It's the Friday before the long Memorial Day weekend...another weekend of work, to be sure, but for some reason I'm not dreading it as I've dreaded the past few. Could it be because the sun is out and the sky is blue? Probably.
Last weekend the boys (and one girl!) came home for a work weekend - so much outside work was done and it all was greatly appreciated! Scraping, painting, moving furniture...the house is going to look so beautiful by the time we get that For Sale sign out front, I'm not going to want to sell it!
I've spent weeks going through possessions - where did it all come from!!!??? Goodwill is benefiting greatly from this house sale because I don't want to have a garage sale. Tim's Mary is so funny - she's very good about saying "NO" when i say "hey, do you want this?" As i was going through yet ANOTHER cupboard, i laughed and said "keep that skill of saying NO, sweetie and you won't end up like me!!"
I've got tons of stuff from when i was little, from my Mom, from Dan's Mom, from Dan's GRANDMOTHER! I'm trying to be brutal about what I keep, but I'm noticing that my pile of boxes is much bigger than Dan's. I think he's being more brutal than I. Of course, he hasn't started going through the garage yet, so mebbe that's when his pile will grow.
Photography class was good this past Wednesday - only 1 session left. I'll take the next class in the series (Fundamentals 2) in the fall - the next few months will be busy enough for me...lots of decisions and such. The homework involved taking photos that indicated MOTION in different ways. When the boys were little, finding MOTION was easier - they were ALWAYS in motion. :) I included my metronome movement shot in my picaday on fb - 30 second exposure time with the camera on a tripod.
The last 2 classes have been downtown Indy, near the Indiana War Memorial building. Sitting there Wednesday, a very angry brown man walked by yelling "kill the white folks, kill the white folks!" He looked at the group of us, 10 white women, 1 man of India heritage, and yelled it some more - "Kill the White Folks! Kill the white Folks! It's gonna have to be done someday so KIll THEM ALL NOW!"
Huh. He really didn't look like he wanted to kill US? it was more like he wanted us to AGREE with him! I wanted to say "Hey, do you not see that we are white? and what have i done to you lately? Personally Sir? I'm going through enough without having to worry about you wanting to kill me! so Knock it Off!"
But I said nothing. And he strode off, yelling as he went. Obviously he had a bad day and was taking no responsibility for it.
Anyway - This weekend? We need to finish rearranging furniture, scrub the basement, and finish setting up for viewing by possible buyers. Plus, some Sam Time for me in Terre Haute.
Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
Friday, May 28, 2010
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
rhubarb crumble
May 18 - I vowed to post something, anything! , here everyday...so today a simple recipe. It's springtime after all, and people can find lovely rhubarb here and there.
I first tasted rhubarb pie when i was a kid, and I have to admit, I thought it was hideous. But a few years ago, the fruit/veggie stand in Belleville had a lovely pile of rhubarb, and I thought, huh. let's give it another go!
Here's a recipe for Rhubarb Crumble
Butter an 9 x 12 size glass baking pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes
Mix together and then plop into the buttered baking dish
8 cups of cleaned, diced rhubarb
5 tblsp orange juice (i've made it without and it's just as good)
2 cups white sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tblsp melted butter
Make Topping and plop it on top of the rhubarb mixture
3/4 melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups oats
That's all there is to it...and I have to say, it's very yum!
I first tasted rhubarb pie when i was a kid, and I have to admit, I thought it was hideous. But a few years ago, the fruit/veggie stand in Belleville had a lovely pile of rhubarb, and I thought, huh. let's give it another go!
Here's a recipe for Rhubarb Crumble
Butter an 9 x 12 size glass baking pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 40 minutes
Mix together and then plop into the buttered baking dish
8 cups of cleaned, diced rhubarb
5 tblsp orange juice (i've made it without and it's just as good)
2 cups white sugar
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3 tblsp melted butter
Make Topping and plop it on top of the rhubarb mixture
3/4 melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
2 cups oats
That's all there is to it...and I have to say, it's very yum!
Monday, May 17, 2010
New Beginnings! May 17, 2010
I've got to get into the habit of using this more often...
I signed up for a digital photography fundamentals class - had the first one last Wednesday. I felt VERY cosmopolitan! Got to the coffee shop an hour early - went in and had an iced coffee and a raspberry/hazelnut bar (my stuff is better and the last bite had a gray hair sticking out of it...no, not mine and yes, I found it before it was in my mouth and no, I didn't complain) and read Nuvo. :)
The instructor went over camera settings and the 6 ways to compose a shot - and gave us homework...to take pictures to illustrate those 6 ways...in a BATHROOM. Not good. my bathroom is generally a mess - I've done the initial work (using Tim and Mary's bathroom) but if i have the time, I'll try more shots.
Speaking of Tim's bathroom...they moved into their new house this past weekend! My Timmy has a house to go along with the wife! and weirdest of all? He bought a WASHING MACHINE! The rest I find easy to deal with - the fact that he bought a washer? hard to wrap my head around the concept that Tim bought a WASHER.
They moved from their little apt (with lots of front steps) to a really nice house (with lots of front steps.) Yes, I ache all over. I kind of wish I had one of those step counters so I could actually know how many steps I took on Saturday. I'm sure it was up in the hundreds of thousands.
One of Tim's best friends is Mike D. Mike is one of the sweetest people ever, and he helped with the move - He made me smile with his constant good humor and funny ways. Evidently he has this idea for a sitcom...a gay guy living with his Grandfather. Well, knowing of my future divorce - he changed the idea to a gay guy living with the newly divorced Mom of his best friend! How funny! He's always called me Mrs. Franklin...I told him this weekend it's time he called me Kathy. Future possible roommates shouldn't be so formal.
Sunday I worked all day on packing and readying OUR house to be put on the market. This will be an ongoing chore for me until it actually sells. We hired a friend to paint upstairs with creamy colors and white trim - covering the grays, blues and DILL PICKLE GREEN the boys festooned their living space with. Chris the painter did a great job and it's simply beautiful upstairs -
I stayed home today from work to finish cleaning upstairs - the bathroom, all the floors, the paneling, the fans, on and on and on. I am determined that at least ONE weekend this spring I can enjoy myself instead of spending the entire time cleaning!
anyway - what else - all sorts of ideas are running around in my head as to my future. Do I stay with my current job? Do i rent an apt? buy a small house? What do i do with Charlie, the Cat? Do i look for a job up in Lafayette so I can be by the boys and their girls? So much is up in the air I get a little overwhelmed sometimes. I'm thinking i should just focus on the house right now but it would be nice to move only once.
I wish Dan and I were in this together - it would be so much easier to put my home of 18 years up for sale if when we left here, we left together. But I just don't think that's going to happen. Most of the time I'm ok with it - i'm trying to look at this divorce as a new adventure in my life rather than as a dreaded event. But I never thought I'd be going on alone - family and friends have been supportive, and the boys have been great - but I know in the end, at night? I'm going to be on my own. And it's a scary thing.
I signed up for a digital photography fundamentals class - had the first one last Wednesday. I felt VERY cosmopolitan! Got to the coffee shop an hour early - went in and had an iced coffee and a raspberry/hazelnut bar (my stuff is better and the last bite had a gray hair sticking out of it...no, not mine and yes, I found it before it was in my mouth and no, I didn't complain) and read Nuvo. :)
The instructor went over camera settings and the 6 ways to compose a shot - and gave us homework...to take pictures to illustrate those 6 ways...in a BATHROOM. Not good. my bathroom is generally a mess - I've done the initial work (using Tim and Mary's bathroom) but if i have the time, I'll try more shots.
Speaking of Tim's bathroom...they moved into their new house this past weekend! My Timmy has a house to go along with the wife! and weirdest of all? He bought a WASHING MACHINE! The rest I find easy to deal with - the fact that he bought a washer? hard to wrap my head around the concept that Tim bought a WASHER.
They moved from their little apt (with lots of front steps) to a really nice house (with lots of front steps.) Yes, I ache all over. I kind of wish I had one of those step counters so I could actually know how many steps I took on Saturday. I'm sure it was up in the hundreds of thousands.
One of Tim's best friends is Mike D. Mike is one of the sweetest people ever, and he helped with the move - He made me smile with his constant good humor and funny ways. Evidently he has this idea for a sitcom...a gay guy living with his Grandfather. Well, knowing of my future divorce - he changed the idea to a gay guy living with the newly divorced Mom of his best friend! How funny! He's always called me Mrs. Franklin...I told him this weekend it's time he called me Kathy. Future possible roommates shouldn't be so formal.
Sunday I worked all day on packing and readying OUR house to be put on the market. This will be an ongoing chore for me until it actually sells. We hired a friend to paint upstairs with creamy colors and white trim - covering the grays, blues and DILL PICKLE GREEN the boys festooned their living space with. Chris the painter did a great job and it's simply beautiful upstairs -
I stayed home today from work to finish cleaning upstairs - the bathroom, all the floors, the paneling, the fans, on and on and on. I am determined that at least ONE weekend this spring I can enjoy myself instead of spending the entire time cleaning!
anyway - what else - all sorts of ideas are running around in my head as to my future. Do I stay with my current job? Do i rent an apt? buy a small house? What do i do with Charlie, the Cat? Do i look for a job up in Lafayette so I can be by the boys and their girls? So much is up in the air I get a little overwhelmed sometimes. I'm thinking i should just focus on the house right now but it would be nice to move only once.
I wish Dan and I were in this together - it would be so much easier to put my home of 18 years up for sale if when we left here, we left together. But I just don't think that's going to happen. Most of the time I'm ok with it - i'm trying to look at this divorce as a new adventure in my life rather than as a dreaded event. But I never thought I'd be going on alone - family and friends have been supportive, and the boys have been great - but I know in the end, at night? I'm going to be on my own. And it's a scary thing.
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