![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Still Running in Place as Fast as I Can
Jan. 25th, 2016 11:21 amNew Year's Eve we actually considered going to visit some friends across the valley (in the afternoon), but other things we really had to do left us with not enough energy. We didn't even go to Elmer's for their NYE party (which ends at 9pm so we can all go home and be comfy, lol). Nope, just watched a movie and took it easy.
Saw Hunger Games, enjoyed it. Yes, we've seen Star Wars: A Force Awakens. Twice. No, it isn't the best movie ever made, and yes, the heroic journey is not a new story. But they told it fairly well and we liked it. I paid more attention to the fight sequences the second time around after reading a few people's complaints, and I think it was all reasonable, if you're really paying attention to _everything_ that's happened. Of course, you also have to realize that in the end, nobody actually won.
Twenty-one years together for L and I; hopefully more down the road, if we take care of ourselves.
Financial paperwork for my mom's estate is ongoing -- my brother Kent is really doing a great job. Fortunately cleaning her place was the hardest part of putting her place up for sale, so I'm glad L and I could help with that...after he finished get the rest of the stuff out we didn't have time for, he got in a professional cleaning crew, who did a great job washing surfaces, rug-cleaning, etc. The place got offers the week it went on the market. Things should go all right from here, but there still needs to be final inspection, etc.
Trying to figure out the best use for the funds I'm getting from her various savings. I'll put some into the mortgage -- won't change things much in the immediate future, but will reduce the amount of interest that can accrue as I think I'll cut a few years off the end of the mortgage. I might put more into it later, but we have some things to do with renovations, etc. first.
I've started small, with a couple of flatpack cabinets for the upstairs bathroom, to replace the plastic shelving. I'm trying to enclose some stuff so I can reduce cleaning time. I'm terrible about cleaning, so if I can make the time I do spend on it go further, it's all good. We were already planning on built-in cabinetry in the dining room, but of course it's nice to have a cushion for all of this -- and plans haven't changed for how we're going to do that, either. On the other hand, when I buy new faucets and shower head for the upstairs bathroom, we'll get a professional to put them in -- one of our nephews does plumbing, so it'll be nice to send some of those dollars his way.
We took my mom's bedroom furniture for L's side of the room, so now he has working drawers and we should be able to fit all his clothing into them. I was really tired of fighting with the old drawers, which didn't have guides.
Fitting in the other bits of furniture has been a challenge, but slowly figuring things out. Getting rid of things too, of course. The old dresser is in the barn still, but I think it's going into his mother's church's summer sale or something...really, between the new stuff and the planned construction projects, it's like moving into the house all over again.
The greenhouse project should be happening this year, as well as the solar panels (yay for gov't incentives and stuff, as well as for three small hilltowns banding together to get the best contractor prices). In retrospect, it's a good thing these two projects didn't happen last year, even though it means the dining room is currently full of plants and stuff. If they'd gone forward last fall, L might have had to stay in MA instead of joining me in CA, and he was instrumental in getting some things done there.
Yes, emotional stuff is happening. I don't write about it much because thinking about things enough to put it into words for other people is hard. The fact that my mother and I had a complicated relationship doesn't help. I am glad that I went out in October, the month before she died; it was the best visit we'd ever had. Just about perfect, for both of us.
More to say, but this is already pretty long.
Saw Hunger Games, enjoyed it. Yes, we've seen Star Wars: A Force Awakens. Twice. No, it isn't the best movie ever made, and yes, the heroic journey is not a new story. But they told it fairly well and we liked it. I paid more attention to the fight sequences the second time around after reading a few people's complaints, and I think it was all reasonable, if you're really paying attention to _everything_ that's happened. Of course, you also have to realize that in the end, nobody actually won.
Twenty-one years together for L and I; hopefully more down the road, if we take care of ourselves.
Financial paperwork for my mom's estate is ongoing -- my brother Kent is really doing a great job. Fortunately cleaning her place was the hardest part of putting her place up for sale, so I'm glad L and I could help with that...after he finished get the rest of the stuff out we didn't have time for, he got in a professional cleaning crew, who did a great job washing surfaces, rug-cleaning, etc. The place got offers the week it went on the market. Things should go all right from here, but there still needs to be final inspection, etc.
Trying to figure out the best use for the funds I'm getting from her various savings. I'll put some into the mortgage -- won't change things much in the immediate future, but will reduce the amount of interest that can accrue as I think I'll cut a few years off the end of the mortgage. I might put more into it later, but we have some things to do with renovations, etc. first.
I've started small, with a couple of flatpack cabinets for the upstairs bathroom, to replace the plastic shelving. I'm trying to enclose some stuff so I can reduce cleaning time. I'm terrible about cleaning, so if I can make the time I do spend on it go further, it's all good. We were already planning on built-in cabinetry in the dining room, but of course it's nice to have a cushion for all of this -- and plans haven't changed for how we're going to do that, either. On the other hand, when I buy new faucets and shower head for the upstairs bathroom, we'll get a professional to put them in -- one of our nephews does plumbing, so it'll be nice to send some of those dollars his way.
We took my mom's bedroom furniture for L's side of the room, so now he has working drawers and we should be able to fit all his clothing into them. I was really tired of fighting with the old drawers, which didn't have guides.
Fitting in the other bits of furniture has been a challenge, but slowly figuring things out. Getting rid of things too, of course. The old dresser is in the barn still, but I think it's going into his mother's church's summer sale or something...really, between the new stuff and the planned construction projects, it's like moving into the house all over again.
The greenhouse project should be happening this year, as well as the solar panels (yay for gov't incentives and stuff, as well as for three small hilltowns banding together to get the best contractor prices). In retrospect, it's a good thing these two projects didn't happen last year, even though it means the dining room is currently full of plants and stuff. If they'd gone forward last fall, L might have had to stay in MA instead of joining me in CA, and he was instrumental in getting some things done there.
Yes, emotional stuff is happening. I don't write about it much because thinking about things enough to put it into words for other people is hard. The fact that my mother and I had a complicated relationship doesn't help. I am glad that I went out in October, the month before she died; it was the best visit we'd ever had. Just about perfect, for both of us.
More to say, but this is already pretty long.
