Ta-Ta to Ten

December 30, 2010

One day left in 2010 and when I think back on the year I feel slightly exhausted.  This time a year ago I was worried that my job was being phased out  and we wouldn't be able to stay in our Brooklyn apartment.  We were discussing the scary possibility that we might have to sell and move in 2010 rather than 2011 as we had planned.

We hit the ground running in January with a trip out to PT to check out a commercial building that looked promising (the same building we would later go to contract on) and made the decision to put the apartment on the market in February.  Frantic tarting up ensued, and boxes of stuff were put in storage.  Staging became an overused and hated word.  Loaves of bread were baked every weekend for the dreaded open house.  Hours were spent lurking in the car counting the number of people who came and went.  Weeks went by, then months.  Real estate agents were loved, then hated, then loved again.  Finally in April we had a buyer.  Great news.

And in April Kate turned 21and immediately hit the bars for her first (legal) drink.

Still in April, BFF Glen turned 50 and invited me to join him in Dallas for a few days of shopping, dancing and spa treatment fun.  (It was also where I reconnected with my cowboy roots.) 

In May Hilary and I made a trip out to Los Angeles to visit Occidental College where she is enrolled for the fall.  Gorgeous campus, lots of palm trees (it is L.A. after all) and even eucalyptus trees which made it smell like home for me.  Drove Hilary through Beverly Hills and tried to show her where I used to live when I was Nanny Number Nine but the road in now has a guard on it and he wouldn't let us through.  Hah!

 
In May we also learned that brother Stephen had been diagnosed with cancer of the tongue.  Terrible news but his faith and spirit left us in no doubt he would beat it (and he did!)

Hilary graduated from high school in June, and received her Associate's Degree from Bard College.

She went off to get her Dive Master certification in the Caribbean while Kate set off for an archaeological dig in Greece and then spent four weeks at a language school in Nice where she experienced many cultural delights including getting stoned (in the literal sense) by a bunch of street urchins.  She's not overly enamored of the French these days.

Also in June Dan and I went to Las Vegas to attend the 6 day New Business Boot Camp and World Tea Expo, spending a few sublime days in Zion National Park and the Grand Canyon before the ridiculousness that is Las Vegas.  Exhilarating and exhausting and very useful.

In July we made a second trip out to PT to check out another commercial building prospect and our new home which we'd rented sight unseen on the excellent advice of Michelle, real estate agent extraordinaire.  Caught the end of the Fiddle Tunes Festival and spent a glorious evening dancing under the stars to Cajun music with cousin Susan.  We felt blessed and lucky to call this our new home.

The apartment was finally sold in August and we moved into a temporary space for the month.  I left for England a few days later to help out with the end of Stephen's radiation treatment.  It was a shock to see him so gaunt and in pain but he has amazing strength and a most loving and supportive family and community and he made good progress in the two short weeks I was there. 

Was able to spend a night with Kate in London on her way back to New York and we had a wonderful reunion with Mari, Kate the Younger, Anna, Joss, Millie and the gorgeous Gus.  Also spent a few happy days with Glen.

Yes, he really is that tall, Mari!  These are her godchildren.

Hilary had to leave for Occidental while I was in England so Jack accompanied her and I was spared the empty nest,  gut-wrenching, tear soaked scene.  Brave girl, not so brave mother.

Back in NY for 5 days of fond farewells

Lunch at the place we were married with Bruce and Diane

then into the RV and onto the road for the month of September (see Trailer Trash Mama blog if you missed this part and are a glutton for punishment.)

I'll spare you the recap of October, November and most of December.  Suffice to say we hit the ground running when we arrived here as well, and it's only now, as '10 winds down, that I feel we are starting to slow down and maybe begin to walk at last.  Unfortunately that's only because it looks as though our building deal has fallen through and now the mad rush to get the World's Best Business Plan finished, and contractor quotes in and plans drawn and permits acquired and suppliers lined up and equipment purchased and, and, and ..... is over.  At least for now.  I have 3 months to find another space or the Tea Room will have to wait until next year.  Timing is crucial - I have to open by May in order to capture the tourist trade and have a chance to break even and make enough to carry me through the slow season. 

In the meantime I'm trying to get used to this weird feeling of not having a deadline of some sort looming over me.  Christmas was lovely.  Leslie and her Labradoodle Bumps drove up from San Francisco, braving the mountain passes to get here, and my dogs went wild (Poppy's in love.)  It was a Schnoodle and Doodle Christmas.

In our matching fleeces bought (such a deal!) on our day trip to Seattle

Bumps sampling our northwest saltwater

  
We skyped with Kate and Hilary in NY on Christmas morning as they opened their presents, and then opened ours.  The big one was not a Martha Stewart inspired holiday decorating of a radiator (as Leslie thought) but a new toy for Dan which he loves. 

We were able to see the officers with their guns in the conning tower on the next nuclear sub that went by (also with steam coming out and sailors out on top so maybe we won't be glowing in the dark after all.)

New friends Susan and Nathan, and Linda and Chuck joined us for Christmas dinner, crackers, silly hats and all, and it was a lovely evening. 

We've been meeting lots of people at various holiday parties and eating and drinking way too much.  My New Year's Resolution is to get fit doing two forms of exercise I actually enjoy - horse riding and dancing.  I'm also signing up for volunteer work.  I'm afraid if I slow down too much I may put down roots and become a tree.

The weather continues to surprise.  No chance to feel smug about the 6th worst snow storm to hit NY when yesterday  started out with a hailstorm followed by snow and sleet and gusty winds. 

And I got to wear my daggy hat!  Very PT.

But in the afternoon there was sunshine and a spectacular sunset.  Today there is not a cloud in the sky and Mt. Rainier and Mt Baker are brilliant in the sunshine.  Such a joy to see the snow-capped mountains again.  And the tide is low once more for our beach walks so there are beach glass treasures waiting to be found.

I wish you all a most joyful, safe and healthy 2011.  And for goodness sake, come visit me.  I now have nothing to do!

Musicians at Pike's Place Market in Seattle.  They'll be here in PT for the next Fiddle Festival in July - come!

Groundhog Day

Monday, December 13

That's what it felt like to be back in New York.  There I was, back in the same neighborhood, riding the same subway, getting out at the same stop, going into the same stores.  Weird.  At times I wondered if the last 3 months really happened.  Did we actually make that 4 week cross country trip?  Was I ever Trailer Trash Mama?  Are we really living anywhere but Brooklyn?  The lyrics of Hotel California kept running through my head - "You can check out any time you like but you can never leave ...."

The sense of dislocated reality began when we landed and had to wait an hour for our luggage as the conveyor belt broke down.  No announcements, just an ever uglier crowd of pissed off New Yorkers (they were the ones stomping around looking for someone to punch) and rather scared tourists.  Then the "on site" car rental agency involved lugging our bags to the air train, a wait outside in the freezing cold, and another ride on a "courtesy" van whose driver, when he eventually arrived, couldn't be bothered to get out of his seat to help us with our bags, just rolled his eyes as we struggled to lift them on.  Welcome to New York, mother******.

Then insult was added to injury when I was actually honked at by yet another pissed off New Yorker who thought I was taking too long to cross the street.  He figured I was not from round here because New Yorkers a) don't wear cowboy boots ( I thought about not bringing them but then decided I had enough of the PT Menopausal Mama in me by now to be able to carry it off) and b) walk fast all the time.  I resisted the urge to give him the New York salute.

The hotel we stayed at was one we watched being built along 4th Avenue in Brooklyn, a busy commercial strip that was recently de-regulated to allow for higher rise buildings.  At the time we thought "Who in their right mind would ever want to stay there?"   It was also relentlessly hip - very minimal and slick.  I did not like the room.  The bathroom was glass enclosed and jutted right out into the bedroom.  Not the kind of hotel room for anyone wanting to maintain a shred of mystery or dignity.  Only good for the absurdly young with no body (or bodily function) issues whatsoever.

Of course, the reason we were in NY was supposed to be the happy celebration of Dan's parents' 70th Wedding Anniversary.  70 years!  Sadly the party had to be canceled as Bernice has gone downhill rapidly after a fall 3 weeks ago.  Luckily she did not break anything this time but she did bang her head and was badly bruised and shaken.  At times she doesn't recognize her sons or her husband and she's not able to form coherent sentences all the time. She is now in a rehab. facility and the consensus among her doctors and her sons is that she needs to go into nursing care next.  Dan's father has not quite accepted that sad reality yet.

Here she is in September, saying bon voyage.

As we'd booked the tickets some time ago, and as Dan had business in New York, we decided to go anyway and spend some time with her.  But that left me with a whole lot of spare time so I quickly put together the Whirlwind NYC Girlfriend Tour.  That's the advantage of only being in town for a couple of days - people make time to see you and I ended up feeling almost popular.  Breakfasts, lunches, teas, dinners.  Busy social life for once.

Here we go!

Tea with Louise (I call her Lah-weeze after an old song our kids used to sing, and my so called smart phone's predictive text can't handle that - sent me a reminder I was having tea with Lag-erect.)

Drinks with Gillian and Jane 

Dinner with Bruce and Diane (we let the menfolk come)

Breakfast with Margaret

Lunch and tea with "Aunty Di" my talented friend who wowed me with her fabulous designs for my logo (C.T. too!)

Dinner with Susan (Dan got to be an honorary girlfriend for the night.)

Lunch with Rob and Lisa who drove down from upstate despite illness and time constraints.

Lisa wore her green suede cowboy boots in honor of my PT transformation (she was one of the wise friends who urged me to buy the red boots too and I'm forever grateful.  Maybe next time I come to town I'll feel brave enough to wear them.)

I also got to see Kate in between her shifts in Times Square as Bowlmore Betty and the Giant Rolling Pin.

She much prefers being the giant bowling pin. Bowlmore Betty has to wear a very short skirt and gets chatted up by obnoxious 12 year olds.

I dropped off her Christmas presents, along with Hilary's.  This year they will both spend Christmas with their dad in New York so I'll be having a Grown Up Christmas with my dear friend Leslie who will be driving up from San Francisco with her Labradoodle Bumps (Schnoodles and Doodles -yay!) and my new friends Susan and Nathan, and Linda and Chuck (if their family commitments allow.)  Susan and Linda call themselves Dinks - Double Income No Kids.  I guess that will make me a Sink- Single Income No Kids - this Christmas.

Much as I will miss them, it does take the pressure off and I even think I'm going to not find the tree decorations.  The only place to put a tree in this small house would be in front of my view and that won't do.  I'm positively addicted to this view.  There's always something going on whether it be secret fires aboard nuclear subs, the tail of either a very large seal or a very small whale, the ferry, container ships, rowers and the endless variety of weather.  Today, for instance, started off cloudy with a few spots of blue sky.  Made for a dramatic sunrise.  Then I watched a fog bank rolled in around 10 but by 10.30 it had disappeared and the sky was mostly blue. The sun is streaming in my windows and the temperature is rising into the 50s but the wind is picking up a bit and some clouds are starting to bank in the south.  Stay tuned.

Mt. Baker from the deck after being hidden by clouds for about a week.  What a joy to see it again, and as the sun sets the snow glows pink.

We had the town tree lighting ceremony last weekend.  Dan's college friend Bill and his wife Cathy came to visit from North Carolina.  Their son Adam lives near us and he came too, bringing his gorgeous 13 month old daughter who happily took to me right away so I got lots of lovely baby snuggles and smiles.  She had to go home before Santa arrived.  He told the crowd that PT is the first official stop on his worldwide tour - fancy that.  I'm not sure what happened to his reindeer.  Maybe they were getting an oil change as Santa arrived by boat.

Mayor Michelle was on hand to greet him and there were carols by candlelight, presents and a raffle.  All the downtown stores stayed open late and the town was filled with shoppers.  That was a reassuring sight given my continuing struggles with the World's Best Business Plan.  Staying profitable through the winter months is a challenge for all businesses here.

And speaking of business, ten days ago we learned that our deal may not be happening.  All very distressing but these things happen.  On the bright side it did mean that the race to get the WBBP finished by Christmas was off.  In fact, I realized that I could - for the first time since we got here - actually slow down and maybe relax a bit.  That, coupled with the No Kids Christmas meant a whole lot of pressure being taken off.   I could spend the new year working off the Science Pounds (from all the experiments with Clotted Cream, sausage rolls, scones etc.) and be fit and ready when the next building presented itself.

I met with Kathleen, my Business Mentor, as planned last Monday and told her the news.  Although she urged me to continue with the work I felt a bit like I was getting out of school early or that exams had been postponed for another month.  Yippee!  I filed my papers and closed my How To Write a Great Business Plan in 60 Minutes or Less book (thank you Glen, but they lied) and decided to enjoy myself.  Then on Friday, while standing on the corner of Broadway and 66th Street, I received a call from Michelle who said the deal may not be dead yet. Eeek!

So, I'm sneaking in this blog before cracking open the book again and sprinting to the finish line.  I've lost a week and a half of work time so the pressure's back on.  It made my few days in New York feel a bit more like a holiday and less like a freaky altered reality.  Even though it was so great to see my friends again I was still very happy to leave (again) but it was tinged with sadness about Bernice and some anxiety knowing what I will need to get accomplished in the coming week.


 

What Is This Place?

Thursday, December 2

In my old life I counted any time I scored a seat on an overcrowded subway a good way to start the day, no matter that I had to contend with my neighbor's morning breath or snoring or egg sandwich.  It made me feel like I'd won a tiny victory in the human rat race. 

Now I count finding a piece of beach glass on my morning walks a score, and a piece of dark blue glass is a major score.  Dan and I have been collecting beach glass since our holidays in Maine and have found a few small pieces of the elusive dark blue (Dan's waiting for an even rarer red) which we brought with us to PT.  A few weeks ago I found a huge piece and proudly added it to the collection.

But today I found THE MOTHER LODE!

And it even has ridges and an interesting shape.  Nancy and Laurie were with me when I found it and even they were impressed (and it takes a lot to impress a Minnesotan.)

So, a great start to the day.  Hard to believe it's a week already since Thanksgiving  and that awful snow and ice storm.  Here are a few pictures from around town.

We had to pick up the girls from Seatac airport on Wednesday morning and the drive in was a bit hairy.  Remember the weather forecasters here warning that the evening commute may take a bit longer on Monday night?  Well, some drivers were stuck for over 6 hours on blocked freeways.  There were so many accidents that cars were simply abandoned on the sides of roads and people walked home.

I asked cousin Susan who lives in Seattle if they even have snow plows here and her response was:

"Not so good with snow removal here as it "never snows" except for when it does. They figure it will warm up and melt before you need snow plows."  Well, it didn't warm up for 3 days so the side streets were iced over and impassable.

It was bitterly cold - record low temperatures in fact (14 degrees F) - and both girls were freezing the whole time they were here.  It was so good to see them again and although they were completely underwhelmed by PT (the title of this blog is a direct quote) they survived thanks to liberal quantities of Mum's cooking.  I managed to raise complete city girls, it's true, and there's not a lot for young people to do here, but I'm hoping they will eventually look forward to coming here as a sort of R&R break from their hectic city lives.

The dogs went crazy and it was a love fest for three days.

  

I did my usual smoked turkey on the barbie and made massive quantities of stuffing using my own home made sausage this time and it was a hit.  Hilary discovered a couple of years ago that she actually liked stuffing after all and now eats it at breakfast, lunch and dinner time to make up for the Lost Stuffing Years.

We have a lot to be thankful for. First, and most importantly, brother Stephen has received the all clear after his chemo and radiation treatment and is now truly on the road to recovery.  Happy days ahead for him and Lucy, Poppy, Ruby and Ella, as he regains his strength and fitness and what little hair he lost.

We are blessed to be living a life we had only dared to dream about for so many years.  True, there are hiccups in the building sale and Pippa's Tea Room may have to be put on hold for a while, and true, Dan's job is never easy and is particularly difficult right now, and true, we miss all our friends back east, BUT we are making new friends, we wake up every day to a magnificent view, salt air, dramatic skies and weather, the beach right outside our door and the wonderful possibility of finding another piece of beach glass.