On Saturday, Laura and I met my friend Tracey at the Hakone Gardens in Saratoga. It was drizzly, but we had a great time anyway. Luckily Laura and Tracey both keep umbrellas in their cars – Tracey had three or four of them! Coming from New Mexico, I didn’t mind the rain at all! And oh, my, was it green!
I love this picture! Yay for friends and family! (And rain.)
There was a wedding going on, which we mostly managed to avoid. I took a couple surreptitious pictures. The bridesmaids were in beautiful long gray dresses with matching clear bubble umbrellas. After the main ceremony was over, they took a walking tour of the gardens, with their photographer walking backwards ahead of them.
This picture is very cool – if she didn’t look so happy, it would have an unreal feel to it.
On my second day in California, Laura and I stayed the night at Half Moon Bay. The hotel was a nice one, with a good sized room and bath, large enough for two well-spaced beds, a desk and seating area. It also had a refrigerator and sink area. The balcony overlooking a golf course was pretty.
My only complaint was it was not quite close enough to the ocean to hear the waves, so I didn’t feel like I was at the beach! However, it was within walking distance (fairly long walking distance) of the ocean.
Dinner was excellent at the Flying Fish and Grill. Laura had Cioppino, which was a seafood soup in tomato broth. I had fish tacos and mango cheesecake. Mmmmm, good thing we went for a jog that morning.
The next morning we went jogging again. I loved all the exercise I got on this trip! After checking out of the hotel, we drove south to another beach.
My mom has asked me to provide some advice about handling the logistics of a move. She probably asked me because I’m the smartest of her children (haha, not). She actually asked me because I’ve moved 25 times in my adult life. (That is the real number, no exaggeration, if you don’t believe me I’ll send you a list of all 25 houses.)
Which also, by the way, clearly demonstrates that I am indeed the dumbest of my siblings, in case you were considering taking issue with that fact. Who in their right mind moves 25 times? And that’s not counting all the times my parents dragged me from state to state during my childhood. I guess they got me into the habit of it.
Anyway, here’s how to have a smooth move.
Step One: Find some friends and family to help you. Distinguish between planner/organizer types vs. implementer/carry-boxes types. Don’t ask the one to accomplish the other. That’s just setting everyone up for failure.
Step Two: Get rid of everything you can. This involves an enormous number of rapid decisions as you go through your stuff. Repetitive decisions are best made with clear criteria. I use a few brief questions for myself.
If I got rid of this, would I just have to turn around and replace it right away?
Is this the best of the best?
Would someone else be happier with this than I am?
Am I fond of this just because it’s familiar?
Am I keeping it because it might be useful someday?
The first one is fairly obvious. If you’re just going to have to buy it again, keep it.
The second one depends a bit on your personality. A recently popular show about decluttering, which I’ve been hearing about but have never watched, apparently uses the question “Does it bring you joy?”
If you are an emotions-based person, “Does it bring joy?” is probably a really enlightening question. My own preferred question is, “Is it the best of the best?” That question gets to about the same thing, but it is more of an evaluative-judgmental question. When I’m tired and stressed, I’m definitely more of an evaluative person than I am in tune with my emotions. The question about joy would just make me grumpy. (Sorry world, but I’m not feeling joy right now!) My husband is even more evaluative than I am, so we’re going with “best of the best.”
The other advantage of “best of the best” is you can pretend you’re shopping. It’s like picking the best things out of a store and putting them in your shopping cart – pick the best things out of your house.
The third criteria, “Would somebody else like it better than you do?” I threw in there because, Mom, I want that pressed tin picture of a house, tree and sun I made when I was a kid, that you have hanging in your stairway. LOL! 😉 My artistic talent peaked when I was in second grade. No, seriously, if you imagine someone else loving the item more than you do, it’s easier to give it up.
It’s really useful to notice the difference between fondness due to familiarity vs something you genuinely like. Would you like the item if you saw it for the first time today?
That’s not to say that memories aren’t important. They are. And items that genuinely help you remember, like photographs, special gifts, or family heirlooms, can enrich our lives.
Keep a few things that are strongly attached in your mind to people in your life whom you love.
But a lot of items that we feel an attachment to is only because we’re familiar with the items, and we wouldn’t really miss them if we no longer had them.
Get rid of everything that “might be useful someday, ” or “the lid might turn up.” Uh no. Shoe lace collections, rubber band collections, spare hoses in the garage, bits of lumber, books you’ve already read, magazines you will never read, scarves you don’t like, containers that aren’t half as good as tupperware, the cheap glass vases that come from the florists, the fraying placemats, the throw rugs that not even the dogs like, rags (how many rags do you really need?), cleaning supplies that are no longer part of your daily routine, stuff that’s been in your pantry for an embarrassing number of years, paperwork from three houses ago, anything that belongs to your kids but they don’t want it so you’re keeping it…
What if you know you should get rid of something, but just can’t do it? Sort those items into boxes marked as such, and designate them for storage. Wait for awhile and see if you actually miss them.
Now let’s talk about boxes for a minute. First of all, buy boxes, don’t scrounge for them. I know they cost some money, but it’s so much better to have standard sizes because they stack a lot better. And scrounging is too much work and there’s no time for that. I get mine at Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon (yes, they ship boxes). Get small and medium sizes, don’t get the big ones, it’s too easy to overpack them and they’ll be too heavy.
Sit down with your organizer/planner type of friends and family and devise a coding system for your boxes. I recommend labeling on all 4 sides and the top of each box, and you’ll want codes so you don’t end up writing a book on each box. If you don’t label all the sides, you’re going to spend a lot of time moving boxes off each other in order to try to find the one spot on the lower boxes that actually says what the box is.
Even more important than what’s in the box is, “What room does it go in?” Once it’s narrowed down by room, you can generally find your stuff. Assuming you know the layout of the house you are moving into, make a code for each room (LR, K, Bth1, Bth2, Bed1, Bed2, etc.). Put that code on all 4 sides plus the top of each box. If you want to make long lists of contents, fine, but it’ll slow you down.
You will also want a code for things you don’t need immediately. It’s highly annoying to have non-essentials piled in your way when you’re desperately trying to find the toilet paper and the coffee maker on that first morning. When packing your kitchen, first pack essentials (coffee maker, toaster, can opener), then pack basics (plates, cups), then pack the weird stuff in the way back part of your cabinet you can’t reach.
Don’t pack your weird stuff in the same box as your essentials. Have a code to distinguish boxes that you probably won’t need until winter (sweaters), or someday when you have some free time (hobbies). In addition to marking those boxes as non-essential or not needed immediately, also mark them for the 3rd bedroom or garage or wherever is out of the way in your new home. You can deal with those later!
Don’t move bulky garage/shed garbage items that are either dangerous or just not worth a lot of money. Pack your choice tools and get rid of the potting soil, fertilizer, paint, paint remover, landscape fabric, sprinkler heads, lumber, and all the rest of the random stuff in there that you thought you’d use someday. Please note which items are hazardous and look on your city website for directions for hazardous waste drop off. Don’t leave anything for the new owners except possibly paint, and then only if it’s clearly labeled which room it’s for. I know you salvaged that perfectly good lumber, but they don’t want it.
How to pack difficult items:
Keep your hanging clothes on their hangers. If you can afford it, buy wardrobe boxes. If not, buy tall kitchen garbage bags with built-in ties. Poke a small hole in the bottom of the bags, turn them upside down, and stick a group of hangers through the hole, and tie at the bottom under the clothes. I do about 5-10 hanging items per bag, depending on the size of the bag. Heavyweight yard cleanup bags hold up better than kitchen garbage bags.
Buy rolls of stretch plastic designed for packing. Make sure the rolls have handles or it will be a real nuisance to work with. This is available in the moving section of Home Depot, Lowes, or online at Amazon. It’s very useful. John gets a little crazy with it and would wrap every item and every box with plastic if he could. But it is handy for tasks like keeping rugs rolled up, and grouping items that have several, awkward sized parts. For example, if you’re moving rakes & shovels, it does a good job of keeping them together, without using tape, which leaves a residue. It will keep you from losing your vacuum cleaner parts, etc.
I wrap most items in paper before putting them into the boxes. I buy the paper at the same places as the rest of my moving supplies. One year, many years ago, when I was young, poor, and newsprint was ubiquitous, I used newspapers. It took years to get the newsprint off all my stuff! Also, don’t buy paper in rolls, it takes too long to spool off. It should be in stacks of large sheets like this:
Use several sheets at one time, don’t separate them into individual sheets. I don’t think bubble wrap is necessary. I just use lots of paper. Also paper recycles better – plastic is a scourge on the environment.
Once you’re ready to start packing, get a pod! https://www.pods.com/ These are cheap to rent and amazingly handy. They drop your pod off in your driveway, and you keep it as long as you want. You can add boxes a few at a time so your house doesn’t become unlivable as you’re packing. Pack and load your essentials last – not only will you have them until the day you leave, they will be first to unload at your new home. When you’re done loading it they pick it up and take it to your new house for you!
Or if your new house isn’t quite ready yet, they store it for you for as long as you need. You can also take your time unloading at your new house. It’s the easiest affordable way to move. Just make sure you pack your items well, because the trip may not be quite as cushioned with shock absorbers as a commercial moving van.
As you know, John and I are apart during the work week. This weekend I was in California, so we haven’t seen each other for a week. As you can imagine, we tend to get a bit behind on communication. John’s aware that I have some new ideas about job changes and moving that we haven’t had a chance to talk about yet. He’s probably worrying about what crazy idea I came up with this time.
I called him at lunch today, but he was in a meeting. When he called me back, I only had about 7 minutes before my next meeting. So we were quickly exchanging news highlights – no time for an actual discussion.
I said, “We’re going to bid on a house tomorrow.” There was a slight pause. Then he somewhat hesitantly asked, “Where?” I said, “It’s only 2 blocks from Steven’s house!” At which point he said, with evident relief, “Oh, you mean for your parents.” Yeah? He said, “I thought you meant you and I were going to buy a house tomorrow.” LOL!
I love that he thinks I’d bid on a house for us without him even knowing where. At the moment we don’t even know what state we’re going to move to, much less what city, much less which several-block area!
But I’ll give you a hint – I’ve gone and gotten yet another real estate agent, which I only do when I’m considering an area that I haven’t considered before.
Laura got a new job! Congratulations!!! She took 2 weeks off between the jobs. The first week she went to Hawaii. I was bummed I couldn’t go too, but I don’t have enough vacation time. Then on Wednesday I came out to visit her in California, after she got back from Hawaii.
Here’s photos of my flight into the Bay Area, as I descended toward the clouds in the evening:
That first night we had dinner with Mark, who is currently working in Milpitas, although his family is still in San Diego. He flies back down every weekend.
Everything in the Bay Area seems new and shinny compared to New Mexico, even on a rainy night.
Here’s a few pictures of some cool things at Laura’s house. Alex remodeled the house after he bought it, and he did a great job of choosing tile. You all know from the last couple of summers how difficult John and I find the process of choosing tile! Next time (if there ever is a next time), I’m hiring Alex.
Here’s the hall bathroom shower tile – three subtly different types of gray. Good job Alex!
He also did a lovely job with the kitchen. Everything is redone, including cabinets, countertop and floor tile.
Here’s a cool piece of furniture Laura found online. It’s a coffee table, but the top lifts up for easy eating. No more hunching over when eating dinner on the couch!
The next morning we went to an eyeglasses store. A few months ago Laura had told me about an eyeglasses company called Warby Parker, who are really great. They don’t have a shop in New Mexico, but I was able to order glasses online.
You can request up to 5 pairs of glasses at a time to try on in your own home. You can take your time to decide which style you like, and then ship them all back. Shipping both ways is free. Then you upload your prescription to the website and they make your custom glasses for you. Their prices are very good. Here’s the website, https://www.warbyparker.com/
I ordered two pair around Christmas time; a regular pair and a light reactive pair that darkens somewhat in the daylight. They were both slightly loose and needed adjusted. I could have taken them to any shop in Santa Fe (usually adjustments are done for free at any eyeglasses shop regardless of where you bought them). But I knew I was coming to see Laura, and decided to wait until I could get mine adjusted by the experts. There’s nothing worse than a poorly adjusted pair of glasses!
While in the store, I decided to buy this pair of sunglasses that Laura showed me:
Aren’t they great? I am getting them made with my prescription and they will ship them to Santa Fe. I will have three pair of prescription glasses: clear, light reactive, and sunglasses. I feel a little spoiled! Hopefully my prescription won’t change a lot anytime soon.
Warby Parker is in a high-end shopping area called Santana Row in San Jose. The area wasn’t looking it’s best on a rainy morning at the end of February, but you can imagine what this must be like at lunchtime in the summer.
After Santana Row we went to the nearby mall to go to a Japanese store called Uniqlo. They sell simple, basic clothes for layering and mix & match. They have really nice fabrics, including a fabric called heattech, which is lightweight and very warm. The Japanese don’t tend to use much heating in the winter, even though it gets very cold in the middle and northern areas of the country. So they make good, warm under layers.
The mall was being renovated and seemed very fancy compared to New Mexico.
I took this picture of people lining up for lunch in the mall. The mall was mostly empty except for a few specific hot spots. Apparently this noodle chain is the place to go for lunch.
We went to lunch at a Korean restaurant right near Laura’s house, and had chicken soup.
The soup was fantastic! But I was a little intimidated. There was an entire small bird of some sort in my soup, bones and all, like a miniature roasting chicken. All I had to dismantle the bird was a soup spoon and chopsticks.
I’m awake early on my last day of my trip to California. My Ōura ring has given me a low “readiness score” so I’m wondering if I’m getting sick, even though I currently feel fine.
My Ōura ring (pronouced /ō-ra/) is a health tracking device from Finland. Most fitness trackers are worn on the wrist, but this one is a ring. It sends data to an app on my phone.
This is more of a sleep tracker than a fitness tracker (although it also tracks exercise on a limited basis). You can read about it here. https://ouraring.com/
I bought it because it specifically does a good job a tracking sleep, and I have a type of sleep disturbance that causes – or is at least correlated with – migraines. I am hoping that the sleep data will help me predict my migraines.
One of the most important decisions I have to make every morning is whether or not I can exercise. If I have a migraine coming on, I absolutely should not exercise because it will make it far, far worse. But it’s often very hard to know if I’ve got a migraine coming. It’s hard enough to get motivated to go jogging at dawn, without also wondering if it’s going to trigger a migraine!
I haven’t had time to run the type of data analysis I would need to do to figure out if this tracker really can predict migraines. So far I’ve just looked at daily readouts.
I’m not sure about whether it can predict migraines, but I think it can predict the onset of colds & flu. Here’s a look at the effect of the flu I had last month.
The numbers in circles are my resting heart rate, and the bars are a combination of numerous data, called a “readiness” score. The ideal readiness score is 100.
Here’s another look at that week I was really sick last month.
The low scores that week were mostly in the 50’s, so I was dismayed to get a score of 58 this morning. I feel completely fine, but apparently I have a bit of a fever.
It’s not just my high temperature that lowered today’s score. All the criteria in orange are “areas of concern”:
Here is my sleep readout from last night. I slept ok but woke up too early. The “light sleep” between 4 AM and 5:30 AM did not feel like sleep to me; I was laying awake. This is common for me, and has been aggravated this week because I’m in the Pacific time zone and I’m used to Mountain time. Up at 5:19 AM on a Sunday, ugh.
Also my heart rate was too high. It’s supposed to be low by the middle of the night to allow for recuperative time during sleep. That didn’t happen last night – it wasn’t low enough, and the lowest time was immediately before I got up instead of much earlier in the night.
Although it’s not primarily a fitness tracker, it does track activity. Here you can see how I tend to get out hiking on the weekend, but then am a total slug during the work week. The big exercise days on the right represent my current visit with Laura. She’s been getting me out jogging, and on Thursday we also walked the beach.
Here’s another similar activity graph. The Friday and Saturday on the left was when we went hiking with Steven. And the tall bars on the right are my visit with Laura. Clearly my job is bad for my health 😉
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