It's been awhile

Two months since I've posted. Not enough time, energy or inspiration. Plenty of happenings, few of them interesting. The interesting ones were mostly not good. Yes, my aunt did pass away. No, my uncle did not. He is still not well, though better, and has been moved to a long-term care facility. Wench's grandmother also passed away. In between, there have been visits from my mother and sister, visits to my grandmother, possible progress in rebuilding relationships with certain family members and probable degeneration in my professional relationships. All other connections seem to be stable, or at least about what I expect. Also, some (hopefully) minor health concerns. (I'm not trying to be vague to solicit sympathy, there's just no use going into detail until I know. I'm not sure this will ever be an appropriate place for details, nor am I certain I'll ever wish to share any details.)

Most of my free time lately has been taken up with old movies and books. I hadn't intended to post the above, all of that just popped out. Now that I've gotten it out of the way I can get back to my original purpose in this post.

Book recommendation:
Touchstone, by Laurie R. King. Mystery, set in England, in 1926. There are numerous reviews available through a Google search and I'm not interested in doing another. Just pick up a copy and read it. It's not light, it's not sweet and it doesn't have a normal happy ending. This book is, however, so good I stayed up to finish, didn't skip a single word and just had to put this post up. Touchstone is a keeper. Now go read something.

Family update

Latest news on that:

Uncle J - the aneurysms are repaired but he isn't doing well. He has very serious heart problems (quadruple bypass, blood pressure is wonky, lungs bad etc etc) and the doctors felt, at the time the aneurysms were diagnosed, that surgery was higher risk. But things got bad enough that surgery became less of a risk. The surgery went well, recovery has not. As of last night the drs. have given him a paralytic and are using a ventilator and a balloon pump to keep his heart and lungs going. They are keeping him like this for a while until they think his heart and lungs have rested enough to function minimally. Also, they are giving him anti-coagulants to increase the chances his heart will be able to pump. (yes, anti-coagulants 48 hours after major surgery is not good, this is considered "last resort measures") As of this morning, there has been no change so he is still not doing well. The best hope they can give us is that at least he's not getting worse.

Aunt Ro - hospice is saying 6-8 weeks. Her husband is saying not even that long. The cancer has spread pretty much everywhere and she is in near constant pain. Aggressive forms of breast cancer are just that, really aggressive. Not much else to say since not much has changed. Just getting worse.

For those who have sent good thoughts and prayers, thank you so very much.

Cuteness

These are 2 of my nephews, sons of my youngest sister.
This is James
And this is Dero
and that second pic is just way too cute. Made my day perk right up so I wanted to share. Now I just gotta figure out how to get out of sending pictures of me.

And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest

I sit here staring at this screen, wondering how to find the words to express how very sad I am, knowing that no matter which words I choose, none will even come close to describing the true measure of loss I and many others feel at this moment.

A very wonderful man died yesterday. As a child, I called him Uncle George and have continued to do so occaisonally as an adult. Uncle George was co-owner of a local funeral home, started by his father and uncle, continued by George, his brother and his children. In a small Southern town, this means he touched the lives of nearly every person to live here in the last 65 years. I don't know many people in this area who, upon hearing his name, didn't recognize it and usually have a story to tell. George was a truly amazing person. Always ready with a smile and hug for someone who needed it, he provided support and caring at one of the most difficult times in our lives. George and his family handled Shadow's final arrangements and gave me the love and encouragement I desperately needed.
I don't think George, or anyone in his family, ever saw what they do as just a job. For them, it seems to be more of a calling, an outpouring of compassion and an example of what is truly meant by "a generous heart."
I know his family is grieving, hurt more deeply than I am. My heart breaks for all of them, the son who was my childhood playmate, the daughter whose friendship I cherish as an adult. His wife and other children, who I admire and respect. All of them, my tears are more for them than for myself. George's passing leaves a hole in this town, one that can never be filled. I know that it is much deeper for them.
I've copied something over to include here which made me cry and smile (the bolding is mine):

George asked for this special message to be shared in his obituary: “To all my friends, family, and loved ones: I was able to love because you let me love!! Spread it daily. Never let a day go by that you don’t tell someone who needs it that you love them. I am alright with my God. He knows my heart. I bet my life on Him. I ain’t worried. May that peace be all of yours. And never forget that service to humanity is the best work of life. And that today is the first day of the rest of your life.”

Those words are so very much how George lived, a small view of a large heart. So I sit, wiping tears, mourning the loss of such an incredible person. Sad to think that those who never met Uncle George will be denied the privilege and pleasure of his company. And I, who has not truly prayed in years, offer up a sincere prayer that God welcomes Uncle George with open arms and grants grace to his family. Rest in peace Uncle George, you will be missed by all of us.

Christmas is coming!

Speeding at me like a derailed bullet train. (Do bullet trains derail? And if they do, do they keep going so fast? Eh, who cares, I like it so I'm using it.)

Anyways, I've been a bit Scroogey this year. Well, a lot Scroogey actually, but I'm working on it. Now if I can just figure out a way to make everyone cooperate...

Hello, is this the Acme Corporation? Yes, I'm interested in mind-control gadgets? You have them? Great! How powerful? Weeelll...
Oh. Nobody makes one powerful enough to handle last-minute shoppers and neurotic relatives?
Sigh. Now I'll have to think up something else for Santa to bring me.

At least I can listen to my all time favorite Christmas song without getting weird looks. People really do think you're strange if you sing carols in July. Especially this one:

Fun and not so fun

We went to the trade show in New Orleans this past Saturday. By we, I mean NewBossLady, MsPitbull and me. In NOLA. On a Saturday. At the Convention Center. Fucking yay. Wasn't too bad, traffic was crazy, but since I drove we made it in about 80 minutes. Yes I have a lead foot and a piss poor attitude behind the wheel. No I'm not a defensive driver. I prefer to think of myself as an offensive driver. And by offensive, I surely do mean shouting "You stupid fucking moron, park that piece of shit SUV and walk!" out of an open window. So that part was amusing, at least for me.
We get there and I discover the true meaning of hell. I have never seen so many women in one place at the same time in my life. It wasn't clouds of estrogen, it was a goddam smog, a sea of surging hormones. And Diet Coke.
It was fun though, once I got past all that. NBL and Pit are a blast to hang out with, we looked at some great stuff. This trade show had lots n lots n lots of jewelry. Lots. Of. Sparkly. Things. Also, cooking stuff, cleaning stuff, clothes (OMG I actually had to stop and look, some of the stuff was great. And I bought a shirt. The other two tried to talk me into a belly dancer's outfit but I had to draw the line somewhere), luggage, knickyknacks, you name it somebody was selling it. We bought a bunch of stuff for the store, took business cards to make appointments with vendors, looked at everything, touched most things and did a good bit of personal shopping.
Lessee, I bought jewelry for me, jewelry for T, clothing for me and the nieces and best of all knives. Umm, I bought 5 knives. 1 big ass blade as long as my forearm and 4 smaller ones. My favorite kind of sparkly stuff.

Today a jewelry guy came by the store to see NBL. Pit and I helped select some jewelry for the store and bought ourselves some sparklies of our very own. Nice to get stuff at cost and be able to help pick stuff out. Between the 3 of us we have a pretty wide range of tastes so lots of different kinds of things to play with now. I really liked this necklace, chunky pieces of smoky quartz. A little to big to suit me but I loved it.

We have been crazy busy but it's all been pretty fun. I like working in such a light hearted atmosphere. Other than the former crazy owner/boss lady (who has been renamed Satan's Psycho Cow) coming around everything has been great. The other ongoing problem is our main distributor for books. Their order site has been down since Saturday morning. So we are unable to look up or order books and our order has been delayed. yippee fun joy for me.
We are dealing with it but it does add a touch of aggravation to the day.

Anyway, I'm doing ok. I'm loving work, T came home this morning to spend Thanksgiving, I talked to both brothers and both parents in the last few days and everything is going well.

Oh, the not so fun? That was this evening. Turning into a total klutz. Tripping and falling down my stairs. Busting my knee and my face. The knee can be hidden under jeans but I think it's gonna be pretty hard to hide the humongous fat lip I've got. And the bruised chin. *sigh* Oh well, at least I didn't break my glasses.

Happy Thanksgiving to all my favorite Troublemakers! Hope y'all have a wonderful Thursday.

P.S. Pit brought me a can of coffee beans - the brand is Kicking Horse and it's the KickAss dark - anybody tried this stuff before? It smells good, I haven't tried it yet. Gotta love a friend who knows your weaknesses.

Not too bad

Gustav wasn't too bad for me, other than the week without power. Taking ice cold showers by flashlight was a pain.

I took a few (fairly bad) pics. If you want to see some great pics, go over to Amy_D's flickr page. She's an awesome and incredibly talented photographer (she's also a great friend).

(That's not a river, that's the ditch alongside the highway)

(The trail riders' pavilion, the day after the storm)

(One of the many trees down)

That's the closest anything came to falling on my house - the end of the big branch in the background ended up a few feet from the back corner of the house. Guess that wind was good for something.

The bug that got in my house while the power was out. Creepy lil bugger, took me forever to catch him and put him outside.

I missed a week of work because of Gustav, so I've put in extra hours and brought work home to make up the time. Since I had that as an excuse, I haven't done the stuff around the house that needed to be done. Like yard work, which I hate. It worked out pretty well though. My younger brother, Toothpick, called me this morning and offered to do the yard work. Yay! So he cut the grass, hit the corners and such with a weed-eater, cleaned the porch and even helped pull down and untangle the windchimes. Thank heavens for my little brother with the big heart.

(Toothpick, hard at work)

I've still got a box and a half of audio books to work on, not to mention the other stuff. Guess I'd better get back to work.

And, yes we did have to push the wedding date back because of the storm. So now the big day is September 30th. Unless something else happens.

Ya think?!?

It was a little wet at Grandma's house. Her front yard: The turn off to Grandma's house - can you tell she lives in the boonies?

We had a birthday party for my Grandma today. I don't see my mom's family much, but I showed up for this. Not everyone could make it so it wasn't too bad. I had a good laugh watching my cousin's 6 year old daughter try to teach her great-uncle how to play "Rock, Scissors, Paper." He kept messing up and misunderstanding on purpose so she would get mad. She's a pretty intense kid and very dramatic, so it's funny to watch her roll her eyes and sigh in exasperation. Determined lil thing, she never did give up. When they left she told him "That's okay, we'll work on it some more next time I see you."

Not on my need to know list

One of my favorite characters from Edding's Belgariad said "Any day you learn something is a day you haven't wasted." (Badly paraphrased, but I can't find my copy)
Last night I learned how to remove stitches from incisions. Hopefully, I'll never have to do it again. I'm not squeamish, but I don't do well with scissors.
Talked to my dad today, he'd been to the doctor. His eyes are doing great.
T goes to the doctor tomorrow, but he is doing really well. The stitches were actually cutting into his shoulder and the incisions were getting irritated. Since they came out, he's done much better. He still can't lift his arm or use it to push/pull/carry anything, but he can move it pretty well. Plus, it's not hurting as much.

Things are going pretty well, there have been further developments on the job issues. I'm waiting to see what happens next and how everything turns out. (Can't talk about it in detail until it's all done. Cross your fingers for me, please!)

7 Days

Ok, here's a quick rundown of the last 7 days
Friday - sick all day, then the stove died. Bought new stove online, to be picked up on Saturday.
Saturday - went to work, still sick, busted ass all day. T called to tell me the store didn't have the stove we paid for so we were getting a different one. Got flat tire on the way home. Rode home on the spare (scary). Admired new stove, discussed some things with T. Tried to call Wench to cancel plans for Sunday, couldn't get her. Gave up and went to bed.
Sunday - helped T thread and install pipe for gas fireplace, cleaned house, more discussion of issues. Gave up and went to bed.
Monday - worked, worried and worked some more. T put new tire on car, took him to lunch. Ran into SIL, nephew and SIL's aunt at restaraunt. Went back to store and worked some more. Went home, more discussion. Gave up and went to bed.
Tuesday - worked. Found out I may need to update my resume in the near future. Seriously considered finding a hole, crawling in and pulling the ground in behind me. Went home, gave up and went to bed.
Wednesday - sat by phone until I heard from Dad's wife. His surgery went well, they don't think the retina will detach this time, only one more surgery left. Headed for BR, to buy freezer and groceries. Couldn't find right freezer at Sears. Found some jeans (which I desperately needed) and some books. Found freezer at Sam's. Bought freezer and LOTS of groceries. Came home, put everything up, read until I couldn't keep my eyes open. Went to bed.
Thursday - went to BR for T's surgery. Got there at 10:30, waited in Pre-op until after 2 pm. They took him in and I waited. Surgeon came out at 3:30, said everything went better than expected. Finally headed for home at 4:30, didn't get home until 7 something. Very bad traffic.
Got T settled, called the family to let them know (they had all called me, but I couldn't talk and drive), typed this, gave up and went to bed. I don't know why I am so damned tired.

Not a wonderful week, very draining and stressful. On the plus side, I bought a bunch of new books. Heavy Words Lightly Thrown is by a librarian from London, examining the stories behind nursery rhymes. I enjoyed it, lots of info presented in an engaging, funny way. I could almost hear his accent when I read. Not a very long book. Also picked up an anthology of Dorothy Parker's short stories (the actual title is Dorothy Parker Stories). Read it today while waiting. Very 1930s. Kept my attention so worth it to me. Not, however, for those who like happy endings or nice people.
A little more for the plus column, T and Dad both are doing fine. Dad's eye looks great, according to his doctor. So he only has one more to go. T's surgeon told me that he didn't have to do any reconstruction on the rotator cuff, it looked better than he thought it would. That means no immobilization for 6 weeks. YAY!! A sling tonight and for a little while longer for comfort. Also, the surgeon at this point thinks by spring everything will be back to 100%. I'm sure I've left something else good out, but can't think what. To everyone who expressed concern and wished us well, many thanks. Good thoughts and hugs right back to all. Now I'm gonna go get some sleep. Morning comes early and T is already asleep.

Monday morning marathon (of silly tests)

Some of my friends over at PAN were busy this morning. By the time I checked, they had taken all of these tests and posted their results there. Since I'm late, I'll put all of my results here. (Truthfully, I'm once again being lazy!)

You Are Not Destined to Rule the World

You are destined for something else... Like inventing a new type of cupcake. You just don't have the stomach for brutality. But watch out - because many people do!

Are You Destined For World Domination?

You're an Expert Kisser

You're a kissing pro, but it's all about quality and not quantity You've perfected your kissing technique and can knock anyone's socks off And you're adaptable, giving each partner what they crave When it comes down to it, your kisses are truly unforgettable

What Kind of Kisser Are You?

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English 40% Dixie 5% Yankee 0% Midwestern 0% Upper Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

You Are 60% Weird

You're so weird, you think you're *totally* normal. Right? But you wig out even the biggest of circus freaks!

How Weird Are You?

In a Past Life...

You Were: A Charming Executor of Sacrifices. Where You Lived: Romania. How You Died: Hung for treason.

Who Were You In a Past Life?

Your Personality is Very Rare (INFP)

Your personality type is dreamy, romantic, elegant, and expressive. Only about 5% of all people have your personality, including 6% of all women and 4% of all men You are Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling, and Perceiving.

How Rare Is Your Personality?

Your IQ Is 125

Your Logical Intelligence is Below Average Your Verbal Intelligence is Genius Your Mathematical Intelligence is Genius Your General Knowledge is Exceptional

A Quick and Dirty IQ Test

I think that was all of them. Thanks Rose, Glo, Wade and Amy for the giggles and grins.
BTW, I won't be bouncing around much for a while. T's surgery is the 31st, and Dad's is the 30th. I'm just a little stressed right now, worrying about both of them and trying to get things done before then.

Does the first post of the year set the tone?

In my case, probably not. Unless you count random thoughts and silliness. Anyway, I'm semi-recovered from the holidays. Now if Boss Lady will just stay in town and come in to the store occasionally, I'd be just fine.
Since I haven't posted in 2 weeks, I've got all sorts of stuff whirling around in my head. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be a way to work everything in under a single topic. Owls, T, presents, barbarians, and theft. Just for starters. Nope, I just can't see a way to do it. So, before somebody starts making wild stories up to cover all those, I'll go ahead and throw it at ya.

Theft isn't usually amusing, especially to someone in retail. We really, really hate shoplifters. And of course, the holidays are wonderful opportunities for the sticky-fingered. Boss Lady was pissed, steam coming out of her ears, when she realized someone had stolen a couple of hardback books the Saturday before New Year's. I just tried very hard not to laugh, since I didn't want Boss Lady to go off on me. But really, it struck me as funny. This woman stole Nelson's New Illustrated Bible Commentary and Halley's Bible Handbook. Somehow, I don't think reading religious material you stole will win you any points with Jeebus. "For it is written, vengeance is mine; I will repay saith the Lord." Hey, is that ozone I smell? Just kidding!

Presents are good. I love getting presents. My Christmas present from T came in early and since he's the impatient type, I got it a few days before Christmas. Which left me without a Christmas present to open on Christmas Eve. T decided that needed to be fixed, so this is what I found when I came home from work Dec. 24th: Note to self: Don't let T play with the camera anymore.

Owls. Now where was I going with owls? Oh yeah, the owl incident. If you look back a bit, you'll see pics from my ride to work. Obviously, I'm out in the boonies. Coming home after dark on these back roads is always great fun. Deer, raccoons, opossums, rabbits and the other night an owl. It was late, I was going slow (for me anyway) and got the hell scared outta me. I came around a sharp curve, headed across a little bridge and thought a deer was about to run out of the bushes. Instead a HUGE frickin' owl swoops out of the trees on one side, down into the middle of the road and back up into the trees on the other side. My first thought: Oh shit, brakes!!! My second thought: What was THAT? A fucking pterodactyl? Boys and girls, real owls do not look like Big Mama from The Fox & The Hound! So, lesson learned, no more doing 75 m.p.h. at night on curvy little country roads.

Lastly, barbarians. I took the local members of the Horde their presents the day after Christmas. Everybody liked their books, even the mini-barbarian. Of course, little Genghis used his books to beat on the floor, his sister's head and any other handy surface. But, hey, what's a holiday without a minor concussion for your nearest and dearest? I wouldn't know how to handle it if we didn't have to take someone to the doctor every year.

That's little Genghis. Cute little monster, but of course I could be a wee bit biased. The arm belongs to his older brother, Porkchop. (And yeah, that's my voice, are ya happy now? You know who you are!) This vid may not stay up long, if I can figure out how to move the other one from the camera to the computer I intend to replace it. Enjoy it while it lasts.

OK, enough for me now. I'm tired and I have 5 more very long days to get through before Boss Lady gets back to town.

Relaxing day

We spent the afternoon at my brother's house. The older brother with 4 kids. Lots of fun, lots of noise, lots of food.
What do you get when you mix 3 kids, 2 adults, 1 puppy and 2 Frisbees? Loads of fun, belly laughs, tackle and tickle fights, and sweat! I am beat but so relaxed. The Barbarian Horde always boosts my mood. T and I played with the Horde, my SIL and I cooked (she cooked, I watched), T and Brother sighted in a gun and we all had a great time.
Wonderful way to spend a sunny, warm (80 degrees) Sunday in December!

One damned thing after another

Let's see if I can do this. First, there was Thanksgiving. The Barbarian Horde decided to play football about 8 p.m. Since they didn't have enough barbarians for even one full team, it turned into Tackle Tag fairly quickly. I had a blast watching them, only took a few pics, I was laughing too hard. Here's one:Then it was Shadow's birthday on Nov 28th. Then T's birthday on Dec 1st. My dad's birthday is Dec 4th. Some of my family got together for Dad's birthday, and I took a few pictures. This one is my younger brother (aka Toothpick), his girlfriend and her son. My dad and his wife, the same day. Continuing the birthdays, Sarge is today, AC was yesterday, Toothpick is the 15th, Wes is the 18th, JJ is the 25th......I know I missed someone, I just can't remember who it is. In the midst of all of this, I am trying to get ready for Christmas, working waaay too many hours, and dealing with T. He has a torn rotator cuff which requires surgery. Soon. So, he is home for a while, with nothing to do. That's a bad thing. The gods only know what he will decide to fill his time with, but I can guarantee it's going to be unexpected. I'm just hoping he doesn't decide to reorganize my books again.
Just for grins, I thought I would include this picture to prove there are advantages to living in the boonies. This is part of my route to work: Pretty nice, huh? I think I am one of the few people who enjoys driving to work. When I compare my commute to my friends' all I can do is smile. I get to speed down empty back roads lined with trees and you guys get wall-to-wall, bumper-to-bumper traffic. It takes me 20 minutes to go 23 miles. Plus, I see things like hawks sitting on power lines and deer meandering across the road. By the way, there is so little traffic that I was able to park my car and stand in the middle of the road to take that picture.

One last thing. For fellow PAN fiends, here's my latest ugly chef sighting. Found this in Hell-mart and then tried to explain why I was giggling my head off to T. The funniest part was realizing that this is a FRENCH chef! Ugly chefs go international:Ok, I think I am as caught up as I can get. Maybe I will be able to find some time to actually post something good, but I am not counting on it.

Still laughing

My favorite reaction to the engagement thing so far has been from The Mexican Mama. She looked at the ring on my hand, then looked up and asked, "So, did you say yes?"
A few minutes later, we were talking about this being a third marriage for both T and me. The Mexican Mama says "Third time's the charm!" T grinned and said "Or else it's three strikes, you're OUT!" The Mexican looked over at me, laughed and said if I needed help knocking him out I should let her know. She calls T cabrón and smacks him every time she sees him.

BTW, The Mexican Mama is the one who started "The Mexican" thing, I just added in Mama because she is one of my adopted moms. So don't give me any grief over it. And her granddaughter's nickname is The Bean.

a week in pictures

Just because I can, I'm posting some pictures taken in the last week. I've gotta do something to justify all the playing around with a camera we've been doing! This is what has been going on since last Thursday: I hang out at Wenchy's house a lot. Wenchy is my best friend, mainly because she is more throwed off than I am. It's nice to be the normal one in a relationship! (Just joking girl, you know we are about even!)

My dad got married Saturday night. That's my dad (first from the left), his new wife Margie, and the Reverend and his wife. Rev and his wife are very sweet. That man is 89 and still preaches every Sunday! The next one is (from the left) me, Dad, Margie and Margie's grandson Colt.

Photo removed, sorry.
That's T. I've known him since I was 18. My older brother was married to his younger sister back then. After Shadow and JJ (his sister) died within months of each other, those of us left became closer. We all started making an effort to keep in touch. Somehow this developed into T and I dating. For the last two years, we've been a couple, and when he's not off working on pipelines, we live together. Which brings me to the last picture:

Yep, that's the ring T gave me last night! So, I'm getting married again.

I've gotten some pretty varied reactions from my loved ones. Wenchy-woman (the girlfriend)said "No fucking way!" over and over and then laughed her ass off. My brother (the one who was married to T's sister) said to tell T "Quit stalking me!" My dad laughed and my mom doesn't know yet. Haven't told the rest of the sibs yet either. Boss Lady got excited, and my friends say I should keep him just because he picks out pretty jewelry. Also, according to the friends, I should hang on to anyone brave enough to volunteer to live with me!

Anyway, that's the highlights of my last seven days. I've got more pics, but I think I'll save them for a day when I feel like talking about my family, in all their glorious weirdness.