February 26, 2009
Dear Everyone:
I am starting to throw things away.
Last Tuesday, I emptied the waste baskets, but that filled less
than half the space in the big, black garbage bag.
I went through the
mahogany
tallboy (which, unfortunately, will
also have to go soon.) I
found many cheap candle holders that I had bought back in 2001 when
Enron was bleeding
Next week:
Old Christmas light displays.
Unless it rains.
They’re in an outside storage closet and I won’t want to hunt through
that in the rain. As long as
it’s not raining, all I’ll need is heavy work gloves in case of spiders.
Little by little, I’m preparing for the day I’ll move from the
townhouse to the new-to-me condo.
I’m also making piles of stuff to donate to charity. All those porcelain eggs that Mother used to give me for my birthday. They’re packed into a big cardboard box that has sat on a closet shelf for over eleven years. Time to find new homes. The Hospice Store can sell each one for a few dollars and it’s all profit for them.
We’ve already found a home for all those green
cushions that “Frankie" made for
“Jeannie” has been bringing me many paint chips,
little pieces of card stock with colors on them.
Many, many “off white” colors.
Also light blue and light green.
Last Saturday she brought sample colors in little jars, along
with painting supplies to my place.
We piled everything into my car and drove up to the condo.
At first, we tried variations of “beige” in the
kitchen, on the wall where the refrigerator will go.
(Have to get a new refrigerator; my current one is too big for
the space.) We ultimately
decided on
Ralph Lauren’s “Studio Cream” for the kitchen, dining and
living rooms, hallway and guest bath.
Then we went into what will be the master bedroom, opened the
blinds to get light, and painted swatches on the wall.
I decided on “Organza”, a very light blue for the
master bedroom and “Killington Traverse”, a pale green for the second
bedroom. (This will be the
“catchall” room for anything that won’t fit in the bedroom, dining room
or living room.)
On Sunday morning we met with “Jeannie’s” “tile
guy”, “Val”. He put in the
tile in her place during the remodel.
It turns out he also paints professionally.
He told us how much paint to get of each color and type (“satin”
for the kitchen and bath, “matte” for the other rooms.
I gave him one of the keys to the front door and we went to the
Big Hardware Warehouse to buy paint.
While we were there buying paint, “Jeannie” decided
to also look for a new ceiling light fixture for the kitchen.
We both really hate those
fluorescent tube lighting fixtures that
kitchens always have.
(Remember how much trouble I had to go through back in July to change
the light tubes? And how
much it cost?) “Jeannie”
found a fixture that is almost a twin to the light in the dining room
(“brushed nickel”, of course) and it will accommodate
Compact
Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs.
With that, we delivered everything to the condo and
went back to my place.
“Jeannie” went home to work on her transcript and I got some things done
until it was time for the
Academy Awards.
In recent years, I have received invitations to attend an Academy
Awards Gala from one of the charities that I support.
This year, I planned ahead, checking with “Jeannie” in advance if
she would like to attend.
So this year, when the invitation arrived, I
immediately ordered two tickets.
This is a major fundraiser for this organization.
Tickets are $45 each (or $50 at the door.)
A movie theater in
There were many opportunities to buy raffle
tickets. During the
commercial breaks, the operator would turn the sound off and door prizes
and raffle prizes would be given out.
As for the Awards show itself, let me say this:
When the actress poses on the red carpet, and the screen is 40
feet high, you can really see the dress!
Every sequin. Every
ruffle. Every bead in the
necklace.
Plus audience participation.
If they liked the movie or celebrity, much applause.
Sean Penn almost got a standing ovation for his speech when he
mentioned equality for all.
Everyone was thrilled when
Slumdog
Millionaire won
Best Picture, even the people who never heard of it.
We had a great time.
“Jeannie” is already planning on what to wear next year.
Love, as always,
Pete
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