I'm Back But I Don't Know Where I Am

After a lengthy absence, I'm back on blogspot. We're all moved in to our new little home, a 2 bedroom apartment that would accept Kitty. She's not too happy about being an indoor cat, but I she'll adapt. I've been leaving the windows open so that she can sniff the out of doors and so I can blow out the apartment/carpet cleaning/not your home smell. The biggest insult to her though are the renegade, rule breaking tabbies that come around and stare at her through the doors and windows. I wonder if they'll get busted.

I woke up a couple of mornings ago and had that awful, "don't know where I am" feeling. Now I'm used to this when trying to find the Target or a grocery store in a new town, sometimes years after I've moved there. But to wake up in your rented bed and have no idea at what longitude or lattitude you happen to be spinning, is very disconcerting.

We packed light for this stage of the game. One Jeep load, one car load, and at the last minute, Darling Husband went and rented a tiny trailer so I could bring a few of my bigger plants.

This is what we have with us:

4 plates
4 place settings of silver ware
2 coffee mugs
4 cereal bowls
2 sauce pans
mixing bowl
meausuring cup
knife
big spoon
small baking pan
4 dishtowels
salt and pepper shakers
flask
6bath towels
2 beach towels
set of sheets
2 blankets
bath mats
our pillows
4 suitcases of clothes and shoes
travel alarms
bathroom stuff
boom box/10 CDs
tiny TV
computer
2 folding tables
office chair
2 TV trays
emergency gear/backpacks
yoga mat
remote control airplane
shredder
3 wastebaskets
Kitty paraphenalia

That's it. And it all fit in the vehicles.

We gave away our worn out bed and sofa when we moved. We didn't want to have to move a bunch of stuff from the apartment when we found a house, so we rented a basic apt. furniture pkg.; bed, sofa, chair, dresser, "dinette", coffee table, 2 end tables, 2 lamps.

This way, the movers will bring all our things from storage when we buy a house and we can dismantle the apartment as easily and quickly as it got set up. The rental furniture is surprisingly nice and not expensive at all. The apartment and the furniture is half of what we were paying for our So. Cal. digs.

So we're down to basics and amazingly comfortable. When I think of all the stuff I've given away in the last 5 years, it boggles the mind. Just what is it in that 8,000 pounds of stuff I have in a Southern California warehouse that's so darn important? Of course I have to mention the washer and dryer that came with the apartment. It's not like we're roughing it.

A few years ago, I read an article about a mother and daughter in current day Vietnam. They worked 16 hours a day of hard labor in order to buy food and to rent a back room that got no light in an old apartment building. They had no water or toilet. Their bed was a concrete shelf that they took turns sleeping on just to get up off the floor. No pillow, no mattress.

That image has haunted me; to have no comfort in your world, even a simple pillow, at the end of a grueling day.

My list seems long and rich.

Sixty Days

Sunday we went to Fresno. Today I drove the four hours home to get ready for the walk thru. We close the house sale on Friday, 32 days after we listed it. We have an apartment in Fresno. All utilities on. They will accept the cat. Less than sixty days ago I was in Costa Rica.

Since I returned, I've also had the Grand Girl and her grandgirls for a visit, gone to Yellowstone for a week, and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned this house, keeping it perfect every damn minute.

That's all I have to say about this. It's been a long day and the packers are coming Friday. I have a lot to do tomorrow, too. I hope Fresno is nice and quiet for awhile, starting Sunday, when we will officially live there.

Now For Something Compeletly Different

We're in the lull between getting the house ready to sell and the packing process, so my mind turns back again to my new favorite subject: learning Spanish.

Someone suggested that I go back and fix up my blog entries from Costa Rica, now that I'm home and have a keyboard that not only is in English, but has a space bar and a shift button.

But I can't bring myself to toy with the mixed up essence of those entries. Mabye later, but right now they still seem like little pieces of the magic.

So I listen to Spanish radio, watch the Spanish soaps, which are quite entertaining, and translate every sign I see. I have also become a blatant eavesdropper.

The other day I stopped at the mini mart to get a cold drink and a car wash. There was a sign above the soda fountain dispenser in English and in Spanish. Big, bold font. This is what it said:

" No Free Refills".

That was the English.

Now for the Spanish.

"Por Favor, Tienen Pagar Cada Vez Llenan Su Vasa Con Refresco."

After I had translated this, I laughed. Now if you are a Spanish speaker, don't hold me to exactness, but it said,

"Please, You have to pay each time your fill your glass with soft drink. "

This is why I love Spanish and it's such a challenge to learn. Three abrupt words inEnglish, an eloquent request in Spanish. Complete with "please". I know that the English version could have been worded differently, but it wasn't. Same for the Spanish. But I think this was a good example of the different mindsets of the languages.

The English only has one verb conjugation for "you". It might mean one person; "hey you!", or it might mean five people standing there. "Hey you people!".

But in Spanish, there are two different conjugations; one for one person, one for many people.

Not only that, there is the formal "you", what you would say to a guy hooking your car up to a tow truck, or the president of your company, and the informal, personal "you". "You are so wonderful my darling sweetheart", or "you are a good cook, mom."

I think this is a great idea. It makes it all harder to learn, but once you know the road rules, there seems to be a bigger variety of language choices.

I really want to learn to speak in this melliferous manner. It seems so, well, musical. And it would be a good antidote to my tendency to just want to get to the point. !!!!! Now!!!

I know what you're thinking, if you know me. That that's just what we all need; more ways for Karen to talk! And talk. But it won't be so bad. Maybe it will cut down on what I say in English, and you guys can get a break.

When I was in Costa Rica, I had to speak slowly and simply. Some days, I would just give up talking from the sheer exhaustion of trying to get it all right. So I was pretty low key.

So please, don't anybody warn the Spanish speaking world what's in store for them when I get this thing down. They don't need to know, yet.

Sub Atomic Particles and Record Setting Cleaning

They can talk about how many pebbles are on the beach, fish in the sea, stars in the sky or grains of sand in the hour glass, but I say there are more little specks of unidentified stuff that ruin perfection than any of the above.

I spent the last week polishing the house to a high gloss in order to keep my first see, first offer record intact. I have sold the last three houses to the first person that looked at it, and I wanted to keep my record going. Considering the market here, I didn't think I had a chance. There are tons of open houses every weekend, with more thrown in during the week. Prices are remaining steady, instead of increasing every five minutes like they were when we bought, and interest rates have been rising. So, a buyer's market and I'm the seller.

But still, I was going to give it my very best shot, mostly because I wanted to sell this place and get on down the road.

So I scrubbed the sinks and counters until they were operating room clean. I polished all the faucets until they gleamed. Had the carpets cleaned. Recaulked the tubs. Dusted the ceiling fans. Mowed and trimmed the yard. Cleaned the fountain.
Did every single piece of laundry, ironed and emptied the washer, dryer, laundry room. Took down all light fixture globes and cleaned them.
Emptied the guest room closet, the hall closet and half of the master closet. Made my closet look like a magazine picture with all the hangers matching and lined up the same way, purses at attention on the shelf. Took every personal item off the bathroom counters. Bought some new towels and folded them into oragami like perfection.
Took all the appliances off the kitchen counter and replaced them with a big bowl of oranges. Bought 50.00 worth of flowers and made arrangements all over the house.
Washed the windows, inside and out.
CLEANED THE INDSIDE OF THE DISHWASHER FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! Did you know it can get dirty? There's more, but I'm getting re-exhausted remembering it all.

And the more I polished, the more specks of matter appeared everywhere. Pieces of lint clinging to the ceiling fan blades. Pollen from the flowers drifting down in a circle around the vases. Pieces of unidentified greenery on the kitchen counter. Dust magically arising from the surface of a just shined mirror.

No wonder no one can committ a crime without leaving trace evidence behind. No matter how hard you try, these little specks of stuff cannot be eliminated. They turn up everywhere. The more you strive for perfection, the more they multiply.

This was on the micro side of the ledger. On the macro plane, there was another whole range of offenses. Shoes and more shoes left laying around the house. Cat paw prints on a bedspread that had just been made to quarter bouncing tautness. A blizzard of pine needles from the neighboring trees blanketing a freshly mown and raked yard. Bath tubs that must be cleaned after every use. Wiliting flowers that must be replaced. Perfection is a tyranical master.

Don't even think about trying to live in a house and keep it at this level of antiseptic all the time. Husband asked me the other day if we still had a toaster. Of course we do! It's just put away where the sight of it won't offend the model home concept. And for the love of pete, don't get any crumbs anywhere!!!

Thank goodness, to my sheer delight and wonderment, the first person who looked at the place made an offer! If the universe sees fit, we close at the end of the month.

Now go and eat all the toast you want, darling. My record's intact.