My Day: 28 August 2011

Well, Hurricane Irene has pretty much cleared out of our area. Didn't do an enormous amount of damage right around this part of Northern Virginia, although many other areas were hard hit. We didn't even lose power this time, which is very unusual. I'm getting really weary of all this extreme weather. I grew up in Texas, so I'm used to extremes, of course. But since I've lived in Virginia I've been through a tornado, an earthquake, and several vicious hurricanes -- never had experiences like that in Texas.

On a happier note: Today was our wedding anniversary. We had sort of planned an anniversary trip to NYC this year, but never got around to doing anything definite about it. As it turns out, that was a good thing since Irene is now moving up the East Coast. Instead, we took a drive over to Shenandoah National Park -- I think Michael's happier there than he would have been in the Big Apple, anyway.

My Day: 23 August 2011

So that's an earthquake???!!!

I've actually experienced one other earthquake, many years ago, in Mexico City. But it was very mild and lasted probably about two seconds. The one we had here in Virginia today was much more like THE BIG ONE!

We had just finished lunch, and I was tidying up at the time; and at first I didn't really notice anything because after living in a high-rise all these years I've gotten used to a certain amount of vibration in the building from time to time. But then as the shaking got really violent, I thought I was having some kind of attack or seizure -- the power didn't blink, and nothing was falling off the walls right at first, so it took me a second or two to realize what was happening. And by that time, Michael was up saying "Is this an earthquake?" Don't really know how long it lasted -- seemed like at least a couple of minutes. And then it took me about half an hour to stop vibrating, myself, after the quake was over! Also, I was very nervous that it might start again, so I quickly gathered up all the stuff I thought we might need if we had to evacuate, and stuffed it in my purse and my big Vera Bradley bag – cell phone, glasses, iPad, Filofax, all our pills, a change of undies, and my old Teddy bear. Oh, and my makeup bag, too.

I was very worried that the building might have been damaged -- that would be just our luck to have this place declared uninhabitable now that we're so close to putting it on the market. But they issued a notice later in the afternoon, on the condo website -- no structural damage. We didn't have any sort of real damage here in the apartment, either. A few things fell off the bookcases in the study -- but a clock was the only thing that got broken. And Michael went right to work on that and fixed it while I was still bracing for aftershocks (there were some, but fortunately we didn't feel any).

The only positive note I’ve found in the whole thing is that they say now it’s really unlikely we’ll ever experience another earthquake of that magnitude in this area, in our lifetime. But I’m of two minds about that -- in a way, it sounds reassuring; in a way, it sounds like famous last words.

My Day: 21 August 2011

Day of Rest . . . . Now that we've started our Big Push to get the condo in shape to sell, I've had to declare one day a week an official DAY OFF. Otherwise, there would be no let-up in M's campaign to keep me always at it (to be fair, he keeps himself "at it" even more intensely). So on Sunday, we rest. We don't even talk about doing any fixing up, clearing out, sorting or rehab work.

Anyway, that's the theory. At least it worked today. It was lovely -- I got lots of reading done, and did a little genealogy work. In the evening, we watched one of my favorite old movies (Hitchcock's North By Northwest), and the brief thunderstorm cleared itself away in plenty of time for M to make his famous grilled tuna (with pico de gallo garnish) for dinner. Now if the Cowboys had just won their preseason game, the day would have been pretty nearly perfect.

Obviously I've given up on the "one-sentence" idea. Still think it's intriguing, but I'm too much of a blabber-mouth to make it work.

My Day: 20 August 2011

Depressing day. Spent an hour or so doing some clear-out work in one of our storage rooms. Naturally, we picked one of the hottest days of the year. Much of the stuff filling up the space belonged to my mother, and hasn't been looked at since she died ten years ago. Not heirlooms -- just her stuff, and a lot of it not really usable or worth hanging onto. And I know we can't keep everything -- certainly don't want to have to move it to Texas with us. But the thought of getting rid of it is still painful, even after all this time. I feel like it's my mother I'm throwing away.

My Day: 19 August 2011

Wasted most of the evening perusing the new September issue of Vogue magazine. Huge book - 758 pages! Mostly ads, of course. I notice that the '60s and '70s Retro Revival still seems to be going strong. And the Mad Men look is also popular this year. Many, many photos of expensive (and gorgeous) handbags. And tons of absolutely hideous shoes!

My Day: 18 August 2011

Grocery shopping today. A little disturbed to find that our regular neighborhood supermarket has started locking up a large number of items, behind sturdy plexiglass sheets. I can understand the more "dangerous" drugs and really expensive goods. But teeth whitener? And Tums? Are the local crime lords in such desperate need of antacids that they'll stop at nothing to stock up?

My Day: 17 August 2011

If eBay doesn't really intend to let anyone contact their "customer support," then why oh why don't they just SAY so instead of making me search all over the damn place trying to figure out how to contact customer support? Yeah, I know -- clear my cache!
The Maltese Falcon on TCM tonight. Such a wonderful movie -- I have to watch it whenever it's being shown. Even though, as M keeps pointing out, we own the DVD and could watch it anytime. And even though I know almost all the dialogue by heart.

My Day: 16 August 2011

Lovely weather today -- mostly sunny, mild temps, low humidity. Why was I indoors all day?

My Day: 15 August 2011

Cleaning day -- the place actually looks pretty presentable when it's vacuumed and spiffed up. Almost ready to put it on the market.
Monday is Major TV Night around here -- new episodes of Eureka and Warehouse 13; then a Castle episode we hadn't seen. Glued to the tube all evening.
Almost all my fingernails seem to be peeling -- M thinks it might be a lack of Biotin in my diet. So that's one more supplement to take (oh, goodie!).

My Day: 14 August 2011

Another pretty average Sunday. Mostly rainy and cloudy with brief sunny spells -- not my favorite kind of weather.
Call from E about M's mom -- said she's been doing much better lately; even getting up and walking around with no help. But he also said she's been trying to take off her Aricept patch, so it's hard to know just what's really going on with her. E sounded optimistic, though.
Spent the evening watching more old movies -- Blade Runner (which I've seen countless times) and Back to the Future, Part 1 (which I've seen even more than countless times). Love 'em both.
Email not downloading properly on my cell phone -- had to get M to figure out what was going wrong. Yes, I AM a techno dinosaur.

My Day: 13 August 2011

Trip into DC with M, to visit the Building Museum and the American Art Museum; lunch in the Art Museum's cafe (tasty, but one of the most expensive cups of soup I've ever eaten).
My new Lamy Safari fountain pen (in Aqua!) was delivered.

My Day: 12 August 2011

Slow day; mostly getting back to normal after my dental adventure -- jaw still swollen and gums very sore, but no more Vicodin after last night.
First preseason game for the Cowboys tonight, and they won it!!! Made me feel a lot better!

My Day: 11 August 2011

Had the prep work done for my new crown; also a filling in one of my wisdom teeth. An hour and a half of torture. But my dentist regaled me all the while with tales of his vacation homes in North Carolina and Aruba!
Started reading a new cozy mystery -- Malice in Miniature by Jeanne M. Dams.

My Day: 10 August 2011

Spent the morning helping (just a bit) the hubby super-clean the bathrooms (his big project for the week). He did all the heavy work -- I mostly stood on the sidelines, cheering.
Lunch at Los Toltecos, then stopped by the library to return/check out library books.
Ordered my first Lamy fountain pen (from Jet Pens) -- a Safari model in Aquamarine.

My Day: 9 August 2011

Quiet day -- this project might already be running out of steam.
Big news of the day: Our indoor pool and fitness center will be closing soon, because of the rehab work being done in the Community Center. Might be closed for up to three months. Bummer.

My Day: 8 August 2011

Had the balcony doors replaced -- also the window in the study. Now we can actually see outside again! And the mud dauber's nest didn't need to be removed -- Mamma Mud Dauber still at work.
Email from C: She has a new job and a new apartment, and all three kiddoes are with her now. She's worried about getting them all back to school, with the financial woes she's having. What to think about that?

My Day: 7 August 2011

Typical Sunday. M made oatmeal for breakfast. Spent the morning with the New York Times Book Review and the Washington Post comics.
Did some grilling for dinner -- M's barbecued salmon (yum!). Watched Invictus DVD from Netflix; strange movie -- great if you love rugby; not so much if you don't.

My Day: 6 August 2011

Lunch at the Olive Garden in Bailey's Crossroads. Shopping at Trader Joe's; looked like the rest of the world was there, too -- or at least, inhabiting the parking lot. Starbucks for lattes.
Spent the evening watching old sci-fi flicks on one of the retro channels -- Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Philadelphia Experiment. Whatever happened to Nancy Allen and Michael Paré?

One-Sentence Journal

I've been reading a little about Gretchen Rubin and her Happiness Project. It seems to be all over the 'net lately -- well, the parts I hang out in, anyway. Gretchen is probably just a tad more (ahem!) shall we say enthusiastic than I am. Anything called "happiness project" is something the Old Broad would ordinarily run from, like a bat outta you-know-where.

But one part of the program has caught my attention: the one-sentence journal. The idea is to write at least one sentence (or just a few -- as Gretchen says, "by calling it a 'one sentence journal' I keep my expectations realistic") every day, to form a record of the life I live. Not a lot of detail or rumination. Just one or two basic thoughts or events for each day. I think I could get into that.

Now, I should admit from the start that I'm something of a diary/journal/planner fanatic. I've kept a journal or diary in one form or another, since I was old enough to write in one. For quite a few years, I kept a computer diary -- much easier on the fingers; it allowed me to write as much as I wanted without any hindrance from my arthritis. It also has the added convenience of being searchable, and provides a much greater degree of security than the hand-written variety.

Lately, though, I've gone back to keeping my daily diary by hand, and just using my computer journal as a sort of random-musings-private-thoughts repository.

OK, all this is really beside the point. The point being that I think the one-sentence journal might be a very good addition to this blog. I started OBOP to function as a kind of online journal, anyway; but I've largely neglected it. And the daily-entry format would be very good discipline for someone like myself who tends to go on and on and on and on and....Well, you see what I mean.

So I'm thinking maybe I'll try it out. After all, how boring can just a couple of sentences be? (Don't answer that.)

Well, we'll see about that. Here's my first entry.

5 August 2011 / Friday

First day back from the beach -- lots of unpacking and laundry. Also catching up with blog-reading, after being almost completely computer-free for nearly a week! I'm already missing the ocean.