Quiet Tuesday at home

I ran to Safeway and picked up a few items and filled up on gas while I was there too. I'd been putting it off but if we're going to the ocean this Friday, I'm gonna need some juice to get us there.  I was aware today (not sure why) that I seldom, if ever, see anybody I know when I'm out and about running errands.  I guess I'm feeling a little isolated.  Normally, I don't think about such things but for whatever reason, I'm having little pangs of lonliness now and then. Nothing like...Oh boo hoo, woe is me...just thinking I probably should put more effort into interacting with people. It'll pass, I suppose. I think I'm kind of a loner by choice a lot of the time.

Saw some pictures on Facebook that a mom had posted of the kids at camp so I thought I'd use them for my blog since my own picture-taking lately has been pretty dull.

Hunter and Maddie are both "going out" now.  I said: "You mean going steady?" 
NO!  That's gross. We don't use that expression; we're just "going out."  ha ha ha ha ha

I put a little gas in the gas can while I was downtown. The dandelions have taken over and I suppose it won't kill me to go out there and push the mower up and down a few times.

I've got a jigsaw set up in the kitchen (Wizard of Oz) and am in the middle of sewing little quilt squares together. I put the a/c unit away and plan to store all the fans in the garage this week. Summer is probably on the way out and I'm fine with autumn taking its place. I always did like fall.  I think spring is my favorite season; then fall; then summer; then winter.

I've been playing with the idea of moving to the Seattle side of the water next year or the year after.
Depends on several things--one of them being if I can manage to downsize. I can't believe how much I've accumulated in four years.  Yesterday I managed to take down 12 or 13 frames I had on the walls. Stuff that I could just as easily keep in a photo album.  Now I've got several good frames laying on the floor awaiting my next plan for them.  I can't just give them to Goodwill or Serenity House as some of them are expensive and very nice looking frames that deserve (at the very least) to go to a friend or family member who needs a frame or to a garage sale.

As I wander from room to room eyeing my possessions with a critical eye, I'm overwhelmed at the task ahead of me.  I don't think I can do it.  There's too much.  I suppose this is how those hoarders on tv feel.  I've always felt little sympathy for them when I see how they're living, but I suppose my abundance of "stuff" almost puts me in the same category.  Sort of anyhow.

I know if I follow through on this move, I'll probably be in a one or two bedroom apartment. Maybe one of those complexes for seniors where your rent is determined by your income.  If ever I needed to win the lotto, now's the time.  And how many people utter those words over the years?  Ha!  I know I'm looking at more than one garage sale to try and unload my possessions. Just the thought of that task wearies me.  I've passed the point where I could manage to put on a sale by myself. Doubt I can even prepare for one alone.  I need an event planner.

At first I was excited about having a new neighborhood but now I'm debating if this is the best thing for me. I really do love this house and I've become comfortable with the town and the traffic.  I'd have to bite the bullet "on that side" and drive in a whole different world.  A world I'm not especially fond of driving in.  A lot to think about either way.

I am going to continue downsizing here and there.  Think I'll start with my clothes and shoes, and then look over the kitchen cupboards and drawers for excess glassware, plastic ware, and silverware.
Problem is, not everyone will find my treasures "have to have items."  It's been making me a little crazy.

One exciting thing that happened this week was the discovery of two new siblings.  I knew they were out there so I followed what clues I had to see if I could find them.  I had kind of put the search on the back burner but did send out a couple of feelers on Facebook.  My message was finally discovered and my half sister, Marian, emailed.

I knew I had four half sisters in Penn and I knew my mother had put one boy and one girl up for adoption back in the 60's.  A couple of the sisters asked me to use my computer skills to see if I could find them. They gave me a name of who they "thought" had adopted them so I followed that clue and found an obit.  One thing led to another and I posted a private message on Facebook to a few Marians hoping I'd get a hit.

We're in the process of getting to know each other via our emails.  Maybe someday we'll even get to meet in person. She's educated, has a professional job, lives in N.Carolina, and writes a really good email.  She's the youngest of my siblings and looks very much like another sister in Pennsylvania.

Well, I'd best get busy around here. Think I'll do the mowing so it's off my list.  Have a nice last week of August.