eleven

Hi.
Long time no blog.
Where to start?

1.  A couple of Friday nights ago, Bob gave me the night off.  I threw a bunch of invites out to the wind to see who would join me at a bar for a margarita or two.  I didn't know who would show up or what it would be like.  It turned out to be super fun.  A nice smattering from many walks of my life - old work colleagues, old neighbors, new friends, my cousin MB.  We ended up shutting down one bar and moving to another.  Got home at 1 am.  Now THAT was a successful night!

2.  Work is good.  I was reflecting today that we have all adjusted to this new world order beautifully.  I was promised 20 hours/week thru June (still hired as a provisional employee) and this week it got bumped up to 27, which is about as high as I'd like it to go.  I'm enjoying the work and feeling more comfortable there every day.

3.  Three has started his 4K program at a nearby catholic school - the very same catholic school my father attended until 8th grade.  It is sweetly old fashioned.  There's a lot of Jesus/God/Catholic stuff, which isn't necessarily my thing, but I'm cool with him being exposed to it.  They have a fairly strict dress code, which is kind of stressing me out.  I have noticed the children who attend there are extremely courteous in holding doors open for others - something I've been trying to get my kids to do for a while now.  And, this is weird to admit, but the secretary, who is probably older than my mom, has the best set of boobs I've seen in a long time.  I want to ask her what kind of bra she wears.  I mean - perky!  Looking good, Mrs B!

4.  I probably should delete those last couple of lines.

5.  I finished Freedom by Jonathan Franzen.  What a wild ride that was.  Loved it, but also was fairly exhausted by it too.

6.  When I was in college, I became friends with another student named Doug.  We ended up working together at Toys R Us and I really enjoyed his company.  We even went out to the movies/dinner a few times, but I was dating Bob at the time, so it was strictly platonic.  Great guy.  Really enjoyed hanging out with him but didn't keep up with him post college/Toys R Us.  I noticed he had a terrible cough but didn't really think much about it.  My Toys R Us boss pulled me aside and told me he had cystic fibrosis, which is something Doug never revealed to me himself. Anyway, I started thinking about him recently and  googled him.  I found out that he died this past May.  I also found out that he married someone in the mid 90's (yeah for him) who sounds like a wonderful woman.  She wrote a book about their relationship and experience with CF, including his double lung transplant.  I bought the book on Amazon and I'm sooooooo enjoying reading it.  Dana, his wife, is a wonderful writer, and it's a beautiful story.  I find myself thinking about him now and wishing I had kept in contact with him over the years.

7.  On a lighter note, I haven't made any more soap, nor have I tackled the tonic yet.  Still looking for Quinine powder.  However, I HAVE been knitting again and am getting close to finishing the scarf I started, oh, a year ago.

8.  We had a lovely and unexpected visit from Grandpa John this past weekend, who was up from Arizona to meet his newest granddaughter.  John's visit brought happiness to Bob and I, which has lasted all week.  The kids had a fun time talking with him too, and Two remains impressed with his WWE knowledge.

9.  Speaking of far flung loved ones, my bro is living in Palestine now.  At least, I think he is.  Not sure, but my sis-in-law may be there too.  There was a big flurry of Baltimore activity to tidy up life here to move, and I tried to stay clear of it so as to not distract.  I was unsettled to read his email last week from a layover in Atlanta on the way to Palestine, and that unsettled feeling lasted all day.  Not sure why - he's a big boy and can handle himself in a foreign land - but...  I still worry and fret...  Mark?  Want to let me know you're ok?  And which email you have access to?

10.  On another lighter note, we drove to Milwaukee to do a brewery tour last Saturday of Miller Brewery.  At the end, the kids got free soda and pretzels, and we adults got 3 free beers apiece.  We drove down the street to Saz's bar for food, because we needed to get some food in our bellies and sober up a bit before heading back.  We stopped at the Johnson Creek outlets to do a bit of shopping and scored huge at Old Navy.  Get this -- 2 paris of jeans, 2 puffy vests, 1 long sleeved t-shirt, 1 sweatshirt for $32.  It was a fun day.

11.  I went out with a group of friends tonight, and I hosted Bunco at my house earlier this week.  I am full of gratitude for all of my girlfriends.  Lots of laughs and stories shared and memories made.

I'm off to bed now.  Bob has been sick, and I'm starting to wonder if it's coming my way now too.  Sleep will help.

Goodnight my dearies.