Since the move

I have been in my new place almost three weeks now, so of course I am all moved in, unpacked and organized! Yeah. Right.

I did have a plan. I had seen some perfect shelves at Goodwill that I imagined holding all my books that are currently still boxed up. They were $30 each, however, so I decided to wait until Thursday March 19th when they would go 50% off. This waiting, however, ended up being a stupid idea because they were gone when I arrived on Thursday.

So I am still without a place to put books.

I also have some collectible stuff that I'd like to get out of boxes....but without shelves to put them on... Well, you see where this is going.

Last Tuesday I finally donated my car. It was a hard day. Turns out I really did love that car. Of course, I got another bit of news on Thursday. A guy at work had been interested in taking the car, fixing it up and using it himself. He told me that I'd be able to use the car for errands during the day. Of course, by then the car was gone. While I still think my plan is a good one, it was tough walking home at the end of the day and seeing my parking space empty. I donated to a pretty good charity that fixes up cars and gives them to struggling families, so I'd like to think that life will still be gotten from that sweet little car that I once owned.

Last weekend was the big reunion with my college friend Gavin and his family. His parents live in Mount Vernon, north of Seattle, so they planned a Saturday trip to Seattle to hang out with me. The day was a lot of fun. Gavin's daughter Bronte is such a sweetheart! She wasn't sure what to make of me at first, but as the day progressed, she seemed to accept me.

Of course, I had to find a way to contribute to her education and that opportunity came when we showed her the International Fountain at the Seattle Center. Her father started wheeling her up the slanted wall surrounding the fountain. As they flew by me, I raised my hands and yelled "Bronte! Hands up!" She threw her hands up with a huge grin! She even did it later on the monorail. Okay, so I didn't teach her to read, but fearless hands up on a roller coaster is important, too! Oh, I also taught her how to put money in a bank!

It was also so great to see Gavin and Lisa. It's been a good ten years since I last saw them at their wedding. Ten years! It really felt like old times, though. We did a lot of catching up (of what we hadn't done over facebook) and of course, visited Gavin's favorite comic book shop at Pike's Place Market.

They're expecting a second child, this one a boy. Of course I asked them if they had decided on a name. Back in college, Gavin was insistent that when he had a son, the name would be Merlin. Gavin's name means "Hawk of Battle" and Merlin means "Son of Hawk". It really is a great name as far as meanings go, but one wonders how a boy with that name would fare on the playground. I was told that Merlin has been vetoed and they're going to name their next child Brenden. That's a name I absolutely love!

The rest of my time has been devoted to getting ready for the upcoming SMC concert. It's only a week away! We're actually meeting Debbie Reynolds on Thursday! I was dismayed to find out that we won't be able to take any pictures WITH her, though we will be able to take pictures OF her. Also, she has offered to autograph everything we give her as a chorus, so I handed over my special edition of Singing in the Rain for her to sign.

I am really excited about the concert, though there are still several lyrics I don't quite have memorized yet. Tonight is our first big chance to run the show. We have an out of town concert in Edmonds. It feels like we're not quite ready, but that's usually when things come together and we have an amazing concert.

I'm still in the trolley song dance number, though it's been a LONG time since we rehearsed the dance as a group. I'm due in Edmonds at 2pm and we've been promised some rehearsal time. It think I'd better end this blog, however, and run over some more lyrics. I don't want to completely rely on our human teleprompter (aka our director Dennis Coleman)!