My, my, my....So much to catch up on....

First off, here is the June is Dairy Month swap I made for Barbie and  Ken.  (It's actually Max Steele posing in the silly cow outfit.)  It is very, very late, and I have to get it into the mail by tomorrow!  I wanted to mail it last week, but I was so busy cleaning house in anticipation of my friend Pappy's visit.

Next, remember those pictures of the room I was working on?   Well, I finished it.  I have pictures to prove it.  Here is the original bunch of pictures showing it as it was http://chochiyo-sama.livejournal.com/212079.html.

     

Some of my crates and boxes are shoved under the computer area to get them out of the way until I find a better place to keep them.
   

      

I bought the little white shelf for $10 at a garage sale--I was going to use it to display dolls, but then I ran across my big box of CDs.  It was perfect for storing them.  

    

I set up my Tonner dolls on the book shelves so I could enjoy looking at them.

       




I couldn't get the wooden desk down by myself--it has been brought downstairs since then.  The basket full of stuff is all stuff that needs to be hauled downstairs to be dealt with.  

See the nice clean floor---wide open space!  And no cat puke at all!

It was so good to see the room finished and clean.  And very good to have all the dust and cat hair vacuumed up.  It makes me feel good to go in there and just look at the clean.

 

My Next Challenge.

This is the last room upstairs that needs to be dealt with--it has no closet.  And it has become the dumping ground for lots and lots of stuff.  I need to go through all that stuff and get rid of as much of it as I can.  If I don't love it or believe I will actually USE it, it's going.

 

This is looking in through the door and slightly to the right.


 

This is the bed and alongside the bed.

  

This is at the foot of the bed--you can't really tell, but behind these things is a big wooden doll house that was built for me many years ago by Jeremy Shandorff when he was in the ninth grade.

It wasn't very solidly constructed, and it wasn't working for me.  My friend Pappy disassembled it for me and carried it down and out.  We took it to Jim and DeAnn's farm, and Jim will use it for campfire wood.



More crap at the foot of the bed. 



More stuff at the foot of the bed.



A rare patch of visible floor.



All this was piled up on the top of the bed.  

There is much more stuff that couldn't be photographed because it is behind other piled up crap!

A good chunk of progress has already been made in this room, but there is a lot more to go.  Some of the crap has been moved out to the cleaned room because it needs to be sorted--and I needed a space in which to sort it!

I will have another entry soon talking about the progress, but for now, I have to cut it short.

A Good Visit with a Great Friend.

Wednesday (last week)

One of the best things of the summer came last week when my dear friend Frank flew up to visit with me for a few days.  For a while it looked like the cards were stacked against us as his flight out of North Carolina was delayed for a long time, causing him to miss his connection in Detroit.  He ended up being rerouted through Minneapolis, and finally ended up in Rochester at about 8:30.  His plane was supposed to be there at 4:15.  

His wife kept me updated on his progress, and she misunderstood and thought he would be in Rochester at about 5:30 pm.  So, I hustled it up and got to the airport as quick as I could.  I brought my little sewing box along in case I had to wait.  That turned out to be a good thing as I waited about 3 hours for his plane to arrive.  It was okay but for the fact that I had to pee like a race horse towards the end.

He called me a couple of times from the airport in Minneapolis  to let me know how things were going--then he called me from the airport in Rochester when he went to pick up his luggage.  It was cute as I said, "I am right outside the window to the left of the building.  I saw a tall thin man in a baseball cap come to the window with a cell phone up to his ear.  I couldn't really see his face, but I thought it was him.  He was looking in the direction that I had told him my car was but he was looking out towards the parking lot.  So, I said, "Closer, closer....more to the left.  More.  More.  I'm waving at you..."  Then he spotted me and smiled his great big smile that lights up his whole face and waved.  

He had to wait for his suitcase...so I waited and waited....finally I cruised forward to see if I could see inside.  I just figured they'd lost his suitcase, and sure enough, they had.  They told him the next flight from Minneapolis would be in at 11 pm, and that his suitcase should be on it.

Well, we were both hungry, so we decided to eat and then go back later.  I took him on a tour of my school first so he could see how cute it is, then, we went to Carlos O'Kelly's where we ate supper.

I, of course, had to have my favorite--a mushroom and spinach enchilada with fajita chicken.  

We sat and talked and giggled and carried on till almost 11 pm, when we went to the car and called the airport.  They told us--surprise surprise!--that the flight had been delayed, but that it should be in by 11:30.  I told Frank it was up to him whether he wanted to wait or not, and he said, "Let's just go home."

So, I swung him by Walmart so he could get a few needed supplies for the overnight, and then we went home.

We sat up and talked for a long time--it was probably 2 am when we finally decided we'd better go to bed.  The sweet man had brought me two gifts--a can of praline pecans and a really rich and yummy dark chocolate candy bar with crystalized ginger in it.  He also brought me a jar of topricin, which is a cream to use on body parts that are inflamed.  

Thursday morning, I had an appointment with my therapist at nine, so we had to be up and out of the house fairly early.  We stopped at Otto's Bakery in Byron, as I told him it was the best bakery in SE Minnesota.  :)  I brought my  therapist a poppyseed muffin, which she seemed very happy about.  

He did some writing and reading and played with the train table while I had my session.  

After that, we went to the airport where they DID have his suitcase.  Yippee!  

From there we went to the Pannekoeken house.  He had never had one before, so it was a new exeperience for him.  We both had the apple pannekoeken and link sausages for breakfast,  He had lots of coffee and cream, and I had iced tea.

From there we went to the Werenberg Theater were we saw the 3-D movie, "Journey to the Center of the Earth."  We could both remember the original movie by that name--and we both had liked it, so we had a good time.   From the parking lot of the theater, I called Papa Murphy's to order two pizzas for s to take to Jim and DeAnn's house for supper one night this week.  (Turned out to be Friday).

When the movie was over, we went to Daube's bakery to buy some good German bread.  We got Caraway Rye bread which was just delicious.  

From there we went to Papa Murphy's to get out two pizzas.  It was raining like a banshee.  Even though we were parked as close to the door as you can possibly get without driving inside, we were still soaked to the skin when we went inside.  LOL.  It was a warm rain, so it wasn't really too unpleasant.  I enjoyed it, anyhow.  :D

Our last stop before going home was the Furniture Superstore where I bought a twin mattress and box springs so Frank wouldn't have to sleep on the couch again.  They said they would deliver it the next day and that they would take away the old mattress and metal springs away.  That was a good deal, so I agreed.  

That night Frank carried the mattress downstairs so that he could sleep on it.  He didn't like falling into the cracks on the couch all night long.  :)  

Frank cooked up some canned clam chowder for supper later that evening, and I used up some withered apples to make home-made applesauce.  We also ate some of the banana bread that Ingrid had Jim leave on the door handle for us.  We had a quiet evening, just talking and hanging out.  It was good.  

I don't remember whether he helped me organize my "back-to-school" gifts for my homeroom kids that night or not.    Yet, I know we did it either then or Friday morning.  We had a great time stuffing the pencil cases with all the little supplies and treats I had bought for my kids this year.

Here is Frank about to stuff one of the pencil cases:

 

Each of my homeroom students will get a spiral notebook, a pocket folder, and a pencil case.  In the pencilcase there is a bunch of stuff.  Each kid gets two pencils, a black pen, a blue pen, a highlighter, a glue stick, two packets of single-serve Crystal light--one citrus and one wild strawberry, 5 tootsie rolls, 6 jolly ranchers, Two Doritos Nacho Cheese and crackers snake packs, four pencil top erasers, and 10 cookies- n-cream Hershey's kisses.

Frank had as much fun stuffing the goodies into the pencil case as I did.

On Friday, Frank got up happy as a clam.  I could hear him whistling down in the kitchen as he made us oatmeal and ginger peach tea for breakfast.  We talked and giggled a lot that day--we had a terrible attack of the "sillies."  We were playing out scenes from Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail.   We also worked on the other bedroom upstairs.  I was sitting at the table doing something (I don't remember what) when Frank went upstairs--I  thought he was going up to use the bathroom.  Soon I hear this rustling and bumping, and the next thing I know he is prancing down the steps with that heavy metal bed springs from my old twin bed!

The delivery guys came with the mattress and box springs at around 10 am.  We made it up with the mattress pad and sheets so he would be able to sleep in an actual for-real bed that night!  (And there was much rejoicing...YAY!)

The delivery guys carried my old wooden desk that I've been wanting taken downstairs for me.  I intend to use it in the kitchen instead of my red and white table that is falling apart.  Before that can happen though, I have to ask my friend Jim to glue the top and put clamps on it so it will not be all uneven and clunky.

We spent most of the rest of the day cleaning upstairs.  Frank is like an energizer bunny....he can work and work and work--and all the while he was either whistling or singing, particularly one piece of opera which was really pretty.  I get a tremendous kick out of him.  He has the sweetest and cutest personality!

We rested and had fried egg and sausage sandwiches for lunch.  

Ingrid came over in the afternoon with heavy German rye bread and hard salami.  We had some of that for an afternoon pick-me-up, since supper at Jim and DeAnn's wasn't until 7 pm.

Frank disassembled the big old poorly constructed doll house that was in my upstairs and hauled it out and put it in my trunk.  I had called Jim to see if he wanted to use the wood for his bonfires.  He did.

Later we went to Jim and DeAnn's where we baked the pizzas we had bought on Thursday afternoon.  We sat out on  their deck and played with Josue (pronounced Ho-SWAY.)  Josue was a complete character.  He was determined to win over Mr. Orangey, a big orange tom cat who has a biting and scratching issue--even though he is the sweetest cat--he still has to grab you with his razor sharp talons and bite you.  

He'd get nailed by the kitty and turn around and go right back for more.  Josue loves bubbles, and he brought his bubble container over to Frank so he would blow bubbles for him.  Below you can see him "bonding" with Frank.  LOL.



Here is Josue having a little juice with mommy to recover from the deadly talon attack of the vicious Mr. Orangey.



When we came in from outside, we played Scrabble.  DeAnn took our picture a couple of times, so there I am...with my buddy Frank behind me.  It was humid, and I was sweaty. 






And here is my little sweetie pie Josue playing Peek-a-Boo with Nap Blankie.  He had been highly entertaining all night.  DeAnn had limes in her water, and Josue got the glass after she was done, pulled out the lime rinds, chewed on them, made the most unpleasant face, threw them back in, and then went through the whole series of actions again.  LOL.



Saturday we were going to Mankato to visit Fox and Karen.  Ingrid, however, had invited us to breakfast.  So we went there in the morning for biscuits and gravy AND German egg pancakes.  We were stuffed.

Little Max, Ingrid's Yorkie, was feeling a bit under the weather, but he immediately liked Frank and hopped up in his lap.  I didn't realize my camera was actually taking pictures when I took these as the flash wasn't going.  Apparently the sun was bright enough through the windows that I did not need a flash.

They were all cute, so I didn't delete any of them.  :D







Ingrid and Frank are both major coffee lovers, so I had to get a picture of them enjoying their nasty beverage.  (Personally I hate coffee--tastes bitter and disgusting to me...LOL...but to each his/her own, I guess.)



Below are me and Frank standing at the lake in Waseca.  I pulled over so I could listen to a message from Kim (my friend Kim, not my sister Kim) as I couldn't seem to do it in the car without putting us both at risk of certain  death.  It was a beautiful day.  Frank thinks I look happy in this picture...I am not so sure.  I think I look slightly crazed.  Hee hee.



We talked all the way to Mankato, and it was good, deep, fulfilling conversation.  We were in such a deep conversation at one point that we pulled into the parking lot of some business that was closed and finished it before heading over to Oliver and Karen's house.

We talked a while at their house, then we went to Perkins for lunch.  Perkins has a wonderful grilled cheese sandwich that has tomato and bacon in it.  It is soooo good.  After we ate, we talked--well, in actually fact, Frank, Oliver and I listened as Karen talked incessently.  I became a little irritated with her as it was obvious that something was bothering Oliver, and her continuous chattering kept me from finding out what it was and possibly helping him to resolve it.  

Sigh.

Anyhow, after some time had passed, we got pie.  It was a buy one, get one free day, so we got four pieces of pie for the price of two.  Always nice to get a little bargain.  Frank and I both had coconut cream pie.  I think we were influenced by the coconut shampoo and conditioner that I have.  Our hair had been smelling like coconut cream pie for the whole week.

LOL.

We returned to the apartment building and sat out by the pool.  Below is me with Oliver and Karen and below that is Frank with Oliver and Karen.





We helped them back up to their apartment, and Oliver decided to take a nap.  I went in to tuck him in and say good bye to him while Frank talked to Karen...then we left.

We talked all the way home--Frank drove, which was nice for me as I was feeling very tired.  His comments really helped me to think things over.  He said he could see the light draining out of my face as the day progressed and also the "worry line" appearing between my eyes.  

When we got to Owatonna, we went to Mineral Springs Park as I wanted to show Frank one of my "thinking spots."  I took his picture next to Princess Owatonna and told him her legend.  We both had a slurp of the healing mineral waters from the spring, and then we went home.

 


At home, it was a bittersweet evening.  We just lounged around and talked for the rest of the evening, which was wonderful fun, but it was painful to know that this was our last night together.  

Sadly it is just like my visits to Detroit with Michael.  I look forward to those visits for months, and it seems like there is such a long time to play and visit and enjoy each other's company and then BOOM, it is over and I'm flying home again.  

The hardest part of it--both with Michael and now with Frank--is that I have no idea when I will actually see either of them again.  

It is difficult to make such good friends and see them so seldom.  I would say it is a mistake to form such strong bonds with people so far away--but I can't.  I love them both so much--I want them in my life, even if I can only see them once a year.  

I have to get rich somehow so I can go where I please when I please to go there.

heh heh.

Sunday morning--I drove Frank to the airport.  We got his bag checked in and then sat in  the outer lobby and talked.  I have to confess that I was a little teary eyed--it was so much fun while he was here, and it was hard to let him go.  Then we got a gate pass for me, and we sat in the inner waiting area until they announced the plane was due to arrive in about fifteen minutes.  Frank told me I could leave now if I wanted to, but I said I would stay and walk him to the boarding place.  He looked so sad that I asked him if he'd rather I go now.

He nodded.  I knew he didn't want to have a big emotional good-bye scene.  So, I kissed him on the forehead and each cheek and wished him a safe flight.  It seemed like the right thing to do--give him a ceremonial good-bye smooch, like Michael always gives me.  I know I feel very cherished when Mike kisses me on the forehead and each cheek.  And I wanted Frank to feel cherished and beloved as well.

I think he did.  

Anyhow, he is home again now.  I am surviving and so is he.  I think we both benefitted immensely from this visit, and I am hoping that maybe next summer he can come again.

Oh--one last comment about Frank's visit:  My cat, who hates Ingrid and doesn't care much for DeAnn, LOVED Frank.  She let him pet her and everything.  LOL.  The only other person she likes like that is Dean Lilya, my sweet little homeroom baby who is grown up and going to college now.  But Dean has the same quiet peace about him as Frank does, so that's probably why.