A Walk-In Closet Is a Room, Not a Closet
messypeaches left Friday night, and I'll admit that Saturday I didn't get any packing done. I made a half-hearted attempt at one box, but I spent most of Saturday working on other stuff, like writing new threads for Fallen Leaves , working on some Fallen Leaves moderator tasks, and working on another collaborative writing project with darksideofstorm which is brilliant and already 19,000 words long.
I also did a good bit of introspection over an unusually strong flashbacky reaction I had to a stressful situation, and of course there was the flashbacky reaction itself. It's been a long while since I had such a severe reaction - the same sort of thing I used to get from being around the abusive ex. Note to self for writing traumatized soldiers: flashbacks can include shaking hands, nausea, a racing heart, aching under the sternum, and a strong desire to curl up into a little ball and protect your head. And you can't stop it just by telling yourself, "this is silly, you have no reason to be so freaked out." I'm still giving thought to why I had such a massive reaction and what it means. Fortunately I have loving friends who talked me off the ledge when I was at my shakiest.
I did do a few moving tasks, despite my slackitude. I intend to replace my old teal sofa which needs recovering and is very large, rather than move it to my new place. I went on Craigslist and searched for leather couches, in a sort of desultory way, just to see what was out there. I wasn't expecting to find anything, but I did! A matched set, actually, of a compact sofa and a loveseat. But in Milpitas, which is kinda far from me. But they seemed so perfect from the description, and the price was excellent, so I drove over there Saturday evening and yep! They are cream-coloured leather with some interesting stitched detail on the cushions that make them look a little art deco, are in excellent condition, and very, very comfy. $450 for the pair of them, plus $40 to have them delivered the 47 miles from Milpitas to Pacifica. The guy I'm buying them from is gonna drive them over in his van on Wednesday, and I'll put them in the middle of the living room at the new place until I've painted. They're gonna be fabulous, much better than the old sofa, and there will be places for guests to sit while visiting! And since they are second-hand, I don't have to feel anxiety about scuffing them up: they are pre-scuffed, just a little.
The pictures here don't really do them justice, since you can't see the details and the color isn't quite right. After looking at the couches and paying the sellers half, with the remainder to be COD on Wednesday, I drove up to Pacifica and dropped off the original keys from which I'd made copies with my new landlord, who is living in the A side of the duplex (I get the B side :D), and chatted with her for a bit. It totally reconfirmed for me how right this move feels, and how much I'm looking forward to living in Pacifica. I think the moving process might come within an inch of killing me, but it's all going to be worth it.
On the way back home I stopped at the grocery and got bagels and lox, which I had for both Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. Nom nom nom omega-3 fatty acids in the salmon, which are totally not voided by the cream cheese, right?
Today I sang Christina Aguilera's Beautiful in church, and a couple of people told me it moved them to tears, which... wow, right? D'Anne was recording, so if there's audio or video to post, I'll share. Then there was a church meeting, and then I was home and wiped out. But I posted a thread with fireinflight, and then I kind of crashed, I wanted to nap, but I ended up just lying down and reading. But then... *dom dom dommmmmmmm*
I worked on the walk-in closet. Which I have decided is not a closet but a room. It's the smallest room, but it's a room, and it is crammed with stuff, so it's no surprise it's taking me a long time to get through it. I packed up eight bags of things and an old heavy suitcase to take to Goodwill, and filled a bag of trash and a bag of recycling. And I gave my brown canvas beanbag chair to the college kids who live across the hall from me.
I also unearthed my huge stash of fabric, some of it very nice stuff like silk velvet, which I acquired back when I was sewing. And I came to a decision: I am ready to let the sewing machine go. It's a gorgeous old Singer in a wooden table, which I got from a friend's mother, but I don't have a place for it in my new house, and I'm not sewing anyway. So I think what I'm gonna do is list the sewing machine and the huge stash of fabrics on Craigslist, and see if I can get someone to come take them away and maybe give me a little cash for them. Unless massao888 wants the sewing machine back, or someone local says they want it.
The work of hauling the crap down to my car was as backbreaking as anything, and why I think this goes faster when I have someone helping. Tomorrow I'll drive it to Goodwill, and try to do another section of closet. I'd say the closet's about three-fifths done now. jbmcdragon is gonna come over and help Tuesday (and I'll help her pack her place, since she's moving, too, when I get back from Tennessee), and my friends Pat and Michelle are gonna come help Wednesday. Just gotta get things in sorta decent shape before I leave for Nashville on Wednesday night, since Pat and Michelle said they'd pack the obvious stuff like books and the china hutch and curio cabinet for me while I'm out of town. They are angels. So I gotta finish the book cull before I go, if I can.
Anyway, now I need some ibuprofen and bed. I think my back and the injured knee are just going to permanently ache until I'm done moving. Man, I wish I'd done more weight training.
I also did a good bit of introspection over an unusually strong flashbacky reaction I had to a stressful situation, and of course there was the flashbacky reaction itself. It's been a long while since I had such a severe reaction - the same sort of thing I used to get from being around the abusive ex. Note to self for writing traumatized soldiers: flashbacks can include shaking hands, nausea, a racing heart, aching under the sternum, and a strong desire to curl up into a little ball and protect your head. And you can't stop it just by telling yourself, "this is silly, you have no reason to be so freaked out." I'm still giving thought to why I had such a massive reaction and what it means. Fortunately I have loving friends who talked me off the ledge when I was at my shakiest.
I did do a few moving tasks, despite my slackitude. I intend to replace my old teal sofa which needs recovering and is very large, rather than move it to my new place. I went on Craigslist and searched for leather couches, in a sort of desultory way, just to see what was out there. I wasn't expecting to find anything, but I did! A matched set, actually, of a compact sofa and a loveseat. But in Milpitas, which is kinda far from me. But they seemed so perfect from the description, and the price was excellent, so I drove over there Saturday evening and yep! They are cream-coloured leather with some interesting stitched detail on the cushions that make them look a little art deco, are in excellent condition, and very, very comfy. $450 for the pair of them, plus $40 to have them delivered the 47 miles from Milpitas to Pacifica. The guy I'm buying them from is gonna drive them over in his van on Wednesday, and I'll put them in the middle of the living room at the new place until I've painted. They're gonna be fabulous, much better than the old sofa, and there will be places for guests to sit while visiting! And since they are second-hand, I don't have to feel anxiety about scuffing them up: they are pre-scuffed, just a little.
The pictures here don't really do them justice, since you can't see the details and the color isn't quite right. After looking at the couches and paying the sellers half, with the remainder to be COD on Wednesday, I drove up to Pacifica and dropped off the original keys from which I'd made copies with my new landlord, who is living in the A side of the duplex (I get the B side :D), and chatted with her for a bit. It totally reconfirmed for me how right this move feels, and how much I'm looking forward to living in Pacifica. I think the moving process might come within an inch of killing me, but it's all going to be worth it.
On the way back home I stopped at the grocery and got bagels and lox, which I had for both Saturday dinner and Sunday breakfast. Nom nom nom omega-3 fatty acids in the salmon, which are totally not voided by the cream cheese, right?
Today I sang Christina Aguilera's Beautiful in church, and a couple of people told me it moved them to tears, which... wow, right? D'Anne was recording, so if there's audio or video to post, I'll share. Then there was a church meeting, and then I was home and wiped out. But I posted a thread with fireinflight, and then I kind of crashed, I wanted to nap, but I ended up just lying down and reading. But then... *dom dom dommmmmmmm*
I worked on the walk-in closet. Which I have decided is not a closet but a room. It's the smallest room, but it's a room, and it is crammed with stuff, so it's no surprise it's taking me a long time to get through it. I packed up eight bags of things and an old heavy suitcase to take to Goodwill, and filled a bag of trash and a bag of recycling. And I gave my brown canvas beanbag chair to the college kids who live across the hall from me.
I also unearthed my huge stash of fabric, some of it very nice stuff like silk velvet, which I acquired back when I was sewing. And I came to a decision: I am ready to let the sewing machine go. It's a gorgeous old Singer in a wooden table, which I got from a friend's mother, but I don't have a place for it in my new house, and I'm not sewing anyway. So I think what I'm gonna do is list the sewing machine and the huge stash of fabrics on Craigslist, and see if I can get someone to come take them away and maybe give me a little cash for them. Unless massao888 wants the sewing machine back, or someone local says they want it.
The work of hauling the crap down to my car was as backbreaking as anything, and why I think this goes faster when I have someone helping. Tomorrow I'll drive it to Goodwill, and try to do another section of closet. I'd say the closet's about three-fifths done now. jbmcdragon is gonna come over and help Tuesday (and I'll help her pack her place, since she's moving, too, when I get back from Tennessee), and my friends Pat and Michelle are gonna come help Wednesday. Just gotta get things in sorta decent shape before I leave for Nashville on Wednesday night, since Pat and Michelle said they'd pack the obvious stuff like books and the china hutch and curio cabinet for me while I'm out of town. They are angels. So I gotta finish the book cull before I go, if I can.
Anyway, now I need some ibuprofen and bed. I think my back and the injured knee are just going to permanently ache until I'm done moving. Man, I wish I'd done more weight training.