I haven't written in a while because I've been busy. Lots of things seemed to happen all at once towards the end of March and I felt like I was doing good to keep my head above water, so blogging was way down low on the priority list.
Since I last wrote, we have:
1. Started up a semi-regular game night with some friends. It started as us trying to work our way through a Sherlock Holmes murder mystery game, but the first time out, we ran out of time and the second, we forgot some of the people we're supposed to "interview" so were nowhere close to solving the case. The other two times we've gotten together, we've played other games and every time we've had a blast. Lots of laughing and good food and it's become one of my favorite parts of the month.
2. We called someone out to check on the insulation in the attic, knowing that we needed to put in about $1000 worth. Well, that snowballed VERY quickly and we ended up having soffit (sp) vents installed as well. Those are vents in the eaves of your house to let air circulate through. We thought we didn't have any but when the workman started working, he discovered we had trapdoors rigged to a pulley system so that they could be opened in summer and closed in winter. They had not been used in likely 30+ years, so the ropes were dried out and the hinges rusted. And OF COURSE the vents in place were custom sized, so if we wanted to get newer, prettier vents, it was going to cost something like $250 a vent. For twenty-five vents. Needless to say, we put the old ugly ones back up. In the process of that, we also had a roofer come out to make sure we had the appropriate number of turbines on the buildings and we do, but the carriage house needs soffits, too. So maybe this coming fall we'll get those.
3. We discovered that the bills on the Mulberry house had shot through the roof, not because of anything the renters are doing, but because we neglected to renew our electricity contract so we were paying THREE TIMES the rate we had been. Plus there was a toilet that ran off and on. So fixing the contract and the toilet issues and that's been much better.
4. We somehow forgot to pay property taxes on Orange street, so that bill was racking up late fees and then we accidentally paid it TWICE. Late March/early April was super expensive.
5. I had my first mammogram and that was super duper. My mom's younger sister had breast cancer twice, and I think she was 28 the first time she was diagnosed, so I need to start screening early. Everything is great and I go back in a year. It wasn't that bad, just super awkward positions and a little uncomfortable. That plus a well woman check happening in the two weeks that everything above was going on made me feel very poked and prodded and squeezed.
6. We went to the Brother's Keeper movie premiere. We thought we were getting steak, but it was bbq. It was good, but when you're expecting steak, it's a bit of a letdown. We had a good time, though, and we were all dressed to the nines. The movie itself was awful. There's been a lot of talk about it online and apparently the producers are taking some of the comments into consideration and reworking the movie. What we weren't told at the time was that there was about 40 minutes still to be put in, so when none of the story lines were resolved and there was literally no football in a football movie, we were confused. And then when the main character was a white savior for the minority disadvantaged youth, it felt wrong. I'm not saying that Abilene doesn't have issues with drugs and gangs, but it felt like they were saying our city is a cesspool of crime. And I really don't think we are. I'm not even sure we're more dangerous and crime-riddled now than we were 10 years ago, when the movie is set. We may just be way more aware of the crime because of social media. I wasn't in Abilene 10 years ago, but 20 years ago, when I was 15, I would regularly leave my house at 2 am and walk around downtown Abilene when I couldn't sleep. Bare foot. And I never felt unsafe. Granted, I was 15 and stupid and I'd ground my kids forever if I found out they were doing the same thing, but my point is, I grew up downtown and on the edge of a not great neighborhood (where I now live) and never felt unsafe. Hell, a convenience store literally 3 blocks from me was robbed at gunpoint a few days ago and I still feel ok about where I live. Abilene is not a terrible place.
Anyway. Off the soapbox.
7. I helped my in-laws look at at least a dozen houses in Abilene for their impending move and found one that is perfect for them. The kids are excited about BB and Papa being in town and are making some plans. Mostly they involve watching tv and playing with trains or going to the park or to get pancakes every single Saturday. We'll see how long the magic lasts. For both grandchildren and grandparents. Austin's grandmother was moved to a nursing home in Arlington last summer and she'll move to one here in Abilene with his parents, so she may actually get to meet her great-grandchildren. Apparently, the one she's most interested in and delighted by is Rebekah. I find this amusing because every time we called to tell her about another child, she was surprised. I think she said "Really?!" to Eden and Rebekah. She had one and her son had one, so her grandson having four seems ludicrous to her.
It'll be good for the kids to have more grandparents in town. And supposedly grandkids keep you young, so it'll be good for the grandparents, too.
8. Austin and I finally got to see Hamilton and it. was. amazing. Like, the music is so so good, but you miss how funny it is, how touching, how visually stunning it is when you're not watching it with a crowd. We saw it opening night and the theater was packed. The woman next to me and I were both singing along under our breaths (that's really hard for me not to do when I know the music). I laughed, I cried, I was blown away, I want to see it again. And again and again and again.
Upcoming is a family wedding this Saturday and another doctor's appointment for Eden and another play for Austin and me. Then school ends and summer begins. We've got lots planned but also lots of "nothing" planned. Camps and trips and friends in town and downtime. The kids have lots of ideas of things to do and places to go and we'll see if any of them happen. For now, we're going to try to get through the next month of school.
Insulation getting blown into the attic
Vents! That function as such!
The trapdoors they removed.
Hamilton stage.
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