Happy Monday.

Last night on the phone, Vivian told her dad about the fun we had this weekend. She was really happy and glad to share that with him, and I thought it was nice to see her having some continuity in her life across the households.

Then this morning, I get a scathing email from him. He freaked out in a hostile, blustering early-morning tirade, going all over the map about how I was in the wrong to have taken her, that it supersedes a commitment that was made to Vivian (but weirdly awkward and obvious about not saying who made the commitment), that it was dangerous to the point of unethical, and that having done so I need to do it repeatedly, for life.

This is not wholly surprising, and might possibly be reflective of why he is my ex. Whatever. I'm happy to support Vivian and her interests, and that's all that should matter to anyone, ever.

Happy Monday.
Namaste, y'all.

Welcome to november

This has been a heck of a week. David has mostly been at the hospital or with extended family members, understandably, and I am simply spent on all fronts. Halloween, my favorite holiday, has come and gone without so much as a boo. The boys are wonderful, but I worry about the effect of my frazzled nerves at home. In the week before the gun accident, I hadn't seen David in the evening at all, and by Friday's get-together I was already stretched too thin emotionally.

Saturday evening's carving was cancelled, and since then I have only continued to feel worn out. Receiving and stacking 100 bales of hay on Monday didn't help my muscles or my spirit, but it is good to know that I am capable. I definitely think a hot bath and some tea is in order for everyone here at McCutcheon Manor.

Even my horoscope for the coming week advocates a bit of a breather for regrouping:

2nd November 2009 - 8th November 2009Do not allow the pressure to get to you. You're either doing too much, not sleeping enough or fretting about a situation that is as yet resistant to a solution. Once you have acquired some space both in real and emotional terms everything will be easier, and you'll be able to see your way forward. This is a particularly challenging time for finances: while you can make money you can also spend it, and some Arians are counting the cost of an unwise investment or splurge. As soon as Venus enters the zone of financial resources and shared commitments (8th) other people will be more generous and supportive. Time out.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device from U.S. Cellular

And away they go

Ethan was groaning about putting on a helmet when David picked him up from karate. A passing by parent looked at him and said, "You take karate and you ride a motorcycle? It doesn't get any cooler than that."

o, the things i've seen

Last night the boys and I watched Jupiter and Venus snuggle up to the crescent moon. The two planets have been putting on a lovely display for the holiday weekend, and the addition of the moon's sliver was charming. Now that we live in the country, watching stars is more fun than frustrating, and we have taken to asking more questions and getting more interested than ever. I confess that it's getting to be fun to figure out the location of the constellations, and to watch them in their dance across the year's night sky. A couple weeks ago I was driving toward Paint Bank in the evening and saw my first bear. He wasn't much bigger than Bruiser, and he played with the leaves in the road as he crossed over to the right bank, heading off to search the trees for heaven only knows what. He took a good long look at me and the car before heading off, and I confess that I gripped the wheel and thought, "O please don't think I'm a big shiny blue ball to play with." Other than that moment, it was pretty cool to watch him. He seemed to be having fun. Thanksgiving was a quiet interlude, and I was glad of it. I finished Brsinger, started Snow Flower and the Secret Fan (which I highly recommend), and reconnected. David and I had a lovely lobster dinner at home on the Holiday Evening, watched some movies and played and lounged. The Other Boleyn Girl, Holiday, Live Free or Die Hard, 1408, The Kingdom and Fracture all made it to the big screen in our house, to great welcome. Craig schools were closed yesterday and two hours late today, and it seems that everyone is getting a slower-than-normal start to this month, the gears moving at a more languid rate than normal, even for coming back from holiday. It has been an enjoyable lacuna, and even yuletide festivities are not enough to throw off my centered calm.

Brother can you spare a ride?

While the price at the pump continues to fall as a nationwide average, the reality in my little area of southwestern Virginia is that we are feeling the pain of gas shortages. It's not as bad here (yet) as it is in West Virginia, Ohio, Tennessee and the Carolinas, but given that my fair piece of the commonwealth resides at the crossroads of all these places, it certainly makes me wonder how David and I will be able to count on commuting. The shortage has hit hardest in Atlanta, Nashville, Tenn., and the Carolinas, including the Charlotte area and the mountain towns to the west. For days it has closed civic offices, cut short workdays and even canceled community college classes. Getting to work is not a small deal in the best of times for those of us in rural locations. And with the tidal wave of unemployment running around, David and I are lucky to have jobs. So perhaps it's time I asked my neighbor-down-the-road about carpooling, and asked a neighbor-up-the-road about meeting the bus after school. One thing is certain: if we are going to make it through this crisis, it's going to be because we have gotten more creative and pulled together as people. Now let's see if the government can be as flexible and committed to a solution.

The happy couple

September 24, 2008 The ceremony was beautiful, with Rev. Claire coming to the house from Charlottesville and David's family coming up as well. The sun was setting, the air was crisp and the mountains were beginning their autumnal glory as we exchanged vows and rings. What a fine day.

deer me

"It's a great place to live," said Bird, who drives 80 miles a day to his job as a roofer in Davenport. "But you can't work here." Unfortunately, this is as true in my county as any other beautiful rural location. On Friday, on the way to work, I hit a deer. I limped the not-supposed-to-be-functioning jeep ten miles back home, where David and I surveyed the damage: a broken radiator, a/c compressor, pulley system, power steering, bent frame, headlights and fog lights were immediately obvious. There is other damage as well, of course, and the mechanic called to let us know that it will take three weeks to fix. Three weeks. Work is 50 miles away. Never mind the (mind-reeling) cost to fix, even with used parts; this is an inconvenience of serious proportion. We had been planning on picking up a smart car to add to our collection just as soon as we could reasonably do so. But with a wait time of six months, this had been put off for a bit. In other news, I was looking at the National Hurricane Center's forecasts for Gustav and Hannah. You have to wonder what the folks in southern Florida are going to experience, with a hurricane on each side of the peninsula this Sunday. For our part, the annual family reunion has been scrapped as Aunt Barbara, the reunion's standing hostess, is having surgery and I think maybe we'll simply take a pass for most of the weekend, enjoying the time at home together over the holiday. Maybe we'll get around to designing more of Space Colony One, or the hovercraft. We are overdue for some serious family project time.

invested in outcomes

Most people get a little (or more than a little) nervous when the stock market takes a downturn. But for me and my family, news of bear market territory came at an excellent time: I had just made my first (ever) payment into my 401(k). This means that my first purchase yeilded more stock than it would have otherwise, which is only good news in the long run. Bear markets don't last forever; in fact they don't even really last for very long. Even if the markets were to take a long slow slide toward the 5000 mark (perish the thought!), it's only good news for my 401(k), given that I don't expect to cash it in for at least twenty-five years. This is not to say that the current situation has me dancing in the streets: inflation is real, and I was certainly amongst the hawks who were less-than-thrilled at the fed's decision to hold interest rates. David and I have been having financial talks about credit cards, medical debt, where and how to cut costs from the daily living expenses, and how to shore our financial situation up against the slow burn that started a year ago and shows no sign of slacking off. The good news for us is that we can actually have this conversation; many folks around the country simply cannot, and it wasn't so long ago for either David or me that we counted ourselves amongst their number. But the boys are in public school, David and I are both employed in real careers, and our cars (without which we couldn't have any sort of job) are both paid off. We spend a fair amount in gasoline and daycare, granted, and these expenses aren't going to go away any time soon. We have a passion for good food, and enjoy eating and cooking in equal measure. But part of that is enjoying being at home, not being out spending money, and spending our time at the place we are already paying for each month. Far from free, but still, its a nice way to go. Entertainment in our world consists mostly of home projects, fishing and camping trips, and netflix. It is certainly not a life of deprivation. I'm looking forward to tackling the medical debt that has threatened to overtake me if I don't address it somehow. There is always something else that needs to be done, of course, but this matter has finally gotten in my sights and my goal is to clear it out of the household budget by Christmas. It's not going to be easy, but it will be imminently satisfying to show it the other side of the door. Wish me luck.

a matter of mindset

It’s a matter of mindset. My whole outlook right now can be summed up as a matter of will: I refuse to freak out. Ethan’s schooling troubles have gone from bad to worse to worst this week. On the one hand, this is troubling, of course. On the other, it’s relieving: I have decided I simply refuse to assume responsibility for Everything and have started communications (with the school’s full support) at various special educational facilities in the valley. So far I’m favoring Minnick, but as yet it is not a foregone conclusion. The school staff and David and I are having a meeting next week to determine where Ethan will be placed and how soon we can get him started. This is good news to me, not bad; it means that I am not the only one looking into alternatives anymore, that I am not the only one saying “this is not working.” So there – I feel as though I have more support than ever, frankly. David and I continue to work on our relationship, and this week we have covered quite meaningful ground. For his part, I have total sympathy: it can’t be easy to be invaded by three people with large and distinctly different personalities. And yet he has been, and has fallen in love with each of us. His life would be far simpler without our involvement, yet he has decided that the love and caring is more worthwhile than irritating, even when it is a hassle. Happy New Year. An online prediction for the upcoming Year of the Rat claims:

The year 2008 will be a year of possibilities, a time of progress; although, it may not generally be spectacular. Those who take the biggest risks could be disappointed. Everyone should, nevertheless, add something new to their lives.

For me, I predict that my life will smooth out (or ‘smoothen,’ as Graeme is fond of saying), and that this family will solidify and move forward in a way that is both meaningful and powerful. We’re cool like that.

recent events

The boys seem to have been out of school the past two weeks more than they have been in it. Between dental appointments and weather closings, this has been the strangest back-to-school month I think I have ever seen. On the positive side, we love our new family dentists. Dr. Mills specializes in children's dentistry, and the boys can't say enough wonderful things about her and her staff. Given that they used to lose sleep before seeing a dentist before meeting Dr. Mills, I think this is simply marvelous. Yesterday school started at the scheduled time for the first time all week. Of course, we ended up needing to take Ethan to have his hand x-rayed just to verify that Tuesday's fall wasn't any more serious than soft-tissue damage. Ethan and David went to an immediate care clinic in Salem together, and made the best of it, enjoying a late lunch at Five Guys before trucking back up the mountain to school. For his part, Ethan was a real trooper through the whole thing. David rescheduled his own appointment and does indeed have a serious sinus infection that has decided to make itself known in his lungs as well. He felt horrible this morning, and I'm keeping my ear out for pneumonia, which aside from being A Really Scary Thing to me, is also pretty serious. Between school weirdness, weather, dental and doctor appointments, David and I do somehow manage to show up to our jobs on occasion, mostly through tag team efforts¹. My job is going quite well, and I’m enjoying adding additional products to my testing responsibilities. I’ve just been ‘officially’ given my second piece of software to manage and I’m enjoying figuring out how it all fits together. It has a quite intricate interface, with multiple drop-in components, each with their own configuration, so I certainly haven’t any lack of intellectual work in front of me. And, as always with software, there is a release deadline sitting right on top of another build, so the pace isn’t anything to sneeze at, either. David has likewise seen his lab get into some serious R&D stuff, so the schedule there is tight and demanding and weird as only a biological lab would be. On this upside, they are doing some cool development stuff, and chatting about work is far from the typical ‘how was your day’ fare. We are also enjoying our time at home, weirdly scheduled though it might be. This past weekend we took yet another trip to Floyd, this time with the boys, and visited School House fabrics (which the boys tolerated), the general store (which the boys loved) and a custom woodworker’s storefront. We had dinner at the Mexican restaurant and ended up poking around in the clothes store, where I picked up a new pair of pants and a sweater than I just fell in love with. We ended up designing ever-so-many things, and it was a nice outing, all told. Sunday we had plans aplenty from which to choose: we ended up scrapping them all, staying inside and making a carrot cake. How yummy and cozy was that? The boys are looking forward to more snow, as the recent acquisition of snow-discs had them howling with glee on Thursday and Friday as they turned the driveway into a slalom course. David took the tractor and scraped the snow into banks around trees and at the end of the driveway, and I swear they would have stayed out until hypothermia set in if we hadn’t tempted them back with warm food and hot chocolate. At home we are watching netflix and library selections, with a few randomly selected episodes of Firefly just for fun. David and I watched Babel (not so great: quite dislocated and dislocating, perhaps by design) and The Devil Wears Prada (wonderful and funny). From the library the whole family watched Holes (outrageously funny and cute), The River Wild (a touching and exciting tale) and The Dangerous Lives of Alter Boys (serious and thought-provoking, despite the humor; an entry on the Must See List). Those are all on their way back, and I'm looking forward to our next installment this weekend. 1. More than ever, this month I feel as though we are the Wonder Twins, assessing the latest split-second development, declaring "Form of. . a taxi!”" and dashing out the door in our various directions.

no good deed goes unpunished

This weekend, David and I caught up with the neighbor who had posted signs on our land. We had him remove them, in our presence, and he asked us to put the signs up on various trees as we walked back toward the road. His arm is in a sling, and he said he really appreciated our help and our understanding. Go figure. This afternoon he took a warrant for David's arrest for trespassing after having been told not to. What a complete jerk. This guy's antics are getting to be a royal pain.

the latest from the weed patch

This morning while i was in the garden checking on the tomatoes, the vacationing neighbor was shooting a high-powered rifle repeatedly. Now, i'm certain that he was merely working on his new sight, or perfecting his trigger, and certainly was not after the many trespassers on Deer Highway, but it really disturbed me that he was firing near the Pine Forest where the boys had recently been playing. I know we are allowed to shoot, but what are the guidelines for shooting near occupied land? Mo sent along a link to local ordinances in Virginia, and Craig is notably not on it. So i suppose a good old fashioned drop-by-to-say-hi is in our futures this evening. The tomato news is that while we don't have any ripening as yet (congrats, Mo), we have several on the vine that look quite lovely. And to think it only took 32 plants to get a few! The beans have a poor showing; after Graeme and I finished weeding the bed there are only a half-dozen plants at best. The peas aren't doing well either, and I'm wondering what we can do: do we weed and wait, do we tear it up and plant something else, do we make it the world's best cat box? I put the questions to Morris, who was most helpful and full of advice. So now it seems that we will be replanting beans and scrapping the peas, which is fine with me. The beans we planted were from last year's seed purchase, so we might need to get some more of those. I like the burgandy ones best, and some pole beans are always nice. I'd also like to get some delicata squash seeds in the ground -- they are my favorite -- but i have No Clue where to buy them (if i could find a squash, i'd buy it, eat it, and plant the seeds). Perhaps Agnew will have some. I also would like to get the pumpkin seeds in the ground for Halloween, even if we don't harvest them for actual eating. The beets from last year's seeds seems to be doing quite well, and if early shoots are any indication, we'll have beets by the bucketload. The spinach (curent season seed purchase) is duking it out with the weeds, and i'm not going to sweat that crop so much. It's a shame, since i'm big on spinach and was really looking forward to making some spinach-artichoke dip, so it looks like a trip to the market is in order. Mo says it, like the peas, are an early or late crop and that i should try again in the fall. I'm a fan of weed barrier fabric, but even so weeds would still happen. I'm not certain what the horses got into, but it has been coming up in droves in all our beds. The cow manure will be a godsend next year. We set out three new beds that we plan to plant with potatoes, so i'm betting we'll be in Agnew soon. Will pick up some seeds then, tear out the peas and keep in mind that cool crops doesn't mean "july." I have some onion seeds for planting in the fall. We also have some serious garlic going on, Russian Red and elephant varieties. We didn't get it in soon enough to harvest or anything, but will leave it in the beds over the winter for harvesting next year. With the deer being what they are (read: p.i.t.a.), i'm thinking of building a low garden wall. it's not fool proof or anything, but it can be pretty, and i'm seriously invested in the garden. It's silly in a way, but there is a lot of me in the beds. The boys and I go out every morning, and I've come to really look forward to the roses and flowers and vegetables. Since the roses and lilies were a deer buffet, the vegetables have been getting most of my attention (that, and all the weeds that seem to spring up in the beds overnight). I checked on the roses this morning, and it seems they will recover, but i doubt there will be much in the way of blooms for several weeks, if then.

yesterday afternoon was a ball. i swear, we really are out of high school, but you wouldn't have known it to watch us playing in the arcade. David won at air hockey and Galaga, and we had a grand time. We swung at the batting cage -- him with baseball pitch and me with softball -- and took turns. I managed to connect nicely a couple times, despite having connected with my hand at one point (ouch).

Afterward, we neatened up a bit and went to dinner with Aunt Barbara and Uncle Charlie and i met Mom and Joe. I confess i was nervous at first, but by the time the salad arrived we had relaxed. By the time we got around to sharing cheesecake we were laughing at our own in-jokes. I really like this family.

Today David and I are on our way to the courts as he begins his tennis league for the spring. After having had a lovely and relaxed morning, I'm looking forward to watching the matches and hanging out with the other family folks on such a fine spring day.

plants

Spring is a time when i itch to plant; gardens, windowboxes, trees, you name it. I start designing with plants based on color and architectural notes, flowering season, fruit yeild, all sorts of things. David mentioned forsythia on the way down the maountain, and how he prefers when it is left to go to spray instead of trimmed. I agree, since i think it's the height of an exercise in futility and frustration when people plant forsythia and then want it to be a manicured hedge. I mean, if you want privet or boxwood, plant them.

While we were driving down the mountain we noticed some lovely redbud trees, and i mentioned that i would like to plant them as well as some flowering dogwood when we find what will be Our Farm. He mentioned the bradford pear as well, and the flowering cherry. I told him about how theresa was astonished that easter colors are all over the place at eastertime -- until she moved here (from vermont), she had never seen a purple tree before. I also like flowering magnolia trees, and other simply pretty things.

We saw a really neat tree that i don't know the name of. I started looking online for it and haven't found it yet, but have found neat articles on conservation and coffee, how to plan a botanical garden, and some great images from the online Modern Herbal. Who knew?

Night Sky

last night while we were doing the pajamas-and-teeth routine, David pulled out the telescope. it was pretty cool, and i admit that i'm interested in looking at the stars from our front porch.

the new contract continues into its third and thankfully last day of training this morning. i think it'll be a decent enough bit of work, and look forward to actually starting. who knew that "No sir, we can't put bleeeeeeeep in your ad" would actually come in handy one day?

loving kindness

So often, I hear people talk about how it would be wrong or selfish to feel good about themselves, how they feel guilty if they treat themselves well or with genuine kindness. This is silly. When we cultivate feelings of compassion for ourselves, we begin to embody what love truly is. Manifesting love within fuels our ability to demonstrate our love outside of ourselves.

This morning, i am filled with love and compassion and true goodwill. I am blessed to have a wonderful partner, a loving family, and to be in a home that is warm and happy.

yesterday we went tromping through the woods a bit, thinking about streams and farms, houses and homes. on the way home, we bought nearly everything in the IGA and stocked the pantry high. The peepers were singing to the high heavens, and as we drove home i kept oo-ing at the frogs in the road, bouncing and skipping. david laughed (i mean, it just couldn't be helped -- i was silly).

book fair

Man, i love the book fair. Yes, i know it's supposed to be for the kids, but come on, who could resist a book with the title The Princess Academy? I'll let you know how it turns out.

Currently i'm reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, on loan from David when he found out i still hadn't read the copy that i got from the library many months ago (and minght even return finally, now that i found it again). I just finished up Next, one of my Valentine's gifts from David. I really enjoyed it and now it's on his stack of To Be Read. I am looking forward to talking together about it. It's cool that most of the books on his shelf are ones i haven't read yet but either meant to or hadn't heard of and am interested in. It reflects how well we fit together in most areas, not just literarily.

our weekend

MOVIE DATE: believe it or not, Friday was our first theatre movie together. We nearly had one months ago, but it ended with us just taking the popcorn home and talking the night away. We saw 300, a movie which i knew nothing about [many thanks to Frodyma for suggesting it to David]. Despite the fact that it is apparently causing quite a stir in Iran, and that the reviewers can't figure out why it's a success, we loved it. We liked the action and the drama and the sense of the few free rising against insurmountable odds for their beliefs. The cinematography is gorgeous, bringing classic vase images to life, and the Spartan red cloaks flow magnificiently, rich and noble and inspiring. The dialogue is witty and the civics lesson is good. Is it history? Who cares? If you liked Braveheart, you'll love 300. After the movie, we were walking out past the video games when we both spotted Galaga. We played a game, and let me tell you David wiped the floor with me. It was as much fun as it was back in junior high. Sword Play: we got to looking at swords and the like over the weekend. One of the great things about the house is that the great room has a hugely tall ceiling (like, something ridiculous, twelve feet or so). So when we were playing with the swords, we really could play, swinging them at each other and discussing technique without worrying about walls or lamps or whatever. It was cool to be together like that and we discussed persona work and sword and board. After the movie, it felt very connected and somehow more together than ever. Honest, having a military weekend wasn't the plan, but we spent the fabulous late spring morning shooting. You should see the poor coffee can, or what's left of it, anyway. I don't know why i like shooting so much, excpet that it's problem solving, and very much a self-competitive thing, doing as well or better than the last time. David pointed out that my grip wasn't nearly tight enough and when i fixed that i ended up with notably better results and grip marks on the palm of my hand. Apparently this is a good thing, and the way it is supposed to be. David and I laughed at my inherent gentleness -- it sounds silly to think that i would automatically try to be gentle with something that houses an explosion, but there it is. It's right up there with the funny truth that when i was moving the poo pile i was being all gentle with the tractor, not wanting to make it clang or bang or jerk. I mean c'mon, it's a tractor. Before heading out to the Crossing Logs to go shoot at the stump and the coffee can, we were in the garage and unearthed the free weight bench. I was all interested, and David showed me how to bench press and how to curl (ok, so it's an embarassingly little amount, but it's still mine). I also started doing sit ups and body curls on the Soloflex inside, and started to keep track of what i do. It's not much, i promise. On Sunday we went to Denniston and moved furniture from the house to the storage unit. Let me tell you, if i wasn't already sore from the curls and sit ups, the dresser and china cabinet about did me in. I still have mountains of books and little stuff that needs to be gotten out, but at least the unit is secured and the big stuff dealt with. Overall, in with all the military excercises and moving and working out events, there was serious loving and tenderness. When David took me to what i have come to think of as Our Spot on the creek and built a fire, i was as content and at home and at peace as i think i have ever been. I am the luckiest woman ever. No doubt.

zodiacal light

one of the things that is so neat about living out on the farm is that i can take note of events happening in the night sky as an observer, and not as just another reader-wannabe subjected to veiwing nothing more spectacular than urban glow. Since it is really dark at night on the farm, i think i'll grab David and a cup of warm cider after we put the boys to bed tonight and see if we can make out the zodiacal light. i mean, how cool is that? [yes, almost as cool as making out under the stars, pretending to look for constellations. in fact, it's just like being teenagers without the curfew and acne.]

yes, i read the almanac

Thanks to Nate for sending along the picture of the lunar elcipse from the other side; pretty, isn't it? While David and i were driving home Saturday evening (after a much-needed trip to Sam's Club), I pointed out the emerging crescent. The boys and David and I watched the eclipse finish its path across the moon as we made our way up the mountain. My face pressed against the cool glass of the passenger window, I confessed: "The full moon in March is called the Worm moon. I meant to look it up, but I didn't." David asked me how it was that i knew the eclipse was coming up, and that it was a full moon that night. "Uh, i read it in the Farmer's Almanac?" I felt like a dork, but it's true -- the almanac provides a lot of my random farm-based information, and it's not really more sophisticated than that. I'm a weird-information junkie, and i like knowing stuff about the world in which i live; the two come together to produce a fascination of named things. In the case of the names of the full moon, i found a list online. For the latest on what is going on, i tend to visit more authorative sources. and while i was visiting, i found what i'd like to get Tiger for his birthday in July. my mind has an endless capacity for useless information.

Cool things this weekend:

• On Saturday morning we went out and rode Nitro (the Freesian). Everyone got a turn except David, who was doing the lead-around-the-field thing. We meant to ride longer and share more, but Nitro was slipping in the still-wet grass, so it was a brief outing. Satisfying though. Note: Nitro is one heck of a lot of horse. At 17 hands and over a ton-and-a-half, it seriously changed my approach to riding when i was in the saddle. He got a little frisky, jumping and swishing a bit, and it was noticable in a way it simply isn't in smaller horses. I felt small and insignificant, but in a nice way.
• After riding, we went to town and looked at furniture. We need a new dining table and the boys need height-appropriate dressers. We were more of the get-ideas-and-go-home-and-make-it mindset, and i think we might have figured out a solution to the boys' organization at long last (yes, it involves the woodshop and not a credit card).
• David introduced us to the age-old board game Careers and we had a ball. The game he has is so old that all the little score sheets are used up and have been erased and re-erased into onion skin. I hopped on the computer and made a new set, which we tested on Sunday night while the clothes finished washing and the boys fell asleep. David won, but i was only a hunderd dollars from victory. [A hunnerd!]
• The Sam's trip did my heart good in a way that i simply find difficult to describe. We have twelve pounds of rice and a big honking case of Charmin. We are beginning the Pantry Stock, and such are the things that calm me, especially as i haven't found a contract yet. (Yes, they keep saying there are tons of things out there for me. None of them comes through, though. It's that overeducated, overqualified thing again.)
• We had dinner on Friday night with Michael, which was a treat for us all. As he came in, Tiger looked at him and said "Did i mention that I think of you as a brother?" Michael was telling him yes, and that it was cool when Tiger then informed him that he could now join him in playing The Mime Game.
• Sunday was mostly calm and quiet, with house chores and movies and tree removal (when the axe broke, David got to show off the chainsaw before literally man-handling the tree into submission. My own personal superhero.)

this morning was a comedy of near-errors, but that's another story for another time. Hopefully, the day is on track once again.