From Chicago

Our weekend was pretty uneventful. Kim got back from Europe Friday night and, although we had tickets for a jazz concert Saturday evening, we opted to stay home so Kim could re-charge. And then, since Kim would be in Mexico for most of this week, I decided to leave also and head for Chicago. The ostensible reason was to take some things from Bermuda that we decided we’d rather have in Chicago and to pick up some things we ordered for the house in Bermuda. But really it was just to get away.

As you can see with this exchange of things (which we actually wanted to do) we’re still trying to get settled in both places. Maybe that never happens. Maybe “it’s in the other place” is now our way of life.

I drove to Racine yesterday to make some purchases from the JWax company store. We can easily justify the cost of gas with the savings over what we’d pay for these things in Bermuda. I still have to figure out how to get everything into the suitcase I brought. And it was fun driving my car after driving in Bermuda where the speed limit everywhere is 22 mph.

Chicago temps are pretty mild. The forecast for today was for a high of 45 but it’s currently 55 and sunny. I went out earlier without checking the temperature and was way over-dressed. Forecast is for cooler temps, but who knows.

Time to do some cleaning in the condo. Even though we cover most of the furniture when we’re gone, the place sure gets dusty.

[Damn, I had trouble writing this. No inspiration I guess. I’m going to post it anyway and hope it doesn’t bore you to tears].

Cheers

Dreary Monday

It’s dreary for two reasons. First, the weather is pretty bad (for Bermuda, that is), and second Kim left last evening for Geneva and will be gone for until Friday. So, I’m left to my own devices for the week – except that my devices definitely favor warm, dry weather, and there is neither today.

So first, I’m going to figure out, then shop for what I’m going to eat for the week. I need something healthy and easy. When I’m alone it’s pretty easy to junk it up with the food (either at home or out), but I’m going to try to avoid that. How does homemade chicken soup sound? Hmmm, that’ll be good for a few meals, right?

Next, I think I’ll hang more pictures. We’re getting more and more things in place, so we can now see the bare spots. I have to be careful about where the draperies will go, though, since they’re not yet up. Well, in fact, they’re not yet purchased. Which is definitely a Kim activity since color decisions are never left to me.

Then, since we’re finding we have lots more items to dispose of, I’m going to photograph some and try to sell them on the Internet. Bermuda has www.e-moo.com, sort of a local eBay. So far, our success with selling on that site has been spotty. The tough part is figuring out how to price things. Some items – furniture in particular – have gone really fast (uh-oh – underpriced). Other things haven’t even elicited a phone call. An alternative would be a garage sale, but I’m definitely not up for organizing that.

Kim asked if I was going to play some golf while she’s gone. There are lots of courses, all close by, and at this time of the year there wouldn’t be any crowds during the week. But for some reason, I’m just not interested. And I definitely don’t need the exercise since I work out regularly anyway. Maybe I’ll change my mind when the sun comes out.

OK, time to get busy.

Getting Settled -- Sort Of

Well, all the furniture Kim ordered arrived at the house on Friday. I had spent quite a bit of time earlier in the week getting the dining room and the den cleared out so that we could accommodate the new stuff. The place was really a mess. There were dishes, glassware, still-packed boxes, and dozens of other thing scattered throughout the house. Actually, it really wasn’t as haphazard as it looked. I pretty much knew where everything was located. What I didn’t know was where Kim wanted to put it once the new storage units were here. Once again, though, we had the opportunity to purge some more things. The trash collectors here are probably really scratching their heads wondering what’s going on.

So, here’s the new look of the dining room and the den. Still need draperies for the windows and pictures on the walls. But that’s the new furniture.







We did take time out for some socializing this weekend. Our first (sort of) formal dinner invitation was on Friday night. It was at the home of a woman who worked as a temp for Kim for a brief period. Her husband is a minister. There were two other couples there and we had a very enjoyable evening. Like I’ve mentioned before, one’s social life seems to grow exponentially here. The other two couples were lots of fun and I suspect we’ll see all of the group (either together or individually) in the future.

Saturday night was Bacardi’s anniversary party, celebrating its 147th year (I’m pretty sure it was 147). It’s a black-tie affair, very nicely done. It was at the Hamilton Princess, which is across the street form the Bacardi building. Not sure if that’s the venue every year. In any case, all employees and a guest are invited for cocktails, dinner, and dancing. The CEO gives a short speech, then recognizes employee anniversaries as well (in increments of 5 years). Kim and I left around midnight and the party was still going strong. People on this island sure love to party.

Sunday we recuperated, but actually did a lot of work in getting stuff put away. And dinner at home for the first time in a week.

And one last photo. Since we're on the southeast side of the island, we don't get the sunset, but last evening we did get a beautiful moonrise.

The Weekend

We had a pretty active weekend in spite of Bermuda’s “winter” weather. Temperatures dropped to around 50 at night. We even had to turn on the heat in the house for a while. But since we have individual heat pumps for each room, we can be selective in what we turn on. Saves on electricity which, like so many other things here, is exorbitantly priced.

Saturday night out to dinner at the Waterlot Inn, which is an excellent restaurant that’s part of the Fairmont Southampton Resort. Afterwards we attended a concert at the resort. It was a European pop star called Heather Nova. Yeah, we had never heard of her either, but she’s originally from Bermuda, is quite popular here, and is apparently quite successful in Europe. Our take? She was just OK. I wouldn’t run out and buy any of her CDs. But overall, a fun evening.

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday, and we were invited to two parties. Yup, only here four months and already we were double-booked. So we went to both – overate at both, and really enjoyed both. People on this island are really quite social, and it seems as if our circle of acquaintances grows exponentially.

To make the evening even better, we won $200 in one of the pools. We were originally cheering for the underdog Cardinals, and near the end of the game when Arizona was ahead 23-20, someone mentioned to us that if the Steelers scored a touchdown and extra point, we would be the big winners. We hadn’t really paid any attention to the pool, but at that point, as you can imagine, our allegiances quickly changed.

Only downside to the weekend was hearing that Federer lost to Nadal in the Australian Open. It was telecast live from around 3:30am Sunday morning, but we passed on watching it then. We watched a bit of it later when it was re-broadcast, but since we already knew the outcome, it wasn’t as interesting.

Busy week coming up. We’re expecting delivery of some new furniture that Kim has been buying. Until last week, it had been sitting at a freight-forwarding terminal in New Jersey. The order was finally completed, so they shipped on Friday. It should arrive in Bermuda today, and we hope get through customs and be delivered to the house by the end of the week. In the meantime, I have lots of unpacked boxes that need to be moved temporarily to make way for the furniture.

Maybe some interior photos when we’re finished.