Moving On

Helloooooooo!
Anybody Home?
Have I dropped from every one's feed?

Much has been happening in our lives and a large part of those "happenings" finds us moving across the pond. As in the UK. As in England. Though only temporary, we are looking forward to our adventure in our new home.

Precious Oldest was quick to point out that when other parents have a mid-life crisis they do something ordinary, like buy a sports car, so why in God's name do her parents have to move to a different country?

The answer to this, and other questions, can be found here on the blog a started mere days ago.

I hope to catch up with my old bloggy pals and see what you and your families are up to!

Cheers,
Fannie

You might remember

You might remember that my sister moved into my neighborhood last summer. It was a move with some trials and tribulations, but we have enjoyed living 1/2 a mile from each other.

You might also remember that my parents were looking for a house in our area. Well they found one. They are set to close June 5th. The house is 1/2 a mile from my sister. And a 1/4 mile from me.

Check out this handy illustration. What are the chances that a year from now we will all still be on speaking terms?

Gertrude

There’s a lot going on right now. Precious Youngest graduates from high school soon. Precious Oldest is coming up on finals in mid-May and then she’s leaving for Europe with a friend for a month. My parents are in final negotiations to buy a house a ¼ mile from me.

But I’m really thinking about Nana these days.

These are pictures from last Thanksgiving just days before she turned ninety three.



Here she is surrounded by most of her great-grand children.








I love this picture – note her eating cheese and crackers AND drinking a nice glass of red wine.








The last few years her eyesight has not been great and her hearing was very poor but her mind was sharp as ever. You did NOT want to take that woman on in Rummikube; she’d kick your ass.

On April 2nd my mother and I went to see the apartment where we planned to move Nana. We mentally arranged her furniture. We admired the view of the garden from the window. We put down a deposit. Her assisted living facility was going to be less than ten minutes away from our homes.

I know this timing is probably for the best. Less stress for all involved. I believe in the end she let go, she was ready to leave. But I have to tell you, it’s a little sad nonetheless.

Kittens and Such

Parents still moving
Dog still deaf
Children still planning to abandon me
Someday

Another favorite from Precious Oldest.



We share a weird sense of humor!

Where to begin.....

This past week has lasted about a month. Part of me wants to weep with exhaustion and the other part is so hopped up on adrenaline I may never be able to sleep.

I'd planned for a few weeks to take Thursday and Friday off to catch up, relax and do a few "pampery" kinds of things. I did manage some shopping, a manicure and going to lunch with a friend. It was the extraneous stuff that threw me for a loop.

• My parents came in for three days. They flew in Thursday afternoon. I went with my mother to look at the assisted living facility where, she's fairly sure, we will move my Nana. They spent Friday with their realtor touring THIRTEEN houses. I met up with them and Sib#2 late Friday night to review the pros and cons of each. I'll try to go look at their top two this week.



• Friday afternoon I drove to the airport to pick up a former co-worker of the Saint's. Frank flew in from New Jersey for a funeral and stayed with us as well. The funeral was for a man the Saint has worked with for over twenty years. He was fifty six years old. It was sudden and we are all still in shock.



• The visitation and funeral were Saturday. The service was lovely but very sad. I think it will be a long while before the idea of John being gone really sinks in.



• We went to a small lunch following the funeral and then Saint dropped me off to have my hair done for the fancy schmancy affair we were attending Saturday evening. Then he went off to organize the soda, water and pizza delivery for the post-prom party. Oh, because Precious Youngest's Prom was also last evening.


• When I got home from the salon yesterday afternoon there were six girls in my house getting their hair done for the dance. And a mother of one of the girls doing a few last minute alterations to her daughter's dress. In Precious Youngest's room. Mortified is an understatement.


• The boys started arriving about six o'clock to pick up the girls and we did all the usual pictures. The kids left for the dinner and dance and the Saint and I headed off to our fancy schmancy affair.


• We enjoyed the cocktail hour, caught up with a few people and had a decent dinner. After the entrée, and unfortunately for the Saint before the dessert, we hopped in a cab and sped to the hotel where the Prom was being held. Because Precious Youngest was up for Prom Queen and we didn't want to miss it. We tried to be inconspicuous but as the Saint was in a tux and I was in a ball gown we were not entirely successful.


• The five couples in the "Court" looked lovely. We've know most of them for many years and it was wonderful to see them so happy. Precious Youngest was not in fact crowned Queen, but she said it was an honor just to be nominated. (I think she learned that line from the Academy Awards.)


• We then hopped in another cab and sped back to the first event and danced until the orchestra called it a night.

Up, down, side to side. I'm going to bed EARLY tonight.

News

My parents, who live three hours away, sold their house.

The first day it was on the market.

For what they were asking.

They're looking for a NEW house.

In my zip code.

Should I laugh or cry?

The deed is done

OMG people, the eagle has landed. Well, in the sense that most of my sister's stuff is in the new house. Lessons learned:

If you put the washer and dryer on the moving truck FIRST, they will be the LAST things to come off the truck. (I carted what seemed like mountains of laundry from her house, to my house and back, but before I left last night my nieces' and nephew's beds were made up with clean sheets.)

When your carpet people tell you that delivery is C.O.D. it means they won't take a personal check. (I found out that my bank will do a cashiers check tout de suite for no charge whatsoever. )

If there's an asshole driving down the street, chances are pretty good they're driving a Mercedes Benz. (This particular asshole sat honking her horn over.and.over.and.over because she thought the moving truck was too far out in the street. The police informed her otherwise.)

The fact that your sister has the police on speed dial does not make her paranoid; it makes her WELL CONNECTED.

Mantra

For three days I have have been walking around mumbling the same thing under my breath over.and.over.and.over:

"I love my sister, I love my sister, I love my sister."

But right at this moment? I would GLADLY wring her neck.

Overheard

Talking to my sister on my way to her house last night:

Fannie: “Have you made any headway with the packing?”

Sib #2: “Oh, yeah. I think you could even wait until tomorrow to come over.”

Fannie: “Really? Are all the pictures off the walls?”

Sib #2: “Yes!”

Fannie: “Honestly?”

Sib #2: “YES!”

Fannie: “If I come over there, will I think the pictures are off the walls?”

Sib #2: …………………

Sib #2: “no”

Sib #2: “WAAAHHH! I hate moving!”

Fannie: “Oh for Pete's sake, I’m pulling into your driveway now!”

For the love of family

GAH! I just deleted a whole freaking post. Now I have to start over. Bah. People, I am TIRED. First we had the staying up late getting ready for the weekend, and then we had the staying up late to party on the weekend. It was very fun. My father teared up when he saw everyone there, and he loved the slide show.

In other stressful exciting news, my sister closes on the house on Friday and moves the same day. *The total estimate to fix everything was about $5,000 and the sellers agreed to pay the biggest chunk of it. And as the Saint points out; the bones of the house are great, it’s just the circulatory system that’s in the crapper. And that? Can be fixed.* I’m trying not to be my usual glass half empty self, but damn it I think it’s going to be a long week.

Now I love my sister with my whole heart and soul. But if you look up disorganized procrastinator on Wikipedia? You’ll see a picture of Sib #2. And yes, her life has been crazy stressful the past several years, but she’s always been this way.

Last summer my sister moved from her old house to a nearby duplex. (With movers I begged to do the job with one week’s notice because that’s all she gave me.) We went over to her old place a few days before the move to get everything finished up before the movers came.

My sister, who wasn’t working at the time, assured me she’d been packing EVERY DAY. Ahem. There were about six boxes packed. Pictures were still on the walls and books were still on the shelves. The refrigerator and freezer were full of food and the drawers were full to bursting. The saint had his tool box so he could unhook her washer and dryer. But there was a load of wash in each and plenty more waiting.

Now she’s working full time, so I expect things to be in even worse shape this go around. I’ll be going over after work all this week to try and spur things along. Unfortunately our last e-mail exchanges with me pushing to schedule workman, getting started on school registration and switching her utilities ended with her calling me “bossy”. More than once. Sigh....