Bright and Shiny

It's kinda crappy here today...only about 75 and rainy. So no pool for me today, although it's kinda nice to turn off the air and open the windows. The cat's driving me crazy - lays on top of everything I'm trying to use/read/do, is insistent about getting up on the counters, keeps screwing with the blinds, and now he's trying to eat my burrito. Earlier he was so curious about something I was doing that I nearly cut his nose off with the scissors I was using (on accident! that's my story and I'm sticking to it!). I guess he's just back to normal, but I didn't mind it so much when he liked us and was behaving.

I've spent my entire day thus far polishing up all the silver, which has turned out to be a much more time consuming task that I had thought it would be. And, true to my usual self, I've been working on it non-stop, no breaks. There are some that think I'm manic when this happens, but on the contrary it's kind of the opposite of mania - mania does not involve the ability to focus on a single task. It's just my personality. Same concept applies to my 8 hour cleaning session upstairs at camp - when I get in the zone, I gotta finish what I started (as opposed to starting and not finishing about 10 projects, which I've also been known to do).

So aside from the Tarn-x making me gag a million times, I'm pretty proud of my little project. All of the silver is bright and shiny, I polished the cabinet and washed the glass and have begun soaking the silverware (don't worry, I'm not soaking the knives. I just threw those in the dishwasher instead....I'm kidding!). The silverware was actually still wrapped in newspaper. The cabinet has a drawer but doesn't have any dividers in it, so I hadn't quite figured out a way to store the silverware properly. Then it came to me - the answer was the Dynamic Duo.

I should probably explain that last statement, hey? A few years ago my Mom gave me some material scraps from some pajamas and things she's made over the years. One of these "scraps" (about 1.5 yards) was a Batman and Robin fleece print that I think she'd used for p.j.'s for Phil. I've been moving it around with me for about 4 years, never using it. Well, I hate to break it to you folks, but Robin isn't exactly "cool" anymore, so I don't think I could plague any child I know with such a print. But I did put it to good use!

I cut a piece of the fabric and lined the drawer with it, figuring that would be good enough until I found some proper storage solution. Then it dawned on me that I still had a ton of this stuff and that I could make pouches! Seeing how focused I was on finishing this whole project, however, I wasn't about the bust out the sewing machine to craft some temporary pouches, so I did the McGyver thing and whipped out the stapler. Wahlah! 10 individual silverware pouches. My Grandmother's fine silver is now protected by none other than Batman and Robin.

Another interesting tidbit about the silver - for our wedding, Joe's parents gave us a gorgeous silver bowl from a company called Reed and Barton. It's called a Paul Revere bowl as the design was originally crafted by him and it's beautifully engraved "Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Pilon September 29th, 2007 (that's our wedding date for those of you that haven't been paying attention for the last year). When I unpacked my Grandmother's silver pieces I noticed a bowl that was oddly more familiar than the other pieces (keep in mind I hadn't seen any of our wedding gifts in 9 months and I had not yet unpacked our silver/crystal, thus our bowl wasn't on the forefront of my mind). Later, when I unpacked our things, I took our bowl out of the box and set it in the cabinet, and that's when it clicked.

My Grandmother's bowl was a smaller version of the bowl we'd been given! I assumed it was simply alike in design and looked for some differences between the two, but when I turned it over I found a blue oval sticker that read "Reed and Barton" just like the sticker on the bottom of our bowl. How neat is that? I know it's a popular design (it's been replicated by a bunch of silver companies) but what are the chances that my Grandparents had the same bowl, made by the same company? I don't know the bowl's history, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was a wedding gift to them as well. :) I've been really into family history lately (I'm collecting photos, send 'em if you got 'em) so this was very exciting to me.

One last significant thing about my day - Sam (our 5 months old nephew on the Kirkwood side) had his MRI today to check for neurological abnormalities that might be related to his cross-eyedness and it came back totally clear. He'll see the ophthalmologist again in a few weeks to start exploring ways to correct his eye alignment.

Other than that I don't really have anything exciting to report. It's hot all the time (today being the coldest day by far - like 10+ degrees colder) and it's not supposed to rain again in the next 9 days. I'm digging hanging out by the pool and I'm excited to have found a local farmer's market and a Trader Joe's (it's in Charlotte, but still). It turns out that there are a lot of neato things that you would normally have to travel into the city for right here in Concord on account of Concord Mills (giant mall). Oh, and there's a roller rink about 500 yards from my front door 0 yeah, I said roller rink. I didn't even know they still existed, but this one does and every Tuesday it's dollar night. I'll have a broken arm or head or something in no time!

I'm registered for classes but am waiting to get accepted to Cabarrus College of Health Sciences so I can declare myself as a degree seeking student instead of a non-degree seeking student. It's a financial aid thing, and don't even get me started on the application process. Apparently it's necessary for a person with a bachelor's degree to write an essay, submit HS transcripts, college transcripts, ACT scores, and two letters of reference to get into a community college. Whatever. If all goes well I'll attend UNCC in January (I opted to go to CCHS this fall because it's cheaper, closer, and transfers). I'm nervous about applying for the nursing program because my grades from NMU aren't exactly stellar, but I'm hoping my experience working in the healthcare field will make up for that. They give extra consideration for people who have worked (volunteer or paid) 50 hours or more in a healthcare setting...I think I got that covered.

Joe's in Marquette right now closing up the call center up there, so I've been flying solo and will continue to do so until Sunday. I recently discovered that we can get 9 channels via bunny ears, so I've been able to watch the Olympics and the news. Tomorrow I think I'm going to venture to Charlotte and check some stuff out...tour UNCC, visit Trader Joe's, see what other kind of trouble I can get into. Driving in the city will be a little nerve racking given the crappy brakes on the Jeep, but I'm sure I'll survive. Joe's bringing back the parts from Pat this weekend and some guy Pat knows down here (that's a mechanic) is going to put them on for us, so we're getting cheap parts and labor. I swear, Pat knows "some guy" everywhere.

At that I'm going to wrap it up - I need to shower to get all the silver polish out of my pores. Until next time...