Last Commented Family Blogs (544)

Last month my nephew (living 10 miles away) accepted a job in California. He scooted out as the position required him to start immediately. Small problem: Wife and 2 young children in Florida. The icing on that cake is my niece is in the finals of graduation. Read: dissertation.

A few weeks ago, my wife volunteered to help pack and for a few days each week she filled boxes, sealed them with tape and stacked them in the garage.
They arranged a storage container (with a roll-up door) from a company called PODS that was 16 feet long that now sits in the driveway. My nephew flew back to Florida one weekend and worked 2 days packing as much as possible before he had to fly back... this time with his wife, 2 young children and 2 cats. Personally, I would have left the cats behind, especially the moody one who will scratch you in a heartbeat simply because he knows he can.

With no developed plans, they left 2 cars (with keys under the tires) a rented house (with key under the doormat) and less than 2 weeks before the lease expires and they have to be out!

In desperation, I was called (by my brother) as the 'clock was ticking' and he realized their plans were about to fail.

Cars
The Avalon was older and in need of repair. I pushed the issue to unload it. A friend dropped me off Friday and I drove it to a parking lot near my warehouse to buy time for a future decision.
They are keeping the Camry and will pay a car carrier to transport it to California.

Furniture
About 80% made it to the container, with the exception of a king size 12" thick memory foam mattress. Well, duh, while that should have been loaded in the front with the bed frame, my niece wouldn't have a bed to sleep in. No win.

Electronics
We boxed up 4 TV's, laserjet printer, DVD player and a few miscellaneous items.

My nephew pleaded for the mattress, so we unloaded a bunch of boxes to make room and schlepped the mattress from the 2nd floor out to the container, pushed it up over the boxes and wedged 2 TV's over that!

What goes, what stays
Infant swing, a gift from his sister a last minute must and some baby cradles.
We took apart all those items and shoved them inside.
Literally, we're out of room and have more boxes and baskets to pack.
I opened a few brief cases already in the container... EMPTY (insert a slight episode of Tourette's) but we've got a plan! I was able to repack some boxes into those empty cases. Pillows and bedding that wasn't going to make the trip got squeezed in between every gap we could find.

By then, it was dark, windy raining and the PODS truck was a few hours late for the pickup. I guess he knew we were in 'Coolie mode' all afternoon, so it worked out best.

With relief we did our best, I padlocked the container, closed the garage and we headed back to the condo for dinner.

Next week, my nephew has to arrange for some charitable agency to pick up the rest of the furniture as donation that will require my presence and I'll do a walk-thru with the landlord to get the approval that everything is clean, because they are going to California!

Dear friends! Most of you who read and comment on my blogs already know I'm a special boy's mom. But I am also a mom of a very smart, intelligent, creative, beautiful, kind daughter. She is a million times better than me. She is active in various intellectual competitions, writes poems, is interested in history, mythology, space and astronomy, and dreams of working for Nasa. She dreams of designing a large vacuum cleaner that will clean the planet from dirt and change the world. But to build houses in the air that would not occupy space on earth and would not destroy nature. She is worried about the global problems of the world. In particular, pollution, the extinction of rare species of animals and plants on earth, as well as its concern with human cruelty and war. At the age of 10, she outperforms her peers with her outlook on life. So today, as always at the dinner table, we discussed different topics. And she remembered how 2 years ago, participated in the competition on the topic of "the future in 100 years". The best works are in the time capsule. Her picture of the future was one of them. And my daughter and I decided to make such a "time capsule" for her and her brother and school graduates. I usually support any idea of ??children that helps them to develop. So I decided to join and started writing a letter of advice for the future. Of course it is quite voluminous. But I would like to hear your opinion as well. So, what advice would you give to your children graduating from school? From the point of your life, your life experience? Thank you.

I'm not big on following my family traditions mostly because I follow the traditions of where I am at - at the time. Traditions are different and I seem to like most of them.

On New Year's Day I think I will cook Mom's traditional meal which is supposed to bring in money, success, prosperity, good health and I forget if anything else. I have to have her tell me again what all it is but what I remember is cooked greens, black eye peas, pork (I think) 12 green grapes (one for each month) - I forgot what else. My daughter who has only lived in Florida follows my Mom's tradition. I've been so non-traditional that I can hardly remember any of the other traditions from my friends. Then Mom can take some to Dad and they both get to celebrate one more family tradition.

I know one thing I don't have to worry about anymore is hang overs. If I ever did have a tradition it was to not party so hard on New Year's Eve. Now I sleep through it.

As long as nothing bad happens in the next five days - I get to close 2019, my first year of retirement, feeling totally blessed with time to enjoy what I worked for since I was 15. Sadly it was a very hard year on my parents.

I'm a simple man really. I don't need much and these days I expect even less. I find that it minimalizes the potential for disappointment and maximizes square footage!

I don't have much to recycle or toss in the bin after opening Christmas gifts. Sketch pads and pencils ruled the day. I fought an urge to protest a gift but it turns out that I needed it more than I thought.

The thing that made my day though was a simple gift card. Initially, I was thinking that in order to put it to good use, I would have to go shopping...and maybe somewhere I didn't want to. The gift card giver lives on the other coast so I thought that it was purchased at some chain store or restaurant with the assumption that the chain was 3,000 miles long.

To my surprise, the card was for a local establishment, and one that I frequently patronize!


That means the card giver had to do a bit of detective work and that the card had to travel 6,000 miles to get right back to where it started!

The card giver is clever and thoughtful...and my sister. If I could rewind the clock, I think I would ask Santa for just one thing...to be more like her.

I've had a few episodes helping my nephew moving his family to California. I'm pushing the issue to have them out of the rented house by the end of this month so they don't incur more expense. Currently, they are in a hotel (in California) awaiting a deal on an apartment next month.
I found a 5th TV around the corner of the master bedroom loft that no one told us about. The only reason for that was my search for the internet router. Sheesh. The container is filled, so it's got to go in the back seat of the car they will have transported. Any other things we can stuff in the car should happen tomorrow. I'm waiting to hear when the car will be moved. If they can't get the carrier in time, I've got to move it to a guest spot at my condo or (preferred) the back parking warehouse of my office.
Tomorrow, I'm returning the TV and internet equipment then meeting one of the local donation services to take any/all of the things in the garage. Tables, (ugly) art work, lamps, broken bicycle, plastic bins and children's toys.

The one really negative that stands out is the smell of the place.
Nearly every room had a 'Plug-in' scented device. The few times I was there, scented candles were burning in a house with 2 cats, I deemed the place toxic. I mentioned about the Plug-ins being an irritant and not a good idea for 2 young children. That warning didn't faze them at all. Because my sinuses swelled within a few minutes, my visits were always short.

On the pile of 'give away' was a small carpet mat that I though would be good in my home office. Thought... I couldn't stand the smell and moved it to my back porch. The next stop will be the dumpster. I'm planning a yard sale at my house in Miami and put a toaster with a few other things in the back of my car for this weekend. The chemical perfume smell is so strong that I have to open the window and get fresh air into the car!

I'll be happy when this is over...

... the old reformed communist leader is 88, and in failing health. Did grant a rare interview to the Beeb, where he warned, again, of the dangers of atomic war. He tried to reform the economic system in his country, but of course corruption had the stronger hand. New oligarchs, with tight relations to the new pols, and the military, quickly took over. Mineral, pipeline and oil concerns, circumventing fairer neonationalization, were scooped up for kopeks on the rubble. The lumpen proletariat are on the whole better off, it's true, but almost all are still struggling for their daily bread, oily Wodya, not to mention western jeans. And increasingly, the West is seen as a threat to Mother Russia. Natoization of former slave states, almost all now with bustling economies, under more democratic rule, and much more,---reunite age old fears of encirclment and domination. And the important treaties worked out in wisdom and good faith between Gorbachov and that prototrumpian monster Reagan, are due to expire. Recall how the ueber left and biased media fretted that the Gipper would BRING ON nuclear war, in the day, rather than make it less likely. Anyone see similarities to the now three year, serially failing, attacks to overturn by coup, the 2016 election? There are much more auspicious pictures of life for our children today. These weapons should be cut back to only a very few, for tactical. not strategic purposes, in each nuclear power. A pleasant start to improve the world. then we can get on to other real problems. Such as?????

Because one Christmas Eve I became widowed I loathe Christmas, mostly because it is so commercial, however I LOVE Thanksgiving. This year my bouncing baby boy is hosting it so I have to drive that 100 miles to Orlando. My granddiva gets off this year and will be there as well as Orlando friends. I've made my cooking list of my boy's and diva's favorite dishes to make, that excites me.

I would love to go and return on Thanksgiving Day. I love coming home, however my son nagged and nagged me to stay for a few days. blah. I will go the day before and probably return Sunday. I know it will be fun even though I prefer to be a hermit for some reason.

I have to say I look forward to this event as I know my daughter in law will cook such a variety of foods to cause a feeding frenzy. There is always new foods that I've never tried before so I love learning her culture. Since she cooks chickens with their head on I was a little nervous about her cooking the turkey but the granddiva said she was cooking the turkey. YAY a headless turkey.

I've never had goose and dammit one of these days I want to try a goose.

We were in Miami last weekend doing more house renovation to prepare for a sale. One thing needed was to pressure clean the sidewalk and front porch. My helper insisted doing this project and pushed me aside. She's got control of the pressure now. How much pressure? It would appear to be 1800 psi.



I had no choice but to run to Home Depot for some supplies...

What a wonderful feeling to end a day full of Love. Dad turned 90, Mom, all my siblings came together at an Italian Restaurant even both my kids drove a 100 miles to be together, 15 of us. My brothers got Dad out of the rehab facility for 4 hours. Lots of love and laughter. Dad had it all together today, sense of humor and all.

The question is will he remember it tomorrow? Probably not but maybe. Anyways there are hundreds of pictures now on FB to show him when we visit and to revisit the memories every year.

What a great ending to a day.