Farmers' Market

I got a little carried away at the market on Saturday (but doesn't it look colorful?).
peaches and basil
two of the salads I had for dinner (1) heirloom tomato, fresh mozzarella, and basil; 2) mixed organic greens, peaches and blackberries)

vase of zinnias

cox comb (or "brain coral flower", if you're Nora)

the one lone broken zinnia, nestled in next to the plants (using the funky black/white with color accent feature on my camera)

One thing about living in the south(ern part of Indiana) - things grow here easily. The farmers' market here is very large, with lots of choices, many of them organic. I can get carried away (and did). I have to say, I've already eaten a bunch of the tomatoes, so it's not like any of this is going to go bad.

More new apartment pics

Yes, there is an attic...
And this is it.

The kitchen and the corner of the living room with shelves (and cat)

Living room shelves and cat

living room

cat

office

more office

bedroom, complete with the last of the laundry

bedroom - screen with scarves

Some of you may have noticed the lack of bed in the bedroom. That will come this week, after payday. Until then, the "bed" room is more like the storage room for clothes. It would be a great place for some Twister.

As promised...

pictures of the moving extravaganza, for your viewing pleasure. I met the carpet cleaning guys this morning at 7:30am (requiring catching the 6:40am bus...eek!). I do the walk through with the property management people today at 1pm, and then I will be officially done with the old apartment.

To recap some of the previous adventures in the old apartment - guys next door fighting and punching holes in the wall at 3am, waterfall wall from the leaking roof, drunk college kids passing by from midnight to 3am most Thursdays-Saturdays, squirrel in ceiling, bat in apartment hanging from ceiling. Ah yes, college life at its finest....

the old apartment in a state of packing chaos

how did someone without much stuff end up with so much stuff? (still old apartment)
Callie enjoys the screen door at the old apartment as she supervises the cleaning process.

If you're a cat, you don't need furniture to find a place to hide. (old apartment)

The new kitchen, in the unpacking process.

The future office, filled with practically everything I own.

Chaos in the new bedroom.

Ah, that new living room look of emptiness....

The very last load of stuff from the old apartment (Thanks, Virginia)

Of course, it's much easier to hide if you've got a closet, and a bunch of unpacked stuff...

The new bathroom (with its light above the sink and a light switch on the wall, not the ceiling)

Moving is really hard work

The new office (so far)

What's left to unpack in the new office

The living room, a little less empty

Friday's Fun

1. taking the bus to the new apartment to get my key
2. move-in walk through (plus - new carpet and vinyl floors, minus - oven cleaning is pretty half-assed and will need to be done again)
3. taking the bus back to old apartment
4. moving two carloads of stuff (plants, clothes on hangers, things in baskets, etc) with Rose
5. coming back to the old apartment
6. submitting my first professional job application, complete with CV
7. emailing back and forth about my first editing stuff to do at home for adaptive technology
8. snuggling Callie
9. walking to the little grocery store for frozen enchiladas to cook in the microwave
10. cleaning and packing the microwave after eating
11. repacking some of the heavier boxes and tubs
12. wrapping tubs
13. packing the last odds and ends
14. drinking some Belgian ale

Eventually sleep will happen. And then the moving extravaganza tomorrow morning. And then the cleaning extravaganza at the old apartment. And then cleaning at the new apartment, and unpacking, and laundry. And then work bright and early on Monday morning. I'll try to post some pictures of the moving, new apartment, etc.

Oh, and apparently the packing saran wrap stuff hates me almost as much as regular saran wrap. Good to know for future packing ventures. It might stay stuck long enough to get there tomorrow, but for a long distance move.... hmmm, not such a good thing for me.

Freedom!

Okay, summer classes are done, finished, over. I emailed my last project to my instructor last night. I have the okay to have this week off work at my main job (I'm working twice as much next week to make up for it).

Now, let the packing begin, especially since I haven't done any of it, and Friday is only, hmm, a few days away.... eek.

Counting Down

A week from today, Callie and I will be spending the first night in the new apartment. We'll be surrounded by boxes, since the plan is to get the moving done in the morning, and then clean the old apartment in the afternoon. Sunday will then be unpacking and settling in day.

You can see that Callie is oh so excited by packing supplies. I have yet to actually pack anything at this point, but at least I now have tape and this cool saran wrap type stuff you wrap around things. It sticks to itself, supposedly, much better than actual saran wrap. I'm using it to wrap around the plastic totes that contain most of my stuff. Normally I wouldn't bother, but I ended up having to hire people to move my stuff for me. It's not as expensive as I thought it would be, but it's not as cheap as having friends with pickup trucks and horse trailers.

I appreciated the help then, but now that I'm in a situation where none of that help is available, I really, really appreciate it. I don't want to even count how many times all of you helped me move, especially during the every six months spurt after the divorce. I'm truly surprised none of you slapped me silly. What was I thinking?! And yet, every time, you Montana people were there with trucks and whatever it took, like Earl carrying the 8 foot oak desk on his head up to the second floor. So, rejoice! You're not close enough to get roped into yet another one of my moves. (Do I hear an AMEN!)

I'm trying to bribe someone into helping me move some things on Friday (the day I get my keys) - plants, clothes, bathroom stuff, food, lamps, ... stuff you wouldn't necessarily want to throw on a moving truck. I think my chances of being successful with the bribe are pretty good. We shall see.

So, this next week is also the last week of the second summer session. I'm trying to wrap up my final project. The presentation is due Tuesday, and the project itself is due by 5pm on Wednesday. As you can see from the photo, the laptop is being used for jewelry display, rather than actual work. These are the two chain maille pieces I've done this summer, as a bit of a break from studying/working.

These are the earrings, which are made in a European 4-1 pattern. I liked the way they turned out.

This is the ankle bracelet, done in a Japanese 6-2 pattern called Hana-Gusari. I've been using a book I checked out of the library to learn how to do this - Chain Mail Jewelry by Terry Taylor & Dylon Whyte. I like the way the diagrams use color to show the last few links added. It really helps to see the patterns and how links connect together into the whole.

This week will be a crazy one, so I'm probably not going to have much time for beading fun. Probably the next time I post will be after I've moved. Maybe you'll get pictures of the new place, in all its palatial spaciousness. It'll be even more spacious for the next few weeks until I can afford a bed. Woo hoo, empty rooms. I could have a big party, with dancing and twister!