The Workshop

In the year we have lived in Indy in this apartment complex, we have gone through three sets of next door neighbors.

The first set was a slightly white-trashy family, who seemed to have far too many people living in a two bedroom apartment. They moved out shortly after a young girl, perhaps twenty, spent several hours banging on their door yelling, "I know you're in there!" She was holding an infant I can only presume was somehow connected to the young man who lived there with his mother and two younger siblings. Oh, and they had Yorkies. I love dogs, but these were Yorkies.

Next, an older gentleman, who was deaf, moved in. Since Indy has a big school for the deaf, there are a lot of hearing impaired people in the area. I love to watch them communicate. This gentleman came with two restored cars from the 50s, a daily driver, and three truckloads of furniture. About a week after he moved in, he disappeared. Didn't see him for two or three months, until he moved out. Again with three moving trucks full of furniture. For a two bedroom apartment that granted, is quite spacious, but he still had so much stuff, he must have had a tiny path through it.

Now, we live next to two young men. We think. We never see them. We know they are there, though. For the past two weeks, a pair of sneakers with socks have been sitting outside their door. Through the rain, sleet and snow. They have a rottweiler who occasionally visits, along with a shiz shu. The lights are never on in the evening. We never run into them coming or going, yet we know the place is inhabited by someone because not only do the leave sneakers outside, there have been several strange deposits on the doorstep. These items have included:

~ An upended love seat
~ A bench seat from a mini van
~ A coffee table
~ A lawn chair

And they bang stuff all night, generally starting about 10:30. It sounds like they are arranging furniture, hanging pictures, or building something.

I've finally figured it out. The strange stuff left on the doorstep that magically gets sucked into their apartment, they recycle into new things. They are actually Santa's Elves and that is their workshop.

Snow Day!

One of the things I've missed about Michigan, that I never thought I would admit, is snow. We've had a few "weather" days here, when it was just too bloody cold to go out and school was cancelled, and some ice storms, but this is our first real snow storm.

Two views from our patio (yes those are the Christmas lights that Martin keeps "forgetting" to take down) and Luna, the Pocket Pom, in the snow.

I Saw History Being Made

Yesterday, Mia and I watched the inauguration of Barack Obama as the forty-fourth president of the United States.

Even though Mia is only five, I thought it was important for her to watch. I don't think she understood the full impact, but I hope when she is older, she will remember it, and remember sharing that moment with her Mom. Yesterday, though, she was more interested in watching Malia and Sasha.

I teared up quite a bit; his speech was encouraging without blowing smoke up our asses. I have great hopes and even though I know it will be a long hard road, I'm up to the challenge. There seemed to be a lot of non-partisan involvement and I hope that continues. We are, after all, the United States of America.

And what the hell was up with Aretha Franklin's hat? Only Ms. Franklin could get away with a hat that has a bow so large it needs its own personal assistant.

A Completely Ridiculous Book

Our local library is really very impressive. The children's section alone is about the same size as the entire library I used to frequent in Michigan. They also have a lot of books showcased, based on the season, current events, or genre.

While trolling last week, they had a display related to the recent downtown in the economy. One book caught my eye, Miserly Moms, by Jonni McCoy. It's subtitled Living on One Income in a Two Income Economy. That's my family, so I checked it out.

I probably should have looked at the copyright: 1996. And maybe flipped through a few pages, so I would know that if I read this book, it would two hours of my life I would never get back.

While I admire the author for actually putting her miserly ways into practice and words, some of those ideas were completely ridiculous. Apparently, her family does nothing for entertainment, her date night with her husband consists of such romantic ideas like miniature golfing, and she rarely uses coupons. She also suggests recipes like Tofu Nuggets. Yeah, that's going to work around here.

Becky Home Ecky

I'm not Martha Stewart. I'm the first to admit it.

Right now, my job is being Becky Home Ecky and writing. I have the opportunity to be home with Mia, to put her on the bus in the morning, to pick her up after school. (The Hamilton SE School district only transports kindergartners one way, the most ridiculous thing I've come across in Indiana, other than not buying booze on Sundays.) I didn't get much of an opportunity to do that with my son; I was a single mother when he was born and went back to work when he was nine months old.

I do things like plan a week's worth of menus for dinner and organize my coupons. I use Real Simple's cleaning checklist to keep the house tidy. I do endless loads of laundry, which are the bane of my existence. I don't mind sorting the clothes, other than my husband's balled up socks, it's the folding and putting them away that stymies me. I loathe mopping floors.

Sometimes, I even bake. From scratch.

Twenty years ago, even ten, if you would have told me I'd be a housewife, I would have laughed myself silly. But here I am, and it's not so bad. I am glad to be able to do it. That also means living frugally, but I'm a pro at that. Will I be doing this ten years from now? That I don't know. Definitely not, if we could afford live in help at our oceanfront Bahamas home.

Hey, a girl can dream and if you're going to dream, dream big.

Saying Good-Bye To 2008

I know I am not alone in being happy seeing the page change from 2008 to 2009. We didn't just say good-bye to 2008, we kicked it's ass out the door and told it never to come back.

We had a lovely dinner at The Old Towne Ale House with Marla and Mike and Sue, and came home for more drinks and chat. Our friends and neighbors Jodi and Paul came over with their nearly newborn. It was very nice and I can't recommend the Olde Towne more. Great food, (deep fried cheese like harvarti and cheddar and caramelized bacon), a great pour selection and great service.

I'm not one for making resolutions but I do think the New Year is a good time to start new things. Like a new exercise program and a more dedicated writing schedule and a spotless house.

I wish the best for 2009 for everyone.