Category Archives: Moving forward

Cat is Out of the Bag

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TulipsNow that the cat is out of the bag and Zoze knows I will be in New Zealand at the end of the year, I can be open about my plans! I was so afraid she would see my grannytravels posts and our cover would be blown!  I think we all did damn well, keeping our lips zipped for almost three months.

It was fun… We had Skype on video (gotta love technology) and were chatting away and I could see Jenni in the background doing stuff, bringing out an enormous gift-wrapped box and coming over to hand it to her Mum. Zoze gets busy carefully taking the paper off, no doubt to reuse – just tear it, Zoze! – and inside are piles of packing papers and she laughs and starts digging through it until she comes across what looks like a card, which she opens. With prompting, she opens up the sheet of paper inside, still not recognizing what it was.

When she “gets” that it is my ticket, she comes unglued! Starts crying :) and then can’t believe it and that everyone except her knew about it! What fun! So now she really has something to look forward to, as do I!

Let the planning REALLY begin!

Summer

IMG_1205I think I planted too many tomato seeds! I have had 100 percent germination, so today spent a couple of hours re-potting the Heirlooms into 4-6 inch pots. I am definitely going to have to find people to give them to as I have three dozen seedling – and I still have the other seeds I planted – another dozen or so!

I also set out a variety of lettuce in pots – some is ready for eating already; others have a way to go. But it looks like there will be no shortage of veges this summer.

Busy and Productive Week

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IMG_1096A busy and productive week. It feels like things are turning round for me. And what a relief that is!

I was able to make the final catch-up payment on the house, so now it is back to the normal, not-so-scary payment. And I signed a contract to work for Harbors in a more inclusive role, which in turn helps with the loan mod on the condo and the new one on this house. And having a contract for a steady income is allowing me to buy a car. I know Bill will be thrilled to get the Leaky Beasty back. But I really don’t know what I would have done without it! He is such a good friend. I owe him big time.

I spent the morning at the car dealership. I had forgotten that an old friend is the sales manager there, so I was able to talk to him frankly and it looks like my credit isn’t as trashed as I thought it was and that I can get a loan. This will allow me to rebuild my credit and when all three properties are back to current, (2 done, 1 to go) I should be golden.

There are two possible cars and I will see them both on Monday. They are going through the shop as we speak, getting new tires and full mechanicals, so am looking forward to that. One is a Honda CR-V and the other, a Subaru Outback Wagon, either of which will suit me fine. I don’t want a “car” car; I like something more substantial around me and although these aren’t huge, they sit higher and just feel better – at least to me.

My expanded job is going to be fun, I think. With summer coming and the weather improving – and with a reliable, economical car, I am planning a lot of traveling. Up to the islands, along the coasts, checking things out. The water-testing project is still on hold until 15th and I hope we get good weather for flying. And I am trying to get hold of Andrew and Sandra Butt up in Canada as they have an olive orchard on Pender Island that I want to write about. With the expansion of the new website, I will be blogging a lot there, so will need stuff and places to write about!

Betsy is coming up in June for a couple of weeks and I will have things set up for a trip way up into the islands. She is going to go fishing – and I will sit on the dock! Weather permitting of course.

Chris is, of course, still causing uphill! What he does is so completely illogical and I can only believe he is being pressured because surely he isn’t this dumb? What he is doing makes absolutely no sense at all. It costs him money for lawyers, and we all know what they charge. And it just causes stress and upheaval when there isn’t any need. The solutions I have proposed are so simple, effective and work for everyone concerned – him, me and the banks. Dumb!

But these last couple of months have been brutal – I really didn’t know if I was going to be able to pull any of this off. It was a constant stress level that absolutely wore me out. Now I feel like collapsing!

Fun with Tulips

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With Spring trying to push its way through the gray, the rain and the howling gales, my tulips are finally flowering. So I had fun with the images.

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My Private Charter

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So, what’s new?

I have a great trip to look forward to on Monday (weather permitting). I am going to fly in a float plane with Kenmore Air on a Department of Ecology mission to go out – probably to the coast – and do water monitoring! The last float plane I was in was an old Grumman Goose (I think) going back and forth between St. Thomas and St. John in the Virgin Islands, whenever my visa was going to expire back in the late 60s. So the idea of going up in the small plane is pretty exciting. I don’t know yet which type of plane it will be as Kenmore has 25 so it could be a  Beaver, Otter or Caravan.

And what is even more fun is that instead of driving over to Seattle at crack of dawn, they are coming to pick me up at the marina in Port Ludlow! My own private charter!

From there, of course depending on weather, we will fly out to the coast and I am hoping we go up and over the Olympic Mountains but suspect we will go south out to Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. We fly and land, fly and land to pull monitoring and testing equipment. It will most likely be an all day event and I was told to dress warmly (no kidding!) and take a lunch.

One article I will do (and the reason I get to do this) is for Harbors Magazine and the other, which will be a lot more in-depth, is for Ecology.com. I hope to get some really cool shots and video as well.

Daffodils are adding a bright spot in an otherwise dreary late winter

Daffodils are adding a bright spot in the otherwise dreary late winter

On another note, my eye is healing nicely, thank goodness. You can barely see anything there except it still, at least to me, looks a little bruised, but it no longer itches or hurts! What a relief that is. I don’t want to ever have to go through something like that again!

Although the world is turning towards spring, it is still winter here. But…the days are longer and we begin daylight savings on Sunday. Leaves are popping out on the fruit trees; there are daffodils across the street and hyacinths are pushing their little pointy heads through the soil. So it is getting better.

The weekend is just around the corner and it’s Gallery Walk in Poulsbo and it is supposed to be relatively dry! I haven’t been to this one before, just the one in Port Townsend and I think there are a lot more galleries in Poulsbo so it should be fun.

Cabin Fever

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Oh man, talk about cabin fever! I have been trying to limit my driving – gas is up again as are expenses – but I HAD to get out of here today!

So my excuse was, although a necessity, was to take the rubbish to the dump! How exciting is that? But then I added on a trip into Port Townsend and coffee with Susan at our favorite, Tyler Street Cafe. Actually, our favorite was closed for an upgrade, it’s going to be a full cocktail bar and restaurant when it reopens in a couple of months. I’m afraid it won’t have that wonderful vibe anymore, so Undertown might be off our list. But we won’t write it off until we check it out.

And then we went for a lovely walk around town and discovered (actually Susan knew about it) a delightful Tea and Spice store. It smelled wonderful and I can get all the spices I need for curry and chai – same price as Central Market – so that is a real find. I didn’t buy anything, just lifted lids and sniffed a lot!

I haven’t been a tourist in Port Townsend for a while and there are a couple of new restaurants and stores I need to check out. The town was busy, as the sun was out! I had to park quite a way from the center which is unusual, but good for the merchants.

But what a difference the sun makes – even though it was cold = turtle neck, sweater and jacket – my glasses knew the sun had strength as they turned really dark to protect me! Damn my Transition lenses, I need all the light I can get!

I Forget Sometimes

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When everything feels overwhelming, I have to remind myself why I am doing all this – because I get so immersed in the minutia of things, that I lose track of my goal – to get out of here with the properties taking care of themselves and perhaps, even generating a little income! I just forget!

After last week’s bombshell from my ex, which has absolutely no merit, (and even less as I think about it) and my initial freak-out, after talking to Mick, I got back on track and spent the week taking care of getting the rental house rented, going back and forth to Port Angeles – 106 miles round trip. An expensive exercise, but worth it in the end. Fortunately, the weather wasn’t too shitty, so the drive was pleasant, the snow-covered mountains were out and the roads relatively dry! I vetted four possible tenants and chose the one I hope will be the best! She is so excited about the place and anxious to be in there. I should have the full payment and deposits on Tuesday, Monday being a holiday for some, like banks.

So with that handled, I need to make a decision about this house. I’ve thought about doing a summer rental and ran an ad on craigslist to see if there was any interest, but nothing so probably need to rethink that option. By April, I will be back on track and back to normal payments so renting it out is an option – but then the big question is, where do I go? Somewhere warm I would hope but without a steady income, it makes taking off rather iffy. But Susan is planning on leaving for Colorado in July, trading in cold, wet, gray winters for icy, dry and sunny winters. So that leaves me even more isolated down here.

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Even when they are being a pain, they are cute.

And of course, there are my kitties. These little creatures are what has kept me sane the past few years. So they would have to go with me. A problem!

Since finding good-tasting gluten-free bread is difficult, I’ve been making my own. It’s so much easier now to find the right ingredients, all the GF flours like quinoa, rice and coconut are available and there are even baking mixes. So I have developed a really good recipe with a good flavor and texture and have been making it for Susan and Dan too. He is diabetic and as a lot of these flours are much lower glycemic and higher protein than regular flour, they end up being good for him. Both Susan and I have gone off wheat/gluten and I know I feel really good on it. I don’t think I am allergic to it, but I just feel better.

Today is DVD shipping day, we had a good week last week and it looks like another good one next week. It’s rather fun watching the auction each day, wondering why on earth anyone would pay good money for some of the really junky movies and pass up what I would consider classics and good watching. To each his own, I guess. Tomorrow I will post the new ones for their 5 day run. Time consuming, but I don’t really have anything else pressing so…

I saw the first primrose pushing it’s little head up today. Bright pink splash in the dark. Spring is just around the corner, days are significantly longer, thank goodness. We have actually had quite a mild winter with just two frosts so far and the only snow was over Christmas when I was in SoCal.

My eye is healing…slowly…but the doctor is happy with how it is closing up and I have to go back in April. There should be no scar, he says. It doesn’t look bad now and unless you are right in my face, you probably wouldn’t even notice.

The sun is trying to come out so I am going outside for my Vit. D.

 

A Push to Update My Web Site

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kingfishers

This little kingfisher was very happy yesterday – I missed the actual plunge but one second he was on the bowsprit, the next the water was disturbed and then he was back with the fish that went down with one gulp!

So that was my entertainment for the day. Oh, and the otters were out again, playing and lounging on the dock. They are so entertaining!

My eye is finally healing. I discovered that I am allergic to the ointment I was supposed to use. It’s difficult assessing a wound on your eye when you have to take your glasses off to do it, but I realized, with the aid of a magnifying glass that it was causing blisters, so wasn’t healing. Just hope it doesn’t leave a scar. I am only using the Kangen acidic water now, which I was using in conjunction with the ointment. I will be glad when this is done!

pageI have a lot of time on my hands at the moment. With the not very encouraging news from ecology – treat it like a hobby until they throw money at us – I decided to update my colbycomm web site. I was encouraged to do it after Evie posted a Pumula Hotel picture on Facebook and I found I didn’t have the article I did for Country Life on the site. So immediately scanned and put it up. I so loved that job at Country Life. Sigh…

So I am going to rescan my whole portfolio as this scanner I have now does a much better job than my old one; at least you can read the .pdfs. It will be fun to do especially now as I am so used to working with wordpress, it won’t take that long and as I am going to need to promote myself to get some dollars flowing, it will be good the site is current.

~ Become a Lake ~

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driftwoodFrom looking like an abuse victim to a minor swelling and small scab in 9 days is pretty miraculous. My eye still itches like crazy and is still a bit weepy, but overall it is pretty good. I get the stitches out on Tuesday and then I hope the worst will be way over!

Because I was such a scary sight, I didn’t go out at all.So now am going stir crazy and what has happened, with all this time on my hands, is that I realize that it is not the weather so much that gets me about this place, although it does play into the overall scheme of things. It is the location.

It’s beautiful, peaceful, comfortable, cute house, wonderful wildlife. But…

It is way too remote for a single person, meaning me. This is a perfect location for a summer home. For people to come for weekends and weeks in the summer or holidays. Or for a couple who need only each other. But year-round living for me is just not cutting it.

I read this little story, which really brought it home to me:

~ Become a Lake ~

An aging master grew tired of his apprentice’s complaints. One morning, he sent him to get some salt. When the apprentice returned, the master told him to mix a handful of salt in a glass of water and then drink it.
“How does it taste?” the master asked.
“Bitter,” said the apprentice.
The master chuckled and then asked the young man to take the same handful of salt and put it in the lake. The two walked in silence to the nearby lake and once the apprentice swirled his handful of salt in the water, the old man said, “Now drink from the lake.”
As the water dripped down the young man’s chin, the master asked, “How does it taste?”
“Fresh,” remarked the apprentice.
“Do you taste the salt?” asked the master.
“No,” said the young man. At this the master sat beside this serious young man, and explained softly,
“The pain of life is pure salt; no more, no less. The amount of pain in life remains exactly the same. However, the amount of bitterness we taste depends on the container we put the pain in. So when you are in pain, the only thing you can do is to enlarge your sense of things. Stop being a glass. Become a lake.”

I need to become a lake. My life is so small and confining. You might say I am living in a puddle!

My life used to be broad, encompassing the entire world. Now it feels so limited and there are factors influencing this – insufficient funds, etc. But I can’t let these get in the way of my sanity. I never meant to be back here this long. I have know for a long time that is isolation is not good for me.

So…

Three months ago, after I decided to go for a loan modification on the condo, I gave myself six months to do it. The time is running out but I really don’t have to be here to do that. It’s all done by phone or email. So that eliminates that excuse for not leaving.

So I am starting to focus on getting “gone” from here. Making a list of what I need to do to make it happen. The main thing, of course, is to find someone to rent this house. And another of course, is finding a way to fund living elsewhere. Oh, and let’s not forget a car. I can hardly drive out of state taking Bill’s car with me.

The elsewhere doesn’t necessarily mean another country, like I have been dreaming. It could be as simple as California. Much more expensive, but more opportunity than here. I don’t know whether my editor job will go with me as she seems to think that she needs to see me, which is totally unnecessary when there is Skype. But obviously, I won’t throw in the towel, unless she brings it up. The eBay biz can go with me; in fact will be easier as Ryan won’t have to ship the DVDs to me.

Tomorrow, Susan and I are going to Port Angeles to look at the house, and then I am going to hand it over to property management. So that won’t be an issue for me. Chris seems to want to stay in the condo, so that will be taken care of.

A car could be a problem – or not. I had to have a new exhaust pipe put on the Leaky Beasty and it is a lot quieter now! Not just less exhaust noise, but less rattles too. I’m not sure about this, but maybe Bill would sell it to me but I would need to have the oil leaks fixed and know that that is all they are – leaks, and not something major. And I could probably work out some sort of payment plan with him. That is just a thought, at the moment. I would need to know it would make the trip to California and beyond.

So lots to think about, decisions to make and things to plan and plot.

Paying For Pleasure

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Sun and Fun

Through the first two weeks of the new year already. Days are getting noticeably longer… and noticeably colder! Mid-winter is here but it has actually, touch wood, been relatively mild, with freezing temps at night but not too bad during the day.

So I knew that eventually the years of sun would catch up with me and now I am paying the price. On Friday I went in for supposedly minor surgery to remove a basal cell carcinoma from my eyelid. I wasn’t nervous at all, looking forward to having it gone! It was one of those things you swear everyone is staring at when they see you – “ooohh look she has a wart on her nose” or something like that. Probably no one even noticed, but it was starting to bother my vision, so my doc recommended a plastic surgeon/ophthalmologist so Susan drove me down as they has told me I wouldn’t be able to drive home.

Well…

The surgery took twice as long as they thought, and even though I couldn’t feel anything, other than the tugging and stretching, and could -oooo ick – smell the cauterizing, I found myself clenching my jaw so hard I thought I might crack a tooth!

The doctor started asking me if I had taken aspirin or any medications as they had a difficult time stopping the bleeding – hence the extra time to complete the process.

Finally, it was done and with all concerned clapping themselves on the back for a job well done, I staggered out. Shock set in immediately and I was shivering uncontrollably  until I got some sweet hot chocolate into me. Half way home, a 45 minute drive, I had to ask Susan to pull over as I felt like I was going to pass out. I managed to get my head between my knees and wait it out. When we got home, all I could thing about was getting into bed, which I did, post haste!

The shocky stuff continued through the night, sweating like crazy, light headed and woozy. But the vicodin kept the pain under control and in the morning felt almost human. With one eye-covered, my depth perception was way off and I felt completely off-balance.

Mid-afternoon I took the eye-patch off and decided I better not let anyone see me! I looked like something out of a horror movie! Eyeball bright red, and my eye almost closed from the swelling. But even with just a partial slit eye, it helped my balance and I could actually see.

Every day has been better and better. The swelling is going down, but my face looks lopsided but that is also improving with all the icing I am doing. And there is no pain now so haven’t had to take more vicodin.

I go back next week to have the stitches removed – and no, I am not posting a picture. I don’t even want to see myself in the mirror until I am healed!

On another note, my tenants in the Port Angeles house just got their orders to move back to Florida. Bummer! So now I have to go through that process again but I’m thinking that if I don’t get a Coastie, I will have a Property Management company handle it. It’s such a hike from here to deal with it, especially in the Leaky Beasty. So I have that to deal with in the next week.

Oh well, the trials and tribulations of a land baroness!

A New Era

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panoWe are already almost through the first week of this new Golden Era. At least that is what the thinking is as the Maya calendar rolled over into the next baktun. There is a lot of belief around a new beginning, a new start, a new era of peace and prosperity which I fervently hope is true!

My new year is all about moving forward and not counting on anyone but myself. I think I have put way to much emphasis on outside sources providing for me – jobs, relationships etc. I just have to do it myself and if any of these other projects that have been hanging around come to fruition, well, that will be wonderful.

Stuff to be disseminated on the bed in the spare room

Stuff to be disseminated on the bed in the spare room

So I decided that, seeing as it looks like I will be here for a while, at least through the winter, then I would get out my “stuff” that has been in boxes up in the attic. But as I am pretty cautious about climbing ladders on my own, Susan came down and I handed stuff down to her and had her spot me on the ladder.

Mostly, I have pictures and slides. Masses of them and getting them all – or at least the most important ones – scanned has been a long time goal of mine. It’s tedious but oh so worth while. Also in the boxes are memorabilia from travels, like the jippy jappy baskets and drum from Belize; my beautiful African baskets and carvings. And then of course, there are the things the boys made as kids and poetry they wrote and their report cards! Oh, and MY report cards from elementary school. “Susan doesn’t apply herself” was the theme throughout my school years! Damn, I was sooo bored!

And then there are all the framed pictures. Since I landed back here, I didn’t really think I would be here this long so I haven’t hung anything on the walls. But now, I figure, what is going to take to repack this stuff and take the pictures off the walls? Not much and having them visible will feel more like home. So I have some of them hung including my lioness closeup and have put some out on shelves but I have become so used to the minimalist feel and being able to go around and clean quickly. So don’t want to clutter things up.

Despite the resolution to not count on anyone else, I still remain hopeful about ecology. Maybe now that the “fiscal cliff” is behind us, the investors’ purse strings will loosen up a bit. Harbors Magazine published and it looks goo and I am working on the next issue. I’ve also taken over Ryan’s side job. He said he was just too busy to do it any more so he handed it off to me. It’s an eBay deal where we auction newly released DVDs. Then they get shipped. He’s been doing it with a friend for a couple of years so he has a system that I use. It’s fairly simple but the added income will definitely help me out a lot!

This Friday, I pay the price for sun time in my youth! I have a basal cell carcinoma on my lower eyelid so have to have minor surgery to have it removed. It is really starting to bug me. The doctor who is doing this is an opthamologist/plastic surgeon so he knows what he is doing. Susan will take me as I will have a patch for a couple of days, so no driving! I will be so glad when it is gone. It’s got to the point where I think everyone is staring at me – “See the old lady with a wart on her eye?” Probably no one notices except me!