I just realized that I have absolutely no experience with movers except for ones that speak Korean.

Ha.

Also, I find it ironic that it is costing us twice as much to move two hours as it did for us to move half way around the world (altho we didn’t move furniture, apart from my few little treasures, which was the reason we hired them to begin with).

My To Do List for tomorrow:

1. Mope
2. Rant bitterly
3. Sigh
4. Consume chocolate in mass quantities (no different from any other day, actually)
5. Drink designer coffee-based beverages
6. Oh, wait!  You meant for the move? Right, then:

A.  Pack bags for me and the TT to keep out of the ginormous maw of the moving truck where they will be lost for days
B.  Move rest of furniture out of office to keep cats and bags in.
C.  Clean out litter pans
D. Take down and pack curtains
E. Call gas company again because they didn’t do the right thing the first time I talked to them
F. Get small boxes for plants
G.  Keep out some cat food for cats
H.  Return library books
I.  Stop through local antique mall in case there’s anything I can’t live without one last time
J.  Consume mass quantities of wine
K. Do laundry
L. Take some last pictures
M.  Do a bunch of other stuff I can’t remember right now.

I am not happy right now. Not. Happy.

My little house is no longer mine and in fact, not having signed a lease yet, we are in a strange condition of neither being a home owner nor a renter. But actually since we’ve been in that position many times before, I guess it’s not all that “strange”.

The house is crammed with boxes, bubble wrap, crumbs, furniture.

Adding insult to injury, I believe my son is drawing on my Korean drum with non-washable crayons, too.

I don’t want to move. But the deed is done.

Other than that, I have no cause for complaint.  I am somewhat gainfully employed, my husband is gainfully employed, none of us are sick or chronically ill or facing death. I am not enslaved. I am not addicted to any substance or habit (except chocolate. and granola. and maybe designer coffee-based drinks.  but that’s it.)

So I try to keep it all in perspective because it could be a lot worse.

I just don’t want to move.

And I just feel very unhappy right now.

Ok, that’s all. Not going to complain again.

(HAHAHA! Yeah, RIGHT!)

(ok, not going to complain about the move again!)

So that is actually a pretty incoherent title.

anyhoodle.

Spent last week at my mom’s which was great as I got caught up on a little much-needed sleep.  The single-parent lifestyle is not conducive to that.  Goodwill was also ransacked, Starbucks frequented and a new design scheme formulated to update Mom’s guest bathroom.  The days are numbered for those late 80s style geese, let’s just say that.

Just found out on Monday that the buyer got his loan approved which is good in that we don’t have to find another buyer.  They wanted to close this Friday instead of next so we were able to move the whole plan forward by one week.  We ‘ll close this Friday and the movers will come next Thursday and I will sigh big sighs and maybe mope for awhile in between times as I go around and remember all my happy memories of the house and the garden and the neighborhood and my friends.

So far things have gone pretty smoothly in the home-sale process, apart from being smacked in the gob by a huge home maintenance issue.  The sale itself has been pretty smooth-sailing, knock on wood, altho I am still not keen on buying another home anytime soon.

Unless it was out on some good land where I could raise chicken and bushels of tomatoes.

In Oregon.

Well, that’s all I really had to say for now. Just wanted to let you know the score.  it will be a pretty busy last week as I mope finish up what little packing that I personally am going to do and get together with friends one last time.

Sorry for being boring in this post. Such is life.

This evening I realized how long it’s been since I’ve looked at the sky, just looked and watched. I have had something closer to the ground to keep my eyes on for the past few years so I’ve missed seeing

the autumn clouds, grey and heavy, scudding over

the denuded trees

the seed fronds of autumnal grass

the TV aerial on the neighbor’s rooftop

the papery, rattling stalks of sunflower seedheads

scudding above

the birds, tiny and black, winging their way across the sky

fighting the winds that send the clouds

scudding

…my own personal beauty team!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYhCn0jf46U

And? Photoshop. Gotta get me some Photoshop.

Paper-thin, tripartite, the small blossoms of the dried hydrangea bloom

Jade green, translucent, like a whisper of summer

under the trees, in the shade, out behind your grandmother’s kitchen door

with smells of earth and loam and fresh-made bread wafting on the breeze

becomes a mere mulchy mess

under the chubby hands of a very inquisitive two-year old.

I’m feeling melancholy this evening because

it was a beautiful fall day with a blue autumnal sky and myriad trees that have been painted in artist oil to a perfect blend of warm tones

i spent the morning with friends whom i really don’t want to leave behind me

we were at a local farm with our kiddies, enjoying the strange bucolic goodness of a working farm surrounded by a major metropolitan area

i only discovered this farm through one of the above-mentioned friends about a month ago and am sad that i will have to leave it when my discovery of it is still nascent

my poor little son had another rough day, one of many, of every day this past month; he cried when his stick fell in the chicken yard, he (almost) cried when the older boys were playing rough, he cried when the older boys disappeared on him and he didn’t know where they had gone and he couldn’t keep up but wanted to, he cried when he had to walk from the car to the house, he cried when his diaper had to be changed, he cried when…well, you get the picture

and while we may have found a potentially good place to live Up North, it will still be a change, with new and unfamiliar shadows and smells and vibes and ways of doing things and i will still need to make a niche for myself and carve out a spot in people’s lives, people who already have friends and who are very busy, despite all their willingness to BE my friend it will still require a period of courtship and emotional jostling before things settle.

but it’s ok. it’s not really that bad. i’ll cope and there will be other beautiful fall days, the kind that let you know that as beautiful as it is, it won’t last, it’s ephemeral; though jewel-toned, warm, with honeyed light and clarity, someday it will come to a close

and that it’s best to treasure what we do have here and now.

This weekend The Fussy Crankypants went looking for a new place to live. Keeping in mind the fact that while formerly they have lived in some very small apartments and studio apartments on several continents in the past, they now must consider the needs of 3 cats, one Tiny Tyrant and a hypothetical-sometime-in-the-unforeseen-but-probably-not-too-distant-future Tiny Tyrant II, they have decided to try instead to rent a house instead of an apartment, something hopefully that has at least a little plot of grass, a tree and perhaps not on a main road.

This weekend, with the help of a Very Nice Friend, The Fussys traveled around to various locations in their soon-to-be-new-city looking at potentially soon-to-be-new places to live.

Mrs Fussy Crankypants fell in particular love with one that wasn’t on her list but which she happened to drive by with her Nice Friend.

It is a 30s-style duplex…you know, the kind with the swoop in the arch over the porch?…and has a stone facade on the front, a brown stone facade with a brown window awning and lovely trees dripping fall colors in front and behind.

In short, charming.

And also located just steps away from one of the local parks and the river.

Sublime.

And also, when her Very Nice Friend called to find out, far too much money for The Fussy budget.

And also no pets.

Alas.

Chagrin.

However.

Mrs Fussy Crankypants is nothing if not retiring. She won’t say boo to a ghost if it might require her to put herself forward and if the said boo needed saying over the phone, Mrs FC’s phone-a-phobia will prohibit it outright.

So great, however, is Mrs FC’s ardor for this charming little abode that she not only called the landlord again herself to talk it over, she MANAGED TO CONVINCE (somewhat) HIM that he might be able to trust her cats and that he should think about negotiating on the price.

Mrs Fussy Crankypants is very proud of herself for calling to follow up on the Cute Stone-Facade Cottage. She was very proud when the landlord said he could drop the rent by $40 or so (until she went online and looked up the property at found it listed at the reduced rent price. Then she just said “?”).  Mrs Fussy Crankypants is particularly proud that he could tell Mrs Fussy Crankypants meant it when she said she adored his house and that she was sincere that she would take care of it AS HER VERY OWN.

As things stand, the rent is still too high. Mrs FC actually questions if he will be able to rent it at the fee he is asking since there are many other rentals for less that offer far more space.

But. The Stone Facade!

The Fussys will at least meet with his property manager and view the property and try to knock a few more dollars off the rent. 

Mrs FC has another house in mind that she will also view, one that actually has quite a bit more yard (but no stone facade and no park…BUT, a Korean market within relative walking distance. Sort of. If the Tyrant is willing to sit in the stroller that long) so it may turn out that The Stone Facade is Not Meant to Be.

But Mrs FC will still carry the proud memory of being able to sweet-talk a total stranger into negotiation.

She should be a diplomat.

Here it is, the complete list of all this natural I am doing right now. Ok, not complete. Just kind of the things that are coming to mind as I have about 3 minutes before I go up to put the TT to bed.

Lesson 1) Homemade deodorant really DOES work.

Yes, I, too, was sceptically but when some friends of mine told me that it worked for them and then actually GAVE me some to try so I didn’t even have to take the 3 seconds it takes to make it myself, I tried it.

It WORKS!

And I tend to be a very aromatic individual so I would not lead you up the garden path on this.

Here you go. You can thank me later:

1/4 c. cornstarch
1/4 c. baking soda (aluminum free or you are defeating the purpose of avoiding chemicals)
3 tbsp coconut oil
and your favorite essential oil mixed in to your taste.  The one I have uses lavender and I like it a lot.

Lesson 2)  The furniture polish mix actually works better with more oil and less lemon juice. 

I have finished up the furniture polish (don’t worry, it was non-toxic) and was ready to try the homemade stuff. Some sites I read suggested that there should be more lemon juice than olive oil but that didn’t really work for me.

1/2 c. cheapest olive oil
1/4 c. lemon juice

mix and apply with cloth or squirt bottle. I decanted mine into a squirt bottle and keep it in the fridge so it won’t go rancid between the times I clean, you know, which is every 8 months or so.

Lesson 3)  Learning to embrace the hair grease can be a challenge.

I finally ran out of my shampoo and conditioner and was ready to go the no poo route for my most recent hair washing.

Since I only wash my hair once a week (Thursdays, if you must know, which is why if you see me on Thursdays you will notice I always wear a handerchief covering my hair. I haven’t joined a religious group, I just want to spare you the hair oil), I am figuring it will be easier for me to get through the difficult time when your head has to adjust to not needing to produce so much oil.

2-3 Tbs baking soda
1-2 Tbsp water or enough to make a paste

massage into scalp only and let rest for a minute or two then

rinse:

1 part white vinegar to 3-4 parts water plus 1/2 tsp vanilla to cover the vinegar scent and make you smell like a cookie(optional)

So I tried this on Thursday and I’m not sure I did it right.  The baking soda just didn’t rinse out of my hair very well after the vinegar rinse and was pretty dense yesterday altho today it is feeling better. I think I will need to rinse with water after the vinegar rinse and see what happens.

My hair doesn’t feel necessarily clean but it’s not too bad, kind of like it feels toward the end of the week say on Wednesday.

One tip to doing this is to brush your hair well using a soft-bristled brush to pull your natural hair oil into all parts of  your hair and away from your scalp.

(I can hear Amber groaning already.  I wonder if I am getting too crunchy to even live in Oregon again.)

(Ha! Nah….)