Nothin' to say but I'm saying it anyway

I've got very little to blog about today, but I want to keep at it. I really do believe that ritual is a big part of creativity, so I want to make sure I don't get out of the creative habit. I think I've mentioned this idea before; it's from The Creative Habit by Twyla Tharp. I should probably confess that I only read the first chapter of this book - I bought it for my uncle, an artist who had hit a creativity rough patch. But the idea stuck, and I can really see the value in it.

So what's going on with me? Let's see. I'm preparing for a visit from Crazier Grandma. That's my mom. Anthony's mom has the coveted title of plain Crazy Grandma. We agreed a long time ago that no matter how crazy Anthony's mom may seem sometimes, my mom is definitely crazier. By a lot. If Katie had three grandmas, my mom would absolutely be Craziest Grandma. The other grandma might be more or less crazy than Anthony's mom, but no way would she beat out mine.

This visit, Crazier Grandma (she prefers "Grammy," by the way, so maybe that's what I'll call her from now on) is planning to look for a place to live. That's right, Grammy is moving to Northern California. Or at least, she says she is, but she's not called Crazier Gra - I mean, Grammy - for nothing. Grammy has already managed to sabotage the apartment hunt, and she hasn't even left L.A. yet.

How do most non-crazy people go on an apartment search? When Anthony and I were looking for apartments, a lifetime ago, we went about it this way. We figured out how much we could afford to spend. We looked online for places in our price range. We visited them. We picked the nicest one we could afford, and moved in. Sounds easy, right?

Well, Grammy knows her budget, and she has already visited a TON of places. Some are nice. Some are cheap. But none are both at the same time. We're talking champagne tastes on a beer budget here. My mom is the quintessential Princess and the Pea. I mean this quite literally, actually - you know how mattress stores have a 90-day money back guarantee? My mom is currently on her FIFTH mattress return. Who on earth does that?

Grammy's wish list of apartment features is pretty long. She wants the top floor, so nobody is walking overhead. She wants a washer and dryer in the apartment so she doesn't have to deal with stairs or communal laundry. She wants an elevator. She wants an open kitchen so the space feels bigger. She wants a balcony with a view so she can have cocktails and watch the sunset. (Really, this is on the list. She hardly ever drinks, but I didn't have the heart to deflate her fantasy.) She wants the building to be well-constructed and nearly new. She wants the apartment to not be too hot - yes, I told her that the top floor is the hottest because heat rises. She wants to be close to where we live, but not near the train tracks. (NB - we live on a peninsula and the train runs directly through it, from San Francisco to San Jose. Pretty much EVERYTHING is near the train tracks.)

Combine all that with the fact that she can't afford to live here, and you can see why I say she's sabotaged the apartment hunt. And that's fine, in a way, because frankly I can tolerate occasional calls and visits from Crazier Grandma - I mean, Grammy - who lives 400 miles away. But daily or weekly visits from Grammy down the street? Yikes.

But, no matter how I feel about it, Katie really digs Grammy. Grammy likes to make up songs. In fact, you really can't stop Grammy from making up songs, even if you ask her to. Repeatedly. Katie loves that. And Grammy really digs Katie, too, and she's got a whole backlog of arts and crafts and games that she can't wait to do with Katie. So that's pretty cool.

Well, whether Grammy moves here or not, Katie's going to have a nice week-long visit. We'll see how Mommy survives. Heck, if nothing else - good blog fodder! Stay tuned!