Lazy Butt

The sad truth is I have just been lazy and ignoring you, please forgive me. I CAN explain.

Aside from the fact that I have been sick with almost everything circling the planet this winter, my mom hurt herself. She fell and broke her ankle in January, and after an abortive attempt to go home from the ER with her "sprained" ankle, an ambulance ride and a horrid week on the oncology floor of the hospital (they had a spare bed,) trying to figure out why she couldn't walk, she left town. She needed to be in a rehabilitation facility and the good ones here in town had no room. So she chose to go to a brand new place where she grew up, that just happens to be owed by one of her brothers. For her this has been a very good choice, as she has had hot and cold running visitors from our big Swedish family and people she knew growing up. For me it means a half of every weekend is spent on the road visiting her. The other half of the weekend is spent trying to muster enough energy to start another work week, 'cause I am so dang tired. I did miss two weekends due to bad weather then illness, but she misses her kids so much, and I can't deny her 4 or 5 hours a week when she is going throgh so much pain. (Plus there is still some residual guilt from abandoning her in a youth hostal when she visted me in London on limited resources, but that is another sad tale I am not going into today....)

Sadly, I have been living off of fast food, and quick tricks (toasted baguette with cheese or canned soup) and it hasn't been very good for me. I just don't cook in single person quantities, and I don't like to eat the same thing for 6 days in a row. Seems like a waste to cook, so I haven't. When I have wanted a "real" meal I have been bumming them off my sister or ordering a steak with green beans and pasta from C@rraba car side service. I realized I haven't really been taking care of myself when I saw the sad state of my cooking onions.

That all changes now. Mom is coming home on Saturday and I can finally go back to cooking for plus one again. These past three months have been odd. The house is a pit, the cats have gotten VERY weird and I have confirmed my long held belief that I am not meant to live on my own. I am too solitary by nature, I need someone making sure I'm still alive on a regular basis. Although I sometimes feel defensive about "living with my mommy, " the truth is she can no longer live alone, I don't live off her (we split all expenses) and I do not want to live alone. Perhaps this "vacation" will cure me of my sheepishness on the subject. Perhaps not, since I feel compelled to rationalize things to you....

On prettier news, just look at how beautiful my G is. Her aunt (mother's sister) took her to a Taipei "Glamour Shots" shoot and it looks like she had a good time. A's favorite is the black and white picture, because her smile is less "fake-y," but I love them all! Can you believe she is TEN.

Woo-frickin-hoo

I am having an “O” day. Starts with it and ends with it. With a “gawd” in between to make it alarming. We all have them, they come around every ten years or so and get more distressing the older you get…. Today is one of my turns. As in “OH MY GAWD, I’M 40!”

How the hell did THAT happen? I still have nightmares about forgetting I have midterms. (Usually in the 60 seconds before the instructor says “You may begin...” I realize I haven't studied all semester and/or I forgot I enrolled in the damn thing and it's too late to drop!)

How can I possibly be 40 with a mortgage, vested for retirement??? To quote Vizzini from The Princess Bride, “INCONCEIVABLE!” Sorry, had to wipe some spittle off the screen after that one.

The picture below is how old I feel...with a driver's license...and a nice pay check...:) Growing up and growing old is for the birds!

(G and and my cousin's daughter on a museum visit in 2007.)

Away too long

Hello! I have been away too long. First it was the January Blahs unmotivating me, then we had some health issues in the family, (not just me this time.) I will write about that later... I just wanted to pop in for a quick moment and post some recent Skeeter-man photos, as I'm sure you must be going through withdrawal by now!!

Enjoy! And Happy March!

Christmas pictures

The sad truth of the matter is that little skunk is getting really good at not holding still. As soon as he sees the camera, it becomes an elaborate "bob and weave" maneuver to avid the lens. As a consequence I don't have that many pictures that aren't of the back of him. Here are the two best ones.

He added the bow himself! I am not to blame..... okay, maybe just a little as I lead by example on this one.

I am definitely to blame for this!! Hee hee. I bought his a bunch of musical instruments, including a tambourine and cymbals! You should have seen his face the first time I smashed them together!! I think his daddy will enjoy them too. I just better not get them back on my birthday....

"Christmas" Day

So
Tired....

Skeeter
Wore
Me
Out

Very
Happy
Day

Good
Night.....

Guess What? I'm a Hero

Last night I had a thoroughly wonderful telephone call with G. Usually our phone conversations go like this:

Gugu K: How is school?

G: Fine.

Gugu K: Have you been making any art?

G: Yes.

Gugu K: How is your kitty?

G: Fine


Well you get the picture.... But last night we had a really great conversation, She was animated and telling stories about school, so much like when they all visited in the summer of 2007. She made me talk to her kitty, and made me promise not to tell Gugu B something. (Already broke that one, sorry.) The enthusiasm may have had to do with the Christmas presents Grandma and I sent. Her favorites were a pink jewelry box of a watch, necklace and earrings that can have the dial, band and stones swapped out (six different looks) and a little tube of Egyptian figurines. Yes, I bribe her for her love, and I don't care. Sometimes she was so excited, I had trouble understanding her English, but she was very patient with her Gugu if I had to ask her to repeat something.

So it turns out she had to write a paper for school about her hero, and IT WAS ME! My overwhelming heroic qualities, in case you are interested, are that I love kitties and I'm an "art-er" (or artist.) She didn't even mention how I want world peace! I am so tickled this smart little girl looks up to me. A told to not let it go to my head, but I think it is too late..... Would purple be too bold for my cape and utility belt?

Hurray, It's Christmas

Good Morning! Merry Christmas, I hope you slept well. (Remember, we're pretending....)

When I was little, we would get up early on Christmas morning and open our presents from Mom, Dad and Santa. We would get to play with our toys a bit, eat breakfast, then is was everyone back in the station wagon and an eight hour trip to the Upper Peninsula to have Christmas Night with Grandma J, Dad's brothers, Aunt S and our cousins. Mom is one of 6 kids, around 30 first and second cousins on Mom's side. Dad is the oldest of 3 with 3 cousins total on Dad's side. The overall body count was higher in Mom's family, but the cousins in the U. P. were our ages, all our cousins on Mom's side were much older. Yep, we had playmates up on the farm, making it more fun.

There was also a LOT of snow at Grandma' J's, one year there was this EXCELLENT ice slide down the hill by Grandma's house that someone built. It was very fast (it was watered down and allowed to re-freeze every night) and very fun, but really quite close to the creek (pronounce that "crick") at the bottom of the hill. I remember winding up wet more than once, and having to go inside to thaw. I also remember the pajamas, Grandma J always gave us pajamas for Christmas.

Actually, today isn't really Christmas at all for me, which is probably why I am driveling on about Christmas' past. We are postponing Christmas until Saturday, because Skeeter and his parents are with Skeeter's other grandparents today. I understand why there need to be new traditions, AM NOT DISAGREEING WITH THE RATIONAL, but it still doesn't keep this day from being lousy and weird. It was a last minute switch, so even the Christmas dinner is postponed. So what to do for the un-Christmas dinner? The only restaurant I could find open was our favorite Chinese place, bless those non-Christians. Egg roll anyone?