Squeeeeeeeee! DAD SAID YES!

With some trepidation, tonight I asked my dad if I could have his grandmother's map of Ohio.  It's the map she used when she taught in a one-room schoolhouse and had a teaching certificate just like Laura Ingalls Wilder's!  Dad reminded me that what look like roads on the map are in fact inter-urban railways, I said that was one of the reasons I wanted it.

The map needs a bit of repair, as the handle had almost come off the bottom when Mom and Dad put it up, and it might need some restoration, but since I started work at the courthouse, I know people who know people.

I am going to hang that gorgeous 1897 map of Ohio with all its counties, cities and railways in my beautifully re-painted living room where I can see it every single day.

...and a day without Mom

Today is Mom's birthday, and I would not ask her to spend it moving stuff and cleaning with me.  So I have done my best to stay motivated without her.

So far, I have:

Changed the sheets and made the bed.

Watered the houseplants.

Done half the laundry.

Finished emptying the bookshelves in the living room.

Filled a box for Goodwill.

Shoveled and salted the walk from the driveway to the breezeway.

Refilled both birdfeeders.

Dusted the mantel, the two built in bookshelves and two of the standalone bookshelves.

Washed much of the glassware and divvied it up between what I am keeping and what is going to Goodwill.

What I still have to do:

Finish the laundry.

Move the television and DVD player to the car.

Clean out the back seat so I can take Lil Miss Piggie Pie to day boarding tomorrow.

Dust the last two standalone bookshelves.

Vacuum the living room.

Shove the furniture I can move into the center of the living room.

Paint my nails.

What will probably not get done tonight:

Clean the bathroom.

Hey, I am less discouraged when I look at my list! :-)

A day with Mom

This morning, I hunched over a computer and ran back and forth to Mom's office so we could balance a final guardian's account.  Then I came home, ate a quick lunch and took a quick nap, and then Mom came over and we started packing up the living room.

After 4+ hours of labor, the books are packed and the boxes stacked in the kitchen; the curtains are down and headed home with Mom for washing; one recliner, two boxes and one bag are on their way to Goodwill; one-fourth of the glassware is washed and boxed; and tomorrow I need to finish washing and boxing the glass and vacuuming.  Mom's energy levels continue to both amaze and depress me, but mostly I'm just grateful to have her.

It is a very good thing that I bought some Epsom salts this morning, because I needed them in the bath I just took.  Now for some ibuprofen and an early bedtime!

My new couch is here!

And my new kitchen clock is here too, but I have to figure out where to put it, so it's resting on the sofa at the moment.  Input from folks who have been here is welcome. 

Tall folk will always be welcome at Casa de Jammies,

but they will need to be careful, too.  The new kitchen light is so low that I can just walk underneath it.

It's huge and too expensive and I love it. :-)

The power of words

I overheard a discussion this morning which made me so angry I could have screamed.  Two guys were talking and one of them was explaining to the other that his "woman" was ugly, fat and "old" but she had money and she was so grateful to have him that she paid for everything.

At that point, my day was already a Monday--we got a lot of snow last night and the roads were only semi-cleared, I had a headache ibuprofen wasn't helping, a co-worker putting on her martyr suit and close to 300 approvals and publications to do plus my usual work.  I really really wanted to take a minute to tell this jerk he was no prize himself and if he was lucky, the woman in question would kick him to the curb while he was still young enough to change, but I refrained.

The rest of my day was similar, but it was saved in the last ten minutes.  An attorney I like and admire came in, and while we were talking, he asked if I parked at Morley Health Center.  When I said yes, he said "Then you know it's such a mess that someone posted a sign saying Welcome to Lake Morley."  I said, "Oh my gosh, that was ME!" and the attorney laughed his big, infectious laugh and we talked about it for a bit.  I was excited at the time when other people contributed to the sign, but to find out that someone remembered it nine months later was such a rush that my day really ended on a high note.

I love making people laugh, and I love being appreciated. :-)