Summer's slipping away

I'm waiting in my big green chair for Harry Potter to arrive. I'm just about at the point where I'm going to go out and get a bite to eat, because, of course, when I get back, the package will have arrived. And I'm getting tired of waiting.

I spent most of my free time the last couple of weeks re-reading books 1 thru 6. When I finished Half Blood Prince, I cried, a lot, and moped about most of the next day. Now I'm just wanting to get on with it. Of course, I'm having mixed feelings about the whole thing. Whereas, it is always good to get to the end of the book to know what happens, this is the LAST book. When it's over, it's over. Except for the movies. I'm consoling myself that I'll read the entire series again when Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows each come out on the silver screen.

I know I haven't been terribly communicative this summer (or really this year). I've not had a lot to muse on and felt I haven't had a whole heck of a lot to say. I'm enjoying my summer, spending time with family and friends, reading, thinking about writing, even going to work has been relatively nice.

Last week, I babysat my cousin, Little Miss, and she was just so funny. We gave her a fudgesicle paddle pop and she walked around eating it, saying "It's cold and creamy." She thought it was just wonderful, until it started melting all over her hand and onto the grass. We rescued it with a bowl and a spoon. After the creamy cold treat, we kicked around the soccer balls for a while. She's pretty good for being not quite 3.

Ok, I'm going out for a little while. When I get back, I'm sure I'll have my copy of the Deathly Hallows waiting patiently for me to read it. Won't that be lovely!

Another Week

My uncle is doing better. I went to see him Monday night and he was still sedated in ICU with a ventalator and a big bandage on his head. Thursday, he was sitting up, breathing room air, and talking up a blue streak. He still has a way to go, but I think he's going to make it just fine.

Work has been interesting, and a bit on the frantic side, but what's new, really? I'm excited about the new position and I would like to get down to business on my new projects. Now, to get management to agree... I have been pulled back into the day to day business pretty strongly. I am going to have a talk with my manager to make sure I'm on the right track.

I really enjoyed the rain today. The clean fresh smell during and after the rain was such a refreshing change after all the snow this winter.

Enough randomness for now, more later :)

Scary Night

I found out this afternoon my uncle passed out twice this weekend. This evening, he went in for brain surgery. He is now out of surgery. My cousin in Brasil, four hours ahead, is laying awake waiting for a call from her mom to let her know if her dad made it through surgery.

My aunt, who is generally the rock around which the family revolves, is frightened. We are all grateful he came through the surgery, but the future is still uncertain. But isn't it always?

Day out and about

This morning Mom called and we decided to visit the wee one, now that she and her parents had a week to get used to the full body cast she is in after surgery to correct her hip displaysia. Happily, the surgery was a success, now the next several weeks in the cast must be endured to let it heal.

We had a quick bite at the local fast food joint, and drove across town. My aunt and uncle (Grandma and Grandpa) were babysitting (Mom and Dad at work). We spent a couple hours with the family, as the cast of characters changed (Grandma leaving, Mom arriving). Playing Magna-Doodle, watching PBS Kids Sprout and trying to understand sweet little words spoken around her favorite binky comprised some of the exciting activities. It was good to see everyone, and spend time with the wee one, even a sometimes cranky wee one.

After our visit, Mom and I went to the dollar movie (not quite as good as the fifty cent movie from bygone days - I'll see anything for fifty cents!) and saw Cars. Mom had seen it before, and allowed that she would see it again. I really enjoyed the movie. It was much more geared for adults than I expected, and I even cried a little (*sniff*).

After the movie and a relatively slow dinner, we adjourned to the house to make orange mini muffins (yum!) for Mom's church function in the morning. Nothing like orange mini muffins baking to fill the kitchen with tasty scents and feelings of home.

Looking into a long weekend

I think I'm all caught up on the major events and activities of the last few weeks.

Here's where I am today.

We are going to go see my baby cousin (I've got to come up with a better descriptor than that, she's nearly 2!) at Children's Hospital later today. She had surgery to correct hip dysplasia, and will be in a cast from the waist down for 6 weeks, then another half cast for another 6 weeks. The good things here are that it was caught early (imagine 12 weeks in a cast as an active 6 or 8 year old), she probably won't remember this with stunning detail, and even the doctor said it will be harder on the adults than on her. She's an amazingly adaptive and sweet little girl, and I know she'll come though this and still be a sweet, happy little girl.

I took today off, so I have a nice 4 day weekend ahead of me... where I will endeavor to keep my mind off my job. With all that is going on, it sometimes creeps into my thoughts on my time off, and I try not to let it bother me. The other day, tho, I woke up in a start and called myself at work to cancel something I had scheduled by mistake... Fun times!

After visiting the wee one, I will be going to celebrate my nephew's birthday. He just started high school and is now 15 years old (as of Wednesday). He is taller than me (and his mother, and I believe his father as well) and I can still remember him spitting up on me when he wasn't much bigger than a football. I had just started college when he was born and all sorts of memories are swirling around in my noggin, of his previous birthdays, of when he and his mother visited me in my college dorm, of playing video games, and board games and laughing and watching this incredible boy grow into the young man he is now. And I am honored to be one of the privileged few friends invited to the family dinner tonight.

One last thing, I had a very strange dream last night. Girlzoot and I were mudding on the old HLII MUD. Somehow, instead of just colorful text, it was live action as well, some sort of combination that may have been just part of the dream. Anyway, one of the elder gods was helping Girlzoot and me gain in the attributes of our class, which for my part involved me being humiliated but remaining true to my honesty. Once I was humiliated to death (in the game) I raised my attribute and resurrected in a room called Up on Altia's Rooftop. I tried to read the text of the room (it was created for and by Altia when she attained godhood back in the day) because I wanted to save it. Well, things started happening, as they do on the mud, and the text either never showed or it scrolled by too fast to read. When I was recalled (by the same elder god) I met Girlzoot (in the live action part of the game) and told her what happened.

Ok, I'm off to shower and dress to go see the wee one. Enjoy your holiday weekend, everyone!

Holiday Wishes

A bit late, but Happy Thanksgiving! Banana bread anyone??

My baby cousin, Caitlin, loved her new blanket that I crocheted for her baby shower. “Grandma” says she sleeps with it in her crib, and regularly kicks it off, just like we all did at her age. “Mama” says she loves how soft it is. Aww, warm fuzzies!

Thanksgiving was relatively peaceful; we brought our baby, Charlie, and nearly gave my aunt a coronary. But the dog was good and she didn’t chase the cats, mostly she made laps around the kitchen and dining room and tried to eat the cat food. Elmo, the scaredy cat, came out after everyone else had left and bapped Charlie on the nose. I was upset until I remembered that Elmo has no toenails and could really only sass my dog, which she didn’t even seem to notice, poor dear.

I even got some writing done, but I have yet to upload anything from this long weekend. I will be done tonight, huzzah! I am less than 2k away from my NaNo goal of 50k! But the story won’t be done, not by quite a bit. I think I made some good habits about writing every day, so even if I write less, it will still be good. I hope to have the manuscript done by March for NaNoEdMo, hehe. I imagine, taking into account what I’ve already written, that the finished first draft will be around 85-95k :) Not bad for a first draft!