$142

That's the amount from the amended 2012 return that will be credited against my 2013 return. Way better than a poke in the eye.

The new part for Lorelai didn't make it to the shop as early as they had hoped. She should be good as new sometime today. (For what I am paying, she had better be!) This complicates my day. Do I leave early and get her home, then drive to Arlington for Knit Night? Do I tell the shop, "See you tomorrow?" I want my Tuesday fix with Fourthborn.

I worked on valentines last night. The new cowl is finished. The laundry is caught up. I have no idea what to knit next. None. I think I will go empty a box of books which recently surfaced and see if that clears my head.

Work is going reasonably well. I got there yesterday to discover that one of the secretaries was gone. And nobody knows why. She's one of the reasons I'm a good legal secretary. So we were all a little jumpy. And four secretaries now have heavier workloads. (I'm not one of them.) I'm getting more comfortable with the electronic filing, but I'm still not allowed to fly solo, except that I got to file a bunch of vacation letters on my own yesterday. The courts are still trying to act like their own petty fiefdoms, which is frustrating. But overall it's now a faster process to get a file stamped document back from them.

I am feeling a little out of sync this morning. Not sad. Not ill. Not depressed. Not worried. (All of which is good.) Just a little "off". Which is what I think I will do to the radio, even though I am enjoying the music. And then I will go tackle that box.

Brian Kershisnik

That's the artist I learned about on Thursday night. You should google him. My phone finally let me connect to his website. And there are several of his giclees I want. The one that Sarah showed me is his Nativity. It is breathtaking.

It's going to be awhile before the one I've chosen, comes home to me. Lorelai needs a $600 repair to pass safety inspection. Power steering pressure hose.  My mechanic says: next car? Toyota or Honda, because there are widely available aftermarket parts. If she needs another big ticket repair in the next four years, I will reluctantly just sell her, as-is.

I am repeating to myself: it's not a car payment. It's not a car payment. It's not a car payment. But my planned trip to Utah might have to be postponed until next year. I am hoping that I won't have to back out of my Nauvoo trip and lose my deposit. I was expecting a nice tax refund refund this year but instead may have to pay a slightly larger amount than the expected refund.

The actual out of pocket will depend on the refund from filing an amended return for 2012. So I need to do the amended return, file an extension with an estimated payment of the difference, and wait for the refund to be applied to this year's return.

I am not worried about the money, because this is not 1996, when the AG's office forgave the children's father's judgment on defaulted student loans and 1099'd us, raising our tax bite to two-thirds of that year's gross income! One of the credit card companies has forgiven the balance and 1099'd Beloved. (Texas law prohibits them from attaching a lien to our homestead, the only significant asset of his estate.) It stinks that half of that balance was actually owed by one of his sons. I know better than to ask him to pay half of the tax bite.

If worse comes to worst, I will pull money from my 401K to pay the taxes. But I'm pretty sure that if I budget effectively, that won't be necessary. Which means that I will probably have to hold off on banjo lessons until I know about my raise and bonus. I'm not expecting much of either, as last year was a difficult and frustrating one at work, and it will be reflected in my final performance review next month.

I may need to hold off on banjo camp as well. Hope not.

All of this could be seriously crabbifying, except for the calm assurance that comes from being a full tithe-payer. I don't know how it will all work out. I just trust that it will, better than anyone could reasonably expect.

New processes.

I woke half an hour ahead of the alarm this morning. Grabbed Preach My Gospel and reread the selections of scripture I had read yesterday, this time making notes in my journal as I went. Then an exercise from Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain. Ate some tater tots washed down with milk.

The spreadsheet is helping me to touch all the things I feel impressed to work on, with some degree of regularity. I am feeling a little more balanced. Last night's massage was mostly a tuneup. Hands a bit sore from Wednesday night's music practice. But my shoulders were nearly as relaxed at the beginning of the massage as they used to be at the end of one. And when I was telling Sarah about the impressions and experiences I've had since the last one, the Spirit bore witness to me that these impressions are true and may be trusted.

She told me about an artist whose painting really moves her. While I was dressing, she called the friend who has a copy and got the name and looked it up. I'll share that another time. For now I'll just say that I liked it, too, and was reminded of Chagall.

We had snow yesterday. It was just starting as I walked out to the car. Little powdery flurries that swirled on the roadway as we all whooshed along. It only got bad as I got closer to downtown. And it snowed most of the day. I love that my phone wallpaper shows the weather. Just magical! There were some slick spots on the drive home, especially by the house. Also on the way to Sarah's. I drove back home between 20 and 30 miles per hour. Hardly anyone was on the road at that point.

The cowl is nearly done. The ball of yarn is smaller than my fist. I will be a little sad when this is done, as it's been so enjoyable.

I am suddenly ravenous. If I hurry, I can get a hot chocolate on my way to work.

Stamps? Check!

Pink for the valentines. "Celebrate" for the birthdays. Ray Charles for the handful of bills I still pay via snailmail and for general correspondence.

Lots of fun at Knit Night. Safe to-ing and fro-ing. Massive amounts of knitting. And a good night's sleep except for waking up in the middle of the night after kicking most of my covers off. I nearly joined the frozen chosen.

Interesting developments with my tax return. Not a problem, exactly. I think it's going to be a great story when the details all shake out. Just grateful that I'm not where I was financially, 18 years ago.

Not done, but progress.

I got my printer to cooperate. It's been sitting in time out for the past few months. Printed off a page of return address labels that was almost right. Tweaked the template a little and tried again. Then I labeled almost six dozen envelopes. I also created the valentines mailing list. I think the next step will be to make a bajillion little bows, using a dinner fork and the technique I learned from a YouTube video. I'll start with one.

The knitting is barreling along. My ball of yarn is visibly smaller each night when I go to bed. There's a decent chance of finishing it tonight.

I need to pick up stamps after work, and then pick up Fourthborn, and then dinner. But right now I'm full as a tick.

Fixing stuff.

I removed the broken link to my future banjo teacher's video and have posted it separately.

Yesterday was golden. We picked up our quilt blocks. Went to the museum. Grabbed burgers for lunch. I ran my souvenir postcard over to Hobby Lobby and picked up a mat and a frame. It's all put together and waiting for me to attach the screw-eyes and wire. I ran out of time before making the sandwiches for the ward social. Half of them got eaten. I bought the survivors home and will pick them off over the next few days.

I had a blast at the social. Ate some soup and half a sandwich. Visited with friends. Made new ones. Watched the kids hula hoop. And left after a little over an hour, tired and happy. I was in bed around 8:00, up at 1:00, and back to bed around 2:30, waking around 8:00. I got some good exercise yesterday and just the right amount of time spent with others.

Golden.

My plans for today include finishing my studies for church, finishing the valentines, watching Downton Abbey at Mel and Squishy's, and lots of happy knitting. I read the Sunday School lesson yesterday before leaving the house, but I didn't really study it. And I need to see if the RS president has indicated the topic for today's lesson. She's very good about posting it on the ward RS's FB page and sending via email.

Looking forward to a spiritually and emotionally satisfying day.

Vivaldi link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npkPcaa7gS4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Vivaldi + Banjo = Happiness

I have removed the broken link and will post the video separately.

I finally got around to buying a strap for my banjo last night. And it looks like I will be going to banjo camp later this year.

In other news, I stocked up at Costco last night and still spent less than $100. And I've passed the halfway point on my cowl. I think I was in bed a little after 8:30. Which meant I was up again at 2:30.

Today we pick up our quilt block kits, and then we are going to the Dallas Museum of Art to see the Hopper drawings. The kids will go home, and I will make sandwiches for tonight's ward social. I actually want to attend. Last year I just dropped off my contributions or left early. This year I want to be sociable.

I am wearing lipstick again. Life is good.

Wow.

The concert was fantastic. Beloved would have loved it. You have not lived until you've heard "Greensleeves" in the style of Earl Scruggs. Afterwards I had a chance to speak with the banjo player.

ME: That was amazing! I bought a banjo last year.

HIM: I'm so sorry! (big grin)

ME: I live in Garland, and -

HIM: So do I!

ME: I was hoping you could recommend a teacher.

HIM: I can. I recommend me!

Y'all, he lives five minutes away. It would be like taking dance from Gene Kelly. Or a writing workshop with Orson Scott Card. Or knitting lessons from EZ.

A few words about the venue. Loved it. The Renzo Piano addition to the Kimbell Museum. Seats are narrower than at the Winspear Opera House where I saw "Carmen" last fall. Leg room is vastly better. Seats are upholstered in red. Acoustics are warm and intimate.

So very very glad that I went. It's quite a hike on a work night but well worth it. My knee didn't screech once on the drive home.

When the student is ready...

Plan B, and I can't wait!

Ordinarily, I would be getting a massage tonight. But my massage therapist is recuperating from a drive-by germing. And I had been toying with the idea of rescheduling so that I might attend a concert built around an interesting premise.

World class guitarist. World class banjo player. World class fiddler. And some dude who plays bass viol that they are not embarrassed to be seen with. Probably world class in his own right. What I don't know about music and musicians is a fairly constant source of humility. Example: I learned this morning that there is such a thing as a cittern. Which autocorrect immediately turned into a cistern when I wisecracked on FB.

You might think this would teach me. You would be wrong.

Anyway, these dudes will be playing stuff from classical to Brubeck. My knitting and I will be there, rocking out. And even my hair is having a good day. I am so sassy that I almost can't stand it.

Happy teeth.

Happy dentist. Happy hygienist. Minimal lecturing. Happy me.

So on Sunday I thought about the various recent promptings I've had, and the need to organize them somehow so they all get a turn.

There are six divisions of provident living. Don't ask me to name them now. But six chunks of one's life which, if tended, lead to spiritual and temporal progress. Possibly even sanity or prosperity.

I need to take care of this body. I need to nourish mind and spirit as well. I'm sure the budget could use some tweaking. Work is an endless experiment in doing more-faster-better with less. I need social time and solitude.

So I'm dancing with the one what brung me: I created another page in my spreadsheet, like unto the one I used last year while saving for my banjo. I'm not trying to do everything all at once or even every day (except for scripture study and the like). But now I have a way to track what I'm doing, stay mindful, and see if my life is as balanced as I tell myself that it is.

We'll see how it goes.

Jottings and titles.

Autocorrect is really having a problem with that post title. Obviously, autocorrect has little to no familiarity with Biblical language and therefore does not appreciate a good pun. (Or a thoroughly bad one!)

The title to the Tardis arrived in today's mail. I have both titles bundled with a death certificate, for filing tomorrow. I remembered to check the mileage on the Tardis when I rolled the trash can out to the curb. I will write down Lorelai's mileage tomorrow as well.

I've grabbed the mileage log books to put in both vehicles to record medical mileage. I've found a home for the large roll of brown kraft paper that was in the hall closet.  I did not burn my garlic bread for dinner tonight. The salmon burger was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. I wanted something warm for dinner, because it is colder than a bill collector's heart out there. I know this because I deposited $12.50 in rolled coins into my mad money account after work. My bank is inside a grocery store. They would frown on my driving Lorelai through the double doors to the back of the store, just to make a deposit.

Work went well. I stayed steadily busy all day without feeling overwhelmed. I think I've passed the 50% mark on my cowl. It only argued a little with me today. And it's Wolfie's 258th birthday. The classical music station has been playing nothing-but, all day.

And now it is time for me to make a little night music of my own.

When is housework a sacred experience?

No, that's not a trick question. You know that this is something I struggle with. Two steps forward and one step back. Sometimes the other way around. I am mostly done with purging the hall closet. There are still a few items in the hall that I've pulled out, which must be dealt with. When I complete a part of this process and return the previously reorganized areas to their newfound order and let it stay that way before tackling another area, it is calming and deeply satisfying.

My living room throughout the holidays was a happy and peaceful place. It looked on-purpose. It's getting there again. The bag for Half Price Books is filling up. I just wedged more "keepers" into the bookcase. There's a book of cartoons from Scotland that I want to read, which will probably go to one of the boys when I'm done. I have finally cleared off the top of an occasional table which has been piled high with assorted books. It is sorely in need of dusting, but that can wait for another day.

I think I am ready to tackle the contents of the last storage bin from the hall closet. It has a comforter in one of those vacuum sealed bags, and more stuff under that. The bin itself is that 1980's blue and must go. I want the run of the hall again.

Yesterday I helped to clean our chapel. I will willingly do for the Lord what I only grudgingly do for myself. He knows it's hard for me to be on my feet long enough to do my share. I cleaned the library, dusted the choir loft and most of the baseboards and all of the pews in the chapel proper, and counted wastebaskets and the hanger clips on the chalkboards in the classrooms. I probably walked more than a mile before I was finished. And then I came home and *died*.

Naps are a wonderful thing. When I awoke, I ran errands. Picked up goodies to try from Trader Joe's. And supplies to make valentines. Five dozen of them. It's still my favorite non-religious holiday. I have stage 1 done and am waiting for inspiration on how to finish them.

This morning I need to bake brownies for tonight's fireside. And I'm hoping for a nap before church. I have kinda-sorta  eaten breakfast and am still vaguely hungry. And I am seriously grubby from yesterday's labors.

But happy. That's the important part.

The Tardis is paid off.

Title should arrive in the mail in the next few days. I'm hoping it will be here by Tuesday, when I take the afternoon off for a dental checkup. There is a DMV along the way, and I can get Beloved's name off both titles while I'm in the neighborhood.

Shortly after we married, we bought the Tardis from his mother. I've been making payments to her estate. When we put our names and the lien on the title, I also added him as an owner of Lorelai, in case I predeceased him. Changing it back will make the paperwork easier for my kids, should both vehicles outlast me.

I don't anticipate that they will, although there were a few hours yesterday when I wouldn't have objected too strenuously. My head, lungs, and ankles are all much happier today.

Sleep helps. I went to bed quite early after warming a bag of deer corn and tucking it into the crick of my neck when I pulled up the covers. When I come home from cleaning the chapel later this morning, I plan to do that again. I've been up since a little after 4:00, and there isn't time for a nap before I need to be at church.

I slept in Beloved's Packers shirt again. I will probably only take it off long enough to wash it and to go to church tomorrow. If I continue to stay well, I am going to the fireside in Arlington and will catch up on Downton Abbey next week. Although the DVD is supposed to be out on Tuesday. Adding that to the list.

Ravenous, two English muffins since waking to the contrary. And cold. And sleepy. All fiendish plots to keep me from keeping my word. But I will persevere.

New dwarf.

Itchy. I woke out of a sound sleep around 1am and idly scratched my left leg, provoking a major encounter with the Hive Fairy. I was up for about an hour until the lotion kicked in. So, maybe four and a half hours? I think it's psychogenic, triggered by my emotional response to the newer of the two new temple films. Because sobbing and wailing are not appropriate behaviors for the house of the Lord. My inner artist was calling out last night. The part of me that was quashed and possibly shamed by my 7th grade art teacher. The part that says calligraphy is nice, and craft is good, but honey, you are supposed to be an artist as well as a musician. You mean to tell me that you forgot?

So today I am at work, when I want to be home, crying and making music and making jewelry and thinking seriously about painting over my canvas from last week. And I am eating, to keep from crying. Tomorrow morning I will help clean the church. And tomorrow night I will do a drive-by fooding of the missionaries. And in between I'm pretty sure that glorious messes are going to happen.

Oh, and I'm planning on attending a hockey game in a couple of months. Wouldn't it be funny if I ended up being more comfortable at the hockey game than I was at the opera?

Another box and drawer sorted.

More scouting stuff. A couple of great T-shirts. All boxed up for the boys to sort through. One drawer freed up. A small addition to the shredding pile. All the wire hangers are now corralled in a bag for drop-off at the dry cleaners. I am torn between sorting another small box and hopping into the shower half an hour ahead of schedule.

I am just waiting for W-2's, and then I can file my taxes. It feels good to be on top of that again. Last year was just a mess.

Loving the current knitting project. It's a reprise of the cowl I made for my sister, but in a different yarn and color.

A cold front has moved through. Not looking forward to walking out the door this morning. I am heading straight to the temple after work. That, I am looking forward to. Two weeks ago I just nipped in and did some initiatories. Tonight I am planning on an endowment session. Anybody local want to join me?

Got 'er done.

Donations dropped off. Full day of work put in. Pie tested. Fourthborn picked up. Knit Night attended. Cooler picked up from Firstborn's. Sudden mutual craving for Arby's satisfied. Fourthborn dropped off. And then the long drive home.

Once here, I updated the spreadsheet with escrow information. My homeowner's  insurance premium jumped $300 over last year. I foresee at least a $25 increase in my mortgage payment in the very near future. Or the option of paying a lump sum, which is what I did last year. But in 176 payments, there will be no more mortgage, and that day will be here before I know it.

I am so thankful to have all those bags of stuff out of my living room and on their way to new homes. I have a box of paperwork and Scout stuff to sort through next. The hall closet is still not empty. I'm waiting to stow the Christmas bins until it is. Or at least I think I am.

On the one hand, I want to stow them once and be done with it until the day after Thanksgiving. On the other, I might feel less frustrated with how long this particular project is taking if I stowed now and tweaked later. That closet is turning out to be a clown car. Maybe I should rename it the Room of No Longer Requirement?

I envision it as a holiday closet: Christmas tree, tidy bins of ornaments and decorations, plus my smaller stashes of Easter and Halloween stuff. If there's room, a gift wrapping station squarely in the middle, although my bed serves well enough for that purpose.

Time to refuel and maybe set the timer for 15 minutes to see how much of that box I can sort out before I have to hop in the shower. I am home this evening. I am hoping that finish-itis will kick in. If not, there is Saturday, after helping to clean the chapel and before the drive-by fooding of the missionaries.

Girls just wanna be *done*.

Half a day's work, before breakfast.

The trash is on the curb. A load of laundry is in the dryer. Five large paper shopping bags are in Lorelai's back seat, along with two garbage bags and two briefcases. (I got that out to the car in two trips. Go, me!) A small envelope for Middlest is ready for stamps.

Last night I pulled more stuff out of the hall closet. Read a few pages in Preach My Gospel. Perused the paperwork for the refinance so I may add that information to my tax return. I am just about done with the itemized deductions. The good news is, out of pocket medical expenses were several thousand dollars less than in 2012. The bad news is that they don't appear to add up to 5% of AGI and will not be deductible. This is balanced by the fact that I will be getting a refund. And that after I file an amended return for 2012, I will be getting another, smaller one.

Tonight will be busy: stop by Jody's and taste test her attempt to replicate the pie I had for breakfast on our road trip. Pick up Fourthborn. Go to Knit Night. Take Fourthborn home. Come home. And somewhere in there, pick up the cooler I left at Secondborn's at Christmas.

This is the part where I grab the clean clothes, sluice off, run the donations to the thrift shop, and still get to work on time.

Crabby. Distinctly so.

I was able to catch up on the Downton Abbey episode I missed last week. It was hard to watch. Just made me livid. Poor Anna. (And my dreams were bizarre last night.) Last night's episode was another perspective on the topic. Anna's behavior is classic PTSD. Whereas Branson's response to being taken advantage of is far more healthy. Poor Mrs. Hughes, who is privy to both stories and only allowed to help in one.

I will be glad for the day when the Savior reigns, and women are safe from the worst sort of men, and men are safe from scheming women. There will no doubt still be misunderstandings, but there will also be purity of intent, so forgiveness will come much more easily when we trespass against one another.

Meanwhile, I might be a little twitchy until my ghosts are quiet again.

On field trips and neckties.

Yesterday I went to Hico with my friend Jody. Field trip to Wiseman House Chocolates. Well worth the time and effort. Serious stash enhancement! Came home and had a nap, then some grocery shopping. Made pigs in blankets for the first time since marrying Beloved. (We did not do biscuits from a tube while he lived. I wanted comfort food last night, with zero effort.)

I am playing catch up on the Sunday School lessons this morning. Interspersed with puttering. I spent about half an hour sorting through Beloved's old ties, four hangers' worth. Kept almost all of the silk ones, either to turn into doll clothes or to repair my necktie skirt. The ties are now in a basket in my studio, and the back of the door to the hall closet is 95% uncluttered. Time for me to read last week's SS lesson, but what I really want to do is take a nap. I've been up for four hours already.

Quirk: I habitually wash my hands with cold water. For as long as I can remember. I have been wondering this week why I don't allow myself the few seconds it takes for the water to get warm so that I may wash them in comfort.

Time to move the books aside and set the alarm for a couple of hours. When I doze off in the middle of a post, that suggests where my priorities ought to be.

Back at work today.

Feeling a little snarky because I can't convince the computer here in the library to let me online. I will have to wait for 5:01 and log on from my desk.

I was drowning in emails when I came back. Have gotten through two days' worth of mail apiece for both my guys.

Tonight I get a massage. I need one. The past two days went far better than I had any right to expect. Cheesecake with Fourthborn on Tuesday. Painting with a Twist with Firstborn and Secondborn that evening. I have an incredibly LOUD painting in Lorelai's trunk. Many of my favorite colors to wear. I had so much fun. And we all know how much I love palm trees. I will no doubt be painting over the canvas with colors that match my interiors.

Yesterday was more quiet. I spent most of it reading. I did take two packages to the post office. And myself to the movies.

Loved Saving Mr. Banks. Not a movie for kids. And would probably raise too many ghosts for several of my kids. I bawled.

I think I am going to make the two-days-off a tradition. I cried several times on Tuesday morning, because of some of my musical choices. I'll pick different music next year.

Chaos 0, Ms. Ravelled a bunch

It was a good weekend. Lots of steady puttering, adding up to increased order with only minimal interim disorder. None of this "we had to destroy the village to save it" nonsense.

I got one of the bookcases moved into the studio. Another one (the folding one behind the door) moved out into the living room and filled with two boxes of cookbooks that had not seen the light of day since I left Fort Worth two years ago.

The Christmas tree is in three sections and tossed into the middle bedroom until I order and receive a storage bag for it. My spinning chair and the small Pottery Barn bench are occupying the space where the tree stood, to be joined later this year by a Lendrum double treadle spinning wheel.

The card making supplies and beading supplies are back in the studio. The laundry was caught up before I left for lunch with Br. Sushi on Saturday. I ran the dishwasher. And the shredder.

I picked up another item for my sister's Christmas box. Stocked up on milk and day-old baked goods. The leftovers in my fridge have been providently consumed.

Taught the RS lesson yesterday. HT / VT came over after church. Got a big hug from her and a blessing from him.

And now I go into work for one day, before taking two days off. I feel inoculated against the crazy that might erupt from back to back anniversaries. Hoping to be incredibly productive today, both in terms of what I get paid for, and in progress on my tax return during lunch.

One more spinning plate.

Sleep is just a wee bit erratic at the moment. Nine hours (!) last Friday night. Five to six on a more typical evening. Sometimes my bladder wakes me. Sometimes I've slept funny, and it's my jaw. Sometimes I have kicked off all the covers. And just frequently enough to keep me both hopeful and unbalanced, sometimes I get to sleep and wake up like a normal person.

I'll wait while you stop snickering.

During my lunch hour yesterday I started entering information into TurboTax for 2013. It is a whole lot less complicated than last year, in part because the sheer volume of paperwork is significantly reduced. I have three fat manila envelopes of supporting documentation for 2012. I have two slim envelopes for 2013. I could probably cram it all into one fat envelope and be done with it, but having it divided has made it easier to pull something back out if I needed to.

Anyway, I discovered that I made a small error on last year's return. I either entered $42 of expense that I shouldn't, or I should have entered $742. Either way, I will have to file an amended return. It would be really cool if I got back the $191 I sent them last year. Or maybe a little more. And it won't break the bank if it's the other way around.

I'm not done entering items on Schedule A, but it looks like I will get a refund this year. If so, it will go into savings to build my emergency fund. I had thought that I might want to buy a doll to celebrate paying off the line of credit for the second time in two years. For the moment, I do not.

I want to build on the progress I made last year while transitioning into the new, old filing status. Last year I used the life insurance to pay the mortgage so I could use my earnings to pay off the line of credit. Obviously that could not go on forever. This year I want to continue living very simply, refining my spreadsheet and improving my budgeting skills.

I have two short vacations planned: a trip to Nauvoo, and one to visit Tan. I am starting to think about where I want to go in 2015.

I've also spent some time this week working on the RS lesson for Sunday. I'm excited to be teaching again, if only as a substitute. And since I've cut back the massages to every other week (yay for progress!!!) I think I will resume going to the temple on alternate Thursdays. Starting tonight.

I love how the Lord teaches me a little at a time, as I'm ready. When I lived in Arlington and Fort Worth, the doctor and dentist were more or less on the way to work. I would go in the morning. Now that I live in Garland, it makes more sense to go in the late afternoon. And now that I go to Arlington most Tuesdays for Knit Night, it makes sense to schedule my appointments for Tuesday afternoons. I rescheduled my first dental cleaning of 2014 accordingly. I will keep this in mind when I schedule next year's well woman. Too much hassle to reschedule this year's, and I didn't want to put it off any longer. The one next month should have taken place last summer. Fall at the latest.

My sister's cowl is approaching completion. The Christmas tree is nearly undecorated. And it's almost time to make the birthday cards for February.

You wanna give that plate another spin as you walk by?

Life on the edge.

(Of the bed.) Sleeping with a CPAP means that I hug the edge of the bed all night. There is only so long that the cords and tube may be, without my running the risk of strangulation if it's a particularly restless night. Sometimes I wake up in almost the same position as when I slid under the carefully arranged covers. I am warm. Or appropriately cool. My muscles and joints are relaxed. All is well in this little tabernacle of clay.

Other times it's as if I had been moving furniture in my dreams. I awake with half the covers on the floor or hanging off the side of the bed. My left shoulder aches from the effort to keep myself in a warm, cozy ball. My right elbow grumbles because that arm has been thrown back at an unnatural (but apparently quite sustainable) angle. My right knee is screaming that we are all going to die from hypothermia. My feet are two small igloos.

I awoke ahead of the alarm this morning because the ice cubes in my bladder wanted out. And then I went back to bed with only one desire: to thaw. I jumbled up the blankets into a plausible heap and inserted my cranky carcass beneath them. The classical music came on. I stayed put, thankful that it was real music and not twelve-tone nonsense, for nearly half an hour.

At this hour, I have improved to the point of feeling freeze dried. We count all the small victories. This morning there is no question of dawdling in my bed with my knitting. I will spend that time in the shower, poaching as the jets beat down on my trigger points. If wishes were horses, I would spend the next half hour in a hot tub, or walking in shoulder deep water in an overheated pool. If I had either. Which, sadly, I do not.

Because I am still not entirely warm. I foresee a trip to Racetrac on the way to work, for the largest hot chocolate that money can buy. OK. Pity party is over. I'm off to felt Ms. Ravelled.

New tricks.

This morning I turned on the audio feature  of the scriptures on my phone and read along.

Watched the first two episodes of Downton Abbey at Mel and Squishy's last night. Can't wait to get to work and do the Monday morning quarterbacking with my seestahs. Squishy and I were unable to get my TV to go from video to TV reception. So you'll know where to find me for the next several Sunday nights. Oh darn.

And I will be buying another TV when I'm ready to redo the living room. Oh darn.

I got lots and lots of knitting done yesterday. The cowl is approaching six inches in length, and the ball of yarn is only a little smaller than the size of my fist. That was one generous skein of sock yarn!

Heading into the office shortly for my first full week in awhile. That could get interesting about noon on Thursday, when my brain asks the musical question, "Shouldn't we have had a day off by now?" The major counties in Texas have just moved to mandatory e-filing. So we are learning new ways of doing old things. I've already had to spoil a check for a jury fee, for a case in a county that I thought hadn't made the switch.

I had a couple of lovely and apparently necessary weeps in the past 24 hours. And my ankles are looking amazingly girlish this morning. If this keeps up, I may be able to wear those ankle boots I bought awhile ago.

Over and out.

Yay! for 1:00 church!!!!!

It's my favorite shift in the rotation. I don't have short people who need naps. I get to have a leisurely morning and then go worship. I can still sneak in a nap, either before church or when I get home.

Today I will be sustained in a new calling. It's a dangerous thing, being friends with a member of the bishopric. I ran there Monday night for a blessing after the news about LittleBit. And he grinned and said, "While I have a captive audience..."

And I said, "Oh cr*p, are you going to complicate my life again with a new calling? Is this instead of, or in addition to? And I warn you, if it's Primary, the answer is not only no but HELL no."

It's in addition to. And intermittent. And will be fun. (Well, at least for *me*.) That's all I'll say for now. He had just unclogged my vacuum cleaner. I could hardly tell him no. Even if it *had* been Primary.

It is now later. I have been sustained by the congregation and set apart for the calling. After which I reminded him, "You know this was my original calling in the ward*, until you yanked me out into the Primary, and now I've come full circle." Implying, of course, that he could have just left me there and saved me a lot of confusion and frustration. To which he replied, "Yes, but now you have new experiences and perspective to bring to the calling."

*Oh yeah. Forgot to mention. Substitute RS Teacher. And I'm teaching next Sunday. I wasn't a substitute before. It was a regular monthly calling.

I quipped that it seems to me that the assistant librarian calling is chiefly to ensure that I will be on time for sacrament meeting. And this one to ensure that I will read the RS lesson every month. He said that was one way to look at it.

He's going to be a great bishop someday.

Not putting this on FB.

Got a call from LittleBit yesterday around 4:00pm. "I'm OK, but I don't want to leave you a message. Please call me back." So I did, from my cell phone.

She had a seizure on Sunday, so he took her to the hospital. She had another while there. They admitted her, because it was now a history rather than an episode. (She had a seizure in April and was sent home.)

EEG. MRI. Diagnosis? Seizure disorder, also known as epilepsy. She just turned 24 and will be on medication for the rest of her life. (We're not sure which one just yet.) No driving for six months. No public transportation in Arlington, but there is Handitran. No swimming solo. No strobe lights. And her monthly cycle may or may not trigger it. No sleep deprivation. She is a full time college student.

We are all glad that it was neither a stroke nor a tumor. I called the rest of the kids on my drive home. She spoke with her dad yesterday and told him she was in the hospital for tests. Whether he remembers this morning is anybody's guess. She is amenable to a blessing. My home teacher is out of town until Friday night, so I stopped at Wes and Sarah's and got one.

Picked up a pint of Chocolate Therapy and only ate a sensible portion before crashing a little before midnight. Slept like a rock. Still feeling a little shocky this morning but basically sane. Burning the last of my personal time this afternoon. Will nip into a conference room and snivel as needed throughout the day.

My. Poor. Kid.

Wonderful, relaxing, refreshing Sabbath?

The high council speaker spoke about setting goals. I knitted. My phone battery wanted a nap after the closing song in sacrament meeting. So I turned it off and knitted. We had a joint priesthood/RS meeting today on the personal application of Lehi's dream. Something of a painful topic for me, as I would like to break off a nice chunk of the iron rod (a metaphor for the word of God) and beat various people with it. I knitted some more.

I showed up. I participated. And I suspect the bishop wished I had been a little less outspoken in the third hour when I shared that I have yet to be struck by lightning when voicing my frustrations at high volume in the general direction of Heaven. God's a lot bigger and smarter and tougher than I am. He can take my anger and turn it into something useful. There are probably whole islands in out of the way places that have been created from bled-off bits of mother-rage.

I got nagged by the Spirit when we sang today. Repeatedly. Not fun. There are people who need my forgiveness, even though boy howdy! they do not deserve it. I remind myself often that s/he who takes offense where none is intended is a fool. And s/he who takes offense where it *is* intended is a greater fool. Most days that makes me grin, and I adjust my attitude accordingly. Yeah no. Not today. Today I am just raising sand without managing to sweep it out the metaphorical door. Maybe it's leftovers from the energy work on Thursday.

On the other hand, I got a lot of knitting done today. And my thank-you notes written with real gratitude and a bit of creativity.

I had myself a wound concealed.

(Line from one of my favorite hymns.) But I've been trying to figure out how to share something without making my children freak out. I'm OK. Really. The commode broke my fall.

One week ago today, I awoke about 2:00a.m to answer nature's call. Washed my hands, turned to reach for the towel, and down I went. I wasn't dizzy. I didn't faint. I didn't even have time to swear. Just "uh-oh" as I plummeted.

I know all the things it wasn't. And I may have a handle on what it was. (Build-up of heat protection hair product I recently began using? Containing a bunch of stuff ending in "-one", so possibly related to silicone? That would certainly do the trick.)

Nothing broke. Including the commode. I didn't have a mark on me anyplace that's covered by my temple garments. I had a bruise the size of my fist, and enough colors to make a peacock proud, on the inside of my upper left arm. It is now a Nike swoosh about three inches long and significantly faded.

I sat on the side of my bed and gave thanks that I wasn't seriously hurt. (My head didn't even come close to hitting the tub.) And then I cried like a two year old for a couple of minutes, interspersed with the praying.

I was supposed to get a massage last night, but I was still expressing an allergic reaction to the alfredo pizza I had for lunch on Tuesday. Massive bloating, actual pain from the distension, followed several hours later by swelling and itching that did not *quite* break into hives. Yesterday all that remained were the borderline hives.

We had TexMex for Christmas dinner. I took one look at all the tomato sauce and opted for two small chicken fajita tacos with cheese, guacamole and sour cream. And a couple of cookies. I have a better appreciation for how Fourthborn feels, with her severe nut allergy.

I drove for almost four hours on Christmas, in two chunks. The home stretch was saved only by Fourthborn's company on the first half. I had to stop and buy a Cherry Coke to (a) break up the gastric distress and (b) stay awake.

So last night we did energy work. Confirmed that I am sensitive to tomatoes. Sadly, also to alfredo sauce. And stainless steel. And copper. But not to nickel or tin or gold or silver or surgical steel. I should learn to cook with cast iron. And until we have the time to do a 26 hour rebalancing, I should use my actual silverware, or plasticware, and it wouldn't hurt to get a couple of ceramic knives.

Thankfully, this is payday.

And then we went to work on the emotional issues. Cleared a bushel of those. Connected the onset of my swelling left ankle with the decay of my marriage to the children's father. Connected a new symptom with having absorbed some of the crazy from his new fiancée when I met her on Christmas Day.  Bat poop crazy does not begin to describe it. Connected my right elbow to the burden of "carrying" him for so long. Connected other symptoms with my relationship, or lack thereof, with the twins. Connected others with hurt, anger and guilt over stuff with my own kids. I do a lot better at unscrambling the metaphors when I work with Sarah. It's very much a case of "where two or three are gathered in His name". We had several moments last night when she named an emotion and asked if I could relate a time or an event. I would, and the Spirit would confirm it, and we would both go "whoa". Energy work normally takes us maybe 20 minutes. We worked steadily for over an hour and a half, long enough that my knee started hurting because it thought I was driving again.

Got rid of a lot of stuff last night.  And need to write letters to four of my kids. (Lines of communication have never been clearer with one of them. So that would be a want-to and not a need-to.)

And oh, by the way? The line of credit will be paid off by close of business today.

More of the same.

Since my last post I have fallen into a Facebook group for LDS Widows and Widowers. Wonderfully supportive bunch, not that I need a lot of support. I have it so much easier than most of them. Thus far, my Christmas preparations have been unreservedly joyful. Love my tree. Thoroughly enjoyed sending out the Christmas cards. Am having a blast in the kitchen.

Got a lovely response to one of the cards I sent. A cousin of Beloved's late wife, thanking me for news of his passing and welcoming me to the tribe.

I finally figured out what to make for my sister. (I asked her.) Am knitting what will either be a cowl or an infinity scarf. She will get it sometime before Valentines Day. She's fine with that.

Time to eat a little more breakfast and pack my lunch and sneak in a bit of knitting before I ease on down, ease on down the road. (Points if you know what that's from.)

I know. I know. Sorry! (Sorta.)

Despite anything you may have heard to the contrary, I have not been translated since Thursday morning. Just busy with this and that. Work was wild. The secretary I back up was supposed to return from vacation but did not. I had been looking forward to handing her Attorney B with a weary smile. He took the afternoon off, which greatly simplified my day. There are faith-promoting rumors that he is starting to talk about retirement. By the end of the week I was in "if I give you a going-away present, will you go away?" mode.

Dropped off the IRS refund at the local bank on the drive home and picked up a fresh can of baking powder and a potato so large it needed its own zip code. Plus two dozen rolls for the ward party. I was too tired to make soup when I got home, so I baked some tater tots and called it a day. I got eight hours of sleep in two increments!

Saturday was all about the errands. Picked up the December quilt square kit. Took the scenic route home and picked up a plant stand (please refrain from pointing out that I do not do plants) and a new floor lamp that is going back to the store, because I cannot correct its list from the vertical. Saturday night was also the ward Christmas party. I baked a double batch of brownies during the intermission from sleep at dark-thirty that morning.

Yesterday was about music and food and way too much driving. I am thankful that it is Monday, and I can go to work and recover from my day of rest.

Knit happened throughout the weekend. Let heaven and nature sing!

Much as I love classical music...

... Sometimes it is a distraction. I love having my alarm set to the classical station. And it's easier to write when the house is quiet. Right now I hear the clock ticking above the desk. The almost imperceptible hum of the ceiling fan. The tap of my stylus on this phone. The sound of my feet rubbing together to satisfy an itch, or my curiosity. The honking as I try to clear one side of my head. A bird outside my bedroom window; he's definitely up before the chickens. The furnace just came on.

It is Thursday already. I'll get a massage tonight. I'll need it. It's been a productive week at work. I am getting caught up. And I am being more mindful of the small stressors and how they affect my body. A flash of irritation: two or three quick, soft coughs. I could actually feel my BP increase at another point. It decreased almost immediately *and* I need to address the issue that caused it, and I don't want to. But I will. Because if I do, it will help me to remain healthy and effective.

I like being both.

I played in the kitchen last night instead of making BittyBit's birthday card. My creative mojo is all over the place.

Time to figure out what I want to wear to work today.

Huzzah! Made it to work yesterday.

We had a two hour delay. I went to lunch with SemperFi and our paralegal and another attorney. And still got all the mail wrangled for three attorneys and my email caught up from last week. Today I will catch up my to-do's. I have three attorneys through Thursday.

No knitting yesterday. And still no idea what to give my sister for Christmas.

FHE last night was spent perusing the Christopher Lowell home dec book I inherited. I'm getting a clearer vision of how I want to arrange the furniture in the dining room once the flooring is redone.

Knit Night tonight, unless we have more bad weather today. The pecan tree appears to be recovering from the ice storm. On Friday the northernmost branches were bent nearly to the ground. They were a little above parallel when I left for work yesterday morning. It was too dark to tell when I got home last night. And my focus was on getting the trash can out to the curb without taking a spill in the process.

Be good. Stay warm.

Weeping and wailing and ganache-ing of teeth

I wanted to go to church today. I needed to go to church today. Mother Nature was in cahoots with the Bad'Un. When I went out to scrape ice an hour and a half before church, I could not get all the way down the lawn to where Lorelai is parked. Much less walk down the driveway directly. A friend in Arlington posted a formula to melt the ice (and supposedly to keep it from re-forming). I made about 20 batches of it and was able to free the left side, get in and start the engine and heater, and clear the windshield, hood and right side.

I also baked shortbread cookies, made four dozen turtles, and a bread cheese pudding for dinner. And now I want to sleep. The First Presidency's annual Christmas message begins in about an hour. I have a feeling that I'm going to miss it.

Twelve down, two to go.

I am nearly done with the antibiotics. They seem to be working. I'm sure that the napping doesn't hurt, either. Work was postponed until noon yesterday, then canceled entirely. I got all but eight Christmas cards done and stamped, and the last eight envelopes are addressed. There were naps interspersed with all that heavy labor.

The ice storm was no joke. I thought at first that the pecan tree in the front yard was a goner. When I went outside to photograph the damage, I saw that the north half is simply bent low to the ground from the weight of the ice. Several of my friends were without power for much of the day. I was warm and safe and dry.

In the evening, to rest my hand, I put in "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and semi-watched while finishing a third miniature stocking for the tree and beginning a fourth.

The quilt shop was open yesterday and planned to be open again today. They are offering this month's block next Saturday as well, without penalty, because the roads are so bad. The girls and I have agreed to wait. The doll party has been rescheduled for next month.

All of which leaves me with an open dance card and a growing need for socialization. Since it would not be sensible for me to drive to Home Depot to get the paint I forgot to buy last weekend, this might be a good day to tackle the studio. I could burn off a lot of the fidgets and maybe even get some mending done when I was through. Or sew another Christmas stocking, as I have yet to find the one I used last year.

I went to bed with a real sense of satisfaction last night. I'd like to do the same tonight.

Good choice yesterday.

Three hours of actual work followed by two hours of lunch and team building. When the optional activity began, I opted to come home and take a nap.

Last night I bought four new boxes of Christmas cards and a package of green pens. Twenty-one cards will go out in today's mail. I'll do another batch tonight.

Knit did not happen yesterday. But the paperwhites are nearly all open, and the living room smells wonderful. Outside, the temperature is dropping. We are in for a major ice storm, which puts the quilt shop run on Saturday morning and the doll meet that night both in question. My job is to make sure I'm well enough to get to them, should they go forward as scheduled.

This is the part where I get ready for work.

I'm up! I'm up!

I finished the tree yesterday. It's gorgeous, if I do say so. I ran out of hangers and was thinking that I'd have to make a run to Hobby Lobby after work, when I remembered that the original plan was to wire the ornaments on with floral wire. I had scads of it leftover from the wedding. But I used the miniature ornament hangers that I'd bought for the dolls' trees (still undecorated), instead.

I measured the one remaining unused hanger and determined that a 2" length of wire would do it. So I cut 18 more hangers from two lengths of wire, bent the larger curve around a skinny pen, and used my needle nose pliers to shape the other end. There are approximately 175 ornaments on the tree. It took me two days, between naps. Maybe five hours, not counting the time to carefully remove the lights.

I am going back to work today. It's a light day, with a team building activity this afternoon and lunch provided, so it shouldn't be all that demanding.

I have another box of Christmas stuff to sort through, but that can wait until tonight. Current objective is to find more of the green pens I used last year for the Christmas cards.

Better. Still not well.

I slept a lot yesterday. I also sorted through two boxes that have been sitting by the TV since maybe last Christmas? One of them held lots of stuff belonging to Beloved's late wife: high school and seminary graduation, small linens, a couple of photo albums. It will go to Squishy. I also found Beloved's kindergarten and first grade report cards. He was a good reader, a *great* talker, and a joy to his teachers. Also saw pictures of him while he was on his mission, with the PD in California, and with the twins as babies. I did not read his love letters. All of that goes to Squishy as well.

I managed to get the tree half decorated last night. Even without lights it is starting to look amazing. I may get it finished today. Not going to work, or to Knit Night. I've already called in for the day. I suspect I'll spend much of it napping. Right now I'm letting breakfast settle and waiting a bit before rolling the trash can out to the curb. I also need to bring in yesterday's mail. And I really, really want a shower.

I think that bodes well. Backache is noticeably less than yesterday. I just want to be healthy and stay that way.

More plan B.

I did finish the grocery shopping on Saturday. Bought and mailed the gift cards for 2BDH and the wife of Younger Twin. Went to Home Depot. They did not have the baseboards or the replacement door for the garage, and there was a line at the paint counter, so I made a beeline for the flooring department. Brought home 28 cartons of vinyl plank flooring at 99 cents per square foot.

I was so elated that I completely forgot to revisit the paint counter. That will have to wait until next weekend, because after church I went to the after hours clinic and then to the pharmacy. I have been listening to my body very carefully since last Tuesday. And yesterday it told me that I should postpone the nap and go pee in a cup.

I emailed my office manager and my attorneys. After I post this, I will leave a voice mail for the office. Today is a day for antibiotics, knitting, and sleep. I am nearly done with a second miniature sock from leftover Noro Silk Garden.

Saturday night I spent approximately four hours untangling the lights from a beautiful old-school pre-lit tree that Leslye gave me. It was a mostly Zen experience, especially after I figured out the rhythm. I now have three nests of unwound lights on the living room floor. I will attempt to get them organized sometime today, between naps.

I waffled back and forth between keeping the unlit tree or buying a new pre-lit one at Costco after work today. But since I am not going to work, I will be going nowhere this evening. And the tree is really quite lovely, even without any lights. (There is no commandment that a Christmas tree *must* have lights.) Decision made: the tree stays. And I have found a good home for the smaller pre-lit one we used last year.

I bought a small pot of paperwhites on Saturday. They are already beginning to open. I tell them how pretty they are when I pass them on the way to the kitchen.

I hope to get the tree decorated sometime this week. But you know what? I'm not going to stress about it. I think I feel another nap coming on. I will have to get sufficiently dressed later today to bring in the fresh gallon of distilled water from Lorelai's trunk, for the CPAP. If I'm going to spend half the day asleep, I will use a lot more water than typically.

Be good. Try to have fun without me.

Couldn't find the list.

Went shopping anyway. Spent less than $150 at Costco. Bought whole nutmeg (planned) and a pot of paperwhites (unplanned) at Central Market. Came home and took another nap, because schlepping all of that from the car to the house flat wore me out.

Cleared the area in front of the dining room window so I could start painting. Opened the can of paint to find flecks of rust all over its surface. This guarantees a trip to Home Depot today. But I need to finish the grocery shopping first.

Dinner with Brother Sushi last night. Good input from him on my renovations. Updates on his China trip. Great food. Impeccable service. Much laughter. He is a most excellent acquired brother.

Goals for today: make the lebkuchen dough and refrigerate it. Make at least one batch of turtles for the gift baskets. Take the possum traps out of the back of the truck and bait them. Paint the trim.  Set up the big tree in the living room so I may decorate it tomorrow. I would, of course, like to do about 20 more things, but I am trying to be somewhat realistic.

Somewhat. We'll see how it goes.

Making a list. Checking it twice.

My brain wants to go out in the dining room and start painting trim. LittleBit is working at the mall again, and I don't know when she is going to be able to break free to paint for me. And I want that room pretty for Christmas.

But I've been up for hours, paying bills among other things, and I'm ready for the first nap of the day. I came home from Secondborn's and slept for nearly eight hours! So, breakfast around 3am was a sliver of pumpkin pie, a brownie, and a handful of roasted pistachios. Washed down with cranberry pomegranate juice, because I'm trying to stave off another kidney infection. I got a blessing from my two sons-in-law yesterday, and the backache is gone. I am listening very carefully to my body, to see if I need to go pee in a cup while I'm out and about later today.

This week's major stressor was the distinct possibility of meeting the children's father's (new) fiancee at the tribal feast. So I have been talking to myself about that. It's not that I don't want him to be happy. And definitely not that I want him back. Or that I care about her opinion of me, because even if she does join the church, we are not likely to be neighbors in the eternities. But someone whose opinion I respect has met her, and the woman is bat-poop crazy. And planning to marry the family crazy-maker.

We have quite enough crazy in this family without importing more of it. Plus, I would hate for her mental health issues to be magnified. It took me years to climb out of that rabbit hole. I can't warn her, because I'd just be seen as the vengeful ex-wife instead of someone looking out for her welfare.

So that's all been bouncing around inside my head. She wasn't there yesterday. Maybe we'll meet at Christmas? I want to be kind to her, because I remember the people who were kind to me when I was rocking the crazy, all those years ago.

And lest you think I am perfect and just waiting for that golden chariot to swoop down and carry me off, some of this is hurt pride, because he shut me out for the last few years of our marriage. It's like when the kids found inappropriate stuff on his computer years ago (after the divorce), and my reaction was "oh, you only want to have fun with images that have no values or opinions?"

So glad that I'm sealed to a man who was *present* to his last breath.

Dare I say "progress"?

All four walls are painted. I spent half an hour or so clearing the floor of everything that had washed up against the east wall over the past several months. My plan was to come home and start ripping up the carpet. Both Mellow and a brother in my ward cautioned me to be careful pulling up the tack strips, because apparently it's easy to crack the concrete or tear chunks out of it.

So I spent the evening perusing my copy of Renovating Woman, which I bought maybe a dozen years ago and have been lugging along from one temporary home to another until now. And which does not address the topic of carpet, except as a covering for squeaky floorboards that must be gotten out of the way in order to fix same. I also grabbed one of the home carpentry books which has survived the purge, to no avail. While not immediately helpful, both books stay.

I got more specific, immediately useful, information from YouTube videos. In which I saw just how easy it will be for me to float a vinyl plank floor without asking for help, except maybe in getting up from the floor. And that I will want to install the new baseboards first. I wonder if I have a nail gun out in that kluge of a garage? And I wonder where the miter box has gotten to? And the hand saw? I know where the clamps are for the miter box: in the small pile of miscellaneous articles on the cusp of dining room and entryway.

So my grand plans of getting the new floor in over Thanksgiving weekend might have been excessively optimistic. But I'm reasonably sure that I can make visible progress. I had hoped to have the carpet and padding ripped up and tied into small, manageable rolls to go out on the curb this morning. I know where the kitchen twine is, when I'm ready.

In knitting news, I started the heel flap on the second baby sock yesterday. And I am now ready to turn the heel, once I get to the office. I will probably finish at Knit Night. I might even be able to pop them in the mail on the way home.

And now I'm wondering if I should use that nice expanse of uncluttered carpet to block Knit Swirl before I get busy with the utility knife? Maybe that was what held me back last night?

Best Charlotte's Web ever!

BittyBit was Nelly, one of Charlotte's babies. She spoke audibly and distinctly. The silly Goose was delightful as well. And Charlotte herself was everything one could wish. Third grade rocked that play! BittyBubba's class did the Three Little Pigs and What Does the Fox Say in Spanish. Twice each, so every child got to participate.

I came home, took a nice nap, knitted a little, and went to the middle school production of Night at the Wax Museum. My young friend Ky played John Adams, sometime POTUS and legal counsel to Anne Boleyn!!! The cast kept it moving, and I thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Today I finished the first baby sock and started the second. I also cut-in on the last wall in the dining room and brush-painted about 80% of the rest of the wall because I overestimated how much I would need for the cutting-in.

We are expecting severe weather overnight and into Monday morning. If church is cancelled, I will finish the wall and take down the painter's tape along the ceiling. Otherwise I will do it after church. Either way, I expect that I will be done painting in there by bedtime tomorrow night.

I am comfortably warm in my painting clothes. Had a quick nap this afternoon, so I'm good for a few more hours before I need to sleep. This would probably be a good time to catch up the laundry.

No excitement Chez Ravelled. I have yet to set foot outside the house. A friend came by to borrow the space heater -- they have two gas leaks, neither of which is fixable today -- and brought in my mail. I made a baked mac and cheese with cheddar soup, the last of the heavy cream from that mushroom tart I made awhile ago, the last of the grape tomatoes, and a can of Costco chicken breast chunks. It was amazing, and I have five more servings portioned out in the fridge. I nuked a sweet potato for dinner and had it with maple syrup, freshly grated nutmeg, and a dab of butter. It has been an eat /  sleep / craft sort of day. And I feel both grateful and remarkably relaxed. Although I might not be able to use my right arm tomorrow. I gave myself a pretty good workout this evening with that paintbrush!

It was probably subconscious.

Or maybe I was just wanting to inhale my breakfast. But I forgot to take the hummus out of the bag when I put it in the fridge at work. The people who set up the tables never saw it. I bought it home with me last night. And now I know what I'm taking to Secondborn's for Thanksgiving.

Random thought: I wonder how the course of history would have changed if Skittles had been the candy that ET followed, rather than Reese's Pieces? Maybe Miley Cyrus, Britney Spears, and other child stars would have chosen to follow Annette Funicello's example. Maybe Russell Crowe would not be a homewrecker. Maybe we would have a balanced budget. Maybe the marketplace would have found an equitable solution to the need for accessible and affordable healthcare.

And a random question: why on earth is Dallas celebrating the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy? There's going to be a parade downtown this morning. There have been cultural commemorations this week. We have Joshua Bell for three days. The only bright spot as far as I'm concerned.

President Obama was here a few weeks ago, to stump for Democratic contenders and to encourage signing up for his disaster of a healthcare plan. I prayed for his safety throughout the day. I do not like the man, but I wish him *safely* out of office at the end of his term. We do not need another martyrdom. And there are too many idiots out there.

On to happier topics. Today is Grandparents' Day at the Bitties' school. I will be hopping in the car shortly and heading that way, gleefully avoiding the road closures in downtown Dallas to watch my grandchildren be clever, polite, and and charming. I had a blast last year, even if Beloved was visibly winding down at that point. We ambled through the morning and caught everything we could. I am relatively non-creaky this morning, and I will just go until I can go no more. And then I will come home, perhaps to nap or maybe to tackle that last wall while the light holds.

Paint towards the light, Luke! (Oops. Wrong movie.)

Hummus remember this...

A kiss is still a kiss. And I have chosen the cheap / fast / easy solution to the appetizer conundrum. Two small containers of hummus and a bag of tarted-up chips. Ta-daa!

My small mirror in the bathroom has disappeared. I don't know if it fell into the wastebasket and is gone forever, or if I absently parked it somewhere while thinking about the next item on my list.

In a flurry of text messages, my massage therapist and I have moved it to Thursday nights. Which left last night open, except for my calling in the church library. I actually felt as if I were doing something useful last night. I alphabetized the DVD's. The English section takes up a shelf and a half. The Spanish section takes about a foot on another shelf. And the multilingual section is maybe eight inches on the shelf above that. I have no idea how to alphabetize the Asian language DVD's. I just admired the beauty of the fonts and am hoping for the best.

Got a little knitting done yesterday and a little more before breakfast. With the luncheon at work, there is likely to be little progress until after my massage tonight. If then.

I got the wall dusted in the dining room. Paint may happen after Grandparents Day at the Bitties' school tomorrow. I'll be taking the whole day off.

Productive day at work yesterday. Closed two files, opened another, moved two more closer to completion, kept up with my email, and got all the way through SemperFi's mail. Today I'll finish Mellow's.

Super casual day at work: jeans and sneakers, woohoo!

Please keep my friend Robi in your prayers, that she may find a mind-bogglingly wonderful job.

A good week so far.

Nice quiet evening at home on Monday night, after listening to a link provided by Middleaged Mormon Man (via FB) regarding the unexpected benefits of choosing to be generous.

Last night was Knit Night. I picked up two possum traps from my friend Jody before fetching Fourthborn. We had eggnog milkshakes for dinner, followed by Bavarian pretzels for dessert.

The clown barf scarf is done. I joined the ends together on Monday night, creating an infinity scarf. And yesterday I cast on (twice) for a baby sock for a friend's miracle baby. Got to the last stitch on the first round, and it leaped off my needle. So I frogged and started over with a less lively cast-on. I'm about six rounds in at this point.

I am crowd-sourcing ideas for an appetizer for tomorrow's office luncheon. Have had some good suggestions. It's interesting to see what some of my friends consider cheap, fast, easy, and low sodium. Tonight is massage night. (I will want to come home and putter a little, then sleep.)

And even if it were not, I really don't want to put any effort into this. I like to take desserts. But my half of the alphabet has been told to bring appetizers. Instead of the huge spread we traditionally do, we are having crockpots of soup, appetizers, and desserts. I'm all for changing it up. My tolerance for turkey is pretty limited.

I'm going to wait until tonight to see what other suggestions my friends offer. But right now I'm inclined towards a bowl of hummus and a fresh bag of lower sodium chips. If I can do this for $6 in cash and five minutes of my time, I'll be a happy camper.

Hoping for another day as productive as yesterday and Monday.

Tithing settlement tonight.

I trird and tried, but I'm still unable to figure out the two cent discrepancy between the church's numbers and my own. I know it's a problem in my spreadsheet, because I added the numbers another way and came up with the right total. I reformatted the cells for 23 paychecks, and I still get the error. Weird.

I wish I could hug the person who decided that fabric + serger + wire = bendable ribbon. I spent maybe half an hour transforming 25 feet of ribbon into 16 perky red plaid bows for the Christmas tree. Right now they are waiting in one of those plastic washtubs. I won't know until I have the tree up and the bows and ornaments on if I will need to make more.

Painting did not happen, but after I dust that wall I can go full steam ahead. Everything but a handful of tools is out of the way. So maybe for FHE tomorrow night?

I had a blast with my friends last night, eating Chinese food in Uptown (just north of downtown Dallas), then carpooling to Fair Park for the Chinese Lantern Festival.

Well, I am yawning fiercely, so it must be time for bed.

Adventures. Thankfully, not directly *mine*.

I was planning on putting away the sewing machine and other items last night. Maybe tearing into my studio as well. But I got tackled by some rambunctious carbs at dinner, and I was in bed a little after 7:00.

Awoke about three and a half hours later. Got the iron, ironing board, and miscellaneous sewing supplies stowed. Put a serving of tots in the oven. Had my phone on and was checking FB periodically. Was about to pack up my sewing machine and fold up the table when I saw the post from a young sister in our ward.

She and her sibs were at the ER with their mother. The ward (phone) list was at home. They needed two brethren to come give their mother a blessing. Nobody was responding at the numbers they had on their phones.

And suddenly I knew why I'd accepted that friend request a few months ago, from a young woman I barely knew. I did what a friend did for me last year when Beloved had his first trip to the ER. Packed a bag with bottles of water, grapefruit cups (this is how I know that Heaven was in charge, because I also remembered to toss in some spoons), a large bar of Ghirardelli, and half a dozen mini-bags of Halloween candy. In the other hand was my bag with the phone and my knitting.

Ate my tots, got dressed, and went. Once there, I pulled up the ward list on my phone and started pushing buttons and waking people up. The brethren arrived just after the mother was admitted. We all cooled our heels in another waiting room while the staff got her settled. Then the guys went back, administered to her, and the three of us went to our respective homes.

I got almost another five full hours of sleep. The guys will not have been so lucky: one is a Saturday morning temple worker. His alarm goes off at 4:30. The other had to get up at 6:00 to take a child to an early morning school activity.

But this is what we do for one another, because of the covenant we made at baptism to bear one another's burdens. And because of our temple covenants, which deepen our love for, and connection to, Heaven and our brothers and sisters. Much of what we do that has eternal significance happens when we are just barely awake enough to do one small thing. Or a handful of small things. We might not even know why we are doing them. But later we get a glimpse of the greater pattern.

Beloved popped in briefly last night. I was sitting in the second waiting room, and my eyes prickled up, and I knew. It's happening again as I write this.

Hi, honey. Glad you caught me being good.

Friday. Payday. Tree bling.

And more culture to come this weekend.

I love playing with my spreadsheet. Since I visited my sister earlier this year, I have paid off over $4,000 in debt!!! Watching that balance come down a little (or a lot, depending upon what else was going on) every two weeks has been so hope-inducing. Three more paydays and a small extra payment, and I'm done paying off the line of credit. I couldn't have done this without Heaven's steadying hand.

Last night I drove straight to Hobby Lobby for their 50% off on all Christmas decorations. I picked up hangers for the miniature trees and a package of tiny red ribbon bows. Also several boxes of glass ornaments for the big tree, which is still in the back of the Tardis. I have a sheaf of florist wire to attach the ornaments when I'm ready. And I even know exactly where it is.

There is a Chinese Lantern Festival this weekend. I'm meeting friends for dinner and carpooling. They will go on to the singles dance afterwards. I will come home and make stuff.

Mel and Squishy and I have a work date tomorrow morning. Costco run, more books to sort, and sundry schlepping. I told him to eat his Wheaties.

Please keep my friend Robi in your prayers. She was laid off yesterday. She's a jewel. We just need to find her the right setting.

Plan B. But in a good way.

My thinking was to dash into Hobby Lobby between work and my massage, case their selection of people-sized Christmas ornaments, and pick up a few packages of the green miniature hangers that will be nearly invisible on the tiny trees.

But I got a text from my massage therapist: taco soup. I'm not stupid. I've eaten her food before.

They were feeding the missionaries. I got there when some people were having seconds on the soup and others were making inroads on the brownie bites. But they saved me enough of both, and I pushed away from her table well-fed in every possible sense.

Really good massage. Almost entirely biomechanical. I think we cleared out the last of the stuff from the enforced immobility on Friday night. My feet, ankles, and legs were not happy during the cleanout process. When we were nearly done, I started having shivers that rose up from deep within my trunk. But she was prepared for that and put another blanket on me. After the massage, I drove to two Racetrac stations before I could get a cup of hot chocolate. Finished that off and went straight to bed.

Feeling pretty good this morning. Hungry. Thirsty. Starting to get a little shivery. But I have one last tablet of Abuelita (Mexican hot chocolate, with cinnamon) in the cupboard. That should take care of the problem nicely. I could also bump up the thermostat a degree or two. I think it's set at 68 or 69, enough to take the edge off without giving me a ridiculous utility bill.

Our utility bills last year were all over the place, as Beloved got more and more ill. One of the things they don't necessarily tell you about cancer. (Or know to tell you about.) The commodes are getting less of a workout. My internal thermostat is pretty consistent. So I'm not toggling between AC and furnace.

Small consolation for the loss of the sound of his laughter. Oh damn. I'm crying.

Time to go make that hot chocolate. Looks like it might be lightly salted this morning.

Whoosh.

That was my yesterday. Work, pick up Fourthborn, pick up new-to-me tree from Leslye (wherein Fourthborn served as minion in getting it down from on top of the freezer and schlepping it out to the truck), on to Firstborn's to drop off her quilt blocks, impromptu dinner with her and 1BDH at Double Dave's (very tasty, with a side order of hilarity*, and more sodium than is good for me), Knit Night (complete with chocolate frogs made by the friend who took Beloved's sweater off my hands), take Fourthborn home, drive home alternating bites of rice crispy treat with sips of water to make sure I stay awake.

*About that hilarity: Firstborn is the YW president in their ward. Which means she has stewardship over girls 12-17. 1BDH has served in the YM presidency and still lends a hand to the youth as needed. A whole bunch of whom work after school at Double Dave's. Our server was one of the YW. The following is my reconstruction of their conversation.

1BDH: Are you going to be at the youth activity tomorrow night?
Girl: No, I have to work.
1BDH: But you'll miss my class.
Girl: Oh? What are you teaching?
1BDH: I'm teaching knitting.
(Insert peals of helpless laughter from Firstborn, Fourthborn, and me here.)
Girl: I'm guessing by their reaction that you are *not* teaching knitting.
1BDH: No. Really. I'm teaching knitting. Look at this face. Is this the face of someone who is not a knitter?
Girl: I think it *is*. So what are you teaching, really?
1BDH: Car stuff.
Girl: Now that I believe.

We had a hard freeze last night. When I got home, the drop light was on behind the washing machine. It comes on when the temperature drops below freezing. I remembered to leave the taps dripping overnight. And I threw another blanket on the bed.

I think we are finally done with August, here in Texas.

Considering the possumbilities.

So last night I was catching up the laundry. Walked out into the garage to get the first load out of the dryer and put the second one in. Heard something out in the middle of the garage and turned my head just in time to see a huge pinky white tail disappearing over the top of a box.

I've lived in enough substandard housing to know the difference between a rat and a possum. This tail was over a foot long and bigger than my thumb at its base. I did not want to meet up with the bitey end. Especially since I was standing between it and the door. So I beat a hasty retreat and sat on my bed and thought about chocolate and Christmas trees and other happy things.

Then I prayed really hard for its safety and my own and went out to rescue my clothes. I sent out an "Ack! Help!!" message on FB. Mel's mom said to contact animal control. Which opens at 10am. Looks like I will be coming back to the house in the middle of the day or making arrangements for tomorrow.

If I want clean socks today, I have to go back out there. How badly do I want clean socks?

In other news, I used up a bunch of tiny purple beads and some of the larger root beer colored ones to make ornaments for the dolls' tree(s). And I got quite a bit of knitting done during the day. Wonderful to satisfy my creative urge. Not so good in terms of sleep. It was after 1am when I went to bed. And I woke ahead of the alarm.

I think the possum has opened a bowling alley in the attic. And I think somebody just earned his 200 pin.

I made myself be good.

The quilt block was mostly-done when I left for church. I finished it when I got home, before taking my nap. After my nap, I emailed and texted various folks. Wrote a letter for visiting teaching. Read through a book of Christmas decorating inspiration that I bought shortly after separating from the children's father and have come to the conclusion that the book, while lovely, reflects the sensibilities of the first incarnation of Victoria magazine, and not my own. Into the box it goes. Others may follow. I've made a list of what needs to happen, when, this week. Am ridiculously overbooked for tomorrow night and am looking forward to every blessed bit of it. Had a truly bizarre stress-dream just before waking, and it seems to have wrung every last drop out of my system. Wrote a little in the middle of the night and looked up to see the clock reading 2am. Realized that I hadn't bothered to reset it last weekend and probably won't. You get stream of consciousness this morning. Welcome to Monday brain.

Naproxen is my friend.

I kept yesterday blessedly simple. Time with Fourthborn. The driving necessary to pick up the quilt block kits. Eggnog milkshakes for lunch, made with Braum's egg-cellent (couldn't resist) eggnog and their eggnog ice cream and a generous dusting of nutmeg. A slightly roundabout drive home so that I could swing by the jewelry store and have my rings inspected and cleaned.

On an ordinary day, that would not have required nearly six hours. Yesterday it did. By the time I got home, I was ravenous again. So I had a snack and a Naproxen and another bottle of water, and I took a little nap. For six hours. When I got up, I made dinner: garlic toast and the penultimate salmon burger.

I am pleased to report that my knee is no longer cranky. I will swill water all day to wash the Naproxen out of my system, and I will continue to take it easy today, even if my muse is tormenting me with all that I hoped to get done yesterday and what I could get done before and after church if I just pushed myself a little. Peace, woman!

I wasn't far off when I posted on FB that my honey-do list had been decimated. The other 90 percent will get spread out over the next few weeks. I will, eventually, have a finished dining room. I will have a new Christmas tree. Preferably this year, but I have a perfectly serviceable pre-lit tabletop tree out in the garage. I can use that one more year if necessary.

I will get my studio picked up and reorganized. I will finish my closet. (And the one in the dining room.) I will get the other two dressers in my bedroom cleared off and reorganized. One might end up in that dining room closet to hold serving pieces and holiday decorations.

But today? Today I am going to worship, and read, and study, and write a letter or two, and knit, and make more lists. I may or may not get the new quilt block sewn up. The fabric is washed and hanging from the shower rod. It would be nice to check that off the list. And getting it done is not essential to my eternal salvation.

The lists are made for Ms. Ravelled. Not Ms. Ravelled for the lists. Today I am going to focus on being more of a human being and less of a human doing.

Wish me luck.

So glad I went.

Opera is cool. Opera-goers are amazingly friendly. A lot of them are knitters, or were before age and arthritis decided otherwise. The seats are wide enough, and the rows above the box seats are too close together. I understand the economics of it, and my knee still hurts like sin. Although it is somewhat better this morning. I will be icing it a lot today.

My honey-do list has gone to the mental shredder. I will drive to Arlington, pick up Fourthborn and her quilt block, drive to Lewisville with her, my block and Firstborn's, pick up the kits for our new blocks, take her home, come home, and go back to bed. Home Depot has the same quarter-tree as Kohl's, for about $10 less. I might check that out along the way, but I will not be buying tons of stuff and schlepping it home.

Old Spanish proverb allegedly says, "Take what you want, says God. Take what you want, but pay for it." I suspect that I will be paying for it all weekend. This is looking like a Naproxen + no grapefruit day.

Still, I am thankful. Last night was glorious.

Opera = Christmas? Really???

When I was a girl, I would wake up ridiculously early on Christmas morning. Three o'clock. Four o'clock. Dad would get up a little earlier than usual and go take care of things at our laundromat. When he came home, we would have breakfast and then open presents. Usually between six o'clock and seven.

This morning I awoke about a quarter to four. I have a tunic to press. And my makeup bag to find. (I've been just quietly not wearing makeup since the memorial service. And I have no idea where my lipstick might be. There's a small pile near my closet door that might be hiding it. Otherwise, I'm going to have to venture into the middle bedroom. In which case, wish me luck.)

Tonight Ms. Ravelled goes to the opera. Opera is almost my least favorite form of classical music. (That spot is shared by twelve-tone nonsense and fidgety, scratchy violin playing. Both of which inspire me to holler "BLEAGHHH!!!!!" and flip over to the country station to see if there's anything I like better.)

Where was I? Tonight I will be absorbing culture with a capital C. As in "Carmen". And all dolled up. And hoping to stay awake until it's over. And trying not to sing along on the parts I kinda know.

So it's feeling a lot like Christmas this morning. Only I won't get a nap after lunch.

Speaking of Christmas per se, I spent a little time yesterday looking at pre-lit trees. Not cheap! The shortest ones that Costco carries are seven and a half feet tall. I was hoping for something shorter. Not sure if I still have the star I bought fifteen years ago. We purged pretty ruthlessly last year.

One thing I like about the Costco trees is that you can toggle between colored lights and white ones. So I could do a white Christmas one year and a red one the next. Kohl's also has something intriguing; a quarter-tree that you put in a corner. You get the illusion of a massive tree without giving up half a room.

I will definitely check both out. Possibly as early as tomorrow after Fourthborn and I pick up our quilt block kits. The Costco tree weighs 65 pounds. And there's something else at Costco I'm interested in. It weighs almost 70 pounds. If Fourthborn is willing, and I decide they are worth the asking price, we could wrangle both into the truck and then into the house without having to radio for backup. (Otherwise I will have to ask Squishy. Who can probably hoist one in each hand without breaking a sweat.)

This is the part where I turn on the iron and ransack my studio for a pressing cloth. But wait! I think that travel iron I found a few weeks ago is a steamer. That might be even better.

Edited to add that I found my lipstick in my overnight bag, along with the travel iron and travel Waterpik.

Shopping therapy.

My massage therapist has company. And last night was the only time this week that I could go shopping for a nice, dressy top to wear to the opera with my rockstar tuxedo pants. So after my stint at the ward library, I drove to the mall and found one.

My new suburb has one of those open, outdoor malls. They don't make me claustrophobic or slightly paranoid like the big-box malls that started popping up all over the country when I was a (very) young adult. They seem to attract families rather than roving packs of bored teenagers.

On a Wednesday night in North Texas, most families are attending midweek activities at their respective churches. So parking and shopping are a breeze. I left the church parking lot at 7:11 and was on my way home at 7:58. Not bad!

I found a simple, modest, long-sleeved tunic with a bejeweled collar and lightly embellished shirt front. It will look amazing with my rockstar tuxedo pants. I also found a pair of earrings to finish it off, and to bring the total up to where I could use the $25 off coupon.

And then I came home and made a salad for the rest of my dinner. (I'd grabbed a chunk of cheese and some bread before leaving for the church.)

Tonight we are having a Mad Hatter Tea Party at Relief Society. I will be wearing the gorgeous red hat that Fourthborn gave me a dozen or so years ago. I have no idea what to take for a treat to share. Not in the mood to bake. Won't have time after work. Maybe some mini croissants from the nearby grocery? Maybe I should get ready now and swing by when they open, so I won't be too tired to think about it when I get off work?

I've been to only a handful of RS activities since moving into the ward almost two years ago. Thursdays used to be my night to serve in the temple. And this year has been flat-out crazy. I was sick, or uninterested in the activity, or peopled-out near the end of the week, or had something going with one of my kids, or what have you. But I have been looking forward to this activity since they announced it Sunday before last. Just food and friends and sitting around talking and getting to know one another better. This will be the last hurrah for the recently released presidency and a good way to welcome the new one.

So I'd better get moving and find something yummy to share.

Knitting mojo.

Might be back? I wound the last ball from the Seattle trip, grabbed some fat needles, and cast on 19 stitches for a simple garter stitch scarf. The yarn has little blobbies about every two inches plus the hand painted effect. In every bright color you'd find in my closet. So a complicated stitch pattern would be as lost as the Children of Israel in the desert for 40 years.

I am hoping for a scarf that is four to five inches wide by Dr. Who long. If I have cast on too many stitches and this turns out to be an oversized bookmark, it will have to be tinked rather than frogged. The blobbies are about half the size of a TicTac and will not take well to rough treatment.

Yesterday was damp as Monday but not as puddle-y. The drive home from Knit Night was far less exciting. (This is not a complaint.) Work went reasonably well, I think. I ate the last of the potato leek soup for lunch.

Hoping for another calm, quiet, productive day at work. And maybe some thoughtful shopping afterwards. I still haven't figured out what I'm wearing to the opera. And that night is fast approaching. I did check out a dressy top I'd seen in a catalogue last week, but it was uninspiring when examined at closer range.

Breakfast is calling my name. Quite insistently, as a matter of fact. Time to refuel and seize the day.

Maybe I shouldn't have cooked quite so much.

Last night's storm was pretty intense at times. Particularly when I was driving home from Secondborn's and FHE. There was a patch of standing water !!!on the freeway!!!

I hit it at about 45mph. My fellow Texans (I'm naturalized) were being uncharacteristically sensible while driving. No one was trying to go 95, except maybe in his head. I could see the car ahead of me hit the water and keep moving. I hung onto the steering wheel and prayed. When that water hit my windshield, I could see nothing.

Courage really is fear that has said its prayers. I'm glad that mine were answered positively last night.

Still no inspiration on the knitting front. I'm going to wind two balls of yarn and see what happens at Knit Night. (I did get plenty of ideas for trimming a Christmas tree, however. And I need to write them down before I forget.)

Cooking up a storm.

Made a small pot of leek and potato soup. Also a savory mushroom braid from that newest cookbook. Had a bowl of soup while the pie/tart baked. Am about to head out to the kitchen and warm a slice of the braid for breakfast.

I'm going a little nuts: the ward clerk handed me paperwork to prepare for tithing settlement. All my numbers match up, but the totals differ by two cents. I've gone through them three times with the same results. Will have to bring in a second pair of eyes. Maybe when LittleBit is here to paint the trim. She's mathy like me.

Heading to Secondborn's after work for Family Home Evening. I'd better grab that handmade card to enclose her belated birthday gift. I just couldn't get myself over to Fort Worth on Saturday, but part of that was intentional. I didn't want to leave the house until Costco and the clothing stores were closed. So I puttered in the dining room all day until the temptation had safely passed.

That's it for today. Sorry, y'all. Fresh out of profundity. But they tell me it's on backorder.

Woohoos all around!

I finally, finally got the bookcases emptied and out of the dining room. One is in the hall, and the other is partially cluttering up the entryway. Major incentive to finish the job.

I set up the ironing board and pressed the fabric for the quilt block. Set up my long, narrow folding table with my sewing machine, cutting mat, scissors, straightedge, and pincushion. And the bobbin box. Could I find my two Olfa cutters?

Which is why I was marching my cranky self into Wally World at 9:30 last night. Notwithstanding what the Google and Thummim said, the only brand of rotary cutter they did not have, was Olfa. So I came home with an ergonomic Fiskars cutter with automatic blade guard. I have multiple pairs of their scissors. And two of my three cutting mats are Fiskars. They've held up better than my first, Olfa, mat back in the 80's.

Sometime today I will sew up that quilt block. And I might even tackle some of the mending. I have a brown skirt with mesh overlay that's been repeatedly trashed by my rolling chair at work. I've had it basted for months. And last year I bought two pairs of those dressy leggings to wear under it, which would ameliorate the side slits that I keep stitching up.

Yeah. This feels like a Stevie Nicks kind of day.

So I was Frau Blucher yesterday.

There was no whinnying in the office, however. I wish I could say that it was a productive day. It was not. Definitely fun. Definitely unproductive. Costume contest in the morning. Dessert contest as I was creating my goodie bags for the trick or treaters on my lunch hour. (All but nine of which went unclaimed last night. I wish that chocolate didn't bloom when frozen. I would be set for next year. And maybe the year after that.)

Today we have a diversity and inclusion activity that will chew up half the day, and a box lunch provided, which means that I will be having lunch at the same time as the noisies. Quelle joie.

This, after a two hour staff meeting on Wednesday. I think I got more done during the weeks that I was sick.

Today we get to wear our favorite team jerseys and sneakers. It is only because of Beloved that I possess the former. I have a BYU shirt. And a Packers shirt. (And, for colder weather, a Packers sweatshirt.) I think, since this is traditionally a Christian holy day, and since I am a Christian (no matter what some of the Protestants think), I will wear the BYU shirt. Especially since the Y beat UT a few weeks ago and both SemperFi and Mellow went to Texas.

Pit? What pit? Neighbors? What neighbors? I don't know what you are talking about.

Today is also payday. Four more of them and one small extra payment, and the line of credit will be paid off. I love it that today's interest portion is less than a quarter of what it was at the beginning of the year. I am so thankful for the inspiration on how to accomplish this. And the sweet confirmation each payday that I am on the right track, at least in terms of my finances.

I just definitively solved the mystery of the Creature in the Garage. It's the big grey cat that roams the neighborhood. The one who tried to wander in when I was doing laundry earlier this week. Huge cat. Very small meow. If it were human, it would sound like Dianne Wiest. It jumped down from somewhere in the garage and tried to hit me up for breakfast. I gently but firmly shooed it outside.

So relieved that I won't have to hire an exterminator and set traps for a possum or raccoon. Once the new back door goes on, end of problem.