It's official.  Royal Caribbean has cancelled my cruise.  I knew it was coming.  I want it to -- so I didn't have to feel like I was missing it if we decided to not sail.

It has been a while since I commented on the shows I am trying to get through.  I am managing quite well without DirecTV.  Dare I say I don't even miss it?  I am still slowly making my way through all of the episodes of House and the Marvelous Mrs Maisel on Amazon Prime.  I periodically get to watch another episode of Dead Like Me on Amazon Prime too. I can't watch that one downstairs because the TV there isn't compatible with IMDB something something which allows it to interrupt the show to play commercials (lemme tell you how annoying that is).

I hadn't turned on Netflix in a while, but when I did I spotted Ratched, so I am slowly getting through those episodes too.  I have to say I'm losing interest in their content as a whole.  Not just due to some of their more recent bad decisions -- but lately it seems like there is a theme to everything I see there that feels a little to agenda-y.  I was surprised to find the opposite when I watched "Social Dilemma" on Netflix.  It was enough to push me over the edge; facebook messenger app is now gone from my phone.  Actually, I was just going to turn notifications off, but it wouldn't let me, so I deleted.  Mostly I have been watching Youtube videos, or at least listening to them whilest I work or start falling asleep.

It took nearly 2 months, but at last today a notary is coming to the house for me to sign the papers to finish my refinance on the mortgage.

Finance wise it is a very odd time.

As we get to the end of each year I dial back how much is going into my retirement as I near the yearly max; that leaves me some 'extra' cash, so the battle is do I put more towards the mortgage or use that to refill the coffers after laying out cash for the interior painting (which I continue to be very happy with by the way).

I may not have mentioned this before, but there was also an unprecedented situation with work which -- long story short -- resulted in them requesting our efforts which would earn some overtime.  It's a situation where I admit I feel obligated to help, I want to see it succeed, but it sure doesn't hurt to get a few extra bucks.  That of course means a bit of a challenge getting that extra time in, especially if we go back into a lockdown that closes schools/daycares.  I am not putting in much time yet on that, but hopefully that little bit extra can help make progress on something too.

Being an adult is weird. I am actually excited for tomorrow night's debate. I plan on making popcorn. This is going to be better than anything on my watch later lists on youtube or Netflix by far.

I think of things after I post... what can I say.  Perhaps exacerbated from moving so many things around for the painters, but present for the past month and a half -- I continue to have issues w/ my right arm/shoulder.  I went for another massage yesterday and we're not finding any knots that could loose me of the pain.  She however did indicate that my bursa is enflamed and swollen.  Even before this appointment I was to the point with this ongoing discomfort that I intend to get it further assessed after the new year.  In the meantime, suggestions welcome.

Time for an update!  On the first day the painters did get through everything upstairs (except two of the smaller closets, which I was using to get things out of the way while they worked there.  They also got started on several areas downstairs.  As they worked I emptied the pantry and readied the rest of their path forward.  From there they finished the rest of the house on Sunday while I worked upstairs going through my clothes and purged rather than putting everything back into my closet (5 bags are in the basement to go).

My current state is a little like a tornado went through.  I promised myself that I wouldn't just put everything away again without making some decisions, so the mess may remain for a little while.  I did get the office put back together quickly (as was necessary), and reconfigured it to an L shape rather than a U shape.  This also allowed me to pull the one table away from the windows so I can access them more readily.

The Halloween decorations that were previously up are back in place, but lots of other things on the wall need to be re-applied.

This past weekend Avery and I went to see my sister in Lock Haven!  We had a lovely long weekend.  I truly needed a bit of a break.  Unfortunately, that means I made no progress on clean up over the weekend.  But I guess w/ limited activities outside of the home and the high likelihood of additional lockdowns I suspect I'll have ample time in the next month or two to get it all in order.

This Saturday the painter comes!  He expects to get everything upstairs as well as the dining room and potentially the entry hall complete -- two coats -- on that single day.  This is awesome, but where on earth am I putting everything upstairs to "clear a path" for him?  I know things can move to the middle of the room, but eesh.  I am hoping to use this opportunity to tidy up the odds and ends that have accumulated in the spare bedroom and the workout room.  I already got the old queen size bedrails down to the basement (finally).

I also peeled the vinyl lettering off of the dining room wall and pulled down the family photos, which were all on command strips.  The double-sided sticky style command strips all brought some paint/wall down with them whereas the newer ones that have two pieces that velcro together came down beautifully without damage.

I did tell him the original color I selected.  It isn't going to be too dark, I'm going to love it.  All is well, right?

Crazy as it is even in my own mind ... after probably 27 years, I went to confession -- and for the first time ever, willingly. There has been a lot on my mind and heart. The fact is, if I keep getting reminded of it with a sense of urgency (particularly since it isn't something that I'd question the 'benefit' vs 'negative aspects' of), I know I had best obey. I have another item on my mind that I need to address and that is with regard to getting a few things blessed. Of course, it is an odd ask that I could see a Catholic church rejecting since I am not a member of their community and they do not know my intentions.

Regardless, I went, I am happy I did.

This is Halloween, this is Halloween!  It will NOT be cancelled.  If they try, we riot.  Oh wait... I guess it's too late for that to be shocking.

It is official.  It has begun.  Last night after I picked Avery up we went on a shopping run.  I needed some more bottled water, so I had a need to go to Big Lots, but I made the haul on a Thursday because I know they're getting their Halloween goodies in.  We hit Big Lots, and Target, and Hobby Lobby, and Home Depot!

I started following a YouTuber who posts all about her trips around shopping for Halloween decor.  She does some of the most beautiful setups and has a lovely gothy style.  I blame her for putting me in the mindset.  Avery on the other hand can totally blame me.  She didn't want to wear the shirt I had pulled out for her this morning and I told her to get something else out.  In response she grabbed her sequined ghostie shirt.

Since we're both geared up we pulled things out from the basement this evening and started planning/plotting.  I also discovered the bag of cut outs I made her last year (a pumpkin, a ghost, and a frankenstein moster head with various cut out eyes, mouths, etc to configure), so we spent some time this evening playing with those as well.

Aside and totally off topic:  When you get a notice that a package will be arriving soon and have no idea what it could be.  Then you click in to see who it is from and think "geez, I forgot I even ordered that" because it's been so long since you did so that you forgot about it.  I'm talking to you Tupperware.  You charged my card on July 25, it's September.  SHAMEFUL that you have the nerve to charge shipping.  You could have walked it here by now.

After several rounds of getting paint samples and putting blotches all over the house I have finally selected my colors.  On the bottom (below the chair rail) of the walls in the dining room I am going with Grasslands.  The rest of the walls throughout the house will be Bauhaus Buff ... or at least I am pretty sure.  I really liked the tone/color of China Doll but on the wall I felt it was too dark to do throughout.

Man it's been a process.  For the record, Sherwin Williams will tell you that you can get a color a percentage lighter.  They do not however calculate the % in the manner demonstrated here (which makes sense to me).  I had created a nice photoshop image to compare the original china doll to various %-ages lighter and thought I was set.  But when I got a sample that %-age lighter it looked identical to the regular color.

There were beige/creams that were too pinky, too gray, too peachy, too light/boring.  I am officially the goldilocks of beige.  Yay me.

 I no sooner hit post and I realized I should comment about the food trucks coming to our community!  We don't have the perfect spaces for them like other communities do, so the first time resulted in the cops coming and indicating that they'd need to have a permit.  This time someone volunteered their driveway, so problem solved.

The first truck was the Emporio meatball truck which was really good - the crack sauce was yummy as were the mac and cheese and the fries.  Tonight we had a wood fired white pizza that was also delightful.  It's nice to be able to take a stroll down through the community to the cul-de-sac.  It also means getting to see and talk to some of the neighbors.

As we walked today one of Avery's classmates' mother drove by and stopped to introduce herself.  I had no idea they were on the other side of the community!

Speaking of classmates we also had a playdate here last weekend w/ Avery's best bud.  Who would have thought I'd have one much less two screaming near-three year olds running circles in my house and I'd love every minute of it?

Why am I posting... I have no idea.  I have nothing to say, really.  The days and weeks are going by so fast.  Everything seems so repetitive -- but good.

It has been crazy hot, but it is starting to get pretty chilly overnight, which is rather refreshing.  It's like a final warning to the plants, so my tomatoes are going insane right now.  I will definitely have the supplies for a big batch of sauce at the end of the season.  It's kind of a shame, because my tomatoes are incredibly tasty this year.  Avery loves them too and she eats the cherry tomatoes by the hand full every night.

The green beans, kale, and swiss chard remains productive much to my dismay.  The watermelons on the other hand remain small and don't seem to be changing.

I also have a critter with a penchant for my tomatoes.  I don't know what it is for sure, but I suspect a raccoon or the like given the way the partially eaten tomatoes are gnawed at.  I've lost a couple of romas and one big orange-yellow one at a minimum.

Yesterday I was open to suggestion... glad more people didn't knock on my door trying to sell things.

I signed on with a pest company that knocked on my door. I have wanted to get preventative care in this regard for a while, but I hated the thought of someone coming in and spraying chemicals all through the house. Their approach is using sprays enviromentally safe materials to deter ants, spiders, and the like from entering your home -- so they're spraying on the outside. They also treated along the property perimeter to deter ticks.

Then later in the day I got an email from my mortgage company noting significantly lower rates than what I currently have -- so I called to see how much I could save over the life of the loan. I ended up refinancing (I love how easy Quicken Loans/Rocket Mortgage makes this stuff). I dropped from the 15 year loan to a 10 year (cutting what a year and a half or so off of what was left) -- not that it matters since I do my best to pay ahead and shorten it even more. The rate went from 3.99% to 2.75%. Recoup time is a year and 2 months and I would save $9000 on interest (if I left it go the full 10 years).

I just realized that my last several posts were all crammed into one paragraph when viewed, despite inserting line breaks.  Yay new blogger (dys)functionality.