things are looking up

The for sale sign went up in our yard this morning! I can't really believe it's finally on the market. Fingers crossed that this process is quick and relatively painless!

Kristy came to town yesterday and ended up working her tail off with me, getting the house cleaned up enough for Skip, our listing agent, to come in to see it and meet with us. I couldn't have done it without her. Tom was working outside and shuttling items to storage, so it was just me, Kristy, and the team of feline helpers getting the inside ready to show,

So I'm exhausted but satisfied.

Kristy visits are never long enough. She was here about 23 hours, and I would have preferred she stay a week. This morning we went over to visit Mary-Keeley and Katie, since Kristy won't be able to come back for their mom's memorial service (and I may not be able to get out of teaching, so I might miss it as well). They were doing as well as could be expected, actually better. We laughed and tried not to cry for about two hours. It was good to see them, but I'm so sorry that it was under these circumstances. Hopefully Tom and I will get to go visit Joyce tomorrow or Friday.

When I start thinking I'm overloaded and that I'm ready for things to get back to normal, I need to remember that none of my real estate issues have life-altering consequences. I can handle this!

Also, Jennifer and Scott sold their house in Atlanta; they closed this morning, around the same time the sign appeared in my yard. I hope there's some sort of cosmic positivity going on in the housing market!

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, the shine's coming back! 

I missed out

Saturday morning I happened to locate Penny's blog, which I linked to in my last post. I spent the better part of that morning sobbing, and this afternoon I returned to it and lost my composure again. Part of my sadness is selfish -- I feel like I missed out by not knowing Penny.

I am reminded of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's death, which prompted me to start reading her journals. I felt sad that I hadn't known her (as a reader) during her lifetime, and at the same time I felt somewhat guilty about that fact. WHY hadn't I discovered her sooner? The same is true here.

From my days of working at Hoole long after Joyce had retired, where I met her as a guest speaker and occasional visitor, I felt sad that I hadn't gotten to work for her. Long before I started dating Tom I felt that way, and I have always enjoyed my brief encounters with her. Then I learned that she had mentioned to him that he and I might pair well together, about a month before we figured it out ourselves. (I knew I liked her for a reason!)

We even talked to Joyce about getting ordained online to marry us. She was, of course, willing to do it -- excited at the prospect, no less! And then there was the wedding gift from her and the girls. I actually don't recall what the gift was, although I have a record of it; what was important was the way it was wrapped. She had tied it in tulle with sprigs of fresh lavender tucked in.

Why is this significant? Because we had baskets of lavender for our guests to scoop and shower us with as we left the reception. She hadn't known that my wedding had a lavender theme. But she knew. Joyce has that way.

When I made sachets from the leftover lavender, I tucked the Joyce lavender into one I kept for myself.

I can't stop thinking about her now. And the girls, of course, but mostly Penny's mama. We have joked that she's Tom's "other mother," since she hired him right out of college and mothered him a bit along the way. His own mother lived across the state, and in 2004 she passed away. He says Penny was kind of like the big sister he didn't know very well. He heard Joyce talk about her, and later, when the girls worked at Hoole, he knew her vicariously through them.

It's strange to be going to a memorial service for someone whose "bookends" you know the way we know Katie, Mary-Keeley, and Joyce. We missed out on the filling. And the more I read, the more I realize what the world is going to miss with this loss.

--Jennifer
So very sad.

sad, sad day

Yesterday the world lost a light, a woman I am very sorry wasn't one of my best friends. (I'd have had to take a number, though; seems lots of folks felt the same way.)

Penny vs. Cancer, Little Red Hen

Penny McAllister lost her battle with leukemia yesterday. A valiant three-month fight, which ended a few weeks before her 57th birthday. I only met Penny once. I worked with her daughter Katie at the time, and her mother, Joyce, had been the curator of special collections at the University (and Tom's boss) for years and years. Katie is very much like Joyce, and when I walked in and saw Penny sitting in the office, I said something about how she fit right into the space between her mother and her daughter. (They are three of a kind.) She said, "Yes, I'm the missing link!"

This was before I knew her younger daughter, Mary-Keeley. Both girls worked at special collections while they were undergrads, and I worked there as a grad student. I ended up working with MK longer and knowing her better than I did Katie. But my heart aches for both of them right now, and for Joyce. For everyone who knew and loved her, which by all appearances was a huge circle of folks.

--Jennifer
No shiny things today.

more signs that I'm old

Not only do I blog about cleaning my refrigerator, I now get to add an ACE-inhibitor to my daily drug roster. For those of you young folks reading this, that's blood pressure medication. I'll be on blood pressure AND cholesterol-lowering meds.

And on top of that, this pain I've had in my shoulder is most likely not an injury to my rotator cuff (which is good), but a somewhat spontaneous condition called capsulitis, or frozen shoulder. "People 40 or older are more likely to develop this problem." Nice. But seriously, it's possibly an autoimmune disorder, so it fits in with all my other endocrine issues. *sigh* (At least I'm almost 40, not having this happen at 25.)

Also I get to take daily anti-inflammatories, probably Advil. Maybe I need some rheumatism liniment, or perhaps a poultice of some sort would help. Or I could just feel blessed with the ability to forecast the weather with my arm! (No, I can't really do that. At least not reliably.)

So today was an odd mixture of good and bad. Blood pressure still running slightly high, bad. Going on medication that might have some unpleasant side-effects, bad. But treating it before it becomes a scary problem, good. And not having to have shoulder surgery is very good indeed! (I love my endocrinologist!)

And tomorrow we'll (hopefully) have lined up the inspector, paid our earnest money, and have a plan for listing this house on the official market. Good, good, good!

And I almost forgot! The day started out GREAT when I got a reply from a fellow genealogist I had contacted, who sent me a link to a resource I didn't already know about. Spent my spare time today tracking down death certificates for folks whose certs we hadn't located and collecting parents' names in some cases. Very, very good for the family research! More about that here.

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things! 

more goodness

Today has been a damp, dreary day. But I woke to an array of cats snuggled up with me, which was good. And then I was able to painlessly solve a minor mix-up at work. Then I had a meeting that was actually kind of fun, and then...our realtor called! With good news! The sellers accepted our offer!

Later tonight (or tomorrow morning) I anticipate getting an email with the final contract, ready to sign and return. Am trying to think of creative ways to make our house appealing to a broad range of buyers:

• put something delicious-smelling in the oven
• light cozy candles
• dust like my life depends on it
• remove all evidence of the litter box and its associated unpleasantries...

There's still a lot to do, no doubt. But knowing they've accepted the offer puts us just a little closer to making it happen, for real. And that's a good thing.

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things! 

things I like

My 2010 bloggery began with the Landlanders blog, which is intended to reflect what's going on in the Land household (not just in my head/world). Then I added the Land Cats' blog, because they've always got something going on. While setting up landcats.blogspot.com, I googled blog templates and found the Shabby Blogs site. Thus I realized I needed a blog of my own, to pretty up however I wanted. Thus you are here.

While adding links and such to this blog I've clarified a few things about myself. The first point here is nothing new; I like colorful collages. I've always known this. I have a magpie's aesthetic sensibilities -- I like sparkly, shiny, colorful, crafty, clever doodads. I collect and keep. Quilts, linens, frames, scraps (of paper and fabric), books, books, and more books.... So of course I like everything at Shabby Blogs.

Anyone who knows me (or has read the Land Land blog) knows that we live in a too-small house and I have tons of stuff in storage. I don't have a sewing machine in my home. My fabric (save the small sewing kit and embroidery basket) are stored in Grandma's basement, 50+ miles from my house. Even my paints and glues are packed, although they are still located on-site! Once we get this house sold and moved into a home with room for me to be me, I will be in a better place figuratively as well as literally.

That said, in collecting links for this blog, I've located sites reflecting things I like. They're listed in the column on the right, and I expect to continue to add to it over time. Enjoy a glimpse into my head and heart via other people's pages!

--Jennifer
Oooh, look, shiny things!

St. Pat's (and McKenzie's belated birthday)

The best leprechaun waiter at Applebee's (and his lepre-couple waitress partner for the night) with Isabel and McKenzie.

Then we went back to Mere's for surprise cake (surprise for McKenzie) and decorations put up by me and Isabel. Note Ted's tail....

And more kid shenanigans:

2010 Jenvention

Jennifer Venable-Humphrey and her boys, Robert and Ethan, came to Tuscaloosa yesterday to visit me and Meredith (and Isabel) for our annual Jenvention (minus one, since Jennifer Tomlin Bowman has removed to the west coast). We dined, then we visited the university campus (so Robert could see the library and he and Isabel could climb statues and trees) and Barnes and Noble (so moms could have coffee/cocoa), then capped it off with a bit of Wii at Mere's house.
 McKenzie didn't arrive until after 6:00, so she didn't get to join us. Bummer, because she'd have enjoyed the boys!

a place of my own

Now that I've set it up, I have to decide what I'm going to blog about. I have a blog for our family, and one for our cats, and one for my Wellesley collection. And here is one just for me!