Got a house for my birthday

I awoke to a sliver of sunny daylight peaking through the curtains. It was worth getting up for. I ate breakfast and worked through the new e-mail. There was a replay of an interview with Dr. John Gray. I always enjoy his work. In fact, I took notes on the computer as I listened to it. But I did not quite finish when I had to get ready for the walk-through. By that time, the sun was shining on the porch and I stood out there for a few minutes soaking it up. When Chris drove up, we got the library materials that were due today and dropped them off. Then we used the GPS to drive over to the house on Garth Road. Turns out it is a straight shot out gate 8, about 4 miles. I hope Chris will have an easy drive to work from there. We arrived before the real estate agent, so we walked around the yard, looking at plantings, and outdoor outlets, and the deck. When she arrived, she took us in the front door. We noticed a thin film of white dust over the floors. And someone had walked through it barefoot. We went through the house, noting any damage or non-functional items. Not everything needs to be fixed, but we just don't want to be charged with it later. She told us that 2 burners of the stove top needed fixing. Hello, if they already knew that, why hasn't it been fixed? There were electrical 'things' imbedded in the ceilings of the bathrooms that would not turn on. Looked like heaters, could be fans, who knows? We also checked out the basement. I have never seen so many outlets in my life. Gonna be great when all my machines are here. I hope they are not all on the same circuit however. She gave us a key, and Chris wrote her a check for December rent. She promised that we would be called whenever anyone came to work on the house. Then Chris took me back to the apartment and he went to work. I finished the John Gray audio, and then sat outside reading in the sun. Then I took a break to work on the quilt squares. I got a call from the company that is in charge of delivering our goods stored in Fayetteville. They wanted the address and said it would be shipped anytime between Dec 1st through Dec. 8th. Then I arranged and rearranged squares to make another TATW. I had to cut more squares, and then set out four rows, pinning the squares in sets for sewing. That is when Chris came home. He had a couple of suggestions from coworkers about places to eat out. We reviewed their menus and prices online. Then I picked two places from the phone book. They were fairly close together. We drove out to Jordan Road, must have missed the first one, so we stopped at the second: Sitar, Indian cuisine. It was a very nice place and not crowded. We ordered the combination meal for two suggested by the waiter. It might have been a mistake to order the spicy version, but at least it kept me from over-eating. I broke down and ate some of the garlic nan to cool my mouth. We brought back three boxes of food. After that, we watched a Netflix movie titled "A Blast from the Past". Chris had chosen it and it was very enjoyable and funny. We rounded out the hour with Myth-busters, and then turned to TBS for 2 episodes of Big Bang Theory. It was a great way to spend a birthday. Last year I went to the SIWA bazaar with MaryAnn and this was even better. We got to cuddle on the couch (sorry, MaryAnn). But now he has gone to bed, and so must I.

Chris returns

When I awoke, it was raining, again. Later in the day it turned to snow. When it stopped, it was still cloudy, so the sun never came out. At first I was upset because it rained on my birthday, but then I caught sight of the date on my computer and realized that my birthday isn't until tomorrow. So there is still a chance of sun.
I spent the morning reading old e-mail and tapping through the scripts. I sat on the couch bundled up in my favorite flannel quilt because I was so cold. Later the internet went down, so I pulled a quilt top from the box. It measures about 42 inches across so I thought I might add a column or two. But in the manilla envelop (also in the bottom of the box) there was extra fabric and a note explaining that the design is to have a 4 inch yellow border. The envelop was full of squares, some the same colors, and some in different colors. I counted each color to see if it would make another quilt top like this one. But I had to cut more squares. I never got to the sewing part because daylight ran out. Then I watched some quilt-related videos and started a scarf from the two Dollar Store yarn balls. Finally I took a hot shower to warm up. I wasn't hungry at supper time, so I kept crocheting. Chris came back from his trip a little after 6. At 7 he turned on Big Bang Theory. We watched 6 episodes as the scarf grew. Although I like this chenille-type yarn, it sure is hard to work with. But it is long enough for me to wear tomorrow in case it is cold. The real estate agent wants to do a walk-through at 11:30am. Who-hoo, we are getting closer to living in a house with overhead lighting and more than one bathroom.

Chris is gone

I got up when Chris left for work. There was not a great deal of daylight because it was another rainy day. I fixed and ate breakfast. I read my e-mail. I exchanged e-mails with Deb, who seems to be in charge of the quilt group here. She was planning to run errands around town and I asked if I could join her. So we met at Jo-anns. She had just finished returning an item, so I left my car and rode with her. We went to Kohls, Big Lots, and Dollar Tree. She drove by Hancocks so I could see where it was. We had lunch Jason's Deli which serves a selection of organic foods. We had quite a time chatting about our interests. She makes crocheted doll patterns and sells them. She dropped me off at Jo-anns by my car. I went inside to buy a crochet hook. While there, I browsed the bolts, fingered the fat quarters, and rifled through the remnants. But I resisted buying any fabric. From Jo-anns, I walked to Earth Fare for some raw organic cheese. Then I drove home in the rain. When I got back to the apartment, Chris was already there. He had gotten off early and packed his suitcase and was on his laptop. There was a large box of fabric nearby. Someone in the new guild had brought it to post so I would have something to work on: donation quilts. God must want me to have fabric. There was also an issue of the Seoul magazine that had the article about me. It was from Geri at the thrift shop. And along with it was a small gift from Ella (who PCS'd before I did, so I am a little confused). Chris picked up all his stuff and left for some place south of here. Wish I could remember. All I know is he has to be there first thing in the morning so he went today. And he plans to return tomorrow for my birthday. I used the remaining daylight to examine the box of fabric. I realized that I should have gotten higher wattage light bulbs while I was out shopping. With all the small pieces, it would have been perfect when I was looking for charm squares. There was also several bags of batting, and two quilt tops. One is a grandmother's flower garden that looks like it was pieced by hand. The other is a trip around the world quilt. Because there is a bag of matching squares in the box, I assume it is not finished. I could add to it, but the seam allowances are so big that I don't know if I can match them well enough. When it got dark, I fixed a salad for supper. I listened to a delta BWE twice. Then I watched TV. I also put in an order for supplements with Swansons. I know there are supplements in UB, but since I don't have access, I had to order more. It got late, so I finished up the order, and posted to my blog. I meant to be in bed quite some time ago.

Lazy Sunday

After I last posted, all we did was read e-mail. It was a rainy day and I was waiting for the rain to stop, but what happened was darkness fell. It came as a great surprise. I hadn't realized it was so late. We took a shower (to conserve water) and dressed to go to the store. Chris looked up the address for Kroger because that is where we got raw organic cheese. He typed it into the GPS. When we got to the store, they had everything on our list except the cheese. I had to get another kind. It wasn't the same Kroger that we went to last time. Oh well. We picked up a rotisserie chicken for supper. I made a salad with spinach and sprouts. After supper, I watched TV while listening to some audio files. We stumbled on a CSI marathon and got hooked. It is way past our bedtime, but the Gibbs goes on.

Saturday and part of Sunday

Saturday we were awakened by daylight coming in the basement window. I could hear the shower upstairs running. When that sound stopped, we went up to shower together. No details. Then I fixed my breakfast. Alfred went out to buy me a jar of kimchi, not knowing that Chris got one yesterday. I don't mind, it doesn't go bad. Although, how would I know if it did? Anyway, we left about 9am eastern time. I could smell the kimchi all the way. We stopped at a rest area. I could have put a sign in the window, "This car protected by kimchi". If the idea didn't stop them, the smell would. Around lunchtime I was wishing for a fork, then discovered the pair of chopsticks I always carry with me. But we stopped at Wendy's for lunch and Chris picked up two forks there. I wished we had gone to the Cracker Barrel nearby. Their salads are better. We got back on the road. We were making good time, but there was an accident or two near Knoxville. The back up was horrendous. Chris accessed the DOT website with his Blackberry. It said all westbound lanes were closed since 11am and would probably last until 5pm. So we took the alternate route suggested by the GPS. Well, it was backed up too, but we did eventually get through, only losing about 2.5 hours. When we got 'home', the entire building was dark and our door cards didn't work. Chris went to lodging to re-magnetize the cards. I stayed back with the stuff we had unloaded. When he got back, we carried everything in. It was a lovely evening at 75 degrees. I was going to post to my blog, but the internet was messed up. So we unpacked and watched a bit of TV before going to bed. We awoke to the sound of heavy rain. After cuddling, we went back to sleep. Then got up for breakfast, even though it is almost lunchtime. Chris called someone in charge of internet service and they told him to connect to a different router, so now we are 'on-line' again and all is right with the world.
* Since I posted a pic of William, I had to post one of his sister Olivia. Isn't she cute? *

Black Friday

Because Cecily had gone Christmas shopping earlier in the week, she did not go today, and so consequently neither did we. It was a laid back day of reading and e-mail. I spent the morning talking to Becca and Cecily. James tried to get my laptop online, and discovered that it was rejecting the passwork without even reading it. Probably because it thought the router password was too short. When it was time for lunch, I fixed breakfast. I spent the afternoon reading e-mail, first on Chris' computer and then on mine after he got it online. I took pics of William playing his violin. He has great bowing technique. When I could no longer sit reading e-mail, I went into the kitchen to talk to Cecily and Becca who were making supper. On the menu: prime rib, Yorkshire pudding, cauliflower, salad, stir-fried veggies and twice-baked potatoes. Cecily took out the prime rib, and put in the Yorkshire puddings and potatoes. She called in Alfred to carve the meat. He discovered that it was all rare inside by carving the sides off of both roasts. So those pieces were left on the plate and Cecily put the roast back in the oven, removed the pudding and potatoes. Becca and I were salivating over the juicy rare slices of meat. When Cecily promised to look the other way, I ate two of them. When the roast was done, she put the potatoes and pudding back in the oven to finish cooking. Chris did the stir-fry. Then we sat down to eat. It was all delicious. I had seconds on all the vegetables except the potatoes. Again, the conversation was fun, mostly family anecdotes and computers. Yesterday we had discussed history, military life, TV, movies, Michele ( a favorite topic), kids in general, school, shopping, travel, books, etc. The kids left the table early to play. When their bedtime neared, they wrote in their journals, and climbed into bed with Magic Treehouse books. Everyone but Chris and I turned in for the night. James and Becca and the kids are leaving in the morning, as are we. Their trip back to New York will be shorter than our trip back to Huntsville. I am in a hurry to get back because we need to buy a fridge, washer, and dryer, all of which are on sale right now.

Thanksgiving

This morning I got up earlier and was in the kitchen before my mom started her breakfast. So as I fixed my meal, I gave her some of the nuts and berries that I normally eat. After breakfast I took a bath and then sat with my mother. Since my dad was using the laptop, I was quilting. I gave the quilt to my mom to work on for a bit. She did manage to do some stitching. But when she gave it back, she had smears of blood on her index finger. She had pricked it, but not badly. There was a little blood on the quilt, but I was able to get it out. I also did a little reading. I missed Dad cutting up the apples. He had progressed to the sandwiches when I noticed and juiced the veggies. Still, I gave Mom her glass, finished my own, and had almost completed the cleaning up when he was ready for lunch. After lunch, I took Mom to the bathroom and she wanted to change her clothes in order to go to Thanksgiving dinner with my in-laws. So I helped her do that. I packed my suitcase and yardsale items for Chris to store in the car. I vaccuumed the livingroom, den and hallway. I was waiting for my dad to be ready to go, but then it became obvious that we needed to leave with out them. Kurt arrived about 3pm. Chris and I drove over to his parents house. Faye was already there, and William had just arrived. He told us that he'd gotten a call from Kurt, and they were on the way. We went inside to greet James, Becca and their two kids William and Olivia. Their son was practicing his violin. Then my parents arrived, and Kevin came after that. Cecily had supper well in hand with Faye's help. Olivia had put placecards on the table, seating herself between Chris and me. Her mother said that she had been looking forward to sitting beside me all week. I don't know what the attraction is. The meal was marvelous, and I ate a little bit of everything except the rolls. I ate a lot of turkey. After supper, Cecily served two kinds of pie with whipped cream: pecan and pumpkin. I did not partake. However, the conversation was good and I enjoyed myself every bit as much as those who ate dessert. When everyone had finished, Kevin went home and so did Kurt, Mom and Dad. That was too bad 'cause Michele skyped us from Korea. It was Friday morning for her. We talked with her for over an hour. Her roommate was there and spoke a little. Michele was wearing her coat and hat and scarf because it was 45 degrees in her apartment. She had just turned the heat on and was waiting for it to warm up. She told us that one of my friends in Korea had invited her over for supper later that day. I was so glad to hear that. After an hour, Cecily went to bed, turning off her computer system. Well, that shut down the router and we lost connection with Michele. But Chris turned it back on and we talked some more. I told Michele that I was looking forward to seeing her PS2 again and playing DDR, but it won't be the same without her. Then she had to go eat and get ready for school. We talked around the table for awhile, then Faye and William went outside to their vehicles. But somehow we got to talking out there, too. But it was cold! Apparently I was the only one who thought so. Eventually we went back in for a bit, and then Faye and William went home. It is now after midnight and I am looking forward to going to bed. However, there is still conversation going on in the kitchen, and I love to hear them talk - when they aren't talking about gaming, their conversations are very informative and entertaining.