To Pack, Perchance to Dream

So things are coming along with the house. We're now signing papers on both sides to get things sold and on their way. We have had a bit of a snag with the closing dates, but it appears that everything will be moved up accordingly. I'm now terrified about having to actually pack up the house. J is sorry that he won't be able to help, but I'm thinking that's just as well. If I'm motivated, it will happen.
That motivator is called fear.

Domestic Dreams

In exciting news, it appears that the house may sell...and as usual, it will all happen super fast and chaotically. Apparantly our conditional buyers had multiple offers on their house yesterday. They accepted one of them, and if they'll sign off on conditions around here, we'll be on our way northward. Very exciting, that. Despite our attempt at decluttering, I'm still scared of trying to pack and move. I'm not very good at packing. I get so easily distracted.
We're also not going to have the month I was hoping for to make this happen. It looks like we may have about 10 days overlap. That's not time to do the painting and carpet cleaning that we want, so we'll have to prioritize and live with things that aren't worth living with. It's either that or I quit my full time job. I'm pretty sure that isn't in the cards.
But it's good news. And we all need good news. Not bad for a sunny Saturday.

Of All the Things I've Lost...

I'm not in a great place tonight. I don't know if it's because the vacation is almost over, or if it's deeper than that. I went to bed with J, but I'm up again. He gets up at 4:45 or 5:00 AM on Saturdays so that he can be gone to work by 6. I, on the other hand, can sleep until I wake up. Tomorrow I plan to do just that.
I was reading one of the many magazines that I brought with me when I realized that the computer I've been using all week is a laptop. That means portability. So I'm sitting in the dim living room of the hotel suite wearing my pajamas and J's slippers with the laptop on my lap. It's all good
While it's not the happiest of subjects, one thought has been running around in my head all day. I was reading a friend's meme on Facebook. It was all sentence starters. The one that caught me was "I miss..." There are so many things I miss. I've been thinking about them a lot today. With that, I present the 10 things I miss.
1. I miss sleeping in my own bed. You would think that the hotel is comfortable and that I would get used to the bed. Sadly, this is not the case. The bed is hard and the pillows unsupportive. Ii miss my pillows too.
2. I miss cooking. As I stared at yet another menu tonight, willing myself to like something...ANYTHING...that they were offering, it occurred to me how little I'm cooking right now. I don't see the point for myself, and we've really run out of food that would make things at our house. I have come to dread facing another restaurant menu. At the moment, even Fricker's medium chicken chunks and wedge fries dipped in blue cheese dip have little to no appeal. These are desperate times indeed. On a side note, I signed up today for an Easter cookie decorating class. We'll make a bouquet of Easter cookies in the course of an evening. I'm really looking forward to that.
3. I miss having my husband in my house. Despite the fact that he makes me crazy, I miss having J around. He was a good reason to cook. He was a good reason for a lot of things. Having him in the hotel isn't the same. It's not my space.
4. I miss good TV. You know, the stuff that you actually looked forward to. Something with an interesting plot line that wasn't over the top gory. I've watched a lot of CSI:NY this week in the hotel, and while I enjoy the stories, I'm not fond of the bodies. I yearn for something that would hold my attention. I watch way too many sport events over the edge of reading material.
5. I miss a job where I knew the answers some of the time. While I love my current role, and it's challenging and new and exciting, I long for a little more mundane. My principal thrives on crisis. I, on the other hand, do not. I don't want the ambulance to have to show up. I'm not interested in having blood come out of a student for any reason. I don't really want to deal with the angry parent. But it's what I signed up for. And when I think about what I'd be going back to, I prefer the road I've taken.
6. I miss getting letters in the mail. When I was 18, I was an exchange student in France for a year. I wrote and sent my parents a letter every week. I got tons of mail from my friends. I wonder about what happens for students who go now. Do they do most of their correspondence by email? How immersed can you be when the world is on your doorstep? I love getting postcards, letters, and things in general that aren't bills. Perhaps that's why I love getting magazines so much. But there's something about a letter that's wonderful. I should really send more.
7. I miss dating J. Which is weird, seeing as it's not like he's gone somewhere, but in that marriage is different. Maybe it's more that I miss that shiny love, where you know there's work, but you can gloss over it. I'm not saying that there's a problem, but the day to day work is real and glossing would be a mistake.
8. I miss France. It's one of my favourite places ever. I would live in Paris in a heartbeat. There's something very special about the place where I learned a lot about cooking, and even more about being my own person. I miss the cheese, the pace of life, and Brut de Pomme. Perhaps the latter just because I'm thirsty at the moment.
9. I miss discovering new music. Sadly, I've fallen into enough of a rut recently that it's a long time since I've picked up something new. J and I listen to an awful lot of the 70s channel on our satellite radio. I've always enjoyed the opening acts at the concerts I've attended - they're new, and different, and often very talented. I don't remember the last show I went to where I was impressed with the opening act (I think it might be Matt Nathanson in the summer of 2004 or 2005). There's something wrong with that.
10. I miss connecting regularly with a couple of my good friends. I need to make more of an effort to do this. While it's really no one's fault with work, kids, spouses, etc, there are some people in my life who I count as good friends that I miss. I should do something about that.
On a completely unrelated note, the pictures my friend Kathryn took last weekend are great. If you want to see some, they are here. if you click on "Couples", pictures of J and myself will pop up. We need to look through them and see what we like so that we can ask Kat to send them to us. Yay! I love them!

Sitting at the Feet of Consumerism

So the problem with being on vacation and not in my own house while my husband works is that I have time on my hands. Tons of time. And frankly, when I have time and nothing to do but surf the web and practice the guitar and read, I spend a lot of time online. So I think it's best that I get out of the hotel room. That means I shop.
I went to Costco this morning to ascertain whether or not we need a membership. I had never really been in a Costco before, seeing as I've never really lived where there is one. And while there are ever so many things that are shrink-wrapped that I don't need, I decided that the membership would be worthwhile for us.
I wander through stores a lot wondering who buys everything that's on the shelves. I mean, I look at a good portion of food in the grocery store and think, "Who eats this? I have never bought this in all the years that I have been grocery shopping! Why would anyone eat that?" I think that a lot in clothing stores too, but it's mostly because I can't fit into the clothes that I don't like.
Then again, I am on the prowl for a new purse. The one I've been carrying for the last 2 years is breaking at the handle. I'm pretty sure it's worth repairing (and redying...I'd like to try for cherry red), but I need a new bag in the meantime. Where should I shop for a purse? Something large, sensible, and unique. Not that that's hard or anything.

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round

I've always had a fascination with public transportation. I blame my grandmother.
When I was little, I would go my my grandmother's for a week in the summer. My mother would always take me by train and then by bus to Hamilton and leave me with my grandmother for a week. That was always cool. We would go to my great aunts' apartments and I would play with their purses and hats and eat store bought cookies and drink gingerale. It was a great way to spend a week. My grandmother didn't set a spoon at each place: you could choose one out of a purple sugar bowl in the middle of the table. My favourites were the grapefruit spoons with the stars on the handle. But the coolest thing at Grandma's? We got to take the bus.
We were a one car family when I was growing up. My mom would go out in the morning when my dad was working at home, and we stayed pretty close to home in the afternoon. But my grandmother didn't own a car. That meant to shop or go to market on Saturday, we had to take the bus - something I never did at home. I loved asking for a transfer, and was interested in how to read them. I liked to be the one to pull the wire and ring the bell for the stop. Riding the bus was an adventure!
Fast forward to university. I wasn't as enamored with buses anymore. But they were the way to get around, and I accessed the whole city of Toronto with a bus pass in one hand and a map of the city in the other. I think if I'd stayed in Toronto, I wouldn't have been in any rush to buy a car, but would have stayed closer to the core of the city and kept my bus pass. When I think of the things that I carried home from IKEA on the TTC, it amazes me that they let me on.
But moving to small town Ontario, a car was a necessity. Despite the fact that currently we live close enough to a grocery store to walk, I can't get to my bank or work without a car. It just doesn't make sense.
J, on the other hand, needs public transportation. Like I told my insurance company, if he takes off in my car, I'm calling the police. As a result, we need to live close to public transportation. Our new house is on the bus line. But how would we know how long it takes to get to J's work? How would he know the land marks along the way?
Enter me and March Break. I spent a couple of hours this morning riding the bus to see how long things would take, and to see how hard it would be. And frankly, it's not hard. But it gave me the chance to do something I hadn't done in a while, ride the bus. It was a fun way to spend a morning and think about my grandma, and bus rides of a long time ago.

You Otta Be In Pictures...

So it's officially March Break. I'm so excited. I plan to spend a good portion of it sleeping. The kids never look excited when I tell them that that's my plan, but I'm thrilled. Yesterday morning, I got up, and went back to bed for a couple of hours an hour later. Pure decadence.
Today, J and I are helping a friend out with a project for her 30th year, and I'm so excited. My friend Kathryn was looking for models to practice her photography, and I volunteered us. She's coming this afternoon to take photos. Her blog is in the feed, if you want to see some of her other work.
Hopefully, I'll have some pictures to share. We're going to the place where we were supposed to have our wedding pictures done before the rain started. It's a bright and sunny day. I'm thinking good things.
Yep, almost 2 years late and a dollar short...that would be us.