life in the old lane

I just packed my first box. As I planned – a box of niknaks. Box one contains: Dragon Vases, Origami Piggie Bank, indian bowl, twinlens reflex Cameras, carved gourd pot, two photos from Living room bookcase. And, yes, I usually record everything that goes into every box. A box a day keeps paid packers away.

It is ever so tempting to just say “F-IT” and rent a Zip Car – pack the zip car to the gunnels – drive the car to the asylum. Unpack the car. Return the car. And then just order up all new stuff. Common sense will prevail. But, it is fun to think about. I keep reminding myself – there are 1/2 as many people in the family. So, I need 1/2 as much stuff. Nevermind that I am only going to have 1/3 of the space. Maybe – I should just take 1/3 of the stuff…

Went to yoga class today. A nice easy class. Good for an old lady.

Note to Carlton: All Star Game tonight – some chick I never heard of is singing the national anthem. It’s enough to make me want to defect. The Nats are doing pretty good this year. They are honoring some really old players right now: Willie Mays, Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench. Sandy and Johnny did the first pitch thing. You would have liked it.

Yesterday I sneaked into the old bat cave. I put the Nexus up to the window – in this is the view. Looking east. Not knock your socks off great. But good enough. And yes, a building could pop up where the swimming pool is and that would knock out my view of the Washington monument.

This afternoon… I gave notice here that I’ll be moved out by Oct 27th. Paying big bucks to break the lease. But, that will still be cheaper than keeping the apartment until the lease is over April 27th. Guessing, no, knowing that Carlton would not approve. I think I’ll be moving out before Oct 27th. I want to be sure I give the asylum enough time to get the old bat cave spruced up.

Nexus 6 report. It is H U G E. Almost as big as the iPad Mini. Bigger than the new Kindle Voyage. The apps are not as sleek as iOS apps. But, it has a “back arrow”. I like that. A lot. And, if you use the charger that came with the Nexus 6 – it charges up in 15 minutes. That is the hardware/software story.

Now the network. Project Fi. Another one of Google’s hobbies. 12 months from now, they will have most likely lost interest in being a cell phone provider. For now. For me. It seems to be a fine service. They use t-mobile’s network. With a little dose of sprint. Neither of these have the coverage of Verizon. Google tries to fluff out the coverage with wi-fi. But, Project Fi will not be a player until it runs on more than one cell phone.

Alexandria had fireworks last night. Being older than the US – Alexandria celebrates it’s birthday – not July 4th. And, they had lots better weather. No fog. No low ceiling.

I put the camera on the tripod. Took it out on the porch. And waited. While waiting I played with “Light Painting”.

Finally – only a few minutes late. Fireworks.

In the vein of “No good deed goes unpunished”… I got a new Kindle. (Didn’t need a new Kindle – wanted a new Kindle.) So, my old Kindle and Carlton’s Kindle are heading off to a Kindles for Kids program. I spent 2 hours trying to figure how to get Parental Controls turned off of Carlton’s Kindle. Yes, I put Parental Controls on Mr. C’s Kindle. He was afraid he would accidently order a book!

Went to lunch at the asylum. Salmon was good, again. Veggies were cold, again. Key Lime pie was fine – really fine. I passed on the soup.

The door was unlocked at my apartment. So I went in and look around. No buyer’s remorse. YET!

 

I found this “bonus” picture of Carlton last week. I was putting some of his tax files in the shred box. There was a letter, with this picture in one of the old file folders. Glad I checked.

Still a little tired and grumpy. And generally bereft. So, I sort of gave myself an easy day. Today, I only logged 3.75 miles on the Fitbit. I took two naps and am trying to “eat right”.

Took a load of stuff (well, an old lady walking size load) of stuff to Goodwill. And, I didn’t buy anything new! That was the extent of my exercise today.

Still mopey about this whole widow business. I thought I would be 100% OK by now. Wrong.

I tried to take Carlton’s tennis rackets to the Goodwill. But, I couldn’t. I will. Just not today. Carlton wouldn’t want his rackets stuffed in the back of a closet getting moldy. Carlton was not a tennis racket. I know that. If I have died first, he wouldn’t keep my cameras, computers or even most of my pictures.

Note to Carlton: Speaking of tennis. Serena won Wimbledon today. That makes 4 biggies in a row for her. Apparently she really wants to win the US Open. I guess the US Open was the last tennis you watched.

A little whining. I am tired. The Widow Margaret is bored with this gig. I am tired of doing everything and making all the decisions.

I found an old Park Service poster rolled up in the bottom of my footlocker. I had it framed. Picked it up today. It will be a nice reminder of many a great summers with Carlton. (And he will be annoyed that I spent money having it framed.)

I may have more art than walls at the asylum. Rotating exhibit maybe?

 

Question: Why exactly did Bill Cosby have to knock women out to have sex with them? He could have gotten almost any woman he wanted in his bed. At least once.

Question: What did we do to deserve Donald Trump. Of course, he is not going to be prez. Or even the Republican candidate, unless they are crazier than we think. But, in the mean time – he is providing a great summer “reality TV” show.

Remember back in the day, when we put stuff like this on our pages? But, I still like this cat and was pleased to find it is still “alive”.

Walked home from work today. Arrived home soaking wet. Sweat.

Late this afternoon I decided to check out the farm market. I should have checked out the weather app first. I got cheese and eggs. And soaking wet for the second time today.

I was supposed to start packing boxes today. Well, there were no suitable boxes in the trash room. (One of the last things Carlton did was get boxes from the trash room for his last tennis opponent.) And, I don’t exactly know what to start packing anyhow…

But, I had a great idea. I found my box packing list from my last move. I packed 40 boxes. Seems to me that most of the stuff that I’ll be moving to the Old Bat Cave – well – I moved that stuff here. So, what I put in Box #1 five years ago – I’ll put it in Box #1 this time.

NickNaks seems like a good place to start… So, all I need now is a box or two. I have a plan. I had 40 boxes last time. I packed “my stuff” and all the “house stuff”. That was the 40 boxes. Carlton didn’t want to pack. So he put “his stuff” in his car and personally delivered it. So, I figure I’ll have at least 30 boxes this time.

Started the senbazuru. Hopefully, I’ll do better with this Japanese craft than I did with the turtle purse. (The turtle purse kit is in the Goodwill Box – it was retail therapy. It did its job. I don’t need it trying to make me feel guilty about not finishing it.) Photography and origami. That is all all the hobbies I have time for.

The “senior move consultant” came by this afternoon. I could just continue to sit on my butt and pay these people to do everything. I think I’ll pack all my “stuff” into boxes. I have done this twice in the last 10 years. I can do it again. I’ll hire the movers. The “consultant” can oversee the operation. After the stuff is moved out – the consultant will take care of getting rid of everything that is left. Lots will be left. And, I will let the consultant take care of “unpacking”. So, I am not surrounded by boxes in the old bat cave.

So, the plan is to start packing “tomorrow” with an estimated move date 2 months out. Which, of course begs the question, if I am not going to need or want an item for 2 months – do I really need or want the item at all.

I have been alone long enough to know that traditional cooking will not be a part of my life. I see myself doing more “assembly” and not so much cooking. For dinner I had an avocado, some yogurt, a little cheese, some almonds and a handful of cherries. When Carlton was alive, that would not have been an acceptable dinner. But, for an old bat on a warm summer evening – it was lovely. I see taking my little crock pot, my two new red saute pans, and a smallish dutch oven – for no apparent reason. I am glad that I had time to discover this. And, the asylum feeds me one meal a day anyhow.

I just have to get myself in gear. Easier said than done.

Signed up for a series of yoga classes, starting next Tuesday.

 

Fine day. Really hot. Nope. Really humid. Really hot will come later in the week.

Meeting with the “Senior Move Consultant” tomorrow. I am tempted to run around and make stuff look more organized or more move ready. Decided that would be like cleaning your house before the cleaning lady comes. I went out for a walk instead.

Every year I remind everyone about Le Tour. It is happening again. The original “better biking through chemistry” race. I still love it. Check out Le Tour on-line.

Note to Carlton: Serena beat Venus in the quarter finals at Wimbledon.

More colors:

I haven’t start my Senbazuru yet. Maybe I’ll make one before dinner. That would be one crane down and 999 to go.

Well, my last fireworks from the aerie were fogged out. The lack of any breeze made it even worse. BUT, how about the Smog Monster. Click on it. It needs to be enjoyed large.

About 10:30 this morning – my absolutely must do list was done. I jumped on the subway and ended up in Old Town Alexandria. I stopped in every furniture store on that Google suggested… I looked at chairs. My living room chairs are 50 years old. I am sure they will last as long as I will. But, I am going to get a new chair for the Old Bat Cave.

As happens in Alexandria – I ended up at the river. Hopped on the water taxi and went to Georgetown. Where Google guided me to additional furniture stores. Walked across the river (on the bridge!) and subwayed back home.

Also, picked up some origami paper – toying with the idea of making 1,000 cranes. It is a Japanese thing. If I start, I might like to finish by the 1 year anniversary of Carlton’s death. Just because. But, that means pumping out cranes at a pretty good clip. It might not be such a tranquility producing, zen experience. We’ll see. I did get a Senbazuru “kit”. The Old Bat Cave could use the good luck 1,000 cranes promises.

I took the new macro lens on today’s outing. 120mm is not a good walk around lens for me. Noting macro worthy showed up. But, I have some “water themed shots”.

The water taxi takes about 45 restful minutes.

The thing – I think it called Washington Harbor looks like the Lost City of Atlantis. I am not sure what the developer was thinking. Maybe he wasn’t thinking.

And, grownups were making good use of the Potomac. When I moved to DC years ago, one wouldn’t have gone into the water on purpose.

It was an altogether fine day.

As I was retiring to my bed chamber – suprise fireworks!. It was sort of rainy. My macro lens and body (camera) are supposed to be weather-proof. So, I went out and made pictures.

It is rainy right now – 1715. But, it is supposed to clean up by fireworks time.

What a difference a year makes. I wonder how I’ll be next July 4th. Nobody is promised tomorrow.

This was when Carlton asked me to take care of his sword, little steam engine and big bolt. And told me to pitch the rest. I don’t know who I would tell to take care of my stuff. Or what stuff I would want taken care of. Damn I am getting a little morbid.

 

The baldface hornet isn’t really a hornet. It is a yellow jacket. According to Clemson University:

Known for large nests and a defensive nature, baldfaced hornets are an impressive and often misunderstood members of the wasp family. Contrary to the name, the baldfaced hornet is not a hornet. It is actually one of the many types of yellowjackets found in the United States. The baldfaced hornet is often confused with a similar sized wasp, the European hornet, which is the only true hornet in North America. In nature, baldfaced hornets are extremely valuable because they kill many pests including flies, caterpillars, and spiders. It is only when their nests are located near areas of human activity that they pose a threat to people.

 

Hey, Carlton… This is really sad. I makes me wish were a believer. Then I could light a candle. I know you remember Ryan Levins. The kid from one of the flat square states who volunteered at Harpers Ferry with us. Last I heard he was Chief Ranger at Harpers Ferry. A couple of days ago, he was competing in a law enforcement/fire fighters bike race. There was a serious wreck. One guy died. Two are in grave condition at Fairfax. On TV they just said that Ryan was one of the two. You have been dead 9 months today. But, I am sadder about Ryan.

On a happier note… Your good buddy and one of the last to see you alive, Bob became a grandfather early this morning. It is a boy and everyone is doing fine. And since you have been away for 9 months – you most likely didn’t know that a grandbaby was coming.