Apartment --part two

I've got lots more pictures folks. But I wanted to show the two big helpers. K and K were absolutely awesome. One brought all his kids to help out, the other brought the fiancee-decorator and his cordless drill. I can't tell you how much the twins and grandkids helped out with this move. I got to stay with Mom and Dad for the day and go shopping for bedding while they did all the moving and arranging. How's that for a deal?

I actually felt pretty good today and went to see Derrick, my coiffeur,and so I look pretty nice right now. I am feeling more and more human by the minute. And I absolutely don't feel the cold in my down jacket, boots and Thinsulate gloves. I also went to the bank. I hated to give up my Wells Fargo bank in Denton and now Wachovia and Wells Fargo have merged. Whoo-hoo! I had to go to Rite-Aid also. That's a pretty dirty word around here because Michael works for Caremark/CVS. But Rite-Aid has a GNC section and I needed riboflavin (vitamin B2). They didn't have it at CVS. My doctor says it will help space out my migraines. But I need to take megadoses. 400 mg a day! I looked it up on the Internet and indeed, that's the dosage they used in the study. I also found out that it will take at least two months to notice a difference.

It is very cold here. Snow was on the ground when I left and there was a lot more when I came back. It hasn't been over 32 degrees in days and days so it's all still there. My yard is crisscrossed with animal tracks. Deer, rabbits, and squirrels are all using my yard as a playland. The deer are only out in the wee hours of the morning, so I haven't seen them. There are bears around here but evidently not in my neighborhood. I'm very glad of that. As one of Michael's co-workers said, "I've never been part of the food chain before."

As Promised

As promised, here are some pictures of Mom and Dad's new apartment. The first picture is of Mom with her decorator, S. She is my brother's fiancee and she did an amazing amount of work getting furniture arranged and the apartment decorated. The other two pix are self-explanatory. It is a beautiful place and I am willing to bet the best decorated apartment at the retirement village where they live.


On the home front in PA, the temp outside is 19. Consider that it was 70 when I left Texas. Needless to say, since I am on antibiotics again for this cough I can't shake, I'm at home and staying put. The piano tuner is doing his magic right now and so this afternoon I can have a private jam session. (Is it a jam session with only one person? I doubt it.) I spent yesterday bopping from one web feed to another watching the inauguration. It was a good way to spend a sick day. Judging by President Obama's dancing last night, I predict that he will become one of our most popular presidents ever. Signed, sealed, delivered, he's ours.

Years ago when we lived in Iowa, we would stock up on Bis-Kits and other foodstuffs we couldn't get up there. Once we even took frozen blocks of fresh shrimp. Now it's my turn again. I brought home suitcases full of foodstuffs from Texas and LA: Corn-Kits, Bis-Kits, instant roux, dried ancho peppers, etc. Also, N. thoughtfully gave me three boxes of fluffy white icing mix. I can't find it here. I'm hoping to make shrimp gumbo this evening if I feel up to it. Shrimps and rice, very nice.

I'm back

I'm back! It was great to be able to help out Mom and Dad and then go to see two of my kids. They are pictured here cutting up at Amy's Ice Cream in Austin. (And aren't they the cutest things?) Side note: best flavor at Amy's on Saturday? Cop Stop. N asked what it was--Coffee ice cream with doughnut pieces mixed in. ZL drove to Austin to meet me there and NS and ZL and I played Rock Band (Although we all tried out all the parts, N did most of the singing and Z did most of the drumming--wonder why?) We ate fabulous Mexican food on Friday night and then went to N's favorite Vietnamese place on Saturday. Then Zach and I drove back to Denton (where barbecue was in order) and I went with him to church on Sunday morning. I saw some kids I'd seen grow up from childhood and a couple of dear friends who help with the singles ward Z goes to. Funny moment at church: I introduced myself to the bishop as Zach's mom. My son was right behind me. He looked at me, puzzled, and said, "Zach D?" I realized that he hadn't spotted my son and that probably he has ten Zachs in his congregation. I think it was the most popular boys' name in America the year my son was born. I left right after sacrament meeting (bawling, of course) and had uneventful flights back home. I was so glad to see Michael and I think he was pretty glad to see me.

Everything is completely covered with snow here. Quite beautiful. But I have to admit that I did enjoy ten days of glorious sunny weather.

It was poignant in the extreme to be back in Texas and Denton even though I was only there a few hours. It still feels very much like home. I wondered how it would be. It's like I never left. Everything still seems so familiar. And even though a few things had changed (they're building a huge bank on the corner of Eagle and Carroll and there are actually four lanes open on Loop 288 in front of the mall), it was still very much as I remembered it. I realized after this trip that even though I grew up in Louisiana, Texas really is home. I just feel different when I cross the state line.

I am still having bad coughing spells. I started coughing back in November. Lots of plane flights with bad air, the inevitable dust that gets stirred up during a move and the dander from my beloved grandanimals, Wrecks, Mikey, Feynman and Winston have made an impact. So I have an appointment with the doctor today. I hope I can get over this soon.

Gag Me with the Proverbial Spoon

Hello, sports fans. It's been quite a week and I'm sorry there's been no time for updates. Mom and Dad have moved in quite well now. They came back to Risinger Drive yesterday for things they didn't know how to tell me to find! So the apartment kitchen is functional, the media room is coming along (even though they're still having problems getting a good cable signal--Comcast is working on it) and the bathrooms are becoming more convenient as they organize things better. My job as gofer has been fun and I've been to Target, Wal-Mart, Brookshire's as well as many runs back and forth between their two homes. We ate lunch in the dining room yesterday and I feel that Mom and Dad were kindly and warmly received and it didn't surprise me that both men Dad talked to were able to connect with him professionally. So why gag me with a spoon?

Sorry if you like the book, but I must comment on The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks. I picked up a copy at Mom's house just to see how Nicholas Sparks is making so much money. I have to admit I skimmed quite a few pages but I did read all the way to the end to see how the plot worked out. My opinion? I'd rather be poor than have to write a book like that. Not only is the writing really bad, but the ending is predictable and the plot depends on not one but a couple of medical miracles. And a really racy scene hidden in a schlocky romantic novel never hurts. As far as the bad writing, here are quotes from the book. I found representative bad sentences by just opening the book to three different pages randomly (and I didn't cheat--truly random): page 166 "We could not foresee the future, but then who can?" There are a lot of cult leaders who will be disappointed by that one. page 58 "It satisfies my creative urges." A male character said that one. Good grief. page 72 "The sky grew darker and the moon rose higher as the evening wore on." Ya think? Alert NASA. They'll be thrilled with that info. I am reminded of an interview I heard with Truman Capote a long time ago. It's been so long ago, my memory of the context isn't clear. It may have been someone quoting him. So this isn't reliable info. But as I remember it, he was commenting about a national arts grant program. He said in that drawling voice,"Who are these awful people they keep giving money to?" I feel that way about Mr. Sparks. If you're a fan, again I'm sorry. You can always say to me as Katharine Hepburn says in "The Philadelphia Story" "You're the worst kind of snob, an intellectual snob." De gustibus non est disputandem.

Only have a moment

I'm at Mom and Dad's gorgeous new apartment (I obviously had nothing to do with the decorating) and I only have a minute. But I have to say that Keith and fiancee Sandra, Kevin, Holly, Mark, Ben and Shelby did a fantastic job. Kevin's son, C, was a real trooper and was a great sport through it all. Pix later.

Packing

I have no idea why it takes me so long to pack for a trip. Michael can do it in an hour. It takes me hours and hours. This trip will be lengthy so I'll check a bag and hope that I see it again. It will be really cold here when I leave but fairly mild in Texas and Louisiana. I'm wearing my coat to the airport then leaving it in the car for Michael to bring back to me when I return. This will prevent leaving it behind the way I do in Utah. Last night I was shoveling the driveway again. This time it wasn't fluffy snow but sleety ice. Michael bought an amazing snow shovel that practically does the job for you though. It's like pushing a baby stroller.

I'm also off to the post office to mail V's birthday present. It won't wait for me to return to PA. Nor will any of the bills so I have that fun job today as well. And, of course, I need to go to CVS. I don't know how I lived without our employee discount!

I will miss Michael but I am looking forward to some warmer weather and some barbecue and Mexican food. It will be fun helping my folks get settled into their new apartment as well. I love organizing kitchens and closets. Michael gets irritated as I will often redo my cabinets and then he doesn't know where to look for things.

Signs of a bad economy

So the economy must be really bad. The other day as I was checking out of the grocery store, the cashier handed me the usual long stream of paper with coupons, etc. She said, "There's ten dollars there for you for your next visit." Sure. It was just some weird coupon, right? Wrong! It was ten dollars and it spent just fine yesterday. I got dinner and some treats for free. Yesterday I went to the mall (because of feeling bad I hadn't done any shopping before or after Christmas) and felt stupid because all the big coupons and sales were on the weekend, not on Monday. I also realized that I didn't haggle. Evidently, bartering for a better deal is okay everywhere nowadays, even at retail stores. I mentioned the fact that I'd missed the coupons on the weekend to the clerk at Macy's and she said, "That's okay." She handed me a ten dollar card. Then at Christopher and Banks, as I was checking out the clerk gave me a twenty dollar card. Does anyone else want to give me money? (And no, I didn't spend a fortune at either store.)

So I'll be going back to the mall today to spend the 30 dollars in free money they gave me yesterday. (I would wait, but I'm going out of town, right?) BTW, I bought some awesomely cute clothes. I'm wafted right back to the 70s and I bought a lot of my favorite color to wear, owange as V would say.

Are things as crazy where you are, or is it just Wilkes-Barre?