Hummingbird Mind

Best Laid Plans

I had it all worked out and it seemed like things were falling into place. I scheduled a truck for Monday figuring we'd load it up that day with everything I am taking at this point. (I'm leaving some furniture as a favor to my landlady so that the place looks nice for prospetive buyers.) And then on Tuesday, we'd drive out and move everything into the new house.

As a bonus, my Ex called and volunteered to paint the three bedrooms on Saturday. That meant I could move the furniture into a freshly painted house. 

Things were good before they began to disintegrate.

The moving crew forgot they had a prior commitment, so I rescheduled the truck for tomorrow.  The Ex called to say youngest child had invited him fo a full day of Father's Day activities on Saturday.

It was one of those conversations men and women have.  He really wanted to change the painting day, but he wanted me to make the suggestion... "Oh, go ahead, spend time with your daughter."

I didn't bite.  It really doesn't matter to me if the bedrooms are painted before the furniture arrives.  And, frankly, I really don't need him to paint the rooms. I happen to be a fine painter, albeit slower than he. And I use painters' tape, while he doesn't.  Different but equal.

It's been really nice of him to paint, but not necessary.  Still, I couldn't help but be annoyed by the dynamic.  Why not just call and say, "Hey, change of plans..."?  

I'd rather paint alone... so there.

One great thing is that the house is really clean now.  People might not know this (because I tend to have a cluttered decor) but I am a clean freak. I have to have very, very clean bathrooms, kitchens, and carpets, etc.

Yesterday, Maria and I drove out to the new house. We left Reston at 7:30, stopped by my Dad's to say hello and then arrived in Berlin at 10:30.  She went crazy on the bathrooms and kitchen.  She also cleaned the big glass sliding doors.  I used my new drill from the Black & Decker outlet in Rehobeth to put in the new drawer knobs and cabinet handles in the kitchen.  With the restoring I did and the new handles it looks like a new kitchen. I can't wait for the new countertops.

So, this means I will be moved in earlier than planned. I hope I'll feel less fractured.  These days it's one shoe here, one shoe there. Cell phone here, charger there. Deodorant nowhere to be found... you know?

Make Your Reservations Now

For those of you who might like to visit me at the new place, better start planning now:

I'm just saying...

Up the Coastal Highway

I decided to take the morning off, so I pushed myself away from my desk, picked up some coffee and headed down Route 90 to Ocean City. After all, one of the reasons I moved here was to be near the ocean (and actually see it from time to time). 

I drove from there up the Coastal Highway to Rehobeth. I love that drive, it's the fastest 30 or so miles because there is always something to see that I haven't seen before... one side the ocean, the bay on the other side.

There are great outlets in Rehobeth. Tanger Outlets. Me, I went to the Black & Decker outlet and picked myself up a laser drill. That's how I relax and not work.

As I shopped, I heard one of the clerks in another outlet shop say, "I'll be on the prowl tonight."  It's senior week here.  All the new graduates head to the shore. 

Pickings will be slim for Mr. "I'll be on the prowl tonight." The typical crowds of jubilant graduates aren't here this year. At least not so far. Maybe the kids can't afford the gas to get here.

Anyway, he kept going on and on about "prowling" and "looking for hot chicks" and other distasteful stuff (at least for the mother of three girls.) After he rang up my purchase, he looked at me and said politely, "So, where are you off to now?"

"Oh, I think I'll hang a few pictures and put new handles on my kitchen cabinets," I said.  "Oh, and I guess I'll lock up my three daughters, since you'll be on the prowl."  I looked him in the eye and smiled. Then I said (as sweetly as I could), "I hope your night is uneventful."   

He blinked.

On the Road Again

I spent last week working from the Eastern Shore.  Flew back from Denver on Friday, landed at Dulles, spent the night at my current home, kissed youngest child goodbye (again) and then on Saturday I headed to Dad's house.  I promised to stay there and watch his dog, Lucy, pick up the mail and generally keep things going while he went to some resort near Atlantic City with my brother and sister-in-law.

I hadn't been out of the car more than twenty minutes when my brother called.  He had been in an accident about 41 miles away, thankfully no one was hurt, but he kept muttering, "My new Lexus is totaled."  Well, it wasn't, but I know how he felt.  My Ex, who had come out to paint yet another room and hang light fixtures in my new place, and I drove down to pick them up. We treated them to lunch.  By the time we were through there were tornado warnings (yes, I said warnings) all over the Eastern Shore. I mean, what is with the weather. If I wanted to live in Tornado Alley I'd move to Alabama or Oklahoma.

Stay Tuned...

... I heard something on NPR today that ticked me off.  I have something to say.  It starts with, "I am not a millstone."

Meme, Myself and I

I'm back from Denver and a full week of consulting.  I'm back from a weekend of hanging light fixtures, painting, and getting the new place ready.  (Yes, yes, yes... I know... I'm not hanging light fixtures, I'm not painting... I only play at getting the house ready... I watch my Ex do all the work.  Let's give credit where credit is due.  I do pick out really fine restaurants for payback dinners though... you can give me that much.)

To center myself, I check out Suz's blog and see the "Four Things Meme." I'm game, though I doubt there is too much interesting about my meme:

Four Jobs I’ve Had

*  Counter girl at Hardees the summer before my freshman year in college (couldn't eat hamburgers or french fries for a year afterward)
*  Accounts payable and data entry at Brookhart's Building Center, Colorado Springs (during what should have been my sophomore year of college when my father decided "not to throw good money after bad" upon seeing my freshman year grades -- hey, they weren't that bad... my father's standards were too high -- and I had to find a way to fund my ski-bunny lifestyle in the Rockies and cultivate my love for cowboys.)  That's where I touched my first computer.  The rest is history.
*  Crisis and group counselor
*  Online Community generalist... you need it, I do it.


Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over

*  The Goodbye Girl

*  Enchanted April

*  Sense and Sensibility (with Emma Thompson)

*  Practical Magic

Four Places I’ve Lived

* Brooklyn, NY
* Goeppingen Germany
* Taipei Taiwan

* Ironsides, Maryland

 

(Notice that each locale is more exotic than the others)

Four TV Shows I Like

 

* Anything with CSI in its title

* Weeds

* Sunday Morning

* Anything with Investigation in its title

Four Favorite Foods

* Fresh artichokes

* Tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad

* Avocado sprinkled with fresh lemon, salt and pepper straight up

* Wine -- almost any kind

Four Places I’d Rather Be

* Almost anywhere on the Atlantic seashore below the Mason Dixon Line
* Adirondacks
* Rocky Mountains
* With my kids and granddaughter

Four People I’m Tagging

* Dan

* David

* Virginia

* Erin

Four Jobs I’ve Had

*  Counter girl at Hardees the summer before my freshman year in college (couldn't eat hamburgers or french fries for a year afterward)
*  Accounts payable and data entry at Brookhart's Building Center, Colorado Springs (during what should have been my sophomore year of college when my father decided "not to throw good money after bad" upon seeing my freshman year grades -- hey, they weren't that bad... my father's standards were too high -- and I had to find a way to fund my ski-bunny lifestyle in the Rockies and cultivate my love for cowboys.)  That's where I touched my first computer.  The rest is history.
*  Crisis and group counselor
*  Online Community generalist... you need it, I do it.


Four Movies I Could Watch Over and Over

*  The Goodbye Girl

*  Enchanted April

*  Sense and Sensibility (with Emma Thompson)

*  Practical Magic

* Brooklyn, NY
* Goeppingen Germany
* Taipei Taiwan

* Ironsides, Maryland

 

(Notice that each locale is more exotic than the others)

Four TV Shows I Like

 

* Anything with CSI in its title

* Weeds

* Sunday Morning

* Anything with Investigation in its title

Four Favorite Foods

* Fresh artichokes

* Tomato and buffalo mozzarella salad

* Avocado sprinkled with fresh lemon, salt and pepper straight up

* Wine -- almost any kind

Four Places I’d Rather Be

* Almost anywhere on the Atlantic seashore below the Mason Dixon Line
* Adirondacks
* Rocky Mountains
* With my kids and granddaughter

Four People I’m Tagging

* Dan

* David

* Virginia

* Erin

Flashbacks From the Empty (or Nearly Empty) Nest

Does this sound familiar?

I have my whole day planned out, part of which involves plowing through a very important part of the current project I'm working on for a client.  There is a deadline.  There is a lot to do.  Suddenly, my youngest wakes up, walks into the room and stares at me, clutching at her throat.

Me: I guess you're not feeling any better.

She: (Silently shakes her head, "No." The clutching at the throat is a nice touch.)

Me: I guess you need to go to the doctor.

She: (Nods her head, "Yes." Still clutching her throat.)

I am tempted to mention all the times this past week I told her to go to bed early. Not to go out.  Including yesterday, when I ordered her (btw, 20 year old children are resistant to taking orders, especially my 20 year old children) to remain in bed. I'm tempted to pull at my hair, look toward the heavens and wail, "When will this end????"

But, I don't. That wouldn't be motherly.  Or would it?  

Instead I wait for the old internal response... how will I get this done?  how long will we sit at the doctor's office? who do I have to call?  What can be rescheduled.  

The old response sticks its head out of my subconscious but "thwack!"  Reality sinks in.

I have a digital modem.  I can take it anywhere.  I can work while we wait. 

"Go get dressed. I'll call the doctor's office."

I can do this. 

This Side of the Bridge

Busy weekend. Busy day.  But, I'm back on this side of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Drove across it in rain and fog today.  I love "hands free" capability. You can do a lot of business while making that 2-1/2 hour drive.

This past weekend we finished painting the great room in the house. (I use the word "we" loosely.) All the draperies are up, too. The office was painted, too, and the shelving/desk unit was put in. I'm going to love that office. I already do.  I'll try to figure out how to insert a slide show of what we've done so far. 

Next week I (and I use the word "I" seriously here) will paint the hallway and, perhaps, one bedroom.  But, certainly the hallway will be completed.  I need to order the new countertop for the kitchen, buy the new sink, and install the new kitchen cabinet knobs and handles.  Once that's done, I'll feel like I can begin to move things over a bit faster. 

I can't wait until we start on the bathrooms -- both need to be completely upgraded.  But,

Got to see some people I used to work with today when Andrea and I visited for a demo of a product we're considering for a client.  That was a neat surprise.  I miss working with those folks.  It's great that we can bump into one another again.

Good Night

So, I am watching my new 19" LCD HDTV w/DVD, which I splurged on because:

• It was Mothers Day recently
• It was my birthday before that
• I earn some of my money working for news organizations and need to know what's happening (in HD no less)
• It will fit beautifully in my new office and make all my work easier
• It was on sale
• I deserve it

I am, at the moment, watching the "Bourne Ultimatum" for the zabillionth time because I won't have cable until tomorrow.  Watching Matt Damon anytime for any length of time ain't so bad.

Sunday at the Shore... Almost

I am on the Eastern Shore... not literally standing on the shore.  My new house is somewhere between five and seven miles from the ocean, depending on how one calculates it. Nonetheless...

We finished painting my office and setting up the new desk/shelving unit.  When it's done I'll post a picture. I love the new wall color, a green, which is called "Rejuvenation."  Just the right mix of energy and calm.

We're going to finish painting the great room today and hang the rest of the draperies in there. But first, we had to go get coffee at "The Espresso Wave."  "Tidalwave Latte" and "Everything" bagel with chive cream cheese for me.  Black coffee "straight up" with "Everything" bagel with plain cream cheese for him.  The ducks and geese were out early today. Here's a family we met recently. Daddy, Mommy, and three babies. Cute, right?