Really, There's Been Nothing Much to Blog About, But You Know I'll Write Forever About Something

Wow, nearly 10 days since my last post.  What's been going on? Hmmm. Let's see... I've been working on a big crafty project that fit my goal of using stuff I already have instead of shopping. It's gone very well and I'm pleased with the results. It involves some surprises and gifts, so I can't say anything more here. Eventually I'll have photos.  I've been planning out my kitchen cabinet painting plans, and I've been counting my calories and trying to work out every day.  I'm madly decluttering and getting rid of things, and through it all I've been rediscovering the Harry Potter series by listening to the British audiobook, read by Stephen Fry. I am fond of the Jim Dale version that Scholastic published in the US, but I have really enjoyed the Bloomsbury version, with its British words and cultural references and a subtler, slightly more wry feel to the narration. I couldn't actually find it in the US, so I used a whole pile of Christmas money to order it from Amazon.uk. Anyway, these really are good books. I do think they will become true classics.  Even without the media hype and the anticipation of the next installment, they are witty, well-written and just tons of fun. Yay for J.K. Rowling. She can truly be proud of her literary legacy.

I've also been spending lots of time with my Grandma who is here for an extended visit. She's 87. Isn't she adorable?  I love having her next door at my mom's so we can visit anytime we want. She likes to watch TV, so I've been getting reacquainted with the TV series "24."  We've been watching from the beginning. While we watch, I knit or she helps me fold laundry or we just talk and it is very cozy and companionable.  I expect this will be her last visit to the East Coast since my folks have bought a house in Arizona and will be moving there before the end of the year, probably this summer. Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and so we're all going to lunch. It will be memorable, not least because it will likely be the last time in a long time that I'll get to take my mom out for lunch for her birthday.  Next year, she'll be with my sister and brothers nearby in Arizona.

When I was young, I had no ambition whatever to live near my parents. My first career plan was to be a cetologist (she who studies cetaceans: dolphins, whales, and the like) and live on a ship like Jacques Cousteau. I went and lived in Costa Rica all by myself as a 16-year old. I couldn't wait to go away for college.  I've always been really independent. But, of all my siblings, I am the only one who has spent all but about 3 years of my adult life in the same area where I grew up, with my parents less than half-hour's drive away. In spite of the occasional bout of itchy-foot, it's been blissful-such an incredible blessing. My parents are very nice, very amiable folks who have always let us live our own life completely, but have always been there when we've needed them. I hope they can say the same for us. Fortunately, I don't have to stuff a whole bunch of relationship and memory building into our last months as neighbors. I feel like we've done a pretty good job of really appreciating each other. I'm also not afraid of them leaving, because in many ways, my daily life won't change all that much, and I have awesome friends here who are almost like family, so I know I'll be fine. It's more just an awareness of that our relationship will shift a bit. My mom is the hub around which our family rotates, and we siblings don't talk all that much. I know what's going on with them because I talk to my mom so much. So, maybe her moving will give me an opportunity to build different and better relationships with my sibs and in-laws.  That will be a good thing.

Anyway, I know that lots of people live without their parents nearby (including all of my brothers and sisters) and that I'm very lucky, so I'm not going to complain even one bit about them moving. I'm happy for them and I really like thinking about them in their cute new place under the blue skies and nearly eternal sunshine of the West.