Sunday, September 14, 2008

Two Reasons I Haven't Been Posting

It's amazing just how much time and energy small animals consume. And sooooo worth every bit.










They seem to be getting along fairly well.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Blue Christmas

My friend Marge died during the night of December 23. I found out on December 24, as we were driving to my inlaws' house for dinner. Gotta say, Marge's timing sucked. Sure do miss her, though.

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Update

He's not going over the mountains to visit family after all. Yay! One less thing to be cranky about. Ho ho ho.

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Bah. And Furthermore, Humbug

I just want the season to be over and done with. I know, it's not what I'm supposed to say this time of year, but there you go.

I found out last weekend that my friend of over 20 years has lung cancer and is preparing to die. She's 93 and says she's not going to pursue treatment, has had enough and is "ready to go." Whatever that means. She might be ready, but I am not. I'm intrigued by people's reactions when I tell them this news. Once they hear she's 93, it's no longer sad news. More along the lines of, "Oh well, long life, she's old, whatever." What people don't know is that her sister (the nun) lived to be 101. Many people in her family passed the 100 mark. When I moved back here, spending time with her was one of the big, big perks motivating me. Now I'm thinking about which black thing I'll wear to the funeral. Which isn't far in the future.

My spouse is about to leave for a trip across The Mountains to visit relatives. The weather reports call for one to two FEET of snow on the pass. I'm really, really not happy about this. I worry. It's my hobby.

While I have for the past nine years gotten the week between Christmas and New Years Day off free and clear, no vacation time eaten up, THIS year I get how much time off? Oh yes, the 25th. AND, we're closing the office at 3PM on the 24th. I'm a little underwhelmed and damn, these crankypants are pinching me.

Because of family obligations, I might not get to spend any part of Christmas with my best friends in the whole world, the people who sent me telepathic messages to Come Home for the past nine years. This makes me incredibly sad.

So there you have it. I'd love to make some stuff up about the beauty of the season and the glow of the lights, but honestly I'll just be glad when it's all over and I'm back at my desk on the 26th. Nevertheless, I wish YOU a happy holiday, whatever form that might take, and offer this annual ritual offering as my gift to you. The music of my people! Enjoy!

Friday, December 07, 2007

'Tis the Season

...to share this fabulous photo given to me by a dear friend last year.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Why I didn't get those reports done yesterday


I intended to work for as many hours as I could yesterday afternoon. After I'd been in the office about an hour, the snow started falling -- blowing, really -- HARD. I got home as fast as I could and it's a good thing I did. The hill up to our place was too slippery to drive a couple of hours later. When I got home the wonderful spouse had a fire going. We found a sappy John Travolta movie on TV and watched it and the snow falling from the comfy, comfy couch. Mmm. So much better than overtime.

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Grateful

Like frog, I managed to get sick over the holiday, my only four-day period off work since I can't remember when. It's just a cold, but it's preventing me from having the hours and hours of fun I fantasized about for many weeks before the holiday. The real thing: never as good as the fantasy.

Before I took to the couch, however, there was a fabulous dinner at the niece-in-law's amazing house. I did a good share of the cooking, which I liked because it kept me from having to make any more small talk than I already had, and because niece's kitchen has the most ass-kicking view I've ever seen while slaving over a hot stove. Like this, only with a lot more water:

Friday morning, I got up early to go to the holiday parade downtown with my best friend and her partner. It was incredibly fun. Marching bands! Floats made entirely of balloons! It was a gorgeous day, sunny and cold. While I was waiting in line for a chai tea at the Big Corporate Coffee Cafe (the original!), my best friend sneaked up behind me, threw her arms around me and squeezed hard. She said, "I'm so glad you came home!" and gave me a big, sloppy kiss on the cheek.

Me, too. So incredibly glad I came home.