Teri Parris Ford's Blog

Last Day of August!

A friend of mine asked if I was having fun. I have been working a lot on projects, mostly in the Rochester house but I also have a lot of work to do on the condo in Madison. As I have aged I've become very goal orientated but fun is planned here and there mostly with family. But for the past couple of weeks, instead of concentrating on relaxing and enjoying my summer before school starts, I have been staying as busy as possible, working on tasks to keep me from feeing the pain of not going back to work. It's wonderful AND painful at the same time. I love that I am getting paid (via Wisconsin Trust Fund) to not go to work, but I loved my job and the people I worked with. I really am missing them (mostly Joe). 

Things I accomplished this week: Erika and I looked at condo in Madison and she put a bid and got it! She closes in October, so will be moving out of my condo. I finished my stairs in vinyl which was the culmination of my new flooring adventures. I added a matching backsplash behind my new inductions stove and replaced my sink. The new one (from Costco) is deeper with only one big basin. I had the backyard faucet replaced (it busted two winters ago) finally and had an electrician come in to look over some power issues I had in the garage. Oh, I got some great photos of the yard in Madison after doing quite a bit of clean up there. I'm hoping they will help with sale in March.

A Time of Transition

Jim's in Korea for a couple of weeks, so I was home alone this week. It was the first time I felt the angst of wanting to go back to school. Being alone is nice for a few days but after a while it gets hard without a dog. I lived alone for a while, but I always had Balt. He made it livable. Jim and I have decided to hold off on getting pets so that we can travel but I would like to get a dog again. 

Things I accomplished this week in Rochester: started watching all the X-men movies in chronological order (not release)-- got thru 8/13, painted the extra bedroom with pink, added 1/4 round to edges of flooring, ordered and installed new patio screen doors, removed the old dishwasher, ordered and installed a new one from Costco, removed my old backsplash and tiled a new one, installed a new toilet seat and all new guts to fix a leak, ordered and installed a new fridge and stove, and mowed the lawn.

Before the week was up, I decided to go back to Madison earlier than originally planned. I spent a day at school, met with a new teacher who had questions for the new school year and I learned how to use a new printer. I had a lot of fun spending the day at school for the first time without any sense of stress since I had no work that had to be done. It certainly scratched the itch I was having. The rest of my time in Madison is to work on the condo. There is so much to do there. Having Monika and Erika living there complicates things a bit but it is nice to stay with them. This trip I worked on cleaning the hall walls and touching up the paint. I also hope to have time to work on the garden, weeding, and cleaning. I need to take photos of the garden and yard this fall since I plan to sell at the end of winter. 

 

Eternal Summer Week 10

Yesterday we celebrated Jim's very last day of summer vacation. While I am living my eternal summer bliss, he goes back to school after Labor Day. This morning he left for 2 weeks of army exercises in Korea and returns a couple of days before school starts. In his mind, his summer is officially done. While I'll miss him, I am very excited about all the projects I have lined up. On my first day home alone I went to an ealy yoga class and then spent the day finishing the last corners of the floors in a couple of closets and my bedroom. I still have the stairs and finishing touches (1/4 round on ends that aren't perfect) to do but it feels done.  

Between all the work that needs to be done in the Madison condo and the projects in the MN house, I will have my hands full for the rest of the year! I made a document that I shared with the girls with all the projects we need to do in the condo with the hope that they will help me. The biggest project ahead is tiling the bathroom but I don't plan to start that until after school starts. I will need lots of work to keep me busy in September when I feel the pain of not starting teaching!

Eternal Summer Week 9

We spent last week at Song of the Morning ranch preparing for a big weekend festival now called Spirit & Nature.  My job was to get up at 5am and make the coffee for everyone and just help out as needed. In exchange I got to enjoy yoga classes and nature. Monika first came to ranch as an "yoga fest" intern when she was in college. Her connection continues to be strong after working for the organization over the pandemic and now just being a volunteer. She spent the winter remaking and updating their website. This was my first stay in the community (as opposed to staying on the ranch) so it was a bit more comfortable. I was disappointed that my trip to California was cancelled for a variety of reasons, but it all worked out quite nice to spend the time in Michigan. 

We drove back to Madison on Monday. I had a couple of appointments on Tuesday and then made my way back to Rochester. It was so nice to be home again and spend time with Jim. I had flooring to continue. I finished Jim's office and my walk in closet. All that is left is my bedroom and the stair which I hope to finish by the end of the month. While I have a lot of projects to work on in Minnesota, I have about 6 month to get the condo ready to sell. We will meet with a real estate stager next week to get a list of what to do (although we have a good idea of what needs to happen). I had hoped to unload the condo to a neighbor as-is this fall but the deal fell through. I'm renting it to Monika and Erika in the meantime. Both are glad to have the extra time to figure out what they are doing next.