Dogs Bark and Time Passes

Here I sit, in what is very likely my last hour in my Seattle basement office, waiting for a proof of my March magazine. The movers are here, taking all our worldly possessions away, and Maggie is barking incessantly at the other dogs for breathing her air. It's going to be a long drive back to Georgia.

The movers are very nice, but they have already damaged something -- they had trouble getting our green sofa out the door and they hadn't placed padding over the doorways. The fabric caught on the hardware and ripped slightly. I think I can easily repair it so that it is not noticeable, but Len and I were both there when it happened and you could almost SEE our hearts fall to our stomachs when we heard the ripping sound. The first casualty of the move. Let's hope there aren't any more.

Poor Len is sick today -- and he's never sick. He coughed all night last night and it's just not looking good for the drive for him. I'm really exhausted. We finished packing everything last night, but I had to do some work for the job. I interviewed a very nice man in Hong Kong at 5 p.m. (9 a.m. Monday for him) and since he was the last of the interviews for that article, I was able to complete it last night. This morning I was told it was "superb" -- a compliment I'd like to get more often, for sure! -- so that is one less thing for me to worry over on the journey home.

As soon as that proof comes on the magazine, I'll print it out, box up the computer gear, and head to the closing. Phew. Almost there.

The final stretch

Today was bath day for the greyhounds. We have one more weekend before the move, but I was afraid I'd be too overwhelmed to get them bathed then, so I went ahead with the torture. Maggie always amazes me with her mass fur production. It was everywhere. Scully took it like the girl she is -- resigned to it, just like when it's toe-nail-clipping time. There never was an easier dog to groom. Makes up for her crazy behavior otherwise. I'm waiting until the temperature is a little warmer this week before bathing Daisy and Devon. Those two really can't handle the cold -- even though I turned up the thermostat for the big hounds today.

They will all be clean for their visit with their aunt and uncle and their many cousins.

I'm packing up the kitchen and my office this week and Len is handling the garage. Amazingly enough, that's it. It has been difficult living amongst the boxes for these last several weeks, but we won't have some crazy crunch time just before the movers come, so it's worth it. Be prepared. A new concept for me.

Of course, I do dream of a time, oh, about five weeks from now, when our lives are back to normal -- whatever that is. All the boxes will be in some recycling pile somewhere and our stuff will be in their new home. I really don't want to do this again for a very long time.

My Spoiled Girl

Sometimes a picture really says it all. Miss Scully is in her element.

Maggie Goes on Vacation

The people who are buying our house sent over their appraiser today. Mr. Bond, Mike Bond, asked if he could look around the yard. I just asked that he close the back gate when he was finished. Later on, I let the dogs out and looked over at the gate to make sure it was closed. It was, and I went back in to the house and started my lunch. I let three dogs in, figuring Miss Maggie was being here usual slow self. Several minutes later I called out for her outside. Nothing. I checked the side yard and behind the shrubs. Nothing. The gate was still closed. I went inside and checked the basement. Nothing. Checked the bedrooms. Nothing. Checked the basement again. Went back out back. That's when I saw that the gate wasn't actually locked, but ALMOST locked.

I hopped on the scooter and trolled the neighborhood, calling out, "Maggie, maggie!" I asked the mail lady if she had seen a greyhound. I asked the utilities guy if he had seen a greyhound.

Nothing.

Finally, I came back to the house and saw my neighbor, Darlene, in her yard and asked if she had seen one of our greyhounds. She said she hadn't, but pointed toward my house and said, "There's one."

A nice lady who lives TEN blocks away had driven up and had Maggie tied with a rope.

She said this was getting to be a second job for her, that she had returned a dog just yesterday.

I said I was very glad she had returned this dog.

Maggie, I hope you had fun today. You bitch.

I really like pink

I have a new cell phone.

I've been harassing Len about my phone for some time. My cell phone was 3-4 years old and came with the service that I took over from Len when his company provided him a phone. I'd been dutifully waiting until that service ran out so I could get a new phone for less money and a service that fits my needs. Then we moved to Seattle and I told Len not to get a cell phone since his company will probably provide one. Of course he went ahead and got a phone. Meantime, my contract had run out last year and I've been going month-to-month before deciding what to do. I didn't want to take his new service over (yes, he did get a phone from his company) because I didn't want to change my number, etc.

So, now that we are moving back to Atlanta, I wanted to get a less-expensive contract, etc., but my service is in Len's name so I couldn't make any changes without him.

That's why I'd been harassing him.

Anyway, the harassment finally paid off yesterday. Len went to the Cingular store and changed both our services to the Family Plan and got me a new phone with the same number. Best of all, I got the coolest phone available (I think so, anyway). A Motorola RAZR -- in PINK!

It's very thin, but substantial and has all the features I need and then some (I can take pictures -- I was so far behind the times!!!). And it's PINK! Very, very cool.

Pins and Needles

I haven't posted in more than a week because Len asked me not to blog about our Seattle house until the buyers have their inspection. I'm sitting now in the guest bedroom with all the dogs while the potential buyers are roaming around the house with an inspector. Len, I hope I held out long enough for you.

Anyway, yes, our house has an offer on the table. We placed a brief ad on Craig's List last Sunday and by Sunday night we had two inquiries on it. The first couple came on Monday, liked it, and made us an offer. We've had a dozen or so other inquiries since, so we probably could have held out for more from someone else, but these people were very nice and they made it easy for us. They want in at the end of February, which means Len can come with me to Georgia rather than stay behind until the house closing.

Coincidentally, we had our inspection on Saturday for the house in Decatur. Len flew out on Friday night and returned last night. A few things came up that weren't the best, but we're going to work it all out. The only serious issue is that the roof needs replacing soon. The owner has already offered a sum of money to take care of repairs, so I think we'll get most everything done except the roof. We will see.

It's a very exciting time.