Moving | Peaches Prattlings

{December 4, 2016} Our first party!

We hosted our first official party! As a couple and it was awesome!

I’ve met some of PSM’s coworkers at work functions or just when I’d visited, but it was brief or a long time ago. Now, when i was home last month one of his coworkers had us over for dinner and I met two families, which helped because they were beginning to think I was a figment of his imagination!

I thought it was time to meet more people and christen the house, so I reached out to the two people I’m friends with on Facebook and I got a list of emails and invite I did.

So…PSM just got a taste of a JJ weekend! We happened to get up early, par for the course here, went to breakfast at one of our favorite places, then it was back to the house, clean, two appointments, run to the grocery store, back to the house with literally 20 minutes to spare. That meant set up for the cookout and a very quick shower.

The first family arrived with their kids and I was informed that they have a brand new puppy. Where is the puppy? We were going to bring her, we weren’t sure…we insisted and away went dad to get the puppy! Oh my but she is precious! Am 8 week old Australian Shepherd, is she not the cutest thing! She was such a huge hit at the party! We wondered if they would actually get to take her home, we were all in love or, with everyone holding her, she’d ever learn to walk!

People kept coming and it was fabulous, kids upstairs playing, running up and down, people inside and out enjoying good food, drink, friends, conversation, just having a really good time.

At one point we went upstairs and it looked like it has snowed in the loft! I made popcorn for the kids to watch movies and…the adults felt bad, I didn’t care, it was funny. The best was they were cleaning up, “put it under the sofa, they won’t see it!”

At one point I looked down and realized, I’m really in Hawaii hosting a party! I say that because everyone was barefoot! In Hawaii, it’s customary to take your shoes or slippers [pronounced slippahs] off when you walk into someone’s house. There is always a pile of shoes outside the front door!

A few hours later, people started to say their goodbyes. There were promises of a next time, getting together for new years eve, other gatherings.

Good friends, food, conversation, it felt like we were home.

{October 28, 2016} Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?

People have started singing that at me!

Do you remember that song and show? She was a detective and you never knew where she was while she was following a lead. It was an educational show, this piece was teaching you geography and maybe some history.

The theme song “Where in the world is Carmen Sandiego?” sung by an acapella group.

So…I post when I’m taking a trip, sometimes checking in on Facebook. My friends and family seem to like to know where I am and where I’m going. One or two even said they’re traveling vicariously through me! I’ll take it!

So…where have I been on this date in history?

October 27, 2012…I completed my first half marathon! How many have I done? Sounds like it’s time for another! The last one was almost a year ago! Who’s with me?

October 27, 2015…PSM and I took a cooking class in Barcelona! We cooked that amazing paella!! [And I ate every bit of it, seafood and all!] And learned how to make tapas and sangria! We need to do that again! But where? Hmmm…

And today…October 27, 2016…I’m flying home, for the first time since I moved to Hawaii! Very long overdue! Let’s hope the trips home are not so few and far between. I have a feeling PSM would agree with me.

So…where will I be October 27, 2017? We’ll have to wait and see!

{September 29, 2016} Surreal and sad

I should be used to this already…but every time it takes getting used to.

This won’t be the most uplifting post, I appreciate your understanding.

I want to say that “home is where the heart is” and you know how much I love my friends and family and when I am with them, I feel at home, but I’m just visiting.

I am going to start with quasi-adulthood, instead of the just after college youth, if that’s alright with you.
I left Georgia after almost twenty years and now, when I go back, I’m renting a car and staying with friends, who are my family, or in hotels, I’m not “home”.

I left Colorado after a year and a half and now, when I go back, I’m renting a car, staying with friends or in hotels, I’m not “home”.

I left Boston three weeks ago, I had been moving my stuff over the past few months, including my car! and now, when I go back, I’m renting a car, staying with family, I’m not “home”.

When I left Colorado, I packed up some stuff, don’t forget, I have two storage units that I visit every time I go back, took the fur babies and moved in with my sister and family, it was great, I’d been spending so many weekends and weeks there, it was natural.

Then I got an apartment for me and the fur babies and coming “home” meant coming in from whatever project I was on, getting a rental car and going to my apartment to snuggle with them, seeing my family at least once or twice during the weekend.

Now, it’s a whole new experience. This is my first time coming to Boston and going straight to my sister’s, no apartment, no further babies. It’s surreal and it’s sad.

I’m going to be surrounded by family, friends and more love than I can imagine and it’s just what I need. Each trip will get a little easier, I know, but the first one is not going to be easy.

I’ll take your good vibes and positive thoughts my friends for this weekend. Let the healing begin.

{September 11, 2016} Leaving home…

It’s been a while since i didn’t really want to leave home.

And it’s been a while since i felt that way, it’s nice and sad all at the same time. I had a great week, actually it’s been eleven days that I was in Hawaii with PSM and its been terrific. And now that we have a home together and I don’t have a place anywhere else, this is home.

And now, when i leave, I’m not sure when I’ll get back, due to schedule and finances, but we’re doing everything we can to see each other and be together. Definitely more often than the last few months, that’s been a challenge, let’s just say.

Does this mean that every time I come home it’s like a mini vaca? Sounds good to me!

Now, I say aloha and mahalo and head on to the plane. See you soon PSM.

Aloha.

{September 5, 2016} Beautiful… ouch…ahhh

A beautiful day…an invigorating hike…then oops… then ahhh..

It’s been fabulous so far, I will tell you more very soon, but today we went on a nice hike towards a bird sanctuary.

We waited out the rain while we waited for A&B to met us. They are the daughter and son – in – law of good friends, JLWB and GB, who were transferred here about a month ago. They are both in the Army and live on one of the bases on the other side of the island.

We met up and headed to this park on the North Shore and started walking, it was hot and dry on this side, big difference from where we came from. The view is breathtaking, I dont really know anywhere it isn’t!…Beautiful

We started walking and.. you know me, I didn’t turn my ankle.. this time, I went down “on my personality”, as it were…butt [pun intended]… the phone was ok! Priorities!

I got some nice scrapes, looks more like a biking scrape, but something to talk about! And of course, this was in the first quarter mile, go figure! Moving on!…ouch!

We hiked about 2+ miles to the end, about 3/4 of the way hit the fence to go into the sea bird and monk seal sanctuary. Saw none, oh well… but the rainbow at the end… worth it!…ahhh

what do you think? New shoes for Annie, the beetle bug?

{July 15, 2016} Uber redeemed itself

I’ve been taking Uber for a while now and I really like it.

I’ve had some good experiences, some excellent and some less than excellent. Today, less than just good.

Uber has a level of service that I have gotten accustomed to. They smile and say hello and when they notice I have bags, they get out help me load the bags into the trunk. On the way to the destination, they are usually pleasant, engage me in conversation and at the drop off, get out of the car to help take my bags out.

Let’s just say, my driver this morning didn’t acknowledge my presence, didn’t help me with my bags, I had to tell him to pop the trunk so I could load them. Then he drove erratically, I felt like I was in a bad NYC taxi! He seemed quite agitated. Let’s just say, a less than favorable trip.

I decided that I was going to say something, so when I gave my rating, it was stars and I added comments.

I got an email from their customer service department with apologies and a credit of $5, nice. That’s some good customer service.

If this had been my first Uber experience, it may have been my last.

I took Uber on two more trips tonight and…I was quite pleased, they both got all Stars.

Well done Uber, well done.

{June 17, 2016} Hit the ground running..One property down.

I left Chicago at 8am, arrived in Hawaii at 2:30pm. [Love gaining those hours, going back, not so much!]

This trip is part visit with my beau and part look for a new place to live, neither of us are crazy about the place PSM is living in now.

So…a few days ago I went on Craigslist, which is how they do it in Hawaii, they love Craigslist…and I found several places to look at and I started making phone calls.

By the time I landed, we had six appointments to see houses and after I landed, booked another one! The first one was an hour after I landed, it was great.

Tomorrow, we have five, PSM has a few meetings so I will drop the top on Annie, take Mollie with me and we’ll go view a few places together and the rest, PSM and I will see in the afternoon.

Our qualifiers…going against traffic for PSM and under an hour to the airport, sounds good to me. Oh…and enough bedrooms ask you have a place to stay when you visit!

PSM picked me up and we headed to the first showing, a great house and we both really liked it.

Can’t wait to see the next one! I’ll keep you posted!

{May 29, 2016} Memorial Day Weekend…ch-ch-ch-changes

So, over the past few years Memorial Day weekend has been interesting, to say the least.

Well, years ago, when I still lived in Georgia, Memorial Day weekend was for the Blue Ridge Arts Festival in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Sometimes it involved a weekend stay, sometimes just a day. 2003, it involved a bringing a brand new six week old kitten home! That would be Jymy.

Sometimes it would also involve a trip with the kids for tubing in Helen, GA.

Four years ago, this weekend, I got Annie 2!! I had been looking for her for a long time and I found her! The dealer even let me take her home for the weekend while I decided if I definitely wanted the car [ha ha] and worked on financing. I said yes on the Monday of the weekend. Ahhh…Happy.

Three years ago I packed up my house, and a moving truck with A Lot of help and headed for them thar hills and ended up at the foot of the Flat Iron Mountains. Unloaded the truck, with a lot less help and started a new life in Colorado.

Two years ago I got home on a Friday from my week at work in Michigan and spent the weekend packing my things, to be loaded into a storage unit and ended my new life in Colorado. Well, not ended, that sounds so harsh! Just started a new chapter, visiting instead of living there full time and it’s been good, I visit my storage units when I go skiing or to visit Colorado.

Last year was good experience, I spent it with PSM and my family. I went to “Lobstahfest” at my sister’s house and enjoyed the Spring in Boston. This year I’m with family again, although no PSM, he’s off in paradise somewhere…boo hoo. I’ll be there next year, no complaining!

I think low key holiday weekends are the way to go! I hope you enjoyed yours!

{May 21, 2016} It’s almost all gone!

Today I emptied half of one of my storage units!

I should have taken a picture before we loaded the truck, oh well. RJS was fabulous when I had moved to Colorado and my house got rented. She worked with the movers to get all the boxes fun of stuff that was used for staging and the furniture into a storage unit.

An armoire, washer and dryer, living room set, dining room set, bedroom set, an entertainment center, bookshelves and a futon. Oh my! This unit was packed to the rafters!

I think I told you KAB and her husband JB bought a house, I asked if she needed anything, I told her what I had and she said yes! So happy I could do this for them!

ST and I met up at the uhaul branch, headed to the storage unit and began to unload the unit and load the truck, with help from his buddy, which we could not have done without! He could look at something and figure out the best way to load the truck.

It took about an hour, stop for gas and supplies; chips, drinks and candy and away we went. We got to KAB’s house and hung out with her and Baby E until her sister, CS, and family, LB and Baby L and their dad, KS. When they got there ST, KS and I unloaded the truck while CS hung with the kids and KAB did that all important job, order to! I was really glad to get to know KS a little better. We got to talk mud runs, he’s doing the tough mudder next year!

It took us maybe 40 minutes to unload the truck, they got a bedroom, living room, dining room, futon, entertainment center, bookshelves, jackpot!

we hung out for a bit for lunch and quality JJ time, then headed out for home, well, ST’s home. It was so great to have some one-on-one time with my granddaughters. I did broach a very important subject, Halloween, we need to start thinking about costumes! Already? Yup!

So, I am happy to report that one storage unit is almost empty and ready to be released, then I’ll be down to two! Go me!

{March 29, 2016} What exactly are they doing up there?!

I know I live in a basement apartment, but come on! This is ridiculous!

It’s like I’m sleeping in my parents basement. Ok, so technically, this is the basement apartment in a converted house, now full of apartments, but I don’t make nearly as much noise as those people upstairs. It’s not possible!

I think I’ve told you before that sometimes they share my insomnia, I hear them walking around. That’s nothing new, I lived in an apartment with walls so thin, I could hear my neighbor brushing his teeth.

But this…there’s crashing and running and falling and I don’t know what else. It’s one thing when it’s daytime, that’s when I vacuum and do whatever, I even chalked up ask the noise this weekend because it was the weekend, I know there was a party by the music, ok, but it’s after 11pm, it’s been going on for a while and just now, crash, run, crash. Really?

What exactly are they doing up there?!

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