As predicted

Yesterday was pretty interesting. It began with me getting up at six, checking email, feeding the dogs, etc. All the usual stuff. Dan got up about 7, so that he'd be ready to go when i got back from a work related errand i had hoped to make earlier, but that part didn't work out. i found the location i was meeting a coworker without too much fuss, but was briefly misled by faulty MapQuest directions. Got the equipment and paperwork i need for today and headed back home, whereupon Dan and i hopped in the truck and set out. We picked up his friend Bob and got on the road. Traffic was only bad on our detour to his house, though, so i managed to get to the U Haul place in South Carolina pretty much right on time. The gentleman there and his computer were not getting along that day, so it took a bit of time to get the information in, but such is life. Bob hopped back in with me, Dan took the U Haul, and we cruised easily to his Pa's house. Jan and Kristen weren't there yet, but they turned up soon, and we set to work.

While we worked on the house, their cousin's husband Brad and his father took care of moving equipment and tools stored in the seed house and Wing barn.
A neighbor and longtime friend showed up; his wife joined us later, and another cousin's wife came and helped clean.

Jan and a couple of the above listed personnel had already gotten most of the closets and cabinets taken care of, but we still took three pickup truck loads to the dump, filled a 17 foot U Haul truck, stored enough more to fill another of the same, and filled a pickup truck bed twice. 70 or so years is a long time to accumulate stuff. Ma wasn't in any shape toward the end to do anything about it and Pa resisted changing anything once she died, but they hadn't done any redecorating or anything like it since well before i came along twenty years ago.

Now, so as not to mislead anyone, all we've gotten done so far is the main floor of the house. There's an upper level to do as well, with three dressers, three cedar chests, and five or six closet/ storage spaces. The general consensus is that much of that will go straight to the dump.

We made our way to an italian place, had a delicious supper, and headed out our separate ways. Dan and i split up so i could drop Bob, who is coming over later today to offload a couch, love seat, dining table and chairs, buffet sideboard, china cabinet, two slider type chairs, sewing machine, and side table. Oh, i think Dan snuck a box of unknown stuff on at the last minute. i had a few breakable things like a portrait of him as a child and the doors to the china cabinet in the cab of the truck. We unloaded those last night.
While we were there, we dug up some peonies and one fig rooting, they rode in the bed of the truck with the dolly, all of which seem to have traveled just fine. i left some of the peonies with Bob, whose mother will enjoy them.

i got home, fed the dogs, we unloaded the pickup, watched TV for a few, and crashed. Actually, Dan crashed before then. i had to wake him for bed. But that's not unusual around here, and he was wiped out.
harmony, keith

kids

i'm busy trying to memorize the lyrics to the song "Kids" from Bye Bye Birdie for our concert next week. While we're singing it, as the closing number, we're going to pantomime being teens. So why do i find it ironic that i've been whining all week about the lack of manners these days?

i've also been feeling sore and achy. i'm taking extra vitamins to try to keep it from becoming anything worse.

hmm, i thought there was more, but that is all.
harmony, keith

concerned

It has come to my attention that my cousin blocked me on FB with no warning and no notification. i tried to call him, discovering that the phone number i have for him is no longer valid. i found a couple of email addresses for him, and sent notes, but as yet have no response.i have no idea what i might have done, and don't know what to do. i'm sure that all i can do is wait, offer amends if he ever tells me, and move on if he doesn't.

It begins

Tonight we have people coming to take furniture off our hands which we will replace next weekend with furniture from Pa's house. We've emptied and dusted the sideboard, finding a few buried and forgotten items along the way, such as the mirrors which once decorated the baker's rack, and the spare brackets and rings from mounting the curtains above the plate glass window. Reminding me, obviously, that the change will be nice, but is bittersweet because of the memories tied up in the pieces that are going away.

It will also be nice to see an old friend who is one of the people taking items. We haven't seen each other since before i met Dan. Another recipient is someone i've never met.
This is likely to be an interesting evening.

Supper

Supper tonight has gone through several mental changes.
i pulled some ground beef from the freezer, figuring on burgers. Didn't feel too inspired, but it's quick and easy, once the meat's thawed, which it almost is. In the time it's been thawing, i've considered a few things i could make if i didn't wait. i could throw it in a skillet and brown it, then add ingredients for a number of one dish meals, or make a pizza, since i've got a mix for a gluten free crust. (Which makes it also wheat free, which is my personal need.)
i didn't have any goat or sheep cheese, so i ruled out the pizza, and the crisper is empty, so no veggies to toss in the pan with it. Back to burgers i went.
The dogs, however, seem to believe it's suppertime already, and it'll be a few more minutes before the meat'll be ready to grill. So i've got a couple of shadows until i get it all together.

Last night, since i'm talking about food, i made a salad with rice penne pasta, tuna, yellow bell pepper, minced onion, jalapeno, and sweet pickles, seasoned the eggless mayo with curry and celery seed and took it as a picnic supper, bought some chips and a coffee, and relaxed before rehearsal.

i'm sure there's something else i should say here, but...
harmony, keith

Changes

This world (heck, the universe) is a changing place, which has always been true, and, i suspect, always will be.
Musical type that i am, as i typed that, i gave myself a tune wedgie of the David Bowie song.

Every day i see friends who are undergoing trials, tribulations, irritations, and decisions. Some are grief stricken, others uncertain of the future. i empathize so easily, mostly due to having been in the same or similar situations.
Can i help? Often, though i sincerely want to be able to, the answer is that the only help i can offer is a shoulder, an ear, a hug, and meager insight gleaned from my own experience.
Is it enough? Sometimes, yes.
Do i appreciate the chances i am given? Oh, yes. Every day is a gift. i've already outlived the life expectancy of the me who was drinking every day. Once upon a time, i was a night owl. Now i'm mostly a morning person, communing with the universe as my piece of the world rotates back into the sunlight.
Does that excite me? You bet.
i embrace the adventure as it comes my way each day, learning as much as i can where ever the new input occurs.
OK, that's my Pollyanna bit for the day.

Nothing

i'm feeling nothing... hey, maybe it's genetic. They don't have bobsleds in San Juan...

Feeling nothing isn't really true, but i checked out A Chorus Line from the library this week. Boy is that a blast from the past. i've forgotten a few lines over the years. The above was one i hadn't forgotten, but hadn't thought of in a while.
If my cousin were here, she'd probably shout out "Locked in the bathroom with Peyton Place," which puzzled us initially and she figured out in the song 'Hello twleve, hello thirteen, hello love.'

i also checked out a 2009 recording of HAIR, which had a couple of songs i didn't know, too.

Dan's father's poodle is settling in nicely, though after i bragged last night on how well she was settling in to Dan, she needed to go out some time between bed and my arising this morning and didn't wake me up. Well, it's a learning process.

Shades of my youth

Where i grew up, which shall remain unnamed, Lynyrd Skynyrd was an extremely popular band. Enough so that i've been known to groan when one of their songs came on the radio or was included in a fireworks medley, etc.because i'd become tired of hearing it/them.
Maybe now those groans will be a thing of the past, because i've been reminded how uniting they can be. i (and Dan and Bob) saw them last night in an after Braves game concert.
They rocked.
There were lots of folks my age and teen boys singing along with every word. There were some clueless kids. There were a few middle aged persons looking bored. There were people dancing. There were many smart phones being held up to record the moment. There might have even been a Bic lighter or three. It was fun. They used Simple Man to salute the military. The Turner Field video team found military uniforms for the moment. It was moving. They finished, of course, with Free Bird. Dan teared up. OK< when they showed the fan's back tattoo of the opening lines, i did, too.

So now i'm probably headed out to buy their new CD.

harmony, keith