Random Stuff

 The shelf I ordered was a good deal and I have put it to good use. 

The dishwasher is behaving. 

I got all my plants under lights.

I found some little bowls I've been missing. The one on the lower left is from Japan. Just a resale shop find, but I love it.

I never found my pans.

I'm missing an ingredient for my keto bread (got tossed by accident) so I need to order more. My bread collapsed because of a substitute I made.

There were some neat clouds today. I feel boxed in by the garage. 

There is a more open view when I walk down to get the mail.

I miss my view.

22 Days

 It's hard for me to believe we have been here 22 days. I'm still not completely unpacked. I have gotten past the point of waking up and telling myself, "I live here now, we don't need to drive 80 miles from Hartford anymore." I'm aware of a quiet acceptance, not full depression but maybe, sort of, a little bit. I realize it's because it's just cold and snowy right now. All the fun stuff starts after the snow melts off the trails. I realize after the weather is not so cold I will be able to sit out on the patio and listen to the birds and watch spring storms roll in. We have had lots of snow.

Following the plow

I might cut some boxes down into trays so I can fill them and slide them back into all that unreachable space in the kitchen cabinets. That way I will be able to pull stuff forward as if they were in a drawer. 

I might start hanging pictures. I unpacked my favorite vases. I have the clock hung up. We found a friendly Ford dealership. Since we bought a maintenance package that is in effect, it makes sense to go there. The dealership in Hartford was great. The one in Appleton was a dud. We drove through Greenville to nearby Hortonville and found friendly people and great service. We have an appointment to replace a wheel bearing on Friday.

Greenville was like being "home" again, rolling hills, trees, open spaces. 

I cannot find my saucepans. I ended up buying one the other day. How can three saucepans hide so well?

The landlady fired the guy who was supposed to be plowing the parking lot. He was doing the worst job, leaving piles of snow for everyone to dig through. The new guy is awesome.

My new (from January 1st) health insurance seems good. My medications have cost between $5 and $0, much better than $145 per month. I found a clinic in Greenville. There are clinics in Appleton and Grand Chute as well.

Hubby likes his job. That's the reason we moved here. 

I ordered a shelf. I have been typing "shelving on sale Appleton" every day and finally something came up. It will be delivered Friday and fit in this spot.

I'm running the dishwasher empty with some vinegar and baking soda. It is now leaking all over the floor. I cannot find a filter. It's old. Apparently no removable filter. Internet says clean with vinegar and baking soda. This was not the way I wanted to wash the floor.

That's all for tonight. I'm off to clean the floor.

New Paints & A Brush

 I bought these before we moved, so tonight I decided to unpack them and take a look. The brush is a fine liner, although I prefer the name Rigger. The paints were a bit expensive, but I really wanted to try them. I have been inspired by some water color artists.

The rigger gets it's name from its use to paint the rigging on a ship because long thin lines were needed. I'm not painting with it tonight.

The paints

Six different shades of gold

These are from Japan

Here are the samples of the paints. First the golds. Sorry for the shadow of my phone near the bottom.

And now the colors

I probably didn't need the Vandyke brown or the Perlyne Green but I absolutely love the Quinacridone colors. Also, the Potters Pink granulates (separates), which is a desired quality for certain applications. And finally I can paint stormy clouds.

That's all for tonight. It's getting late.

I don't Know Where to Put Anything

 This apartment is warm and quiet. I don't hear traffic like when we lived in Hartford. I hear an occasional jet or plane in the distance. The windows aren't icy with freezing drafts like the apartment in Hartford. Wind doesn't blow in around the air conditioners like the one in Hartford. The carpet isn't an ocean of waves like the one in Hartford (it needed to be stretched). It's not dusty because the one in Hartford was "painted" with tinted plaster that has been shedding dust particles since day one seven years ago.

I still miss the view. I miss the hills. I miss the places we walked. I miss how easy Hartford was to drive around in. I miss West Bend and Grafton and Delafield, so many familiar places.

I'm not sure how much I will be able to drive here, although I have Walmart figured out. It's easy, only 3 miles and no highways. I am hoping the clinic is not far. I like to be able to drive myself to the doctor or for labs. I asked on the Appleton group for recommendations but that one is across town by expressway. I have never felt comfortable on major highways. Hartford was easy. Appleton, Grand Chute, and all the others that make up the Fox Valley cities are sort of the same type of mayhem as Indianapolis and Madison.

My hubby loves the area. He grew up in a city. He feels comfortable here because he is surrounded by dozens of jobs. Thankfully they aren't stinky. Green Bay stinks. Hartford had a few jobs but the one that paid well died.

Back to the apartment. I have a decent view of sunsets now. There are birds singing! I heard a chickadee this morning. Did I mention it's quite? I can't even hear people running their appliances. In Hartford we could only run them between 8 am and 8 pm because we could hear each other's washer, dryer, dishwasher and disposal. To think that place was advertised and being sound proof! Here the water is soft and I have the cleanest dishes ever! In Hartford the water was so hard everything was encrusted in white, no matter how often it was cleaned. I have more counter space, and more cabinets, but less usable space. For some reason the cabinets have a poorly placed shelf that makes me practically stand on my head to see what's in there.

That middle shelf means I can't reach more than what I can see. I can bend over just fine, but because of my neck surgery I have to tilt my head sideways and try to reach in. It seems to be a mechanical difficulty.

Normal cabinet. I can see and reach everything

The bathroom has no storage and is butt fuggly. It has a walk in tub with jets. Haven't used it yet, just the shower. Taking a shower in there is like standing in a box.

WHY are the bathroom walls textured like this and WHY are they Sh-t color??

The entry way is narrow. I put a chair in there so we can sit to remove our shoes/boots, but I want it one place and hubby wants it in another. There is hardly room to do anything in there.

We can't decide on the placement of stuff in the living room. I have to consider that the A/C will blow down the hall from the front door, and the sun shines in from the southwest, and we are only comfortable sitting certain directions in relation to the TV.

Our bedroom has a fairly normal closet. The second bedroom has no closet, but it has a large laundry room with a full size washer and dryer. The hallway has a dinky "linen" closet. We are missing at least 100 sq. ft of storage compared to the old apartment. When I say I can't unpack anymore it's because I need to re-evaluate and re-organize EVERYTHING.

That's enough complaining for one day.

Getting Settled

 It's been a hard journey, all the packing and unpacking. The apartment is decent but the storage SUCKS. I have gone from roomy, walk-in closets to dinky little useless things. I guess cabinets and or shelving will be in order. Today I gave up unpacking and admitted defeat, for the time being. This was literally the only apartment available in January at our price point. Then some special watercolor paint I ordered (and gave the seller my new address) was still delivered to Hartford. Some of my friends are sad, depressed, etc. I shed some tears. It's just been so much to deal with.

On a better note, hubby's been in training all week and things are going well. 

Once the weather gets better we will take some walks, somewhere. I'm not familiar with the area.

Appleton has everything and people are nice. One of my friends always told me this area is the headquarters of the John Birch society and stay away. We have instead found a college town with people from everywhere. 

Now that I have vented a bit, here are some pictures.

Morning view, sunrise over Amazon fulfillment center 

Patio, facing south and west. I can see sunsets now, and hear lots of birds

Kitchen

Bedroom

Plants, south window

Plants, west window

That's all I'm willing to show right now. The second bedroom where my plants are has no closet, but a large, walk-in laundry room with a full-size washer and dryer, which is nice.

It's very quiet here. We can just barely hear the airport and hubby is only minutes from his work.

Take care everyone.