It's Official

I've moved. 

After an absence of 30+ years, I reside in Iowa.

Classes started Monday - well, my class. I have just one class this semester - cataloging - and we're taking an easy start this week.  Our first paper is due next week.  I'm looking forward to this class because it will seem like Dorothy's peek behind the curtain.  Several of our classes - leadership and management for instance - could be applied to any career path, but cataloging belongs to the librarian.

 Charlie had an appointment at PetSmart yesterday for a haircut and shampoo.  I dropped him off and went to the gym which deserves a post of its own and picked him up three hours later.  He looks quite distinguished.  

Worth every penny and only 15 minutes away!!

Aidan, his mother and their new puppy, Proton, will be here Friday night.  Naphtali leaves Sunday.  Aidan leaves Tuesday.  Proton gets another week or so.  

What we ate

Friday night found Tim and I at Waterfront Seafood Market, which, according to their website has been voted the "metro's best seafood 20 years running."  I'm not sure how that vote is tallied but judging from the average age of the crowd that night, they seem to have a very loyal, longstanding clientele.  We will not be counted among them.  The food was fine - but I want exceptional and this simply wasn't.  The wait reasonable - 20 minutes when we signed in.  As we were seated I overheard the hostess telling a new diner that the wait was 30 minutes.

Sunday afternoon we were running errands - Home Depot etc - when we stopped for a 

quick lunch at Jason's deli.  I had this: 

Spinach Veggie Wrap

Organic wheat wrap with mushrooms,

organic spinach, asiago, sprouts,

guacamole, pico de gallo.

Blue corn chips and salsa as my side. 

 It was tasty and filling.  The crowd was mixed and seemed very happy.
They offer free ice cream but we passed.  This time....

Conundrum

Yes, we are here, under one roof, at one address.  And, as you might guess, there is plenty of work yet to be done....

So here it is:   In the process of downsizing, which I'm delighted to do, we are faced with the fact that this house is smaller than the one we left behind in Nebraska.  Which is not a problem in general terms.  However, the specifics of making furniture fit, repurposing it, and just getting things put away will keep me occupied for some time to come.  Right now I'm frustrated by the fact that my cupboard shelves will not hold tall bottles and few of them are adjustable.   No, those are not my cupboards this image is courtesy of google.  As a consumer I prefer to buy certain things in the larger size to save a few pennies here and there.  Shampoo, EVOO, whatever.  That size won't fit.  There's no point in buying the larger size and transferring to a container that does fit because then I'd also, still need space to store the original or 2 of something else if I split the bottle which eliminates the gain I would otherwise enjoy from the aforementioned downsizing.   And the spiral continues:  if I relent, start buying smaller bottles of this, that, or the other thing, won't I run out more frequently, which means shopping more often, which, again, undermines our efforts to be responsible with our resources?

In Transit

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy;

 for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves;
 Anatole France

I am in such a ranting mood - but restraint wins the day and I will simply report that we will be in Nebraska over the weekend, sign papers finalizing the sale of our home and return to Iowa with the last of our earthly goods on Monday.  We will be under one roof.  

Check back in a couple days.

My sister is squeezing in an impromptu visit this afternoon.

I have an interesting appointment on Wednesday.

And an anniversary tomorrow.

Mmmmm

Our eating habits have changed - lighter fare holds more appeal these days.

Fish has always been a favorite and I loved it grilled, so Saturday night we ate at Bonefish Grill.

We started with the house salad, an easy blend of romaine and mesclun, with olives and heart of palm topped with a honey balsamic vinaigrette.   The hot, crusty bread was served with a plate of oil and pesto.  We both chose steamed asparagus.  Tim selected Chilean sea bass and I had the orange roughy.

Both were hot, tender and flaky - simply delicious.  

The portions were just right.  The smoky accents truly complimented the flavor of the fish, which was attractively plated and served. 

A sparkling white mango sangria went down easy.

It did seem a bit pricey, but I will gladly allow Tim to pay the difference for a delicious and suitable meal.  As with many restaurants it was the price of the drinks, not necessarily the entrees, that moved it into a pricier range.  Reservations, please.  There were no empty tables while we were there.

Conundrum

With apologies to MM Lerner and Loewe I'd like to rephrase Professor Higgins' lament: 

Why can't a woman's shaver be more like a man's!?

 I will gladly give the industry credit for getting the handles right but it's not cutsie names and girly colors that will secure my consumer loyalty.  I simply want a shaver that will reliably produce a close shave.  Maybe even a week's worth - like Tim's do. One of his week-old units can out perform some of mine right out of the package!  In the grand scheme of things this is obviously a small matter, but with summer grooming in full swing and with little else to occupy my thoughts it has taken on unreasonable proportions...

Bon Anniversaire

Felicitations on the day to you, Naphtali!  Sending hugs and love...

How do you communicate spur-of-the-moment greetings?
Tweet?  Text?  Email? Phone call?

Send a happy birthday to Naphtali.

Great minds...

It was tempting, after a quick read through this morning's posts, to suppose that everyone was thinking of ... me!

The comments made by Duchesse fit in, not with my retirement, but with the prospect of starting over, redefining my role in this new place without completely discarding who I've been in the old place.  Pseu offered a refresher for casual wear beyond sweats, as well as links to a very timely look at hot weather solutions from Imogene.  I'll lift (and credit) a portion from Sal at Already Pretty that simplifies

 the idea of signature pieces: 

The quickest shortcut to unified personal style is to select and wear a few signature items. You may consider your watch or pendant necklace to be signatures, but this practice is most effective when the items in question are fairly large and noticeable, and exist within your wardrobe in several variations....I have multiple versions of these items already in my wardrobe, wear them often, AND! By wearing them across the board, no matter what the dominant influences in an outfit may be, I create continuity. If you find that solid-colored cardigans, ballet flats, and cuff bracelets are your signatures, do your best to deploy those pieces often and in multiple style contexts.

These women managed to touch on areas that have grabbed my attention as I navigate this transition/move.  Maybe they were thinking about you, too.

Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days

This heat makes me crazy.  It saps my energy. 

 Meals are reduced to the very basics - what can be eaten standing at the sink? 

 Lunch has pretty consistently been refried black beans with chips, cheese and mango-peach salsa.  

 Supper is a salad - this one features chicken breast - and a chipotle ranch dressing.  I know.  

 I baked and froze several chicken breasts the other day and will work my way through them 

over the next week.  A bag of cherries was a recent splurge and worth every penny.  

Ice water - lots and lots of ice water rounds out the menu on these hot days.

Women who Walk

While in Grimes last week, Charlie and I managed to walk almost every day.

For some reason the WwW, in Grimes, don't wear sunglasses.

I love a good pair of sunglasses and am rarely outside without them.

Big ones not only block the sun, safeguarding my vision, but prevent the drying effects of sun and wind from damaging the tender skin around my eyes.

Actually, I've seen very few sunglasses around town - on walkers or anyone else.

However, for those same WwW, running shorts are de rigueur.  

  I'm a capri gal - having established an exercise wardrobe that consists of gray Danskin capris and white v-neck tees.