Mini Vacation Over!

I'm back home. It is good to be home, but I'll come back to that in a minute.

The tile is finished. The carpet will be done next Monday and Tuesday. It had been long enough since I ordered everything that I wasn't sure what I'd ordered! But what came reminded me and I'm happy with it. Here is the old, very ugly and cheap vinyl that was down in much of the house:

Yuck! I'm glad that is gone!

And here is the new replacement in ceramic:



Here is a shot of the dining area with the new tile and new paint. I won't move furniture back in there until tomorrow.


Yep, I'm liking the colors. It appears darker in this picture than it is "in person." Light shades of terra cotta and blue grey. It is actually a cermic, but it has a very soft, matte-type finish which is really nice. It gives the impression of a saltillo tile, but it is treated so it doesn't absorb spills, etc. It looks really good.

Yesterday I saw another rainbow. What is it with the rainbows?? Not that I'm complaining, at all, but I'm just surprised to see so many in such a short time. This one was fascinating because it appeared to be almost resting on the little knoll that lies between my home and Allan's. it is more faint than the previous one, but still really pretty. And it was very wide.



And I say "What is it with all the rainbows?" Well, duh! It's been raining every day or every other day!

OK, My mini vacation ... it was nice, but strange. The apartment I stayed in was neat, and I just now realized that I should have taken pictures! Drat! It is in an old adobe building, one of those that grew as the family added onto the original structure, apparently several times. I had about 700 square feet in a living room, kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Very nice. The people who own it have a restaurant in the front and have been working to convert the back part of the house into rooms for several months. They have done a nice job of keeping it looking like it probably did 100 years or so ago. They've collected antiques or collectibles and used them to accent the vega ceilings and stucco/adobe walls. Interior doors are all "saloon doors," hinged to swing both ways. Furniture is wood with cushions in faux leather and cowhide, or all wooden, as in writing desks, dressers, tables and punched tin fronts on cabinets. The floors are the original wood floors, partially refinished so they still look old, but aren't splintery, or they have been replaced with really nice terra cotta tiles. Really fun!

However ... there was no TV, no radio, and no internet!! Boy, did I get a lot of reading done in two days and nights! I finished a book that was 1/3 read, read two more, and caught up on a backlog of magazines, about seven or eight of them!! I'd forgotten what it was like to live without electronic stuff. I have to confess that I cheated, though. My entire music library is on my laptop, so I plugged it in and listen to music while I read. The speakers leave a lot be be desired, but I guess it was no worse than listening to the old radios of my childhood when we had no hi-fi, stereo, no FM radio. You know, back when we rode dinosaurs to school. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You know, when it is all you have, it doesn't sound half bad! I left it on all night because Ali was nervous with the rain and thunder of a storm and he was pacing the floor. I was kept awake by the click-click-click of his claws as he paced, so the music helped muffle that, as well as it seemed to calm him down.

When I came by the house yesterday I was going to post on my blog, but I was having trouble with the DSL, and I didn't have time to work on it, so I just went on. Today I got here and it was still messed up. When I called, I found out that there was a widespread problem of some sort, and they got it fixed by this evening. Ahhh, my life is normal again!

I have taken on a temporary, part time job. The owner of an art gallery needs a PA for a little while. He recently injured his back and may have to have surgery (an epidural injection), his mother has Alzheimer's and isn't expected to live long, there are several events coming up in the next few weeks, and he isn't sure he can do it all. He asked if I would help him by being the contact person for the events, coordinate several aspects of them, and possibly do some other mundane tasks such as paying bills or organizing workloads. I agreed to do it because it will entail just two or three hours a day, and I will love the community involvement. Tomorrow he is going to take me around to meet all the necessary people so they will be familiar with me should he need to be gone or be out for medical treatment.

This weekend is the Smokey Bear Festival in Capitan. Another first for me, and I'm looking forward to it. Lots of crafts and arts will be exhibited and sold, food galore, and I don't know what else. I need some fun away from the house, I think. I'm meeting Allan and a friend of his who is visiting from California on Saturday and we are going to "do the town."

Well, gotta run and get some rest. The mini vacation was fine, but I'm glad to be back to my own bed. We always sleep better in our own bed, don't we? Night, all!!