A Drum, Of All Things, and More

 We were both mesmerized by the sound of the panda drum. Hubby said I should buy one. I told him they were on sale. I thought about it, and some time later I decided to order one. So this is what we got:

15 inch tongue drum, D Major, 432 Hz (meditative)

Rubber tipped mallets come with little crochet covers for a softer sound

Hand tuned (see extra cuts)

Hubby was pleasantly surprised but hasn't played it much. Me...I play (tap around) every day, several times a day. It has a play by number song book but I have not tried to play any songs yet. I really love how it sounds. Maybe some day I will get another, different one, for variety.

So, what else is going on? Well, we have been wanting an SUV for some time, and with the high mileage on the truck, we finally decided it was time.

My daughter and her hubby are coming for a visit next month! Looking forward to that.

That's about all for tonight.

Unpacking

 We took possession of the apartment August 30 and completed our move September 13th. We went back last Sunday to clean. I hired a young couple to clean. My back couldn't take anymore. They only wanted $100. We brought soda and tips. They were super happy and did a good job.

Our backs are sore. Hubby hauled all my plants upstairs. I tucked most of the rocks into the bins so the movers hauled them up. They were little rocks.

Unpacking in this new apartment is a challenge. There is No Storage. Literally. I am becoming more creative at figuring out where to put things. 

I have lost my pan lids. Not the pans, I have the ones I didn't loose in the last move (the ones I lost never turned up). I have two lids that I use to cover my frying pans. I cannot find them. What is it about moving and my darn pans?

In spite of the challenges with the apartment, both of us feel at home here. There are rolling hills and woods that are not swamps. The traffic is light and easy to drive in, unlike the total chaotic mess in Appleton. We are closer to the things we left behind when we moved in January. 

There are Black Walnut trees all over town. There is one next to our apartment. It drops nuts on the driveway. When cars drive over them they crack. We had rain and some wind the other day and the driveway sounded like popcorn. With all the hardwood trees around, the chance of me seeing a Luna Moth next spring might be good.

Hubby's job is going well. He won a vacuum at the employee appreciation day picnic.

I'll write more later. I'm getting tired. Here are some pictures:

Ripon at night

Plants on the balcony

Lithops bloom

College football practice just across the road

The vacuum hubby won

We're Moving to Ripon!

We got the apartment! Now all the legal stuff needs to be completed and then we can pick up the keys.

7 minutes from my hubby's work, a quarter mile from walking trails, cute town, union job, and a pretty good view.

View from the balcony

Big area for my plants in the living area

Kitchen

Mini blinds! Not the vertical murder blinds!

Brand new water heater

New washer and dryer

 

It's Nice!

 We saw the apartment today, 2 bedroom upper, clean, washer and dryer are new, A/C is new, water heater is new, and there is a view. I am trying to be level headed and controlled because we still need to submit our applications. Our credit scores are good, background checks spotless, but still, until that lease is in hand, we are waiting to celebrate.

I have been dreaming of a place like this. There are a couple of trees that block little bits of the view, but it seems good. Two windows face west (for my plants) and one bedroom window faces north. Storage is a little tight but I'm going through stuff again. Papers can go, stuff I don't use anymore and don't need to keep can go, and some of my rocks can go. I mean, how many rocks do I really need 🤭. 

It's also in a quiet area (although we can watch college soccer ⚽️ 😅 from the balcony), and it's 7 minutes from hubby's work. The maintenance guy said two other people from the same company also live there.

Fingers crossed and prayers we are accepted 🙏 

No pictures until we are approved. 

Apartment Hunting

 We are going to look at an apartment on Saturday. The location is good, facing the road and looking out over the fields with a clear view of the sky. The area is quiet. However, it's in the same building that we looked at before. The apartment we saw was dirty, and the refrigerator was old and very small. There is no way we can be sure if the apartment we will see Saturday is just as bad, or worse. If so, slum lord comes to mind. If this one is ok, it will be available the end of September, and since it's not listed in the paper or on any apps, we would be certain to get it, pending approval, of course.

If it's not good, things will be more difficult. We might be able to get into this place, if we are lucky.

Stanton Street Estates are in high demand. They are across the street from my hubby's work. They are also busy. Families with kids and pets gather on the lawn around the pond. I would be fine with the other side, even though those apartments face the garages. I am hoping it is possible to see over them well enough from the second floor. One came up as available but before I had enough of hubby's employment history, so I was unable to apply.

 

Hubby's work on the left and to the right, the 5 buildings that make up the apartment complex.

Hubby's 40 mile drive is easy when he leaves at 3 am but absolutely terrible when coming home. There is construction everywhere on the expressways, with congestion and sometimes accidents.

I have begun to pack. Not so hard this time, because I hardly unpacked.

Nope. Don't Need These. Yay!

The Boswellia gave me nosebleeds!

I haven't needed the Omeprazole for months. It took over a month to wean myself off of it. My doctor had prescribed it a few years ago for Gerd, and I just kept taking it. Any time I tried to stop, the heartburn came raging back.

Eventually, after giving up most carbs, the heartburn lessened enough for me to try getting off of it. I used Famotidine as my crutch, and was finally able to eliminate that. The only time I need to take one is after I eat butter late in the day.

 

I just happen to have a lot of them. Oh well....

We Spent The Day In Ripon

The drive isn't difficult, but it's 40 miles from where we are now, that's 80 miles round trip for hubby when he starts work next month. We decided to make a fact-finding mission to check out apartments, the grocery store, etc. 

The downtown area is very walkable and has tons of local businesses. It is charming. It has not fallen into decay like some other cities we have visited, such as Stevens Point and Sheboygan, where the downtown businesses left and the storefronts are filled with tattoo shops and arcades. 

Ripon is charming, friendly and happy. It's easy to drive around in, no crazy expressways. They have hills! That makes me extremely happy. There is a hospital in town, plus every other service we might need. The grocery store is Hy-Vee. It's pretty good. The prices are almost the same as Walmart. There is no Walmart, which I imagine is part of the reason the town is so vibrant. The Walmart and Aldi stores in Fond Du Lac are only about 20 miles to the east, making them an easy once a month stock-up trip.

What we need is an apartment. Our fact-finding mission came up short. There are apartments there, but with a wait list, or nothing available, or just for seniors, or income restricted, or too cheap (dumpy), and one "maybe". We hope to be able to find something by October. We will be paying for two apartments until the end of the year. We could break the lease, but we would still need to pay the rent here until it had a new tenant. Because of the stupid walk-in whirlpool tub in the bathroom, this place stood vacant for a year until we came along. We took it because we couldn't find anything else in January.

This is the only picture I took, maybe because I was too busy taking notes.

Very similar to where we live now. The only available apartment was downstairs, like we have now. It had not been cleaned. There was dust everywhere. The older gentleman who showed us around is also the maintenance man. What I noticed is that the upper apartments have that extra big window in the living room. The apartment building we are in now also has the extra window upstairs. 

For some reason only some new apartments have the extra window, many are built with a big storage area there instead. In any case, none of the new apartments have any vacancies. One has a wait list into next year. Another doesn't use a wait list, after applying and getting approved, one must call, text or email and ask if there is a vacancy coming up. It's first come, first serve, and there are over 100 applicants waiting to jump in.

Anyway, back to the apartment above. It has mini blinds (that open upward instead of murder blinds like here.) The area seems quiet, although there is a soccer field across the street. Other than the soccer field, there are just fields and tree-covered hills in the distance. Might be peaceful, except when they have a soccer game. The school year could be a mess of lights, noise and traffic. Below is a screen shot of the street side.

There are a few apartments downtown, upstairs in those ornate, historical buildings. I only found one listing, and all of the apartments are studio or one bedroom, nice but tiny, and no balcony.

We really need to find something by October.

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.

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.

Finally We Are Moved!

Moving during a polar vortex is no fun, but we are done! Actually the weather turned quite nice, with today being in the 50's. Our new place is cozy, with no cold, drafty windows. The storage space is quite a bit smaller, which made for a more difficult move, sort of like trying to pack 10 pounds of potatoes into a 5 pound bag. We got rid of mountains of stuff. Our old apartment was bigger than my house in Indiana, so after 7 years of living there, quite a bit of stuff had accumulated in those big, deep closets.

Here is our new place. I'm not showing you the inside until we finish unpacking. We are on the 1st floor.

We are so tired, and sore! I can't wait to get unpacked. Will show you more later. Hubby starts his new job on Monday.

Outagamie County

 What a cute county name. It's also neat that we will be living on Technical Drive. Yes, we got an apartment, in Greenville! It has the middle-of-nowhere, in the county feel that I like and is only minutes from the amazing Appleton airport, hubby's work, and the city of Appleton.

Natural areas around Greenville

Appleton airport

The apartment is first floor and has a patio, slightly smaller than the one I have now, but we have one, and management is great, and says I can put flower pots anywhere. The kitchen is twice as big as the one here, the living room a bit smaller, and only one bathroom. However I will have a giant laundry room with a full size washer and dryer! We will have two bedrooms with bigger windows that I have now. The second bedroom with two windows will be my plant and craft room. It has two sunny windows that my succulents are going to love.

There has been a boatload of work to do, packing, hiring movers, finding cleaning help, signing the new lease, breaking our current lease, but things are coming together. We are driving up next week to pick up the key and set up my plants in the second bedroom. I just want them out of the way before the movers come on the following Monday. Then before the end of January we come back here to clean. I hired a cleaning service to help with the difficult things, cleaning the stove, fridge and bathroom.

Ok, back to work! Will share pictures later.

A Cup of Coffee Before the Work Begins

 It's nice to sit here and reflect a bit before I need to get busy again with packing, sorting, donating and more packing.

As much as I'm going to miss my view, I do have dozens of pictures, some quite beautiful, to remember it by. Truthfully, I have been quite lonely here. People move in and out like changing underwear. This apartment has a dust problem, from day one, because the walls are spray painted with tinted plaster, a problem which will probably be fixed once it's properly painted, for the next tenants. We have been here since 2018.

My thoughts on Appleton. It's more city that I'm accustomed to but we would be living on the edges. There is ample green space, lots of trees, fall colors, and nice people everywhere. There are companies and jobs in abundance, and unlike Green Bay, it's clean! Green Bay smells like Norhtwest Indiana. It's gritty with industries that stink. And, honestly, unless you are a Packer's fan, you will be overwhelmed with Packer stuff EVERYWHERE. If hubby's job would have been in Green Bay, we would make sure to live outside of town. 

Finding an apartment has been more difficult than I hoped, but Monday I am calling a property management company that was recommended to me by someone on the Appleton facebook page. They manage quite a few apartment complexes in the area, and we are hoping for a first floor, two bedroom apartment, Appleton or Neenah. The problem is, not many places are available this month, and since the company is paying hubby to move, we don't want to wait until February or March.

People are NICE. I was surprised at how nice and welcoming they are. We did look at an apartment in Greenville, just north of the amazing Appleton airport. The location was great, but the apartment needs so much work. They said they could have it ready in a week, but it involves paint, and I cannot handle paint fumes AT ALL. I asked about low VOC paint but they use the same paint and painter for all the apartments. She admitted it would smell like paint for at least a week. I can't, I just can't. On top of that, the apartment needed repair, which they said they would do, but it was just too much. The manager and her friend (manager from another complex) tried to help by calling their business friend to see if he had an apartment move in ready now. He did, but the rent was $1,300, too steep for us.

As I mentioned before, hubby had a successful interview, They told him they would let him know in a week. We were afraid to be hopeful (thinking back to the company in Jefferson), so we both took a deep breath and put it in God's hands. We stopped for coffee downtown and went home. The drive is slightly more than an hour, and we were 5 minutes from home when hubby's phone rang. He pulled over in a parking lot so he could talk. They were calling with an offer!

I can't tell you how happy hubby is to get back to working with metal. Two plus years with the company here in town introduced him to a new career. He and his coworkers became a team, friends as well. It was a sad day when all this was broken by the sale of the company. An exhaustive search turned up nothing suitable around here. That's how Appleton came into focus.

Did I mention people are nice? We already feel quite welcome there. There are so many things to do and places to see, nature to explore, etc, etc.

I just finished my 3rd cup of coffee. Time to get to work.

Fire Trucks

 Hubby got the job! He will be working for Pierce who builds fire trucks in their Appleton facility. So excited, and exhausted from searching for an apartment.

So Far, Looking Promising

 Hubby had a good phone interview and is scheduled to have an in-person interview tomorrow, including a plant tour. I will go with him and wait in the truck.

I am tired. The apartment search long distance is exhausting. I have most of my little things packed, going through some bins and creating donation piles. 

Short post today. Don't want to count the chickens before the eggs hatch (remember what happened with Nestle).

Later.

Hubby Had A Good Interview

 We drove down to Jefferson today, in time for hubby's interview. He said it went real well and he should be hearing from HR in about a week. All the hiring is done from the Missouri headquarters but the in-person interviews are done at the local plants. Hubby is hesitant to be happy until he hears from HR but I think he's in. They told him he will be hearing from them in about a week. They didn't say "if". Of course he will pass the background check and drug test, no problem.

Afterward we stopped for coffee and then came home. Hubby worked all night and was super tired. We also got home before most of the bad weather, roads closed everywhere, lots of ice.

As soon as hubby receives and signs the digital agreement we will get some new tires on the truck. They aren't terrible but they are worn. 

I think Jefferson will be great place to move to, lots to do, and maybe I will find some friends. I had two friends here and they both moved away. One I don't hear from because she got dementia and she and her hubby moved into assisted living. They never gave me any contact information. Since then two more people have moved in and out, one was sort of friendly, the other, not. My friend with dementia gave me this. I think of her often. 

Thinking of you, Sandy

I found out that Jefferson is where the Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival is every September!

I will post updates when I have more info.

#NaBloPoMo Better Times Ahead

 First of all....YES hubby got the job. He starts training this month for Assistant Extrusion Operator. After more training he will be promoted to Operator. This seems like a good company that values training and their employees.

Today is calm and sunny. Yesterday and the day before the WIND would not let up. At Walmart the gusts were so strong I had to hang onto the cart and stumble along as it blew me across the parking lot, well, a few yards anyway. They said 50 to 60 mph gusts. At least we were getting some rain so we weren't buried in dust clouds.

I can't believe these Petunias have held up through frosts and all the wind! This picture is from yesterday, and they are still blooming on November 1st! Notice the stormy sky.

I like this bigger picture of the clearing storm clouds

I'm very thankful hubby found a job here in town so we don't need to move. It's expensive and exhausting, and apartments cost more everywhere. The reason we catch a break is because we have lived here since they built this building in 2018. And I love the view.

We are done with Helgesen, but as a matter of record, I wanted to mention a couple things. When my hubby was interviewing with different companies they would ask him, "What happened at Helgesen?" So he explained that Standard Iron bought Helgesen in August and proceeded to change everything. They eliminated third shift, and with it the $7 per hour shift premium. Well, companies are allowed to take away shifts with premiums, but they also eliminated all the merit raises my hubby received through the years. He ended lower than he hired in! So many sad people who used to enjoy working there. Another fallout from the mess is a company across the street that was connected to Helgesen is going out of business. So, that's what happened in a nutshell.

On to better things. Hubby and I are taking advantage of this free time. Planning to visit my daughter this month before he starts the new job.

Here is my stuffed south window. I even have some Coleus cuttings.

Double decker plants lol 

Might take a walk tomorrow. Since this is November I will try to post every day. I think I'm supposed to tag this post....?

Just a Quick Post

 It's too late, I'm sleepy, but I wanted to say Congratulations to my Hubby for receiving the awesome raise! It's about time they paid him a fair wage. They took the time to tell him the value his hard work and they want him to continue working for the company. Not everyone stuck it out through the pandemic, and the company is thanking those who did.

Next month Hubby is flying back to Kosovo to visit his family and I am staying with my daughter in Indiana. Right now I have been preparing my plants for my time away. 

I have pictures, but not posting tonight

It's Spring and I'm Conflicted

Spring changed forever when my daughter stepped out of my life forever. I am happy for all the "spring things" that make everyone happy. I am grateful for the longer days and the sunshine on my plants. I look forward to more walks with my husband, and this year I am staying with my daughter in Indiana for the whole time my husband will be overseas visiting his parents. 

But yet I feel shell-shocked, like there is some dark cloud over my head, like something bad happened. Well, it did. It takes my breath away that she was born in May and died in May. I didn't find her until the morning of June 1st, so that's the official date. I still have her final text, May 31, 2017 at 9:06 pm: "Won't the real estate agent be with you?"

It wasn't unusual for her to leave a conversation dangling. I thought nothing of it until she never answered my texts the following day when I thought she was at work.

I think a lot about my mom, too. My mom saved my life, even though she had been gone 10 years. I think I might not have survived the grief if she had not told me "don't be so sad because my daughter is safe with her". She spoke that, out loud, telepathically, in my head.

I hope this year, when I spend a month with my daughter in Indiana, that it will be a time for healing, for both of us. 

In other news, the neighbor hung bird feeders in the tree. I've been scattering bird seed on the ground. We've had a good assortment of birds, which makes everyone feel better. There is a pair of House Finches nesting in the tree next to the building.

Male House Finch

Tree where they are nesting

Succulent Saucer survived the winter

So happy to have Sedum Sarmentosum again!

Moving forward.....I just ordered some Adromischus from a seller online. This will be my first Adros that are not commonly found in stores, or many never found in stores. I'm getting one Clanwilliam and 4 surprise leaves, all marianiae. Here are some Clanwilliam:

And some others. I hope I get a red one