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... and it's passing too fast! For those of you who were concerned about me, I'm in Bloomington, I'm fine, and I'm happy! I won't go into all the stuff that I've been doing, but I've had lots of fun, done some good, and have made progress toward my goals.
I did see Jack, indeed. We had a dandy time together from the 7th - the 16th of August. We climbed hills, we ate good food, we played games, drank a couple of margaritas, laughed with others, shopped at Lowe's, and patched and painted.
Yesterday was fun. Annette and Lisa came down and they helped me to pick out accessories to set up my house to sell. I now have my appraisal, and am just about ready to put the place up on the market. Things I have yet to do:
- Painting touchups
- Paint trim on back doors
- Get paint out of house
- Put 2 new light bulbs in very high places in garage
- Curtain rods up
- Curtains hung
- New carpet in Master (tomorrow)
- Set up queen bed in Master
- Get king bed, recliners out of house
- Clean bathrooms
- Clean kitchen floor
- Clean kitchen counters, sinks
- Clean fans
- Move deck furniture to deck (recover?)
- Plant and mulch flower boxes
- Plant outside pots
- Photograph rooms and outside views
- Create and post website for house photos and specifications
- Other stuff that I don't know yet
So, in other words, I'm just about done! Actually, it seems as if I have many mountains to climb -- as if I've just begun. I wish I could see the progress I've made, instead of seeing just seemingly insurmountable obstacles!
Other things: After months and months of meditation, I've made the very difficult decision to give Maddy to my friend DL. She will have a good home there, more time and room to roam, while still being an inside dog. And, while I know that I will miss my dog fiercely, I will have the freedom to travel more easily.
Tearing apart my house and putting it back together for new prospective owners has been, as you know, challenging, on many levels. One of the more difficult things for me has been dismantling my memories -- the memories that used to be OUR memories. With Michael gone, though, the "our" becomes "my" and shared memories that are "shared" by just me are pretty lonely things.
I don't want to lose my memories altogether, though, even when the souvenirs of such memories are artifacts that I must clear. One of these artifacts was the map.
Michael and I kept this map for 26 years. I'd built it by stapling a paper map onto a piece of board into which pins could be stuck. (I forget what the board is called, but there is a special name for it.) I then had this framed and we had it hanging prominently in our house. Whenever we returned from a trip, we'd take time to place the pins for that trip. The pins represented only those places where we had spent the night together. By the time we had completed our last trip together, we'd managed to place pins in 49 of the 50 states -- all but Alaska. (Summer of 2008 was to be our Alaska trip.)
I pulled out all 367 of the pins (367!!) and gave the map to the Trading Post, so that someone who wants such a thing can come and get it. I hope that it finds a good home. That's all I can do about it now.
I got the new sprayer attachment installed in the kitchen yesterday. I cleaned some window frames and sills. Today I made an appointment to have the carpets cleaned... tomorrow! And I have put in a call for an appraiser to call me back.
Got my tax bill, and, after all the hoo-hah, I was thinking that it would be a huge shock, but it wasn't much more than last year's bill, though my valuation went way up.
Catching up a bit: When I was in Ann Arbor, there was a young woman at the neighboring campsite who had some little snakes! And Wren and Josie were intrigued. The girl told us all about the snakes and let the girls play with them. Here are some pictures!
And here are some of us enjoying our lunchtime at Zingerman's. What a wonderful time I had with the kids up there!
Last evening I got together finally with Carla! We went to DeAngelo's, where we both enjoyed wonderful Italian food and enlightening conversation. She was really happy to learn that I've been enjoying company with a gentleman, and then pointed out that no woman over 40 needs to be married, so I should be in no rush. Then we both iterated all the reasons we were glad that we are/were married, so .. there we are.
I never did mention how my RV repairs went. On my way home from the Michigan excursion, I had an appointment at Greenwood Camping World, to get my water leak repaired and to get my generator running. The water leak turned out to be just a loose fitting near, as I suspected, the water heater. The generator problem was a bad fuel pump. As little as I've used the generator, I was surprised by this, but.. oh well. The whole job was $331 and now I have no water leaks and a working generator!
I spent a bit of time ydy replacing switch plugs in the house. There are still a few places where DL will be touching up the paint (she told me not to touch "her" paint LOL), so I will not replace all of them right yet. I cleaned the bakery kitchen floor the other day, and it looks very good. I will probably do the main house kitchen floor myself, too, and then hire the carpets cleaned.
I keep saying that I will return to my daily blogging habit. One year I made it my New Year's resolution, and that worked pretty well. I just have to start doing it.
To this point, I've not blogged much about Jack. Because his situation is still "pending," he had asked me not to blog about us, so I respected that, but he just told me it's ok now, so.. here I am!
It's time for the world to know what's really going on in my life. Back when the people in our park in Tucson thought that Jack and I were having an affair, we were not. We were great friends and we did lots of fun things together -- hiking, bicycling, sharing meals, working and laughing together.
But in some important ways, things are different now. At the beginning of July, he filed for divorce. He decided that he wants and needs a joy in his life that had been missing for a long time. And, so far, that joy includes me!
While Jack is still in Michigan and I'm still in Indiana, we have managed to be close. We talk on the phone a few times a day. He's been to Bloomington to visit, during one of those weeks when I did not blog ;). And, following my trip to see the kids last week, I drove on up to Big Rapids to see him.
While I was up there, we did lots of things, starting with the Menard's Contractors' Luncheon and ending with a beautiful evening at the Blue Cow -- a pretty and wonderful new restaurant downtown. In between, we babysat for Linda's dog Libby, taking her on daily walks with Maddy, cleaned up trash that she'd strewn all over the living room, and mused about where the snacks were that we had left on the counter. Libby's a good dog, but.. very much a dog!
We put in ballasts and bulbs in Pete's law office building, succeeding in getting all the fixtures working. We spent a whole day working at ArtWorks, a venue for local artists to display and sell their work. We rode our bikes up to Reed City, logging for me a PB of 31 miles!
Jack knows everyone in Big Rapids, or nearly everyone, and he introduced me to many of them. Everyone was excited to meet me and was genuinely happy for both of us -- just as it was for us here. People who really know Jack and his situation understand. We got many hugs and back-slaps and the week was hugely enjoyable for us. The fear that we would not be accepted as a couple just yet was unfounded.
The only exception to this is a couple of the people we know from Far Horizons. I don't think that they know Jack well, are trying to maintain a relationship with his soon-to-be-ex, still think of me as an interloper, and so they're not yet wishing us well. I guess Jack and I both care about what other people think, but not when they're wrong, and certainly not enough to change our own lives.
So things are very exciting right now. I'm working still on my house, and I have had good help with that. Right now, the place is being painted, floors are getting cleaned, and I'm getting set to have the property appraised.
First of all, let me say that this campground is really pretty gross. I think I'm more an RV'er at heart than I am a "camper."
This morning, I went for my walk, going with Maddy around the lake, through this campground, and back to the RV -- about 25 minutes at a good clip. It was humid and the skeeters were very active, tormenting Maddy the whole way. I had used mosquito repellent.
I had decided to shower at the bath house, to save my own resources; since I am embarrassed by my water leak, I had not hooked up to shore water. (I will be having that leak fixed when I return to Greenwood, Indiana on my way back to Bloomington.) So I packed up my things, and headed over to the shower. Well.. it was disgusting. There was actual dirt on the wet concrete surfaces, hair, spider webs, and more mosquitoes. I could NOT take my clothes off!
I came back here to my neat and pretty little RV and showered here and it was fine. David came to retrieve me at about 9. We went back to his house where he fixed a scrumptious late breakfast of French toast with (what else?) REAL maple syrup.
After that, I watched as the kids took turns opening the boxes of family treasures that I'd brought. I had taken great joy in putting the boxes together, assembling things that I thought one or the other of them would want to have. And they took joy in bringing out the things, and asking questions about each item. What fun!
Later, we had snacks and then returned to my camp, so that I could relieve Maddy and give her a treat. She was really happy to see Wren and Josie!
We went back to Dave and Kelly's, stopping at the grocery on the way. The grocery stores here are really beautiful places, full of the most beautiful foods!
David and Kelly cooked, with grilled trout and steaks, roasted vegetables (potatoes, onions, carrots, and turnips), and artichokes on the menu. For dessert, we all enjoyed Kelly's no-bake chocolate oatmeal cookies, which are even better than the ones at Sugar & Spice at the IU Union Building. I got her recipe and yes, I WILL be making these!
I came back, after my wonderful day, and had a look at the photos that I took today -- not enough, but there are a few:
Liam:
Wren and Josie:
Dave showing the meat who's boss:
Kelly with her fab cookies:
Dave and Kelly ridding the world of a hornet's nest:
I got up this morning at about 7. Took care of the pets, and myself, then spent the next hour and a half (yes) getting set to go, pinning things down, tidying things up in the house, dumping my tanks on the RV, and unhooking everything. I checked the pressures in the tires (all good) and wiped down the hoses as I stowed them. Michael would have been proud.
I managed to get on the road at 9:15 am, with my breakfast cereal in a cup in the cupholder, and a bottle of water beside me. The day was hot till afternoon. I stopped only twice the whole way -- once at Flying J just south of 465, to enjoy a fillup with $4.61 diesel; and at the Delaware County Rest Area, along I-69.
While at the Rest Area, I took Maddy for her maintenance walk, and then we did our fitness walk around the grounds. 4 laps gave us 20 minutes, and that sufficed today, as hot as it was. My plan was to return to the RV, turn on the genny and then pump out some AC while I ate my lunch. To my dismay, however, the genny did not start! The inside temp was 83, and my own personal temp was... higher than that.
I opted to grab a bag of snacks and another bottle of water, and just use the dash air as I dashed on up the highway. I put on Sirius Roadhouse on the radio and really liked that.
I wonder if it has ever occurred to anyone else that in John Denver's "Back Home Again," that line "the fire softly burning supper on the stove..." is funny?
I arrived at the KOA Greenfield/Detroit, which is actually in Ypsilanti, at 4:30, just as the GPS had predicted. It's raining here, the camp is pretty muddy, fires are softly burning everyone's supper, and kids are running around everywhere with innertubes.
But the coolest thing is that Dave, Kelly, Liam, and Josie are coming over to get me to go have dinner! YAY! (Wren is at a party tonight.) Gonna go finish getting ready!
Becky and I went to campus first thing this morning and she took photos in the Old Crescent as Maddy and I did our walk. We checked out Paper Clip Bend, leaving a paper clip there -- one that Michael had dropped for me along the street ydy.
After returning Maddy home, we enjoyed a great lunch with Suzanne at O'charley's. I had the loaded potato skins. Mmm.. someday I'm going to have to start caring about my diet, I suppose. Then Becky headed down the highway back to Louisville, and I came back here. We had a really good time together -- lots of laughs!
The guy came to decide what of my stuff the St Vincent DePaul people can use for a donation, and they are going to take the stainless steel bakery table as well as all the desk pieces from my office. I'm going to take $1500 donation value for all of those things.
The same guy is going to give me an estimate on painting, so that I can feel like an informed consumer when I give DL the work. ;) I'm in the process now of choosing colors.
The mover guys are coming tomorrow to get my Load 1 stuff, which will go to Annette's. Some of this is for when I have a house, and the rest is for Annette to just have to furnish her beautiful new house! :) They're going to pack stuff up tomorrow and then deliver it to Brownsburg on Friday, I think.
I have to get the leak fixed on the RV pretty soon, to ready myself for.. a road trip! I don't quite know when or where, but.. there will be a road trip! The leak is not really IN the RV, so it doesn't bother me like the leaks of the past, but it does look like I'm sitting in a pond outside, so I have to get it fixed.
Today Becky arrived, after spending the weekend partying with her class reunion. I took her the quick tour of the house and we caught up on the gossip till it was time to go.
And go we did... to DL's for her cookout chillout. Nice party with cool people and we had great eats and a fine time!
The house is coming along still. I spent a few hours this weekend working on taking off switchplates in the house and pulling furniture away from walls, readying the place for painting. I did some vacuuming too, cleaning dust off the walls. Urk.. I can't believe how dirty some parts of my house were.
... and that's all I'm going to say on that topic for now! Those of you who know me know that I'm up to something. And I hope that you'll keep coming back here to see what it is. I'll tell you about it soon!
The house is coming along. Here are some photos of the deck and house before anything was done, and while things were getting going:
Jenny (back to us) and Diane:
And here's DL:
Here's the deck after it was washed:
The deck looks great, all washed and now stained in a rich walnutty color. And here are some after shots, so you can decide for yourself:
This is the little step deck around back:
I could seriously not be happier with the work that Diane, Jenny, and DL did on it.
I've been very busy, experiencing feelings from the title of this post. Fourth of July was fun. Annette lives in an area that must be unique in the number of fireworks displays nearby, because, every direction you looked, you could see something going up! I took a large load of things up to her house to put into storage, and I just have one more load of boxes.
The rest of the stuff that needs to go is furniture. I've divided the furniture into two groups: the group that's staying till I sell the house, to show people what the rooms are for, and the group that's going out of the house before I show it, because it's just too much. I'm giving Annette some pieces, and she's keeping some for when I have a house. :)
And here are a couple of recent pics of me. The first is at the top of the Tanque Verde Ridge Dome, and the 2nd is at the Tulip Trestle:
JUST kidding! Actually I've been working my butt off for 3 weeks and a day on this house project. Ydy and today DL and 2 of here friends worked on power washing the deck, the house, and the garage. Huge job, and huge improvement! I took some "before" pics, and I'll post them with the "after" pics, when I get them taken.
I've taken tons of stuff to the recycling and dump, and ydy I took a car FULL to Goodwill. But essentially I'm getting down to the little things. I have a few piles to get through in my office room, and then that will be ready for painting. The kitchen is done, with just some piles to go to be donated, and the Haviland ready to be ... whatever I decide to do with that.
I'm disenchanted with eBay. I made about $110 on the 7 items I sold, but that's just a small percentage of what I feel that they were worth. Surely it was not worth all the time that both Annette and I put in on the effort. But that's just my thinking. Maybe with practice and with more time, that could be a fun pursuit, but not right now.
I'm getting close to seeking an appraisal on the house and 33.4 acres upon which it sits. After that, I'll put her out there for interested parties. I have a few people interested already, and I have not even shown it yet!
