Happy Sunday.
I guess I’m in San Diego
After getting up at 4:00 am to catch the first of 2 flights, I arrived in San Diego yesterday around 12:45 west coast time. Picked up the rental car, drove to the apartment building that the theater owns, walked in the door and cried. Yes, I cried. It was so much more depressing and dark than I remembered it. Some of the furniture is hideously ugly. I mean ugly. I was sleep deprived, missing my husband and dogs desperately, and I just lost it. I wanted to turn around and go back home. After buying some groceries, eating, and unpacking – I felt a bit better. A good night’s sleep helped, too.
Today I got up and made some lists. I went to IKEA and Target and bought some things that I hope will help make the apartment more attractive. Here’s a few photos:
Hideously ugly chair.
Same chair covered in a sheet with a lovely pillow from IKEA
Ugly bed, hideous headboard, pseudo-Southwestern cover.
Same bed with Matelasse cover I bought before I came out here and pillow shams I brought from home since I knew my husband wouldn’t want to be bothered with them while I was gone.
Extremely unattractive shower curtain
Rachel Ashwell shower curtain from TargetWell, I’ve made a start. There will be more to come. But right now, it seems a bit more livable. Now, if I could just do a Bewitched-like twitch of my nose and transport Mockingbird Hill Cottage right here, it would be perfect.
McCoy and Change
This sweet McCoy dish was a Christmas gift from my dear friend, Heidi. Isn’t it lovely? One of my favorite things about McCoy Pottery is the frequent use of birds, either carved into the pottery or 3 dimensional like this one. I love it. Thank you Heidi.
This week has been all about packing boxes, shipping them to San Diego, deciding what I need to pack, etc. It has also been very emotional because I don’t want to leave my cottage, even for a short time, let alone a semester of teaching. And I certainly don’t want to be away from my dear husband and doggies. I am grateful for this opportunity to work in this scary economy, but honestly, if I won the lottery I’d stay home. How do people who work away from home for long periods do it? I am a nester, a homebody…I love my life here.
But I also love my work and the opportunity to work with students again, as well as coach professionally. My plan is to look at the expanse of time in 4 week segments. Every 4 weeks, I will get to go home, or my husband will come out to visit me. My dogs will be fine with their Dad, but they will miss me. How I wish I could explain the whole thing to them!
Today I finished shipping boxes (with my husband’s help), took down all the Christmas decorations (earlier than usual) and vacuumed up pine needles. Yesterday, I cried a lot. Change, however temporary, can be difficult.
