WOW! We got a lot done today! First Beth came to town and picked me up at Millers where my car was getting worked on so I didn’t have to walk. I was glad for that. She helped me paint edges before rolling the wall color. It looked really dark to me, and I started doubting my choice (actually Dana helped me–I have absolutely no confidence in my decorating ability). But Beth encouraged me to go ahead, especially since I wasn’t going to be living there anyway. Then Jay, Glenda, and Josh came, and boy, did they go to town! They are professional painters now. They have been working so hard on the loft apartment at the hall that they really know what they are doing. Jay is a master “cutter inner,” and Glenda is the mother of all painter-roller persons. Josh worked all day, too, painting the edges next to windows and baseboards after Beth left. She took me to get my car and then decided to go on since I had other help, and it was starting to snow hard. I couldn’t believe how much we got done. It took me a whole day to roll the ceiling in the kitchen last weekend, and Jay had the living room ceiling done in nothing flat. I had one gallon of clearance paint for the kitchen and one for the living room. We soon found out that one gallon would not finish the kitchen. Luckily it was Lowes paint, and I was able to match it and get a second gallon. We used half of that and then mixed it with the living room color to make a new color for that room. They don’t look a whole lot different , but it worked out well–three gallons for the two rooms was just about perfect. The colors are darker than I am used to, but I really like it. Glenda loves dark paint on walls, so she is happy with it.

The bad news of the day was that my renters are moving out. They are taking his brother’s apartment that is cheaper. They want to save for a house. I understand, but I’m sad because they were really good renters. Since it kept snowing, I just rode back to the Valley with Jay and Glenda. It was quite an ordeal to get Greg Brown into their car, but after much persuasion, the old man finally climbed in. He was glad they were there during the day because they took him on several walks, and he loved that. I felt so good by the time the day ended. I could actually see progress!!

Babe,

Sometime I still want to blame you for leaving me. Then I remember that you gave me the best gift I can imagine. Three of the most wonderful human beings I know just happen to be our children. I love you.

Joan

I got to stay home today! I don’t really know why school was closed, and I probably would have gone again by mistake if it had not been for Janet shouting to me when I was already in the shower, “Joan, I think Marion County is closed.” I’m supposed to be on some kind of call list, but apparently it’s not working for me. Of course, my mind immediately went to the thousand varied things I would accomplish. But I settled into the most comfortable couch in the world (located at Yorkshire Estates), read many magazines, watched some soaps, called my friends Sharon and Beth, took care of bills, played on my laptop, had my daily conversation with Caitlan, went to the post office, let the dogs out several times, received Valentine’s Day calls from Brendan and Pops and Edie, and a birthday package from Nina in Hawaii, fixed Janet and Jerome a Valentine supper of Salad Nicoise and a new kind of ambrosia (less sweet), and watched the Windsor show on KET that has me mesmerized on Wednesday nights. How they got all this footage of the Queen and Prince Philip I’ll never understand, but I love it all and I WAS THERE!

Mombo began one of her blog entries with, “Ok, it’s 81.” Well, today I wasn’t feeling that it was ok to be 57. It felt way too close to 60. And a kid named Carlos hit my coffee mug with his backpack and sent it flying across the floor where it broke into 20 pieces with the kids all standing there. And I got to Krogers in the rain and the car wouldn’t start without dying immediately for at least 15 starts. I had said I would knock off work early since it was my birthday after all, but then I had the dreaded bus duty and still had to put away books and do my last minute purchase orders so I didn’t get home until later than I wanted.

BUT. . . .I had wonderful birthday cards and email cards and phone messages. Betty Jo even sent me a gift card for the Depot restaurant. Joe used to be blown away by how I would display all my birthday cards on top of the refrigerator or the piano. “I’ve never known anyone who gets as many birthday cards as you do.” And Nancy sent me three “memory” cd’s of songs from back when. Caitlan’s birthday e-card made me cry, and then Ian called, and we had the nicest talk. So I blew my nose and put on a happy face and went downstairs to say hello to Jerome and Janet, and Janet said supper would be ready in half an hour. So I decided to treat myself to a hot bath, and when I got downstairs the dining room was decked out with a wonderful dinner of pasta with sundried tomatoes and asparagus, a perfect pinot noir, and a chocolate birthday cake with my name on it and three candles (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Good conversation, and they sang “Happy Birthday!” (Actually, Jeanne had already sung it via email earlier in the day.) The worst part of my birthdays since Joe died is that I’m afraid no one will sing to me, since he always did. But tonight was special, thanks to my housemates at Yorkshire Estates, and if you see the pictures you’ll know why I have on my bathrobe. Yes, Mom, you were right. Thank you, Lord, it’s great to be 57. . .

Just a quick summary. Friday night I went to Kelley Ridge and fixed tomato bisque soup, heart-shaped grilled pimento cheese sandwiches, and “janet salads” for the groupies. It turned out to be only Beth, Martha, and me, but it was very intimate and nice. We toasted each other with Valentine champagne flutes and peach sparkling juice. For dessert I made some really thick peppermint hot chocolate that Lee had given me at our open house. It was from Williams Sonoma and was really good. We had molasses cookies with it. It was so nice to have my friends at Kelley Ridge.

On Saturday I worked at 4th Street and got quite a bit done thanks to Marty and Dana. We moved stuff out of the way that I couldn’t move by myself, I painted part of the kitchen ceiling, and Dana primed the built-in china cabinet. We also looked at the paint that I already have (mostly bargains that Alice and KK picked up) and decided on colors. I was glad to have Dana help me with that. I could have worked longer, but I wanted to see Belle play and since Mombo wanted to go, too, I decided to go pick her up. The game was at Danville City High School. It was pretty much a blow-out. Boyle was ahead the whole game except for the first basket, I think. Hayley fed other players the ball a lot of the time, and the reserve played quite a bit. Holly and Adam showed up, too, so we had a good little cheering section (John and Dana, all the Hellyers, me and Mom). Mombo was disgusted with the other side because they did not clap when their players made a basket.

I stayed overnight at the Valley and went to church at Sacred Heart. It is always so inspiring to hear Fr. Chibundi. I have not seen baby Torrance Rylee yet, so I was jealous when Dana said that she had gotten to hold her. I thought maybe I would get to see her on Sunday, but no such luck. I drove back to 4th St. and and primed more trim as well as finished the ceiling. No my shoulders and back are killing me, but I feel like I accomplished something this weekend. Those weekends–never long enough.

Okay, the bad luck started when I went to school on a day that school was closed. I thought I was on a phone tree that would call me, but my branch must have broken off. That night I woke up with what felt like a boulder in the middle of my stomach, and I started going into the pit. I still tried to work at 4th Street for part of the day (I have started a BIRTHDAY BLITZ month where I am trying to get a monumental amount of work done on that project as a birthday present to myself), but by Saturday night I was majorly in the pit with what Mombo always called “the runs.” It wasn’t pretty. Then the fever and aches and chills started. A day moaning in bed–what a way to spend the Superbowl. I decided I was still too sick to try school, but then school was delayed an hour (of course on a day I was sick anyway). I felt better today and started off early from Kelley Ridge only to blow out a tire short of Danville. Fortunately, my rosary or my Michaels protected me, and I found a piece of shoulder to get off on. A quick call to Jeanne saved the day as she called Cliff and got me the number for Cingular Road Assistance (which I can never remember). Cliff sent me on to school in his big honkin’ mashugadare truck while he waited for the Assistance person in my homeless person car complete with a mouse nest, rotten banana peels, and 3 degree weather. He said it made him think about life. Yep. I reckon. The only person who stopped to ask me if I needed help was a nice young Hispanic man in a GO BIG BLUE sweatshirt. Cliff said he had more people stop and ask him, but he sat there longer. He said they were usually people who looked like they didn’t have much money. Makes you think. I’m a lucky one. I have Clan on call. So, yeah, maybe the bad luck’s over. Sometimes you’re the windshield.

When I left Kelley Ridge on Sunday morning for Sacred Heart, I decided to put Greg in the car first because he was jumping all around, oh so excited, because he wanted to come along. Once I got him in the car, I finished loading things without having him potentially trip me (which he has done before, like the time I caught the dining room tablecloth on fire with the burner on high trying to boil water to take out a wine stain). Well, in this way I avoided a possible incident because as we left the HUGEST skunk I’ve ever seen walked right across in front of the car. Had Greg not been sequestered, he would have taken off after it, gotten sprayed, I would have had to leave him at KR, and so on and so on. MIS-adventure averted!

Adventure Number Two: Within a week I have had the opportunity, thanks to Deb, to see both Neil Berg’s 100 Years of Broadway and Man of La Mancha. They were both at Norton Centre–the cultural hotspot of the Western Bluegrass. I was mesmerized. I want to play the piano like Neil Berg (http://neilberg.com/). I want to sing in a chorus again. I could have made a few directing suggestions on M of La M, but the set was incredible. The director was really a choreographer–maybe that was it. Anyway I LOVE BROADWAY! (And I’ve never even been there.)

In dixonese, lazo-butt is a derogatory term, a slur. But I feel that is what I’ve been for the past two days. I had Thursday and Friday off due to illness in my school district. I thought I could get monumental amounts of work done. Well, I started by staying in bed at Yorkshire Estates on Thursday morning and having tea while I read THE WEEK. I did go to Lebanon Elementary and work for about 3 hours but accomplished only a small amount. I also spent time on line trying to resolve unpaid bills, health claims, etc. Very frustrating and time consuming. Then to Clan Valley to pick up Mombo and head to Kelley Ridge. We dropped off Greg and drove to Richmond to attend the Giles Gallery opening of their Compassion juried exhibit. John won a merit award for his piece, Children of the Front. It is a wonderful collage and should have won the big award. It was fun to view the exhibit and another one woman show. Then I took Mom, Dana, and John to 4th St. to see progress and get some pointers on decorative finishing touches. We went to eat Indian at Punjab, and I’m glad Carole Garrison introduced me to that place so I knew what to order (the vegetarian thali). It was good!

Friday was supposed to be a productive day and I did get up a little earlier. I left Mom sleeping at Kelley Ridge while I went back to Richmond to have some more frustrating encounters with fixing the lights on the Camry wagon–we fixed the headlight, turn signal, and dome light, but the backup lights were a bust–but what can you expect for a vehicle with 279,000 miles on it? The trips to the PO (can I renew a forwarding address? NO!), the county clerk (can I pay all my auto property taxes at one place in one stop? NO!), and the PVA’s took a long time for a little progress. Then back to Kelley Ridge where Mombo had started to strip my Christmas tree. We headed out to Garrard and Lincoln County courthouses for more property issues. These were resolved in relatively short order (thank goodness!) so we treated ourselves to the best chocolate malts left in the world. Back a Clan Valley we visited with Glenda and ate turkey burgers before I ended my day watching a dvd (House in Umbria) with Jim and Beth. Now I HAVE TO GET TO WORK on 4th St. So I’m wiling away my time at LiveWire, but at least I got to talk to KK, Jerry Bogie, and Mandy. Oh, well, I never said I was anything but a lazo-butt.

Today I took my adventurous daughter to the airport to once again cross the pond and pursue her Oxford education. I decided I wanted to have adventures in 2007. I was just as hard as it always is—seeing her go through security and trying to wave to her when she is almost out of sight down that long corridor. Brendan and Kyle were with me again. I like it when I don’t have to go to the airport alone. I took them back to Christie’s where we left Kyle’s car, and I headed back Kelley Ridge to clean up and put away Christmas decorations. As I was working, my favorite meteorologist, Bill Meck, (that is until Nathaniel completes his education and becomes one) reminded me of Comet McNaught and that I should definitely go outside and look before 6:30 p.m. when it would be below the horizon–last chance! Brightest comet sighting in 35 years! I hadn’t listened to Sandy Wood so I didn’t know! Thanks, Bill. Quick call to Brendan (he saw it), Ian (he didn’t), Caitlan (in Philadelphia on her layover so she couldn’t figure out how to see it from where she was), and Mombo (Seth answered and he took Mombo outside so that they could see it together). Alone on Kelley Ridge (Greg was at Mombo’s), I watched my comet over the trees and descending into Joe’s farm horizon. It was breath-taking. I tried pictures, but they didn’t work–it was in the moment. I was in the moment. It was my adventure.

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap070105.html