My very gracious and generous friend, Annie, has been letting me stay with her and her kids ever since I returned to GR at the beginning of August. I've been in and out, of course, but her home has been my home while I've been here. Annie bought a house (she'd been renting) a few weeks ago, and much of how I've been occupying my time has been helping her get moved. That activity continues. Part of my commitment to this has to do with the fact that Annie has been storing a lot of my stuff. I moved some of it to Ithaca, particularly things that I might want if/when I settle there. Annie still has several boxes and bins that she'll keep in her garage for me, as well as the two middle seats from my van. And the rest either goes with me or to Goodwill.
Tomorrow, I'll start actually loading stuff into the van to see how it all fits. I've bought some new plastic bins, and I'm going to label and pack carefully so that I can get to everything I need easily. Remy has been spending time in his "kennel," which is actually the bike cart without the wheels. He seems quite comfortable with it. He likes having a "time out" place to go when things get too stressful. (Don't we all!) I believe this adjustment will make it possible for us to spend many more happy years together.
I hope, if I can't fit it in the van, that Annie will be able to store and/or use the beautiful metal cabinet I inherited from my folks. The only other piece of furniture is an IKEA chair and matching stool. If I can take these things with me, I will, as it looks as though I'll be living in an unfurnished place.
Rick has left Tennessee and driven to Bay St. Louis, MS, in order to actually find something, put a deposit down and get a commitment from a landlord. It's possible to look at places on the Internet, but he was having a hard time getting a commitment from anyone. If we get the place we've been looking at, we won't be able to get in till mid-November. In that case, I will make another drive to LA to spend my birthday with Alice and probably stay through Halloween. If, on the other hand, Rick finds something else that we can get into more quickly, I will leave here and drive down to join him.
One of the places he called about had only a six-month lease, which seems like a good idea at this point, since we don't know if we'll like Mississippi or even each other after six months. Plus, I'll be spending some time up north next summer, in any case.
Stay tuned to see what actually happens.
Below is a collection of photos from recent weeks that I haven't shared with you yet. Captions will fill you in.
Tomorrow, I'll start actually loading stuff into the van to see how it all fits. I've bought some new plastic bins, and I'm going to label and pack carefully so that I can get to everything I need easily. Remy has been spending time in his "kennel," which is actually the bike cart without the wheels. He seems quite comfortable with it. He likes having a "time out" place to go when things get too stressful. (Don't we all!) I believe this adjustment will make it possible for us to spend many more happy years together.
I hope, if I can't fit it in the van, that Annie will be able to store and/or use the beautiful metal cabinet I inherited from my folks. The only other piece of furniture is an IKEA chair and matching stool. If I can take these things with me, I will, as it looks as though I'll be living in an unfurnished place.
Rick has left Tennessee and driven to Bay St. Louis, MS, in order to actually find something, put a deposit down and get a commitment from a landlord. It's possible to look at places on the Internet, but he was having a hard time getting a commitment from anyone. If we get the place we've been looking at, we won't be able to get in till mid-November. In that case, I will make another drive to LA to spend my birthday with Alice and probably stay through Halloween. If, on the other hand, Rick finds something else that we can get into more quickly, I will leave here and drive down to join him.
One of the places he called about had only a six-month lease, which seems like a good idea at this point, since we don't know if we'll like Mississippi or even each other after six months. Plus, I'll be spending some time up north next summer, in any case.
Stay tuned to see what actually happens.
Below is a collection of photos from recent weeks that I haven't shared with you yet. Captions will fill you in.
Even the bathrooms are creative and beautiful at Mackenzie Childs in Aurora, NY.
On the drive to Ithaca, all was green. Just a few days later, the fall colors abound!
Remy stayed in Grand Rapids, so when I returned, he decided to make a bed in my suitcase so I couldn't leave without him again.
A downpour filled the street outside Annie's old house. I splashed in the puddles with these boys from the neighborhood before showing them how to clear the gutters.
Remy always finds a good patch of sunlight. This is at Annie's new house.
Found this newspaper article from the early '60's in Evanston, IL. I'm second from the left in the front row. This was one of the first groups to play Suzuki violin.
Today's visit to Kirk Park revealed this mass of burgeoning fungi.
I hadn't seen Lake Michigan yet this summer, so I thought I'd better have a look before I leave.
Even a dog who doesn't like the water can enjoy the beach. And this human, who does like the water, was happy to discover that it wasn't too cold to walk in.
View from the deck at Kirk Park. I sat quietly and meditated for about 15 minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment