For Sale....

We had a freak rainstorm this evening. The kind where a heavy downpour just comes up out of nowhere. I was in the kitchen, cleaning up after dinner, and getting ready to set up the coffee pot for the automatic timer (I LOVE automatic coffeepots that allow me to wake up to the hot life-giving liquid!!!). I was rinsing the pot out when I felt something drop on my hand. It was a little weird but I was washing stuff in the sink, so a stray drop of water coming from above my head wasn't out of the realm of possibility...stuff splashes...so I ignored it. But I felt it again as I was spooning coffee into the filter, so I looked up to see what in the world was going on. There it was....a steady drip, drip, drip of a leak. Joy. I called out "We've got a problem" to Bruce who walked in, took a look, and headed off to the attic muttering stuff about how sick he was of home ownership.
Me too, baby. Me, too. We long to ditch the homeplace and live in an apartment with NO yardwork and a maintenance crew to call when the sh@t hits the fan. It probably won't happen, for many many reasons.....but we can dream.

So, he went up into the attic, and called down for a pan to catch the water. It had to be a very shallow cake pan kind of thing because this was up under the eaves around an air vent. It is going to need to be caulked to be more watertight. One more thing to add to the to-do list for this weekend. Along with acres of grass, and more stuff than I even want to think about right now. But the problem was temporarily solved. For now. So he climbed back down those God-awful attic steps, the ones that are a pull down ladder and never feels quite stable enough....and walked into the kitchen to show me this:




He found a gigantic snake skin up there in the eaves of the attic. In my house! Under the same roof that I sleep under every night! Well, I can pretty much guarantee I won't be doing much sleeping tonight. And tomorrow? Tomorrow there just might be a For Sale sign in my yard. Not that it would do much good in this economy....but again....I can dream....right?

Anybody

Anybody who has a cat can appreciate the humor in this. :)

Settling In

The kids are getting settled nicely in their new home. Bruce called a little while ago and said they were all pleased with how its coming together. They have spent most of their time out shopping for some things that they needed (a tv table among other things) and trying to get unpacked. I am sure they still have a ways to go, but it sounds like everything fit in there like they were hoping. The main thing they are still lacking is a kitchen table. They left the old one behind because it was rectangular and the new kitchen is probably going to need a round one to fit in right. There are French doors right by the eating area and an oblong table might block part of the path....hopefully they will find what they want this coming week.

One thing that was nice? They had ordered a rocking/glider kind of chair that wasn't scheduled to be delivered until this coming week. They found out that FedEx had delivered it early, and expected it to be waiting there on their front porch for them when they got there. They have a nice covered porch that should be good for leaving packages and stuff. Only it wasn't there. They were planning to notify FedEx on Monday because stolen packages are unfortunately pretty common. It gets replaced...eventually. But today their next-door neighbor in the other side of their duplex came over with it. He had found it on the porch and held it for them. How nice is that? They didn't find out much about him, like if he is married, or living with roommates etc. But at least they know he is nice and honest and that is a big bonus considering.

Bruce also reports that there are some really good places to eat. They have a little diner within easy walking distance that has delicious breakfast food at really reasonable prices. Apparently the pancakes were yummy. And the coffee....LOL. They ate at a couple of other places, too, and all of them were apparently very good. So much moving and packing has been going on that there hasn't been time for a grocery shopping trip. I am sure that will happen soon, but how convenient to have good food right around the corner.

As for me....I am doing ok. I've been feeling a little left out, not being able to see what all was going on. But Bruce said that this whole trip from the long hard drive, to the inevitable moving chaos has been brutal and it's probably for the best that I was spared all of that. I just want pictures so I can visualize my kids in their new space. I can't wait to get up there and see it. Our friends Chris and Jessica drove up to Greenville today and took me out to lunch. That was really nice to get out of the house and have some distraction from the whole Indiana move. I really enjoyed myself and the food. Chinese....yum.

Now I am just looking forward to Bruce getting back home tomorrow. It's been weirdly quiet here this weekend. And I really just don't sleep well when he is gone. Its like I keep waking up every little bit straining to hear if everything is quiet and in order. God help me if it wasn't. LOL. The one thing that we are just going to HAVE to do is have an alarm system put in. That would alleviate a whole lot of my anxiety about being way out here with no close neighbors in a house too large to be able to hear from one end to the other. But I am picking Bruce up from the Greenville airport after work, around 5:30 in the afternoon (I really need to recheck that time to be sure....wouldn't want to mess that up), and I can guarantee you that I will sleep like a baby tomorrow night when he is back home to protect the fort. Even the cats seem to be missing him.

And they are off.....

My Indiana-bound convoy took off this morning around 9am. I had to leave for work around 8. You know, I made it through the packing up of the house, loading it on the truck, and enjoying the kids for the evening here at our house with nary a tear. But when I got that last hug from Stephen as I walked out the door, that did it. The tears flowed and I couldn't help it. I managed to pull myself together enough to appear normal (I think..hopefully) at work. I got through the day. And as of a half hour or so, the convoy is still rolling away towards Lafayette. They weren't even quite halfway, and I am sure they are going to have to find someplace to spend the night and finish the trip tomorrow morning. It makes me feel exhausted just thinking about it, but I never really enjoy road trips.

But anyway, I am going to have a weekend of self-indulgence. It's been a long hard emotional week, and I feel like its my right. I am going to eat ice cream for breakfast and have wine and chocolate for dinner if I happen to feel like it. I may nap, or I may have a good cry, or I may shop, or I may just curl up on the couch with the cats and watch hours and hours of mindless tv like Cake Boss, Hoarders, or House Hunters. Who knows what I might do. But hopefully when real life and work rolls around again on Monday morning, I will feel rested and ready to go with it. I am going to be just fine. And so will the kids. Just send us all some happy thoughts that everything goes smoothly and they slide right in to life in the mid-west. I can't fathom it. I have never been there....I know the area they are moving too is really conservative. I also know that they drove long miles through cornfields and nothing but religious or country music on the radio. It may be a touch of culture shock, but while it may be different it will definitely be a new experience with a lot of new things to see and do. I hope all of you have a great weekend ahead.

I'm not quite right....

I am really not quite right at the moment. I am still feeling sad, I guess. This evening I was in the kitchen chopping veggies for a salad, and Bruce turned on some music. Sad music. Well, its sad to me. Do you remember this really old song "Seasons in the Sun". The lyrics go something like:

Good-bye Michelle, it's hard to die
When all the birds are singing in the sky....

And I could tell right away it was going to make me cry. That song depresses me on a really good day. I asked him to please turn it off. And he did for a few seconds, but then it came on again as he was adjusting something on the television and Netflix. I don't know what or why. But hearing it again, even a couple of seconds of it just got to me. I burst into tears and hid out in my room until I could get myself together. He came in to check on me and honestly? He seems to be totally surprised that I am sad. My dog just died, my son is moving a thousand miles away....and yeah....I am sad and feel entitled to be sad. I will be fine in a few days. Its this waiting for the awful part of watching them drive away on Friday that is hard. I will get over it and start looking forward to a visit to see their new place soon. In September. I will be fine. But in the meantime, over the course of these next few days, please do NOT play sad music in my presence.
Because for the moment, I am just not right. One day I will look back on all this and laugh. I am sure of it.

On losing Scooter

We made the decision to have our last sheltie, Scooter, put to sleep this week. It is never an easy thing to do, and if you have ever loved a pet than I am sure you can sympathize. Its hard, but he was so old and weak. He had pretty much lost all interest in food, and in the past couple of weeks had started having trouble breathing. We decided he had suffered enough. He lived a long full life here with us. He was born here, being one of Scarlet's pups. All of our shelties lived past the normal life expectancy, so apparently we raised them well. Shep is starting to slow down and show a little age, but for the most part he is still doing pretty good considering.

I am just feeling a little blue this week. Losing Scooter was hard. Wednesday was my mother's birthday and that always makes me nostalgic and sad. And of course, the kids' move is imminent. I have a lot on my mind lately. But it is going to be ok. I know that. Stephen and Hannia are heading out for a wonderful new experience, and there will be visits and holidays. Our house full of cats gives me plenty of needy little bodies to lavish my attention on. I may be feeling a little teary-eyed for now, but I plan to get over myself soon. If anybody catches me still wallowing in misery, feeling all sorry for myself by say...September...give me a good kick in the rear to jolt me out of this funk. Fall is just around the corner, and that always makes me feel better. Summer is a cruel, cruel mistress and she can't leave fast enough to suit me.

Birthday/Anniversary 2010

Our day started here at the Sanitary Fish Market. I know the name is strange. One would hope that the word sanitary would be implied and not need to be advertised. But, it's a local landmark that has been here on the Morehead City waterfront since 1938. It serves some of the best seafood you will ever have. Seriously. Bruce and I both had scallops and mini crab cakes along with the prerequisite slaw and hushpuppies.
Oh My God their hushpuppies are amazing! But those scallops were absolutely divine.

After lunch we did a little bit of shopping and decided to go check out the aquarium since we haven't been there in ages. And not since it has been redone. It is really nice now. Bruce did some strange things to a turtle:



And I did strange things to a frog:



We both got to experience life as a crab:






And then we went to hang out on the beach for a while. It was a beautiful day. Not too hot. And the water actually had a clear green tint that reminded us of the Carribean. Very pretty. I don't know if the picture picks up the colors enough though.



And here is the birthday boy:





It was a lovely day and we had a good time. Its only a little more than an hour's drive and we can't for the life of us figure out why we make it down there so rarely.
The last time was when Stephen and Hannia got married. We are considering going back for a little getaway for my birthday next month. It is still plenty warm and wonderfully uncrowded in September. You just have to check the tropical updates for hurricanes. LOL.