Dumping Grounds

Today's goal: Clean out the screened-in porch.

One of the main reasons Evan and I picked this apartment was the screened-in porch. There's a beautiful old tree just outside that provides shade and we're on a quiet street, so it's the perfect place to sit and read on a summer afternoon.

Theoretically.

In reality, it became a dumping ground for empty moving boxes, seasonal items (note the mini-Christmas tree) and things we just didn't feel like finding a home for at a particular moment. And one ugly mauve loveseat. It was in Evan's "bachelor pad". The thing has no seat cushions.

Cleaning out the porch wasn't really high on the good ole' "To-Do" list - who wants to sit out on an un-heated porch in the middle of a Minnesota winter? But now that the warm weather is here (that and the fact that we've been in the place almost a year), it's time to tackle the jungle of junk.

So today I'm sorting through things, decided what stays (the bike) and what goes (hopefully the couch).

If I disappear, send reinforcements. You know where I'll be.

Try getting him to do this if he has to go to the vet...

Try getting him to do this if he has to go to the vet...
Originally uploaded by Heather W.

I think the heat (hey! It's hot for Minnesota!) is making us all a bit loopy. For the past few days, Macavity has been hanging out in his cat carrier. I've been meaning to put it back where it belongs, but he just looks so comfy.

It's like his own little kitty fort. Easily defended against maurauding long-haired calico cats.

Back into the swing of things

Well, I'm back from vacation. Uh, I mean "YAY! I'm back from vacation!" It's always a bit humbling to realize that every day life goes on without you and that you aren't really as important as you might think.

Don't get me wrong-vacation was fantasic. Give me a few days and I'll get around to uploading my pictures. But it's always hard to come back. I always have to stop and look around and see what has changed.

We've been back in Minneapolis for a couple of days now and things are returning to normal. The cats have forgiven us for leaving them in the care of my brother, I'm caught up at work and I've put a large dent in the pile of postals I received while I was gone. We were only gone a little over a week, but it seems like so much has changed. There's a new tech guy at work (who looks a lot like the character of Mason from Dead Like Me) and another guy at work got married. I have two Bleach episodes recorded that I have to watch and there were two new people at Aikido tonight who joined the dojo last week.

Ah, Aikido! I only skipped three of the classes I usually attend (the basic/beginner ones), but it seems like I've been missing them for months. I almost didn't go tonight, but I'm so glad I did. I felt a bit unsteady, but after the warm-up, I felt more centered than I have in a long time. I've only been doing Aikido for a little over a month, but already I find myself noticing how scattered I feel if I haven't attended class in a while. After a good class (actually, even after a bad one), I feel fantastic-more graceful, more centered, more peaceful. Tonight was a so-so class. My rolls still need a lot of work (something about the floor rushing up to me just freaks me out), but Sensei was pleased that I quickly caught on to the moves we went over tonight. I still don't feel like I'll be ready to test in September, but we'll see. I'm going to start going three nights a week next week.