3rd House Journal

Chilling out

[Footbridge at Gallup Park, Ann Arbor; 7/28/07]

Unlike my condo, which had central air (albeit rather weakly functioning), our apartment doesn't have air conditioning at all except for the window unit I installed in my bedroom. I do use the window unit at night, which helps me sleep, but otherwise we make do with window fans and the cross breezes from all the windows that line the four sides of the apartment. Except for the really hot and humid days, it feels quite comfortable and I enjoy the feel of "real" air. Of course I'm lucky to work all day in an air conditioned office, fortunately one that's not overly cold. During my visit to see my folks, I was freezing much of the time - restaurants blew frigid blasts over us, movie theaters did the same, and in my dad's little apartment there was no way to escape the air vent that continually blew cold air over the futon in the living room where I slept. Living as I do now, I wear lightweight summer clothing and I forgot to bring anything heavier than a thin hoodie sweatshirt on my trip. Much as I am grateful for the "chill zone" of my bedroom at night and the cooled and dried air that lets me work comfortably in the office all day, I sometimes wish we could enjoy summer the old-fashioned way - slowing down, sitting outdoors in the shade of a tree or on our porches sipping a cold drink, and wearing light clothing instead of bundling up in heavy sweaters.

After returning from my visit and getting a good night's sleep, I'm enjoying being home again, and spending my weeknights after work just chilling out with a good book.

Visiting

[Huron River, from Gallup Park, Ann Arbor; 7/28/07]

[Mallard mother and baby, Gallup Park, Ann Arbor; 7/28/07; click to see larger]

I had a good, if short, visit. Entertainment the first day consisted of taking my mom to her dermatologist appointment, which was rather interesting since my dad and I both stayed in the room for it and she was seen by a resident and then the resident, the attending, and another observer (mental note to make dermatologist appointment for my own pale skin), which she'd forgotten all about an hour later at dinner. Friday we all went to see Ratatouille, which was delightful, followed by dinner at a local Chinese place, cooked presumably by personages other than rats but was decent enough anyway. And Saturday we drove out to Chelsea for a street fair, at which my mom and I spent some 45 minutes looking at jewelry which then required another 45 minutes sitting and consuming ice cream and/or sodas to recover before turning around and heading back to town.

[Zou Zou's coffee shop, Chelsea, MI; 7/28/07]

[Mill Pond Bread table at Chelsea Street Fair]

[W. Middle Street, Chelsea]

The staff at the dementia unit were warm and kind, and there is a lovely courtyard there, among other (highly expensive) amenities. When I, or my dad and I, picked her up each day, she always seemed like she had been quite contented, visiting with another resident or sitting in the courtyard reading, but as soon as she was with us she'd complain that she was miserable and wanted us to take her away. Being with us reminds her that she's without us. Then she'd forget about it during the day until we brought her back in the evening, when she'd get upset at being left. Some nights she calls my dad to come get her. Other nights they have her involved with the activities and she forgets. But it's very hard and it's sad, for them both.

The trip was overall pretty exhausting, and my return plane was delayed for mechanical trouble - we sat on board for an hour then were herded off to another plane, leaving 2+ hours late - but I got home by early afternoon. I'm planning to lay low this week, in spite of an enticing offer to go out with friends for musical entertainment one night. I just want to do nothing, absolutely nothing. And I do have to work all week.

Traveling...

Gone to visit my folks for a few days.

Back soon...

More gratuitous Ingrid photos

[Ingrid nests on my bed; 5:30pm, 7/22/07]

She's not my dog, of course, she's my housemate K's. But tell that to Ingrid. She was rather fond of nesting in my pillows in the old place and seems more so here, where my bedroom is centrally located. In fact, it's one of the ways to get from the back of the house to the front since it has a door on each end.

K, at least, uses the convenient hallway through the dining room to go from her bedroom or the kitchen to the front where the living room and porch are. Ingrid makes no such effort at decorum. All the world is hers, at least the part of it that she can reach.

Spotting summer

[Ingrid sees something interesting; 12 noon, 7/22/07]

Cranky yesterday, and edgy for several days. Stressed. Not enough solid sleep. My clothes are falling off me; I've lost a dozen pounds or more since winter. Had a nice visit with friends Friday night after work, but back to off-center when I woke up Saturday. Another trip back to the condo was irritating for many reasons (although the good part was that the tenants drove up to sign the lease and get the keys, etc.). Got home around 5pm and dragged the few remaining boxes upstairs. The summer - my favorite season, the shortest - is flying by. I dug my beach bag out of the closet, threw on my bathing suit, grabbed a sand chair, and drove to Walden... 15 minutes away, and it was heaven. Absolute heaven. And I slept almost 10 hours last night.

I managed to buy paint in my travels yesterday, so this morning I moved most of the furniture out of my bedroom, draped everything else, taped up the edges, and painted. It looks nice, especially with the furniture back in. Now, I'm thinking about another trip out to Walden. I bought a season pass.

---

5:15pm
Walden was full up, alas. Sigh. Consoling myself with the fudge Lorianne brought me Friday night. (Hm, there may even be margaritas left in the frig...) At least the weather is superb, with cool breezes blowing through. Guess I'll have to settle for another lovely evening on the porch.

7:19 7/19

[Home from work; 7:19pm, 7/19/07]

Morning

[Back yard view; 8:15am, 7/18/07]

Belch

A pair of long-buried men's pants flew out of my chest early this morning. But later I was disappointed that I really didn't feel any different.

--

Ah well, must go make my lunch and get ready for work...

Constitutional

[Nearby square; 8:15pm, 7/17/07]

I took my first neighborhood exploration on foot tonight after dinner. It's an odd mix. I passed well-tended suburban gardens, cats lolling in driveways, lively conversation and dinner on darkening porches, dog-walkers, then a number of run-down houses with peeling paint and dumpsters filling the driveway, then more well-tended, landscaped front yards, a playground, a middle school. Several of the streets around the residential part of the neighborhood are being repaired and repaved, which I already knew from trying to find my way down the winding back streets between the apartment and my job - detours everywhere. I turned down toward the square, where a bakery sits next to a fitness center, a five-and-dime next to a hip women's clothing shop, Starbuck's across the street from a Greek pizza parlor, a yoga studio next to an upscale Italian restaurant.

I didn't take many snapshots in the dimming light. I'm also intimidated by taking pictures with people around, which I'll have to get over now that I live in a much more congested area. Or early in the morning. At any rate, there's much to explore.

Sunday

It's hot here today. Poor Ingrid pants in her heavy fur coat, accustomed to central air. She's nested in the down pillows on my bed, in front of the fan in the window. Loose window screens flap in their casings. We get pretty good cross ventilation. But it is around 90 degrees F.

This morning we hooked up the washing machine, unfortunately forgetting to pull the hose out and fit it into the drainpipe, so we flooded the basement with soapy water. The landlady was sweet about it - there's a good drain in the rather cruddy cement and we didn't damage anything. But I felt bad. You want to enjoy your new life, but it's awkward and the routine things you're used to doing with your eyes closed aren't there to fill in for your mental lapses.

We clipped our damp clothes to the clothesline out at the back of the yard - I had to leave my electric dryer at the condo because they have gas here and our new one hasn't arrived yet. At least the weather was cooperative, warm and breezy, so our clothes dried quickly. Then, putting things away upstairs, I dropped something heavy on the big knuckle of my foot, adding to my various moving bruises. I rather look like I've been beaten up. But most boxes have been emptied, if not everything put in order. We're getting there.

I had some old furniture and junk hauled away from the condo yesterday. Tomorrow I'll go back out and touch up the paint on the spackled nail holes in the walls, and retrieve what I hope to be the last odds and ends remaining. I cleaned out all the kitchen cabinets, then remembered in the middle of the night the tiny cabinet next to the frig that's still full of liquor! The new tenants could have had quite the party, if the carpet cleaners didn't find it first. So that'll have to come back. I need the fixings so that some day soon we can sip margaritas on the porch...