fox

( Over Christmas )

( Of course New Year's Day )

( A third four-day weekend in a row: )

( This morning all three of us tested negative )

Meanwhile I have accomplished many other items of being a competent and productive adult:

• We've arranged to have some work done on the house and had signed the estimates and returned them to the contractor - and now I've also paid him the deposits required by those contracts. (Okay we were a little late on that, oops.)


• I ordered some hardware with which to adapt the KN94 masks the prince doesn't like so they will fit the way his fabric masks do in the hope he will be prepared to use them instead. (A fabric mask he will wear is better than a better mask he won't; still I'd like to find a way to get him using the masks that work better.)


• I placed an order with a British foods website so in a week or so we should have some honest-to-god Cadbury instant hot chocolate in the house for the first time since who knows when (I don't know why Cadbury's drinking chocolate (add hot milk) is readily available in this country but their instant hot chocolate (add hot water) is not, but the latter is what I want, because mixing the former with powdered milk and then adding hot water is a vaguely viable workaround but I've never got the ratio exactly how I want it) after having the tab open on my phone for literally months and months).


• I am experiencing a fandom Renaissance, which is great because I've missed fandom!, but less great because while I was experiencing my own personal fandom Dark Ages apparently everyone migrated to Other Places and thank god for those of you I know in person because otherwise I wouldn't have a way back in. I'm learning how to use Tumblr (just as it's apparently collapsing; nice timing, self) and I'm on Discord now as well, but speaking of Discord, where the servers at? I got on the Yuletide one in time for this year's Yuletide and I'm on the Bujold one as well. Where else are folks congregating where I could slip in and lurk until I have the hang of the place, as one used to do back in the days of bulletin boards? (I'm not new! It just feels a little bit that way.)

So I'm a little late. So sue me.

1. What did you do in 2014 that you'd never done before?

Got married! Bought a house!


( the rest of the questions )

Christmas concerts with the big chorus are done. Work is at a manageable dull roar for the moment. ( Well, except this one work thing. ) I got my work Secret Santa present on time and my Secret Santee was very pleased with it, including my make-do wrapping job (masking tape inscribed with "THE SCOTCH TAPE IS HIDING" (block print, you see, so nobody could recognize my writing)--because our scotch tape must be in a box somewhere and there wasn't time to go out and buy more. I got presents for my side of the family ordered and shipped. We don't have presents yet for each other or for Himself's side of the family, but that's all a much less fraught prospect because my side is the only one with a four-year-old. I booked our hotel for New Year's, so a road trip is in our future.

My Yuletide is on 1069 words (yay over the max) and I swear I will finish it this afternoon JUST POSTED, WHOOP WHOOP.

I'm up in the Catholics' choir loft twice on Sunday, three times next Thursday (well - midnight Wednesday and then twice Thursday morning), twice next Sunday, and twice the Sunday after that, so that'll be a nice bundle of stipends. Mama's got to pay the contractor: our house addition plans have been approved (although not yet issued) (and just issued this afternoon, whoop whoop) and I am long past ready to roll. The place where a great deal of our stuff is in storage has been acquired and we're not sure we like the new ownership's terms of service, so we might be getting our stuff back and cramming it into the rooms we're not using ... which will make the building work more exciting, but hey, excitement's what it's all about, right? We'll see.

In any case: I'm this close to having made it through December. Bring on January.

After two years away, I expect to be back in yuletide this year, so I am watching the new mods learn the modding ropes with a certain degree of interest.

( Clothes, body shape fussing, etc. )

Tonight I am going to make the cinnamon apple honey cake I've made for the past few Rosh Hashanahs, and bring it to work tomorrow. I thought about making it in muffin tins instead of cake pans, but then decided that won't work because the apple slices go in the bottom of the cake pan and then the cake gets inverted, and having apples at the bottom of your muffin cups wouldn't be the same. Putting the apples on the top of the muffins I think they'd get dried out. So regular cake pans it is.

Okay look. I know there's Christmas and then there's Christmas. But when the stationers file things under "secular holiday cards", they are still related to the Christmas holiday, knowwhatImean? Here are some helpful guidelines.

things that are right out
angels
wise men
shepherds or lambs
holy family or anyone at all with haloes
stars
doves
crosses (though tbf I'm sure I seldom if ever see these on Christmas cards, because wow, mismatch)

things that I also do not prefer
baubles or other ornaments
decorated trees
candy canes
wreaths
reindeer
sleighs
santa claus
polar bears, penguins, snowmen, and so on, if they are wearing santa hats
any of the above wearing clothing trimmed in red and green, really
wrapped presents
stockings hung by the chimney with care
patrtidges in pear trees, etc.

likewise
dreidls
stars of david
menorahs of any description

The presence of any of these things, or of any inside greetings other than "Happy New Year" - yes, including "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings" and "Peace on Earth" - makes the card inextricably linked, in my mind, to a winter holiday other than the New Year, which is fine except that's not what I want to send. I urge you not to get me wrong - I have no issue with the existence of all these things, and I love receiving them when other people send them to me. But what I want to send are New Year's greetings, and this year I want to do it without champagne and sparkles and clocks counting down and so on - I want to do it with winter scenes that are devoid of holiday-related images, no matter how secular. (And I want to do it for more like $1/card rather than more like $3.50/card. Heh.)

This turns out to be really hard, but thanks to many of you offering suggestions and a little more googling on my own, I think I've found some good options. Seriously, I thought finding New Year's cards was a challenge (and it is!, particularly if you don't want to include photos of your kids, of whom I have none), but blank note cards with snowy landscapes on the front? Man. (Which is in its turn a little northern-hemispherist, isn't it, because it's not winter at the New Year all over the world; but one must plant one's flag somewhere.)

1. Drove to my folks' Tuesday 27th; rained the whole way, PA Turnpike very difficult, started snowing about ten miles from home, glad I hadn't left any later. Accompanied parents to Dad's first chemotherapy on Wednesday, which we knew was going to be a long day but turned even longer longer longer when his blood count was wicked low and after the chemo he was admitted overnight for a blood transfusion. In the morning it was still low, conclusion some sort of internal bleeding, trundled over to Cleveland Clinic, by now it's to do with a whole stomach full of bleeding ulcers, which is actually not that bad, compared to other things it could be, but he's not likely to be discharged until Monday. It's been a really hard couple of days - sometimes he'd be groggy and confused and look a hundred years old, and other times he'd be his feisty self and not well, you know, but better. Bleh. Roller coaster. This afternoon I said goodbye while he was still awake, even though I was planning to stay a little longer, and then he dozed off and my brother said he was going to go downstairs to fetch some lunch, and I decided to go with him so that the minute we got out into the hall I could burst into tears somewhere it wouldn't upset my mother. My brother hugged me and I cried and cried, I mean, a nurse who had been in to take Dad's blood pressure a half-hour earlier happened to be walking by and stopped to ask if we were okay. But my brother - the one who has been more overtly keeping his eye on the pessimistic side of the ball this whole time - reminded me that Dad was two hours out of a procedure and doped to the gills and what we'd just left in the room wasn't how he is now. Which was true, and the most helpful thing my brother could have said right then - what a good egg he is. Anyway: both my mom and my brother called this evening to let me know what the doctors had said (see above re: ulcers), and they both said Dad was doing much better later in the day. Hurrah.

2. On the way back this evening, there was an SUV on the turnpike with no lights on - at about 5:00, when it was not strictly speaking dark, but certainly dark enough that lights were called for. Several of us blinked our lights at it several times, to no avail; I fretted and fretted and then finally after I saw the SUV come around the left side of a truck but only just barely, when I realized the thing was damn near invisible, the what-will-I-wish-I-had-done meter kicked on and I called 911. They redirected me to *11, which was fine, that was the turnpike traffic control line, and I explained that there was an SUV without its lights on and I was scared to death it was going to get pasted into a jersey wall, and this was the mile marker we were at, eastbound. The lady was very nice, took the information I was able to give her, and said they'd keep an eye out for it, and then five miles later for whatever reason the damn thing turned its lights on and I was so glad.

3. Home a couple of hours ago, and found a thank-you note from one of my five neighbors for the cookies I left for everyone (one per door); and the cookies themselves from one more, and I have no idea which one. I spent a couple of hours feeling paranoid, but have now concluded that either (1) someone is allergic after all [I did include a list of ingredients in case of allergies], or (2) because I included my name and apartment number on the outside, someone was confused and thought the thing was for me instead of from me. :-P I have also finally repacked a little bag to go to Hilton Head tomorrow with the Gentleman Caller for New Year's Eve. And soon I will go to sleeeeeeep.

You know, I remember thinking, just a few weeks ago, how I was enjoying waking up in the morning and not feeling like I couldn't possibly go to work. Following last spring and summer, that was a pleasant thing to wake up to. And then my dad got sick and I managed to fret myself into such a state that I didn't actually notice when I came down with a cold because I was already ragged from worry.

I think the cold is behind me and the Lorazepam is doing okay at helping me sleep soundly, so assuming I don't take any wrong steps I shouldn't need to use any more leave between now and the few days in January when I'm taking time off to be the deputy chief umpire at the east regional men's qualifiers. [touch wood]

Other things that will be happening before then: hmm. This week I realized I am actually shockingly unscheduled. No rehearsal last night, no class tomorrow night, I thought about it on Sunday and couldn't believe it. (GC: "I obviously won't have rehearsal on Tuesday." me: "I won't have rehearsal on Monday or class on Wednesday! Think of all the Rock Band we could play!") The only night I'm booked is tonight, Tuesday, and wouldn't you know I'm double-booked, with curling and a rehearsal for One More Concert (next Tuesday - locals, check us out, A Dickens Christmas at Strathmore, there'll be folks in costume and everything).

Next week is the One More Concert on Tuesday, and the Messiah singalong on Friday - Himself will be up on stage for it, because his choir director was invited to conduct it this year, so. (I will get into the spirit somehow. I need to be able to remind myself that a singalong isn't trying to be a performance.) And then that Sunday is Christmas, for which dinner I have been asked to cast the tiebreaking vote between Himself and his stepfather w/r/t which sort of pie his mother will make. She's only making the one, apparently, because it is known that I am going to get a Christmas pudding at that place just below White Flint whose name I can never remember, and apparently the line is drawn between two desserts for four people and three. (( I am in fact meeting his mother at Christmas dinner. ))

I need to do a couple more rounds of Christmas shopping, at least one item of which will necessarily have me going to the mall unless I can find an all-purpose calendar shop closer - the wall calendar I am after has no decorations of any kind, just big boxes that can take lots of appointments on non-glossy pages that can take pencil and big numbers that a person's aging parents can see from across the room. Know for sure I can get it at Tysons. Will probably choose to just do it and not try to find the same thing elsewhere when could be there and back in the time spent searching. Also need Apple store, but going to Bethesda for dinner tomorrow so can do this (and Barnes & Noble) then. Need to have a couple more thoughts. Hrm. Oh, but presents for my brother and his family can - should! - be shipped, so not under the same deadline pressure. (Have already achieved present for Gentleman Caller. Then Sunday he said "Oh, that reminds me, I need to order your Christmas present" - I've no idea what reminded him, and he followed this statement with a big maniacal evil grin. I got him Lego Rock Band, so I'm anticipating a certain degree of imbalance. [hands]) I also need to get these New Year's cards I'm going on about sending. See previous post and leave screened comment there if you want a card.

Driving home Tuesday 27th, then back here Friday 30th, and fleeing for New Year's Eve, which looks more and more like the best idea I ever had. From here to the end of the calendar year is only a little longer. I can do it.

1. I was mistaken - my friend's parents have a relatively complete Robin Hood set, so there's definitely a Maid Marian nutcracker, and she feels sure there's a Guinevere as well. This is the converse (reverse? obverse? inverse?) of what I said yesterday, which doesn't matter one bit, but I did want to set the record straight. :-)

2. The gold-foil "extra dry" champagne is nicer than the silver-foil whatever-it-called-itself and much nicer than the Rosa Regale everyone else was drinking last night, dear god. We didn't get to the white-foil "deliciously sweet" nonsense; if we happen to do so tomorrow, I will have a tiny taste (for science), but confidently expect to grimace painfully. (This morning, everyone helped me polish off the medium-dry silver-foil stuff in pale orange mimosas.)

3. Speaking of nutcrackers, though, I can't stop thinking about this middle kid and her genuinely curious question. I mean. In the specific instance, a couple of dozen nutcrackers in which she can't spot more than one or two female characters is a pretty trivial example, right?, of course it is. But now I just want so badly for her not to stop thinking that way, because in my head she grows up to look at, forget nutcrackers, to look at - I don't know, the Supreme Court? (One in three at the moment, not bad, but still.) The Joint Chiefs of Staff? Presidents? (Of whatever - the United States, Fortune 500 companies, major universities, etc.) Major award winners in non-gender-marked categories of any juried competition ever? - and ask, "Where are all the girls?"

Where, indeed. ♥

New Year's in Florida this year; here with College Roommate L and her three children, girls ages five (FIVE!) and three and a half, and boy age 21 months.

Greetings from these children last night were, respectively: "Um ... hi! Oh, hi! I want to give you a hug and a kiss."; "Guess what? I'm three and a half!"; and "zzzzzzuuuh, neh!" (The boy is not talking as much as his middle sister did at that age, but the eldest didn't talk much until she was about two and a half either, so, you know.)

Today the middle child, running across the room, tripped over her brother where he was sitting on the floor, knocking him down and falling over herself, so for a few tragic moments there were two shrieking toddlers and exactly two adults with arms free; Momma got the boy, and I got the girl, and she cried until she realized she was okay (and I reassured her he was okay too), and also patted my shoulder ... to make sure she was okay. This is a very sweet thing her sister used to do as well. I was always charmed by it.

Went to the hockey game tonight with my friend and her dad, and saying good night to the kids before we left (because they were, miracle of miracles, asleep when we returned), the eldest child hung from my neck and said "No, stay! Stay, stay, stay." Middle child verified that my house is far away, and then said she wished she could come to my house. Youngest child was a little wary of me yesterday but pretty relaxed and okay regarding me today, even though I remained the fourth-ranked adult by preference, following his mother, grandmother, and grandfather - and of course I would have been fifth-ranked if his dad hadn't had to be at work. I was allowed to wake him up from his nap, and he likes the songs I sing, and he giggles happily when I dance him around the room or even just make him wiggle.

Tomorrow, chili dinner and champagne. And, with all love and respect to the party I chose not to attend in the frozen north, no 40mph winds and no snowbanks. All in all, my NYE is shaping up pretty well.

So I left Rochester earlier than I'd intended to with the idea of visiting kass and Yao and young Zaphod - and arrived nine hours later, having missed the Thruway exit and had to turn around at the end of 390, and then made a wrong choice around Albany and had to turn around at the New Paltz/Poughkeepsie exit, and then discovered that despite her front-wheel drive my little car cannot handle the driveway here, which was no problem really except that in reversing back down to the road I got both left wheels stuck in the ditch and had to leave her there overnight and be dug out today before lunch.

Yesterday was not a good day for me, in short.

But I did eventually arrive chez kass, and I did get my auntie on after baby-feeding time before I went to bed, and I slept very well, and I have been doing auntie-duties this morning as well, and soon I will go check in to the hotel, and it will be good times.

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone!

Rehearsal last night was worse than Monday. Director was in a better (good cop) mood, but we spent two hours on about a fourth of the program, and then had an unnecessarily long blah blah announcements and let's give boxes of candy to the section leaders period, after which we had a "ten-minute" break before doing everything else, which - naturally - took more than the time we had left. Got out of there at 10:30, despite the schedule saying 10:00, and I know I shouldn't have expected not to be kept late, but I always do. Normally I'd just have sort of rolled my eyes, but last night I (a) wasn't feeling well (I begin to conclude that the raw feeling in my throat is Something Incipient and not just the result of blowing my voice out at Monday's rehearsal; now it comes with some head congestion as well, and oh, yes, here's a couple of swollen glands in my neck, so I fervently hope my voice is still with me for the weekend) and (b) had a group paper to finish when I got home.

Fortunately, my group had also been working on it, and there wasn't a whole ton left to do when I returned. So I did it, and uploaded the sucker, and that's off my plate, thank god. Presentation this evening in class, which a teammate is preparing the slides and I'll go over a few minutes early so we can run through it. There's a final in the class as well, but it's the group thing I'm the gladdest to be done with. So that's one.

Concert this weekend, which is two.

Work work work stuff, which is three.

Oh yeah, did I mention I haven't written a word of Yuletide yet? That's four.

I am going home a week from Sunday! This is going to be a longer-than-usual traveling-around-in-December period for me. Must figure out the best way to pack to economize for space, as I have a very small car and when traveling-around-in-December turns into traveling-around-in-January, I will have at least one passenger as well. Aie.