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 |  The latest Life Journey of Nada, widowed, now married! Blog #4 |
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** Images For Use By Upgraded+ Only ** I'm no longer a single widow. I found true love again. Call me Lucky! |
| Well, the kitchen is moving forward s-l-o-w-l-y. What a surprise! One carpenter showed up Friday, but his helper didn't so no cabinets were hung. But hey, it IS quiet around here without the constant hammering, drilling, music, etc. Today is my husband's birthday. He can officially get a senior's discount. It reminds me that in a few weeks I'll also be official. We are about to go on a birthday ride, so must quit here. Hope you all had a good Fourth of July! |
| I know I thought I would be writing about the kitchen remodel more often...it was supposed to be done by July 4th, then the week after, now it is August. So we have been since May 4th without a kitchen. Sometimes I just get so frustrated with it I can't write. I'll try to fill you in somewhat. I've had to exchange the pantry room into the laundry room and get smaller appliances to fit. Now I ask you, why would some company make a stackable washer and dryer with the controls to the dryer 72 INCHES up...and one of those touch screen things a person of my stature (or a small child for that matter) can't see much less barely touch? And then there is the matter of the contractor ordering the wrong size and style hood innards so the carpenter can't build the hood to design...you would think attention to details, like a 36" hood to be mounted flat on a wall WOULD not work over a cooktop of 30" in a center island. Oh, speaking of center island, because the cabinet makers lied (long story) once they did actually start to build the cabinets, they sent up the center island...yesterday. Of course it doesn't fit in the back door, so it now sits between my dining room and living room next to the plastic divider they hung to keep the dust out of the house. "Excuse me, but dust doesn't respect plastic walls." Nuff said. Especially when you have 4 picture windows replaced. So yesterday I had the carpenter, the tile layer, the rock wall builders, the center island delivery team (and they picked up the tree they delivered weeks ago to go to somewhere to be prepared to prop up the ceiling...don't ask), as well as 4 men and two trucks (one has a grinder) here for 4 days cutting up branches etc. to try and keep my house from burning up in case of a fire. On top of all of that we pressure washed the entire first floor exterior and had the wood sealed. (It looks incredible.) Today (yes Sat.) the rock guys were working. I'm exhausted, and it is now time to feed the dogs...whoopee! I'll be back when I have some positive news. |
| I thought I'd written my autobiography, however now I realize it should be edited down to a few chapters at most. I confess; I was sure it would be a best seller. I mean after all, a publisher had paid me an enormous amount of money (in 1976) for it. But like most things I made plans and God laughed. LOUDLY. It never was published. Now at nearly 65 I realize life is lived long after your twenties when you are given the gift of time. I’ve been very fortunate despite having reached the gutter, climbed out, made movies, headlines and in general had my 15 minutes of Worhol-predicted fame several times over, all by the age of 30. And then life got really interesting! At age 34 I got married and thus began a roller-coaster ride which began in Beverly Hills then took me up and down many hills around the world. I came zooming back down only to end up alone, atop of another hill, when my husband died after 26 plus years of marriage. Then I climbed aboard another roller-coaster and held on. At age 61 I became a widow and then got ill. I was so ill I thought my time had come too. However by age 62 I became an artist, and later that year began to sell some of my postcards. At age 63 I became a newlywed. At age 64 I saw my art published in a respectable coffee table book first, then I illustrated a travel book which a wonderful writer from Open Salon, Lea Lane, entrusted me to do. (I have a link to it on the left side.) Now what? We’ve decided to remodel the kitchen having lived with a poorly laid out kitchen far too long. We’re not getting any younger, besides, we think it will be cheaper than moving. I’ll confess we have looked around at newer homes, but they always lacked the one thing we know we don’t want to live without...a view. For this reason my former (now deceased) husband and I moved back here after I spent 10 months redoing a home to be perfect for our needs. It turned out to be something perfect for someone else after a couple of years. Good thing, because it wasn’t much longer before real estate would take a big dive and we could have lost our ...does it matter? The fact is we missed our view. Period. So, now just over two years into a new marriage and we decided if not now, when? Doesn’t this seem to sum up our lives really? I kept waiting to redo this house, waiting for the perfect time and once Lance died I realized there is no “perfect” time except now. Nobody knows what tomorrow will bring. This is brought home again with the events in Boston, with North Korea, with Syria, with Israel...there is no time to waste. Keeping busy is the best thing we can do, until someone asks us to do something else. The same thing goes for having children. You can be "prepared" financially, but reality can be a real wake-up call. Who can ever predict how their offspring will turn out? I certainly never imagined my son in jail. I only wanted the best for him, and never once did jail enter my thoughts as the "best". I thought by now I'd be the grandmother to at least one child of his. The fact is it would be wishful thinking. Why just this past week I attended my first rock concert. Granted it was a small venue, but I may now cross seeing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from a non-existent bucket list. Come to think of it I’ve been crossing things off of my non-existent bucket list for decades! Life is not over until it is, and we must live each day fully by being respectful of this fact. |
| Okay the first week is done, now it really looks bleak in there, but things are moving along. So they tell me. I know Paul and I have been busy. Busy if you count the fall I had. Yeah, looking outside at the wood that Paul has decided to pressure wash clean, I accidentally stepped into a 2 foot hole the plumbers had cut into the concrete to ....I dunno, attach a drain pipe for the washer and dryer I thought should be stacked in a corner of the laundry room thus giving more space. Uh-huh. Luckily for me it was next to a wooden ramp into the kitchen so when I fell it was on wood not concrete. Nothing broken, only a skinned foot, bruised palm and stiff joints. Paul said it was a very "graceful fall". Yeah, in a sundress too. Besides this, it's been an okay week...unless you count my son going back to jail on Thursday. Sheesh, he was going to see me on Mothers Day...well the best laid plans and all. I did have a book (I illustrated) come out on Kindle. Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Travel-Tales-Couldnt-Put-Guidebooks/dp/1480187194/ref=sr_1... It's fun, and written by a blogger/travel writer, Lea Lane, I met a few years ago on another site. I use my married name to illustrate. Happy Mothers Day! |
| Today it began at eight a.m., the dismantling of an old life. In reality, it began several years ago when my husband died. The warmth of the kitchen went through the pain of seeing me alone, often watching the clock seemingly straddled between the past and my yet unknown future. Now the kitchen is dying, the "destruction derbyists" are tearing away at it's flesh, exposing problems I never knew I had. Each swing of a hammer, crunch of a board, or squeal of a nail being forced from it's home seems very cruel. I know this will soon give way to new walls and cabinets. Even though I am not watching, my mind's eye sees what is happening. I busy myself calling the trash pickup to tell them we'll need two times a week pick-up for awhile. I'm informed I can only change once a year without a charge. Twenty five dollars is what the fee is when I call them to revert to once a week pickup. So, they will be haul away the remnants of a life well lived, as well as left-overs from new beginnings. Oh, I am sad, but I am also excited to begin this with an eye to the future with Paul. This will be our room solely, from top to bottom. Like an unborn child we have given life to the idea of having a place all of our own. This new room will be the birthing and a fitting place to spend our time viewing the things we love, including each other. Last night sharing a last meal from the stove was stirring many emotions. As the sun set over the lake, our custom of watching it and kissing at the last "ding" was somewhat marred by the rain clouds. We did it by guesstimate, totally aware this would be the last kiss in the old kitchen. It only seemed appropriate that it would rain outside too. We hope to have it finished by mid July. I'll be here to express whatever takes place, the joy and the frustrations...I know there will be both! |
| I began blogging when I was remodeling a 5,000 sq. foot house in 2005 before we could move. Well, so much has happened since those days, yet I find myself back here blogging EIGHT YEARS later. I am back in the original ranch house and the kitchen, pantry and laundry room are slated to be DEMOLISHED on Tues. and the building of new ones begins. This time I will not be the construction boss...I hope. My wonderful husband Paul said he would do that, so maybe I can just be involved in the design. Yeah sure. I know I am a control freak. Honestly though I will do my utmost to stay out of the way. I wish I could say the same for Frasier and Niles, my dogs. Cesar and his wife will be involved...Cesar bringing cooked food up once a week, his wife will be taking our laundry home to do. Thank goodness. I am so very tired today, it has taken both of us 3 days to empty the pantry, kitchen cupboards and laundry room. There is a tad more to do tomorrow, but hey, that's tomorrow. Supposedly the kitchen will be done mid July. COUGH...I remember the last "remodel" took 10 months. The time I re-roofed (a 2 week project) morphed into a huge ordeal lasting 5 months. Tomorrow I will get a timeline more firmed up. HAH! I just took a peek back to my first blog and saw on this day (in 2005) I woke up laughing because Lance had awaken with "ARGHHHS" and Frasier was barking. Today I woke up laughing with Paul because yesterday was our 2nd wedding anniversary and we had fun. Boy it is an understatement saying "so much has happened since those days." I'm including some photos for "before" that I just took with the kitchen as it is today. |
| Last year my husband introduced me to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. I never realized the major extent of their song writing and playing abilities. I had no idea they'd written a James Bond theme, or the song Green Onions just to mention a few. I wonder how many influential bands have created such a rich fabrics of our lives? Anyway, after downloading several of their albums and listening to them over and over I told Paul, "I'd love to go see them play". Well, after a quick look on Google I discovered they just wrapped up a world tour. I decided then and there I would go anywhere to see the group perform. Paul was amused. From time to time I would check their tour site, but it was quiet. This past February, we were on a cruise to the South Pacific for the month, so outside of having their music on my iPod, I pretty much forgot to check their website for tour dates. Come March, I checked one day out of the blue (okay, maybe it was because they hadn't announced their tour dates yet in Jan.) and discovered they would be playing in LA for FIVE nights...in a small theater venue (1,300 people). Tickets wouldn't be available to buy until March 22 at 10 am. Sheesh. I made an alert on my iPhone and well...I SCORED 2 tickets for opening night! Then I discovered the show didn't begin until 9 pm. Gulp...that will mean a late night. For me late night has been 10 pm. Oh well, my consolation is that Tom is close to the same age, so he'll probably have to nap too! Meanwhile I scored a necklace for $5 which has a rhinestone studded guitar thingy on it...yeah, I'm going all out for my first rock concert! In other exciting news, I made a few changes on the kitchen design plan...nothing costly at this point, but I can imagine being in the new workspaces and I can see what won't work for me. Also, a few suggestions I've learned about our style of entertaining...very low key. Two of my neighbors dropped by to bring me some fresh lettuce from their garden, a "massage" ball thing for Paul to use on my back (very welcome since the one we were using isn't rolling too well now), and just to thank us for having them to dinner a few weeks ago. Very neighborly and appreciated. I made a wonderful salad last night using it. It has been so long since a neighbor came by I'd nearly forgotten we had any. Well, time for my tea, something I try to take time out for each afternoon...to slow me down and to appreciate the day. It actually works...except I find I need a bite to eat with it, and those chocolates I have been eating make it hard to stop at one, thus explaining the 10 pounds I've put on..okay that does include the cruise. Life is good! |
| Thought I would try checking in again...I am in a better mood anyway. Actually I am not sure why, as I decided to remodel the kitchen. Whoa...isn't this about the same place I started this oh-so-many-years ago blog? (I think so, though I am too lazy at the moment to go check.) It seems to me I have done some huge remodeling jobs over the past few years, the last being a 2-week re-roofing which scope-creeped into a 5-month gazillion dollar ordeal. I think I remember saying, "I'll never do another remodel." In fact, I believe I have said that every time I do one. Sigh. Is this a case of me not listening to me? Well, after a heart stopping meeting at the architect/builder's office last week I now know what the budget is to redo my kitchen to look like it fits in. GULP. However, one cannot be a custodian of a home which is one of 26 in a book, and expect it to be your typical remodel. And truthfully, I do see myself as the custodian. I mean I know this house will be here long after I...well...stop this blog. Best I go have a cup of tea and get to drawing a birthday card...birthdays don't wait too well. |
| Ordinarily I'd apologize for not blogging in such a long time. Not today. We are meeting with architects to renovate our kitchen. That ought to end the good marriage I have been fortunate to have. I don't know if I am really worried about that, what with North Korea threatening nuclear war. The thing is what can I do to stop it? So, I'll just go about my business and hope I get to see the results of the new kitchen. As one gets older we see life with a little more clarity I think. Goals are items we hope we will live long enough to achieve, and not many of them are important in the scheme of things. If nukes don't get me, perhaps a pandemic bird flu will...and should I be lucky enough to escape those the rheumatoid arthritis is slowly killing me anyway. Wow this is cheery, no wonder I don't blog more. I get weird. Maybe I'll just go back to my art, at least it makes me and others smile. The wind has been blowing for days here and I'm blocked by a huge oak limb across my driveway. So, I wait for Cesar to show up and use the power chainsaw to open my escape route. Not a moment too soon, as there was a pretty good size fire in a town just ember blowing distance away. It's going to be a long summer. Hope my friends here are doing well...I feel good, all things considered! |
| Just thought I would pop in for a few words. Actually, I leave a few words daily in my Haiku folder. It is like painting a picture, only with words. I've been taking down Bah-Humbug decorations. I remember when I would cruise over the holidays, and now I remember why. I see some familiar faces have come back and it is really good to know we do have a home-base so to speak. It's already a new year, and what a roller coaster one it has been. Pretty weird for just 5 days in, but hey, what's life without some excitement? Paul and I will be going on vacation soon, so yesterday I upgrade my iPad to a mini. I must confess I love the lighter feel of it, and the size makes it ideal for travel. Wahoo! They say the flu hasn't reached widespread status in CA yet, but are predicting a bad one for when it does...I hope I'm on vacation even though we got our flu shots. With a compromised immune system like mine it is very scary. Since Lance died of flu and pneumonia I'm rightfully frightened I think. Won't dwell on it, but plan to just continue living the best I can. Well, I need to get off of here for now, though my hands work now, the pain moves where opportune, so no need to give it somewhere to land.  Have a nice weekend! |
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. Cute pictures! I'm so glad you have found a new and different, but still beautiful, life.