Gail on JF

8:09AM - 12 years!

tinnean and I have been friends for 12 years, and she's been so wonderful to me and added lots of joy and great writing to my life. Thank you for everything, chere amie! *happy dance*


dazzlejunction.com
Great Friends Pictures

2:57PM - hi there

Life's going pretty well. Cisco (our remaining cat) is in remission from his diabetes, thank goodness, and is back to racing around the place like a happy kitten - so wonderful to see. :-) The knitting is going well, and the stash, of course, has grown. *g* We'll be going to SAMW again this year, Week 1, and that will be good for both me and Greg to have that time together with much music and dear friends.

Actually, life is going really well. I'm a happy Gail. :-)

9:03PM - thank you so much

Thank you so much for all of your expressions of sympathy and support on my dear Circe's death. You all helped so much. For those who have recently lost a dear pet, I'm so sorry for your loss. *hugs* I don't believe in heaven or in an afterlife, but I have to say that I've had moments in which I thought that she was with Mom and Nana, both of whom loved cats. I guess that early indoctrination runs deep. *sigh* Anyway, I'm hanging in there, and again, I thank all who have been so kind as to comment and offer kind, caring words. :-) I would like to answer your comments, but so far, no go, so I hope that this is better than nothing, and I'm sorry for that. Life is hard now. I'll be fine, though, so no worries, please, and please forgive me.

10:49AM - goodbye, kittenista

Circe died in the night, in her cat bed on her favorite chair. I'm glad that she didn't have to go to the vet again, and I'm glad that yesterday afternoon she came on to my lap and rested there for quite a while. I loved her very much, and I'll miss her. She was such a good kitten girl, and she loved being on the arm of the big chair while I was knitting and watching TV. She caught a bird once and brought it in the house (I was able after a while to get it away from her and it flew away). Just the best darling kitten. The night before last, she came up on our bed and slept a while with us.

I suspect that I'm going to be crying again soon, but that's all right.

Now we have to take care of Cisco, her brother, who thank goodness is doing well, and of each other.

Thank you for all of your sympathy and support.

11:37AM - thank you and Circe update

Thank you for all the wonderful birthday wishes. I had a great weekend with Greg. Saturday we had a lunch at Henrietta's Table followed by a scrub, massage, and wrap at Le Corbu and a trip to Spirer Jewelers to pick out a special ring for me, then chicken cacciatore with egg pappardelle and roasted asparagus for dinner AND a victory for Michigan State over Nebraska, while Sunday we went to see a matinee of "Medea" - very intense - and had dinner at The Blue Room at the chef's table. Big thanks to Tinn for the kitty LJ gift, the card, and the three cool DVDs she sent me, and to JiM for the blue dragon LJ gift.

Circe is fading. She can still get around, but she's so tentative now, and she's really just fur over bones. She still enjoys eating, thank goodness. I'm sure that we have days left if not day. We'll see how today goes, and when we agree that it's time, we'll take her to the vet and be with her and tell her through it all how very, very much we love her. Shit, now I'm crying again. I hate this. I want her better, and I can't do shit for her.

*deep breath* OK, done with that now.

Thank you all again for the birthday wishes. Hugs and best wishes. :-)

11:05PM - another birthday, but a big one

Hi there, fifty, I got a good haircut today, and I know that I'm still me, and I like me, really I do. I'll be fine, given some time.

But wow. Fifty. Me. I can't even. I don't feel older than twenty or so.

ETA: birthday on the 25th. I posted early. Sorry!

11:28PM - the glorious and fierce Circe

Circe, our dearest kittenista (15 in July), has cancer and growths in her lungs and is a skinny, skinny little kitten princess. Tonight she ate her food and the hake Greg cooked for her, and she still has energy, so I'm hopeful. Please keep our dear kitten in your thoughts. She's a link to Mom. I don't want to lose her. I love her so. She caught a bird on the back porch and brought it into the house and didn't kill it, but was so damned proud of having done so.

We'll feed her whatever she'll eat, and we'll do whatever it takes to make her time with us happy and easy and safe.

3:02PM - happy anniversary!

Seventeen years ago, on an icy afternoon, in our beloved acoustic music venue Passim, Greg and I pledged to love, honor, and cherish each other until death did us part, and then we had one hell of a party. It hasn't always been easy, and it hasn't always been fun, but it has been worth it to share my life with him.

Happy anniversary to me and to Greg!

7:53PM - sweater! and Hurricane Irene approaching

Exercise: I had a good ride this week (Tuesday? Wednesday? damned if I know) on the bike path just past Trader Joe's and back again. Considering I'm watching two bike races (the Vuelta a Espana and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, you'd think that I'd ride more, but watching them takes up the day. I've been exercising daily, mostly walks outside or marching/dancing in front of the TV, which works but looks really dumb, so I do it when I'm alone.

Knitting: I started a cardigan for myself two weeks ago today, finished it yesterday. Thirteen days. Wow. I have to weave in the ends and block it and get and sew on the buttons, but otherwise, DONE. Sort of amazed about it, really. Now I'm working on a cardigan for Greg from the yarn I bought him in January, 2007 (remember when I ordered it from Newbury Yarns on our visit there, gnomi?) per his request. His new office is very cold.

Hurricane Irene: We have water and beer and scotch and wine (the water being the most important, I know) and have taken in or fastened down anything that might decide to fly away in high winds and have stocked up on food and put new batteries into the only radio that works without electricity at need. I have knitting to do, and we have guitars and dulcimers and mandolins to play, and I am not freaking out as badly as I feared. Still time for that, though.

I took Greg out to Chez Henri last night, and we had a lovely decadent dinner (2 glasses of cava; a bottle of Lucien Crochet Sancerre with the meal; cucumber and radish salad; pan-seared cod with faro pilaf, citrus beurre blanc, and cooked greens; coconut-lime panna cotta with blackberries and a glass of Muscadet dessert wine for me; grilled shrimp with ancho chile and other good spicy stuff; swordfish with a boudin of corn aka corn cake and wax beans; dark chocolate espresso cake with espresso ice cream and a a glass of some rum that the waitress assured us was great, but Greg didn't like so much). Wonderful time. I love that man so much.

Stay safe, my friends, whether you'll have to deal with the hurricane or not. Stay safe.

3:15PM - exercise, Sunday 7/31 through Friday 8/5 aka today

I'm not doing well using my DW/LJ, but maybe looking at it as a good way to keep up with exercising will help.

Sunday, 7/31, I rode to Arlington Center on the bike path and then home again - not sure how long that took, since my watch stopped, but I'll estimate 25 minutes.

Monday, same ride as Sunday.

Tuesday, I rode to the exit to The Music Emporium on the bike path and then home again - fifty minutes in heavy air - hard work.

Wednesday,same ride and time as Tuesday - easier riding with lighter air.

Thursday, no ride - walked to Davis Square to take out money - twenty-five minutes in sandals *g*, also did twenty minutes moving/walking/dancing while watching TV - forty-five minutes total.

Friday, today - rode to Lexington Center on the bike path and back again - one hour and twenty minutes with a five-minute rest for a snack and water at Lexington Center - a very good ride, hard work, but good work.

I hope to keep riding, although probably not every day, into late fall. It feels good to do!

9:24PM - March, welcome!

High time for me to check in. I'm fine, but winter, especially with all the damned snow we've had, makes me reclusive. Also, reading all of the In Death aka Eve Dallas books does bring up stuff for me, but I think that the reading and processing the reading ends up being helpful.

The seasonal job ended mid-January, on fine terms, and all's well with that. I liked working in a lot of ways, but it is good to have time to myself again.

I'm giving blood not to the Red Cross any more, but to Children's Hospital. First time there went very well - I hope that it continues so. I do like giving blood to the babies, since I'm O negative and lack some kind of antibody which makes my blood even better for them.

Knitting a lot, of course, and happily. Not writing, but I've had stirrings toward that again, so we shall see.

Greg's got a lot of work crap going on, due to the contract being awarded to another set of companies which could screw up our health insurance and benefits and maybe even his job (NONONONO!), but he's promised me that it'll work out, and I have to believe him.

So, all's well here, mostly, and we've surviving and even thriving. :-D

11:38PM - goodbye, 2010 - hello, 2011

2010 had some excellent moments - 2 SAMWs, a lot of good knitting, NIECES!, and a part-time, seasonal JOB!!! (and more that I'm not remembering now, I'm sure) - and I look forward to 2011, to see what I'll do next. It's exciting. I hope that all of you get what you want in 2011 and are happy with it. :-)

Greg and I went out to a lavish and excellent dinner at the Harvest tonight, and I suspect that we'll open some champagne soon, but I have inventory tomorrow morning at the yarn store at which I work, so I'd better get myself to bed before too long. I keep thinking of the Count from Sesame Street and smiling. I shall count tomorrow (although to myself, of course - I will not be the only one there counting!).

Go Michigan State! We won today in our basketball game, and with luck we'll win in our bowl game!

7:11PM - mac and cheese, job for me!, tube socks, and fall!!!

Tonight I'm making Greg macaroni and cheese from scratch. He'll make the hamburgers and saute the spinach.

Tomorrow morning I go to Mind's Eye Yarns and help to clean the store. The owner offered me a 10-12 hour/week position for the holiday season, and I took it. I'll start my full hours in November and go until sometime in January, as in when the credit card bills come in, I'm told. *g*

I'm not doing the Pine Street Inn Knit-a-Thon this year. Instead, I'm working at finishing old projects. I'm also going to start knitting up some of my sock yarn into tube socks, not shawls, which was the original intent. Tube socks don't have heels, which makes them much easier to knit!

Happy fall! I do love this time of year, with the crispness in the air and the glory of the leaves. :-)

12:10AM - SAMW Week 1 2010

So before Greg and I head off to Week 2 on Sunday, it might be good to write down what I loved about Week 1. :-)

*happy faces of friends from last year and friends from this year
*Lorraine's Morning Song class, in which I learned more songs
*Ben's Mandolin Primer class, that Greg and I took together, a good thing, because I would have quit without him - too hard at the beginning! But Greg helped me work at the songs Ben wanted us to learn by ear, and I got enough of them down, and earned the Most Improved Student Overnight Award *g*
*Greg playing "Louise" superbly at John's open mike on Sunday night
*Greg playing his own composition "The Step Up Waltz" Thursday night at the student concert with Martin Grosswendt (fiddle) and Ben Pearce (mandolin) backing him up
*dinner at the Coe House Wednesday night even though we had a tornado warning
*me singing "Silver Dagger" a capella in A even though I'd planned to do with with chords in G *wry grin*
*so many wonderful compliments about my performance!
*ICE CREAM EVERY DAY
*knitting a whole shawl out of Noro Silk Garden and blocking it on the floor and a wool blanket (well, trying to *g*)
*loaning my dulcimer Ophelia to Kriss so that she could take Lorraine's dulcimer class and I could take the mandolin class and not be tempted to drop out for dulcimer
*Kriss giving me wonderful green earrings her father had made as a thank-you gift for the loan of Ophelia
*walking the Labyrinth with Greg Sunday afternoon and again Wednesday (might have been by myself - not sure - not enough sleep to keep good memories of everything) and definitely again Saturday morning before we left - wonderful walking mediation and centering
*love and hugs, not just from Greg - from other dear friends
*excellent musicians (Bennett and John and Ben and Cliff and dearest Martin and Danny) playing my beautiful Tippin sea guitar and having only wonderful things to say (prime comment from Cliff - "I had sex with your guitar" - followed by sincere compliments)
*afternoon fifteen-minute power naps with the beach towel draped over the window to keep out the bright, bright sunshine
*MUSIC! LOTS OF WONDERFUL MUSIC!

OK, I've run out of coherence - more later, maybe. *g* I had so much fun. I'm glad that we decided to fork over the money and go back for Week 2. It'll be an adventure, and goodness knows, we need another vacation. :-)

9:51AM - music time!

It's been over two months since I last posted. Sorry about that. I've been basically fine, with some ups and downs. But today we leave for SAMW for a week of music and fun! I'm planning to take Morning Song for first class and Mandolin Primer for second class and not take anything for third class, leaving that time in the afternoon free for swimming and playing on my own and maybe even some naps. Last year I got very, very tired with the late nights and the early mornings. I don't want to get that tired again!

I'll bring my mandolin, my beautiful Tippin guitar, and my dulcimer, of course. :-)
Now to shower and do one last check and load up the car and go! Best wishes to all. :-)

10:02PM - making an open post and checking in

I look to post more on Dreamwidth and Insane Journal than LJ or JF (which I think no one reads me on, but if so, let me know, please?) from now on. I have codes for Dreamwidth, if anyone wants them. Posts may be friends locked on DW and IJ. Life is weird now. I'm hanging on, though, so don't worry, OK? I need not to worry that people are worrying, if that makes sense, but then nothing makes sense that much. I have Greg, though, so I'll be all right. I refuse to let The Bastard win. I REFUSE.

12:47AM - Easter

I celebrate Easter as a holiday to eat lots, since I'm not Christian any more, but I can't talk about that or my sister will get pissed. I shouldn't care about that, but there you go. Anyway, we drove to the Cape today, only an hour and twenty minutes - a fine time. We gave presents to the Nieces Three: the fourth Fablehaven book and the fourth City of Ember book for Jenny, four American Girls Cooking Studio books (Kit, Samantha, Molly, and Felicity) for them to share, and the six issues of Supergirl: Cosmic Adventures in the 8th Grade (Abby started reading them right away!). Abby had been sick, so Jenny, the darling, volunteered to stay with her, and then Kelly decided that she wanted to stay home too, so we got them some food, which took two tries - the Chinese place gave us fossilized chicken nuggets, so they had to replace them - and then we grownups went out to brunch at Wimpy's and ate lots (Seafood Newburg and Eggs Benedict with corned beef hash!!!) and had a great time. After brunch we went for a ride to look at flowers and the Kennedy compound, which I'd never seen, and then back to Pam and Chuck's. Jenny played her saxophone for us, we had an egg hunt (Greg hid the eggs and was once again the Easter Bunny! *g*), I showed Abby and Kelly that Smoothie Moves went more levels than they thought, and Jenny told her how school was going and showed us her fabulous grades. All my nieces are brilliant, of course. (I'm biased. I get that. But they ARE. *g*)

We visited a while more, then got going around 7, taking the back roads to the Sagamore Bridge. It took us an hour and a half to get over the Bridge (usually it's fifteen minutes or less!), and then there was an accident before the Mass Ave exit in Boston which slowed us down too, so the whole drive took us three hours and ten minutes.

We watched the end of the Red Sox opener with good white wine and Brie and Mousse Truffee and water crackers and a wonderful salad Greg put together, and now it's time for bed.

Oh, and Pam gave me the check for my share of Mom's estate Monday. That hit me really, really hard, but I'm better now, and the check's in Greg's credit union, so all's well, or if not, it'll be rotten later. Spiral of healing. I'm good with that. I'll work with that.

12:01PM - DVD-R/VCR combos recs, please

It looks as though I'm going to need to buy a DVD recorder/VCR combo so that I can transfer my tapes to DVD, so I need recs of which are good to buy, o wise friends list. I checked on Amazon.com, but wow, no one likes anything there. *sigh* Help, please?

10:47AM - today it's your birthday!

Happy birthday, tinnean, my chere amie! I love that we found each other in fandom and are still friends after nearly ten years. You're so dear to me. You trust me with your stories, and you help me make my stories better. You make my life happier and better, too. Much, much love to you!

11:50AM - song lyric meme, new router, and thanks

That result makes me smile. :-)

Greg put in a new router Monday (so December 7), and we bought the two-year extended warranty from Micro Center, so we're covered for three whole years. Wow. We'll see how long it lasts. The last one made it over two years (installed end of May 2007, went December 6, 2009).

Thanks to agentxpdble, mareen, and xkatjafx for the snowflake cookies and to tinnean for the fancy hot chocolate. :-)

ETA: Oh! Happy anniversary to me and Greg! Fifteen years married - go us!