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| Why won't Xanga leave me alone? I don't want to change my format. Just because I don't blog often doesn't mean I want their help. So far, they've messed with my Cricket on the Hearth, Dilettanti, Ms_Cel_Lany and this site. They haven't fooled around with Aplgwest yet but I'm sure if I don't write something there I'll get another email on how Xanga misses me.
I haven't felt like writing or doing art, or photos lately. There's been stuff going on here that has distracted and exhausted me. Nothing terrible but I guess change tuckers me out. (Another reason for Xanga to stop trying to improve my sites) I'll try to write about what's going on soon. | | |
| My goodness, it's been a long since my last update. Life is about the same but a bit better with regard to my marriage situation.
Jim and I are getting along okay lately. We had our kitchen redone this past summer and we are enjoying the new maple (I think) cabinets, white (with tiny speckles) quartz counters, sage green ceramic floor, and laundry area that is more accessible due to the new doorway that connects into the master bedroom. It's so much easier not having to lug the laundry through the living room. Mostly we're pleased with the renovation. Our contractor really tried to make us happy (for the money we spent, we should be ecstatic) but there are a few things that bother me. The doorway had to be redone because the pocket door didn't close properly and the frame was cracking. It is more sturdy now but still the door doesn't fit as snugly as it should. Also, where the countertop meets the backdrop the seal looks a bit sloppy. But, I'm so sick of workers here every day for months that I'd rather live with those issues.
This past summer I took the train to New York to see my mother and family. Everything was the same as the previous year. Mom, at 95, gets around and it was still difficult to watch her great efforts at mobility. She wanted to get a perm while I was there but didn't due to a queasy stomach. I think she ate some fruit bars that had gone bad. They were in a tin can and I didn't notice the web growing on them (so disgusting) until she'd eaten nearly all of them. She must have an iron stomach because she didn't get all that sick.
Mom had been dreading the trip to the beauty parlor and later on my sister found someone to come in and give her a perm. So maybe all's well that ends well. Mom refuses to go out much, and only goes when it's absolutely necessary. She gets few visitors, too, but she likes to have her hair curly.
Shortly after my visit, John, my sister Joan's husband found out that he has type 2 diabetes. Joan got to work on regulating his diet and exercise and within a few months, amazingly, his sugar dropped from somewhere in the 300's into the normal 100's. He lost weight, and Joan did too. Joan didn't need to, I thought she was thin when I saw her and since then she's lost close to ten pounds. But, she can't help but get totally involved in her projects and I'm sure that John's diet is now her diet too.
What else is new? Well, my son, James, started graduate school in astrophysics and says he likes it fine. I don't see him much as he is eight car hours away. He came down for Thanksgiving, as did Jim's family. It was the first Thanksgiving in 20 years at our house. Everything turned out really well, even the turkey. I made the stuffing, yams, pumpking pie and pumpkin bread. Caroline brought a salad, Mary brought her apple pie, and Norbert brought cranberries. We were able to seat 13 comfortably at three tables lined up like rail cars.
At Christmas, James vacationed in Tokyo, with his girlfriend Helen, and had a good time--I guess, as he didn't give us many details. It would have been nice to get an email while he was away but I did get one postcard a week after they returned. They drove down here at New Year's. Helen left soon after for LA, but James stayed on a few days and then drove back to school. He called to say he'd arrived but I haven't heard anything since. I assume that no news is good news.
It was a pleasant visit and we started a thousand-piece puzzle with him that Jim is still working on in the dining room. I've discovered that I'm even worse at putting pieces together than I thought. I'm not very good at Scrabble either. I know words but don't have good strategy. I play on the computer against the computer. I sometimes win in the beginner or intermediate range but not yet against higher-range competitors. I haven't played against humans in years.
A few weeks ago, Jim flew to Spokane, Washington, with a childhood friend. They put up with three stopovers and cold to go to a college basketball game between each of their alma maters. It was a nice getaway for Jim. He hadn't been in snow for years and he enjoyed the experience. His Santa Barbara team won. Yesterday afternoon, he drove to Fullerton, in Orange County, to watch the team win again. He drove on to LA to visit his father afterwards.
We still have dog issues. Our mini doxie, Jake, is nearly 17 and frail. He has a difficult time moving about as his back legs give out on him. Lately, he's been having accidents in the house so now he has to stay in a kennel we've rigged up for him. He's had freedom all his life and often at night he lets us know that he's annoyed with the confined situation. He's only 8-1/2 pounds (from a high of 12) and his bark sounds more like a seal's than a dog's but it's loud enough to wake me up from a sound sleep.
The past couple of weeks Jake has had very loose stool, and suffice to say it's been quite a mess. We've also been worried about his health. I have been remarking on the downgrade in his quality of life and have brought up putting him out of his misery. But Jim insists that since he still eats and seems mentally aware that it's not time yet. Yesterday afternoon we took Jake to the vet who gave us three medicines to be administered by syringe at various times. He also gave us a cortisone cream for his sore butt. Guess who's mostly in charge of all this dosage. Yeah, me. Jake also got other tests to see if there is something major wrong with him. We'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday. Now, that we've spent $350, I hope that it's not immediately the end of the line for Jake. He does seem a bit better today and let me sleep until 5 a.m. this morning.
So, maybe I've caught up here with my life. I still work with infants. I'm almost 60. My closest friends are getting older too. Christina is 61 and having a lot of trouble getting a new job in New York. She's pretty miserable right now. I worry about her. My other friend Gloria, who is even older, seems to be making a good adjustment since her move from Ottawa to Vancouver. She's very resourceful.
I still play harmonica with minimal improvement. I make unfulfilled vows to write stories and poems. I think about losing weight. I need to check my blood pressure, and my sugar. They were borderline a year ago. Also, especially since mom has glaucoma and had cataracts, I need to get my eyes checked. I need to make more money. But, right now, I need a nap. | | |
| Tonight is the beginning of Passover. We're going to fight the traffic to get to Los Angeles by sunset. I'm not Jewish but, as Jim is, I join his family for their traditional dinner. Caroline serves brisket with vegetables and our job is to prepare the charosset (walnuts, apples and wine), a small roasted bone, and a hardboiled egg whose shell has been browned over a fire. | | |
| I saw former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky, plus poets Adrienne Rich and Steve Kowitt at San Diego State on Saturday. Each read and discussed their own poems, then the three answered questions from the audience. It was part of an annual student poet awards ceremony called Border Voices. I've attended for the last several years and have gotten the autographs of several well-known poets, including Billy Collins and Sharon Olds. As always, I felt inspired to really focus on my poetry. This year, the connected themes among the poets seemed to me to be: remember the past, appreciate those who went before, and keep poetry alive for future generations. One of the poems that impressed me was Pinsky's "The Shirt," about a sweatshop fire in 1911.
You'd think I go home and write a poem. No, the closest I got to anything literary was that I collected all my autographed books and put them together in a safe place away from dust and wrinkles. Then, I got inspired to rearrange the junk next to my side of the bed. Moved the rattan chest that I had covered with the formica leaf of a table and a lace runner--yes I had to crawl into bed nearly from the its foot as the whole side was taken up with my "essential" tissues, books, paper and pen, clock, cup for water, crocheted hat, in case my head got cold at night, etc.
Below is the chest, back to being simply a place for blankets, and the new setup. Jake (the dog) could care less as long as we don't move his bed. Also, you can see the "night stand" that isn't, in the living room. Pug, Cagney, only cares about lounging on Italian leather.
  
Jim hates my unconventional style. Anyway, now I've gone to the other extreme and set up a tiny cabinet next to the bed. Jim still argued with me about buying a "real" piece of furniture. I counter that I have never found the perfect combination of beauty and function in a nightstand. I want everything handy and not have to go through drawers. And I just hate spending hundreds of dollars for something I don't love.
As to other weekend news, my son had the flu (I think it was the flu) with a fever and a nasty cough. He's in LA and postponed his trip down here, though he wanted to take his truck to a mechanic that had not fixed something right. He missed work too. I had similar symptoms a few months ago. According to the internet, a productive cough (you spit up yucky stuff) and no fever is usually a cold, but a dry cough and a fever is usually the flu.
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| Yesterday, February 19th, was Presidents' Day. It rained like crazy here in San Diego and I dreaded going to work. Jim was off but my preschool closes only six days a year. He was going to take me to the audio book store where we rent books on CD, then to the endodontist to get my stitches out (yippee, they are out and everything is looking good) and then drop me off at work. But, the phone rang just as we were getting ready to leave. It was my director saying that there weren't many kids there and I could stay home if I wanted to. With great enthusiasm I told her I was all for staying home. Too bad the rest of the day wasn't worth cheering.
Coming back from dentist, Jim felt like the car had no pep and he knew something was wrong. He dropped me off at home and went to the dealership--I know I sound like an idiot but I can't remember at the moment what kind of car we have. It's silver and American. As you may know, I don't drive and take the bus daily. I really have little interest in cars, except where it affects my husband.
Luckily, whatever went out is on warranty but the part is not in San Diego and has to be gotten from Los Angeles. Poor Jim had to cancel his eye doctor appointment and mess around with renting a car. I got stuck with trying to find his misplaced cell phone. I looked and looked off and on all day and worried that he'd dropped it outside or that it had been stolen. He'd gone to Santa Barbara on the weekend to see a basketball game but he insisted that he remembered bringing it into the house. This morning he found it in his shoe. Between his glasses and his phone I spend a lot of time playing hide and seek.
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