CHUCK IN A BOX

Well, we’re not quite that picturesque (we’re MUCH better dressed – though my fondness for plaid is certainly up there with Grandpa Walton’s and there aren’t that many of us) but, there is a certain je ne sais quoi about our arrangement to have our son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter move in with us for a year.  We offered to let the kids move in to A) Be able to pay down some debt and get their credit cleaned up and B) Save some money during the year to hopefully have enough for a down payment on their first house.

We (Keith and I) weren’t really in a position to be able to stroke a check to make all their debt go away and, frankly, I don’t know if we would have done so if we were in a position to do it – sometimes life lessons have to be lived through in order to learn from them.  What we did have is a bit of extra room in the house so we were able to accommodate them moving in, it just took a bit of re-arranging things.

We turned the TV room into their bedroom (we brought the TV downstairs to the living room) and turned the spare bedroom into Audrey’s (the granddaughter) room.  It gave us an excuse to get rid of some of the furniture we were no longer fond of anyway hehehe.  So we’re a bit more ‘snug’ than we were with just the two of us and the dogs/cats but hey, we’re able to help them out and as an added bonus, we get to see the baby more – YAY!

I think the flip side is that everyone is having to make adjustments for the lifestyle they were previously accustomed to.  I guess everything is all about compromise and finding common ground and all that.

Oh what adventures I’m/we’re/you’re in store for oh vastness that is the internet!

I swear, yesterday we noticed that the house behind us is now for sale.  So – the house directly across the street; the one diagonally across from us; the house beside us (although I believe this has FINALLY been closed on – at the bargain basement price of $72, 500) and now the house behind us – all for sale.

It’s like those Verizon commercials with the creepy folks saying, “It’s a dead zone” *squinty eyes*

I’m not sure if it’s just folks not being able to afford their houses or if they are just leaving the ‘burg.  The folks across the street had maintained a condo in Richmond for many years and finally said they needed to have one household so they sold the Petersburg house.  The house next door to us has been vacant since the young lady that owned it got killed in a motorcycle accident in October 2007 and her parents figured they would just let the bank repo the house. (Kudos to us for maintaining two yards!)  Not sure what the story is with the folks diagonally across from us, they sort of keep to themselves and Cheryl (behind us) and her husband are an older couple – figure they just don’t need that much house (3100+ square feet) for just the two of them.

Sooooo I doubt it is us – no, really, we’re pretty cool neighbors.

…to hold me down.  To make me laugh, to make me frown – or to keep me tethered to a cable modem.  I previously had a little Belkin G wireless router to try to share the high speed goodness of Comcast throughout the rest of the house and to my laptop upstairs.  I would frequently have issues with the number of bars and was never able to take my laptop outside on really nice days – as of today (about 30 minutes ago actually) that has ALL CHANGED!

By now, if you are not living under a rock, everyone knows that Circuit City is going out of business (I bet Best Buy is LOVING IT!) and today we stopped in to see what they had on sale.  I had been checking out more powerful wireless routers – I’m kinda partial to Belkin – I guess because they’ve seemed so easy to work with so I had been looking at their N and N+ routers.  I was leaning toward the N+ because it has a USB port so that I could plug in my external hard drive and it has gigabit Ethernet ports.  Circuit City had the N+ on sale – regularly $119.00 with 20% off which ended up being about $95 – I’ll take the $25 thankyouverymuch!  Maybe I’ll give the G one to someone on the Petersburg Freecycle website….I already gave my parents an old Netgear router I had when I set up their network.  Hmmm maybe my aunt might need/want one – I’ll have to check.

This one seemed to take a bit longer to set up than the G originally did BUT after getting it all up and running, I took a tour of the yard with my laptop and was able to get a full 5 bars ANYWHERE in my house OR out in the yard.  This is gonna be so great in summer when I can sit out on the back deck or on the back patio and surf, game, or blog.  YAY TECHNOLOGY!!

I’m realizing (and have for some time actually) that this is more than just a line from an 80′s Culture Club song (God I miss the 80′s music, it just ‘seemed’ better to me back then).  It seems as I get older that there isn’t enough time for everything that I want/need to do.  I would like to think I’m pretty good at time management but after factoring in work, household duties, yard-work, etc. there just doesn’t seem to be that much time for a lot of other things.  There are books I want to read; friends and family to call/catch up with; visits to the gym; yard projects to start; interior renovations to begin/complete; and TONS of other things I would like to do but never seem to have the time for.

I think part of the problem is that I get ‘stingy’ with my ‘personal’ time.  Waking up at 4:30 in the morning to go to the gym then coming home and getting ready for work – working all day M-F and then getting home about 5 PM, I feel like 12 of my 24 hours are gone just like that *snap*.  Next, factor in 1-2 hours to unwind from work, eat, play with the dogs, pick up around the house plus 8 hours for sleep each night and I’m left with only about 2 hours per day….TWO HOURS?!?!  I refuse to be one of those people who live my life by a day-runner type pocket planner but MY GOD how else do working adults find the time to DO things they WANT to do after doing everything they HAVE to do?

Part of the ‘problem’ seems to be that – and my mother always told me this would happen – as I get older, time goes by faster and faster.  I swear, it seemed like it took FOREVER before I was able to drive (16); then FOREVER before I would graduate high school (18); FOREVER until I was legally able to drink (21) and now…I just can’t slow time down.  I totally understand what she meant now….of course then, I didn’t get it – kids never appreciate what their parents tell them until they get to ‘that’ age.  She also used to tell me that ‘Youth was wasted on the young because they don’t appreciate it.’  Again, I TOTALLY get that now mom!

LOL I remember my best friend, Ben, and I talking about how we would either kill ourselves or get married (to women) when we reached 40 – because older gays are pretty much ostracized in the gay community.  Now that I’m almost 40 (well about a week away) I cannot imagine doing EITHER of those things.  I, for the most part, really like my life and wouldn’t change a thing (except for moving from Woodland Heights – Richmond to Walnut Hill – Petersburg).  I do, quite frankly, worry that I won’t have enough time to accomplish everything that I want to do/see in my life before its over.  I have no doubt that the next 40 (or however many there will be) years will go significantly faster than the previous 40.  I guess the moral is that you have to make EVERY day, EVERY moment count.  UGGGG what is this I’m having some sort of mid-life realization/crisis thing???  Will it make me a better person?  Will I finally MAKE time for everything that I want to do.

I realize that after I retire (thank God I work for the State and have a nice deferred compensation plan, pension, and other benefits – I won’t be one of those retirees eating cat food LOL) I’ll have a lot more ‘free’ time for travel, gardening, reading, yada yada but, I want to make sure I can do some of that stuff – hiking up to Machu Picchu – while I’m virile enough to do it.  (Wow…like 40 makes me ancient and incapable of walking/hiking LOL….NOT).  Oddly though I know I’m aging, I still think and feel like a child most times – mom always said I suffered from PPS (Peter Pan Syndrome) – well I’m rambling now, guess I’ll go get more coffee, get Keith up, and be about the business of the day – God knows there is stuff to be done!

I suppose I SHOULD focus on the fact that we used 1, 127 LESS kWh of electricity this January billing compared to the same period last year but, I’m still a bit pissed that my electric bill was only about $28 less expensive.  I guess with the 18% increase that was approved last year for Dominion Power by the Virginia General Assembly I should be glad it was less at all but, I was expecting a bit more of a savings for using considerably less electricity.

So, it seems that some of our energy saving ideas and practices are actually working.  We’ve swapped out most everything to CFL bulbs; we’ve got our programmable thermostat set to 68 while we’re home and awake and goes down to about 62 when we’re not home or asleep; we’ve hooked up all our little energy vampires to surge protectors that can be turned off when we are not using them (at work or while asleep); we’re paying more attention to what we leave on when we aren’t in a room; we’ve put an insulating blanket on our hot water heater; and we’ve vented our dryer indoors to help offset heating costs (as well as adding some moisture to the air and some nice smells – YAY dryer sheets!)

Keith really wants to go ‘off the grid’ and have solar, wind, etc. but that isn’t too realistic living here in Petersburg.  Eh we can’t even get curbside recycling pickup (Colonial Heights, Chesterfield, Richmond, Henrico, Hanover, etc all have it) so I doubt the city would offer any assistance converting to alternative sources of energy.

Wow – I haven’t posted anything in a while (well….over a week but meh).

He Inspired So Much, In So Many

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and I think this particular MLK Jr. Day seems even more symbolic because tomorrow the first African American President of the United States of America is sworn into office.  Tomorrow history, for the United States, will be made.  I cannot pretend to imagine what African American citizens went through during the fight for their civil rights but, I wonder if people like MLK Jr. and Rosa Parks and others were called ‘Activists’ like outspoken LGBT citizens are today.  I wonder if there was a ‘Black Agenda’ like the supposed ‘Gay Agenda’ ? If only the LGBT community had such a leader – he inspired so much in so many – I am sure he would have been a very interesting person to know personally.

This is one of those days that I wish my paternal grandfather was still alive (though don’t let that get out, I have an image to maintain).  He was one of those old school racists who said, ‘black people don’t have the capacity to learn that white people have’ and even changed his (and my grandmother’s) will to state that I would be disinherited if I married outside my race.  I wish he was alive if for nothing more than to say, “See papa – you were WRONG!” and see the look on his face to know that an African American was THE most powerful man in the country – and possibly the world.

I enjoyed my MLK Jr. Day off very much – I woke at about 5 AM – because Keith (who DID have to work) WOULDN’T get up with the dogs.  I answered emails and worked on my newest pet project The Anatomy & Neurobiology Blog for my department at VCU; I paid some bills online; got my neice a birthday card (HAPPY 15th BIRTHDAY AMBER!) and some cash; visited with my parental units for a while; talked to my dad about closed radiator systems, ductless heating/cooling, and insulation; talked to my mom about wanted to help my cousin move back to Virginia; looked up various birds that were coming to our feeders and vegged watching LOGO and taking a nap – and enjoying a couple of bowls of Captain Crunch!

Yesterday Amber (my oldest niece) and Ashley (our daughter) went to meet Keith for lunch at Dalat Vietnamese restaurant in the West End.  Keith and Ashley had Pho, I had Grilled Pork and Broken Rice (only mine had cucumbers and pickled carrots, not tomatoes), and Amber – being new to Vietnamese cuisine stuck with a more familiar dish – Chicken with Orange Peel.  After we ate, we shuttled Keith back to work and went out for the day.

We initially went out to Short Pump to go to the mall out there but, after realizing that they’d both been there before, I opted to head to Carytown for the afternoon.  On the way back into Richmond, I had to stop at Whole Foods to pick up some EO Peppermint & Tea Tree hand soap – because IMHO – it is THE BEST! and smells sooooo good.  While we were there I was showing Amber around the place and telling them both that if it was closer to Petersburg, I would probably shop there a bit more often (honestly their prices are not THAT horrible on their store brand stuff).  So, we also each got a drink (Ashley and Amber got Pomegranate soda and I got a TAZO Pomegranate tea) and then we each got a miniature tart/cheesecake and then piled in the car for Carytown.

After getting to Carytown, we parked and walked down one side, stopping in various shops along the way until we got to the end of the strip.  We stopped in Mongrel and I bought a card for Jeffrey and some really neat candles for Amber(pomegranate and something – she’s really into pomegranate now) and Ashley (pineapple, ginger, and tangerine) that they liked.  Ashley picked up a really nice pashmina at Bygones and Amber almost got a pair of sunglasses…except they were scratched up – and of course that was the ONLY pair that they had.  She did end up deciding that for her Sweet 16 that she was going to get a tiara – which I agreed too =).

Carytown shopping area of Richmond

Towards Cary Court Shopping Center

We crossed the street to Ben & Jerry’s to start our way back up the strip where we each enjoyed a small ice cream cup of delicious, yummy ice cream!

Ashley at Ben & Jerry's

Amber at Ben & Jerry's

After finishing our ice cream we headed back to the car but I, of course being the overgrown child that I am, had to stop into World of Mirth to show them one of my favorite stores EVER!  This place has the BEST toys and a lot of other cool stuff for kids of all ages.  Amber and I were playing with the sunglasses and the hats – seems I’m not the only big kid after all LOL.

Amber trys on a tiny, tiny hat

Me in H-U-G-E shades bein' "cool"

We continued back up the street, I showed them where we took Alex (my oldest nephew) for lunch at Galaxy Diner and extolled the glories of the ‘fried pickle’ and that they also offer fried Oreos and Twinkies too.  I think the only other store we stopped into was actually Ten Thousand Villages, a really neat store that sells fair trade items from around the world.  I saw tons of stuff to buy in many of the stores but alas, just coming off of the Christmas season, fundage was a bit on the tight side though, I’m pretty sure they both had a good time.  Then we rode around the Fan a bit and I showed them the various apartments I lived in – Floyd Ave., Lombardy St. & Park Ave., and Monument Ave. before we hit the road back to the Southside.

It was nice to be able to get Amber out and show her around ‘The City’ and I think both she and Ashley had a nice time.  I really don’t get to spend as much time as I like with the nephew and niece monsters and I HAVE to get better about that.  All in all though, I think we had a pretty damned good day!

Side note – I did get a bit annoyed when I uploaded the photos from the past few days only to realize that the date was $%#@& up on my camera so, even though these show 12/23/08, it was actually 12/29/08.

Busy Busy Busy – my family is coming for dinner at 5 o’clock; we have to pick up Ashley, Keith’s daughter, from the train station in Richmond around 8:30 and tomorrow Nicky, Ian, Audrey and Nicky’s family are coming over for dinner - so we’re doing our mad dash house cleaning and such. FUN!  I’ve also picked up a wicked cold somehow *casts glance at the twins* so I’m all plugged up =( 

This morning I recanted last nights adventures with my cousin Allen and my aunt Joey to Keith.  We had a really good time – my only regret was it didn’t seem long enough and most of the catching up was done in the car riding around but….was fun none-the-less.  We went to Stony Point - to see the snow show and such and so Allen could use his gift cards only to find out the mall does the snow promptly at 7 PM and then, for only 15 minutes – CURSES!  It was fun to see the little kids ice skating in the mall – man, if I tried that, I would be flat on my butt!  We walked through the stores and talked and caught up – it’s amazing the things that Allen remembers.  Things I couldn’t recall if I had tried but, as soon as he mentioned them it was like *light bulb* OH YEAH!  I remember that!!  We rode around downtown and I showed him our first house on W. 28th Street; we went by the James Center to look at the lights; and rode down Monument Ave. to check out all the huge houses and their lavish and very festive displays.

8:44 PM continued -

Well, my folks and sisters and nieces and nephews have gone.  We all had dinner and exchanged presents, I think everyone was happy with what they got.  Dad got me a circular saw – w00t! – now I (or Keith) can work on the wainscoting and crown molding for the bathroom and various other projects.

Ashley called and her train my not be into Richmond until around 11:30 or so….wow….3 hours late – nothing like a slow boat instead of an Amtrak eh?

It’s warmer than I would have liked so I guess that means we get no snow =(

I remember Christmas Eve used to be the night we would go to Grandma Mary’s house for dinner and presents and then go home.  I swear, I tried to stay up late to see if our pets could actually talk….somewhere I remember someone telling me that animals were given the gift of speech at midnight on Christmas Eve – something about the Baby Jesus or something I think.  I have YET to hear anything from ANY of my animals…..dammit!

Well, time to go, A Christmas Story is on so we’re switching between that and a James Bond movie!

MERRY CHRISTMAS and HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

YAY!  It’s my favorite time of year again.  Time to get the Christmas ‘woo’* put up again so that we can enjoy it for a few weeks before its time to take it down again.  I really cannot relate to people who put their decorations up on Christmas Eve….it just seems so….well….wrong!  Yesterday morning when I got up with the dogs – as is my lot in life because Keith does not budge at 5 AM – I fixed coffee and stuff and then began bringing totes from the basement up and attic down.

We – Keith – actually put the wreaths and stuff up outside yesterday because we heard that it was supposed to be rainy the rest of the weekend *looks outside….nope…no rain*.  

Some of the outdoor greenery

Yeah I'm workin' the Bowdabra

I'm a sucker for flags.

I put most of my nutcrackers up yesterday too.  Speaking of nutcrackers – I am MOST distressed that Bombay Co. closed, every year since we’ve been together, Keith has gotten me my annual Bombay Nutcracker.  This year, when I visited my uncle in Halifax, I was happy, nay ECSTATIC to find a Bombay Company in a mall in Canada.  I even made sure to get a nutcracker for 2008 TAKE THAT *thumbs nose* Bombay…you shall not thwart my tradition!

Nutcrackers on mantle

Nutcrackers on buffet

Now...all together!

Today we’ve been working on getting the trees put up.  We do a big on in the living room and then, I have a skinny Nutcracker/Toy Soldier (surprise, surprise – right?) tree that goes in the dining room.  Right now we’ve got one of the Mannheim Steamroller CDs going and he’s working on the big tree…..see:

Keith working on LRoom Tree

Fast Forward a bit to......

Okay, okay I guess I should really get off the computer and go help – after all, it is my favorite season and I’m sure I’ll hear about it later if I don’t.  LOL.  Off to trim the tanenbaum(s)!!

* – ‘woo’ is a word we got from Keith’s daughter Ashley that basically means ‘stuff’.  There could be Halloween ‘woo’, Easter ‘woo’, Christmas ‘woo’, Birthday Party ‘woo’ – hmmmm seems mostly used as a replacement for decorations….

Well for the second time this summer, we’ve tried to kill off everything beside the sidewalk and grow something.  The damn grass just keeps creeping into whatever you put there….sneaky grass!  The first time after it was killed, tilled, and prepped I planted 96 salvia plants – which I’ve learned might have done okay if I hadn’t gotten so impatient and decided ‘These things aren’t doing anything and they look like crap.  KILL ‘EM KEITH, JUST KILL ‘EM ALL!’  *insert maniacal laughter here* 

So, he kills everything – salvia, the bits of grass that had AGAIN began to creep into the flowers, and quite possibly any other living thing that happened to be in the general vicinity of the spray.  A couple of weeks go by to make sure that everything is ‘good and DEAD’ (did I mention how much I HATE that grass!) and we even put in some – not super attractive albeit functional edging to …. you guessed it…. stop the grass.  I also decided to empty the composter and till that in with the cultivator to try to enrich the soil a bit – I’m sure that can’t hurt can it?

Cut to this past weekend  which is very hot and humid … come on! It IS Virginia after all (remember we’re slightly South o’ hell) so I have to pick this particular weekend to finally put something in.  I decide to try my luck at Knockout roses again – the first few I tried didn’t do so hot so we’ll see.  Maybe this go around they’ll do better.  They were quite nice I think, I ended up at Homo Depot (yes, I meant to do that)  and left with 6 of them.  I was a bit worried six wouldn’t be enough but, by the time I spaced them out…it looked okay.

A few more photos for posterity sake -