so much for fairies . . .

kidlet and tj came by for pizza as payment for moving the mattress and box spring upstairs and the sofa bed to the garage.

my ducks are slowing getting back in a row and i am happy.  a little ocd too maybe?

i listed the sofa bed on freecycle but had also sent a shot to lee.  she has a friend coming over to get it tomorrow at 9:00 a.m.  so happy it will find a new home and no, kidlet did not want it.  this downsizing thing is something i can really get in to.  i wonder how long before the house is empty?

plans . . .

stayed low this holiday weekend.  the roads are crazy.  the crowds, outrageous.  the cave is the perfect place to be.  since the fairies flunked aiding and abetting, i had to finish the ironing myself.  kidlet and tj are going to help with the mattress and box spring tomorrow.  slowly but surely, the rest will fall into place and my now empty nest will take on new dimensions.  the living room will be losing its television.  it is my winter sanctuary and abc, nbc, cbs, xyz are no longer invited.  it will be reserved for fires, good conversation, a place of respite and wine.

the 9TS's cave will be the new activity hub.  i just don't know whether to move the old sony in there . . . i get attached to old things, or keep the 9TS's ultra wide screen currently there.  one has to go.  it will be greatly appreciated over at kidlet's kottage.  and how to rearrange the furniture is a conundrum.  there are two oversized chairs there with an ottoman.  the adjustable cases that house the current television and my grandfather's desk which needs a chair.  this will be my summer retreat.   i want it light and airy rather than the maroons and dusky greens and leather of the living room.  what to do.  what to do.

flaky fairies . . .

since the house fairies forgot to help me put the bed together, i whipped out youtube and learned how to use the little giant ladder i bought the 9TS some years back.  up into the attic in the cave and pulled out the foot board and slats to the bed for the guest room.  we won't mention that it took me two ladder set ups to do that because i forgot the slats on the first go round.  see what excitement does to me.  i learned something new!!!  we also won't mention i failed to return something that was in my way and is now on the cave floor.  it's going to be re-homed to the garage . . .  enough excitement for one day.

a couple of felt pads on the bottom of the bed feet and we're off and running.   finally!!

now all i need are the rent-a-big-dude fairies.  twitch.  blink.  wiggle my nose.

since i couldn't get the mattress and box springs moved, i had to change tactics and get some ironing done.  love vacations but again, the fairies failed and the clothes didn't iron themselves.  is there a fairy union i don't know about?

ending the day with a little grilled fairy chicken to make a cobb salad.  slurp.

and on entirely different note, because peeps have been asking, here's a quick run down of the color schemes over at kidlet's kottage.  the master bedroom will be a soft rose blush and gray.  the guest bedroom will be yellow and gray.  the living room and dining rooms will be gray and coral, the kitchen a "not quite teal green".

life is good.

one step at a time . . .

up early again, but this time i actually got some sleep.  better living through chemistry.

kidlet is in flux.  until everything is moved, she pops over here in the morning, takes a shower and heads to work, so i get my kidlet fix. works for me.

out the door and off running errands.  picked up a new bottle of biotin.  now i don't know if it's my imagination but this is month four on those little rascals and i swear i can visibly see a difference in the new hair growth.  don't burst my bubble.  this makes me happy.

off to lunch with lee.  we had decided on a local on-the-water joint but being the saturday of memorial day weekend, it was jam packed and we ended up eating central american cuisine instead.  slurp.  i'll get my steamed shrimp fix another day.

headed over to a new veggie market that opened early this month.  i'm in heaven.  beautiful fruit and veggies and really good prices.  you're in trouble publix and you know how i love you.  picked up a new supply of basil, some beefsteak tomatoes, cukes and a bag of sweet cherries.  let me just swoon.  going back after the traffic has calmed down and picking up some peaches.  happiness!!!    i see a lovely greek salad coming my way.  i love the way they serve them over there.  this is typical and was noshed upon in corfu.

very little lettuce and chunks of goodies.  this was served with some homemade bread and pesto for dipping.  mar.vel.ous.  ok, yes, i am drooling.

home again to start another couple of loads of laundry.  kidlet needed a mattress and box springs set, so i let her have the upstairs guest room set.  that room is now torn apart.  her bedroom meanwhile has the mattress and box springs delegated to head up the stairs.  so that room is a mess.  i need some brawny backs.  i also need help getting the foot of the bed frame out of the attic and the whole thing put together.  gah.  i need to rent a football team.  there really is a game plan here.  the guest room upstairs will be . . . you guessed it . . . a guest room.  kidlet's room will be my yoga studio.  and when i get older and grayer, i will move downstairs and my current room will be empty.  are you following this?  why the switch of mattresses?  because i am a freak.  the mattress upstairs has always been kidlet's and the set downstairs we bought for the 9TS when he was too ill to climb.  i'm attached to it. so there.  lots of bedding to wash.

life is most excellent.

woot! woot!

note:  if you noticed the 20th was missing it's because i took way too many shots in venice/murano/burano.  way.  way.  too many.  so i will leave you with this shot coming into venice to remind you, it is just a series of islands and marshes and this dude was out walking in the middle of nowhere. p.s. the 20th threw a hissy fit and has now been added. bad 20th.

check this out!!!!!  who'd a thunk little missy could handle a twenty footer!!!!  so glad it wasn't me.

she rocked driving that rental!!!

progress . . .

her floors are clean!!!!  i babysat stanley steamer until she got off work and could take over.  i was happily surprised how nicely things came out.  the man in charge said they used high quality carpeting but he doubted that it had ever been cleaned.  aarrgh.

and then i headed home to get changed for a visit to the good doctor's assistant.  i am tired of waking myself up coughing my head off.  it's hard to find on the floor in the dark.  good stuff and we'll be back in the breathing business in no time.

when i got home, the elves had carried off all of kidlet's big furniture.  well either that or we've been selectively robbed.  can't wait to see it all set up in her new digs.

and on that note, i am going the wash tonight's dishes and settled into a good book.

changes . . .

still a little under the weather so i've been going to bed earlier and as a result, am getting up earlier.  this morning it was cold peaches and a crossword puzzle out on the pool deck with pippin as company before much of the world was moving around.  such a lovely way to finish waking up.

lunch with the hens today instead of friday since joanie hen is now leaving to paddle around alaska.  
chinese was the choice.  my fortune read: obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off the goal.   happily the older i get, the fewer frightful things i see.

grocery shopping.  ouch, that was an expensive expedition, but when you realize i really haven't done any major food shopping in over a month, not so bad and many of the meals will provide multiple servings.  this cooking for one is an interesting proposition, especially when dinner tomorrow is going to be eggplant parmesan with plenty of cheese and homemade gravy.  slurp.  so much better with fresh mozzarella. 

kidlet wanted to show me the test colors for her nest.  it's going to rock.  since she has to be back at work tomorrow, i will be house sitting waiting for the carpet/tile cleaners.  bye bye doggie aroma.  hello cleanliness.  she's planning on renting a u-haul for the big items, the rest will be done in little hops. hippity.

her nest has such wonderful bones.  two master suites upstairs along with the laundry room and open concept downstairs.

life is good.

it's official . . .

she's a home owner.  she and her friend tj are over there now trying to clean up some of the mess.  she hopes to be fully in by friday!!!!  and her goodies all moved by june 3.

congratulations kidlet.

walk through time . . .

didn't go quite as expected.  the plumbing was done by a licensed plumber.  the slider was adjusted.  the rollers were not replaced.  now she has to get a quote and ask for a credit.

they left the place a mess.  stinks like dogs.  floors are filthy.  refrigerator has dead beans.  everything is greasy and dirty.  hair in the bathtub.  if they couldn't be bothered to toss it, they just left it.  grrr.

but it will clean up beautifully and kidlet picked out some gorgeous colors.  my housewarming gift is new paint and carpeting in the master suite.  wait until you see the colors!!!!!!

doing a happy dance for her!!!!!

i am sick . . .

so i slept all day.  so there.

heading home . . .

the alarm went off at 5:30 and we scooted up to our last meal in the terrace cafe.  still half asleep, dining was very light.  grabbed our carry ons and trudged down to the riviera lounge to await the bus for marco polo airport.  i swear the bus was a mile from the check point but once settled, we were off . . . to another long trudge from parking to the terminal.  hum.  something could be better but then again, this is italy and life is different here.  caught our lufthansa flight to frankfort and with two hours to wait, decided to grab something to eat.  mc d's was the only thing available because we definitely did not want to go through german customs again.  nine long, boring, cramped hours later, we set down in orlando.  next time i fly i will have won the lottery and will sitting up front in the big boy seats.

got off the plane at 5:46 which was right on schedule.  i knew going through customs would be a big deal but they have upped the ante in the last year.  we went through an automatic process, then a live person process, then a find your luggage process and then clear with it process, and finally we were free to leave . . . with our luggage and an escalator and no elevator.  priceless.

made it to the budget car rental only to have to wait in line an hour and a half.  by now i am past grumpy, sick and not looking forward to driving home in the dark but between the two of us, we persevered.  yes!!!!

a quick bath and my body dropped into bed.  the end.

venice . . .

i love venice!  and murano. and burano!!!  here's why!!!!

someone got the easy job here.

 slurp!

 postcard stuff

 oops, too much imbibing.

 he stopped and ransacked another boat during our ride.  really.

 the bridge of sighs.

 duck.

and then there was murano with my strap showing.  my mother is rolling in her grave.  see lee, that's why i usually go strapless.  they have a mind of their own.

 arriving in murano.

 the amazing glass blower king.

 and finally burano. that tower is tipsy.

 main street madness.

 tatting.

 love this.

 and a finished product.

and i'm finished too!!!

ancona . . .

is kind of a gateway city i think, and since we didn't book a tour, and i was a little leery of taking a cab seventeen miles away, we stayed close.  still not bad.

 i wanted to take this home for my front door.

 but not the pigeons.  they get to stay.

 and this dour dude gets to stay too.

 ok, so i am fascinated with oddities.

 i'm not sure what type of animal he is struggling with but he can stay too.

 but the pants come home with me.  you knew that, didn't you.

 love this horses but not blue boy in the background.  i'll use a mask to get rid of him later on.

we were lucky.  as soon as we got on the boat, the heavens opened.  marvelous luck!!!

goodbye ancona.  sorry, not too much love, but it was nice meeting you.

dubrovnik . . .

oh how i love dubrovnik.  i even bought a dubrovnik t shirt.  ok, so it is cutsie and cotton but still.  last time, it was high in the 90's and i was exhausted.  while kidlet bounded across the city wall, i slunk down the back stairs and waited for her by the fountains.  this time, i vowed it would be different and lee and i actually managed to walk the entire wall.  it's a mile.3 i think.  not so bad you say?  it's all up hill and down hill and around the corner and over the edge and stunning.

last time, we couldn't find the hole-in-the-wall bar.  the buza bar.  this time, we triumphed.  and drank a beer in celebration.  we rocked this town.

too many photos so i just picked a couple.  you can say thank you.  this was a typical side street.

 one of the many bell towers.

 yes, i cut out all the people.  bye bye.

 we found the busa bar on the outside of the wall.  it's like a maze to find it.

 a rooftop view.

 just a sweet little statue.

cheers, dubrovnik.  you are loved.

corfu . . .

last time i was in corfu, it was a sunday and everything was closed up tighter than a tick.  this time, it was outrageous. people jamming the narrow alleys.  stores on top of stores.  lee and i both did some major retail damage.

but of course i didn't snap any of the crowds because, well, i don't like crowds. except maybe this guy who looks like he can keep his mouth shut.

and this fellow who proceed to start noshing on the tree.

and this alley with not crazies.

 and this guy is pretty quiet too.

again with the flowers.  i can't help myself.

 see what i mean

it was a lot of fun.  we ate lunch under umbrella at a little cafe in a small out of the way plaza . . . and toasted our boys.