great weekend
May. 9th, 2005 12:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stitchwhichWow, what a nice weekend... I spent most of Friday sewing a new cote for a friend who's on the King's Guard - his "real" cote is all hand sewn (and didn't the blanket stitching along the raw edges of the cloth where his buttons & buttonholes are going to be placed take me for freakin' EVER!) - *ahem* anyway, I had enough cloth left to make him a second cote so I did although it took 13 pieces of cloth to create enough whole fabric to make his final sleeve. The temptation to leave it off and tell him the story of the Princess and her 7 brothers was hard to resist. So I had the hubby, who was traveling to Crown Tourney with the guy, hovering above me at the kitchen table while I sewed and edged as fast as I could (I have now learned that a G-63 takes me about 7 hours to sew if I only handfinish the parts that will be seen). And then the pressure was off. I called my PT tech and canceled therapy that day, which earned me a precious extra hour-and-a-half just in travel time. So I did my exercises, resisted the urge to call her and tell her I really did just finish them, and then took a nice nap (while washing my traveling clothes, of course, which I'd finally thought about locating). Got up, packed, and out of here in less than 30 minutes only to walk into the nastiest weather I've seen in a while. The rain was not too bad, in amount, it was the wind and gusts blowing the rain horizontal that sucked mightily. Driving was a challenge and crossing the high spots in the freeway overpasses (and the long drive above the water of the bay) was really, um, interesting. I made a game of counting how many phones I saw dropped as drivers had to use both hands and how many elbows went horizontal as folks clutched their steering wheel (you can see a lot through the back window of the car in front of you). But past Williamsburg, the rain and the wind went bye-bye and the driving conditions were just as I love them - a clear night with a dry road. Very nice. Seven Nations and John Cougar Mellencamp were in my CD pile so that's what I sang along with (I'm silly enough of about driving that I change out CDs only when the car isn't moving... my arms don't reach far enough to do that and keep good control on the road. This means that I'll be hearing the same album for at least one repeat so I have to really *like* it to bring it along for the drive.) John Denver and Jimmy Buffet stayed home this trip...
So I made it to where ever it is that Magnus and Michalena live ("just go to one o'clock on the Beltway and take exit 25...") and snuggled in with good friends. Michalena looks really good - her new hair color is startling only when you really think about it. Otherwise, it fits her so well that I didn't notice it wasn't natural. As in "this color found in nature" natural. She's a lot more relaxed and smiling than I remember too. That was grand. Breakfast the next day was grand. I don't do breakfast, normally, but I'd be a rare fool to pass up handmade apple sausages and pancakes. Then we were off to the GDH meeting, which was carried on with the style only my Brothers do well, and then we stormed an unsuspecting Chinese Buffet (okay, so we called ahead and warned them. Sheesh. We're Mongols, but not barbarians!) and back to the house for w-a-y too much fun chattering. I have never had a chance to really sit and talk with Ro (Mistress Rowena, past Society A&S Officer) for more than a few minutes... that evening we talked so long that I didn't leave Herdon until long after midnight (others talked too, but them I knew!) thanks to her stories, and Chon's, Chimbai's, Master Thomas'.
The drive home was another clear and dry one so I celebrated by buying a banana moon pie in Williamsburg and eating it before reaching Norfolk. (Actually, it's one of my strategies for a sugar-boost if I'm getting sleepy and am close to the end... a little sugar goes a long way when you don't normally eat it. Especially when combined with caffeine.) Then my blessed waterbed welcomed me (the cat didn't) and I was oblivious to everything for about 10 hours...
Shawn, through his room-mate, took me and Arni out to eat at the Outback for Mother's Day. It was weird but nice. Weird only because his roommate used to be a friend of ours (he's about 10 or 11 years younger than me) and now he's my son's friend and treats me like "the mother of my buddy" - which drives me crazy and leaves me unsure of how to react. I'm quite sure that my initial - and squashed - reaction of anger isn't the best one. The guy is old enough to be my kid's dad, for pity sakes, so the changed status from "member of the household/friend of equality" to "son's buddy and guy who assumes he's in charge of my kid's world" is, well, insulting to me, but not something I can explain to him (or anyone else) well enough to illustrate the reason. And it isn't meant in an icky way or anything - he's spent the best part of three years hanging out with young folks who are starting life - it's the environment he's grown accustomed to, while we've suffered a serious burnout and have reduced our circle of friends and activities. So really, Arn and I during the week are pretty boring - we don't play video games, go to every movie as soon as it's out, or hang out in pool halls... (I do remember those days. Boy, was I young.) But it really, really, bothers me when he assumes finaicial responsibility for my son (Shawn's new job hasn't lasted long enough for the first paycheck - you know the "three week" beginning pay gap). It *really* bothers me. It smacks of the manipulative things some acquantainces used to do to non-verbally show me that WE weren't good parents and so THEY would take care of our poor, poor, mistreated son... Thank goodness this will pass as soon as Shawn is settled in his new job and won't need the temporary boost. I'm really proud of that boy-man and of how well he handled his firing/job search... I've seen too many folks fall into such a depression that they just wouldn't look for a job, but he didn't and he handled life so gracefully that most folks didn't really notice he was unemployed. He's done a damned fine job of gowing up.
Zack called from Las Vegas and wished me a happy day and wanted to know if I liked my package. It hasn't arrived yet, so I have something to look forward to. Two somethings - the package opening and then the phone call to say thank you.
It's all good.
I found that not only am I moving better thanks to the PT, but I'm losing weight again - probably as a result of being able to move and do things. My activity level has really increased and I'm celebrating a new "hey I can do that!" surprise nearly every day. That can continue for a long, long, time. I'm liking it.
Humility chewed me out when I got home on Sunday morning (is 4:30pm "morning" or "night" if one hasn't slept yet?) but she's since decided I need remedial cat/human training and has been taking me in paw every few hours to coach me through petting and grooming sessions. I can't change locations in the house without bringing the furbrush with me. Heh.
So I made it to where ever it is that Magnus and Michalena live ("just go to one o'clock on the Beltway and take exit 25...") and snuggled in with good friends. Michalena looks really good - her new hair color is startling only when you really think about it. Otherwise, it fits her so well that I didn't notice it wasn't natural. As in "this color found in nature" natural. She's a lot more relaxed and smiling than I remember too. That was grand. Breakfast the next day was grand. I don't do breakfast, normally, but I'd be a rare fool to pass up handmade apple sausages and pancakes. Then we were off to the GDH meeting, which was carried on with the style only my Brothers do well, and then we stormed an unsuspecting Chinese Buffet (okay, so we called ahead and warned them. Sheesh. We're Mongols, but not barbarians!) and back to the house for w-a-y too much fun chattering. I have never had a chance to really sit and talk with Ro (Mistress Rowena, past Society A&S Officer) for more than a few minutes... that evening we talked so long that I didn't leave Herdon until long after midnight (others talked too, but them I knew!) thanks to her stories, and Chon's, Chimbai's, Master Thomas'.
The drive home was another clear and dry one so I celebrated by buying a banana moon pie in Williamsburg and eating it before reaching Norfolk. (Actually, it's one of my strategies for a sugar-boost if I'm getting sleepy and am close to the end... a little sugar goes a long way when you don't normally eat it. Especially when combined with caffeine.) Then my blessed waterbed welcomed me (the cat didn't) and I was oblivious to everything for about 10 hours...
Shawn, through his room-mate, took me and Arni out to eat at the Outback for Mother's Day. It was weird but nice. Weird only because his roommate used to be a friend of ours (he's about 10 or 11 years younger than me) and now he's my son's friend and treats me like "the mother of my buddy" - which drives me crazy and leaves me unsure of how to react. I'm quite sure that my initial - and squashed - reaction of anger isn't the best one. The guy is old enough to be my kid's dad, for pity sakes, so the changed status from "member of the household/friend of equality" to "son's buddy and guy who assumes he's in charge of my kid's world" is, well, insulting to me, but not something I can explain to him (or anyone else) well enough to illustrate the reason. And it isn't meant in an icky way or anything - he's spent the best part of three years hanging out with young folks who are starting life - it's the environment he's grown accustomed to, while we've suffered a serious burnout and have reduced our circle of friends and activities. So really, Arn and I during the week are pretty boring - we don't play video games, go to every movie as soon as it's out, or hang out in pool halls... (I do remember those days. Boy, was I young.) But it really, really, bothers me when he assumes finaicial responsibility for my son (Shawn's new job hasn't lasted long enough for the first paycheck - you know the "three week" beginning pay gap). It *really* bothers me. It smacks of the manipulative things some acquantainces used to do to non-verbally show me that WE weren't good parents and so THEY would take care of our poor, poor, mistreated son... Thank goodness this will pass as soon as Shawn is settled in his new job and won't need the temporary boost. I'm really proud of that boy-man and of how well he handled his firing/job search... I've seen too many folks fall into such a depression that they just wouldn't look for a job, but he didn't and he handled life so gracefully that most folks didn't really notice he was unemployed. He's done a damned fine job of gowing up.
Zack called from Las Vegas and wished me a happy day and wanted to know if I liked my package. It hasn't arrived yet, so I have something to look forward to. Two somethings - the package opening and then the phone call to say thank you.
It's all good.
I found that not only am I moving better thanks to the PT, but I'm losing weight again - probably as a result of being able to move and do things. My activity level has really increased and I'm celebrating a new "hey I can do that!" surprise nearly every day. That can continue for a long, long, time. I'm liking it.
Humility chewed me out when I got home on Sunday morning (is 4:30pm "morning" or "night" if one hasn't slept yet?) but she's since decided I need remedial cat/human training and has been taking me in paw every few hours to coach me through petting and grooming sessions. I can't change locations in the house without bringing the furbrush with me. Heh.
