and so the journey begins!

Papa & Ken ...... ta-ta for a brief time. I'm leaving the 2 of you in charge of kittys, & plants & my beloved castle. I TRUST you will stop "bacheloring" long enough to have a healthy meal if, for no other reason, than to keep up your strength!

Watch over these things AND yourselves and I will see you again before you have a chance to miss me (much). XOXO

making good use of NO TIME LEFT ....

If I haven't packed it yet- it probably isn't going with me !! Afterall- NYC has stores right? IF I forgot it, & Cindy didn't bring it, then I either don't need it, don't have one, or will be getting a new one! In the meantime, besides getting packed today, I ALSO .... put out a few holiday doilies, brought my 365 up to date, charged all my electronics, did the laundry, made a Christmas table cloth, & attended chorus rehearsal. I avoided any form of resting, so that I might sleep tonight. (I don't usually sleep more than 3 hours the night before I travel) .... we'll see how well it works! 12 hours from now, I will be about 2 hours into my flight from LA. NYC .......... here I come!

one to check off the bucket list (soon)

I am sitting on my lanai, in the 65 degree sunshine, enjoying a bowl of fuyu persimmon & blackberries, & a gingerbread latte. The temperature AND the time of day are perfect for this .... and one of the MANY perks of being retired!! I'm especially pleased to be able to enjoy this today, because the opportunity will not present itself again for a few days- BECAUSE, I leave for New York tomorrow morning at O'dark hundred. I am posting the I love NY clip art because I can honestly say, I'm sure I will. My sister, whom I am accompanying, LOVES IT and I pretty much love everything she does, albeit -usually a slightly less expensive version. So I can confidently use my statement of "if I forget to tell you later, I had a wonderful time" ... that I use when I ALREADY know that will be the case. I could ask for no better tour guide & companion for such a place ... as I feel it is best to experience something new with someone who has a passion for it. AND, the 2 of us are going to the Statue of Liberty, which will be new for both of us. The weather seems to be cooperating (as best it could considering I MUST wear shoes for the entire stay!!) and the Capt managed to get me into business class travel as of last night (super yay) .... so I am off to finish packing for my big adventure, & get the butterflies in my tummy into a formation!

PROJECT 265 for the WHOLE story!!

I can use my blog to post a picture of the "man-cave" where football games played ALL DAY LONG. I can show evidence of the beautiful drive we had coming back home .... I can even show you ONE of the M-A-N-Y pictures my adorable grand-niece Delaney urged me to take of her and my grandson Anthony- whom she deemed her boyfriend (even though he said no thank you, he was gracious enough for the foto ops) ..... but ONLY in my Project Life ... will someone be able to look over the pictorial of the weekend, and really visualize the emotion it held. The fact that I used 6 days of pocketing to put in the pictures & journaling that I narrowed it down to- is why I will end up with 2 binders by December 31st. I love it!

turkey coma, self induced

on the eve of our travel to Bakersfield, to join the family for our "real" Thanksgiving meal ...

I ponder in thought of our Thanksgiving weekends of years ago. Originally, as young adults, we didn't all have Friday off work (and I'm not sure the term black Friday even existed) ... so we would all hit the road that night & land on my parents' doorstep around 9pm. By Saturday morning rise-n-shine ... we would already be able to smell the roasting bird. Mom would start up a big breakfast as the noise level began to rise & while dishes were getting squared away afterward, she would be starting on the side dishes. I was always in charge of the ambrosia & the decision would have been made as to the color of the Thanksgiving mashers. Desserts had been made (and guarded) the evening before to free up oven space for marshmellowed yams, extra stuffing & the FRESH home made rolls. By late morning a poker game was well under way, that didn't take a breath until we got the duty call to get the table set. Deviled eggs, cranberry sauce (whole & jellied), winter veggies, & gravy were set out, and we would be staking out seating claims. Usually around 2:30 ..... there would be a call-to-order, the room would fill with silence for the first time in nearly 20 hours, & dad would say grace. And the feasting began. A lot of smiles & laughter came to that table over the years. The faces have changed. Cherubs are now young adults with families of their own. The traditional servings are a little prettier. The surroundings are different as well ... but something, the most important thing, has not .... it's still a time when we all come together as a family. There is more noise & a higher calorie count I'm sure- but the amount of love that fills the house at this time is what I come away MOST filled with. And it's only hours away!!

thankful that I have SO darn much to be thankful about!

Thanksgiving may have deep roots in history but let's all just admit ... it's about the food. Yeh, yeh ... having family gather up to sup together puts the cherry on the top ... but be honest- you say turkey, I say Thanksgiving, and I'd bet that 9.25 out of 10 people would have the same one word response. Don't get me wrong, I'm a very sentimental person and I love anything that brings the family to a common place. But it doesn't take a "food holiday" to do that! HOWEVER, that being said- I want to go on record to say that even though the first thoughts when looking at Thanksgiving involve when the turkey shopping will begin ... when all is said & done ... much of my thought thereafter, involves how THANKFUL I am for the friends & family & good fortune I live- everyday.
TODAY, our "meal of thanks" (so to speak) was spent with an intimate group of precious friends. individuals that we are as close to as any family member might be. friends we see or talk to nearly every single day. friends we love. friends we are VERY thankful to have in our lives. The meal was amazing, the company we shared .... even more so.
AND AGAIN- I want to thank R, L, D & J for their humor, wisdom, expertise, affection, assistance, and for every moment we are blessed with their "intrusion" into our lives!!

an UGLY bug stopped by for a visit!

DUNNO if it was from some food ingested or just the good ole flu ... but I was down for the count, with today (finally) being SOMEWHAT productive. A bug NEVER arrives invited or at a time of convenience ... but with a living room floor covered in boxes, difficulty even getting into the kitchen, and all the stuff in my craft room piled & scattered as well ... this timing was pretty bad. To top it off, the Capt was hit by the bug's other brother Darrell about 6 hours later while do a kayaking tour!! Our symptoms differ slightly but the bottom line is neither of us was of much good Sat or Sunday! Today required some sit-downs (a nap too), but at least we got some things put away. BEST of all- we should be intestinally prepared for Thanksgiving Day. Always a silver lining!!

on my way to the bathroom to get a cup of coffee ...

.... I passed a stack of drawers, a box of cups, a tray of towels, bag of snacks, a kitty water fountain, & a shop vac. It was easy ignoring these things- I've been doing it for a week+. But walking into the bathroom to get a cup of coffee.... THAT felt weird! It wasn't until mid-morning yesterday that I lost total use of my kitchen. I CAN get to the fridge if I am strategic in my timing & approach, but it's not easy. The room is sealed off with plastic sheeting that could (theoretically) be removed by late today ... but we've already pulled our lunch items out & made dinner plans for this eve. A thorough cleaning will be needed before we enter the sanctum anyway. The doors are being fabricated in the carpenter's shop over the grade & we won't see those go up for another week. (which is fine since the hardware won't arrive til then). It will allow me time to clean the floor & inner cabinets & get the shelf paper layed.
We've been putting off grocery shopping, for lack of space in the living room which is festively decorated with boxes, bins, & tubs of many colors & size. I enter this room ONLY to go our to the lanai (mostly) as it's current condition is of great anxiety. I can deal with occassional clutter but the disruptive mess it's in now is difficult to overlook. Stay tuned for further developments (?) or my address if I should be committed.

let us eat cake (and ice cream)

November is a sa-weeet month when it comes to birthday cake gatherings. AND IT AIN'T over yet!!

Last week was a 53 year old cherry chocolate, tonight - a 67 yr old tiramisu & carrot, next week will likely be an 88 year old cherry pie. This CDS gang will all be on a diet come January!! (well after a mound of ice cream & an angel food cake that is)

conveniently .... cluttered (??!)

there is something to be said about having EVERYTHING from the kitchen out & about. There are NO drawers to close, no cabinets to shut when your hands are full .... you can "see" just about everything you need.

HOWEVER- all is not rosy. It looks VERY messy and I avoid the living room as much as I can, so I don't have to think about #1- what it actually looks like & #2 -having to put it all back eventually. I should warn THE BOYS right now- if it looks like this come Thanksgiving Day, I may not be cooking afterall. The atmosphere takes the fun out of it .... no decorations will cover this up!! haha

BEDROOM EYEZZz ... the PG version

In the interest (for whoever should have one) .... of time, & pure, dede-lightful exhaustion, I am posting this

"characteristic" picture of the double quartet that has been monopolizing my time of late. I cannot express how GREATful I am to have belly laughed on a regular basis while in their presence!! Our performance was worth every moment of & and we can be proud of the results!! THANK YOU LADIES :o)

there is ALWAYS time for laughter!

I have spent at least a couple extra hours each of the past few weeks with a group of funny & talented ladies - in preparation of a double quartet contest that will be taking place this weekend. The event itself, is a small part of what will be taking place overall. This weekend is designed for education, introduction, comraderie and of course to remind us all just how SWEET (their new ad campaign) the Sweet Adeline organization is in each of our lives. Often j0ked about as being a full-time hobby, it is truly full-time enjoyment... well, that is if you don't mind the anxiety of competitions where you might be singing in front of thousands of people! I have loved this chorus body from day one ... but over the past few weeks, I have bonded even further with individual members that are just too, too entertaining. NO MATTER how much we remind each other how important it is to use our time rehearsing WISELY- there is always time for some laughter (or you better stay away from this group!!) THX gals .... it's be real.

I am almost too tired to be exhausted!

It has been a whirlwind week and I don't even have the time (or excess energy) to think about what I STILL have to do!! Over the weekend our chorus had an intense coaching session that I really enjoyed & the time flew by, but it was a LONG day and I came home with my doggies a'barkin! By Sunday, my to do list was piling up, but we took the time to pick up a cabinet that I got (almost free) that's going to replace the large, heavy, dark file cabinets that have been in my design studio for at least 3 years. THAT decision is going to add a few hours of tedious work to my retirement schedule- since it will involve 1. cleaning out the existing cabinet, 2. making room for them in the storeroom by getting rid of things taking up space that this will occupy usefully 3. refinishing or ? the new acquisition 4. figuring out the organization adding shelving or purchasing nesting/stackable boxes. (and if memory serves me ... I think I ALSO have to paint the wall behind the filing cabs??!) ALL OF THIS is likely to be taking place while we are having some work done on the cabinetry in our kitchen (which reminds me .... we've not ordered the hardware for them yet). BUT, my DQ rehearsals will have ended by then ... because this weekend is Fall Festival for our Region 11 of Sweet Adelines International. WHICH BRINGS ME BACK to why my time has been "used up" with so much UNfrivilous stuff lately. For the past few weeks, I have had 3 times the normal music rehearsals than usual, and for the past few days I have used most of my free time to pack up all the kitchen cabinet contents in prep for the refacing. TRYING to do so in a way that at the end of each day- I can actually find the things I need to get a dinner on the table. We'll see how well that works out!! It's a 2 week project that will likely take at least twice the time (if it resembles the normal home improvement guidelines). I stacked, wrapped, Goodwilled, stored, the last piece today, but not without "adding" a couple more things to the wish list at a cost! Tomorrow, I have 3 different music rehearsals that I need to review for, along with some web-shopping to decide on the cabinet/drawer knobs & pulls. By Wednesday the laundry & housecleaning needs to be completed in time for a bit of relaxing before I pack up & leave Thursday morning ..... OMG, I hear the clocking ticking REALLY loud!! WHEN will I get to play WWF!!! (maybe right now)

on again, off again .... & the emotional roller coaster of life

WATCHED the SAI competition a couple of weeks ago and OF COURSE, that hypes me up for rehearsing my music even mroe than usual. Sang with some of my Fizzzz mates (pictured) over the weekend and OF COURSE that gets all talking about reserecting the times & sound we had together! But just as the ebb brought the enthusiasm about it to the surface, so has life tugged at the chances of it becoming a reality. To start with- we are short 1 part ... that could be remedied with some creativitive part swapping, but time & logistics are doing their best to anti-allow even an attempt! A hubby in the hospital for one, financial prorities for another ..... a reality check for the third. hmmmmmm (and WHAT did I ever do with that orange bag?? would LOVE to use that for fall!!!) Our roller coaster is spiraling downward at the moment .... but u-s-u-a-l-l-y, there is a curve or climb in the tracks .... time will tell.

in search of that ..... something

sometimes it's the right color ....
it might be the voice, the mood, the time, the design .....
I feel that "search" coming on & I don't know what it's gonna be for (?)
odd feeling.