Bruce Wayne?

We've been in our new apartment for just over two weeks and are feeling pretty well settled. Our parking spot in the garage is way at the end but that's OK. It's heated and just a short walk to the elevator....no  complaints!

Everytime I go down to drive anywhere I notice once specific car just a few spaces down from ours. It's a bit of a mystery.

My imagination and memory kicks into overdrive...Batman??? Is "Bruce Wayne" one of our new neighbors?? If I see Robin walking around the lobby my suspicions will be confirmed.

Moods.....

My daughter shared a post from her friend Jennifer Wright and I've been thinking about it all day....for several reasons.

"People talk about caterpillars becoming butterflies as though they just go into a cocoon, slap on wings, and are good to go. Caterpillars have to dissolve into a disgusting pile of goo to become butterflies. So if you're a mess wrapped up in blankets right now, keep going." These few sentences resonate with me today.

Yesterday I had lunch with two friends....something we try to do every couple months or so...and usually we call it our "laugh therapy sessions". We did have a really good visit at a nearby restaurant and heard about the ones son's wedding and got to see some of the pictures. It was a beautiful day! We usually find time to share book titles, or movies to rent and discuss some current affairs, or recent travel experiences....but yesterday we just wandered through more random thoughts and that lovely wedding day.

Walking back along the sidewalk to get to our apartments my one friend said she was still just feeling kind of "off kilter" and "out of sorts" and we two agreed. Even after we hope to have gotten through the worse of the COVID-time, we all realize that this virus is now a forever part of our world and is still "tainting" the way we look at almost everything. I find myself second-guessing all of my plans. Should we go to that restaurant now? Will most people at the movie matinee be wearing masks? Can we really plan a big trip for a few months from now and feel secure in booking plane tickets? It's just a sort of greyness that moves through the day with all three of us.....in different ways.

I'm not feeling like a pile of goo and I am not wrapped up in blankets.....but I also sense I am a long way from ever feeling like a butterfly. Dave and I got our booster shots yesterday and while my arm is a little sore, maybe by spring my wings will spread and I'll feel more like "my old self". In the meantime I will enjoy our occasional laugh therapy lunches and meeting new friends in our apartment building and exploring the Eastside  neighborhood of Milwaukee.

Here's a toast to butterflies! May they get through the caterpillar and goo stages and emerge with colorful, strong wings....and all my friends and me too.

A Small Irritation.....

Everyone has them…..little things that really get under your skin and just make you feel irritated. For some it's the slow driver in the fast lane. For some it's when you're watching a favorite television show and the service goes out. For some it's searching for one-half of your pair of walking shoes for twenty minutes and then finding it just under the edge of the bed.

One of my every-day-irritations is safety packaging. I understand the necessity but as a 74 almost 75 year old adult some of the shrink wrapped things I need to buy make me nuts. We get Fenway his favorite chew toys and the hard, thick clear plastic that surrounds these chew rings almost defeats my scissors, nevermind my hand!

And then there is some of the daily medications I take. Each damn pill is individually wrapped in semi-hard foil. The pill won't "pop" out when you push on it. You can try to prick each individual case with the tip of a sharp knife but that's not the safest way to handle it and a tweezers won’t break through the foil.

It only took me years to figure out that if I used my kitchen scissors to cut along the line of pills I can then, individually, push each one out and put them in the little plastic pill jar that I keep refilling for easier access.

On a scale of one-to-ten of world “problems” I realize this is nowhere on the list. Sigh. Safety packaging is just one of my small irritations….maybe I’ll get over it.

 

Classy Reminder......

So now we walk unfamiliar sidewalks on the eastside of Milwaukee. Our new apartment is four blocks from Lake Michigan and around the corner from a wonderful independent bookstore, two coffee shops, a grocery store, movie theater and pharmacy plus several restaurants. If we walk in another direction I can get to my doctors' offices, more restaurants, another movie theater and Whole Foods.....plus more.

The neighborhood is filled with block  after block of lovely historic homes (some mansions!) and brick apartment buildings. Mature shade trees line each sidewalk. Fenway is having a terrific time christening "his" city territory. And I amuse myself by sometimes looking down at the sidewalk blocks. The dates they were put in place varies from the early 1900's to 2020. Different mixtures of concrete make each stretch slightly individual and it's just interesting (to me) to notice the companies involved with Milwaukee's infastructure. I used to do the same thing when we lived in Bay View.

Coming back into the building last week I  noticed one of the sewer drains right in front of the entryway along the circular driveway.

A classy reminder that what goes in here leads to our precious lake! 

Step By Step…

Seasons bring change…..to our landscape and this year to our location. The move came up quite suddenly…but we felt it was a great opportunity to spend the next years of our lives as city folk. While living in Bayview we spent a lot of time in downtown Milwaukee. We enjoyed the theater, outdoor summer concerts, the museums and the energy. Moving to Port Washington gave us other opportunities and we so enjoyed our seven plus years overlooking Lake Michigan and life in a small town. Our vertical condo neighborhood was filled with nice people and we made some good friends there.

But after listing and selling the condo step one was having the movers come to pack our belongings.

Step two was cleaning up the condo after Dave and the movers headed to the city. Vacuum, dust, wipe out cabinets…..all why thinking and remembering the good memories made in this space.

Step three was the most exhausting. Until now the movers did the hard work….now it is the two of us trying to figure out what goes where and how will it fit?

All I know is it will be weeks or months before I get to my sewing machine in my new quilting room!

Just A Touch…..

For over seven years we’ve enjoyed the view north from our Port Washington condo. As the seasons change we watch. As the deer come to browse in the park in front of the bandshell we watch. As Lake Michigan changes hour by hour and day by day, we watch. As bikers and dog walkers go up and down the bike path we watch. Our view offered us an ever changing look at the neighborhood. 

Yesterday I glanced out to see one of the first notices that autumn is in the air. A beautiful tree frosted gold, seemingly overnight.

Mother Nature is busy with her paint brush and this tree glowed in the sun. I wish this kind of weather would stick around for at least two months…..but I know that won’t happen, so I will enjoy each day as it comes. Maybe a few extra back road drives for any errands….just to catch the color.

Enjoy it while we can….white will replace the gold soon!