Lengthening days really cheer me up! Today is sunny, too, even though we got some more rain in the night. Yay!
I've finally gotten together a box of books featuring pictures more than words, to send to my SIL's memory care facility. They're trying to improve the house library with books that might be more enjoyable for the residents. The box weighs a ton, though.
This week's wedding-related project is hunting for good disposable / compostable plates, cutlery, cups, etc. We're going with plastic wineglasses, and hard plastics are recyclable in our city. Win win win!
I am apparently way too excited about this wedding. Got carried away in my mind about table decor, yesterday. Table decor! Because actually, that is just so fun. (Now my pop-up ads assume that I am a huge personal fan of organza and tulle, whereas I was just thinking about how to add a little gold "pop" to the tables -- because when asked about colors, the bride mentioned she likes gold.) It is time to find a hobby or something. Craft deprived, that's what's going on....
What excitement is going on with you and yours?
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I have been having such a hard time getting going on anything the past few weeks. Ugh.
Having said that, if I don't go to the grocery store today, there will be no opportunity to do so until Thursday afternoon, and by then it will be a bad situation in our kitchen.
AW: more fresh lettuce from the chief gardener! Mr. E and I will be having grilled chicken salad for supper.
Thank you for hosting again, Kathy! I was meaning to do it this week, but we've been derailed by this head cold (which has gotten worse for all of us again) and by E and my lingering foot injuries, which is making our lives a little more complicated right now. I kept E home from school today, and so this afternoon was the first chance I had to get to WW.
A tip with compostable plates and cutlery at a wedding: don't forget to plan an easy-to-follow disposal/sorting system for the guests at the end of the wedding! About five years ago, my SIL shelled out good money for nice compostable plates and cutlery, but then some people had wires crossed, and only set up garbage and bottle/can recycling. (Or maybe there were several bags for sorting, but no one communicated where things were supposed to go, and so everyone assumed it was just garbage and bottles/cans?) We didn't realise what had happened until it was far too late (and I'm going to be frank: no one, during the late-night cleanup was willing to sort through all the garbage bags). This might be less of an issue now, and in the area where you live (as this happened in the prairies, five years ago, at a point where we didn't yet even have door-to-door municipal recycling, and so this wasn't second nature for most locals). The lesson we learned: you need a clear and simple system, so that people don't just dump everything in the garbage can.
I'm feeling super whiny about my sore sinuses and throbbing foot (I've promised my sister -- whose once had a hairline fracture in the same spot that didn't bruise much and didn't swell at all -- that I'll go to the doctor in a couple of days if it stays this sore). I'm going to list all the things that have made my difficult day easier:
1.) E has been really happy to play independently, and sometimes she takes pity on me and brings me toys and books to cheer me up.
2.) I just checked E's injured heel, and any puncture wound has healed up; all the soreness that's remaining is just a really, really concentrated bruise (since she accidentally jumped straight onto a nail).
3.) I made a big batch of soup a few days ago, which keeps being stretched and reimagined into a lot of comforting meals. I also bought a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store, and the soup and chicken combined for a nice and easy soup for lunch.
4.) Before I came down with this sickness, I spent part of last week cleaning the house and doing laundry like a whirlwind (suspecting that I would be next to catch the cold). Everything is still nice around here.
So: thanks, last week me, for making soup and cleaning!
Hope y'all feel better soon, QWP!
And Esperanza, that you get out to the store!
Good thought about the sorting of throwaways, QWP. My town is actually great about setting up marked bins at events (including a compostable bin!), so I will see what I can find out about borrowing those. It should basically be recycling and compost, but you never know who might want to toss something else...
I wish there were a last-week me who had done things around here.
I got to the grocery store, thanks!
W: People don't think things through, wedding edition. (Nothing to do with kathy a's wedding). Colleagues in fb group are discussing a "unique unity ritual" for an outdoor wedding. Multiple people have suggested planting a tree. I cannot even think through the logistics required re: keeping wedding dress clean, not sweating to death, tree follow-up care, etc. People. Think about it.
((((QWP)))) Thinking of your and E's poor feet.
Oy, Esperanza, I just sprained my eyeballs rolling them at your colleagues around that tree thing. No. Just no.
Kathy, when we use the compostables at church, we bring a big cardboard box and mark it PLATES (or BOWLS, or PLATES AND BOWLS), a plastic bin marked UTENSILS, and sometimes another plastic bin marked CUPS.
That seems to work pretty well. The visual difference of the box for plates and bowls reminds people it's not for plastics.
AW: We defrosted the freezer last night (it got cold enough again for us to put the food out on the back porch), and found two! TWO! Ham bones in there, so now there's a double batch of split pea soup simmering on the stove. It's been cooking since 0930 this morning. Do you think it might be done by now?
Mmmm, split pea soup!
Esperanza, I would say that if they want to plant a tree, the dirty work is why one has a bridal party. The persons of honor can just toss a ceremonial wad of dirt on. Or, even better, they can just greet the tree at the ceremony, and plant it later.
We did a memorial tree once that died; it was to honor a founder of my kids' school. That was a bummer...
For the wedding, I think we can work it to have one place for plastic and bottle recycling, and "compostable" should cover the plates, cutlery, napkins, excess food. But we should probably drill the wedding party (there will be a LOT of attendants, apparently), family, and caterers on hosting and helping guests.
Very good planning for managing the compostables, Kathy! Remember not to put meat or bread in with the compost.
Esperanza: I am also shaking my head at the logistics involved in planting a tree in a wedding dress.
...kathy a, them throwing a handful of dirt just reminds me of a funeral.
Well, it's also traditional at groundbreaking ceremonies, using a shovel to pull up some... But yeah. They should definitely go with little live plants as party favors, instead. Less stessful; less dirt; and Party Favors.
(Oh, there was a discussion of party favors. And basically nobody thinks they are necessary, but someone had a story about the mother of a groom freaking the fireplace out because she found the favors at her son's wedding insufficient. Which is obviously not a concern of this mother of the groom, nosiree.)
Oh! Or packets of seeds, even less dirt!
The whole discussion was a little weird, because (in my opinion) the pastor's job is, yannow, vows and rings and Bible and prayers. Why is the couple asking the pastor to come up with a unity ritual? That's what the vows and rings are for. And Pinterest is for "unique rituals" (which is a ridiculous phrase). The tree planting was peak ridiculous.
I am so freaked out about the wave of antisemitism going on. And this afternoon, downtown SF is shut down because of a bomb threat at the Anti-Defamation League. In the last little while, hundreds of grave markers knocked over in Jewish cemeteries; bundles of threats against places like Jewish community centers. What the actual fireplace?
I know. I think being freaked out is a reasonable reaction.
W: Mini just poked herself in the eye with her (fake) glasses. Ack. To ER or not to ER? No bleeding, just pink. She can see but it is light sensitive. I gave her an ice pack, and I think she's fallen asleep, which will probably push me to the "not to ER" side.
Wait and see sounds like the right course, Esperanza.
These threats and attacks are terrorism, in my opinion -- and homegrown. I cannot stop sputtering with rage.
Wait and see is the right thing to do. Watch out for potential pinkeye (this is how Mr. Q got a bacterial infection, although in his case, his eye was poked by a grimy toddler finger rather than a glasses arm).
Hugs to everyone. These antisemitic acts are terrifying.
I would not bet a lot of money that the glasses arm is any cleaner than a toddler finger. But, that's a good tip, QWP.
She was all over the place all afternoon, unable to sit still, seemingly unaware of what her body parts were doing and where they were in relation to other people and stationary objects. There were several incidents, with accompanying tears.
Hugs to you and Mini, and whomever else needs them. Passing the hand sanitizer, and hoping tomorrow is a better day. She sounds like she was worn out and worked up. xoxo
My son was pitching the real plates and cutlery again, and Mama had prices all lined up. That stuff is pricy. So I think we are back to compostables. (Life has so many mysteries, like how he got this idea.)
AW: Eye is fine this morning. The story was told with much drama, so that Sweet would be up to date.
Glad Mini's eye is better!
Your son is hilarious, Kathy. Better to put the money towards food rather than what the food goes on. (OTOH, some caterers come full-service, bringing their own plates and everything. Maybe the ones you check out will do so, too? OTOOH, compostables are totally fine).
Sickness, more sickness, leak in water main turning into a completely burst water main after an attempt at repair, the better part of several days without running water, while having the flu. Having to work outside in the cold helping with pipe repair while having the flu, because someone decided not to wait for the plumber. Kids having a rough time. STBX drama.
Could we not have a repeat of this week
The anti-semitic threats, the deaths of 7 Trans women (5 who were Black), and the shootings of immigrants and others have me terrified and enraged.
At least one of the bomb threats was called into a school in the county next door.
Also, what's with the foreplay impossible recaptcha? Half the time even when I'm pretty sure i got it right, it says it's wrong. I can't tell which building is a storefront or which pictures have trees on this tiny phone screen when they make all the pics so similar and non-obvious. And does the post count as part of a street sign or not? This is ridiculously difficult for an over-thinker with a tiny screen.
um, that was supposed to say fireplacing impossible
PK, I just don't use the captcha thing when I'm signed in on blogger, and it just posts anyway.
What Kathy said, as long as I'm not posting anonymously (AKA "Liz on iPhone")
Hugs and love, pixies. I had a rough weekend. The chunky meeting was a really good one - good speakers, great involvement of the youth (26 of them!) in our programs, all good. But my head was not cooperating at all. I slept quite a bit Sunday afternoon and yesterday. I'm off to the big city this Sunday for appointment Monday. Yay!
esperanza, I am wondering the same thing. Why is this the minister's job?
Yeah, it makes me do it every time because I am (very intentionally) not using my blogger account to post here.
Ah. I totally understand that, PK.
Let me see what I can do to take it off.
I'm having issues getting to the admin page. Kathy, QWP, Esperanza, Sue, can you get in and turn off the need for captcha on anonymous comments?
We did not add the captcha -- blogger did it, to cut down on spambots. I cannot find a place to turn it off.
Was digging through memorabilia from elementary school, and found the invitation to my 8th grade graduation, listing the names of my classmates.
Most of them I was already friends with on FB, but I hadn't looked for the others in a couple of years. So I friended one and looked for another. He's got a really common name, so I googled him, along with a phrase I thought might make him relatively unique.
The phrase was "Sickle Cell Anemia"
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dailypress/obituary.aspx?n=corey-rouse-mclean&pid=2699618
I haven't seen him in 34 years. he died 13 years ago. I don't feel I really have a right to grieve him, you know? But he was a sweet, gentle, caring, smart, funny boy. It sounds like he grew to be a sweet, gentle, caring, smart man. I'm sorry I didn't know the man he became.
So many hugs, Liz. I understand that strange grief, and it can be helpful to take some time to process it, even though it feels undeserved. It's still a loss.
PK, I'm poking around in the settings. It's strange: the comment settings are set for no word verification, but it looks like there's still something for anonymous comments. Would it be possible to set up a secret Google account that's only for the purposes of commenting here? But that also might not work, if shared computer with teens is part of the issue.
((( Liz ))) It is totally OK to grieve someone you missed, whom you did not get to know later. Even if you learn belatedly of his death. xoxoxo
W: I'm so tired. Things have improved here, marginally, but having both the kid and me sick and injured at the same time is exhausting. E is trying hard to be patient and to entertain herself (since I'm a bit useless), but her fuse is short and her anxiety levels are high. I think limping is wearing her out easily. (I think also that this bit of a foot injury is an anxiety trigger for her, since her previous ankle sprain was traumatic for her, as was the immediate aftermath of realising that she had jumped onto a nail.) She got terrified of having her nails trimmed yesterday, to the point that I had to hold her and practice our breathing as she shook like a leaf. I honestly can't tell if her foot is really that bad anymore, or if she's staying off her heel because she's scared of even minor discomfort.
AW: tiny improvements today. I got her to wear shoes at last, which means that she'll be able to go to preschool tomorrow (indoor shoes are required there, for safety reasons). She helped me trim my nails today, to remind ourselves that it isn't a big deal, and then we painted our toenails.
Dangit, I just realised that E is probably so anxious because I'm injured. That's why she's working so hard to behave herself and be helpful too: she gets worried about me. I need to work to show her that I'm not actually doing too badly.
A smart, sweet girl like E is going to pick up on parental anxiety pretty easily. So -- hope the two of you find some more distractions! The pedi-party was a great start. :)
((( Sue ))) Glad the chunky meeting was good; but ick on the head monster. So glad you are going for relief next week! xoxo
In Wedding Style, mama went on a tangent today, coming up with gold tulle runners for the institutional rectangular tables. And we can do the small vases, assorted greenery, and sparkle lights on top of that! Yes, this is my current hobby. My stb dil was asked about colors, and she said gold. Really, this is a lot more fun than cleaning...
I really hated someone's idea about gold placemats. And, the happy couple might really hate this idea, too. Fortunately, ideas are cheap!
Sending happy Mardi Gras thoughts, and hopes for a reflective Lent to those who celebrate. And reminding myself once again not to point out the schmutz on people's foreheads in the late afternoon when it no longer looks like a cross.
ha! Insider info: it is SO ITCHY, at least for me. My congregation didn't want a service, so I doubt I'll be attending one. No schmutz for me.
AW: uplifting chunky meeting today. For reals. Weird.
Yay uplifting chunky meeting!!!!
You guys are sweet. It's ok about the captcha, just annoying.
Urgent care trip for toddler tonight, who became suddenly and severely ill--and not with the same thing we all had already. Watching her now to see if she needs to go to ER tonight or just follow up with her pediatrician tomorrow morning.
I hope toddler is getting better and didn't need to go to ER last night, pk!
W: I'm in an urgent care clinic, waiting to see the doctor about my foot. It's doing pretty badly, and my whole family collectively told me to go get an x-ray.
(((Liz)))
Yay for a good chunky meeting, esperanza!
(((QWP))) (((E)))
pk, I hope all went well at the urgent care for your toddler and that the sudden-onset illness resolves quickly.
ack! We are all falling apart! I hope your toddler is feeling better, pk. And I hope they can address your foot easily, QWP.
I am at my office today. I got sooooo sleepy driving over here that I immediately fell into the squishy chair and napped for 30 minutes. (Mini woke up an hour early for some reason).
Preliminary look at the x-ray was good: no obvious fractures, but they're sending it to be looked at more closely, to see if there is anything tiny. But it looks like I just have bad bruising, which is great news. Now I can stop worrying that I'll twist in the wrong way and mess my foot up worse (which has happened to both my sister and a friend, in the past few years).
Another good chunky meeting! Go, Esperanza.
PK, hope your baby is better today. xoxo
QWP, glad it looks to be just bruising.
Today I've moved along to brainstorming the rehearsal dinner, which I think will be a picnic in a nice park. There could be a real crowd, given all the out of town family. A picnic / BBQ is totally do-able! Anyway, this seems a lot less stressful (and more affordable) than trying to find a restaurant. Plus, when someone says, "can I bring something?", I can say "sure."
A picnic is a lovely idea, Kathy.
Hooray for having an uplifting chunky meeting, esperanza!
AW: today has been a pretty good day. I forced Mr. Q to take a sick day for once (he had a fever and no voice yesterday, and he just needs to stop and not talk for a day), and he drove me to get my x-ray, and we combined achy forces to get E to preschool (thus giving both of us two kid-free hours). It's just what we all needed. (Especially E, who was thrilled to be back at school, on a day when someone brought cupcakes, and a firefighter visited in full gear, to talk with them about helpers in their community!)
W: Another hard morning with MM, who refused to obey his father about NOT HAVING CAKE (well, cake pudding) FOR BREAKFAST (I am actually okay with cake for breakfast seeing as it has more nutrition in it than cereal, probably, but MS had already put his foot down. MM kept going and the cake is now in the garbage. MS did it without asking me, and I wasn't okay with THAT, but I was okay with natural consequences.
UGH. WHY IS THIS ALL SO HARD SOMETIMES?
A firefighter! AND cupcakes! That is a very good preschool day, indeed, and good thing she didn't miss it. ;) Not to mention, some parental down time.
The rehearsal dinner will also be a "meet the extended family" thing, and I think that will be so much more relaxed outdoors, in an informal setting where everybody can move around easily.
Toddler is better. Looks like it was just an ear infection. Pretty sure I have bronchitis.
Liz, have you folks read How To Talk So Kids Will Listen and Listen So Kids Will Talk yet? My eldest read it and felt it was a good approach, if that says anything.
I hope everyone recovers quickly.
Well, crapacino, Liz. I mean -- this kind of conflict is totally normal with teens and parents. But someone isn't choosing his battles all that well, IMO. Another option might have been, OK but you have to eat something healthy also. (For example.)
I really understand the point about needing to draw lines as a parent. But it's not all about "I'm in charge, and you aren't." Things tend to get worse when that's in play for even small things. Plus, he threw out your cake-pudding -- which you put a lot into -- which doesn't show a lot of respect for you, either.
This part is really hard to negotiate. I messed up, and every parent will. It takes work to back off *in the moment* and think about how to respond. The goal is for MM to grow up being more responsible; and, to foster the relationship through this rocky part of the journey; AND, to not inspire knee-jerk responses, but thoughtfulness on the part of the younger person.
xoxo
PK, may the antibiotics be with you. xoxo
I'm glad that toddler is better, and I hope you're on the mend soon, too, pk. And I need to check out that book recommendation as well: your eldest kid read it and found it helpful?
Hugs, Liz. (And mourning the loss of cake pudding a little.)
Hugs, Liz. *moment of silence for lost pudding cake* Seriously though, could MS and MM benefit from some family counselling to sort out their troubles?
esperanza, I'm glad you have a comfy chair to relax in!
I like the picnic idea, kathy!
Healing energy all around, pixies. xoxox
Sweet: Mommy, I can't find my toothbrush!
Mini: (bored tone) I know where it is. Look behind the toilet.
Me: Why is her toothbrush behind the toilet?!?!?
Mini: I dunno.
It's been that kind of afternoon around here.
Oh, we have so totally had toothbrushes land behind the toilet. Or in it. Ugh. Sometimes it is hard to discern "oops" from "on purpose by accident," but it always pays to have spare toothbrushes.
Kathy, you got my feelings exactly. Sue, I'm the only one who thinks family therapy would be a good idea around here. Much eye rolling on my part about that
xoxox
Why is the idea of the toothbrush living behind the toilet more horrifying to me than its just being dropped behind? I know the five second rule isn't real, but it still seems extra horrifying.
Liz, I also agree that it sounds like family counseling would help there. Hugs, and I hope they come around.
Kathy, the picnic plan keeps sounding better and better. I hope everyone else is on board with it.
I reconstruct the toothbrush's location as follows: the bathroom is tiny. Counter space is not commodious. I imagine Mini, in her tooth-brushing routine this morning, accidentally knocked Sweet's toothbrush off the counter, and it fell/bounced behind the toilet. She did not bother to pick it up. Because she is 7, and it wasn't her toothbrush, after all. But she did remember it happening.
Still. Gross.
Hugs to Liz and family.
Oh, it could happen so easily here (our bathroom is comically tiny). But yeah: cleansing fire? Time for a new toothbrush? (Oh! Speaking of which, I just remembered that I have to get E a new one, too. I told her that we were all getting new toothbrushes after this weird, long sickness is over.)
Speaking of this house of mine (or at least our tiny bathroom), I'm feeling pretty thankful right now: Mr. Q was filling out a survey for his teachers' union, and one of the questions was about the distance he commutes. We did the calculation, and it's 350m (or 380ish yards) (1148 feet, or just over 0.2 miles). It makes such a difference in our lives, after those years on the west coast when he was gone such long hours all the time because of his commute. (Please remind me of how nice this makes our lives, if I ever get coveting bigger or fancier houses.)
The Baboos' bathroom is a tiny bit larger than our master bathroom was in small town. We also had a vanity counter in the bedroom, though. Our master bathroom here is enormous, and I hate it. It takes forever to clean, collects crap, and just is too big. (first world whining right there, at its finest).
Toothbrushes will meet ugly ends, and I bet that happens in big bathrooms, too. Not worth fretting over. (Besides -- ick if someone just picked it up and put it back on the counter.) xoxo
Went back to the allergist today to get repricked because, since going off allergy meds at her direction in January, my cough got much worse. Annnnndddddd....I'm allergic to many more molds than previous tests showed, not just the Spring/Summer/Fall ones. Going back on Zyrtec and taking an inhaled steroid, as well as getting someone to look at the house to detect and mitigate mold sources.
Ugh, Liz. Glad you got some answers. Sorry they were "more allergens" answers. Mini is having a terrible time for the past few months. She's taking Claritin, Rhinocort (nasal steroid), and the pedi just added Singulair, which is an asthma drug that also will help with allergies. It really seems to be helping significantly (which I realize after we had forgotten to take it for two nights). It comes in a chewable form for pediatric patients, but they also make it for grownups.
I hope you can get some relief.
Liz, glad you went back! I use an inhaled steroid (Q-var), a nasal spray (flonase), and singulair to ward off allergies that might aggravate breathing and nasal problems. They work for me; no side effects, either.
Esperanza -- my son has allergy-related asthma, and claratin never did a thing for him. We had to fight to get singulair approved by insurance (this was back in the day, 20 years ago), but it made such a huge difference.
claritin does nothing for me. It does about 25% of the work for Mini--a noticeable difference, but not enough. Singulair now has a generic, so the insurance didn't quibble about it at all.
I was on Singulair (or maybe Allegra?) as well as Zyrtec for a while. They may add that back into the mix after we try this for awhile.
It'd be nice to be able to get to sleep again. [cough, hack, cough]
Allegra didn't do anything, either, as I recall. Fan of singulair. (ymmv)
Junior cat has become so enamored of the vent from my laptop that I had to institute bookend measures, to keep her from keyboard-flopping. It's not even that cold.
Ha! Allegra is the only thing that works for me without making me so sleepy I can't function. I haven't had to add Singulair, but I do use a nasal steroid during my worst seasons (which is mostly winter and spring here)
W: I am cleaning house today.
Cool bean, small world non-news! A friend of a HS friend became a friend of mine; and she friended a college friend of mine, because the 2 went to HS together -- all the way across the country from where any of us live now. :)
Having some sunshine and bird chattering and decent temps and longer days -- that really takes the edge off of edginess, too.
That's so fun, Kathy!
Getting my home inspected for mold Monday. Pretty sure I know what they will find, and where they will find it.
That's cool, kathy!
Sorry about all the allergies, pixies! My mother was haunted by seasonal allergies, and I have two asthmatic sisters, but I've been spared. I hope the home inspection for mold goes better than anticipated, Liz.
I hope the inspection goes better than expected, Liz.
Kathy, I love when that happens!
AW: I'm thankful it's Friday. It's been a long week.
W: this cold has lasted for five thousand years, and I'm still so tired and achy.
Also AW and W: my freelance project is at a really busy point right now, and it's really satisfying work. But it's HARD, everyone. It's requiring all my training, and I'm pretty rusty right now. I hope I'm doing this right.
Liz -- Good for getting the mold people in quickly! Hope it is not too big a pain, and that everything gets better when there's no fungus amongus.
Sue -- Sending good thoughts, and glad you will be seeing the tamer of the head pain soon.
QWP -- You'll get back in the groove, I bet.
Well, the groom's parental units went to look at picnic spots in the large regional park. The one I thought was perfect, my husband hated. He likes one that is a bit more secluded, and at present a hike up a closed road (the road re-opens end of the month). As long as there is parking right there, rest rooms, running water, and enough tables are present, I'm sure it will be fine.
We also stopped by the Little Farm. The baby pigs have grown, and learned to beg for lettuce from small humans. The geese got all loud and excited when they saw the Goose Wrangler walk by, honking and following him in a flock -- such attention seekers, those guys.
W: non-uplifting churchy meeting this weekend. Missteps and sloppy thinking led to lots of completely avoidable kerfuffles.
W: oh, and incompetent meeting moderator made all of the above worse.
I'm sorry that the meeting went poorly today, esperanza.
So long as the picnic spot is accessible to everyone, and close to facilities, I'm sure you'll all have a lovely time, Kathy. (But I'm sorry that your husband didn't like the same spot that you did!)
I'm wiped: we did a LOT this afternoon. First, Mr. Q had a meeting with a project partner at the university library (where he also picked up a book for me), and then as soon as he got home, he gathered up E and they went to a baby shower for one of his colleagues, while I had a meeting with the prof who hired me to do a family history project for her. We had the meeting at my house, and so I spent E's naptime/the time when Mr. Q was gone for his meeting to do a massive rush around, trying to de-grossify the house where we've been blowing our noses and limping all week. (After I proposed the meeting time and location, I looked around and remembered that we've been letting things get a little gross here this week.)
AW: E and I are no longer limping, and we're pretty much over our colds as of today. And I had a lovely meeting and chat with the professor, who is also an old friend of mine. (She was a new professor at the same time as I was a new undergrad, and she was the best prof ever, and now we happen to have a lot of friends in common. She's always so thoughtful: she brought me some pieces of china from her mother, because her family has been trying to downsize, and she knew I had some matching pieces in that set. And she brought me tea from my favourite store, which she visited on her recent vacation!)
QWP, my Thursday afternoon was spent wildly cleaning the completely disgusting downstairs, because I realized I had told my church person she could leave her car at my house and we could ride to the meeting together. Leave her car = would probably enter my house, might probably even like to use our bathroom. Yikes! So, I get it. My value of hospitality clashes with my tendency toward slovenliness.
It's funny because I idealise about "messy hospitality," but I don't want to terrify people, y'know? Because it was super gross in here (oh goodness: the bathroom was so bad).
exactly
I'm a really bad house elf, personally... Thought I had made the front bathroom borderline acceptable, but it is gonna require some deep cleaning.
And, the major rain is back, yet again. Don't think I've experienced so much rain in a season, anywhere, anytime -- even in the Deep South and in Japan during the rainy seasons. Maybe my perception is colored by 5+ years of drought -- but honestly, this has been a freakload of rain, and more is forecast.
I think there is a distinction between dirty and messy. I can (sort of) handle people seeing my messy. But not my dirty.
The mold inspector is coming tomorrow, and he told me NOT to clean. And now I'm....really really really grossed out by my bathroom, and the other bathroom. But not the downstairs, because we cleaned up for MM's party last week.
This makes me want to invite the mold inspector to come every week :)
W: Baboo bad behavior at church, worsening by the week, no matter if they go with Mr. E or me. When Daddy gets mad, things are bad indeed. We have all retreated to our individual corners in the house, even extrovert Mini.
Oh, I'm sorry that the Baboos have berm misbehaving. Are they having trouble adjusting to the new normal, with you and Mr. E preaching at different churches? Is something stressing them out?
We are *all* having trouble adjusting. Neither Mr. E nor I got someone to sit with them, so they sat by themselves. They are simply not old enough/responsible enough to do this. At our previous church, there was a family that was sort of our default family--they were there every week, and if we hadn't made other arrangements, the Baboos would sit with them. We don't have that here. Apparently they were obnoxious enough today that lots of people offered to help, after the fact. So I think it's doable. Our threat (I think we're going to give them a week to prove they can behave) is to separate them on Sunday mornings--one Baboo with me and one with Mr. E. I don't want to do that, but it would really cut down on the shenanigans. They would definitely see that as a punishment, so I hope it will be motivating.
It's also a good idea to have people to watch them, since you can't while you're working. (In other words, use those offers!) It will probably make the families offering feel a bit closer to yours, and -- kids almost invariably behave better when they are with somebody else's parents. Win win!
Can you actually get whiplash from coughing? Because that's very much how this feels.
I've heard of people breaking a rib from coughing so hard. I hope it eases up soon, PK.
Oh, PK. That's some very hard coughing -- can the doc give you anything to help?
xoxo
Oh no, PK! (And it is definitely possible to injure your back while coughing really hard.) Is there nothing the doctor can do to help?
Oh no, PK!
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