We're In! --- Days 96-103

Walks: 1-8:  Back and forth, Up and down, Round andround two places

Distances: @ 4 miles daily

Report from the field: Ciwt and cats are out of their old home and into the new one.

Very Little Time Left --- Days 11/92,93,94 & 95

Walks: 1-4: Back and Forth, Up and Down Two Homes

Distance: 1-4 3.5 miles

Time is getting close and sleep is getting short for Ciwt.  Moving day is day after tomorrow.  (She does think about her readers as she packs and carries.  Be well and hope for a real post one of these days).

Is This Really Happening? --- Days 11/89, 90 & 91

Walks: All 3 days, the usual up and down the stairs with stuff, then, ahh, load in cart and take up in elevator at new place

Distance: 1. 3 miles, 2. 2.5 miles 3. 5 miles

So in less than a week Ciwt will be moving into a very nice new home.  But, catch her much of the time while she packs up her old place, and you'd think she was about to walk the plank.  Such is the experience of moving for almost everybody she thinks. 

You've Got to Go! --- Day 11/88

Walk: Around and around packing.  

Distance: At least 1.5 miles 

So Ciwt's recent back-to-back matinees of SF Ballet's Swan Lake put her in mind of the first time she saw that beloved ballet.  She was young, had never been to la danse before so didn't know how lucky she was to see Margot Fonteyn and Rudolph Nureyev.  It was shortly after his defection to England from Russia so there was much intrigue as well as marvel at his athleticism, and Ciwt became hooked on the ballet ever since.

Fonteyn and Nureyev

So hooked she began pestering her father to go.  "It is So athletic now!" she reassured him.  This was true; a whole new era of intensely athletic and often macho ballet had been inaugurated.  "You'll love it; don't worry, it has changed." 

Finally he had had enough.  He turned to her and said "I might has well tell you to go to the boxing matches; you'll love them."  Oh.....

Ironically, the dancer she most wanted him to see, Edward Villella, was actually quite a proficient and dedicated boxer.  But, of course, there was no point in mentioning this.  

Edward Villella

Ciwt guesses her father had the 'beauty' and athleticism of ballet mentally filed in the vicinity of Lucy Ricardo's version of Swan Lake and nothing was going to change this image.  To be fair, Ciwt would probably never resonate to the 'beauty' of the 'art of boxing.'

 

Boxed In --- Days 11/86 & 87

Walk: 1. No, resting aching knees from so much moving 😒 - good elevator is in her near future.  2. SF                  Ballet (Swan Lake x 2)

Distance: 1. n/a  2. 4. 2 miles

When possible Ciwt is a Grand Tier person at the ballet.  From there she can see the whole stage as well as several sections of box seats and she's often wondered if the seats are comfortable and if the whole Box Seat experience is worth the expense.  So yesterday, to celebrate the end of a glorious ballet season as well as a Grand Treat and diversion from her month of packing, she bought herself a Box Seat ticket.

Was the experience worth it?  Well it was great being able to hang her coat in a separate, private section before going into her seat.  Usually, like everyone, she's trying to navigate a tiny seat and find places to stash her coat, purse, opera glasses, program without elbowing seat mates or creating hazards for people needing to squeeze in and out.  Plus all that space in the box did make the viewing more relaxing.  And, yes, the chairs were pretty comfortable.

She also noticed, though, a bit of an 'attitude' around her.  Some box seaters seemed sort of stuffy which was their privilege and fine because they were quiet in their highbrow way.  But a few others were downright and overly 'entitled' - coming in 'whenever,' talking, taking pictures and iphone movies (when that is strictly forbidden) and taking off their masks (also forbidden).   

So, would she treat herself to a Box Seat again?  Maybe occasionally, but, really, she is a Grant Tour girl.

Ole, Ole!! --- Day 11/86

Walk: Today it was mostly lifting and packing Ciwt's office

Distance: 1.5 miles

Coming from back East, it took Ciwt a few years to understand the meaning of Cinco de Mayo Day that gets San Francisco in a fiesta mood every year.  

In case you, too, don't know, here is Wikipedia to the rescue: Cinco de Mayo (pronounced [ˈsiŋko̞ ðe̞ ˈma̠ʝo̞] in Mexico, Spanish for "Fifth of May") is a yearly celebration held on May 5, which commemorates the anniversary of Mexico's victory over the Second French Empire at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, led by General Ignacio Zaragoza.

And in the United States, it has become a day to celebrate Mexican-American culture.  California was Spanish, then Mexican, territory until 1848.  

Oh, yeh, that room --- Days 11/84 & 85

Walk: 1. Storeroom work  2. More packing + nails

Distance:  1. 2.3 miles + lots of bending, lifting and wiping off dust  2. 3 miles

Nope, the storeroom can't be avoided if you are moving.

Do I have a Bargain For You! --- 11/79, 80, 81, 82 & 83

Walk: 1. the 2 Homes  2. the usual back and forth, up and down + Presidio 3. Sf Ballet (Swan Lake 💗)               4. Marin shopping 5. Sooo windy 🍃

Distance: 1. 2 miles  2. 7.5 miles 3. 4.2 miles 4. 2.3 miles 5. 1.5 miles

So, as Ciwt may have mentioned (billions of times), it isn't easy leaving home.  She doesn't necessarily believe in the 'stages of grief,' but she can relate to the one about 'bargaining.'  At least daily, she says to herself "Oh wait, I don't have to sell.  I'll just keep both places!"   Then she lives with having two places 9 blocks apart, one empty, the other needing attention and daily visits - not to mention the expense - and comes to her senses.  Until some time the next day, when the same idea flips into her brain, and the whole process starts again...