2 1/2 Weeks on the East Coast-Week One

The Choo Choo Barn

Tuesday morning Jim participated in the last doctoral defense for which he was the director at Notre Dame.  By noon we were on the road with our car packed with our own belongings but also boxes of childhood memories for Laura and Jeff as well as trophies and an ill-fated box of Barbie and Ken dolls.

We stopped at our usual Holiday Inn Express in Streetsboro, Ohio,  and had supper at our usual Ruby Tuesday.  It was a pleasant journey accompanied by a CD of Handel's Messiah.  The next day's journey was not as easy as intermittent snow and the always present trucks made visibility poor.

 Laura's children had a birthday treat to share with us but had to wait while we were parked on I 76 for about 20 minutes because one of us thought he knew better than Apple maps which showed a red line and directed us off the road.  I've already written about the birthday dinner and celebrations.  Oh, the Barbie doll box.  Laura opened it and said, "We have a problem."  There were mouse droppings and evidence that the little creature had eaten the faces of two of the Barbie dolls--leaving the Ken dolls alone.  It was sad to throw them into the trash.  I bleached and washed the surviving dolls and clothes the next morning.

Sadly, that wonderful six course birthday dinner had me sitting up in our bedroom at 1 am hoping I was not going to lose some of it.

We left Gladwyne around one and checked into our home for the next two weeks at Homewood Suites Room 406.  Jeff and Susan and Michael joined us for a fun dinner at Ruby Tuesday,  a short walk from our hotel.

Friday was a day of exploring apartments.  We had a ten am tour at Avalon and a noon tour at Copperwood.  Both were lovely but different.  Copperwood was set in the woods and Avalon in a more urban setting.  In fact Avalon even charges $150 a month for parking one car.  We liked what we saw but I felt overwhelmed by the thought of downsizing into a two bedroom apartment--even if they did have walk-in closets and spacious rooms.

Michael had a new video game

A privilege and an example of a plus for our moving to Princeton was that I cooked supper for 15 year old Michael while Jeff and Susan went to their holiday party.

 And then the next morning we drove back to Gladwyne and enjoyed the Choo Choo Barn in Lancaster County with Laura's family.

Saturday evening  I felt sick again with miserable stomach pains that lasted most of the night. So Sunday we didn't do much of anything including eating and I began to feel better.
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Monday was a good day here in Princeton.  We did three loads of laundry at Jeff and Susan's.  We attempted to buy a table top tree at Whole Foods like we do at home but they didn't have any more so we got a lovely poinsettia.  We went to our friends from NCSU days--Jim and Cynthia Moorhead--and had a delicious chicken soup and croissants lunch along with lots of conversation.  If we move here to be with family, we will have friends too!  Then it was nap time for me--thanks to a wake-up call from someone who seemed to be showering in our room at 5:55 am but must have been next door!  Homewood Suites offers drinks and snacks from 5-7 pm so we helped ourselves to a glass of wine and veggies and cheese and crackers.

And then Susan and I went to a Messiah Sing-a-Long at Princeton University Chapel.  We were accompanied by a very good orchestra and led by Penna Rose, an expert and forgiving director,  and we sang "lustily and in good time" as Wesley put it.  I used my score from college days; Susan downloaded one on her ipad!  A tenor and counter-tenor were excellent; the other student soloists were weaker but also good.  Meanwhile, the fellas watched Monday night football.

Jim can work anywhere!

Last night was one of those nights that make us aware that we do need two bedrooms as Jim's snoring bothered me and my snoring bothered him!  The 5 am showerer was a little later this morning and I slept right through Jim's shower.  We're ready for a quiet day of getting gas and a car wash and a determination to take a good walk on another sunny day.  And then tonight, our Christmas gift to Jeff and Susan--and to us--a dinner at Ruth's Chris.

So it is now almost one week away from home.  For me there isn't much clarification on our potential move.  It has been so lovely to pop in at Jeff and Susan's--to see Susan and Michael at the grocery store--to go to an event with Susan and to chat with her about the kids--to share in Laura's family's life for two special events with more scheduled.  We're making plans to go into NYC and Dan will come here twice as well.

But I can't close my eyes and picture us in Avalon or Copperwood Apartments--living in luxury but on a floor with so many others and in just a few rooms.  It is a big decision that doesn't have to be made tomorrow or next week, but will need to be made at some point.