There’s Always Something New ……

One Week More ……

…… left here in NY before I head back to Texas for almost two months.
(Did you catch the “Les Mis” salute? Five points for Gryffindor, or your favorite house, other than Slytherin, if you did.)

So, after much going back and forth and back and forth and forth and back, I signed a contract on the lake house (post inspections) and will close on it in the middle of March.
Insert a huge sigh of relief here.

It was on the market less than two days when the offer was made. Thank You, God.
It’s true that I’m mostly relieved to have this house off of my shoulders, as well as a little sad, of course.
Jim loved that house and that property.
We spent the last weekend of his life there.
We spread some of his ashes there.
Thank goodness I know that all of that doesn’t mean that he’s there.
Because he’s not.
He’s in our hearts, where he’ll always be.
No matter where I live, who I marry (ROFL!!!) …… or don’t marry, or where his ashes are. (Truthfully, the days we spread his ashes were pretty windy so they didn’t all end up where we intended! 🙂 You can read the hilariousness of it here if you’d like.)

Anyway, it’s almost done. Actually, the worst part is yet to come …… the going through/disposing of all of the things.
Ugh.
Maybe I’ll just strike a match. 🙂

I forgot to add a few things to my last post.
Like the fact that I played tennis on Monday (and will each Monday that I’m here through spring. Then we’ll have to find another club.)

As you can probably tell, the courts are clay, which is a very interesting dynamic. And very different from the hard court surface on which I’m used to playing. The ball plays slower and bounces in all kinds of weird ways.
But it’s still SO MUCH FUN.
Especially the best part …… we’re ONLY playing for fun.

Then Monday night Jeni and I went here for dinner.

And while it’s mostly a tourist trap, it’s a very beautiful tourist trap.

Yesterday Gracie and I lazed around the apartment most of the day. I did get some laundry and cleaning done.
And I played around with a selfie remote.

Then I went to the club upstairs in my building to hang out with friends and watch the debate …… which was interrupted by a very lovely fireworks show outside our windows, in celebration of the Chinese New Year.

恭喜发财 / 恭喜發財 (Gōngxǐ fācái)
‘Happiness and prosperity!’
(In Mandarin: /gong-sshee faa-tseye/
In Cantonese: Kunghei fatchoy /gong-hey faa-chwhy/)

Today Gracie and I had our last Therapy Dog class. It was a make up class that we were supposed to do last week, but no one notified me to let me know that the classes were now running a week behind because they cancelled the first week’s due to the snow storm.
At least last Sunday was a beautiful day for a long walk.

This woman and her dog reminded me very much of a friend and her dog. And hopefully you know who you are, N!

Afterwards we had a nice walk in the Park, looking for snow in which to make a snow angel. Alas, we only found this, which was a non starter.

We’ll try again next year.

But we enjoyed the walk and the cool 40+ degrees weather.

And now I am ensconced in the upstairs club, reading, writing a blog post, chatting with friends, while we wait for the Super Bowl to start. I could really care less about the actual game (although I am wearing navy leggings with a bright orange sweater because if one is going to watch, one really should pick a team/player like maybe Peyton), but I do look forward to the commercials and maybe the half time show.

To those of you who do care ……

快乐超级碗星期天！

(Happy Super Bowl Sunday!)

Here and There ……

1 Reply

…… or maybe there and here.
Sometimes it’s hard to keep up.
🙂

I’ve been back in NY for a week now. I missed the big snow storm. Unfortunately.
But a week later, there were still signs of it.

I wonder if that car owner died or is just under the impression that another blizzard is imminent in 56 degree weather, so there’s no point in moving it?

Actually, we did get snow yesterday. I was excited.

And then the sun came out.
Sigh.

Last Sunday my friend Jeni and I drove to Tod’s Point in Greenwich, CT to go hike with the dogs.
She drove the 60+ minutes while I played the role of dog bed.

If you’ve never heard of Tod’s Point here’s a map:

If you’re not interested in doing a treasure hunt, here’s another map:
images
See how much work and research I do for you guys? Just to keep you entertained and “in the know”.
You’re welcome.

Here are a bunch of pics from that day.

On a clear day you can see Manhattan from here:

You should be very proud of me. For once I didn’t do the opposite of what a sign said.
OK, maybe not just for once. But for far fewer times than I should’ve.

This is the reason that I’ll never own a yacht. Well …… there are really about 20 reasons, but this could be in the top five.
I’ll never own a blow dryer large enough to shrink wrap the boat. Seriously, where do you keep those things when you live in a NY apartment?!

This is just an example of the small beach houses we saw around there. Only this one is on its own island. It’s a tough life.

I saw this on the way back to the city.
I have no other words.
Well, that’s not true. I have a TON of other words but since this isn’t a political blog (yet), I’ll keep them to myself.
You’re welcome.
Again.

I saw a couple of shows this past week. Both were good.

My friend Beth came into town for a couple of days …… smack dab in the middle of the week.
Gracie was pretty excited while she waited for her.

We saw “Finding Neverland” Wednesday afternoon and then on Thursday we went to see Meredith Vieira.

Meredith is very nice and spent time afterwards taking pictures with the audience.
If you’re totally bored on Leap Day (Feb 29th) you might catch Beth and me on the show.
And I may or may not have signed up for three more tapings for next week.

Gracie Lou went to the groomer on Thursday.

She now goes right into the room where all the dogs are wandering around without even a backwards glance at me.
She walks in, lies on her back and rolls over and over, evidently for the enjoyment of the other, larger dogs.
Tramp.

Yesterday I went to see George in “Hail, Caesar”.
It was a weird, but funny movie.
Of course it was. It’s by the Coen brothers.
The worst thing I can say about it is that George didn’t have enough screen time.
I would’ve enjoyed another hour or so of staring at his legs in that short Roman skirt.
Whoop.

So that’s it.
Gracie and I are lazing around on this gorgeous Saturday. We may head to the Park in a bit.
Or maybe we’ll just stay in our pj’s and watch a couple of movies.
Don’t judge.

Fat …… or in Pain ……

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…… that seems to be my choice now.

I know I’m not the only person who has to face this choice.
I’m not the only person who has to choose being miserable …… over being miserable.
And it stinks.

Almost a year and a half ago I found another doctor to see for my inflammatory arthritis. The first doctor I went to for a couple of years didn’t accomplish much except to pump my body full of toxins that didn’t help with my pain level.
At all.

So I went elsewhere.
And found a new doctor who couldn’t believe the treatments I’d previously had.
He tried something else.
Something way less toxic.
Something that helped take my daily pain level from a 7 or 8 down to a 4 or 5 most of the time.
I’ve been on this medication ever since.

But while my pain started to lessen, my weight started to increase.
No matter what I did …… or didn’t do.
No matter how many barre classes I pushed through.
Or how many calories I didn’t eat or drink.

It just kept, and keeps, going up.

Some of you know that for me, gaining weight is a scary concept.
It’s taken me a while to realize that I’m not crazy, and to find the reason that I can’t control my body.
It was a relief to find the cause.
Sort of.

Once I knew it was the medication, I had a choice.
Stop taking it so that maybe I can lose the weight.
And be in more pain again …… and miserable.

Or keep taking it to keep the pain at bay.
And be miserable.

It seems like a lose-lose situation.

I did go off of the meds for a little over a week.
I mean, I have a wedding coming up and the thought of being in pictures makes my pulse race and my blood pressure rise.
I don’t want people who haven’t seen me in a long time to see me now.
I know, that to a lot of people, this sounds more than stupid.
But for me, it is what it is.
I am not happy with my body.
That’s not true.
I hate my body.

But my body did not like being off of the meds.
I tried to tough it out, but after about 10 days or so I gave in.
And started taking the meds again.
Which doesn’t make me happy …… but it makes me feel better physically.

Why am I telling you this?
Because I know that I’m not the only person who faces this fight.
Yes, there are worse things that could be happening.
And yes, there are people out there going through truly horrible things in their lives.
I get that.

But I also get that this is my reality.
But not just mine.
So I’m doing the same thing that I do when I write about missing Jim, and the effect that grief has on me.
I’m admitting to it and letting people know that they’re not alone.

It’s beyond miserable.
Be in pain, but more “fit”.
Or control the pain, and hate looking at yourself in the mirror.
And not fitting into your clothes.
And …… being terrified that the weight gain is not going to stop.

So for those of you who think it’s incredibly stupid that I’m admitting to this …… I’m sorry.
And to those of you who understand because you’re going through the same thing …… I’m sorry.

Living the Vida Loca ……

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…… in Waco, Texas.

Well, I’m not all that sure that it’s the “vida loca”, but it’s been interesting.
I went house hunting for two days. I found a couple of houses that I like very much.
But I need to sell one or two homes before I acquire another. I mean …… I’m not all that into real estate.
And I do NOT want to own more houses than I do right now.
At all.

So we shall see what happens.
The lake house goes on the market tomorrow.
I have mixed emotions about selling it, but not as many as I would’ve thought.

The last weekend of Jim’s life was spent there.
With our three sons.
We had a wonderful time.
The weekend before Christmas.
I’ll never forget it.
It’s engraved in my memory.

Jim loved that lake house.
I did, too.
Then.
Not so much since.
It’s just not the same.

And now the kids are older and further away.
So there are no more weekends at the lake.
It hasn’t become what we dreamed it would.
And that’s OK.
That actually makes it easier to part with.

I don’t particularly enjoy spending time there now.
It’s not the same.
It was supposed to be for us.
And now there is no us.

So it’s time to sell it to another family.
A family who can make the kind of fun memories we made.
It’s a great house.
On a great piece of property.
Right on the lake.
It’s beautiful.
I’ll miss it.

But then, I’ve been missing it for 8 years.
Because it’s not what it was.
But I hope it will be for another family.

In other news …… I’ve been on Gigi Duty for the last 24+ hours.
Daughter #2 had a conference to attend, so I’m here taking care of Little Man.
Boy, am I glad that I’m a Gigi and not a mom to a 15 month old.
Don’t get me wrong …… he is amazing.
And I love him more than I can put into words.
But holy cow …… 15 month olds take a lot of energy.
Which is why God designed us to have them at a much earlier age than I am now.

Although I have to tell you …… that I’m very proud of myself.
For teaching him/getting him to finally say …… mama.
The kid has refused to say “mama”.
In fact, he’s made a game out of it.
I’ll say, “Say Mama”, and he grins and says, “Dada”.
Every single time.
But two nights ago, for the first time, he uttered the word, “Mama”, after I put him to bed.
Of course he did that without me being able to capture it on video.
And I have no doubt that he did it on purpose.
The stinker.

Daughter #2 left last night around 6:00.
So I fed him dinner, cleaned him up and put him to bed.
And he may, or may have not, uttered the word, “Mama”.
Once or twice.

Tonight, after I put up with a couple of tantrums, fed him, cleaned him up, put his pjs on him, brushed his teeth, and finally put him in his crib, he decided to stand back up and chat with me.

So I got my phone out and started recording him, knowing that I could eventually get him to say, “Mama”.
And I did.
Whoop!
I was very proud of him, and of me.
And I immediately sent the video to Daughter #2.

I think it might have made her day.
Which probably wasn’t all that hard to do since she’s at a work conference.
But I think she was pretty happy with the video.

Gigi duty has gone pretty well.
Last night he went to bed very easily for me.
As he had done the night before when Daughter #2 went out to dinner with a friend.
Evidently he gives her a harder time.
As they are prone to do.

Last night he was out cold by 7:20.
He cried out at around 10:00, I patted him on the back, and he went back to sleep.
At 2:00 a.m. he woke up and cried. He could not be consoled enough to go back to sleep so I took him out of the crib and put him in bed with me.
Which, I have to admit, was the same horrible experience it was when my kids were small and I would let them in bed with me when Jim was out on an Indian Princess/Indian Guides weekend.
Meaning that he rolled all over that bed and did indeed kick me in the face more than once.
But hey …… instead of carrying each child into bed so that we could all get at least half a night’s sleep …… I just put up with his feet being in my face.
And so he slept.
Until 6:00 a.m.

Have I told you lately that I am NOT a morning person?
If you know me well, or even kind of well, you know that.
But heck, he was up so it was easier to get up than to fight it.

Which meant that I could fix him breakfast, make his lunch and drive him to day care by 8:00 a.m.
And then come back to get some much needed rest.

Yeah, maybe I’m not such a good Gigi.
Or maybe I am because I’m a Gigi who knows that she needs some down time in order to be the best Gigi she can be.
Thank God for day care.

Little Man is creeping up on his Terrible Twos. Which actually start around 18 months, but he seems to be ahead of the pack.
He was pretty bratty tonight …… until I got him set up for dinner.
The boy loves to eat.
No kidding.
He lives to eat.
And if you’ve seen a picture of him …… you understand.

Daughter #2 Face Timed us tonight, before dinner, but it didn’t go as well as we’d hoped. He was right in the middle of a bratty Terrible Two’s episode.
He totally loved seeing her on my lap top, but only for a couple of minutes or so.
After that he was off to bite me or scream because I wouldn’t let him take a bite out of one of the dogs or my toes.
He’s not very discriminating when it comes to biting someone/something.

But he did calm down once I changed his diaper, put his pjs on him and coated him in some kind of Johnson’s Baby Bedtime Lotion.
I’m not sure what that really is, but I was told to put it on him, and so I did.

The funny thing is …… he goes to bed much easier for me than he does for D#2.
I need to preface this with the fact that they are living in a one room, studio apartment. The whole thing is smaller than my bedroom (in Texas).
So when she puts him to bed she turns off all of the lights, the TV and anything else that might shine a light into their space. And then she sits in the dark while working on her computer or whatever else she can do in the dark.

Now me? Not so much.
He’s gone to bed three nights in a row with not only a light, but also the TV on.
And he’s had no problems with it.
I put him to bed, tell him “Night Night”, say his good night prayer (Now I lay me down to sleep …) and he lies down and goes to sleep.
Tonight he stood back up and chatted with me for a bit …… thus, I captured the “Mama” moment …… but he soon lay down and fell asleep.

I’m loving this Gigi stuff.

Which brings us back to the reason that I’m deciding to sell my home(s) and move to Waco.
I want to be close to Daughter #2 so that I can help out when she needs it.
Plus it puts me closer to Daughter #3, Son #1 and Son #2.

I still plan to divide my time between NY and TX, but we shall see which place I decide to spend the most time in.

So there you go …… the Vida Loca.

Enjoy!!

Life Moves Forward ……

3 Replies

…… and stops.

It’s been an eventful week for my family. Exciting things have been happening.
But for other families …… time has stopped.

Granted, I don’t personally know these families, but I have been where they are and I know the journey that lies before them.
And my heart breaks for them.

David Bowie …… and his wife Iman.
Alan Rickman …… and his wife Rima.
Rene Angelil …… and his wife Celine.

I hate that these women are now in this “club”.
I hate what lies ahead for them.
I hope that they find the kind of support and love and acceptance that’s here for them.

And life moves forward.
Slowly. One second at a time.
And then one day at a time.

I’m feeling overwhelmed.
In a good way.

Daughter #2 has been involved in a home remodeling.
It just so happens that this remodel is being done by a very popular show on HGTV.
It’s been going on since early November.
And today was the “reveal” of the finished project.

I was on “Gigi duty”.
Meaning, I took care of Little Man while all of the filming was going on.
I watched the taping from afar.
Which was frustrating, because I would’ve loved to have seen my daughter’s face when she saw her “new” home.
But I’ll watch it on TV when everyone else does.
(Which will be some time in March or April …… I’ll keep you posted.)

I took pictures from several houses away.
I entertained Little Man and then drove him around the block a few times so that he could fall asleep for a nap.
We spent an hour or so in the car.
And then it was done and I was able to wake him up and go into the house.
Oh.
My.
Word.

I knew that the finished product would be wonderful.
I expected to be delighted with the result.
But I didn’t expect to be so overwhelmed that I would cry.
Really cry.
I was shocked.
And so grateful and thrilled for my daughter.
I felt very blessed that she has been so blessed.
The house is more beautiful than I could have imagined.

I feel honored to be a witness to this blessing.
And honored to know that so many of my friends and family have helped out with this blessing.
Daughter #3 and her very good friend (also sometimes known as Daughter #4) created a site for people to donate for this remodel.
Contrary to popular belief, HGTV does not pay for the work.
You have to pay for it yourself, and it is not cheap.
Not by a long shot.

I shared the site on Face Book.
And holy cow, my friends and family rose to the occasion.
I’m flabbergasted at the love and generosity.
It will help Daughter #2 so very much.
She’s a social worker.
She’s a single mom of a foster child (who’s now 15 months old … can you believe it?!!).
And she’s moving forward to try to adopt Little Man.
All prayers are very appreciated.

I think they’re going to keep the site open for a bit longer.
If you’d like to help …… here’s the link.
If you can’t, we’d still appreciate your prayers and positive thoughts.

They still need to finish a few things before she and Little Man can move back into the house.
Which will hopefully be in a couple of weeks.

Right now she’s living in a studio apartment.
Which is about the size of a nice walk in closet.
I don’t know how she’s done it.
But I’ll get to experience it later this week when she goes to a conference and Gracie and I move in to take care of Little Man.
Keep those prayers and positive thoughts coming!
Please!!

Until then Gracie and I are staying in a hotel.
In Waco, Texas.
Which gives you a clue as to the HGTV show.
You’re welcome.
🙂

Fifty six ……

10 Replies

…… yep, 56 …… that’s how old you’d be today …… if you were still here.
Instead …… you are forever 47.
Not fair, Jim.
Totally not fair.

In case you’re wondering, though I don’t think that you are, I miss you.
Every single day of my life …… I miss you.

You have missed so much.
Or have you?
Do you see us?
Are you a witness to everything our kids have been through?
Do you know how far each of them has come?
If so, I know that you are bursting with pride.
For each of them.
And all that they’ve accomplished.
All while missing you.

My life is so different now.
You’d hardly recognize it.
Or would you?
Do you see me?
Are you aware of how much has changed?
Are you proud of me?

I hope so.
I hope that you see.
I hope that you’re here …… nearby. Watching and cheering me on.
I’m not sure if you are.
But I hope so.

When you died, most of me died.
I thought I would die.
I wished I’d die.
But here I am.
Eight years later.
Not only alive …… but living.
There’s a difference, you know.

I’m living.
I’m joyful.
I’m happy.
I’m content.
Mostly.

There are still days.
The missing of you still brings tears.
The loving of you will never end.
Not by me.
Not by your children.
Not by anyone who truly knew you.

Thank you for loving me unconditionally.
Thank you for our children.
Thank you for striving to be a godly man.
And a loving father.
And a Christ-like husband.

Thank you for wanting to grow old with me.
Even though you didn’t.
It’s the thought that counts.
And you are always in my thoughts.

I love you, Jim.
Always and forever.
And I’ll see you soon.

Another Christmas ……

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…… has come and gone.
And even though it was our 9th one without Jim, we had a great time.
I feel so blessed to have had 5 out of 6 of the kids here. Daughter #3 and her fiancé were in Ohio, celebrating with his family. They were definitely missed, but I know that they had a wonderful time up there. I’m thankful that she’ll soon be joining such a loving, accepting and fun family. And I do mean soon. The wedding is a little over 2 months away!

It was great to have Daughter #1 and her lovely partner here. It was her first (and maybe last?) time to see my Texas home.
Daughter #2 and Little Man have been here since Monday night. They arrived about 30 minutes after I got in from NY. Little Man has been a blast to have around. It’s so wonderful to see Christmas through a child’s eyes. Even a 15 month old!
The three of us went to church on Christmas Eve. It was nice to see so many friends that I’ve missed for a long time. And Little Man did very well during the service. At one point we had to make sure that we kept a steady stream of Cheerios going into his mouth, but it was all good. 🙂

Son #1 came in from Dallas on Wednesday and Son #2 came in from Austin on Thursday.
The kids took turns cooking wonderful meals and everyone helped out with the clean ups.
They all have made me feel very blessed.
And Mom and D joined us Christmas Day!

We mostly hung around the house, watched Christmas movies and just spent time together.
Oh, and we’ve also spent time with the three dogs that are here: Gracie, Daughter #2’s dog, R.G. (named after Robert Griffin III … you know … Baylor), and Son #3’s brand new dog that he adopted from a humane shelter in Oklahoma … Xander. He’s a very sweet, large dog.
I have to admit that I was less than thrilled to find out we’d have three dogs here, but they’ve really done pretty well.
If you don’t count the destroyed carpet upstairs in one area.
I guess it could’ve been worse.

Son #2 left this morning and Daughter #1 left tonight. Son #1 leaves tomorrow and Son #3 heads back on Wednesday.
Thankfully, Daughter #2 and Little Man are staying here until Saturday or Sunday. It’s really been wonderful to be able to spend so much time with him.

Yesterday most of us went rock climbing. And yes, I’m proud to say that I joined in.
In fact, see this wall?

I totally crushed it!! And two others!
I think I surprised the kids.
I’m not a fan of heights, so I just didn’t bother to look down.
Ever.
I just kept going up.
It was quite a workout!
I thought I’d be horribly sore today but I’m not. My body doesn’t feel like it’s been rock climbing.
Maybe it’ll hit me tomorrow. 🙂

Gracie Lou has had fun with the other two dogs. They are all wearing each other out. I think she’s really going to miss them when they all leave.

I hope that you all had a blessed Christmas and I wish you a Happy New Year. May 2016 be better than 2015 for so many of you who are missing your special person.
Thank you for being a part of my life …… even if I don’t know that you are. 🙂

Eight ……

7 Replies

…… excruciatingly long years that seemed to have flown by in a heartbeat.
I know that most of you get that.

Eight.
How is it possible?
How is it that Daughter #1 went to, and graduated from, school for her Masters degree?

How is that Daughter #2 worked for a year and then did the same thing?
How is that she’s been a foster mom to the most precious baby boy for over a year now? And she has her own home?

How is it that Daughter #3 has worked in Texas and New York while getting her Masters? How can it be that she’s engaged to be married in less than 3 months?

How is it that Son #1 graduated from high school and college and has a wonderful job and life in Dallas?

How is it that Son #2 survived his teen years, graduated from high school, went to barber school and now lives in Austin where he loves his job and his life?

And how is it that Son #3 made it through middle school, high school and is now in his third year of college at our favorite school, Oklahoma State? How is it that I’ve attended at least three Homecomings there?
At that place where we met.
And fell in love.

How in the hell is it that this all happened without him?

Eight years ago …… this day …… I thought that my life came crashing to an end.
And in a sense, it did.
That life died with Jim, just as part of me died with him.

I have missed that man every second of these past 8 years.
I have cherished our memories, our children and our blessing of being best friends, as well as husband and wife, these past 8 years.
I have loved him with all of my heart these past 8 years.
That won’t stop.
No matter how many years go by.

That doesn’t mean there’s not room in my heart for more love.
Fortunately, hearts grow bigger.
If you don’t believe that you’ve never had more than one child. 🙂

Now eight years later …… here I am …… still alive.
Not only alive, but thriving.
Happy.
Joyful.
Blessed.

The “before me” would never have believed that I would make it this far.
The me that was left behind 8 years ago would never have dreamed this would be my life now. That me didn’t …… no,couldn’t …… see a future for herself at all. She saw nothing but cold, inky darkness.
For what felt like a very long time.

Eight years later, the blackness is gone.
Most of the time.
Every once in a while a rogue wave roars over me, knocking me to my knees.
But not down.
And definitely not out.

In that way, I don’t think I’m so very different from any other human.
In spite of being blessed, there are still times of grief.
There are times when that night eight years ago comes charging into me. And it feels like I’m right back in that hospital room.
Saying goodbye without knowing it was really goodbye.
I hate being back in that room.

Thankfully that doesn’t happen very often.
Mostly just once a year or so.
Usually around this date.
Around this day.

Eight years.
It’s amazing.
And horrible.
All at the same time.

Eight years.
Eight years of bad.
Eight years of good.
Eight years of growing, loving, learning and finding joy again.
Eight years of knowing that God never left my side.
Even during the times I couldn’t feel him.
Probably especially during those times.
Eight years of grief.
Eight years of blessings.

A lot can happen in eight years.
And though I couldn’t even think this 8 years ago ……

I’m looking forward to what the next eight hold.

What a Difference ……

7 Replies

…… a week makes.
The above picture pretty much says it all about last week.
Thankfully, that was last week. Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. I’m feeling 100% better.

Here are some pictures from this past week:

This isn’t a very good picture, but it’s a sight I love to view …. my Christmas tree at night. So peaceful. And such good memories of sitting with Jim in the peace and quiet and enjoying a similar view.

This was a store in Greenwich, CT. Yeah. Pink Chicken. It’s a children’s clothing store. If you can explain this to me you’re much smarter than I am. Or maybe just more worldly.

This is Kathleen Turner. I met her last night at a small reception before a radio program which was the 6th annual reading of “A Christmas Carol”. She was Scrooge.
In the program, not in real life. She was very nice and very friendly. She spent some time chatting with us. Pretty cool, huh?

This is part of the cast of the program. The man on the far right is the sound effects guy for “A Prairie Home Companion”. It was fun to watch him work. (If you want to watch this, or listen to it, you can find info about it here.)

This was the scene on my way home after the program. Not exactly the sight you want to see while waiting for the subway. I have no idea what they were doing, but after waiting for about 20 minutes and noting that they didn’t seem to be any closer to accomplishing whatever it was they were trying to accomplish, I opted for a different subway.

I took these pictures tonight after I got these puppy Christmas sweaters. I’d love to tell you that Gracie enjoys being a fashionista, but she does not. If you could see her eyes clearly you’d be able to see the shame and blame pouring out of them. If she could speak I know she’d say, “Why do you hate me?”
But …… as a mother of 6 …… I’m ok with that. If I didn’t embarrass at least one of my kids once a week then I wasn’t doing my job. She is now a sort of replacement child so she has to suck it up.

So yeah, this week has been going better than the last. The only negative thing is …… my friend Jeni is now holed up in her apartment with a cold. She probably got it from me after the drive to and from Greenwich, although I felt pretty good that day and didn’t have a fever. But I feel guilty.
See the price you pay for being my friend? I’m a cross to bear. But I’m fun. 🙂

This week brought my last BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) class of the year and my last ASL 2 (American Sign Language) class. Both will start back up after the new year (well, it’ll be ASL 3). I’m enjoying and learning a lot from both. We’re studying the book of Revelation in BSF. It’s starting to get deep and of course more and more interesting. I love being involved in a Bible study with so many different women of different backgrounds, churches, perspectives, races, ethnicities and ages. It’s been a great study.

OK, I just saw a news item that declared that using punctuation when text messaging “shows insincerity and annoyance”. Ummmmm …… what the what?! I thought it just showed intelligence and a correct use of grammar. Who the heck did they poll for this? You can bet your bippy it wasn’t anyone over the age of 40. And yes, I just aged myself royally by using the word bippy.
Whatever.

Before I close I’ll leave you with a question. As you know by now I never get political on my blog(s), but I don’t really think this is really a political question. Yet I feel that it must be asked…… Does anyone else suspect that his real name is Donald “Adolph” Trump?

	mysecondplana on 18 ……
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	Lorraine on The Lack of Touch ……

My Second Plan A

After my first Plan A ended tragically, and all too soon, I came up with my second Plan A. It took a while, but now I'm ready to live again. And live fully.