Getting Settled, Or What Will Pass For It.
by Jeff Jordan
My studio apartment. How do I describe it? I think it's best portrayed as a very nice sized bedroom with a galley kitchen and a small bathroom attached. Let's just say, I never far from a wall to lean on if I should lose my balance.
Speaking of balance, mine is returning slowly. Regular readers know that my left leg was inactive for many months because of multiple surgeries. As a result, I'm trying to strengthen that leg and regain my balance. Currently, I'm using a cane when I'm in my apartment. (Okay, and the walls also.) However, when I venture out on my trips about the town, I'm using a crutch under my right shoulder. Some days I'm walking a mile or more. It's a ten-minute walk to the grocery store and the streetcar stop. It's crazy how fast my strength is returning with the need to walk lending its benefits.
So moving in. First, all props to Sean Brownson. This guy not only drove the U-Haul to and from Milwaukee for me. He loaded and unloaded more than half the contents by himself.
Not only that I needed to borrow serious cash from him when I found out that I couldn't buy a money order from the USPS with a credit card. I needed a debit card. I have a debit card, but my account couldn't take the hit.
My unloading duty was to monitor the front door to make sure no one unauthorized entered the building while my crew unloaded the truck. When the crew was finished unloading, Sean took off for Appleton to return the truck.
When I got to my apartment, the unload crew I had hired set up my new bed. The rest of the stuff, mostly boxes were on the floor. I guy I knew, who was from Texas, told me, "When you have to eat a bucket of frogs, eat the big one first." So it went, one box at a time. One note here, a few of these boxes had been packed almost a year ago when I packed them to move from Commercial St. to Mason St.
I took my time and did a little bit each day over three days. My biggest challenge was going to be in the kitchen. Not only does it lack a workspace for prepping, but it is also short of cupboard space. Finding a home for most everything, I finally got to my new set of pots, pans, and lids.
The cast-iron pieces go in the oven, as usual. The rest were sitting on top of the stove burners with their glass lids. I didn't have a clue what to do with them. I began to think I might have to invest in one of those rolling cabinets. But for the time being, I was going to leave things as they were.
That evening I looked in the refrigerator for some ingredients for my dinner, and it occurred to me. I plan on shopping every other day for my groceries. I never going to have a full frig. The cookware seems happy in there.
A Special Announcement: The End Of An Era
I sorry to inform all of her fans, and there are many. Lucy, the Queen of the Jordello House and nominee for the most mixed-breed dog ever, was put down with mixed feelings of mercy and loss. Lucy lived a full life of close to twelve years. She succumbed to raging cancer that started in her lungs and proceeded to spread throughout her body.
Many claim her affection including Maria and I won't argue whose dog she really belonged but to me, Lucy was my special girl. We bonded because I was home often. There was the belly scratch two to three times per day. There were the trips to the back door so she could perform her patrol of the perimeter and do her business.
While I wrote my blogs and stories and tended to my Facebook pages all I had to do was glance to my left and there she would be making sure we both shared our day. Lucy would be resting for any possible action that would be required by a dog of her background.
I miss her. I had to leave her in Appleton because I couldn't find an apartment that would allow her and I had zero chance of getting more than shared custody.
The best dog I ever experienced in my life is gone. Long live her memory.
by Jeff Jordan
My studio apartment. How do I describe it? I think it's best portrayed as a very nice sized bedroom with a galley kitchen and a small bathroom attached. Let's just say, I never far from a wall to lean on if I should lose my balance.
Speaking of balance, mine is returning slowly. Regular readers know that my left leg was inactive for many months because of multiple surgeries. As a result, I'm trying to strengthen that leg and regain my balance. Currently, I'm using a cane when I'm in my apartment. (Okay, and the walls also.) However, when I venture out on my trips about the town, I'm using a crutch under my right shoulder. Some days I'm walking a mile or more. It's a ten-minute walk to the grocery store and the streetcar stop. It's crazy how fast my strength is returning with the need to walk lending its benefits.
So moving in. First, all props to Sean Brownson. This guy not only drove the U-Haul to and from Milwaukee for me. He loaded and unloaded more than half the contents by himself.
Not only that I needed to borrow serious cash from him when I found out that I couldn't buy a money order from the USPS with a credit card. I needed a debit card. I have a debit card, but my account couldn't take the hit.
My unloading duty was to monitor the front door to make sure no one unauthorized entered the building while my crew unloaded the truck. When the crew was finished unloading, Sean took off for Appleton to return the truck.
When I got to my apartment, the unload crew I had hired set up my new bed. The rest of the stuff, mostly boxes were on the floor. I guy I knew, who was from Texas, told me, "When you have to eat a bucket of frogs, eat the big one first." So it went, one box at a time. One note here, a few of these boxes had been packed almost a year ago when I packed them to move from Commercial St. to Mason St.
I took my time and did a little bit each day over three days. My biggest challenge was going to be in the kitchen. Not only does it lack a workspace for prepping, but it is also short of cupboard space. Finding a home for most everything, I finally got to my new set of pots, pans, and lids.
The cast-iron pieces go in the oven, as usual. The rest were sitting on top of the stove burners with their glass lids. I didn't have a clue what to do with them. I began to think I might have to invest in one of those rolling cabinets. But for the time being, I was going to leave things as they were.
That evening I looked in the refrigerator for some ingredients for my dinner, and it occurred to me. I plan on shopping every other day for my groceries. I never going to have a full frig. The cookware seems happy in there.
A Special Announcement: The End Of An Era
I sorry to inform all of her fans, and there are many. Lucy, the Queen of the Jordello House and nominee for the most mixed-breed dog ever, was put down with mixed feelings of mercy and loss. Lucy lived a full life of close to twelve years. She succumbed to raging cancer that started in her lungs and proceeded to spread throughout her body.
Many claim her affection including Maria and I won't argue whose dog she really belonged but to me, Lucy was my special girl. We bonded because I was home often. There was the belly scratch two to three times per day. There were the trips to the back door so she could perform her patrol of the perimeter and do her business.
While I wrote my blogs and stories and tended to my Facebook pages all I had to do was glance to my left and there she would be making sure we both shared our day. Lucy would be resting for any possible action that would be required by a dog of her background.
I miss her. I had to leave her in Appleton because I couldn't find an apartment that would allow her and I had zero chance of getting more than shared custody.
The best dog I ever experienced in my life is gone. Long live her memory.
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