Nothing in Particular

I was planning on sort of vegging out - playing an online game or two and doing some more knitting on this throw that I have decided to make as part of my task of decorating the guy's apartment.

I'm going to be ordering the fabric on Friday, yea! I LOVE buying fabric. Buying fabric is second in "fun ranking" only to playing with fabric. Screw the BSN; I could probably make more money doing window treatments. Which is more torturous, making roman shades or assisting with a colonoscopy?

Did a bit more around the house today. Folded and put away two loads of laundry. Cleaned off a shelf in the bathroom. Pulled the lining stuff off two of the shelves in the kitchen. Gathered up some stuff to be taken out of my house. I'm attempting to be less "pack ratty." I may get the mantle cleared and dusted tomorrow and switch out the candle sticks and put up that huge mirror that I found last summer at a yard sale. I'm trying...

Talked with the nurse manager at the VA again today and then to her intern assistant later this afternoon. Guess I've made it to round three as they would like to know which days/times would be good for me to come in for an interview.

Oh, my brain... I was over in My Documents looking for a resume. Found my resume, but also a pattern for Tunisian Crochet pillows that didn't look familiar. Clicked it open, went to the web page, clicked a link for independent crochet designers, added the site to my del.icio.us list... Found and added a couple of more cool sites to my del.icio.us list... Oy!

It's been about 6 weeks since I posted anything on my del.icio.us, I noticed. Wonder when it was the last time that I was at Stumble Upon? And, I really do need to send a nice letter of thanks to Aldous Huxley's Cat. My brain...

That guy said he would call me this evening.

I'm not upset that he didn't. He had an exam today. He still won't fess up to what it is that he eats for lunch. He has an hour drive each way. Makes for some long days. 13 to 14 hours most days. Four days of that and three days of 12-hour shifts at work. By the time you include the commute, that's 13 hours, too. If he gets out of work on time. Not always a guaranteed thing. Then, he has to find time for studying and homework. Not to mention things like doing laundry, going shopping, getting something to eat. He's really not good at the eating thing. I suppose I'll have to go do some shopping and cooking for him. Give me something to do while I'm waiting for the adhesives and glues to dry when I'm decorating next week. LOL

I don't know if he has received the dining room chairs yet. I hope so. I'd like to be able to order all of the fabrics and things at once. If not, it's OK. I'm willing to make the necessary sacrifice and do more fabric shopping later. Oh, I am so bad.

I need to pop over to Yahoo 360 here soon and see what's up in Genny's world. They got the wretched carpet up in the shelter. They still had to work on the nasty, resiny glue stuff that held it in place. I had that crap used to adhere carpet in my KITCHEN in my last place. Oh, that was a job!!
She said that the noise levels had gone up tremendously. Not a good thing for that kind of environment where people are on-edge and often have mental health issues. The "official" opening is going to be on the last Tuesday of this month. The "real" opening will be the party that the clients have the following weekend. I'm trying to get by with not having to work that weekend and go. I need to talk the guy into taking that weekend off and road tripping to Philly with me.

It would be nice for the guy to meet Genny being that she has graciously offered to do the photography for our wedding. LOL Have I mentioned that I'm bad?

He is so very sweet, though. In many ways, I am glad that he is busy with school. I really haven't had a steady guy since I dated Martin 9 years ago. I suppose I should count the ex-fiance, but he was only in town every other weekend. Having not had a steady relationship in so long, I don't think I want to be involved "full time" right now. These things take time, and it gives us more of an opportunity to learn about each other and to grow together. It will be nice when I get my house back together. I told him that he would be welcome to stay here on the weekends so he didn't have so far to drive back and forth to work. It would cut the drive by 2/3 if he stayed here.

I've been knitting a few stitches in between collecting my thoughts and fussing with the dogs. Yes, dogs. Mocha is over visiting quite a bit these days. She is in heat and Napoleon has flat-out lost his mind. There is nothing worse than a baying and howling hound.

There is a coon hound across the street. It arrived when the people bought Mary's house at the same time the house two doors east was sold. Those neighbors have some sort of Corgi or Pomeranian mix. It is a yappy little thing is all I know for certain. I hope the rest of the neighbors know about the coon hound. We don't want them to think that it's Napoleon out there baying every morning at 6am. There is also a beagle/basset/hound somewhere on the north side of the block, too. I heard it the other day. The three of them were all baying and howling together a few days ago. Oh what a cacophony!

The guy bought green kitchen linens. Will go very nicely with that rug that I had already purchased before he moved. LOL I tell you we're simpatico in those areas. That is very funny to me because we are so different in personality and temperament. My Jungian personality test rated me as ENTP. One of the other personality/temperament tests rates me as choleric-melancholy or choleric-sanguine. It runs really close for the complementary personality every time I take that test. It depends on whether or not I'm in a cynical and sarcastic mood or a humorous mood as to which personality trait comes out as the second aspect. Yes, I am an asshole, but I'm a funny asshole. LOL

It is after 2am. I suppose I should haul my carcass to bed.

Blah

I feel like crap. That's really nothing new. That guy shared his cold with me last week. I suppose it's OK. I sort of liked the mode of transmission.

He's busy with school. He's studying for another exam tomorrow. I had sent him an email earlier today; he was apologetic that he was too busy to check his email. I told him that I had offered to bring him cold medicine if I could come stay the night. He could study or do whatever he needed to do, and I just wanted to sleep. Maybe cuddle for a bit and then retreat back to my side of the bed. He thought that was funny that I just wanted to come to sleep.

Just wanted a change of venue. Get away for a few hours. Too much stress.

I washed a few dishes this evening. Made myself some red beans and rice. I'm watching a couple of auctions on eBay. My New Zealand yarn "fix" is not going to be selling after 30 October, so I'm buying everything that I can afford.

I have a huge Avon order that I wanted to place as well.

Then, there is the matter of Gabriel, preschool, and tuition... This is the big issue that has be stressed-out.

With Amanda having gone back to work, the kids income is to the point that they have to pay tuition for Gabe to attend preschool. The preschool isn't run by the public school district even though the classes are held in the public school buildings and the district provides transportation. Go figure. Well, his tuition is $232 a month. Not bad really.

However, the kids being in dire financial straits are why she went back to work. My last two checks have gone to keep the mortgage from going into foreclosure and to keep the water from being shut off. This next check will be for somewhere around 95 hours, and I'm sure at least part of it will be used for something similar.

Gabe isn't doing well in regular preschool. No surprise to me. Amanda isn't really surprised by it either. However, she did want to keep him in the regular class until the end of this month before transferring him to the special needs preschool so he could go on the field trip to the pumpkin patch. He's really looking forward to that. Michael has finally agreed that regular preschool isn't the place for Gabe right now.

His teacher phoned me at 9:06 this morning. She said she had sent a note home in his folder yesterday that Amanda needed to pay his tuition for September and October. Until it was paid, Gabe would be excluded from classes. I was at the school by 9:40 to pick him up. I figured I would pay his tuition on Thursday when I get paid so he can return to school and finish out the month.

I looked at the note in his folder after I got him home. Tuition due for September is $176, for October $232. It will cost me $408 for this boy to go to the pumpkin patch. I know that there is no way that Michael and Amanda will be able to pay any of that money back to me.

The kids all need new winter coats. Christmas is rapidly approaching. The three little ones all have birthdays coming up over the next six weeks.

My winter gas bill is about to go soaring out of sight. They have forecast that gas prices are going to hit $4 a gallon by spring. As I have no insurance right now, I'm paying full price for my medication. And, I've given up on the Celexa and gone back to the Lexapro. The Celexa just wasn't quite doing what I needed it to do. 60mg of affordable Celexa per day versus 10mg of the pricey Lexapro. I guess I have to pay for what works best for me. The weather changes have arrived, and I'll be back to taking the Celebrex regularly.

So, what's a grandmother to do?

I'm thinking more along the lines of bribery and pay-offs. Gabe really won't care about missing the trip to the pumpkin patch until his sister brings home a pumpkin. I'll go buy him a pumpkin. I'm sure I can find one for less than $400. And, he could care less about school and school work. Trying to get him motivated to do homework is a serious chore. Yes, they have homework in preschool. This is where the bribery comes in.

The Nyquil is kicking me in the ass. Time for bed.

Was a very long day at work today. I ran for 9 of the 11 hours that I was there. That makes for such long days. This is why my doctor didn't want me working longer than 8 hour shifts or more than 24 hours per week.

Saw the guy just long enough to tell him that he gave me his cold! It's OK though. I liked the method of transmission.

I finally got to see his new place last Wednesday. As I had already been promised carte blanche on the decorating, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. My friend, Al (yes, that same Al), asked how I could have specific ideas for decorating his place never having seen it or his new furniture. I told him that I was sure my ideas would work. After having seen the apartment, my ideas will definitely work. I related this to Al, along with the statement that the guy and I have very similar tastes as far as furniture are concerned. Mainly contemporary. I lean a bit more to the eclectic than the guy does. I have no problem pairing a cherry Queen Anne coffee table or a Mission bookcase with contemporary.

Sofa, love seat, chair in ivory leather with dark wood (looked cherry) arms. Very nice. I'd have probably opted for a pair of wingback chairs with some retro print upholstery rather than three completely matching pieces, but that's just me! The coffee table and side tables were awesome. Glass tops suspended above cherry bases by pewter metal "s" shaped pieces. Fashioned in a nice "s" shaped design. Little round ivory topped storage ottomans fit into the interior of the "s" curves. The lamps were wood with pewter bases. Very "put together" look. It wouldn't surprise me if he bought it from the floor as it had been displayed, but that's cool, too. At least he recognizes what looks good. And, that's a step above some of the y-chromosomes that I have dealt with in the past.

So, I've been looking for and have found some fabrics... everything from burlap to dupioni silk to some retro prints. I found such a cool retro print to make a wall piece. It will only take about 1/2 yard of the cotton to make the piece. The fabric is on sale for $4.98 a yard! Score! Hey, it's an apartment so we're going chic on the cheap! LOL For the record, I'd do a house pretty similarly. Why put a whole bunch of money into decor accents that you might like to change in a couple of years?

He doesn't have the dining room chairs yet, so I'm not sure what to do in there. He doesn't have a dining room table, either. He liked the chairs but not the table that went with them so he's looking for another table. Depending on what the chairs look like, I'd love to throw some funky old antique farmhouse table in there! I wouldn't rule black lacquer out of the running, either. Then again, that's just me.

I should head to bed. It's getting late, and I have to be back in at 10:30.