Our house in Schuylerville is in the process of being sold, and we made several trips there to empty the garage and clean the mess the inspector left in the house. Here are some highlights of the vacation. I kept forgetting to take pictures, so these are sort of random:
The Valley Falls house decorated for Christmas.
Making cookies with my Mom.
Lunch at the Gideon Putnam.
My Mom and I twice wore the same outfit without consulting each other. So funny!
I'm afraid that Stephen's vacation wasn't as relaxing as mine. He needed to load his truck and car trailer with some large machine equipment from the shop, some purchased machine tools for his company, his motorcycle, and various other large and cumbersome things from the garage, such as an engine and a transmission, an engine hoist, etc. The trailer needed some work first, and then it took three days to get the equipment loaded and secured, and THEN it turned out that there was too much weight, so some difficult decisions had to be made regarding what to leave behind. Stephen's friend Ray and his wife Sandy had volunteered to drive the rig to New Mexico, and it turned out to be a long and stressful trip with several stops for repairs along the way.
Debby and I helped for part of one day and lent some levity to the proceedings:
Speaking of stressful days, my trip home with Spike was one I'd like to forget. I brought Annabelle to NM with me when I moved in September, because she is an indoor cat who could live in the one bedroom apartment with us. But our outdoor cat, Spike, stayed with a very kind friend in Schuylerville while we searched for a house. Now that we're settled into a big house with a walled-in back yard, it was time to bring Spike to NM to rejoin the family. Unfortunately, he had developed hyperthyroidism in the meantime, a common ailment in older cats, and one that we only discovered during the week after Christmas. So he spent several days at the vet and had not yet had time to respond to the treatment when it was time to leave. Annabelle was uncooperative at security and noisy during the trip, but Spike was much, much worse. He peed in the soft-sided cat carrier before we even boarded the first plane, and pooped somewhere along the way. He howled and clawed at the sides of the carrier. I went into a self-contained family restroom in Albany airport and tried to clean up, but the mild hand soap was no match for cat pee, which has to be one of the most acrid, eye-searing odors in existence. In case you don't know, airplanes are very small, enclosed spaces without a lot of ventilation. The people around me were, I'm sure, horrified. I tried to explain that I didn't WANT to fly with a cat, and that I had even tried to find a permanent home for him in NY to avoid it, but I'm sure everyone had already decided that I was the crazy cat lady. Thank goodness my flights were on time. That was the only thing that went right that day. When Stephen picked me up, we secured the carrier with Spike in the bed of the truck (it has a cap) but Stephen had to drive with the windows open because I had become so stinky by that point. I'm just lucky he didn't make ME ride in the bed of the truck with Spike. Upon arrival at the house, I gave Spike a bath in the utility sink, then put all my clothes including my sneakers and coat into the washing machine and took a long shower. Ugh. Unhappy cat!
Now, a week later, things are starting to settle into a routine, thank goodness. Stephen still has to go to Oklahoma to pick up the trailer, which only made it that far before requiring an axle. And Annabelle still thinks that Spike is an interloper instead of her brother who shared a house with her for 10 years. But Stephen is enjoying his work and getting excited about projects he is coordinating. I started a new gig filling in for a band director who is on leave, perhaps for the remainder of the school year. I have a middle school jazz band and three grade level bands, each with an hour of rehearsal every day! That's a LOT of rehearsal planning, but I am so happy to have meaningful work to do. I'm still teaching at the studio as well, which means 12 hour work days for me until the end of Feb. when the studio teacher on maternity leave comes back to work. We are in love with our new house and I am particularly in love with the kitchen. The days are mostly sunny and although it's cold at night, it's usually in the high 30's to mid-40's by afternoon. Stephen is thrilled to be able to ride his motorcycle in January.
The excellent adventure continues...
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