January 26, 2016

Beat the alarm clock by 3 minutes and was ever so tempted to say “fuck the yoga”… but, I wanna change this body.  Honestly, I’m beginning to doubt it will ever happen.  I change a few pounds here and there and that’s it.  Did yoga, though…

..and then got a friend request from a man who had seen my post on the expat site.  He moved from Israel last year and is also a Swiss citizen.  Lives there now with his family – has 20 years experience in my field.  Ever so cool!!

Work: Busy, busy day.  Victim of sexual molestation - able to talk and connect with this person.  Blows me away that I am so damn lucky to work with these kids. One high point was getting a text from my best buddy from high school, Brent.  It’s his birthday today.  For YEARS I have wished him a happy birthday on this day and today he beat me to the punch (reminding me to wish him a happy birthday).  That guy hasn’t changed a bit and I miss the hell out of him.

Picked up Ethan at his internship at the Bike Shop, then Mags at school and we drove home.  ALL THREE OF US were exhausted – not sure why.  I can’t speak for the kids, but I did a face plant on my favorite thing, my bed.

I was so tired that the concept of cooking something brought to mind images of kitchen fires, so we went to a Salvadorian/Mexican place in the area for dinner.  I was so proud of myself for only eating half of my burrito.  It has been some time since that has happened, but it could simply be because my body is too damn tired to digest and put the kibosh on eating the whole thing.  Somehow, I ended up with a piece of pork in my boot.  I have no idea who this happened, as I was eating very respectfully and everything (didn't throw food even once). 

Pictures: Our table decor; Ethan got a  shot of my glorious boot pork.

November 5, 2015

Dark-thirty as I stumbled into the kitchen…I was the interruption, so it casually rambled back behind the built-in counter, filled with holes and plenty of escape routes: a mouse-rat the size of a small rabbit.  Good god…is my coffee ready yet?    After I dropped the kids off at school, I had an appointment with Lizzie, so we headed to Breaker Glass, where Kevin, told me it couldn’t be done (the windshield gasket) – there was too much other stuff that needed to be looked at first, so after a stop at the bank, I went to the auto-body shop, set an appointment for the 16^th, then off tooooo…..

Storage, where I saw Ricky, a friend, who also happens to be a mover (!).  Problem 2 was solved – after I get back from Switzerland, I will spend the next 2 days moving into the new house with Rickey’s help (though he’s a pro, so it’ll probably just be one day)  I love Universe [putting what I need where I need it (the mice are also a huge incentive…I am counting the days).   

Headed home and started to try to stop the mice from entering, but the problem is this – they have a HUGE city commune thing happening behind the dishwasher – I can’t take the dishwasher out (well, I could but the 2 weeks isn’t worth it for me).  I looked at the corners I had stuffed with steel wool and next to the corner is a good 6 inches of an inch entrance into Who-Knows-What.  How the hell am I supposed to block that??  So, more traps, more peanut-butter   yet last week after the mice-capture…I had just finished reading about bubonic plague being transmitted by fleas and rodents.  I do not want that.  I also made up with Landlord guy.  When I returned with Lizzie, he was building a fence between my house and the house next door and, since I was happy about having a gorgeous new house (and he had given me a great recommendation), I decided we were all happy again.  

 

Time to head to work for my one client, though I had been there earlier to make some phone calls.  Recently, I have begun feeling much more grown up and “official” than I often feel.   I actually understand, more often than not, what I am doing and what needs to be done. I know this will soon change and I’ll be completely overwhelmed again, but it’s a good feeling while it lasts.  The session ended and I was driving off to meet pick up my kids in Camino when Ethan texted and said they were being given a ride home.  Awesome.

I beat them by moments and we had a fabulous crockpot dinner with homemade garlic mashed.  I’d had my chilisalad for lunch and a was feeling quite good...until I started making dessert (guess what that was).  My ass started hurting again as if it was growing and I wasn’t even putting anything in my mouth.  Imagine what’ll happen later when I eat it.  . After dinner, and I packed up a bit while Ethan did homework and we danced to Lionel Richie.  Be Tee Doubleyou – I know these are often slapped together, often (usually) without any editing and are at times quite dull….  I do think of all sorts of things during the day yet often can’t jot notes down and then forget.  And sometimes, Life is without any chaos – which is awesome.   No real point to what I just wrote, so now I’ll take my contacts out and rest, hopefully mouse-free.

Pics'n Flicks: Annie eating her lunch at the table, "proper-like" ; So full...; I gave my Charles White lithograph of "Diablo Hills" to my sweet neighbor Brent; Tennis after bible study, anyone?; The sound of mice, working on their home....

November 1, 2015

Up at..7 something, no lollygagging about, Missy!  Get that water going for the warm lemon water, get dressed and HIT THE ROAD!  That is exactly what I did, too (I often listen to myself).  I wish it were cool enough that these yoga-type pants didn't feel as warm.  I tightened them with a safety pin so they wouldn’t fall as I walked (an actually possibility) and saw people were at the place I used to go on Thursday nights before school had started and now look, school has ended and they are coming out the door.  Saw two I recognized – spoke to one of them.  He is in real estate and suggested buying a house might by the best thing, then I said, yes, yet I’d like to move to Europe in July, and he saw that wouldn’t make much sense.  Walked a little more, spoke to some homeless men, then saw them trek up into the hill where they live,  right across from my street. 

The next task was kale and egg breakfast and it was still no better than when Jake had me doing it, but I know my taste buds will change   Then …start..something?  Oh yes, the Fitbit.  So I headed down to REI because the Kohl’s coupon wouldn’t have worked and here I get money back.  I met a German woman there who was at the cash register…we commiserated in German (an dyes, she heard the Swiss) on how here you pay $5 for a coffee, where you could get a nice organic meal there for about the same amount, because just about everything there is organic.  When did that shit change here?  That suddenly, growing plants the way intended is a rarity and requires special marketing and licensing.  She mentioned healthcare – that here it’s $130 for a regular visit and there, so very little , if anything.  She’s going back to Europe next year, after being here 7.  Said she’s had it with this “doesn’t make sense” government.  I’m with her.

 

I also had to get new collars for the pups, something to get this hair off of Mabi and crickets for Violet.  When I got home, I sat with Mabi and brushed her and ohmygoodnessmercy, the hair that came out...she has a ton of undercoat that the other brush just didn’t get.  I really have to work with Annie on brushing, too.  She hates it and runs off or dances to avoid the brush.  Then..time to pack.  I’m tiring so much of saying that and it sounds as if I should be done, right?  But what “packing” entails is doing this:  Today, I checked the headlamps and changed the batteries, recycled old, had to clean out with baking soda water to clean posts and that took 20 minutes.  And CDs…there’s always CDs I’m burning to my iTunes library.  I’m only about 1/5 of the way done.  I don't want to move all this crap there...

Tanya texted, asking of I’d like some more boxes (she just finished moving) and so fortunately I hope I am set with boxes.  My back is quite pained, however..not sure if I pulled something or if my ass is growing an upper-level ass because of my little fruit problem.  I have tried loading the bus, and have a few boxes in there, but it started drizzling and Lizzie has yet to have the rubber window liner installed for the windshield (I’ll call tomorrow), so I pulled her in.  I took pictures of all the engraved glass decanters/snifters I have from my dad to sell. These are from Europe and have been around a whole, but El Dorado County is not a place where it’ll sell.  Maybe I should put it on Ebay?  I made some salad and started on my homemade steak chili since this meat/plant thing is the way to go.  I decided to use the last bottle of Swiss beer from almost 2 years ago which had been forgotten at Hipnic when I donated them.  A few hours later I enjoyed a delicious chilisalad.  It's tough to think outside the box for me but when I do, sometimes I love it.

A Dwight Yoakum CD was up, so I played some on Spotify as it burned my CD.  I thought of Brent, my high school buddy who was truly a friend, much like Gio.  I texted him as I’d emailed him last year for his birthday yet had never responded when he sent his number.  Within minutes, we were chatting and it was the same Brent from high school.  Hopefully I can see him in a few weeks in San Francisco.  If not, then surely before I leave.  He is married and happy as punch, which is wonderful.  Gio is happy, too.  I love that.  My two guys…  Miss them.

Pics 'n Flicks: The homemade steak chili with Swiss brew; Hidden Hill Homeless camp;  Look at all this rad corrugated metal!; REIs #optoutside for Black Friday.  THANK GOD stores are beginning to do this!!: Our glorious raindrops