Thursday, June 28, 2007

Moving Checklist

Well the packers showed up today - and the realtor had to let them in to pack. I think everything is now packed and will be picked up in the morning. Then it will be here sometime between the 3rd and 12th. It's about a 10-hour drive in a car - so double for a truck - 3 days is perfectly reasonable - why give them up to 9 days???

My daughter and her family will be here Saturday night. My SO(DH) arrives tomorrow night and my son and his family will drive down on Sunday. This is going to be fun - at least I'll be sure to have fun. Haven't seen DD and her crew since Thanksgiving. DS and family live about 1 1/2 hours away so we can visit back and forth as mutual schedules allow.

As for the SO/DH comment - well we've been living separately for 37 months now - but spend a lot of time together too. Kind of a very mixed up and complicated story - even for the participants - but it involved mental illness on my part - depression and anxiety disorders as well as other things.

We (the doctors and myself) have discovered I've spent most of my life with depression problems - and discovered the reasons as well. So now, thanks to modern medications, I'm doing very well. This blog is part of my healing process as are the other changes I've made. I feel pretty good about this - and yet I still have problems at times. One of the things I have to watch is that I may have a tendency to pull into my hidey hole (home) and stay there - not taking myself out to make friends and see new things.

Now I've hung my laundry (dirty and clean) out - I will force myself to not retreat to my shelter as much.

Thank you for allowing me to do this.

Saturday, June 23, 2007

The Countdown begins

Well, it's started - the countdown to closing on the condo. I've set up for the electric to be in my name and purchased a frig and dishwasher - the dishwasher there does have some problems. My address has been changed with the postal service. The movers are coordinated with someone to be at the old address - and insurance is in place.
Now both my kids and their families will be down here for vacation at that time too. Oh I'm looking forward to that soooooo much. Hearing about the changes and events in their lives is great - but seeing them is so much better. My DSIL is exploring the internet looking for things to see in the area. His idea of area is a bit more expanded than mine - but that's ok too. That's a difference between someone from a smaller state and someone from a larger state. He's traveled a lot but sometimes doesn't realize that the middle of a state may be a long drive from here. It will be an opportunity to visit some places I've not been before too. That's a good thing.

One of my goals on this new adventure is to explore new things and stretch my comfort zone. I've become a creature of habit and I don't think all those habits are good. That's why the condo will be good for me - I have to climb a flight of steps just to get to my front door. After that, my bedroom will be upstairs so that's another flight of stairs. Down stairs for laundry kitchen, dining and living rooms. Up stairs are three bedrooms and bath. There is also a bedroom downstairs but that will be storage of someone else's things until they can be moved to a more permanent location.

I'll post a few more phot0s I took at the TN Aquarium. I'll start with another jellyfish.
And some frogs. They also had an exhibit with tree frogs, stuck to the glass and everywhere - I'll get a photo of that sometime - there were too many people around it for a clear shot.
These were some rays - and the color patterns are really neat. The beige one is marbled and the other two have yellow spots on their black skin. You should be able to click on these and get a bigger view.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Settling In - Almost

Well, I'm here and learning my way about - slowly but surely. I am buying a place to live and dreaming up decorating schemes for the spaces I will have. I'm still looking for a job but new opportunities happen almost daily. I'm not yet at the point of flipping burgers yet - but just because the job won't pay what I need to live. However, if push comes to shove, flip them I will. Meanwhile a trip to the TN Aquarium was taken and I fell in love - it is just wonderful to travel through slowly, to savor each level, each exhibit, each resident.

Sea Dragons, a type of sea horse that look more like plant materials drifting with the water movement.






















I do love seahorses.

The jelly fish in the invertebrate display could cause one to be hypnotized by their floating within cylinders of changing colors.











The river display was even more entrancing because of the details. Just harder for me to take a good photograph. Even more fascinating is the lighting. Tubes of neon on the ceiling create ribbons of color and below you is a pool of water with a host of vibrant turtle paintings on the floor.

A ribbon of water outside invites people to wiggle their toes in the water and feel cooler in the heat we've been having. All of this reflects the Tennessee River flowing just outside the aquarium buildings.

This day's travelogue is now completed. I'll do more later, I'm sure.

Meanwhile knitting goes along slowly on the Bridal Shawl. I believe I have 9 more repeats before I start picking up stitches for the first of the borders. After I move in and find where some things are, I can pin this out a bit and get a better photo of the progress.

Meanwhile I'll go back to my making plans for the changes to the residence. It has been owned by a young man and two of his friends (both male I think) so the colors are darker and more masculine than I would like. I don't dislike the colors, I just prefer lighter and brighter.