Vanquishing the Hoard

The next big step in the project from heck was Y’s side of the office, which A&J gave permission to deal with.  Piles of sewing stuff, crafts, papers, miscellaneous dreck, and trash got sorted and cleaned.  Of course now the bedroom bins to be sorted have doubled, but it’s somewhat under control.  Soon I’ll have the office and bedroom restored to functionality, with room for shelving.

Meanwhile, A&J had cleaned out a big closet full of old toys, games, guinea pig supplies, etc.  Now there are deep shelves I can use to store all the bedding, blankets, etc.  That will be next on the list.

Somewhere in there I briefly made it outside in the sauna to water, so naturally it rained right afterwards, which is good.  It’s been like the humid version of a desert.  Still it doesn’t stop the weeds from taking over everything…kind of like Y’s flotsam and jetsam, expanding to fill every space.

My work is guaranteed.  “She was found under a shrubbery, machete in one hand and broom in the other, with a look of grim determination, doing battle against Chaos to the last!”

 

Sneak Preview

Here’s a sneak preview of what I’ve been up to, and it’s my biggest challenge yet–sorting and organizing the chaos that was Y’s room!  We’re talking hoarder.

Just the mountains of clothing and bedding that were stuffed into every crevice presented a week’s worth of laundering.  Then there were all the crafting materials and other paraphernalia of every description, literally enough to fill another room.  It’s no mere “12-stepper”, because almost every other room in the house is involved, especially the office.

This project will require all the time the kids are away.  Jess and Avdi will help with reorganizing storage shelving units and a bed, once I’ve gotten multiple rooms under control.  I’ll move on to clearing out closets downstairs to hold all the bedding linens, pillows, blankets, cushions, etc.  Which involves sorting all the old stuff from the closets.  And so on.

This is the kind of project I like, because it’s all-consuming and requires thinking in strategic chess moves.  I wish I had a before-shot, but it was too scary to even share.  The after-shots are what I’m after!  So satisfying.

On a more frivolous note, since there were only the two of us for Shabbat, I got a reprieve, and another bonus evening out!  After drinks (gin slings) by me, we checked out San José Mexican Restaurant in WG, by the tracks.  Excellent margaritas and food, as we watched the frequent and very long freight trains go by!  Highly recommend.

Then we walked around town, with all its boutiquey shops and eateries.  There’s actually a genuine record shop with everything.  It’s sadly ironic that we no longer have phonographs and cd players, but the kids seem to be fascinated by all that throw-back physical media now, so maybe we’re seeing a come-back.

With all this interior activity (and extreme heat), I’ve barely made it out to the garden, except to water, but the flowers and veggies are really coming along.

 

Our Latest Adventure: CWE

I’m so behind, but not from procrastinating.  On Wednesday evening, Avdi and I did our latest adventure date, this time in Central West End.  We did Lazy Tiger, Brennan’s, and Up-Down.  I’ll let the photos speak for themselves, no time to elaborate, except that it was great, as usual, and without the usual time limit.

 

Slaycation

Sunday night’s charcuterie “meeting” was pretty brief, with just a few scheduling items.  Monday I gave myself the day “off”, as there wasn’t much for me to do over there.

Today I not only did the usual cleanup, but started one of my so-called 12-step-projects, this time a challenging one.  I had permission from Y to clean up his room, which will really take planning and time, which I’ll have.

I won’t go into all that’s involved, but trust me, it’s like disassembling a mountain of chaos, reducing the hoard by half, and reorganizing it in some semblance of order.  But I’ve had plenty of practice, so by now I should be a specialist.  Call me the chaos vampire.  I suck the crap out of the room.

 

 

 

The Big Beautiful Birthday Beer and Badminton Bash

Avdi’s birthday was a big success.  I lost count of all the people, familiar and new, all ages.  Everyone enjoyed food, drinks, gaming, badminton, swimming, and hanging out for hours.  Jess brought a beautiful tiramisu cake, and E baked the best apple pie from scratch ever.  A lot of K’s friends spilled over into the house to game and chill.  I spent a lot of quality time with Y in the pool, and later getting to know people.  I believe Avdi had a very happy birthday indeed, thanks to his large group of friends and admirers.

As it got dark, the solar lights came on, including the pretty new ones in the pool, and the moon lit up the sky.  There were noisy, messy fireworks at the neighbors’ through the trees, which we could have done without, but still it was a fitting finale to our beautiful day.

Later I spent the night, while Avdi went to J’s.  the next day was laundry and packing day for all the kids for their trip to MI for a month with Mom.  I stuck around to be able to say goodbye.  Then I came home and slept in this morning.

 

Farce of July

Outside, patriotic parades and fireworks go on as if nothing’s changed, as if we still live in a democracy and not a fascist dictatorship.  Hard to fathom the denial and brainwashed lockstep.

Inside, it was quiet.  We mostly ignored the 4th and worked or prepared for Shabbat.  It was so hot out, I made an entire cold salad meal, featuring veggies from the garden and the first ripe tomatoes!  Just A, K, E, and I were there.

Tomorrow we’ll celebrate Avdi.

Celebrating What Matters

Well, I worked my ass off in the blazing humidity, to try to make Avdi’s patio gardens pretty for his party, and I’m pretty much done.  I discovered ripening tomatoes in there, as well as more big cucumbers.  The corn is corning, some with red silk.  Flowers are flowering.  The weeds were a bitch, but I got the better of them.  The exhaustion is well worth it.  E mowed the lawn and vacuumed the pool, so it’s looking good.

This year the 4th is nothing to celebrate, unless it’s the memory of democracy, but I always celebrate and honor my son’s birthday, the 5th, and hope to for many more.

 

The Big Weed

Yesterday was bearable, so I began the job of weeding all the backyard beds before A’s birthday B&B this weekend.  The good news is, I discovered all kinds of flower seedlings trying to come up under all the weeds.  You know there’s a metaphor in there somewhere.