Smugglers Cove Whidbey Island

Black Forest, Colorado will always be a special place among the many locations that Diane and I have visited and lived in; and to me, Colorado and Summer thunderstorms are synonymous:

So much to do.

So much done.

What next to tackle?

Wandered through the dining room and pulled a few pieces from the china cabinet.  The office is painted and I have no idea what to put in there.  Nothing?  Everything?  I think looking at a room and choosing a piece with forethought is an amazing concept.  I do not think I have that luxury; yet.  I think it will be fun to choose a piece, place it, move it, and toss it if need be.  Up to this point, I always have so much crap stuffed in a room and then more placed atop and then a few things shoved here and there, that arranging things was not a possible consideration.  I look forward to frugality.

Life is good.

One more room to paint, but it will have to wait.

Today, I felt fall in the air for a millisecond.

When my partner has surgery, it slows me down!  Surgery is now over.  Bone spur removed, tear sewn-up, and shredded tendon gone.  Healing is taking place and going well.  Phew!

After surgery, I realized he needed a t.v. tray, a hospital water mug, and a few other things that are no longer here.  Dang.  This sorting and tossing does come at a price.  We made do.

I won’t even talk about holiday ornaments.  That’s another story.  I will now be on a quest for yearly special holiday commemorations.

Painting has again commenced on the infamous blue room.  Three coats of paint.  Really?  So, I saved money by buying inexpensive paint; not so much!  Never again.  Today, I will finish the trim along the floor and touch up the infernal blue spots that will not go away.  I am hoping  people will get the feeling of being in a cloud in that room; essence of blue.

Life goes on…profound statement, aye?

I felt like crap today.  So what?  There are things waiting to be done and the big guy is scheduled for surgery in the morning.  We bought a gallon of Kilz.  It’ll cover anything, right?

Well, apparently not.  The blue sponge-painted walls laughed at me.  That blue shone through like the sun behind a hankie.  Ha, ha, ha…you thought you could cover this?  This?  Not happening.

I still felt crappy, but I waited for the Kilz to dry and attacked it with the “color”…or non-color to be more exact.  I only did the window edges and corners and such.  Mother of pearl, if I didn’t really, really slather on the paint that freaking blue kept peaking through.  Wish I remembered what brand of paint THAT was!  Are you kidding me?  And it dawned on me that I have to live with pale beige walls for a year.  Oh man…BORING.

Today, I sold another piece of furniture.

Surgery early in the morning.  Too hot to deal with much.  Wish us luck and peace and quick, easy healing.

Today, we sold a few pieces of furniture.  Made a small dent.

Got the office moved and set-up.  Got another room cleared out and painting will commence tomorrow.  The cats lost their favorite high beds perched on three shelves in the room to be painted.

As I look around, I calculate what needs to happen next and a book diet is on the menu.  We both have several large cases of books…rooms of books.  I could not possibly read them all in my lifetime and I have no intention of hauling them to the next place.  Instead, I need to become an even more avid user of the library.  So, now to look closely at the books I have and decide how to disperse them.  Which of the treasures do I keep?  Which do I pass along?  How do I decide?  I will try to make a resolution to buy no books for the next year.  Oh, good luck with that.

I am not a fast reader, but maybe when I retire and have free time, I can get through a book a bit quicker.  I enjoy reading a book and relishing the language.  I stop to look up words.  I write in the margins.  I fall asleep.

How do you read?  How would you choose what to take and what to keep?

Thursday I took load #13 to school.  Art supplies that needed to be there and not here.

Friday, I attempted to take load #14 to the Goodwill pick-up center.  They freaking turned me away!  They were full-up!  Said they have had 80 drops a day.  Astounding!  Is everyone paring down?  So, off I went to another thrift store and they happily took everything.

The rest of the day was spent reconnecting with my favorite tattoo artist and making an appointment for my new ocean-themed tat.  Then lunch and beverages downtown with my pal.  Not a lot accomplished, but I’m back at it today.

Cannot wait for the new ink!

I get rid of stuff and it is liberating.  I look around.  I peer closely into the corners and nooks.  What surprises me?  What shames me?

Here is my new day.  Have coffee on my deck, looking out into primordial forest.  Later, after sweeping the floor and feeding the critters, we all go down to the beach to wander.  I will collect driftwood and stones and smell the earth and the sea.  I will look for eagles.  I will gaze out at the sound and look for whales or dolphins or gulls.

I want a constant jigsaw puzzle close at hand.  I will look up and think about baking bread.  Bread will become an even more important circle of life.  It will be kneaded and baked with a view toward the forest.  Bread will rise without the calamity of altitude.  Fresh berry jam will be drizzled over it.  Our mouths will be satisfied.

The salt and the sea and the forest debris will combine into an elegant smell.  We will be rich beyond our dreams.  We will have slugs, mushrooms, mosses, trees, birds in flight, the moon, the stars, the sun; dew drops, rain drops, fragmented scenes; zephyrs and  northeasters; feathers and flotsam; all good.

I am beat.

Started early this morning with the intention of filling the truck with a load to take over to school.  Well, I got close to the goal, but along the way there were thrift store items to stow away for the next load and items to set apart for the kids.

Since I was in my “office” all afternoon, I had the I-Tunes on.  Chicago, Allman Brothers and finally Bob Seger.  Katmandu…that’s really where I’m going to…

I took loads and loads out of this room and it looks really good.  Why do I keep everything?  That is going to change.  I would like to clear out this place and live simply until the big move.  Try it on for size.  Test it out.  SIMPLIFY!

Oh…PCAD – preliminary critical areas determination

Acronyms

I am sure there are people out there who could take 12 truckloads of “stuff” to thrift stores and their homes would be empty.  Not so here.  Load #12 went out the door today.  It was a difficult one to set free.  Last night, I laid in bed and thought about some of the items I planned to relinquish and it didn’t feel right.  After a couple of cups of coffee, I set out to open the lid to the trash can and then look into the truck.  The trash can held a few treasures.  The truck had a few more.  I was frugal with the things I took back, but I was happy to have done so.

However, off went the entire holiday village.  The Bijou Theatre, the farm house, the ice cream shop and more.  The fence and trees and snow sledders.  Off to be magic for someone else.  Off went the majority of ornaments…to decorate another tree.

The PCAD test on the property will happen in the next couple of weeks.  What is a PCAD test, you ask.  I have no idea, except if it is a good result, it will save us muy denero.  I just searched PCAD and I’m still clueless.  All I can tell you is that it is the difference having a stream and a swale.

Vote swale.