Author: Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Posted in Moments and Musings

Move With Me: 3 Weeks to Go

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

I’m in that place where I’m so excited to move and yet, all I want is for it all to be over. All the work. All the changes. All the stress. All the anxiety. I’m just so ready to be done!

Haha! There’s some whining for you on this rainy Tuesday!

Honestly, what I’m experiencing is a temporary loss of peace. There’s not one room in my apartment that’s not in an upheaval. There’s boxes everywhere. Every room is half or mostly packed and it’s hard to clean to my satisfaction.

When my home is in disarray, I don’t have peace.

However, my new home is also in some disarray. The new carpeting is going in this week. And the contractor has started work on the bedrooms in the lower level of the house where Shelby and I will be. Here’s a sneak peak!

If I were there right now, I’d write 1 Samuel 25:6 on that wood.

Peace and prosperity to you, your family and everything you own.”

We bought ceiling fans over the weekend. It’s been at least 26 years since I had a ceiling fan in my bedroom and it’s been on my wish list for ages. And now, I’ll have it so yay me!

We also chose paint colors. Not gonna lie – I went back and forth on that. I really love the shabby chic look. All pink and pretty and girly. In my last house, I had a beach theme, which I love but since I’ve done it before, I wanted something different.

So after much Pinterest searching, I narrowed by colors down to light sky blue, a mild sage green, a whisper of pink and a buttery yellow. I also considered white however, I’ve had white walls in one form or another these last several years of apartment living. Either off-white (the kind all apartments have) or a grey – a dark, dingy, muted, overused grey. I wanted color! Something light, bright and cheerful. It is, for all intents and purposes, a basement bedroom.

I settled for a delicate yellow. It’s a lovely pop of color, just this side of bold, that instantly brought a smile to my face and joy to my heart. (Color can do that.)

It also reminded me of my mother and her bright, cheerful yellow room.

I have a small egress window that doesn’t open. Again, I went to Pinterest for inspiration and found something lovely and unique. I won’t talk about it here but I will definitely post pictures once it’s all done.

Other things have also fallen into place. We’ve hired our movers, submitted address changes as well as our second notice to the apartment management. Shelby will be ordering a new bed for herself this Saturday.

I’m also ready for a different view and some privacy. I’m over this current view.

Twenty-five days to go and counting!

Posted in Moments and Musings

Move with Me: 5 Weeks to Go

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Annoyance. I love my current home but little things I once found so endearing are starting to annoy me.

Like every time someone goes out the side door and lets it slam shut rattling my patio windows.

Like listening to those stupid geese each night.

Like listening to my neighbors talk on their cell phone loudly in the courtyard at midnight.

Like finding other people’s underwear in my laundry.

Like paying $2 to wash one load of laundry and $1.75 to dry it.

Like walking from the parking lot, which is located at the opposite end of where my unit is, just to get into my own home.

Like people not picking up after their dogs.

All the things I won’t deal with in my new home. Of course, being a homeowner brings its own set of challenges. I’m ready to face those because I won’t be doing it alone. It’s a comfort to me not to be the sole “adult” in my living situation. I haven’t had that since my mom died.

Any-to-the-who….I’ve regained my sense of organization where this move is concerned. The office is now completely packed, except for essentials so now, all boxes can go in there. I may move my desk into my bedroom to completely clear out the office.

I’ve also started the “things to move by hand” box. Anything delicate goes in there. My bedroom closet and the office closet is all cleared out and packed also. I like being able to look around and know there’s nothing hiding away waiting to be boxed up.

Shelby and I also took the kids (aka Percy, the dog, and Natasha, the cat) to the vet to ensure they were all up to date on their vaccinations. Not only for their continued good health but also because we’ve booked their overnight stays in a pet hotel for the move weekend. Percy would only bark his fool head off and Natasha would hide where we wouldn’t be able to find her. I have to say I’m still nervous about this as this will be the first time I’d be leaving Percy overnight with someone I didn’t know. But the reviews are excellent and it gives me peace of mind not to have them underfoot.

As excited as I am, however, I’m also taking the time to slow down a little. With 5 weeks to go and 60% of the apartment packed up, I can afford this. My walks with Percy are longer now that the weather is nicer. I’m noticing the buds on the trees. There’s a pink tulip bud about to open in the tulip bed in front of my building. I’ve noticed more growth on Grandmother Willow and the grass is started to get greener (well, what’s not covered in goose poop, that is).

The weather is typical Spring Midwest weather. The kind where you need hat, scarf and gloves in the morning and shorts and a tank top in the afternoon. We’ve already had temperatures up to 75 degrees accompanied by storms. And this weekend, they’re calling for 1-3 inches of snow. Very typical weather.

Each year since Mom passed has brought some huge change of one kind or another. And it’s all been good. I’m really looking forward to this one!

Posted in Moments and Musings

Move With Me: 6 Weeks to Go

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Six weeks to go.

All the lasts are starting. Last time I’ll see the lake transition from winter to spring. Last time I’ll see baby geese toddling around (even though I hate geese). Last time I’ll see Grandmother Willow sprout her buds. Last time I’ll witness the emergence of tulips as they line the pathway to my building.

I was reminded again not to rush to the end of this season. One year ago yesterday, my baby girl moved out. Earlier this year, I started a new position at work. So many blessings. I don’t want to miss even the little ones I know are still coming as these last 46 days start to wind down.

The apartment is in disarray. My organizational system has broken down somewhat and I have stuff from every room packed away. All the wall hangings are down. The curtains, with the exception of some sheers for privacy (my apartment faces another building so there’s no privacy at all!) are all down. It’s looking less and less like a home each day and I’m starting to feel a little sad.

I realize, with this move, comes the end of my independence. These last five years have been the only time I’ve ever had my very own place. Maybe I’m being repetitive but then it bears repeating. I’ve gone from living with my family to being married and living with my husband (no place with him ever felt like home to me) to living with my mom. These last two apartments were the first I ever chose, decorated, etc, all on my own. I’m proud of myself.

But all good things must come to an end and I’m so glad this great season is giving way to an even better one. I can’t wait to feel more like part of a household again. To have people to talk to, cook with, dream with….I’ve missed that since Mom passed. Not that I haven’t been able to do that with my girls – I have done all this with my girls however, it’s different when there’s a generational difference.

I feel like I’m saying this all wrong but I’m sure someone out there understands what I mean. Haha!

So, I’ll reconstruct my organizational system and get back to packing, ever so grateful for God and His goodness and all  He’s done in my life and all He’s about to do.

As my pastor is fond of saying – my story doesn’t end here.

Photo by Phil on Unsplash

Posted in Moments and Musings

Out of Darkness and Into the Light

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

We made it! Daylight savings time has begun and this girl doesn’t even mind losing an hour of sleep for more daylight.

Like many others, I tend to suffer from some seasonal depression. I had hoped to head it off at the pass by doing some extra holiday celebrating, watching my diet, being more active, journaling – I had a whole laundry list of things I planned to do to stave off the winter blues.

It didn’t go so well.

I did do some extra Christmas celebrating but much of the season was spent alone. Sometimes, I think I go through this stuff to give me perspective and create some empathy. I’m not very good at keeping in touch with people yet I know there are folks who also were lonely during these past holidays and I did nothing to alleviate that. Perhaps, I’ll do better next time around.

I did watch my diet….go right down the drain. Boredom drove it. Too much alone time begets too much boredom time which begets the consumption of way too much chocolate. All delivered by multiple Walmart delivery drivers who, I’m sure, gathering in hushed places to pray against me putting in another order.

I did journal. Some handwritten scribbles in a small journal that I keep. Each entry ended with the number of days until the next exciting event in my life.

Oh, it wasn’t as bad as all that!

January brought us some nice snow storms and an ice storm, which was fun. I learned the new meaning of anxiety driving in those.

Speaking of…when did I get to be so afraid of driving in the snow. I’M FROM CHICAGO!!!! I learned to drive in the snow. I managed my first ice storm driving from the north side of the city to Schaumburg. It took four hours but my mother sat alongside me and coached me the whole way. Somehow, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve understood the financial impact accompanying the phrase “car accident” and a few drops of moisture on the road means this girl stays home.

Thank God I work from home!

February started out really icy. I mean double digits below zero icy. Lots of tea and hot chocolate were consumed. Lots of coffee, too. I went into sort of a hibernation, on the couch, underneath covers with only my hands free to type enabling me to keep my job.

But then it got warm. Really warm. Not turn-my-AC-on warm (almost, though – if only I wasn’t too lazy to clean it!) but warm enough to turn on my fan and pull out a pair of shorts and a tank top. I wasn’t ready for this! I mean, I still need to mow down the winter forest growth on my legs that kept me warm all winter! Percy, my little canine heater, couldn’t understand why I didn’t want him sleeping up against me.

Too warm for February!!

And by the way, people in the north who cry over cold weather and snow in February should have their heads examined – it’s February. Winter! It’s supposed to be cold and it’s supposed to snow! What it’s not supposed to do is get up to 70+ degrees!

Sheesh!

Even the tulips outside the main doors to my apartment building began emerging from the ground. I wanted to throw a blanket over them and say, “wait, little ones! It’s not time yet! Too early!” but they continued to wriggle their way into the world.

They’re half grown now and I expect buds any day.

February’s exit confused me. The unseasonal warmth brought too much hope and too much wanting for Spring. The bright, sunshiny days lifted my seasonally dreary spirits and I began to think strange thoughts like, “Today is great day for a nice long walk”. Well, strange for this couch potato body, anyway.

Ah well. One thing I did do well during this dark season was create. That was on my list. I made blanket after blanket after blanket. I tried new recipes, some were hits and a few were misses. I journaled ideas and plotted and planned and even rediscovered my love for embroidery.

So the season wasn’t a total loss.

If I’m being serious, it wasn’t a loss at all. All this quiet time and alone time has given me perspective. To say the season was a loss would mean I’m ungrateful which I’m not at all. Everything has a reason and a season and I always love to see what God does through and with it all. He’s just the best ever!

However…WE MADE IT!!! Daylight savings is here! Light is here! Days are longer! Tulips can grow! And yes, I’ll shave my legs before I put shorts on again and I will take that long walk!

SPRING FORWARD!

Photo by Jitendra Sharma on Unsplash

Posted in Crochet

Lake Mist and Seashells

Posted on by Vikki Lynn Sorensen

Amidst all the packing going on here, I managed to finish this C2C crochet blanket. I’ve been obsessed with these colors ever since I saw this yarn. It’s by Caron and it’s called Lake Mist. Fitting since these colors remind me of water. I was thinking more sea or ocean but I guess “lake” works well also.

I’m making a sister blanket using Caron yarn called “Seashells”. I can’t wait to see them both side by side.