Hello Again! Happy New Year! Merry Christmas

and all that holiay stuff.

I promise I'll try to keep this blogging up-to-date, it may be tough. Now, to fill you in:

Life with Octogenarians
Yes, I'm living with my parents. It's not easy, it's not fun, but it is helpful for me and for them. We have 'conversations' daily on all sorts of things, mainly getting rid of some of the stuff, moving furniture around, getting 'new' stuff. I'm honestly trying to help them, but they feel it's an invasion of their lifestyle. For example, my mom has bursitis/pinched nerve in her hip. (We're not sure what it is, we're waiting for test results.) She's having trouble walking and it's not easy for her to reach up to the top shelf where she keeps the dishes. I wanted to move a cabinet from the rec room into the kitchen to use for the dishes, it is lower and we could store so many things in there. It would also remove some clutter from the room and maybe clear out some space. But, nooo, she doesn't want that. Both my parents said she could use a stool to stand on. Not a good idea for an 84-year-old with hip problems. I finally did convince them to get a wire shelf to put in the cabinet to stack the dishes on so they are more easily accessible.

We've also gone rounds about getting cable TV. They didn't want it, they were happy with network TV. All they do is watch TV and all they watched was junk. I had to get an internet connection, so I told them I couldn't get just the internet, I had to get cable TV also. So the TV hasn't been off since. My sisters and I bought them a 32" HDTV for Christmas and that was a Great Gift. I think I'll have to send it back as it only gets Westerns, Old Movies and Football games.

Job Hunt
Yes, I'm doing that again. My contract with the Library of Congress ended on Dec 17, so I've taken the last 2 weeks off (?!) . I've had 2 interviews, a face-to-face with a hiring manager, a phone interview and I've got a face-to-face tomorrow. (11AM tomorrow, they just called. right off the metro stop.) These are both Unisys, but for different contracts, one with the GSA another with Customs. They both sound promising, not as much money as I'd like, but more than I'm making now. There is one other contract I'm interested in, and I'm waiting for the recruiter to call me back with a status. I don't think this unemployment time will last more than a few weeks. With the New Year and the New President, money should open up.

The New President
I hope Obama can sustain the good feelings we all have for his presidency. This city is pretty Obama-crazy now. I hope he can deliver on some of his promises.

Other Things
My house is still for sale. If you are in Atlanta and looking for a home, or if you want to move to Atlanta, it's a geat house, in a great neighborhood, reasonably priced....

Miss Katrina is fitting in just fine with the Old Folks. Of course, Miss Katrina will fit in just fine anywhere, she's that kind of cat. She still has issues with my parents cat, but he's an instigator and will probably always be that way. I'd like a kitten, or a young cat as Miss K needs a friend to give her exercise and my parents need something positive and happy in this house.

My Big Sister is coming up on Wednesday to paint the living room and dining room and hallway. I'm in charge of prep-work and, as we all know, that's the worst part. I don't know the last time this house was painted, it's been many years. First, the Christmas decorations have to be put away, then the furniture has to be moved away from the walls, then I have to take all the pictures off the walls, fill in the nail holes and other problems, then we can think about painting. The ceiling is a popcorn ceiling and I know that hasn't been painted since it was done, probably 20 years ago. I'm also looking forward to having an ally in getting rid of stuff. Becky has a mini-van and we can take LOTS of stuff to the Goodwill. We have to clean some stuff out so thay can walk without lots of stuff in the way. It's easier for my mom to use a walker sometimes, but there is no room for a walker to get thru this crap.

I'am going to join an Artists group, where I can display some jewelry and sell it. It's at a nearby park, and I'm only required to work in the shop for 4 hours every 2 months. I stopped by the other day to take a look and it works for me. I have to be juried in, so that will be a good one on my Jewelry Resume, whatever that is....

Gotta run, they've gone to the doctor or something and I can throw some things away.