random thoughts – Day 2,274 (Monday) – lovely day

It was a lovely spring day. The sun was shining. The sky was blue. The air wasn't too humid. The sun, which blasts with vigor through the kitchen skylight, is now tamed by the new skylight with a shade installed Sunday. Drawn halfway, it kept the blasting sunshine out and still provided lots of natural light. What a difference! It’s currently my favorite kitchen “appliance.”

Adding a few more embellishments.

The morning was spent fine tuning the purple velvet dance vest with the addition of more appliques made from the scrap fabric from the big skirt. The previous less is better philosophy felt lacking. Later, various costume components for each dance were grouped into zipper lock bags for dress rehearsal Tuesday.

The afternoon saw a walk to get the mail and then loop around the neighborhood. I saw some newer-than-me neighbors from three houses away. She was planting in a flowerbed, he was watching her. We had a nice conversation about a variety of topics. It’s fun living in a neighborhood where people chat with those passing by.

My dance partner came over and we went over some costuming stuff and practiced four of our five dances in the show. The fifth is a piece with nine dancers and a lot of precision, and it’s pretty hard to practice with only two people.

random thoughts – Day 2,273 (Sunday) – the roof

Sundays have a different flavor on weeks with no dance group. With the exception of a dress rehearsal on Friday, June 12 and a performance on Saturday, June 13, we are off for the summer.

Today was an even more different flavor of Sunday. A roofing crew arrived at 7:15 a.m. under a sunny sky to remove the old roof and put on the new one. The crew of three operated like a SWAT team as they piled out of the van and immediately began unloading equipment. 

A ladder was set up outside one of the living room windows. Materials were schlepped up to the roof. The roofers cast shadows on the back lawn.

Soon, tarps were lowered around the house to capture the debris. They created a strange lighting situation inside and an odd view of nothingness beyond the windows. 

Goodbye old roof.

The actual work was a little noisy, but not quite as loud as I expected. A generator hummed in the yard. The banging and ripping off of the old roof jiggled the living room ceiling fan and things in the kitchen cabinets rattled. The nailing seemed to come in bursts and had an interesting rhythm that I wish I had recorded. 

When I wasn't looking at the action out the windows, I read a book on the couch. Kiki sought refuge deep under the bed and stayed there until noon when the noise stopped for 20 minutes while the crew took a break. When the work resumed, she disappeared again.

The crew busted butt and by 3:30 p.m., as the clouds appeared to be graying and gathering and looking like they might be gearing up for rain, they were finished, the yard was cleaned, and they were pulling out of the driveway.

The new skylights have remote controlled shades, which will be a huge help with summer cooling and comfort in general and especially when working in the kitchen. The sun beats in full force for several hours around midday, and while the natural light is gorgeous, the sun can be brutal. I thought the shades would be more translucent like the honeycomb window shades, but they block a lot of light.

Tiny peek of new roof.

Next up is the siding. New exterior light fixtures are scheduled to deliver tomorrow. The hunt is on for new house numerals because the current ones are too small to be easily read from the street and the house numbers are at irregular intervals so there is potential for confusion. 

Later, I took a walk up the tiny hill to try and admire the new roof and get a picture. The roofs aren't steep, so it's hard to see most of them, including mine, but I did get a glimpse. It's so pretty. The shingles are black, but photographed more like gray. So weird.

random thoughts – Day 2,272 (Saturday) – more sewing

Before: mock wrap top.

It was back to the self-imposed ball and chain of the sewing machine today. The borrowed green top for one dance in the show in a couple weeks was test driven in class last Tuesday. The green over top and the rose and gold vest below it both were both problematic and shifted when I moved, which is kind of a big deal for a dance costume.

Friday, while on an errand, I passed Salvation Army Thrift Store. I set a budget of $5 and entered. The clothing was browsed in a relaxed manner with hopes for inspiration for a replacement green top and/or possibly something to wear under it instead of the currently shifty vest. 

On the blouse rack hung a perfectly colored dark green satiny mock wrap top. It miraculously fit. The tag read $3.99. Under budget, so even better. The top was bought.

After: wrap top.

After 24 hours of mulling the alterations needed to transform the mock wrap into an actual wrap top, I was ready to begin. The top was laundered and hung dry. Once dry, the side invisible-style zipper was removed and the side seams were opened up to release the pleated panels and the wrap ties. 

It was quick work stitching the ties to the already pleated edges and then sewing the side seams. And boom, it was done. Thank goodness for an easy win.

Costumes are nearly finally all set. Today, the coin bra neck strap fasteners were done and the final adjustment of the hook closure on the dark pink velvet fancy dance bra was made. It is now the home stretch. Dress rehearsal is Tuesday. 

random thoughts – Day 2,271 (Friday) – what a year

One year ago.

One year ago today (June 5, 2025), my house in Lowell went on the market. Listing day capped off a couple months of downsizing, decluttering, and making a few minor interior updates leading up to the optimal time to list. The year since has passed at a blistering speed. My head has been spinning for most of it.

On June 30, I had been officially laid off, the Lowell house was under contract, and my realtor and I were preparing an offer on what became my next residence. All of last summer was spent packing, moving, and unpacking. Two months after listing day, I was dodging moving boxes and clutter in a house in another city in another part of the state.

There are a few things I miss about the old place and old life. I miss the lily of the valley, irises, columbine, lilac, bleeding hearts, day lilies, and evening primrose in the yard and wonder if the new people kept them or ripped them out. In exchange for the flowers and city noise, I got a quieter wooded setting and more privacy, and I can always plant stuff, so it was a good trade. There are some Lowell specific sites and events I miss, including LaLa Books, The Brush Gallery, Warp & Weft, Fuse Bistro, and St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop.

I miss the easy access to the National Park Service Saturday morning historical walks, the annual Folk Festival, the Summer Music Series, the Kinetic Sculpture Race and Merrimack Repertory Theater. If I had known in 2024 it would be my last time at many events, I might have approached them differently. I miss seeing the rowing teams gathering on the Merrimack River for the regattas and the Southeast Asian Water Festival. I miss representing the bank at community events (free food and entertainment!).

It’s been a year of adjusting and baptism by fire. The plan was to work full-time for two more years and during that time, figure out what retirement would look like. The bank had other ideas, sold out, and put a significant number of us out of work. It was miserable and depressing being unemployed and cast into the purgatory of “too old to hire and too young to retire.” It is weird not having colleagues and a paycheck.

After a diligent nine-month search and submitting hundreds of applications, I conceded defeat and stopped looking for another job. I granted myself permission to relax and stop feeling guilty about every minute not spent combing through job descriptions and customizing cover letters and resumes that are likely never seen by human eyes. After a few months cool-down period, it’s time to set some new priorities and draft the next act of this life.

random thoughts – Day 2,270 (Thursday) – adventure day

My sister has the week off from work and I got to spend time with her (and Mom) again today. The adventure du jour was a trip to Market Basket in Rindge, NH. This is another new stop on my Market Basket world tour for which I have been woefully negligent in making notes to document my successes.

The transportation plan had been based on the criteria of largest cargo area and functioning A/C. My car has A/C but a miniscule cargo area. My sister’s car has great cargo space but no A/C. Mom’s car met both requirements. We piled in and buckled up. And the car wouldn’t start.

StepDad had just arrived home and was waiting for us to exit the driveway before he pulled in, except we couldn’t get out. He assessed the situation and determined it was a dead battery. After a quick strategy session, we exited Mom’s car and headed into my sister’s. Some stuff was removed from her trunk and set in my driveway and we were on our way. The absence of A/C didn’t bother me, but Sis was warm. This is nothing new and it’s possible I have ice water in my veins.

It was a nice ride to Rindge, but I can’t claim that Market Basket to be my favorite. My list of needs was short (11 items) and was made using the flyer.  The stuff I wanted the most (goat cheese crumbles on sale for $3.99) was out of stock, but I got the 99-cent English muffins, the last package of cheese ends, and they had my favorite ramen flavor (creamy chicken) so that was good.

It was the kind of day I’ve been longing for. One that had activity but still felt was long and leisurely like the summer days when I was around 10 years old. I started a book this morning, went shopping with Mom and Sis, then came home and finished the book (it’s only 177 pages). It felt like it was 5:30 or 6:00, but it was only 3:15. Nice!

A trip was made to Tractor Supply to look at yard ornaments and to Aldi for the produce items I knew cost less than the ones I didn't buy at MB. TS had more of their never-ending stock of metal roosters, both big ($200) and small ($50). I was amused but not fully tempted. I must have been hungry, though because I ended up with a cart full of tempting stuff in Aldi.

Veggies baked with sliced feta.

At home, I decided to try a recipe I’d seen for sheet pan baked veggies and feta cheese so I got busy chopping. I should have consulted the recipe before shopping because I didn’t have all the ingredients (no fresh lemon, onions, garlic cloves, or orzo) and improvised.

Green beans (not in the recipe), broccoli, and grape tomatoes were cut and drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Feta cheese was sliced and placed in with the veggies and the whole thing was baked. The tomatoes took on a more intense flavor, the feta browned a bit and it was really good plated with ditalini. There will definitely be more iterations of that dish.

Paving season continues.

After supper I took a walk around the very quiet neighborhood and dropped three books off at the little library box and took two out. Asphalt paving equipment is parked again by the mailboxes so paving season may not be fully done yet. 

Yesterday, a section of the main entrance road was dug out and patched. Today I noticed a couple smaller street patches and several more homes with fresh driveway pavement. Two houses on my walk have roofing company signs planted in the yards. ‘Tis the season for upgrades in the neighborhood.

random thoughts – Day 2,269 (Wednesday) – full day

Some days are not busy, others are. Today was busy. It kicked off with visiting Salvation Army Thrift Store with a friend to source items for costume making. We got there right before they opened and got the last parking spot. I got a few things that had interesting trims and that can easily be reworked, keeping in mind how much I already recently acquired and that Mom has a box of fabrics she wants me to take off her hands. My friend found some really cool stuff.

Next on the fun slate was a trip with Mom to my sister’s. It’s my sister’s birthday today and we picked up a red velvet cake on the way over. It was a nice visit with pizza, cake, and chatting with Sis and my two nieces who still live locally.

The evening included a DIY video class on removing popcorn ceilings. My house has popcorn ceilings throughout and they don’t bother me (now, anyway), but I thought it might be interesting to learn about what is involved in changing them. A free webinar is a convenient and easy way to find out. Two minutes into the video and hearing the word  "popcorn" many times, I suddenly wanted popcorn to eat but there is none in the house. If only I had planned better. Sigh.

This looks fun.

Of course there are a bunch of supplies needed, all available from the orange store presenting the video. I know from a marketing standpoint, highlighting and selling product is a major reason to do educational videos, and it was nice to see the correct use of the tools in the video. It looks like it is fun and satisfying scraping the stuff off. 

Will I remove any of the popcorn ceilings? Who knows. But even if I never do it myself, now I know the 99 steps and the supplies involved, so that could be helpful, especially if someday I’m getting quotes for the work.

random thoughts – Day 2,268 (Tuesday) – explosions

Rhododendron explosion.

The rhododendrons in front of the house are exploding with big pink puffs of color. I love them. I also can’t wait for them to be done so I can trim the overgrown beasts. They seem to have not been cut back for ages – much like the one at the house in Lowell when I moved there. That’s where I learned about the timing of the buds setting. You know, after I had cut them all off with my major late summer trimming and then had no flowers the first spring I was there. Oops.  Live and learn. At least I didn’t make that mistake again.

While pacing like a panther awaiting an update on the roofing project which I thought was happening today but then learned a few hours later was not, I decided to channel my impatience in a more productive manner. I had been seeing videos on FB of “The Long Lost Steps” of Cecchetti with Diana Byer, who has been resurrecting the technique with short reels.

When I was a teenage dancer with Marion Rice Studio of the Dance, part of our center work was the “Cecchetti Arms” series. The new reels feature the six port de bras (French for “carriage of the arms”) in the Cecchetti series, which I loved doing then and it turns out, love now. So, instead of pacing and to avert an outburst, I ran through all six sections of the arms series with the videos.

It worked and I felt less like my head would explode. It was so much better that I started doing final checks and tweaks on costume parts for the June 16 show. Unfortunately, this got me aggravated all over again. Tops I thought were finished are suddenly too loose. New adjustments done today kept falling short. Others just caused new problems.

Duo and I were having a day.

The length on one top was fixed, but now the neckline is doesn't sit right. The straps on another top were checked, rechecked, trimmed shorter, and had Velcro added for the closure, and after all that, they are still too long and need more work. Another top that just needed a bit of velcro for a more secure closure is suddenly too big. Even one of my tops in Sunday's show suddenly wasn't fitting right after being perfect a week earlier. 

So frustrating! Seriously, what the blankety bank? The icon for the  Duolingo app had an expression that matched what I was feeling, so that was at least amusing. 

Tonight, while dressing to go to dance class, a toe cap on my least old pair Converse All Stars was chipping off. Another pair that is several years older does not have this problem.  I took the top and overlay for one of the dances to class to give it a real-world test drive. It was not good. I really need a class in alterations because this has become too much. 

In a veil sequence that is part of a large group number, despite my best effort to not step on my veil, it kept happening. Any minor foot movement seemed to suck the veil under my foot and the corresponding arm movement would rip the veil from my hand. 

To my credit, I did not actually explode as a result of any of the noted and still unspoken annoyances of the day. I will take that as a win and move one.