I had myself a wound concealed.

Tuesday I took the day off to get Middlest to the dentist for three fillings. It was a much needed break for me, and I didn't get too far behind at work. I've been struggling to keep up. It helped that last week I only had two attorneys to wrangle, not three.

On Thursday after work, I drove to Arlington to pick up Fourthborn for the Dollidays party on Saturday at our friend Lisa's.

Friday was a little more than half a day of work, as we had our Christmas luncheon at a restaurant just east of downtown. The venue was on the rooftop of the restaurant. During fair weather, the sides are rolled up so that you can enjoy the view and the breeze. On Friday we had mist with intermittent drizzle. I sat with my back to a gap but have thus far managed not to take ill from getting chilled and dampened. It was two long flights of stairs up to the venue, with no elevator, and two long flights back down again. We got to leave early. I took my coworkers back to our parking garage afterward and drove home to drop off most of my stuff.

Hit Costco on the way to McKinney to pick up rolls and tomatoes for the ward Christmas dinner on Saturday night. Drove around and around downtown McKinney, trying to find parking for the concert. Thankfully, there was a shuttle car in the parking lot, and I thoroughly enjoyed the All Star Jazzy Christmas concert. I will definitely become a season ticket holder next year. These guys are amazing, and in the meantime I have February's concert to look forward to: a polka band is joining the chamber orchestra!

The shuttle was elsewhere or absent when the concert was over, so I walked four blocks to Diana in the same miserable mist/wind/drizzle I'd "enjoyed" that afternoon. About two blocks in, my right hip was screaming. It was audibly popping, as my knees do when I do a forward fold (but the knees have enough sense not to hurt me). I think I may be bone-on-bone in that hip.

I came home, slept, helped clean the meetinghouse yesterday morning, then delegated the making of the brownies to Fourthborn while I took a 600mg Ibuprofen and a nap. We went to the dolly Christmas party. Middlest was in pain, crabby, and reactive. I inadvertently provoked some unpleasantness. Party ended, we came home, I took another nap, and then the three of us went to the ward Christmas party. Another low-key spat, inaudible to others, but we stayed until the kids all trooped over to get their faces painted and the general melee over the desserts had ended.

Took Middlest home, took Fourthborn home, came home, and popped one of the pain pills that was prescribed for the plantar fasciitis. Slept for ten and a half hours (without setting the alarm), leaving me just enough time to inhale breakfast, scoop my hair into a bun, throw on something clean, and walk into the chapel while the bishopric was making announcements but before our opening hymn.

I'm in significantly less pain today. After church I slept, not sure if I would make it to the stake Christmas musical offering tonight. But I did. I saw a dear friend from Fort Worth, there to tend her daughter's two little boys so that her daughter could play in the orchestra (daddy was home, ill). We caught up on each other's lives before the music started.

The greatest surprise was having the younger twin's wife come up to me with a huge, delighted grin, and wrap me in a bear hug. I walked over to her husband a few minutes later and wished him a merry Christmas and shook his hand. He responded without quite turning around to look at me. I'll take my miracles any way that I can get them. He also gave the closing prayer, and I could hear echoes Beloved's voice as he prayed.

Beloved has been gone almost six years now. I know I'll recognize his voice when I see him again, but the sound of it has pretty much faded from my memory. So this was a sweet and tender mercy, all around.

For part of the concert tonight, my friend's older grandson was trying to edge out of her reach. So I got up and stood just behind where he sat on the floor, hoping that my hip would cooperate. I may have stood there for half an hour or so, until he, of his own volition, scooched forward on his derriere three rows and returned to sit with his grandmother. I sat down gratefully. When I walked out to Diana after the closing prayer, I walked without pain.

I'm a little achy as I write this, and undecided whether I'll take another pain pill tonight. I will definitely be setting the alarm. My mashed potatoes are done, so I'll portion them out, reheat them if necessary, and grab my evening meds. I'd like to sleep for about three days, but I have work all week and other concerts on Tuesday and Friday nights. I'm hoping to say in my pillow fort all next weekend except for church. Wish me luck.

A great weekend, and a good day at work.

Loved the brunch on Saturday with 80% of my kids plus BittyBit (who is now nearly as tall as I). Picked up a few items after brunch while we were still at IKEA: bathmat for Middlest's bathroom, new area rug for his bedroom, a gnome/tomten for me to take to work and brighten up my cubicle, and maybe a couple of other things that I've already forgotten. Oh yeah. Red seat cushions for the straight backed chairs in the living room.

Then we went to the bead store in BigD, and I bought the makings for two pairs of earrings. While organizing the box that holds most of my beads and beading supplies, I found two larger Murano glass beads (red, of course) that I've popped in with the others. I made up the Christmas tree earrings from the kit (Swarovski crystals that are more bling-y than my usual preference but still cute). The other pair will have to wait for more inspiration. And maybe some gunmetal findings. I am almost equally into gunmetal and rose gold. A foolish consistency, and all that...

Went to a singles potluck followed by the First Presidency's devotional last night. Made brownies. Brought only half a dozen of them home, so Middlest got three and I took the rest to work for part of lunch today. Also brought home two slices of Marie Callender's coconut cream pie, but since I've had brownies today, my slice will have to wait until tomorrow.

I'm continuing to make progress on Leftie. I'm almost done with my third repeat of the seven color stripe sequence. Those tiny leaves just make me grin.

Today I wore my cropped Fair Isle sweater (the Michele Rose Orne one I knitted on the train while still living in Fort Worth) over some of my Gudrun Sjoden stuff. Totally knocked it out of the ballpark. I'd like to knit this one again in a plied yarn. The Malabrigo and/or Manos del Uruguay yarns are single-ply, loosely spun, and pill if you look sideways at them. I would also knit it in the round and steek the center front, rather than having a flobbity-jillion ends to weave in, as I did with this one. Oh well. I will keep the "sweater stone" people in business until there's nothing left of this sweater to swipe at.

Tomorrow I take Middlest to the rescheduled dental appointment. I'm taking the entire day off and foresee lots of happy knitting time but no actual Knit Night. I might even attend the Relief Society activity, instead. Don't faint.

When I was a RS president, I couldn't understand why someone who had served in that capacity would ever skip an option to get together with the other sisters. I get it now. I love the sisters in my ward. I don't have a best friend in this ward, but I don't really have time for a best friend at the moment. When I get off work, I want to come home, take off my shoes, my compression hose, my bra, my earrings, put on my PJs, and knit or read until I can't keep my eyes open any longer. My knitting group is wonderfully non-judgmental if I need to nope out on any given night.

I've had a nice visit with Middlest while eating dinner, and now I'm going to scoot off to my room.