Unused Tableware and Coincidences

Years ago, my late wife bought 28 table settings with the idea (expressed to me) that she could entertain her extended family at one sitting.  Unless someone has either a large family, or a large circle of acquaintances she entertains lately, as well as a dining area large enough to entertain them, I can't see this being a reasonable purchase. 

These place settings were purchased before I met my wife, and were never used while we were married.  About a year after she died, my girlfriend and I packed these table settings into two large Rubbermaid containers, and transported them to my brother's place for storage.  My intentions were to give these place settings to my niece when she got married.  But this was not to happen, as she got married in London and is living a minimalist lifestyle unlike that of her parents and grandparents.  These place settings ended up sitting in my brother's basement for over 25 years, and didn't need to be dealt with until now.

Recently, my brother decided to deal with long deferred maintenance on his money pit of a house.  One of the things he needed to take care of was fixing the foundation of his house and doing a fresh pour of cement in the basement of his house.  This meant that everything in the basement had to be cleared out. As a result, I decided to keep 6 place settings, and give the rest to charity.

So, I drove to my brother's place and sorted through these table settings, separating them into a set of 6 for me, and a set of 22 for the charity.  Once done with that, my brother and I went to a German Restaurant in Franklin Square.  I was looking for something tasty to eat, and I noticed the lack of Sauerbraten on the menu.  (This was the last dish my wife cooked for me before she was too weak to cook anything.)   Coincidentally, It was about this time of the year when she became too ill to go to work, and the severity of her illness couldn't be denied any longer.  My memories of my late wife were getting triggered right and left. Yet, it wasn't strong feelings of sadness I felt.  Instead, it was a feeling of letting go of the past.  Part of my wife was moving on to a (hopefully) better place.

Would my late wife approve of what I did?  Who knows?  But I'm hearing no complaints from the great beyond....

Doing almost nothing until....

 

Lately, RQS and I have gotten into a routine.  In the mornings, we tend to stay up late, and then start to get moving in the afternoon.  This week was no different.

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We only had two things to do this Saturday - pick up a couple of books from the local library, and then drop off some donation bags at the local charity receiving center.  So, by 3 pm, we got ourselves moving and took care of these errands.

Once we were done with the mandated tasks, it was time to pick up some storage containers I could use to reorganize the refrigerator. And that meant a trip to Target, and then to Walmart.  If we weren't planning on a trip to Shoprite to pick up some lobsters, we would have driven North on Route 22 and explored Eastern Dutchess county.  But I digress.  

After getting home from Shoprite, I started to put water in the stock pot I use for boiling lobster, and let it get to a nice rolling boil before starting to put lobsters in the pot.  Then, I took care of the pot I used for cooking the corn to go with our lobster dinner.  Once the lobsters were ready, I set the food on the table, and we proceeded to have a tasty dinner for less than we would have spent going to a  restaurant.  Yum!

Next, it was time to reorganize and clean the refrigerator.  And this is where a couple of minor mishaps occurred. First, RQS knocked a glass off the counter, and we had to clean broken glass off the floor.  And then, she broke the crisper at the bottom of the refrigerator.  (I'll replace this with an OEM part when I get around to is.)  I eased her mind a little, then fixed the crisper for use until I can replace it. At this point, it was time to throw out stuff which has already gotten too old for consumption - including 6 bottles of white wine which have sat in the icebox for 10-20 years. In addition, there was 1 bottle that had to be over 25 years old, as I know it was a gift from my late wife's employer.  (As you can guess, I don't drink much wine at home.)

Buying storage containers for use in a refrigerator is a hit or miss thing. (At least, it is for me.)  I can eyeball a space and have a good idea of what fill fit in that space.  Yet, sometimes, I make a mistake and buy things that won't fit.  Today's trip was a little bit of both, as I was left with 2 containers which wouldn't fit into the spaces in which I wanted to use them.  When RQS made her first pass at refrigerator reorganization, she didn't pick up on the nuances I planned to use in reorganization.  So I sat on the floor and started to organize what was on the shelves into storage containers that made things easy to get at.

The two of us are a couple who have been working well together.  Unlike my relationship with XGFJ, I'm finding that we talk to each other more about the important things in the relationship.  Yes, there are elephants in the room, but we seem to be able to talk about the beast and how it has to be handled.  It's a nice feeling.... 

Closing out a weekend with RQS

 

Last night, RQS and I stopped at the local Walmart to pick up some storage containers for her apartment.  Today was the day I had to drive her and those containers home.  And it was the perfect chance to introduce her to my brother and my sister in law.

We didn't get out of the house until early afternoon, and I took the chance to show her my old neighborhood on the way to my brother's place.  Things went well, and my brother picked up some Chinese food for us to enjoy before going home.  (I ate way too much of it.)  All too soon, it was time to go, and we drove back to RQS's place.

Now, it's always hard to find a parking spot in RQS's neighborhood, and I warned her that I might have to double park for a minute to unload the car, then leave.  Luckily, we found a parking spot after 10 minutes of cruising, and we spent another few hours together before I had to drive home.

This was one weekend that neither of us wanted to end.  One wonders when "reality" will set in....

Another Saturday, and I'm glad I can see light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Some trans women feel that other prople want to see their "Cheesecake" pictures.  I'm a t-gal who takes this literally.  Here's a picture of the cheesecake I enjoyed tonight....

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But being serious....

After getting up late, I decided to do a little bit of cleanup and put some of my heavier winter dresses into a storage container, so that I would have room for more of my summer wardrobe.  And then, it was time to get ready to see FH.

I arrived at FH's place about 10 minutes late.  From there, we went to Forest Park to take a walk.  One problem - there was nothing worth seeing, as there weren't enough trees in bloom yet.  Se wasn't in the mood to walk for the sake of walking, so we took a drive around the pricey section of Forest Hills (where Patty lives) to see some pretty trees and nice houses from the comfort of the car.  Once we were done, it was off to the Milleridge Inn for dinner.

Sometimes I wonder why I keep seeing FH.  And the answer comes quick - until I meet someone more compatible, she serves my desire to date a woman during the pandemic. Now that the pandemic is easing off, I'm more aware of the incompatibilities that make me uncomfortable.  And I'm more aware that she is not the person I want to stay with too much longer.  She is not really interested in the things I'm interested in.  She likes to be a center of attention, always wanting to post pictures of her life on Facebook, instead of living it fully.  And, most of all, I don't think she understands, accepts or respects my TG nature.  So I will soon have to bail out of this relationship, in order to free myself for someone who is better for me.

The food at the Milleridge Inn was good, but the service was less than satisfactory.  They are ramping up to full capacity, and have yet to have enough staff on duty to service the tables.  I was far from happy that we had to wave at the wait staff to get their attention several times.  But I will not rule this place out for the future.  Instead, I will wait until they are ready to serve people in the manner they were accustomed to being served before the pandemic.

 

 

As we were going to the car, we saw this peacock walking around the parking lot of the Milleridge Inn.  FH wanted her picture taken with the bird, and I got several mediocre shots.  However, once I saw the bird, I knew I had to be extra careful while driving out of the parking lot.  Too bad that I couldn't take a picture of the "Peacock Crossing" sign we saw as we left the lot.

After a shopping trip to the drug store and supermarket next door, it was time to go home.  This is when FH brought up my TG nature and started making me feel uncomfortable with her statements.  So I tried to shift the topic away several times, and finally said that we will disagree on this. Then the topic changed with a little effort. By the time we got to her place, I was glad to drop her and her groceries off and then get back on the road to my home.

 

 

PS: I have yet to receive a response from my friend WDS.  Hopefully, he's still able to respond - even if only to tell me that he doesn't want to have me visit him.