this morning, I ended up calling an UBER expensive taxi service. See what I did there? ;) It actually turned out to be a Lyft with a driver who was also the dispatcher. He juggled driving(if you can call it that!) with talking to many interesting people on the phone. I am so naive that I didn't realize that there were taxi regulars, who use taxis to go to the store, the doctor, and work. And most of them sounded super grouchy. I would be too if I didn't have a car!
• 
• I didn't want to ask about the back of the seat or the chain on the steering wheel. Contrary to what some people think of me, I DO know when to keep my mouth shut...sometimes. 
• 
• I had furry company on my last night in New York. It was great until he started playing; he uses his very sharp claws. Ouch! I hope this big guy adjusts well to my house in five days. He went to the vet today, and according to the vet is "overweight." However, the vet tech whispered to my daughter, "I think he's perfect!" 
• 
• Although Mr. Baby hasn't been sleeping well, and we think he's getting molars, he is still such a darling guy. As Ashley told me, "My face often hurts from smiling, and my jaw aches from laughing." He's so much fun, except when he's awake at 2 a.m. 

 

The other baby

The humid New York weather has calmed down, but I can always find other things to fret about. I'm noticing that the kids use no scent laundry detergent and lactose free milk. (I don't) They have a toaster oven, which is a mystery to me. Thankfully, I can finally use their Ninja coffee machine without asking dumb questions. They are familiar with my Krups, although I don't have any of the coffees that they prefer. Grandson is very attached to many of his books and toys; they certainly can't transport them all 2,800 miles west. Many people travel with babies and cats; I'm sure it's not always fun (understatement), yet they manage, right?  I remind myself that my city has many stores for groceries and baby things. We'll just have to adapt and it'll undoubtedly have its fraught moments. There will be times when we'll be flying by the seat of our pants. ;)  And how does one deal with a baby and a three hour time change? 

Apartment living: I accompanied Ashley to the crypt basement to help with laundry. That area is a combo of a horror movie, Home Alone and a place where dead bodies are buried. I read lots of mysteries and archeology stuff; can you tell?

My laundry room is much smaller, but not as creepy.

In some of my mystery series, they would dig here and find skeletons!

I worry about this furry baby too: how he'll deal with the plane ride in the hold, how well he'll adjust to my house, and how much he'll be affected by the scent of Mari around. Right now everything is a BIG question mark.

He loves laps and cuddles.

Like Mari, Ziggy is an avid bird watcher. Happily, I have windows and birds at my place! I know many of you will tell me not to worry, that it'll work out fine, but if you've read my blog for long, you realized long ago that chaotic and uncertain situations are frightening to me. But I'm working on it. xoxo

New Yorking

I could easily share hundreds of adorable photos of Grandson, but that would make for a very long post. :) He is a joyous and energetic child. He beams when he smiles, and chortles at the world. You can see the gears in his brain work; for a one year old, he's also very communicative. Today he said "purple" when I changed the light bulb to that color. I was shocked! He doesn't know me, yet holds out his arms for me, snuggles and likes to play together. I was in love with him when I came, and now I'm completely besotted with the little guy. Oh, his sweetness! His vibrant personality! 

Unfortunately, he does seem to think that we're in the Cirque du Soleil; he wants us to stack numerous items on our heads. :) It's improving my posture at least! He's obsessed with his new Eric Carle books and sits for a long time while I read them...again and again. His current favorite is "The Very Busy Spider." 

It's 90 degrees in New York, so we didn't make it very far on our hike. This muggy heat is extremely uncomfortable for a Washingtonian. I'm a weather wimp! Staying across from a college during the last week of school, and on a busy street full of LOUD motorcycles is a difficult adjustment. The students are boisterous and doing a lot of partying. :( In contrast, my boring neighborhood is usually quiet except for an occasional distant train or coyotes howling. Ashley says the winters are even worse here with the snowplows starting up at 3 a.m. However, I have no regrets about coming. I'm delighted to be here with them. I treasure every baby hug and even the diaper changes. In the TMI category though, I had daughters, so I have to be vigilant in my diapering of this darling boy. If I'm too slow, there could be consequences. ;)

 

 

Cintucky

Traveling is like riding a bike; you don't forget the routines, although Covid19 has caused some definite changes to the rules. The form for the New York Department of Health was quite extensive, then no one even asked to look at it! I've been far off the grid, which has included blogging and reading. I'd like to say that it's been freeing, but the truth is that I've missed writing out my feelings and sharing my stories, even though they are mostly for myself. Part 1 of my trip started out in Cintucky. Cincinnati is so close to Kentucky that CVG airport is actually in Kentucky, and we split our time between the two states. Because I hadn't seen my younger daughter since early March 2020, we had a lot of catching up to do and many adventures to have. Oh, and several private talks about her older, twice divorced boyfriend whom she's now following to Chicago. (a new job) Have I ever wanted to visit Chicago? H*ll, no--but at least it's a direct flight. :(

Did we have a wonderful time? Of course! We hiked, ate out, went to a bourbon tasting(better than whisky, but not by much), hung out at a well-known market, and gave each other lots of hugs. I discovered that the Cintucky area is much prettier in May than it is in March; there is a lot more green! 

When my daughter and her boyfriend wanted to buy these Belgian pop tarts at the market, I was incredulous. I despise pop tarts! However, they were absolutely delicious. Real pastry with actual fruit. 

On our hike here, there was even water. And I didn't fall in when I had to step on the rocks. That was a miracle since I'm the opposite of sure footed.;)

The lake and scenery were lovely and the weather perfect! (until Alison had to drive me to the airport in the dark, in a downpour) Those who think that Washington gets a lot of rain need to travel more. I wasn't at all scared about my flight, but was terrified whether my daughter would make it back home in one piece. (she did)

Traveling does require too much sitting, so being outside and walking felt great. I won't mention how much of that Belgian pop tart I ate...

We met up with their friend Eric at a favorite brewery where I enjoyed an amber ale instead of my usual Arnold Palmer. (iced tea and lemonade) Draft beer is yummy, and has been rare (non-existent) for me during this pandemic. 

Nerdy admission: I collect tee-shirts. My new shirt is from Prohibition Bourbon Bar in Newport, Kentucky. Did I have a bourbon? Not a chance. 

I got re-acquainted with their kitties: Steve is the lovable big guy in the front,  his sister Carol is the glaring and standoffish one to the left, and behind them is Juneau, who is shy but friendly. Now I'm in New York, hanging out with my older daughter's cat, Ziggy and helping as much as I can with Grandson who is both precious and charming. He lights up the room! He's Mr. Personality. Kissing his round cheeks is every bit as wonderful as I imagined. I'm hoping to share a few photos of him, but I can't promise. Trust me, he's gorgeous!

 

 

 

Shorts

Am I overpacking? Undoubtedly, yes. However, I'm also the traveler who went twice to Senegal, and to California numerous times with just my backpack. Since I have the luxury of a suitcase this time, I'm loading it with my preferred drinks, shoes and clothes; I'm delighted to drag my familiar favorites with me. Plus, I have no desire to go grocery or clothes shopping while I'm in Ohio or New York. ;) Have I ever mentioned how much I detest shopping?

I'm liking the coiffure, although it looked rough this morning. It's much more sculpted and easier to style.

This is the pedicure I got, even when I told the nail guy specifically that I didn't like or want flowers. He was excellent at the massage part of the visit, but NOT great at following my directions. :(

I received my grandma shirt JUST in time for the trip! In good(?) news, Ashley made a stressful trip into NYC last month to take a comprehensive and rigorous French test, about which she said, "I feel like I got a 0. I don't know this language!" But she actually did quite well, scoring at the high intermediate range. She is going for Permanent Residency in Canada, so this was one of the important steps she had to complete. Although I loved Quebec, I'm hoping for British Columbia---if it all works out. Hard to know what to wish for except whatever is best for her and her family. 

I'll miss my sweet kitty, and hope she'll adjust well to my mom's house. I also hope that it won't be too stressful for my mother to host her. Mari loves finding sunny spots!

The weather has been perfect lately, including beautiful mountain views. Mt. Rainier is playing peek-a-boo! Tomorrow, in spite of (or because of?) the stresses of my trip preparations, John and I will head to these gardens, deliver Mari to my mom, and then he'll provide a calm and steadying presence when I panic fret about my flights and other travel complexities. I look forward to catching you all on the flip side, blog friends. xoxo

 

Monday Meandering

I've started organizing my packing for Thursday (actually Wednesday when I'll head up to John's); right now my closet is disconcertingly full of piles of various clothing, important items like decaf coffee, water enhancers, Grandson's present, masks, etc. As a seasoned traveler I have a certain process I follow which is difficult to explain to others although it works for me. As the saying goes, "There is a method to my madness."

Since John is spending time with his mother and sister a couple hours away, I wasted devoted too much time to the weekend Wordscapes tournament so I could be FIRST. I tend to have a competitive streak, which isn't a positive quality, especially for someone whose only talents lie in the area of literary analysis. 

Getting my hair done today meant going from my "mullet" to a "bob." At least I've now updated my look from the '70s to the '80s. ;) Woo hoo! Although I love the color, the style still doesn't grab me. On my way to the salon, I was excited to see many cars at the former Faith Dairy where we used to get milk and ice cream. However, I wasn't as thrilled that it's now Commencement Bay Cannabis. Even as a college student in the '70s, I wasn't into pot, weed, Mary Jane, whatever you want to call it. I do enjoy a high quality amber ale from time to time, and am very addicted to my highly caloric mocha, lest anyone think I'm a Goody Two Shoes. (which is an odd and confusing expression, hmmm)

Near my parents'(now my mom's) house is a gigantic MacMansion (that you can't see) which is undergoing massive renovations, both inside and out.  It has a gorgeous view of the valley, and is probably worth several million dollars. Thus, I was non-plussed to see the hideous gate that they had decided to put up. I wouldn't even find it worthy for my modest home! 

Before I take off into the Wild Blue Yonder, I may get a photo of a blooming bearded iris. However, I find them beautiful even before they completely unfurl. It's like magic to watch them change each day. 

Moving/Mother's Day

When we had finished moving into this house 25 years ago, my now late husband remarked, "The next time I move, it's going to be to the cemetery!" And so it was. However, John's daughter, being a military wife, is used to moving frequently, and is adept at getting volunteers to help out since she is currently 8 months pregnant. Unfortunately, her husband has been in Korea quarantining and is now in Mongolia, thus he was out of the picture for Moving Day. Because John does so much for me, and also due to my liking for Kari, I offered to help out in numerous ways, including toting boxes and stuff in and out of various places, as long as they didn't seem too heavy. I'm always cognizant that one bad move or twist can cause all kinds of lingering back issues. I'm also old(ish) and not very strong...

I took John to pick up the U-Haul, then followed him to load the household goods, did as much as possible to unload, ferried Kari back to her in-laws to get her other car, and generally made myself useful. I even cleaned up some outside cameras before they were reinstalled on the new house! I may not be the best mover, but I'm good with Windex and towels. Last night we got to see John's granddaughter, who isn't a big fan of mine these days. She is extremely shy, and hid her face every time I talked to her. I hope my grandson still wants to associate with me. He's not very familiar with me either. :(

It was a large moving truck! But we were successful in only making one trip. John was fearless about driving it, even on two freeways. An interesting moment was when someone instructed me to put an item by the gun safe. My response: "I would if I had any idea what a gun safe looks like. I've never even seen a gun!" They are definitely into weaponry; John's son-in-law had an incredible number of guns and ammo. When his sister didn't believe me because her family are gun people, I smiled and said, "My family aren't." (isn't?)And I left it at that. By the way, the gun safe was HUGE.

Normally, I see a few cars on my walk, but yesterday there were two accidents on Interstate 5 which caused a northbound closure of the freeway. Thus, everyone came onto the surface roads to try to bypass it somehow, and my whole area was an utter mess. 

There was unbelievable traffic, and the drivers didn't look amused as I walked by them at a brisk pace. They were probably depressed that I was making better time on foot than they were. 

Our local police department had some tongue in cheek advice. They often have great updates on their website, written by a person with a sense of humor. :)

I will miss most of my bearded irises' glory this year, although being with my family is much more important. Speaking of my daughters...

Older Daughter received her first Mother's Day gift from her almost walking son, thanks to his daycare; isn't it adorable? (sniff) How did his feet already get so big? He's growing up too fast!

From my girls, I got these brownies on my front porch, along with a lovely note. What means more to me than any gift is that they value our relationship, and seem excited for my upcoming visit. Brownies are good too though. ;)

 

 

 

 

 

Countdown

Since I'm not quarantining this trip (YAY for vaccines! Thank you, Pfizer!), I doubt that I'll have much time to blog while I'm back East. I fly out a week from TODAY. Gulp. I've traveled a lot, and generally can pack very efficiently, after checking weather forecasts, going through my "Suitcase Staples"* and figuring out the shoe situation, which is somewhat complex. Running shoes work for walking, but walking shoes are terrible for running. *items that I always leave in a large ziplock in my bag such as toiletries, medications, lotions, etc. Since I'm taking my big suitcase versus just a backpack, I can be much more flexible. As well as more choices of footwear, I'll take some of my own coffee, my special flavor enhancers for water, and a small wrapped gift for Grandson's birthday.  I will be so, so delighted to hold that little boy, and kiss his round cheeks. However, it's more likely that I'll be chasing him around their apartment, removing cat hair from his hand before he eats it, and keeping him from licking the door. (possibly lead paint undercoat) No matter what, it's going to be such a gift to spend the time with my family! 

I spent quite a lot of my morning dealing with this. Son-in-law is having something delivered to my house for their 2 1/2 month stay here. However, I had promised John to help his pregnant daughter move on Saturday. WHY did Ryan order a huge Smart television for my house anyway? Where will I put it? After some back and forth texts that were confusing to both of us, I finally forwarded this e-mail to Ryan, and it turns out to be a scam! He ordered a cheap monitor, which arrived today. 

What a relief! They could have hidden the package better behind my post, but I'll let that go. 

I haven't mentioned Poochie's estate lately because NO ONE official is doing anything they're supposed to, and I'm completely frustrated by their lack of cooperation. There's still no response to my e-mails from the wealth management company or the accountant. The taxes are due on May 15th. I leave on May 13rd!! If I could have predicted which billing company would bollox things up, it would've been Century Link. Sure enough, here came a bill today! They've already refunded the estate $19, have received a copy of Poochie's death certificate, and disconnected her phone long ago. insert bad words of your choice

I got my final (for now) pair of Zyia leggings; I needed more Capris, and these were supposed to be navy. They're actually more of a dark royal. Most of my blue shirts don't look great with them; is that an excuse to buy more tee-shirts? A close college friend sent me her son's podcast this morning, and I'm in it. (if you listen through #4) Do you know which one I am? Just curious. ;)