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Monday, February 12, 2018

Will you be my Valentine?

My sweetie and I don't do anything big on Valentine's Day -- maybe a toast, maybe some flowers.  But I loved this day when the kids were little, and everybody in everybody's class exchanged cards.  It was such a lovely reminder to be kind, to look for the good in others, to work past differences.

Oops, I forgot to get cards to send my kids!  Well, on the list for today...

My son and his fabulous wife will be taking a belated honeymoon trip next month, and they'll miss Easter (plus Passover, just a couple days before).  I usually go a little nuts and make Easter baskets for the kids (adulthood does not change some obligations), but none of them will be here!  Plus, we usually invite the in-laws over, but this year I think we'll have a belated Easter feast instead, after the honeymooners return.  My husband's must-do for Easter is cooking his mom's specialties, lamb shish kebab and pilaf, etc., which works better with a small crowd.

What's new with you?


69 comments:

Anonymous said...

AW: bra shopping complete

W: this conversation...
Clerk: can I help you find something?
Me: whatever you carry in (my size)
Clerk: oh, that’s a little hard to find
Me: no kidding!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

AW: I'm done decorating those fireplacing cookies
W/AW: Mr. Q (who teaches math!) claimed that he only rolled and cut 75 cookies, and that we were going to need to be careful not to waste any. I ran out of glaze after icing 110 cookies. I am SO tired. But at least I'll be able to pick the best ones to send.

kathy a. said...

Yay for bra shopping! Nonnie Mouse, I think I can guess who you are, but what if I guess wrong? Because, having trouble finding a size and/or a decent fit is sadly not that uncommon...

QWP, that is a little hilarious, the cookie mis-count! But on the up side, you get to keep some!

Anonymous said...

Oh goodness. It’s me, esperanza, on my silly phone.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I keep cracking up about the miscount. He calculated so carefully! He was so worried about not having enough! And, somehow, his count was off by exactly 40. The good news is that the glaze went WAY further than expected. That was supposed to be enough glaze for 65, and then I was going to make more when I ran out.

kathy a. said...

Good going, Esperanza!

My husband thinks it's weird to send Valentines to the (adult) kids, but he said it's OK if I sign for both of us so they can get in the mail today. (His own mom used to send cards for everything, except maybe Arbor day!)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I love that you send cards and celebrate holidays so enthusiastically, Kathy.

AW: eight dozen cookies are all boxed up and ready to head to school.
W: I should have waited a little longer with a few of them. The first ones that I iced all survived the boxing well, but I noticed that a couple of the later ones got a little squished. But I'm stopping now! They'll have more than enough non-squished cookies to go around.

Perennial weather whine: there was a surprise cold snap this morning. Woke up and the wind chill was below -40, and I hadn't thought to plug in the car's block heater last night. Thankfully, the car still started. And then tomorrow it will warm up to just below freezing. I should have guessed that the weather was going screwy: I had an epic barometric pressure headache on Saturday.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

The fun thing about extremely cold weather is that it causes all kinds of weird ground shifting and heaving (especially in my city, with its clay soil from an ancient lake bed). In the -40 weather yesterday, the water main on my street broke, and we drove home from piano lessons through a flooded street. And now they're fixing it today, which means that I'm frantically running around the house, filling every vessel with water before the workers shut off our water for who knows how long.

AW: at least they told us early, and I've showered and made my tea.

Sue said...

Yay for successful bra-shopping, esperanza!! It's been on my list of things to do for a few months. We have an awesome specialty bra shop, and they're customer service is wonderful, so I don't know why I put it off, but it's just not up there on my favourite-things-to-do list.

Hooray for extra cookies!

RE: Valentine's Day. I've probably told this story before... hubby and I have a card that goes back 36 years. It's still in the bag, it's never been signed, but we haul it out every year and laugh. The first year we were married, one of us remembered to buy a Valentine's card. We honestly can't remember which of us purchased it. Anyway, it was placed on the top of the fridge. We both worked shifts at the time, and Valentine's Day came and went with zero fuss because we were literally like ships passing in the night. I came home from work while he was getting ready to leave.

We forgot about the card until mid-March when I was cleaning the top of the fridge. So we put it away and it's a tradition now.

kathy a. said...

Sue, LOVE that story!

QWP, hope they can get the water all fixed, pronto.

I'm off to stand in line at the post office. Don't be jealous!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Sue, I love that so much!

W: it's lunch time, and we still have no water. I figured out a meal that didn't need water, but this is getting annoying.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

AW: WATER! Just in time for us to get ready for school.

esperanza said...

Sue, that's my favorite story. Tell it every year to us, please.

Mini's knee update: xray shows some "roughness" on the end of her femur bone, at the top of her knee. It might be (a) normal 8 year old growth; (b) "osteochondral dessication" which means a disruption in blood supply to that part of the bone. Big deal for a grownup, no biggie at all for a growing child; will likely resolve itself. However. The pain she is experiencing (wakes her up at night, once every 2-3 weeks) is not consistent with this condition. So, in an effort not to overlook something, we're doing an MRI. The "something" we don't want to overlook is not something scary, just a growth? misplaced cartilage? that doesn't show up on xray.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm glad that the "something" else that it could be isn't scary, esperanza. But hugs for having to wrangle a kiddo into an MRI!

kathy a. said...

Oy! Well, I have heard that the MRI is noisy, lots of clanging. Also, there's a tube, but because it's her knee, they'll probably go feet-first and her head won't be in there -- but that's a question to ask the doc!

Mini strikes me as a kid who does better with more calm, factual info. So, it may help her to know they don't think anything serious is wrong, just want to find out. And, what it will be like. Plus, major bribe for being so brave. Just my 2 cents. xoxo

esperanza said...

She doesn't seem fretful at all. I suggested that Giraffey might want to go with her, and she said, "Why?" I translated the doctor speak to her this morning, and she seemed to understand. It also helps that it only occasionally hurts.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm glad that she understands so well and isn't worried! I'd recommend practising staying very still for a stretch of time (my dad found it a little challenging, but they were scanning his whole spine, so it took a while).

kathy a. said...

Well, that sounds good Espranza! Don't think you need to talk about it until just before it happens, unless she has questions. I'd still tuck Giraffy into my bag, if I was there. Have some bribes up my sleeve, in case of need in the moment. xoxo

Queen of West Procrastination said...

W: when did Valentines at school start also involving small presents? We just gave little paper cards with cartoons (obtained from the dollar store), as did a small handful of other kids, but everyone else gave things like lollipops, pencils, and chocolate hearts! I was starting to fret about needing to do more next year, but Mr. Q reminded me that we deliberately try not to raise the bar, because it'll only escalate from here. But is E going to start expecting us to do more, or feeling bad if she only gives a card and others give a present?

kathy a. said...

No, hold the line. Before long, everybody will want bouncy things for their birthdays, and it's a slippery slope from there. Plus, how much candy is reasonable in a single day?

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm holding the line! I realise now that, after this point we'll no longer have only 13 valentines to do. Kindergarten won't be so bad, but by grade 1, she could have up to 30 kids in her class! No way. It's enough work to get her to write in the cards, and no one needs this much candy!

Thanks, Kathy. I needed the pep talk.

AW: it was an absolutely lovely day outside! It was just a hair under the freezing point, and after school, E and Mr. Q cross-country skied to the playground, while I made blueberry pancakes for supper.

And I'm now excited about tomorrow! E and I are going to frost and decorate a cake in the morning (for tonight's dessert), and then we'll put it away, because I'm babysitting E's school bestie in the afternoon. We're going to have a Valentine's Day tea party, and the kids are just buzzing with excitement about this. (I'm going to make pink punch and serve it from a teapot.) I'll also have a pork shoulder in the slow cooker, and we're having pulled pork for supper. Mr. Q has made arrangements so that he can make it home from his meeting in time for the special supper that E and I are making, although he's going to have to write an essay in the evening. But never mind that: he has a week-long break approaching, and we have a movie theatre gift card waiting to be used. (And many friends who owe us babysitting!)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Old Skool: E is watching last night's figure skating on an app on my phone, and the book I want to read (I watched all this last night!) is an ebook on my phone. I'm just going to record tonight's skating on the TV. (Also, she currently has skating paused, so that she can try to count to 100, with me telling her which multiple of ten is next, and I just want her to finish watching skating so that I can read my book on my phone!) (Ack, she just started past 100! C'mon, kid!)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

AW: she just realised that she was missing her kids' shows and wanted to switch to those. I have my phone back!

Sue said...

I agree re: Giraffy going to the MRI just in case. Hopefully it will go as smoothly as it possibly can.

Glad you got your water back, QWP! And yay for better weather, and an upcoming week off for Mr. E. And you have your phone back! :)

esperanza said...

The MRI is at the "Children's Imaging Center" at Big City's children's hospital, so I'm thinking that they will have plenty of ideas for helping her stay still. Giraffey is one of those blankets-with-a-head, so it's easy to take him along in my purse. She just discovered voice-to-text on my phone yesterday (which was also news to me), so that should keep her entertained in the waiting. It's the traffic that's going to get to me: our appointment is at 8:30, which means morning rush hour, which means a trip that could take as little as 40 minutes will probably take close to an hour and a half. So that'll be fun. Hopefully this will be the end of the knee adventures.

kathy a. said...

Oh, good. Ped hospitals are -- no surprise -- ever so much better at helping the kids through this and that!

Y'all should send one of your kids over. I still have no idea how to do most things on my phone. Then again, I don't really care to do most things on my phone...

We don't make a deal of Valentine's day, but I sneakily got salmon, some veggies to roast, and some prosecco; because leftovers did not seem like exactly the ticket....

Speaking of the day -- I'm grateful for all of you! xoxoxo

esperanza said...

Fireplace it all. I'm grateful that my kids came home from school safely today, but everyone's kids should be able to do that.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh my goodness, it's so horrifying. Hugs, everyone.

kathy a. said...

Fireplace all the fireplacing school shootings. And all the other fireplacing shootings.

Sending love, that's my weapon of choice -- besides loudly complaining one more time on behalf of everybody who doesn't want their kids shot, or their friends, or themselves. xoxo

kathy a. said...

Managed to make salmon and roasted yellow squash and zukes, plus there is fresh sourdough bread, plus prosecco. My sweetie got home late, but it will take but a few to get it all table ready.

Love love love love, to everybody.

Sue said...

Love and hugs to all of you. I had just heard the updated report from the shooting when I had to leave for an Ash Wed service. We sang a hymn called "God Weeps"

God weeps at love withheld, at strength misused,
at children's innocence abused,
and till we change the way we love, God weeps.

God bleeds at anger's fist, at trust betrayed,
at women battered and afraid,
and till we change the way we love, God bleeds.

There are two other verses, but those are the ones we sang quietly because most of us were weeping by then.

Never doubt that your Northern neighbours weep with you when this senseless horror happens.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Oh, Sue, that's prefect and heartwrenching.

kathy a. said...

Thanks, Sue.

I'm a bubbling caldron of fury about this. There are things that could be done, but the people who could do those things won't -- because they owe their allegiance to guns, not to the kids who should be able to come home alive after school. The adults who should be able to go to work, or a movie, or a concert, or the mall, or church, and etc., without being shot all to shit.

esperanza said...

Thanks, Sue.

AW: MRI was a breeze. We got there early, they took her early, let me stay in there with her. She was perfectly still, so they didn't have to redo anything, and it was only 22 minutes worth of pictures.

W: traffic. We got done so quickly that rush hour wasn't over when we needed to leave! And then I chose poorly on a route home, though I'm not sure there is a good choice.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Esperanza, I'm so glad that it went so smoothly!

I babysat again this morning, and then after bundling up and walking both girls to school, I shoveled all the walkways. I'm now going to spend part of the afternoon prone on the couch. Whew!

kathy a. said...

Yay, Mini! So glad it went reasonably quickly and smoothly. She's very brave!

Yes, QWP, you earned a quiet little rest.

kathy a. said...

I avoided leftover chicken stew last night, and tonight am jazzing it up a little (I hope!) with more spices! And some small lentils, red rice, some split peas, more onion and garlic, more broth. Hoping it turns out hearty and tasty. There's some sourdough bread left, to soak up the sauce.

Progress on some work things yesterday and today. That's something.

Bra style #2 is OK, also. Not fab, but I need something w/o underwire for some things, and it works.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I had a meltdown after school today (combination of exhaustion and last-minute discovery that Mr. Q had forgotten he had to go to the school for a supper/evening event, and scrambling to change plans), and now I'm having trouble not being moody through bedtime routine. Mr. Q got an earful from me this afternoon, which involved me pulling out the phrase "emotional labour," plus a few tears, and I'm so glad that this next week is February break. I'm just spent, emotionally.

esperanza said...

QWP, I hear ya. Mr. E is gone tonight, out of town, after having had evening meetings/services all week. I have fielded two unusual doctor's appointments with Mini, in addition to all the regular crap I deal with. Baboos and I went out for medicinal pizza.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hugs, esperanza. You've had quite the week! (We went a comfort food route as week: mac and cheese, and leftover pulled pork. I made Mr. Q make the mac and cheese, and eat a bit of it with us, even though he's now having pizza at the school.)

Anonymous said...

Hugs to all of you.
I find myself bursting into tears from time to time over this latest sch00l sh00ting, along with stresses at our school and the emotional trauma in that town recently, and NG's upcoming surgery.
Medicinal pizza is a great phrase.
Feb break can't come fast enough.
I wish it would involve more down time in our house and less relatives coming (yes, still coming) with all of their extroverted "Let's go to Chinatown! How about the aquarium? The museum? Out to dinner?"
AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGG
All I want to do is sit on the couch and watch some of the olympics I have recorded and not think about school for a couple of days. Maybe read a book.
--Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

Medicinal pizza is a good thing!

So is some down time, you know? NL, can they just go do what they wanna do, come back later, order in?

xoxo

esperanza said...

NL, it may not be possible in your family, but can you say "great! Y'all go right ahead! I have some things to do here at home." It's none-a-their business what "things" those are.

And extra hugs for all the extra stresses in your life right now. Trauma on top of trauma is hard for anyone to handle.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hugs hugs hugs, NL. And I'm a bit grumpy at your family, inviting themselves there right before NG's surgery, and likely dragging you all over town. Is there any room for setting limits with them?

Anonymous said...

I am hoping that we can beg out of things. They are extroverts and recharge by going out and doing things and being with people. I.... am not.
When my husband reminded me of this, that was one of the things that made me burst into tears because the thought of all that extrovertedness and trying to keep up was exhausting.
It might work to send them off..... the adults would be fine with it..... but I'm not sure they would be as fine if they knew I was skipping out to sit on my butt for down time. I could use the time for grading I suppose, and that would make sense. but......
Also, my niece will be here and I like being with her....

Thanks for all the support though. I love you guys, and it is so nice to have a place to whine about it because I have whined fully to my husband,

--Neighbor Lady

Sue said...

Yay Mini!!!

Hugs and love to all the tired, overwhelmed pixies out there. May you find (as my beloved mother used to say) "A few minutes of peace of quiet, please!"

NL, I too am super grumpy about your relatives. I also agree with the plan of sending visiting relatives off to do their own sightseeing and adventures. You are NOT the designated family activity director.

Also, as esperanza said, it is none of their business what you're doing while they're out. None at all. If they ask, "Oh, I managed to fill the time. How was your visit to...museum, whatever?"

W: I've lost a day and a half of work because of a screaming migraine. Still achy, but I have to get some things done today. Ugh.

esperanza said...

Ouch, Sue. Sorry :(

NL, whine away! That's what we're here for!

W: I spent about 15 minutes at the office, trying to determine why my document would not print...on the printer at home. Doh. Gonna be a long day.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

I'm glad that you figured out the problem, esperanza! I hope you find some time to recharge.

Hugs, Sue. Have you guys been having the fluctuating weather there, too?

AW: day in jammies with E, cuddling and watching TV. I invited my parents to drop by this afternoon, to help us consume some of this pile of cake and sugar cookies. And it looks like Mr. Q and I have figured out a time to get away and watch a movie. I'm already starting to feel better.

kathy a. said...

Today, I'm playing the part of Grumpy. Apparently, wall to wall school shooting news (and commentary) has a wearing effect on one's soul.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

It really does, Kathy. I think that played a big role in my meltdown yesterday.

W: hello from my bed. I'm icing my neck, trying to prevent a possible migraine (rapidly dropping barometric pressure -- each day keeps swinging between near-melting and dangerous cold -- plus neck and shoulder pain from shoveling).

AW: thank goodness for screen time, which is keeping E out of my hair.

esperanza said...

I will admit that I yelled something not-quite-pastorly this morning when I drove by a half-staff flag at...a gun shop.

Hope the migraine stays away, QWP.

kathy a. said...

Esperanza, what the what? Outside a GUN shop?? Fireplace that, all right.

My heart has lifted a little with the indictment, demonstrating that the Russian interference with the 2016 elections was not a "hoax." And if anybody (cough, we know who) thinks it exonerates a certain campaign of all and sundry, read the thing. It doesn't. I'm not happy it happened -- furious about that, although it's been known for a while -- but happy some truth is coming to the public light.

On the domestic front, stuff's getting done. Tonight will be pasta with red sauce and some garlic/artichoke chicken sausage, yum.

esperanza said...

AW: Major progress on the work front. I have been struggling/stuck/avoiding the church website for many months. I don't know what I'm doing, and I don't like admitting that, so I just haven't even looked at it in a long time. So today I chatted with the good folks at G0D@ddy, who are our hosts, and they fixed my (very simple) problem. In the process, I negotiated a discount for our next year of hosting!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Well done solving the problem and negotiating a discount, esperanza! (And I likely would have shouted the same, seeing that outside a gun shop.)

Kathy: I'm definitely popping popcorn, following indictment news. I really hope that actual consequences come out of this.

AW: no migraine! And I invited my parents over for a visit this afternoon, and we had a great time (and they very much enjoyed the cake and cookies). And now it's February break!

kathy a. said...

Yay, Esperanza -- both that the problem got solved, and of course also the discount. How's Mini?

Glad you had a good day, QWP! And now have more Daddy Time!

My beloved had to go to work today -- things have been super busy, and big things coming up. Clyde has sadz, but is surviving.

My daughter called, because the eye place said she either needs reading glasses plus regular glasses, or else she can do progressive lenses. She believes she is too young for that, and also aren't they expensive? I believe she can choose between one pair of glasses she just wears all the time, or switching glasses all the darned time and losing the readers when she needs them; and told her that the progressives work well for me. (I'm on trifocals for the past few years, which sounds bad unless you consider that these.glasses.work.for.me.)

esperanza said...

No news on Mini's MRI. I'll call Monday morning. I suspect that no news is good news, but they still owe me a phone call.

AW: new puppy is so cute. Her name is going to be Daisy Jo Smith.

Progressives are $$$ though.

kathy a. said...

Yay, puppy! Daisy Jo is a lovely name.

That's what my daughter said, about progressives being expensive. True; but all the carting and switching of glasses is not gonna improve her quality of life. IMO. Her choice! (And my choice was, I'll never pull off the carting and switching. I am just not that organized on the vision front.)

esperanza said...

I figure I'm going to wear them every waking moment for at least two years, and then I do the math and it seems like a reasonable cost.

kathy a. said...

Exactly!

W: My CVS is where I go for regular greeting cards, and they just switched over to all these embellished cards, the kinds decorated with lots of stuff, and it is basically impossible to just get a regular card. Plus, they all cost at least $5 apiece, and often need extra postage to mail because stuff is attached. Not to mention, there isn't a card in sight that's blank inside, any more. (OK, I did find a 10 pack of small note cards that are blank, but it took a lot of searching. And I'm not thrilled about the design. And they won't do for some occasions.)

esperanza said...

I hardly ever buy greeting cards, but I noticed the same phenomenon the other day. T@rget had small, blank inside, for a reasonable cost.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

That's really irritating, Kathy! I've started buying nice boxes or collections of blank cards, whenever I find them, so that I have a few styles that work for various occasions.

W: this wild cycle of extreme cold and then melting (and, I presume, the drive through a water main flood in a -35C day) caused one of the car's wheels to get a bunch of hidden ice buildup, which caused it to have trouble turning today. I think we've fixed it now, but we'll see if it happens again tomorrow.

AW: E and I had a nice visit with my old high school friends and their kids, whom I haven't managed to see in a long time. It was such a great time, and the kids really enjoyed each other. We're tentatively making plans to get together again over Easter break, so that we don't go this long without a get together again.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Esperanza, Daisy Jo is such a cute puppy name!

esperanza said...

Mr. E thinks it sounds like we are country bumpkins, but I don't care. Other options were Zoe (Mini's idea), Pinky (?beats me, but it was Sweet's suggestion), and Joey (Mr. E's--after his favorite Nascar driver). I wasn't crazy about any of them, so we g00gled 'girl schnauzer names' and Daisy was on the list. "Jo" is a nod at his "Joey" idea. Baboos liked "Daisy."

kathy a. said...

Daisy Jo is a great name for a very cute dog!

A dear friend re-posted something on the book of visages -- somebody's suggestion that kids carry those rubber door-stops in their back packs, so that if there's a shooting situation at school, they can just shove it under the door and the shooter can't get in even if they shoot the lock off. And, I mean?!?!!? You want your kid to waste time digging through the backpack to find the thing (any experienced parent can testify, this can take a while), and then run *toward* the shooting, instead of getting out another way or hiding? Not to mention, a bullet that can shoot a lock off can also shoot through a door. The problem is actually the guns.

There's a lot going around the internet about the shooting. The most hopeful (to me) is that well-spoken students who survived have planned a march to demand changes in gun laws. March 24.

esperanza said...

AW: Tomorrow is President's Day, a federal holiday. Baboos were not originally scheduled to have school tomorrow, but it is a bad weather make up day (they've missed a day for a hurricane, one for snow, and one for ice). So they are going to school tomorrow, and I am not even one little tiny bit sad about it.

kathy a. said...

Go, Baboos! That all sounds fair to me.

kathy a. said...

Oh! Also I remembered a locally owned gift store that has lovely locally produced greeting cards, and I just need to go there and stock up. Which, I forgot when I was in a rush.

Dog and dad had two good walks, yard time, nap time, and hang out on the sofa time today. It was like the best date ever. There might be some challenges with meeting pup expectations tomorrow, when The Man is working despite the holiday. And, I will be, too.

Anonymous said...

It was a lovely visit-- turned out two of the three relatives were SUPER happy about down time, and it was only the one actually making the phone calls who likes the over scheduling... the others were thankful we said no to all the adventures. We sent them off on their own one night for dinner, and the rest was....well, pretty restful. :)
Now we are chilling before tomorrow's procedure.
--NL
p.s. Love the name Daisy Jo

kathy a. said...

Oh, good news, NL!

And good luck tomorrow. xoxo