State of the Brainspace
Dec. 26th, 2018 10:59 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
willowmegWell, that's that over with then! I hope everyone here in DW land has had a merry, happy, peaceful whatever-they-celebrate.
This time around, the traffic was light-ish both ways and we made the drives in near-record time, despite doom-and-gloom "worst travel date" predictions on the local news. The weather was mild and sunny in general, never cold enough that I needed the wool coat I brought; my problem, conversely, was that I had neglected to pack lightweight or short sleeved options to wear inside the house, when solar gain, jaunts for errands and various holiday prep activities frequently made it seem sweltering. And the guest bed, while still a too-small, too-hard, too-low back pain factory covered in cat hair (to which G is allergic), was moderately improved by our advance purchase of a new padded mattress pad and set of sheets, and the bag full of old out-of-rotation pillows we brought from our own home. (It's a wonder how much difference it makes to have a Queen size pad - not a Full! - on a Queen size bed. It still baffles me how Dad thought that one was suitable.) So clearly, there were positive things about the weekend. Not least of which, my (spoiled, bossy, overbearing and very much ELEVEN) niece wasn't at her grandparents' at all until Christmas Eve afternoon. (I love her in the way that an aunt must love her niece, but G and I really really haven't enjoyed being around her the last few years. We hope that someday she'll mature enough to complete sentences, use table manners and demonstrate some kind of consideration for others' feelings.)
in a room that should probably have an occupancy limit of 10 - the full extended family is only 7 people, so this is mostly non-relatives - when she can barely take part in any of the cooking or prep activities, because recent cataract surgery has left her eyesight spotty, and other health issues require her to sit or nap much of the day. So it fell to G, as it increasingly has over recent years, to sort everything out and prepare all the main dishes. He ended up cooking two large turkey breasts, one the day before and one the day of, and then all the requisite stuffing and side dishes. He was also in charge of grocery shopping for the two gatherings, and the big liquor store run, and heaving the heavy sofa out onto the deck to make room for card tables. Among other things.
So: stress and hassle and fatigue.
on a hidden dagger of broken glass while helping to set up the room for dinner. I'm going to have a wicked little scar underneath my pinky finger on the left hand, but it was ruled too small a cut for stitches - and I didn't want to derail everything with a trip to urgent care anyway. So during the gathering itself, that night, I mainly hid myself away from the insanity, and just chatted with the one or two guests I liked most - I stayed ensconced in a comfy leather armchair in a back corner of the family room, which conveniently served as the 17th seat for dinner - they just pulled the card table up in front of me. I enjoyed a few glasses of liquid pain relief along with dinner and dessert, despite alcohol's blood thinning effect which was possibly not the best idea. And near the end of the evening, I got a little shocky all over again (I looked a little too closely during a bandage change - I'm a total wuss sometimes when it comes to things like needles and blood, haha) and ended up with the Get Out of Socializing Free card, when I discreetly threw up just a little into a napkin-wrapped highball glass. whee. Goodnight folks!
Niece was in rare form, crying and throwing a fit because relatives had DARED to get her CLOTHING in addition to the expensive game system she'd requested. The rest of us shared gifts with each other which were much better received - I apparently invited a distinct David Bowie theme from G, my brother-in-law and G's best friend; now I have two cute Bowie adult activity/art books, an Aladdin Sane nightlight, and a Jareth sanctuary candle. G got some nice housewares gifts, including new sheets with a *very* high thread count... A few hours after brunch we were able to get on the road, and made it home just after 10 last night. I stayed up late to take a bath with a plastic bag around my hand, before bed, to get myself at least minimally presentable for work today.
In other, more important news: it should be perhaps 10 days or less (? depending on what day the final offer was submitted to seller's lender) before we know for sure if we're going to get the house we're trying to buy. I have, perhaps unfortunately, not restrained my internal overconfidence on this deal. Of course it could all go sour and we could lose the place, but all the signs point to Yes unless someone on the far end of that deal is just being impressively capricious and greedy. I've visualized every inch of that house with our stuff in it - I've done test floor plans, made wishlists, and even got a rough idea of paint colors we'll want (to minimize the effects of the dusty rose carpeting we won't have the means to change out for at least a few years) - G and I have discussed at length the various projects he'll have on his list to build from scratch, and even a future addition to convert the screened patio into a fully insulated sunroom for plants and a hot tub. This place will be less than 10 minutes' drive from my workplace, will cost us over $400 less every month for our total loan/property tax/insurance payment than we currently pay every month for rent and renters' insurance, has the extra bathroom and the two car garage we need plus a generous amount of off-street parking for visitors, and will give us plenty of space for us and all our Crap(tm) without being Too Much space to easily maintain. And there will be so much privacy! I haven't been onsite long enough to tell exactly how much airport noise we'll have there - but with both sets of my grandparents having lived in areas with very present jet noise, I automatically associate those sounds with calm and peace. Even if we turn out to be directly under a main takeoff or landing path (for those that don't know, my workplace is in a commercial building just bordering the airport), it will be tons more pleasant than the continual sirens of emergency vehicles on the main thoroughfare where we currently live, and the thumping club music from what used to be a church across the street...
I WANT THE HOUSE NOW. GIMME GIMME GIMME.
ahem.
Fingers crossed, yes? :)
This time around, the traffic was light-ish both ways and we made the drives in near-record time, despite doom-and-gloom "worst travel date" predictions on the local news. The weather was mild and sunny in general, never cold enough that I needed the wool coat I brought; my problem, conversely, was that I had neglected to pack lightweight or short sleeved options to wear inside the house, when solar gain, jaunts for errands and various holiday prep activities frequently made it seem sweltering. And the guest bed, while still a too-small, too-hard, too-low back pain factory covered in cat hair (to which G is allergic), was moderately improved by our advance purchase of a new padded mattress pad and set of sheets, and the bag full of old out-of-rotation pillows we brought from our own home. (It's a wonder how much difference it makes to have a Queen size pad - not a Full! - on a Queen size bed. It still baffles me how Dad thought that one was suitable.) So clearly, there were positive things about the weekend. Not least of which, my (spoiled, bossy, overbearing and very much ELEVEN) niece wasn't at her grandparents' at all until Christmas Eve afternoon. (I love her in the way that an aunt must love her niece, but G and I really really haven't enjoyed being around her the last few years. We hope that someday she'll mature enough to complete sentences, use table manners and demonstrate some kind of consideration for others' feelings.)
in a room that should probably have an occupancy limit of 10 - the full extended family is only 7 people, so this is mostly non-relatives - when she can barely take part in any of the cooking or prep activities, because recent cataract surgery has left her eyesight spotty, and other health issues require her to sit or nap much of the day. So it fell to G, as it increasingly has over recent years, to sort everything out and prepare all the main dishes. He ended up cooking two large turkey breasts, one the day before and one the day of, and then all the requisite stuffing and side dishes. He was also in charge of grocery shopping for the two gatherings, and the big liquor store run, and heaving the heavy sofa out onto the deck to make room for card tables. Among other things.
So: stress and hassle and fatigue.
on a hidden dagger of broken glass while helping to set up the room for dinner. I'm going to have a wicked little scar underneath my pinky finger on the left hand, but it was ruled too small a cut for stitches - and I didn't want to derail everything with a trip to urgent care anyway. So during the gathering itself, that night, I mainly hid myself away from the insanity, and just chatted with the one or two guests I liked most - I stayed ensconced in a comfy leather armchair in a back corner of the family room, which conveniently served as the 17th seat for dinner - they just pulled the card table up in front of me. I enjoyed a few glasses of liquid pain relief along with dinner and dessert, despite alcohol's blood thinning effect which was possibly not the best idea. And near the end of the evening, I got a little shocky all over again (I looked a little too closely during a bandage change - I'm a total wuss sometimes when it comes to things like needles and blood, haha) and ended up with the Get Out of Socializing Free card, when I discreetly threw up just a little into a napkin-wrapped highball glass. whee. Goodnight folks!
Niece was in rare form, crying and throwing a fit because relatives had DARED to get her CLOTHING in addition to the expensive game system she'd requested. The rest of us shared gifts with each other which were much better received - I apparently invited a distinct David Bowie theme from G, my brother-in-law and G's best friend; now I have two cute Bowie adult activity/art books, an Aladdin Sane nightlight, and a Jareth sanctuary candle. G got some nice housewares gifts, including new sheets with a *very* high thread count... A few hours after brunch we were able to get on the road, and made it home just after 10 last night. I stayed up late to take a bath with a plastic bag around my hand, before bed, to get myself at least minimally presentable for work today.
In other, more important news: it should be perhaps 10 days or less (? depending on what day the final offer was submitted to seller's lender) before we know for sure if we're going to get the house we're trying to buy. I have, perhaps unfortunately, not restrained my internal overconfidence on this deal. Of course it could all go sour and we could lose the place, but all the signs point to Yes unless someone on the far end of that deal is just being impressively capricious and greedy. I've visualized every inch of that house with our stuff in it - I've done test floor plans, made wishlists, and even got a rough idea of paint colors we'll want (to minimize the effects of the dusty rose carpeting we won't have the means to change out for at least a few years) - G and I have discussed at length the various projects he'll have on his list to build from scratch, and even a future addition to convert the screened patio into a fully insulated sunroom for plants and a hot tub. This place will be less than 10 minutes' drive from my workplace, will cost us over $400 less every month for our total loan/property tax/insurance payment than we currently pay every month for rent and renters' insurance, has the extra bathroom and the two car garage we need plus a generous amount of off-street parking for visitors, and will give us plenty of space for us and all our Crap(tm) without being Too Much space to easily maintain. And there will be so much privacy! I haven't been onsite long enough to tell exactly how much airport noise we'll have there - but with both sets of my grandparents having lived in areas with very present jet noise, I automatically associate those sounds with calm and peace. Even if we turn out to be directly under a main takeoff or landing path (for those that don't know, my workplace is in a commercial building just bordering the airport), it will be tons more pleasant than the continual sirens of emergency vehicles on the main thoroughfare where we currently live, and the thumping club music from what used to be a church across the street...
I WANT THE HOUSE NOW. GIMME GIMME GIMME.
ahem.
Fingers crossed, yes? :)
