My apartment is still a mess, but it is showing progress.

 

I have only so much physical and emotional energy to spend during the day.  But I can see some improvement in the apartment, now that I've cleared off both my sofa and thrown out a bookcase.  Now, I can put a subset of books back into one of the bookcases I've emptied, and restart work on my bedroom.

Why do I mention the state of my apartment so often?

Well, I want to get this place back into a shape where I can think of inviting someone other than RQS over again.  No, I do not have a goal of doing this.  Instead, I'd like to have this option open to me again - something I haven't been able to do since my late wife was alive.

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Right now, I have a box of books on the dining room table that need to be put back into a bookcase.  Assuming that the bookcase overflows, I'll start removing books from another bookcase to prepare for another donation to the library's thrift store.  I've already started another donation bag to be given to the local thrift store when it gets filled.  Until then, I have space where I can stash it where it's not in the way.

Once this place is devoid of much of its clutter, I'll then consider painting the place.  It hasn't been done in almost 30 years, and it's about time I do so.  This time, I'll hire out the job, and let someone else break their back to do so.  And then, the big expenditures begin.  I want to do some renovations in the bathroom, so that I have a new toilet, vanity and medicine chest (with lights above it).  To do what I want, I will also need some electric work done, so that I have an electric outlet or two in the bathroom.  

All of the things that I want to do involve money and time.  I doubt that I'll ever get this apartment done the way I'd like to see it done.  But if the job is incomplete, my heirs will have to deal with making the apartment ready for sale.  That'll be the price they have to pay to inherit from me.

 

 

 

PS:  I just got notice that the co-op's bank mandated electrical work is scheduled to start in my apartment a week from now.  AARGH!!!!  I don't have the time for this, and I can't put it off.....

Slowly eliminating clutter from an apartment

 

Over the past year, RQS and I have been clearing out a lot of clutter from my apartment.  It has been like playing a hybrid game of Jenga and Tetris, as I've had to find room for things I want to keep while both adding and purging things from the apartment.

One of the things many M2F transgender people do is to learn what clothes work (or don't work) on their bodies.  They also learn what clothes they should wear for all occasions, and make a lot of mistakes along the way.  But the thing we don't learn easily is how to purge clothes we no longer wear or no longer look good in from our closets, so that we look good and appear appropriate for all occasions in the clothes we have left in our closets.  Lately, I have purged half of my feminine wardrobe with the help of RQS, and donated what I had to charity.  Now, I have room to back fill a small number of missing items into my wardrobe.  And I present a much better appearance to the world, now that I have a better focus on what I can wear.

But this is not the only clutter that I've been sorting through.  The other day, I started sorting through all my kitchen utensils, and found a few that I will either give away or toss in the trash.  This is typical of what I've been doing lately.  I find a place where I've stored way too many things, and sort through them when I find the time and the energy to take care of a certain amount of work in one area of my apartment.  The other day, it was an area of the kitchen.  Before that, it was cleaning out corners of my bedroom. And even before that, was an area near my dining room table.  I've gotten used to taking two steps forward, just to take one step back in this long term project of removing clutter from my abode.

I am hoping that I will rid the apartment of enough of my clutter before some required electrical work must take place.  When it does, I'll have to move furniture (or have it moved for me) so that an electrician can do work in my place.  So I'm working on the clutter now, so that I won't be overwhelmed by it later on....

Spending another weekend in Queens

 

Over the past year, I have been in the above subway station many times.  Either I have taken a bus to reach this station, or I have made subway transfers there.  RQS's house is nearby.  And when I reach this station on the way to her house, I know that it is a short time before we are together for the weekend.  This week was slightly different, as I approached this station by car on the way to drop RQS off at her house.

But first....

Last weekend, I left my big suitcase at RQS's place after returning from our trip to DC.  The only things I took home with me were a knapsack with some books in it, and my CPAP machine.  Everything else could wait until this weekend.

On Friday, I drove to RQS's place and was able to find a parking spot within a block and a half from her place.  And this is where the car would stay until Monday.  We figured that we could make a supermarket run before I left for home, and RQS (with her groceries) would be dropped off at her place on my way back home.

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Saturday came, and we didn't have a good idea of what to do.  So I suggested that we take the subway into Manhattan and get a sandwich at Katz's Delicatessen.  Although it was cold, it was the best thing we could think of.  By the time we got there, we realized that we made a mistake - there was a block long line of people waiting to get into Katz's.  There was no way we were going to wait out in the cold for an hour.  So we walked into the East Village and looked for some of the Indian restaurants we remembered being there.  Sadly, "Little India" had left The Village, and we had to look for something else to eat.  Luckily we found an excellent Chinese restaurant, Chef Tan, which serves both authentic Chinese dishes and American "Chinese" dishes.  Although we were "warned" against it, we decided to order the Dongting Special Shrimp.  This was our only disappointment, as we didn't like the crunchiness of the tiny shrimp, nor did we like the heat of the dish.  However, the Iron Plate with Mongolian Beef more than made up for the first dish.  After dinner, we wanted something sweet for dessert, and Tipsy Scoop was only a bus ride away.  So, it was off to our favorite ice cream shop to pick up a couple of pints of boozy ice cream.  

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Sunday was a slow motion day, and RQS decided that it was time to donate some of her goods to an informal charity exchange a few blocks from her house.  Around mid-afternoon, we wheeled a couple of shopping carts to the exchange place, and left goods there for the needy to take without question. (I will not mention more about this place, as the needy people don't need to be gawked at by others.) From this place, we walked to a nearby pizza joint for a bite to eat before going home for the evening.

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Monday was the day my car had to move because of alternate side of the street parking rules.  We figured that I'd load my luggage into the trunk, and RQS would load her groceries into my back seat. First, we had to make it to Wegman's in Brooklyn. Normally, this would be a 30 minute trip through Brooklyn streets.  However, several traffic snarl-ups caused us to take a convoluted path to Wegman's that Google Maps wouldn't suggest - and we got there in less than an hour.  $100 later, RQS was ready to leave, and it only took us 30 minutes to get back to her place.

It was a long, but enjoyable weekend.  But I'll be glad to get back into my dresses again....

I am now well insured - A short post

 

Could you imagine what these two people would have done with proper travel insurance?  Neither of these two people expected to be diverted to Oz, when they expected to land in Kansas.  Mind you, I'd rather be in Oz than in Kansas as it is more likely to find a "Rainbow Flag" in Oz, than in Kansas.  😀

- - - - - -

I'm lucky that I thought to have my Alexa unit send me reminders today.  RQS and I did not have travel insurance in effect for our upcoming Bermuda cruise, and we declined insurance on the California Coast  cruise we just booked.  So we figured that it was time to buy a yearly travel insurance policy than to pay for a policy each time we cruise or take a long distance trip. And both of us took care of this task today.

Now that I had taken care of this task, it was time to pay some bills.  Luckily, I had enough money in the bank to cover my bills and some to spare.  Given that I'll be taking a trip to DC and a California cruise before the end of Spring, I now have to think of moving money around to conveniently pay for my trips from a single bank account.  (I hate draining savings accounts, but realize that I need to do so to afford some of the trips I want to take.)

- - - - - -

Once done with bill paying, it was time to go out and try to get some Tuesday swag from T-Mobile.  Unfortunately, they had run out of umbrellas, so I had to settle for a pair of gloves.  Just as I was done with T-Mobile, the president of my co-op called, and we discussed a zoom meeting to be held with the owner of the management company the co-op uses.  

Next, was a call to my brother.  After my wife died, a girlfriend and I packed up place settings for 28 people. (My wife always wanted to have a gathering for her once large family, and bought way too many place settings.)  I told my brother that I'd drop down to see him later in the week, and pick up a few place settings that I can eventually use in my apartment.  These place settings (and other things like Gravy Bowls) may never get used.  But I think I'd like the option of using some of the place settings that my late wife spent so much money to buy, while giving the rest to a charity that I know well..

Now if only I can find a way to get rid of the stuff in the downstairs storage compartment, I'd feel a little better about bringing these place settings home.

 

It's getting harder and harder to make charitable donations

 

I used to have no problem getting rid of clothing I no longer needed.  When my wife died, I brought at least 15 large bags of clothing to a local charity - and they were grateful to get it.  Today, with Covid-19 causing many thrift shops to close, it's much harder to get rid of extra clothing without putting it into the roadside bins without receiving a receipt for a charitable donation.

When the LGBT center's thrift shop was open, I used to bring bags of clothing there for resale - and I know that it did the center good.  However, Covid-19 forced the center to make a hard decision, and they closed down the thrift shop.  Luckily, I knew of a few places that still accepted clothing donations.  But they had limited store hours, most closing at 5 pm.  AARGH!  Since I didn't want to wait until I got back from vacation to make my donations, I drove to a nearby donation center - and arrived a minute before closing.  (Their lights had just been turned off as I pulled into the place.)  So they reopened just to take my bags (and of the woman ahead of me), and get us out of there as quickly as possible.

I have nothing against this place, and I will likely use them again.  But I intend to use Goodwill for my next donation, and see what receipt I get from them.  If I'm lucky, I'll get the type of receipt that my accountant can use to maximal advantage at tax time....