We were visited by the local welcome wagon kittie last night. Our cats were less than enthused, however. Daph attacked the patio doors, and wee Charlie made some weird noises of mingled anger, threat, and fear. Mags missed all the fun as she was hiding under the bed-a thunder and lightning storm had been passing earlier.

The storm was all threat, unfortunately. We did not get a drop of water out of all the excitement it offered. Kinda like a politician, all bluster and blow but no substance.

I had a busy week. Three days of three classes per day. It takes me roughly an hour to set up for each class, and two morning classes were barely an hour apart. This worked out to roughly 4 hours on my feet with nary a break. I have worked other jobs that were much harder physically, but this week still left me exhausted when I came home.

Friday I met with the woman who runs the local friends of the library bookstore. I have volunteered to run the store two shifts a month starting Nov. It should be fun.

Yesterday, I was given an opportunity to teach the classes I was setting up for. The person who asked me to cover these classes did so in order to free up some of her limited time. I was doing a quick review which lasted 10 minutes, so the risk on her part was limited. I had a hoot, and remembered how fun the act of teaching is. The best part of this is that I do not have to do any grading!! All high, no withdrawal! I also received a note after I made it home from my supervisor saying that the woman who I was helping (and who was observing/helping) was bragging about what a great job I did. It made my day. I am still smiling when I think about it.

I am reminded of the scene from The Princess Bride during the kidnapping where the kidnappers are fleeing the Dread Pirate Roberts:

Vizzini: HE DIDN'T FALL? INCONCEIVABLE.
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Great movie!

The weather is cooling down. Highs are a balmy 90 or so most days. Feels chilly in the morning, and as soon as my toe allows I am going to start running again.


The toe  is doing much better and no longer looks like a weird blueberry. I can walk without limping too much, though it does hurt a bit after a long day on my feet.

The move is done, though there is still some unpacking and ordering of stuffs to do. Don't look at the book shelves either. I threw books up on the shelves to get them out of the way and some are facing backwards with the spines to the wall and totally unordered. Here is where an electronic ordering system would be great. Push a button and everything goes into the correct spot!

The kitchen is a little more organized than it was, though there is still a fair amount left to do. I hope to make some real progress this weekend.

Today, Carol and I should be walking down to the farmer's market for the first  time. I am guessing it is about a mile away, though that may be a little under. Still, it will be fun. Later, I need to slip down to the library and check out a book on Excel. I may teach an Excel class next year, but I am not certain about that. I may also be doing some volunteer work for the friends of the library. They have a book store at one of the libraries, and I may work a Saturday now and again.

I also need to make some meals for next week. A few soups or something. I will be really busy with classes, it is the one week with the most classes. So many in fact that I will have to be careful to not exceed the 19 hours I am allowed.

The move is nearly done. A few more things to sort out at the old place and lots of sorting at the new, but most of the hard labor is complete. I finished putting up shelves this evening, and now I have to figure out how to organize them.

Already, the back yard is looking better with just a few or our plants stuffed out there.

My little toe is slowly getting better. It is all black and blue, as is its mate, but it no longer hurts much except when I try to walk.

I am going to shut down for the night and relax a little before going to bed. It has been a long exhausting weekend. I do not enjoy moving.

We spent the night at the new place. It is a lot quieter than the old place though I don't know why. We are one block away from a semi-busy street and three blocks away from a highway/main road through town. We are further away from the interstate and L288 so that may explain the quietness. We must have become acclimated to the noise to notice the silence when we arrived here last night.

All our big stuff is here now. We have some small things, a few plants, and the lawn equipment to bring over. I was going to mow the lawn at the old place this morning, but won't be able to. Last night around 6 it started raining and was still raining when I passed out at 9:30. Awesome rain.

The big tragedy of the night was me breaking my little toe on an easy chair that I was too dumb to avoid. So, now I hobble around whining a lot about it. Can't do much about broken toes except whine, so I am making the best of the opportunity and working on being the whinging champion.

I was able to find the coffee stuffs this morning and will take that as a sign that I might have a successful unpacking day.

Today's to do list:

1. Dig up a few plants at the old place and move them here. Haul over the potted plants as well.
2. Clean up the old places back yard.
3. Set up my office desk.
4. Wash some clothes. I need to think about what I will wear to work next week. 
5. Cook a great Channa Masala. Harder than it sounds as I will need to find all the requisite spices.
6. Remove the shelves at the other place and install them over here. Installation includes a few more steps due to the new landlord wanting slats put in place.
7. Set up my computer

I likely have forgotten/missed a whole whack of stuff that needs doing, but that will get me started.

It is a beautiful morning. If I was not half crippled and unwilling to put on footwear, I would be sitting out back enjoying the morning.

One final note: We are closer to the train now. One just ripped through town and reminded me of how close we really are. Kind of nice to hear it so clearly.

Life is crazy.

Just when I thought everything was safe and sane, Carol demands we relocate our stuff. So, relocate we do. :)

Today we should mostly finish moving across town. We have a new house that is smaller and older. It is 2 blocks from where Carol works. This should save us a great deal of money over time which is important seeing as how student loans will be coming due. While the new place is much smaller, it does have a larger back yard for me to play in.

The temperature plummeted yesterday. Earlier in the week it was over 100, yesterday I left work and the temp was 76. I was wishing I had a jacket on. I have become acclimated to the warmth and I am not looking forward to the cold weather that is on its way.

I am enjoying my part time job. Students are always fun and it has been interesting to observe the different teaching styles.

If anyone has a free couple of hours, you are welcome to come move stuff. Or better yet, come clean!!

I have a part-time job. I will be working in a library and getting paid, so even though the job is not ideal, it is still great. I start in just a few days, and I am a little bit excited!

I have also volunteered at the local public library for a few hours. That will start next week as well. Both of these will get me out of the house and mingling with real people. I have been feeling a bit isolated lately, too much time locked inside.