Boxes Have Left The Building

Yep.

Boxes, like Elvis, have left the building.

And are STILL leaving.

And nothing makes me happier.

My newest hobby - getting rid of "stuff."

Right now there are boxes in the car waiting to go to the container site, to recycling, to the swap shop, and to our booth at the antique mall.  

Some of the boxes are from the storage building that we are STILL emptying.  (I think boxes in the storage building are actually breeding like bunnies.  For real).

Some of the boxes are from the house.  Doing some springtime deep cleaning this year includes a lot of "Out you go.  Out YOU go.  Oh, yes, you too.  YOU! Why are you still here?" 

There's a little of everything leaving.  Including books.  Lots and lots of books.  (Note of import  😏  While continuing  our huge purge I found an old, well worn, and very well loved copy of Helen Hooven Santmyer's novel ''. . . And Ladies of the Club'' which made her a celebrity at the age of 88. I loved this book, and have now put it aside in a small pile of books to be re-read. Small pile includes the entire Rex Stout Nero Wolfe series. "Small" is relative . . . )

Funny thing is though, looking around you'd never believe we have removed a few dozen boxes of stuff in the past few weeks.

Out of sight, out of mind never seemed so true.

I'd love to stay and chat, but there are boxes waiting to leave the building.

A little virtual primal scream . . .

 

Our stars are out of alignment.

Or we've pissed off some gods.

Or we got entirely too lackadaisical about how smoothly things were actually going for us as we stayed pretty sheltered in our little house in the mountains.

The refrigerator replacement (and all the spoiled food) was not a cheap fix.

And now the washing machine is expressing its unhappiness by flooding the first floor.  Donald has been consulting people, ordering parts, etc etc etc.  The final verdict is not yet in.

And if you're in need of serious dental care, Sweet Jesus it'll cost ya.  I don't know about elsewhere, but here in the NC mountains dental implants run about $4,000 per tooth.  (Another reason I haven't minded wearing a mask).  My implant appointment happens soon, then it will be Donald's turn.

An inexpensive, but very sweet piece of jewelry I ordered from Paris has been stuck in Chicago in Customs since April 19.  Filing a claim with the Post Office gained me a response of "it's stuck in Chicago in Customs."  They make it sound like Customs answers to no one.  If I never get what I ordered, it's Customs' fault, and oh well.  

I was finally so annoying on the phone with the US Postal Service today that the poor, very nice, but very frazzled woman trying to help me transferred to me International Postal Service.  

The guy who answered the phone seemed confused as to how I got there and after listening to my story he agreed I needed help.  

The on-line form for filing an International claim that the US Postal people kept insisting I needed to fill out can ONLY be filled out by the sender, not the recipient, and that wasn't happening.  Nice International Guy filled it out for me, even while we were having a wee bit of difficulty understanding one another.  It took us about 40 minutes of conversation to get the task done.  I now have a U. S. Postal Service Claim Case Number AND an International Postal Service Claim Case Number.  

And I've learned a lot about Customs.  First off - if you order something from another country, say your prayers, click your heels and cross your fingers that it does not have to go through Chicago Customs.  You can read hundreds of horror stories on-line.    

Fact is - I had ordered something from this same shop in Paris before this particular fiasco and it was here in less than two weeks.  It did not go through Chicago.

Customs can hold your mail/package for up to 45 days.  Why?  Good question.  They've been holding my piece for almost that many days.  Almost.

The International Postal guy said they would actually attempt to talk with someone in Customs for me.

What?!

Really?!

I love this man!!

He says if I don't receive my package, or hear something regarding my new International Claim within 15 days from today to call them back, but he did not have a direct number that would connect me to him.  Waaahhh.

If I don't hear back and have to call them again, I will.  But oh my LordAMercy, I do not want to.  

WHY can't people just do what they're supposed to do . . .  <sigh>

And the thing that has finally broken my heart is my much loved Kindle Fire is as dead as fried chicken.

I use my Kindle Fire more than I use my laptop, and I have come to prefer reading on it over reading print books.  (Don't judge me - to each her own, right?).

So.  New Kindle Fire on its way.

That my story, my whine(s) for the day.  

Virtual primal screaming isn't nearly as stress releasing as the real thing (which yes, I have already done), but writing out feelings is a pretty good release.  Writing AND screaming?  Wow.  Feels pretty darn good.  I recommend the combination.

And a glass of wine.

Finally! A haircut!

 

Staying home due to pandemic dangers and restrictions meant missing and cancelling appointments we took for granted pre-COVID.

Like hair appointments.

Today I went to see my amazing friend, Ellie Miller at Shear Shakti https://www.shearshakti.com and had her work her magic.

Lordy, but it's nice to be back to being me again.

I will kinda miss pulling my hair up on top of my head in a messy bun, but oh well . . .   All that long hair hanging around my face is just not me. 

Woman at Work

Thirty-five years ago

In a small chapel in Atlanta, in front of family and friends, I placed this ring on this hand 35 years ago today.  Don Barley and I have shared many a cup of coffee since that day.  Happy Anniversary, darlin'.

 

Seeking Sanctuary/Making Art

Sometimes life is just plain ol' sucky.

There seems to be a domino effect to the suckiness.

There's a whole long list of sucky stuff that's happened over the past couple of months, but it's just not worth whining about.  That's not to say I haven't done a LOT of loud whining aka as bitching and moaning about these things, but you know - it hasn't helped, so I'll keep those things out of Meanderings and Muses.

Except that it shouldn't have taken 2 months for Donald to get new glasses with his new prescription.

Except that he shouldn't have had to wait so long for his dentist to get back with him about a damaged tooth that he had to take a second round of antibiotics.  And except for how crazy expensive dental care is.  Especially for the two of us looking at implants - Yeeow.

Except that the folks at a locally owned business we've done business with (a LOT of business)  since we moved here in 1996 lied to him over the phone and caused some unnecessary work on Donald's part.  And then acted like jackasses about the fact that they lied.

Except for this refrigerator that's only about 7 years old that needs to be replaced.  This after Don has replaced several parts on his own over the past couple of days.  Thank goodness we ate those big ol' ribeyes that were in the freezer . . . 

Except for those stressful, unnecessary, and expensive things happening bang bang bang that I won't mention. <wink wink>

Thank goodness for the things we have in our lives that become a bit of a sanctuary for us.

Like a good book by a favorite author. 

A furry pal.

And a room I can call my own where I can go to play with my art supplies.

It ain't fancy, although it does have a chandelier . . . 

And it has a caretaker for when I'm not there.  Miss Matilda.

Miss Matilda is happy to have some company from time to time when Annabelle and I go out there seeking sanctuary.  Always a pleasure to see her.

And Annabelle is curious as a cat out there because it's a hideway for things that haven't quite made it to the antique mall yet.  

Neither of us knows what we might find out there.

Or if it might be turned into something we can call "art."

May 1st

This has been an enormously sad week for my little town of Boone, NC.

Police sent to a home in a quiet neighborhood for a wellness check ended with five people dead.

Two police officers, a mother, a father, a son who died by his own hand after a thirteen hour stand-off.

Donald and I did not personally know any of the people involved, but share in the pain felt by our community, all of whom have been deeply affected.

As it is in small towns we, of course, know people who are closer to this than we are.  We have read their stories, and we have shed tears.  Realizing how many people are affected and changed forever by these deaths is sobering and almost incomprehensible. 

Boone being Boone has stepped up as a community of support. 

There are many stories about what the community is doing to honor those we've lost.  

After hours of following the story as it unfolded, reading every update posted on-line by local news sources, the one story that seemed to have been that proverbial straw that broke the camel's back was the one I read last night and could not stop the tears.  I thought I was all cried out.  There is, apparently, a never ending font of tears in each of us along with that ever expanding heart full of love.

This from The Pet Place.  A local pet store.

Our hearts are with the families and friends of Sgt. Chris Ward, K-9 Deputy Logan Fox, George and Michelle Ligon.

Community Night of Remembrance Planned for May 10th.