“We wrote a post every single day in November, Yeah, we did it!
We kept up the pace during NaBloPoMo, We did it!
We wrote even when we had little to say,
We wrote happy and sad things, we did it, hooray!”
Archive for November, 2007
Here’s what’s happened this month, for those of you who haven’t been paying close attention:
- I’ve written a post every single day
- I’ve hosted a visit from my dear mother-in-law
- My very dear friend died of cancer
- Working with Real Programmers, I helped save three discussion boards from disappearing.
- I made a kajillion dollars. Well, not really, but some extra came in and it was most welcome.
- I pulled off a choir rehearsal, a choir performance, another choir rehearsal, The Kid’s baptism and dinner guests in a single Sunday, all while my MIL was here. Day of Rest my foot.
I’m not sure how I’m going to top all that in December. Perhaps it would be good to start with Christmas shopping.
After this post, there are only two more posts due for NaBloPoMo. I may even get a prize. Yay me!
Today I had lunch with a friend. She has been very ill lately, and wanted to go out today. We were supposed to go yesterday, but today was better for her. I hesitated to wait a day, though, because she has been so ill for so long and every time she thinks she may be starting to get better something else happens. Out of control blood sugar. Low blood pressure. Heart ceases to beat. Pulmonary embolism. I am not exaggerating. But today worked out fine. We had a very nice lunch and a good visit. I really need to get out more.
The wiring in the kitchen is bonkers. Not all the wiring - just the dishwasher, garbage disposal, and the plugs on the east wall. Also on the same breaker are the attic light, the garage door opener, and a fluorescent light in the garage. Everything seemed fine until Sunday night, when it rained really, really hard and the garage door got flaky. DH thought it was the battery in the opener.
Yesterday, none of the affected “stuff” was working at all, so DH replaced the circuit breaker, which was fried. That seemed to fix the problem. But the dishes weren’t very clean this morning (I had thought it was overloaded). And then this evening, the garbage disposal was sluggish, and the dishwasher didn’t want to come on to rinse the dishes.
I’m hoping it’s something simple, like we need a new garbage disposal.
(Update) The current is erratic. Ugh.
I’ll be cruising along just fine, doing my job or leading the music or cooking or something. Then I’ll read something or think of something or hear something or sing something and a wave of grief just washes over me.
A friend of mine, who is a counselor, says that’s how grief works. It’s early days yet. Peggy just died Wednesday. Somehow it seems wrong that so many things can seem so normal so soon. But then a wave will come, and I’ll cry again for my friend. For me, really.
Sunday is ALWAYS my busiest day. Yesterday was no exception.
9:30 - Choir Rehearsal (I’m the director)
10:00 -1:00 - Church
1:00 - 1:30 - work with The Kid and Angel Voice on a song for them to sing that evening
1:30 - 3:30 - prepare Sunday evening dinner
3:30 - 4:45 - Choir Rehearsal (again)
4:45 - 5:00 - Get ready for The Kid’s baptism
5:00 - 6:00 - Said baptism
6:00 - 7:00 - Prepare for dinner guests
7:00 - 8:00 - Dinner guests
My dinner guests were especially fun, and the baptism was very nice. I was very glad, though, when it was all over.
Tomorrow we are having friends over for dinner. Chili and cornbread, with brownies for dessert. The meat is cooked, which is a huge step in the right direction, but what I really need to do is get into the kitchen and start chopping up unsweetened chocolate.
I haven’t cooked really since Thursday, but I’m having trouble getting motivated.
The occasion for the dinner guests is that they are my friends, which is nice. I don’t have a lot of friends (I’m all prickly like that). So far, these particular folks don’t seem to mind me too much.
I helped my mother-in-law update her cell phone today, and book a ride home from the airport. She seems pleased about becoming more independent.
We went into the city today. We went to the Superior again. Then we went to the art museum - and it was CLOSED. We were very disappointed, as that was the major purpose for the trip. We stopped at DH’s office on the way home, then came back. I slept almost the whole ride home, which was nice. Then, I took a nap when we got here.
I was up very late last night reading some things I posted on an old message board two to four years ago. So I needed that nap.
Dinner was a turkey sandwich with salt, pepper and mayo. The last piece of pecan pie was dessert. Yum!
Roast Turkey
Mashed Potatoes
Stuffing
Gravy
Green Bean Casserole
Roast Asparagus
Yeast Rolls (these were yucky and I won’t bother next year - Pillsbury for me!)
Pumpkin Pie - sugar free
Pumpkin Pie - regular
Pecan Pie - there’s no such thing as sugar free pecan pie!
What I will do differently next year:
Make the pies the day before
Have a different “extra” vegetable that’s not green
Maybe try cranberry orange relish again (super fast and easy in the food processor)
Buy a turkey without “a solution” and brine it
Store bought bread
These things I will do differently are not because today’s meal was bad in any way (except for the rolls). I just want to do things a little differently.
Maybe I need to start planning Christmas NOW.
Internet Friend #2 died today. Peggy was diagnosed over three years ago with malignant melanoma of the eye, a very rare disease. Last year they found it had metastasized to her liver. By mid-summer it had begun to spread to her lungs and spine. There is no effective treatment. She had been taking a trial drug for about two months that they hoped would slow the tumor growth, but it didn’t help.
She went to the doctor on Monday. They didn’t make any plans for follow up or offer any additional treatments. Her most recent scans showed her body riddled with tumors. Tuesday morning she started hospice treatment. She passed away this afternoon.
I’m so, so, glad I went to see her in August. She showed me her poetry and played the harp for me. I met her husband (who she had never mentioned was HOT!) and her daughters and we went to a party and she looked so good. I forbade her from dying. She didn’t listen.
Oh God I will miss her so. She was probably one of the best friends I’ve ever had, a true friend who loved me as I was and was willing to tell me hard things. She helped shape the course of my life over the last decade. I am a different person because I knew her.
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