Marching Orders

It seems as if there are others catching up with my fascination, as this piece points out: Obituaries are a thing now..

So, that one was good for a laugh, not so much with this one, sent to me by my friend Cheryl, recalling the funeral for our neighbor: Kids Shame Abusive Mom. I've waited a very long time to read one like that!

Yesterday's paper ran this obituary: I'll leave out the name, but underneath said name, it reads, "Mom, the Myth, the Legend." Naturally that caught my eye! The body goes on to say that she of course "was loved by many and had the heart of gold. She lived life just the way she wanted....on her own terms!" Pray tell, what does that mean? She ran traffic lights if she didn't feel like stopping?

Speaking of the deceased, it seems as if the older I get, the more I sound like my Mother. As a young person, this seemed an impossibility, but by golly it has come to pass, as in today's blog post title. If I heard that once from my Mom, I heard it a dozen times! Ask Bruce about others because they could probably fill a page!

You didn't think that Matthew would let his Mom worry about what to wear in the English weather now did you? Of course he wouldn't. After reading my previous post he, called Monday afternoon, giving me my marching orders: a quilted jacket and boots. Like a dummy I asked if quilted jackets were in style. Duh! Would he have told me to get one if they weren't? Looking online I found a multitude of choices answering that question pdq. Don't know what pdq means? Another one from my Mom--the lol of her generation, meaning pretty darn quick.

While chatting with him, Angela came over, ready to start the move. And so we did. Actually not quite that quick because I was working on the pool and couldn't stop immediately. Earlier in the day I rode down to Lake Conway, parking my bike at the Ferncreek boat ramp.

This is the same place I took my current best seller, the old VW van. Every single time someone buys it I'm happy because it seems to make them happy. I was so lucky to have come across it when I did, a few days after Christmas, because I have yet to see it again, despite regularly riding this route. The clouds, of course, are for Karen.

Loading up the Pilot after the pool work was accomplished, we drove the 2 1/2 miles to the new house, and what a house it is, filled with all manner of beautiful woodwork and doors. Oh my, those doors are nice; pocket doors, swinging doors, a dutch door, which for those who haven't heard that term, is a door cut through the middle so the top half can open and the bottom stay closed. We worked until nearly 7:30, finally stopping for a sandwich at the old house. Matt, Angela's husband, is unhappy about moving, not wanting to leave the neighborhood. It goes without saying I don't want them to leave either, after all, it is Baxter's vacation home!

Isn't he just the cutest? Unfortunately, Tanya, our groomer, did not cut his hair quite short enough around his eyes, which will too soon be practically covered! Then again, maybe it's because he is getting older, and you know how men get those crazy eyebrows!

Tuesday morning, beginning at 8:30 we started in again loading both the Pilot, and her Lexus, making multiple trips between the houses. I don't know what else to tell you about it except that we worked all day long until 5:30, when I said it was time for me to get back home. I know one thing I can say: it is a big house, four bedrooms and four baths, an upstairs and downstairs, and so many other rooms I practically kept losing my way. I finally hung a piece of art on the wall to mark the stairwell which I kept passing. That may sound crazy, but it is a bit of a spiral, with the opening upstairs looking almost like a room entrance!

I gave her that much time on Tuesday because Wednesday the palm trimmers were coming at 8:30 in the morning. Arriving promptly, they cleaned out the smaller palms,

removing all the seed pods we simply cannot get to. These all look much improved and more importantly, which by the way, I'm mostly seeing people say more important, which I know is off topic, but I wonder why that is. Anyway, the seed pods are all removed, along with the dead fronds.

The squirrels are not going to be one bit happy, however, I sure am; the seeds kept dropping in the pool, clogging up the cleaner. Ignore the next photo, it's for me to remember their name the next time I need them!

While they were working away, a lady I'd met at Winter Garden came to the house to pick out some images to use for canvases at her new office in Longwood. Apparently she lives out that way because when she came into the house she remarked that she always forgets how cute the neighborhoods are near downtown. :)

After everyone left I went to Nordstrom, which I know does not surprise you in the least. Although I don't have the jacket in hand just yet, they ordered one for me, as well as the boots which were not in stock in my size. Before Bruce left for his department meeting in the morning, I told him about the jacket, and he told me that cords were back in style. So, now I have two new pairs of cords as well. Actually I'm glad they are in style because I find them very comfortable indeed. Leaving the store the sky was pretty gloomy,

which would have been fine if not for the photo shoot scheduled for 5:30. Canceling it due to the rain, I did decide to meet the young woman at her house which is only blocks away. I brought along my hat to use as a prop. Actually it is for a senior picture, the latest trend amongst teenagers. Thinking it might be a good idea to do a few test shots on her covered front porch, she was game.

Oh to have skin like that! We're going to try again for Friday evening, hoping the weather will cooperate.

I bought the hat at Nordstrom Rack a while back, and I'm pretty much obsessed with hats at the moment. People look at me funny, but I don't mind. I also bought a straw fedora with a black ribbon. Previously I never looked at hats, but yesterday afternoon found me in the hat department trying on a bunch of cute ones. Perhaps it is the Downton Abbey influence? Which, by the way, we finished season three on Monday night, and are anxiously awaiting the next season. Don't be jealous DA fans, but it starts in the UK while we are there!

While helping Angela move the smaller things, one thing became so clear to me-- once we removed the wall art, the house, despite having all the big furnishings still in place, was pretty much a shell. It's hard to put into words, but if ever I saw the power of art, this was the time. In turn, this makes me happy that for some people, my photographs are affordable enough that they can bring some into their houses, helping to make it a home. :)

Marching orders for today: photograph something beautiful!