3135 A pleasant place

Friday, October 22, 2010

Happiness is not something you find. It’s something you make.

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Well, one thing that has surprised me about the new house and the area in general is how nice people are. It's definitely a blue collar enclave. The neighbors on either side have been pleasant and helpful. Today a woman walking her dog rang the bell to say hello, and to offer assistance finding whatever services I need, since she's lived in the area all her life. Turns out she lives five blocks away. I was amused because she had the dog leash in one hand, and a highball in the other, in a paper cup with a lid and a straw.

Even in all the stores, clerks and other customers have been nice.

I can't help but contrast that with my first few months in the current home, when I'd be standing in line at the dry cleaners, drug store, post office, and when it was my turn the clerks would look right over my head, address the person behind me by name, and that person would step around me and get waited on next. Like I didn't exist.

Today I unloaded the van, mailed a pair of shoes that I had to return because they were too small, bought some more groceries now that I have a refrigerator to put them in, mopped the downstairs floors, shopped online for fringe curtains for the arch between the living room and kitchen*, bought some, vacuumed a long oriental runner for the hall and a silk oriental for the living room, and laid them.

The vacuuming took a long time. Front and back, from several directions. A few years ago I imported some old used wool camel bags from Uzbekistan and Egypt, and something in that bunch was full of moths. I've had a terrible problem with moths ever since. I don't want to bring any into the new house, so I'm vacuuming anything that might carry moths, larvae, or eggs very carefully, and I'll vacuum them often for a while.

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*The first time I saw the house, the interior walls were framed in, but there was no wiring, plumbing, or sheetrock, so one had to guess at what functions went where. The living room is in the south east (front) corner and the garage is in the north east (front) corner, with a door opening into the north west (back) corner room. So I assumed that room, with the door to the garage, was the kitchen, and that meant the south west corner, with an arch opening to the living room, would be the dining room.

Nope. The garage opens into the dining room, and the living room arch opens into the kitchen. When you sit in the living room, the refrigerator is practically at your elbow.

So I need to obscure that view.
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