Back in the Swing

My good friend Becky called me the other day and asked me if I was ready to jump back into freelancing again. She and I used to work together as typesetters way back when. She now works out of her house doing freelance design and production. She said one of her clients called about a big project that she might not have time for. Rather than turn it down she offered to bring me in on the project. I'd work on her desktop mac at her house while she works on her laptop. After a few seconds hesitation I said heck yeah!

This morning we went to Tide Point to meet with the client. Tide Point is actually in Locust Point, an area along the harbor that has seen some recent development. This blue collar neighborhood surrounded by industry and ship yards and home to Fort McHenry is blooming into a hip business district. It is called Tide Point because it is the site of the old Procter and Gamble soap factory. The buildings are named after soap products. Our meeting was in the Cascade building. From the meeting room we had wonderful views of the harbor and I noticed we were directly across from Fells Point and the building where I worked in when I was with Top Banana.

The project is a good one for me to get started on. I'm creating new Quark documents based on a client-supplied Quark template. Pretty much of a no-brainer.

After the meeting Becky and I had lunch at Nick's Seafood Grill, another establishment right on the water. It's a huge restaurant surrounded by wooden decks. In nice weather you can sit outside. If you had a boat you could sail right up to Nick's. Becky says they have live bands playing on the weekends.

Another plus...Becky showed me a neat way to get into the city. You simply get onto Ritchie Highway and stay on it. You go over the Hanover Street bridge, stay on Hanover street, then eventually get on Charles Street. From there you go up Chuck into the city. Cool.

Ginger's Back Home!!

We've been busy busy busy lately and no time for me to get to the library to update my blog. but the most important development in our move occurred yesterday. Brad went to Dr. Benson's and picked Ginger up and brought him home. He looks great! he's lost a lot of weight but looks good as a slender kitty. He is spending most of his time in the basement and seems to like sitting on the top basement steps even though we've got a nice cushion for him to curl up on. He slept with us last night and that was sooo nice. We made sure to clip his claws so he doesn't puncture our air mattress.

Today our hold baggage is due to arrive. That is the shipment that contains the essential items we need: pots, pans, kitchen utensils, linens, my portfolio, etc. No furniture. It was supposed to have arrived on Aug. 4. I'm at the library now checking into cable/isp packages available in our area and hopefully by now Brad has received the hold baggage.

Roughing It At Home

We drive back from Ohio today and moved back into our house. Aside from the stuff from storage which has filled up our basement the house is nearly empty. We bought ourselves a deluxe queen size air mattress. It has two levels to it so it's as tall as a mattress and box spring. You can adjust the firmness with the built-in air pump. It is surprisingly comfy. In the kitchen we've got a folding table and some chairs we've borrowed from JL. Brad brought up a card table and chair from the basement and set it up in the den. He put our laptop on the table so we have our own little internet cafe now. Slow connection, though cuz we're still on dial-up. Our hold baggage still has not arrived so we are still eating out or picking up take out food. The hold baggage is a small shipment that contains the bare essentials: kitchenware and utensils, small appliances like a coffee maker, linens and towels. No furniture. That isn't scheduled to arrive until the end of August.

Long Weekend in Ohio

We took off on Thursday morning are headed west to visit Brad's family in Ohio. It's been about a year since we've been there. Last year we came back for his Dad's 80th birthday. It's nice to hang out with the Siersdorfer clan again. We have been spending most of our time at Newton Square visiting with Brad's parents. Joyce breezes in now and then, always bearing pots or bowls or packages of food. Jaynie came down today with homemade chicken soup, fruit pies and tapioca pudding. She told us all about her new place in Amish country. We don't have time to head out there during this visit but hope to make it there next time around. We won't get to see Jeannie, Rene or Scott either this visit. But we'll be back soon.

Surprises in Storage

Today we were scheduled to receive our hold baggage and storage. The hold baggage never came and the movers did not arrive with the stuff we had in storage until after 5 pm. It didn't take them long to empty the truck. Most of the stuff went straight to the basement. Some of it will end up in the trash. Other stuff we might try to sell on eBay or at a garage sale. We were at times bemused and at other times astounded to see what we had stashed away for six years: lots and lots of books, my record album collection, a ton of 3-ring binders from Brad's college days, my mom's sewing machine, lots of garden equipment and hand tools, board games, an espresso coffee maker. One entire box was filled with items we'd tried to sell in a garage sale before moving to Japan; the price tags were still on them. I realize now why they didn't sell. We were asking way too much money for them. But stuff like that might sell on eBay. It's surprising how much money people will spend online for stuff. But if you have it laid out on a table in your yard they will haggle over nickels and dimes.

A Visit With Ginger

Today I set up an appointment to visit with Ginger and discuss his condition with Dr. Benson. I arrived early so I could have some extra time with our purrboy. When the vet technician brought him out he was looking about with intense curiosity and, I was relieved to note, no apparent stress. I spent a bit of time with Ginger in one of the examination rooms. It was sooo good to cuddle with my kitty once again. He was affectionate but quite distracted by doctor's paraphernalia on one side of the counter. Eventually Ginger calmed down and purred and gave me head butts. Dr. Benson came in shortly afterward and gave a good report on Ginger. He seems to be quite healthy with a good appetite and no sign of the diarrhea he had before leaving the UK. Ginger's on the same meds and diet as he was while in the UK and we will continue that as we've gotten such good results. Dr. Benson explained Ginger's lymphoma is in apparent remission (the only way to be sure is to cut him open and do another biopsy and I don't want to do that) and he could stay that way for weeks, months...even years. But at any time the lymphoma could reassert itself. Dr. Benson will run some blood tests on Ginger -- a geriatric workup as he is 14 this month. I'm to call on Friday for the results. After Dr. Benson left I stayed with Ginger a while. He was shedding quite a bit so Dr. Benson gave me a comb to groom him with. I gathered up nearly enough fur to make another cat!