Spending the night with my Sweetie-pie at the luxurious McBride Guest House to get away from the unexpected hot water heater problems that surfaced at our place in town. Did somebody say hot water? How ’bout hot tub after a couple of cold, McBride home brews? What a treat? Per omnia secula seculorum, baby!
They’re all either mislabeled or underlabeled because that’s how they’re packed.
It has come to my attention that perhaps the packers were influenced by the the Morton salt girl (see history):
It’s one thing to see your life flash before your eyes; like when you’re driving through high winds on black ice way up in the mountains in a rear-wheel-drive cargo van with baloney-skin tires in winter. That’s traumatic enough; but, when you see all of your stuff coming out of a huge moving van, piece by piece, box by box, a steady stream of things directly and indirectly related to you with varying degrees of usefulness, but all relatively sentimental…when you see this, the trauma is there but it’s subtle.Why? Because you’re too busy wondering how in the world you’re ever going to unpack and find a place for everything!
It’s mid-afternoon, sunny, and 66 degrees on this, the day before the moving van arrives with our stuff and one of our 2 vehicles. We’ve been staying at a VRBO on the outskirts of Merced that has been such a comfortable, beautiful, and practical alternative, and will probably continue to be so indefinitely, at least until I get our place in town up and running. I’ll have more to say about this VRBO and the cool folks who run it in due time. In the meantime I’ll simply mention a few key characteristics: hot tub, pool, home brewer, 2 dogs, beautiful patio, and above all, those cool, interesting, conversant folks who run this VRBO, with this kind of a view:
They will wrap you up and pack you away, if you stay in one room too long while they’re here! That’s how that goes. So I stashed away some things here and there. One spot: the tub. Thanks Ann…for the suggestion.
Size matters; let’s face it. I walked into a laundromat with two large laundry bags, not much time, and even less experience with those huge, special-project machines. Moving is a good time to wash the comforter, the duvet, and some fancy pillowcases. I must have had that certain look on my face, complete disorientation, because within minutes I was oriented by a messenger of the laundry gods, and the entire load was being washed in one coin-operated, heavy-duty washing machine followed likewise by a dryer that, if I had left the door open for the 34 minutes it took, would have raised the temperature in Polk County by 34 degrees!
Three days before they come to pack up our stuff, four days before they load almost everything, five days before Cowboy, Don Cyrus, and I begin the westward trek in a cargo van mainly for our certified household plants, but also some artwork, and a few muffulettas to munch on…and counting!
While I had my step ladder out late yesterday afternoon, I couldn’t resist climbing up as high as I could, higher than I’ve ever been before; and to my surprise I could see where all the planes were going. Also saw Ann in a hot tub with a glass of wine.
My last Friday night here in Des Moines, IA was positively electrified by the Parranderos Latin Combo (PLC) at Vaudeville Mews. Just last December at the Moberg Gallery I saw them perform – and even “illustrablogged” on it! These guys are going places, literally, check this out!!! Something tells me I’ll be seeing Fernando Aveiga and the PLC in the future.
Here’s a possible partnership…
Ok, maintaining the autobiographical tone here at portfoliolongo.com, DNA testing within the last year revealed the following speculative analysis of my ancestry composition, maternal and paternal combined, reflecting where my ancestors lived 500 years ago, before ocean-crossing ships and airplanes came on the scene. (I’m inclined to cite that quote, but I won’t for a few reasons) Who knows how accurate this information is? Better yet, who knows whether it’s valid, credible, useful, etc.. Theoretically, it applies to my sister and brother as well. At any rate, here’s essentially what got spit out:
25.4% – Italian
21.2% – Nonspecific Northern European
18.5% – Nonspecific Southern European
17.1% – British & Irish
10.7% – French & German
6.1% – Nonspecific European
0.7% – Middle Eastern & North African
0.7% – Middle Eastern
0.2% – Sardinian
0.1% – North African
< 0.1% – Unassigned
100% – Me, more or less (Note: An estimated 2.7% of my DNA is from Neanderthals.)
portfoliolongo 