Well, it's noon or so on Christmas Day. I'm at work and we had our family gift exchange last night. Lots of smiles all around--everyone was happy, everything fit, and big, huge laughs at Arturo's "Jack LaLanne Double Header". (Photo will follow when I can manage.) Adriana had a bad cough & went home relatively early. The Campas came for dessert, which was a key lime pie that Mike made, plus baklava, plus fruit & nuts, coffee & tea. Really a lovely evening.
Then,
I found out around 11AM that Arturo had gotten a phone call from the friendly folks at Croasdaile, saying that Adriana was having trouble breathing and they felt she should go over to Duke via EMS. (It's a mystery to me why they call us. They don't need our permission to get her emergency medical care. JUST TAKE HER, for Chrissakes.) Arturo of course went over and he is now saying things like, I don't know if I'll be able to go to NY with you tomorrow. So, I called Nick and told him that we were ALL leaving for NY tomorrow, and after today he would be the point person for Adriana. I'm sorry, I'm not having my vacation ruined while he sits and sips Chianti and looks at the ocean (which by the way he does 1/2 the year).
Talked with the Messina/Johnson clan this morning. They all sounded fine and were in high Christmas spirit. I can't wait to see everyone, although I must honestly say I am not looking forward to the drive. I'm sure it will be easier with Darwin along, sharing the driving. I hope Laura has adequately prepared him for the family juggernaut. My family is an awesomely wonderful group of people but, as a group, they can be daunting, to say the least.
Merry Christmas! Write me a message if you're reading!
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
How to be deflated in one easy lesson
I went to the movies with my girlfriend Carol tonight. Afterwards we went to a hangout close by to chat. As we walked in, a very efficient young girl bounded up and asked to see our ID's. Well, I was just totally floored. I laughed and told her she had made my day, that I hadn't been carded in years, and I was never so happy to whip out my drivers license, that my haircut took off years as well as hair, etc. Laugh, laugh, laugh. Then she looks at the license and says......
"Wow, you don't look nearly that old!"
Pop. Sputter. Fizzle.
"Wow, you don't look nearly that old!"
Pop. Sputter. Fizzle.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat!
This week has been busy, but in a piddling way. Seemingly dozens of little chores, errands, tasks, etc. that eat away at a free day. I did get most of the Christmas presents wrapped yesterday, an endeavor that was happily complemented by Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Edmund Gwenn, Natalie Wood, Gene Lockhart, William Frawley, Thelma Ritter, and the rest of the cast of 1948's "Miracle on 34th Street". Really, there's not a single misstep in this delightful holiday classic. I know I'm an old sentimentalist but it still brings a lump to my throat to see Kris Kringle's stricken face when little Susan Walker says, "You're just a nice old man with a beard and I shouldn't have believed you." Now all I need to do is watch "Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol" and my holday must-sees will be complete. There are others I look forward to but these two are the pillars. By the way, "Mr. Magoo" got a big thumbs-up in today's Wall Street Journal from the theater critic, Terry Teachout. I *knew* I liked that guy!
Arturo and I went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" last night and we both really enjoyed it. Good story and storytelling, interesting locales, talented cast. Danny Boyle might get a Best Director nod for this one. For awhile, I was trying to place the actor who played the police chief, and then it occurred to me that he had been in the movie "A Mighty Heart". I looked it up and there he was: Irfan Khan. Role: police chief! Then I kept looking and saw he had also played the father in the lovely movie "The Namesake". Wow--two police chiefs, and a patriarch. Talk about typecasting.
Work was really busy this week but not completely ridiculous. We had a 3-11 shift holiday potluck on Wednesday night and all the food was really yummy. One person brought her George Foreman grill and we cooked hot dogs on it. (Funny note: she's black, and she brought Hebrew National hot dogs. When I asked her about it, she said, "Why, they're kosher! That means they're the best!") The surgical services holiday party is tomorrow night, and I am planning on attending. You know, it's funny. Rex is a private hospital with (I assume) a much bigger profit margin than the state-owned and run UNC Hospital, yet Rex could never manage to get together any kind of holiday celebration for most of the years I worked there. They always cited either their own budgetary restraints, or federal laws that prohibited them from taking "favors" from sales reps. (Which meant that vendors, drug reps, etc. couldn't sponsor a party.) I'd bet anything that UNC has even worse budgetary restraints, and of course federal laws apply across the board, yet they manage to rent a Chapel Hill country club for an evening and have a party for a much larger number of people. Quite the attitude difference! I think it makes everyone feel appreciated, much more so than how we felt when we got the $30 Food Lion gift card from Rex. Which, by the way, was $30 added to your salary, taxed, and reported to the IRS. Merry Christmas, indeed.
Off to do more stuff. According to my desktop "Christmas Countdown" widget, only 5 days 15 hours til the big day!
Arturo and I went to see "Slumdog Millionaire" last night and we both really enjoyed it. Good story and storytelling, interesting locales, talented cast. Danny Boyle might get a Best Director nod for this one. For awhile, I was trying to place the actor who played the police chief, and then it occurred to me that he had been in the movie "A Mighty Heart". I looked it up and there he was: Irfan Khan. Role: police chief! Then I kept looking and saw he had also played the father in the lovely movie "The Namesake". Wow--two police chiefs, and a patriarch. Talk about typecasting.
Work was really busy this week but not completely ridiculous. We had a 3-11 shift holiday potluck on Wednesday night and all the food was really yummy. One person brought her George Foreman grill and we cooked hot dogs on it. (Funny note: she's black, and she brought Hebrew National hot dogs. When I asked her about it, she said, "Why, they're kosher! That means they're the best!") The surgical services holiday party is tomorrow night, and I am planning on attending. You know, it's funny. Rex is a private hospital with (I assume) a much bigger profit margin than the state-owned and run UNC Hospital, yet Rex could never manage to get together any kind of holiday celebration for most of the years I worked there. They always cited either their own budgetary restraints, or federal laws that prohibited them from taking "favors" from sales reps. (Which meant that vendors, drug reps, etc. couldn't sponsor a party.) I'd bet anything that UNC has even worse budgetary restraints, and of course federal laws apply across the board, yet they manage to rent a Chapel Hill country club for an evening and have a party for a much larger number of people. Quite the attitude difference! I think it makes everyone feel appreciated, much more so than how we felt when we got the $30 Food Lion gift card from Rex. Which, by the way, was $30 added to your salary, taxed, and reported to the IRS. Merry Christmas, indeed.
Off to do more stuff. According to my desktop "Christmas Countdown" widget, only 5 days 15 hours til the big day!
Saturday, December 13, 2008
A week's worth of musings
Every time I've sat down this week to write a little, something interfered. Finally, now, some peace. It's almost 1AM. Diana is spending the night at a friend's house.
Had a long talk with my old friend Jeanne tonight. Her mom died earlier this month, after a number of years of decline both mental and physical. Jeanne says she really did her grieving years ago, when she came to the realization that her mother would never be "herself" again, and that dealing with her actual death has been much easier than what went on before. Still, she expects a hard weekend, since the memorial service and interment of her mom's ashes will take place on Sunday. Jeanne's father died many years ago, she herself is long divorced, and she hasn't any siblings. Her daughters are both in high school and within a few short years they'll be gone from the house too. I guess these things don't happen suddenly, and by the time she is really alone, she'll have had time to cope with the transition, but still..... Makes me wonder how I will handle my own life transitions. Being alone is definitely not something I like or crave.
I also spent some time today working on a handout for our block. The home of one of my neighbors has been burglarized twice in the past month, which has made everyone very edgy. Since long ago I volunteered to be our Neighborhood Watch Block Captain, and I figured it was time to resurrect the program. So, I made up a little handout about common sense safety and security, and handed it out around the block. Our best community defense is, it seems to me, our community of eyes and ears. What is that Benjamin Franklin quote? Something about "if we don't all hang together, we shall certainly hang separately."
Tomorrow I'll be out selling scarves, cards, and CDs at another craft show, this one over in the Northgate Park area. I'll also have a selection of Diana's jewelry. Hope there's a good turnout, and it's a chilly day, so the idea of buying a nice cozy scarf has extra appeal!
I've done a bit of Christmas shopping but definitely not all. I'm kind of a last-minute person anyway. I am thinking about our Christmas Eve family dinner, and considering various menu options. One of my most favorite types of entrees are those that pair meats and fruit. Saw a great recipe for lamb with apricots, but I know Diana wouldn't even think about eating it. It's hard to please everyone.
Finally, I wanted to talk about work yesterday. I scrubbed a liver transplant, all by myself. Pretty good! The recipient was a 15 year old girl who had gotten Hepatitis C from her mother at birth. The mother died when the girl was 5 and she has lived with her grandparents ever since. This was one scared, and very sick, kid. When they took out her old liver I hardly recognized it as a liver--it was covered with nasty, infected-looking cysts, and was a dusky color. The one she got was from a 21 year old South Carolina boy who committed suicide. It pinked up right away after they connected the hepatic artery. What an extraordinary thing, for one family's tragedy to be another's miracle. I really feel honored to participate.
Night, all. Still hoping for a comment or two from the hordes of readers I know are out there!
Had a long talk with my old friend Jeanne tonight. Her mom died earlier this month, after a number of years of decline both mental and physical. Jeanne says she really did her grieving years ago, when she came to the realization that her mother would never be "herself" again, and that dealing with her actual death has been much easier than what went on before. Still, she expects a hard weekend, since the memorial service and interment of her mom's ashes will take place on Sunday. Jeanne's father died many years ago, she herself is long divorced, and she hasn't any siblings. Her daughters are both in high school and within a few short years they'll be gone from the house too. I guess these things don't happen suddenly, and by the time she is really alone, she'll have had time to cope with the transition, but still..... Makes me wonder how I will handle my own life transitions. Being alone is definitely not something I like or crave.
I also spent some time today working on a handout for our block. The home of one of my neighbors has been burglarized twice in the past month, which has made everyone very edgy. Since long ago I volunteered to be our Neighborhood Watch Block Captain, and I figured it was time to resurrect the program. So, I made up a little handout about common sense safety and security, and handed it out around the block. Our best community defense is, it seems to me, our community of eyes and ears. What is that Benjamin Franklin quote? Something about "if we don't all hang together, we shall certainly hang separately."
Tomorrow I'll be out selling scarves, cards, and CDs at another craft show, this one over in the Northgate Park area. I'll also have a selection of Diana's jewelry. Hope there's a good turnout, and it's a chilly day, so the idea of buying a nice cozy scarf has extra appeal!
I've done a bit of Christmas shopping but definitely not all. I'm kind of a last-minute person anyway. I am thinking about our Christmas Eve family dinner, and considering various menu options. One of my most favorite types of entrees are those that pair meats and fruit. Saw a great recipe for lamb with apricots, but I know Diana wouldn't even think about eating it. It's hard to please everyone.
Finally, I wanted to talk about work yesterday. I scrubbed a liver transplant, all by myself. Pretty good! The recipient was a 15 year old girl who had gotten Hepatitis C from her mother at birth. The mother died when the girl was 5 and she has lived with her grandparents ever since. This was one scared, and very sick, kid. When they took out her old liver I hardly recognized it as a liver--it was covered with nasty, infected-looking cysts, and was a dusky color. The one she got was from a 21 year old South Carolina boy who committed suicide. It pinked up right away after they connected the hepatic artery. What an extraordinary thing, for one family's tragedy to be another's miracle. I really feel honored to participate.
Night, all. Still hoping for a comment or two from the hordes of readers I know are out there!
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Praise the Lord (and pass the Kleenex)
It's been quite the siege but I'm finally getting better. Still a little hoarse, still a little runny, but nothing compared to how I was earlier in the week. Now the opportunistic bacteria are moving in to take advantage of my weakened state. Woke up with a fulminating case of conjunctivitis this morning--thank goodness I had some left over eyedrops. Bad news is Arturo has been in bed all day--says he's "tired" but I have this sinking feeling he's getting sick, in which case the next two weeks are going to be really hard. Please make me wrong, please.
The Christmas tree went up yesterday, all 9' of it. The spire is literally about 1/4" from the top of the ceiling. It's quite grand, I have to say. I'll take photos. The house is "Christmased" too and I worked very hard to make it happen yesterday and today. The incentive was that book club is meeting here at my house tonight. We read one of my favorites, "The World According to Garp", and I can't wait to discuss it.
Last night, Arturo and I went to see "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964), which was being shown for free at the Carolina Theater. I love seeing an oldie on the big screen. Every year the Carolina sponsors a day of old weepies around the holidays; they call it the annual "Holiday Bawl". I'd never seen "Umbrellas" before. It was quite a sad story, if an unoriginal sad story (boy meets girl, they fall in love, war separates them, they end up with others). Interestingly, it was like an operetta in that every line of dialogue was sung, and there were arias along the way. The music is by Michel Legrand and the big tune was "(If It Takes Forever) I Will Wait For You". What a glorious song--so melting, and so emotional. Cathering Deneuve was a little too old to be playing a 16 year old but harder to accept was that she was supposed to be playing a 16 year old who didn't think she was pretty. Holy delusion, Batman!
Laura is through with her exams and is beyond ecstatic that she NEVER has to take another chemistry class, ever. She thinks the tutoring helped a great deal and is hoping that her final exam grade is good. Me, too!
That's all for now. I have to go make hostess motions for the people who will be here in 1/2 hour.
The Christmas tree went up yesterday, all 9' of it. The spire is literally about 1/4" from the top of the ceiling. It's quite grand, I have to say. I'll take photos. The house is "Christmased" too and I worked very hard to make it happen yesterday and today. The incentive was that book club is meeting here at my house tonight. We read one of my favorites, "The World According to Garp", and I can't wait to discuss it.
Last night, Arturo and I went to see "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964), which was being shown for free at the Carolina Theater. I love seeing an oldie on the big screen. Every year the Carolina sponsors a day of old weepies around the holidays; they call it the annual "Holiday Bawl". I'd never seen "Umbrellas" before. It was quite a sad story, if an unoriginal sad story (boy meets girl, they fall in love, war separates them, they end up with others). Interestingly, it was like an operetta in that every line of dialogue was sung, and there were arias along the way. The music is by Michel Legrand and the big tune was "(If It Takes Forever) I Will Wait For You". What a glorious song--so melting, and so emotional. Cathering Deneuve was a little too old to be playing a 16 year old but harder to accept was that she was supposed to be playing a 16 year old who didn't think she was pretty. Holy delusion, Batman!
Laura is through with her exams and is beyond ecstatic that she NEVER has to take another chemistry class, ever. She thinks the tutoring helped a great deal and is hoping that her final exam grade is good. Me, too!
That's all for now. I have to go make hostess motions for the people who will be here in 1/2 hour.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Time Marches On
Well, my "sinful" dress arrived in the mail yesterday, all $550 of it. Here's what happened. I have to say the packaging was very impressive.....I guess this is how very upscale stores treat their customers. Lovingly packed in a silver box with a bow, and a handwritten thank you note included. Then I changed all my undergarments, put up my hair, and tried it on. Then I looked in the mirror. Then I showed Arturo, who was very understanding about how I really needed to make this little experiment. Then I went back upstairs, changed into my jeans, and (equally lovingly) re-packed the dress into its silver gilt box with a bow.
A lesson learned: you can't turn back the clock. As much as I'd like to think I could wear a dress like that, I can't. Even though I've lost beaucoups of weight and gotten toned, I'm not a size 2, I'm not 25 years old, and I'm just not anything enough to pull it off. Knits are meant to hug curves, which I've got, but they also hug bumps and other imperfections, which I've also got. Also, realistically, I have no place to wear such a creation--just don't lead that kind of life. It's a high maintenance dress for a high maintenance woman with a high maintenance lifestyle, none of which describes me or my resources. So, back to Nordstrom it will go, and it will cost me $10 shipping fee to learn what I really should have known already.
In another reinforcement of the "time marches on" theme, I'm still sick. I've missed two days of work this week--really unusual for me--and I'm still coughing and achy and low energy. I used to shake this stuff in a couple of days; this has already lasted a week. What a bother, and so depressing. I just put out the garbage and the recycling and I feel like I have to rest for an hour.
When I feel better, there are a number of movies on my "to see" list: "Australia", "Milk", and "I've Loved You So Long". Although I'm not a big Tom Cruse fan, I will probably want to see "Valkyrie", just because I'm a sucker for historical dramas. Also "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", but that's because Cate Blanchett is in it, and not because of Brad Pitt.
If you're reading, send me "get well soon" vibes!
A lesson learned: you can't turn back the clock. As much as I'd like to think I could wear a dress like that, I can't. Even though I've lost beaucoups of weight and gotten toned, I'm not a size 2, I'm not 25 years old, and I'm just not anything enough to pull it off. Knits are meant to hug curves, which I've got, but they also hug bumps and other imperfections, which I've also got. Also, realistically, I have no place to wear such a creation--just don't lead that kind of life. It's a high maintenance dress for a high maintenance woman with a high maintenance lifestyle, none of which describes me or my resources. So, back to Nordstrom it will go, and it will cost me $10 shipping fee to learn what I really should have known already.
In another reinforcement of the "time marches on" theme, I'm still sick. I've missed two days of work this week--really unusual for me--and I'm still coughing and achy and low energy. I used to shake this stuff in a couple of days; this has already lasted a week. What a bother, and so depressing. I just put out the garbage and the recycling and I feel like I have to rest for an hour.
When I feel better, there are a number of movies on my "to see" list: "Australia", "Milk", and "I've Loved You So Long". Although I'm not a big Tom Cruse fan, I will probably want to see "Valkyrie", just because I'm a sucker for historical dramas. Also "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", but that's because Cate Blanchett is in it, and not because of Brad Pitt.
If you're reading, send me "get well soon" vibes!
Monday, December 1, 2008
A Winter's Tale
I was thinking of a line from "A Winter's Tale" when I woke up at 3:30 AM, hacking out a lung: "a sad tale's for winter". Indeed, this nasty cold is a sad tale. It seems that every time I get a cold, it goes to my throat and lungs, which makes me think of Nana, which makes me worry that I am going to end up like her, on a ventilator. (Of course, I won't be writing short hand notes to my caregivers......I still think that's a great story.) Ah, the bleak thoughts one has when sleepless and sick.
But the sun did come up this morning, and I did manage to get all the Christmas decorations down from the attic over the weekend, so I think I will slowly start to transform the house. I envision my day's schedule running on a loop of: drink tea, do a little work, go to the bathroom, rest.
Laura got home from NY yesterday. Arturo picked her up at the airport because both Darwin and I are sick. She had a great time and brought home adorable photos of her playing with her little cousin Emily; looks like they bonded, big time. She said Thanksgiving at Grammy's house was loud and boisterous and wonderful; the food was great and the company convivial. Laura was pretty sad about going back to school, because this is her last week before finals and she has LOTS to do, but then after Saturday she's off for a month. Diana has, I think, two more weeks to go.
Arturo actually braved the post-Thanksgiving shoppers and took advantage of a great camera deal, so now we have a new, functioning, digital camera which cost less than $100. So, when I feel better, I can start taking photos again.
That's all for now. Time to go take some more cough medicine and replenish the supply of kleenex in my pocket.
But the sun did come up this morning, and I did manage to get all the Christmas decorations down from the attic over the weekend, so I think I will slowly start to transform the house. I envision my day's schedule running on a loop of: drink tea, do a little work, go to the bathroom, rest.
Laura got home from NY yesterday. Arturo picked her up at the airport because both Darwin and I are sick. She had a great time and brought home adorable photos of her playing with her little cousin Emily; looks like they bonded, big time. She said Thanksgiving at Grammy's house was loud and boisterous and wonderful; the food was great and the company convivial. Laura was pretty sad about going back to school, because this is her last week before finals and she has LOTS to do, but then after Saturday she's off for a month. Diana has, I think, two more weeks to go.
Arturo actually braved the post-Thanksgiving shoppers and took advantage of a great camera deal, so now we have a new, functioning, digital camera which cost less than $100. So, when I feel better, I can start taking photos again.
That's all for now. Time to go take some more cough medicine and replenish the supply of kleenex in my pocket.
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