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Monday, July 18, 2016

Step away from the news edition

I guess we're about halfway through summer, and maybe it's time for me to go find some things to do -- in service of my project for the week, avoiding the news.

The last couple weeks have been so awful, in so many ways.  I do not have high hopes for this week, either. 

Albatross-related activities have kept me chained to the desk for so long that I hardly remember what it's like to just go someplace for the view, go to see a movie, go run those errands that have been on perpetual hold.

What's on your agenda?

49 comments:

Anonymous said...

Enjoying the view is a wonderful idea!

I have been working on trying to assemble a portfolio of work in order to advance my teaching license, providing multiple examples of evidence for a variety of standards of teaching practice. It is about as much fun as it sounds.

AW: My niece is here for three weeks! But, (W) :My daughter and her cousin did not get into the same group at camp. Both were very anxious when I left them this morning. Hopefully by the end of the day, things will feel happier and they will have met people and feel comfortable.

W (or maybe AW): too hot to go for a run

AW: homemade pizza for lunch.

--neighbor lady


Miranda said...

Kathy in lieu of church Sunday, I listened to an episode of On Being with Thicht Naht Hahn who ran a retreat for law enforcement officers. It was beautiful.

http://www.onbeing.org/program/thich-nhat-hanh-cheri-maples-and-larry-ward-being-peace-in-a-world-of-trauma/74

Feeling better but have low stamina. Little by little I will get better. Some days may be harder than others.

esperanza said...

Be gentle and patient with yourself, Miranda. Your body has been through a trauma and will take time to recover. (Easy for me to say, I know).

AW: one of my not-in-the-computer friends is thinking of moving nearby. They stopped by yesterday to visit, as they were looking at houses and neighborhoods.

W: It's still up in the air, for various reasons. I'm trying not to get too excited.

AW: All four of us are headed to the beach tomorrow. We usually go in June, in conjunction with a churchy meeting for Mr. E, but not this time because of the move. So we promised the Baboos we would go later.

W: Beach is not my favorite vacation spot, but everyone else likes it.

kathy a. said...

NL, too bad the girls didn't end up in the same group -- but I'm sure they'll have fun anyway, sharing stories and hanging out every day after camp.

Hope the portfolio project ends up being affirming -- looking back at your work so far -- even though it sounds like a pain to assemble!

Thanks for the link, Miranda. Glad you are resting and recovering. xoxoxo

Esperanza, fingers crossed about friends moving nearby! Hope you have a good time with everybody at the beach -- even if you spend more of it hiding from the sun than some others might. ;)

W: Don't know who I'm fooling with this idea of avoiding the news...

Liz Miller said...

NL, they are going to have a blast, despite not being in the same groups. Trust me.

Anonymous said...

Liz,
Just realized that the fact that they have started means we probably missed our chance for a meet-up.... :(
We were actually away Saturday getting our niece, so it probably wouldn't have worked, but sorry to have missed you...
Sounds like Muffin Man had a good time?
:) Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

My son is not on the book of visages, but his fiancee is. And sending some photos from the big trip! AND, one of my son's oldest friends just friended me! T was an "extra" at our house for years -- so comfortable here that he'd already be looking in the fridge as he said hi. LOL He has lived away for some time now, but he promised to visit next time he is back. :)

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Continued hugs to Miranda, and I'm glad that you're taking your recovery so seriously, and being gentle with yourself.

That's too bad that the meetup didn't happen, Liz and NL! It's so neat that everyone is going to this same camp this summer.

AW: a neat little thing happened today. I went to the little grocery store in our neighbourhood, to buy bread and bananas for a friend (she broke her elbow, biking home from watering our garden when we were away!), and the grocery store had added a single publication to the checkout: the most recent issue of the scholarly journal that published me in 2004. Such an utterly random and neat thing. I bought a copy, because how could I not.

W: my poor little garden! Cabbage moths in the kale and brussel sprouts, and after all this time thinking that the beets are struggling to sprout at all, Mr. Q discovered that birds are eating the leaves as soon as they come above ground!

AW: he spent some time fashioning cages to protect our plants, using chicken wire. We'll see how it goes.

Sue said...

Do continue to be good to yourself, Miranda. I've saved the link for my vacation time - thanks!

esperanza, I hope you have a great time at the beach. It will be nice for your family to have some down time, no matter where it is. Fingers crossed for your potential new neighbour!

kathy a - Yay for pics and new (or rather, old) friends! I tried not to watch the news, but it draws me in. The parts I watched last night were both disturbing and hilarious (but mostly disturbing).

QWP - good luck with the garden. Darn bugs!

AW: It's my birthday and hubby baked a lemon cake with raspberry icing. Yay!

Anonymous said...

Happy Birthday Sue!!!!!!
And the cake sounds delicious!!
Hope your day is wonderful!
:) Neighbor Lady

esperanza said...

Yum. I love lemon stuff. Enjoy! Happy Birthday!

kathy a. said...

Happy birthday, Sue! Oh, yum!

kathy a. said...

I've been on the verge of that headache returning, and I think it's because I expect to wake up every morning with reports of gunshots -- or another truck massacre, or a coup. Especially gunshots, in an open carry state with things going on.

But today's big story was plagiarism! Which, don't get me wrong, is really fireplacing stupid and unethical; and no, this doesn't just involve "common words." Not avoiding the news as much as planned. Sue is right about more odious things also showing up.

Miranda, hope things are better. xoxo

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Happy birthday to Sue!!! I want a slice of that lemon cake, please.

Miranda said...

Happy belated birthday Sue. <3

kathy a. said...

Went to the dermo, and she declared all my skin oddities normal and benign!

But she noticed these spots on my lip -- which I've previously had biopsied, and I was told they are like sun spots, and they'll keep coming back. By the time I got home, she had referred me to the genetics dept. about my lip spots. Trying to get an explanation of what she wants them to look for. ?????

Sue said...

Thanks for all the birthday love, pixies!!

Hmm...good news about all the normal/benign skin oddities, kathy, but that is curious about the lip spots.

Miranda said...

Today, my body is not cooperating with my recovery plan :(

kathy a. said...

((( Miranda ))) Hope the day gets gentler, and tomorrow is better. xoxxo

kathy a. said...

Put my heatable neck wrap "kill the tension" thing back into service. It does loosen things up!

Sue said...

(((Miranda))) Hope today is better...

Those neck wraps are great, kathy. I attract kittens when mine comes out!

esperanza said...

I hope everyone is feeling better. We are still at the beach. The Baboos are more enamored with the indoor pool than the beach, so perhaps a vacation to a different place is in my future....We are headed to the butterfly house at the Botanical Garden this morning, then to the movies. Maybe beach tonight.

Adventures, avoided: murder-suicide in the next neighborhood over.

Adventures, avoided by Baboos but I got to see: man, riding on jetski with his brother, having a seizure. (Brother was driving thankfully). Separate adventure: literally falling-down drunk man put his car keys (with clicker) in his pocket and walked right into the ocean. I'm thinking the clicker didn't work, which is just as well. This is generally a pretty family-oriented beach--party beaches are elsewhere. Baboos were at the pool with Daddy while I was enjoying my umbrella, beach chair, and book.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Esperanza: oh my!

(((Miranda))) I hope today has been better.

AW: my mother and I are making apricot-cherry-almond pie right now. I love this season.

kathy a. said...

Esperanza -- perhaps a tad too much excitement! Glad everybody's having a good time, though.

Oh, yum, QWP! Please pass the extras!

esperanza said...

I should correct myself: an attempted murder and completed suicide in our new town. But still, too much excitement!

W: oh my goodness it is so HOT and HUMID here. We went to the botanical gardens, in hopes of seeing lots of butterflies in their butterfly house. No dice. And so hot and humid we couldn't even enjoy their nice exhibits. Did I mention it was hot?

AW: then we went to the movies to see Finding Dory. That cooled us off.

kathy a. said...

Movies. What a great idea!

The old C0stc0 in our town used to have a walk-in refrigerator room -- on the rare occasions when we hit melting-of-flesh temps, everybody suddenly had an urgent need to visit that store. ;) W: now they just have the regular cabinets with doors, so it would be really hard to crawl in there.

SIL update -- She had yet another fall the other day, but no apparent injuries, yay. BUT, she has become disenchanted with her selection of clothing, and started stealing dresses from her [much older] roomie's closet!

Anonymous said...

off to mini-surgery.
hope everyone has a nice Friday and a good weekend!
:) Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

((( NL ))) Hope things go well.

Sue said...

Thinking of you NL!!

kathy a. said...

Been achy and exhausted the past few days, and last night confirmed flu-like symptoms. Maybe someone will bring me soup.

Sue said...

Had to back up and read more of yesterday's posts!! Oh my goodness, esperanza! That's a lot of unplanned adventure for one vacation. :(

kathy a - our local beer store has a big room that is fridge temp so the beer stays cold. Yesterday was our hottest day this summer, so there were plenty of visitors for both beer and cool relief!

QWP - that pie sounds wonderful!!!

esperanza said...

Oh, kathy, I'd bring you soup if I were close enough!

NL, good luck with your surgery. It's only "mini" surgery if it's happening to someone else!

kathy a. said...

NL, what Esperanza said! Here's to a good recovery. xoxo

Daughter brought me soup. And the advil has kicked in, so things aren't as hurty. No more bark, so there's that.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

NL, I hope your surgery has gone well!

Kathy, I'm glad there's no more bark, but am sorry there was ANY bark today!

I'm wiped: I've cooked and baked SO MUCH over the past couple of days. And I had a sudden wakeup in the night, thanks to a kiddo who had a nightmare. I keep being confused by why I'm so tired today, until I start reviewing the events of the past day.

AW: pie! Pie filling! Zucchini muffins with chocolate chips! Bread! And I'm about to try to dehydrate some apricots!

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Also AW: robot camp is over! Mr. Q can now begin a full month of real vacation!

kathy a. said...

Robot camp! And baking aplenty, food galore! Well, E has 2 very cool parents, is all I can say.

esperanza said...

W: that thing when you come home from vacation and have to do all the things

W: to make it worse, the Baboos and I are making a quick turnaround and leaving Sunday morning. Sweet has an orthopedic appointment in the Big D on Monday.

kathy a. said...

My vote would be to party and relax tomorrow, pack fast, and leave some of the leftovers for later or someone else. Y'all need some unwinding time.

Liz Miller said...

(((Esperanza)))

(((NL)))

(((Kathy)))

AW: I really like Tim Kaine! As a person!

Anonymous said...

Thanks all for the well wishes. Things went well, and there is an explanation for weirdness that was found... but as long as pathology says all is well, then... all is well!

Enjoying niece.

Washed lots of hand-picked blueberries that Neighbor Guy and the kiddos and a friend picked this morning. maybe 60 cups altogether!
Yum!!!

Kathy a -- quick recovery wishes!!! I second kathy's advice for esperanza (and welcome back!)
And yay for Mr Q who can now enjoy a month of true vacation!


:) Neighbor Lady

kathy a. said...

NL, glad it went well and for good news. Yay, visiting niece! Wow, so many blueberries.

I just sent my first text. Kept it to 2 letters, and then ordered a stylus. My fingers aren't huge, but the keyboard on that phone is tiny! My beloved made fun of me.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Kathy, that is the cutest. (And if you have an android phone, you can download keyboards that let you slide your finger all over the keyboard, and it guesses your words for you. I have the worst track record for pressing the right letter.)

NL, I'm glad that it sounds like all is well, and that the procedure went well. Crossing appendages that you get good news from the pathologist.

liz: I was really curious to hear what you thought of him, and am heartened that you like him!

AW: we have acquired a large number of patio stones, for a good deal. I'm getting a patio this summer! (And now we just have to figure things out about the crumbling front steps and the work we need to do to build up the grade on the back of the house. Project Summer has begun!)

P_K said...

Today is my 17th wedding anniversary. This week is also the one-year anniversary of a series of events culminating in my telling STBX that the way he treated me and the kids wasn't okay, that I was done with these kinds of relational dynamics, and that something needed to change. </3

kathy a. said...

((( PK ))) Anniversaries that mark bad turns in one's life are always hard. I'm sorry that this one coincides, partly, with your wedding anniversary. Kind of an emotional overload. xoxo

You have worked hard to get yourself out of an intolerable situation, and protect your kids. That has taken so much strength and love and courage. It has been really awful at times -- but it was the right thing to do. Sending so much love, and hoping that things settle down, that you and the kids are recovering and building some new memories and traditions. xoxox

Sue said...

((((PK)))) I can only echo what kathy has said so well. Anniversaries can be tough, but better times are ahead.

Glad you're feeling better kathy!

Fingers crossed for good pathology results NL... And yum on the blueberries!!!

I hope all goes well with Sweet's appointment esperanza.

Let the summer begin in earnest, QWP! Complete with patio stones, no less!

kathy a. said...

W: My beloved told me on Friday that he was leaving Sunday [today] on a backpacking trip with his friend -- which I had the impression would happen sometime in August. Except his friend is a notorious flake, so there wasn't confirmation until this afternoon, and suddenly we are hosting dinner before they leave for the mountains. AND I GOT NO WARNING OF ENTERTAINING, so there has been a need to vac and dust and remove the unmentionables of daily life. Plus, beloved is now assembling all the necessaries at the last minute. Conclusion: This is his best friend, but really, wtf?

esperanza said...

((PK))--all of what kathy said. Love to you this week.

kathy a, time for a restaurant.

kathy a. said...

The Boyz are bbq'ing. Outside. When the friend shows up, which could be any minute, or shortly after REI closes at 7 PDT.

Queen of West Procrastination said...

Hugs for PK. Be gentle with yourself this week.

Kathy: mild cluesticks for the flaky friend, but I'm glad that they're barbecuing.

AW/W? Have acquired a metric buttload of apples. (Okay, a bushel of apples.) Tomorrow I'm going to sort through them and figure out which ones are good enough to store, and then it's time to freeze, and make sauce, and make apple butter. (And trade a basket full of them for garden produce, with the Friend With the Good Garden.) (My in-laws have a nice apple tree, but have cut out sugar, and asked if we'd like all the apples.)

Relieved AW: we've spent the day pricing out the cost of replacing our front steps, because they are crumbling. (They are also very old and are only 6 inches deep, and so they're iffy for feet bigger than a kid's.) In frustration, I said to Mr. Q, "I wish there was a way to repair crumbling concrete steps, and then save money and plan better for next summer." He said, "Oh, you're okay with repairing them and waiting? Because that's cheap and easy."