11th hour change

Never before has “Ben Franklin” been so used and abused. Day after day of “pros and cons” – pros on the left and cons on the right – stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight!

It wasn’t about whether to stay or move; it was about the when of it all. So much has been accomplished; however, the minutiae of things unrelated to the house and its sale were being neglected. The realtor (a long time friend as well) asked some very incisive questions on her last visit and so we drug ol’ Ben out of the closet and abused him some more. Finally, over a huge meal at the Mongolian Grill (Ben’s favorite), we came to a decision. We each chose a position and had to argue that position (without becoming attached to that position, I might add). Mine was the sell immediately position and hers was the wait until spring position. We both found ourselves arguing the wait until spring position and once that was realized the choice was absurdly clear.

The plus side is we get to enjoy the fruits of our labor for another 8 months. The down side is the market timing risk we are taking. The realtor thinks we’ve made the wisest decision. Affirmation is a good thing!

So September will be all about finishing the projects started, albeit with a little less pressure. October will be a month of me back east doing “family” obligations and a visit to Austin, TX at the end. Perhaps a surgery for a hernia in November and recuperative time during the holidaze – just to liven things up a bit you know. The remaining months a road trip will finally be realized and some definitive answers as to the “where” of the move. There is a plethora of other items that will fall into play during those months of “purchased” time, but I’ve listed the major points.

Meanwhile it’s off to San Francisco for a few days of R&R near the end of September – well deserved I might add! Then it’s off to Washington DC in October for round one of family and some welcome visits with a friend there.

Sort of changes the Great Blog-a-tour, but it's just changes – not eliminations.

"Hot and spicy sauce, please – oh, some peanuts and sesame seeds too …"

Our friends are the family we choose

It’s early Saturday, 1:56 AM to be exact and I hear her softly snoring on Taylor’s bed next to my chair. I’m tempted to stoke the back of her head and neck and feel her arch beneath my touch, but I refrain so she will sleep. She’s peaceful now and that is a blessing. My mind wanders and weaves down the many thousands of meals I’ve fixed her since she was weaned, always the one who cried, no, demanded her food the loudest, but she also purred the loudest and was the one who slept on my head – I think sometimes it was the purrs that kept me sane some days. Most of her life TC slept on the bed, starting out at the foot but I always woke with her snuggled somewhere in my hair. She hasn’t been upstairs in the bedroom since last October, but has chosen Taylor’s bed instead. I miss her presence, although I understand her need to consolidate her world. TC is nearly blind from cataracts and she no longer hears; however, she senses your presence in a room and since Taylor is the largest warm object nearest the floor it is his warmth she seeks these days.

TC…Too Cute…Top Cat…Terrible Cat…The Cat…she went by them all and many others…oh! and Traveling Cat when she and I flew from Atlanta to Seattle. I spent the entire flight bent over in the seat with my hand in the soft carrier so she would be quiet.

I believe in the responsibility we assume when we bring an animal into our lives and I also believe in the friendship that we share with these forgiving creatures. We have two families: our birth family and then there is the family we choose, our friends, and I think our animals are part of that family. They ask for so little and give back so much. They read us and know us, sometimes better than we do ourselves. We are responsible for their well being and their quality of life.

She has awakened and is circling her way to the water bowl, Taylor’s bowl that she adopted. She’ll find it and her litter box afterwards, although it may take her a few minutes. She has been stellar in her hygiene and up until recently has kept up with her water, food and litter box despite the dishevelment of her space as the result of the remodel – remarkable in her ability to cope with an ever changing landscape. It has become very challenging for her lately though.

I was there when she was born 17 years ago and welcomed her to the family, knowing we were keeping them all – she is the last of the litter. I will be with her this morning when she leaves this plane. It is a decision that we knew was eminent as she has been declining rapidly in the last few weeks - responsibility for quality of life, a hard responsibility sometimes.

She’s pawing at my leg to pick her up. She is a good kitty. I think I’ll sleep down here tonight.

Like ships passing in the dusk!

I see you and you see me but the distance is too far to talk. That’s how it is for me these days. I can wave, manage a smile, but that’s about it. Soon I hope to return to the sphere in the manner in which I had become accustomed. Till then know that the heart is there but the hands are busy elsewhere.

My help has returned home and I am grateful for every nail, screw, saw cut and idea that he brought to the table. He was inspirational and willing (and very capable) to tackle anything that needed doing. We’ve been friends for 37 years and although we hadn’t seen each other in nearly a decade it was easy to fall into the same rhythm and patterns that we experienced before. He is one of the few people that I can work side by side with and be comfortable saying nothing yet reading each other’s need as they arise. There just aren’t that many friends like that I’ve come to understand. Interestingly enough is that we stand on opposite shores when it comes to religion and politics, but long ago we decided to not let it enter into the conversation and all is well. We are both stubborn and firmly rooted in our convictions and it’s neither worth the time nor the energy to try and sway the other. Yet, in a time of need we have and will be there for each other. That seems the nature of true friendship. I feel very fortunate in that respect.

The house is coming along and despite moments of blinding panic I think it is mostly on track. I’m waiting until things are complete before I post anymore pics of the various projects. It will happen soon though. I will say that I am very pleased with how things are looking and I am anxious to finish.

Meanwhile I’m sharing a couple if pics from the Space Needle – my friend’s only request while visiting. A nice ending to a grueling 10 days!

Post tomorrow - I promise!

I'm tired, worn out and drained - BUT - SO MUCH IS GETTING DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!


There is light at the end of the tunnel! *weak grin*

I miss the sphere - pout

So much has been happening over the last couple of days and I’m finding myself torn between wanting to write and visit everyone and needing to sleep. As you can see from the time I’m posting this sleep lost. Actually I’m simply keyed up from the activity and perhaps sleep will come soon.

It is amazing how fresh eyes and a fresh attitude can change the course of things. My long time friend has brought some new life to the projects and we are VERY grateful for his assistance as things had become somewhat overwhelming. He arrived from North Carolina Saturday afternoon and so far we’ve plowed through a new dormer roof, new molding in the “padded room”, pressure washing the entire deck and a myriad of other little minor jobs that are too numerous to count. Tomorrow is the replacement of the insulated ceiling that also catches the water from the deck and is an integral part of the greenhouse that starts underneath the deck and is attached to the house. The list seems endless but things are moving to the “done” column with regularity now. So now the open house by the weekend after Labor Day is very much possible.

I MISS VISITING WITH YOU ALL – just needed saying! Perhaps I can visit more regularly when things settle a bit. Meanwhile I’ll catch a few of you each day.

Things are just...

...a little busy (and crazy) right now! Hope to post again Sunday night! Meanwhile, SEND COMPLETION JUJU!

Hope you all have a happy, fun weekend!!!!!

That's MR. Bufflefluffy TYVM!!!

Here's a couple of shots of His Buffleness right after his trip to the groomer.

Whatdaya think? Happy pooch?

HAPPY HUMP DAY!

Have you ever...

Have you ever been to a place in a project where suddenly EVERYTHING goes critical? Like right before you are about to start doing the things that will button it all up and yet a mistake in any one of them could be disastrous? It is a phenomenon that I’ve seen happen with projects at work, with papers and with projects at home. Surely there is a name for this phenomenon. That is exactly where I am with the kitchen right now. It is a bit nerve wracking, since the budget is tight, time is at a premium and multiple projects are reaching completion at the same time – Labor Day is just around the corner. Fortunately I do have reinforcements coming in Saturday and that will move some of the bigger jobs along. He is an old friend from back east and is flying in for 10 days to help out.

It is amazing how wrecked a house can get when there are multiple projects going on. Hopefully by this weekend the main floor will be put back together with the completion of the kitchen and the bath.

what happens when you tear up the kitchen and the bath at the same time!!!

On a lighter note: The Buffledog has his 1st professional grooming yesterday and was such a good boy! Seriously, they were very impressed with his manners and behavior!

think he might have needed grooming????

HAPPY TUESDAY EVERYONE!

Hey dad!

...are you through yet????

HAPPY WEEKEND ALL!

The softest whoosh

The rock was still warm from the morning sun and I absently allowed my hand to hover over the worn sandstone; the radiated heat worming its way between my fingers. There was a warm breeze climbing out of the canyon, rich in the scent of the baking earth and sparse, but pungent vegetation. The morning was spent, rolling past noon, yet the haze was barely there as I peered into the mile deep ditch – this mountain in relief. The wonder was unending and the want to absorb it all unquenchable as I gathered the unlimited variances of ocher, red, blue, gray and green for future dreams. The heat was mixing with the smell of the pinion pine at the canyon rim and I was lulled into a different consciousness altogether, rising and falling with the thermals.


There was a young couple playing their music, offering the notes to the spirits of the canyon – she on her guitar and he on his flute. Soft and melodic, barely audible, but the spirits heard. I watched a cloud form and disappear in minutes knowing that soon a rain would come that, though visible in its decent, would never reach the ground – falling with all of its might in a futile path for earth, only to be reclaimed by the parched air. I sat on the rim of the world, eons of erosion seeking purchase on my retinas, swinging my feet freely a mile above the Colorado River, feeling peaceful in my minutiae relative to this geographical vastness.

I lay back on the rim rock, searching the sky for…what? Dreams perhaps? Deliverance? I listened hard to the silence of the day, realizing that the music had stopped. The quick rustle of some small creature through the straw, in escape or pursuit, fast and furious and then gone. I closed my eyes to the silence and softly and almost imperceptibly came a powerful, yet gentle noise. Whoosh … whoosh … whoosh - rhythmic, powerful and purposeful it came. Stronger, yet barely louder, as my ears had no choice to but listen. I turned my head toward the edge of the rock as the raven passed just beneath the edge. It is a sound that I will likely never forget, one that inhabits my dreams when things are in turmoil.

Last night I woke to the softest whoosh...