Sugar-Free Peeps

Really?

Happy Easter!

My ring in the original setting

A diamond is forever, right?

Haha, news to me, it appears that this is not true. About two years ago, I lost a diamond out of the ring and had it repaired and the diamond replaced. I continued wearing it until a couple of months ago, when I lost yet another diamond. This time the jeweler advised me to stop wearing the ring every day or have it reset, as the prongs were all wearing out after nearly 20 years of daily wear.

So, I decided to do something different. Instead of a separate wedding band with the ring, I decided to have it reset onto a wider band so I could wear it solo, as my wedding ring. It’s also now white gold instead of yellow (which is stronger), and the setting itself is flush against the band, decreasing the likelihood that I’ll catch it on every sweater sleeve along the way.

The end result? This:

My ring in the new setting

Isn’t it a beauty? I’m loving it.

After our amazing, impromptu dinner, we had to make a quick run to the grocery store. When we got there we saw a classic car show in the parking lot across the street. So of course we had to take advantage of what was left of daylight and we walked around a bit. Of course the owners were more than happy to talk about their “babies” and rev the engines a time or two for my DH.

And I’m constantly reminding him why it’s a good thing that I always have my camera.

After all, Mondays like this don’t happen every week.

Here’s hoping you found something good about this Monday, too. If so, drop me a line and tell me about it. Let’s share the Monday joy together.

Teen Daughter, tooting flute

Just had to say, my camera KICKS BUTT.

I was sitting in the very back of our large community theater. My daughter, the one with the blue hair, was a small speck of a kid on the stage. And THIS, this photo? From my seat, all the way to her, with NO flash.

Not bad, eh?

Oh. And neither was the concert. Festival’s this Friday, and my fingers are crossed.

My daughter participated in a fundraiser for her school band where they sold Florida citrus and other fruits for the holidays. I ordered a box of navel oranges, and all at once, when I saw the label, I thought, “should I laugh, or be afraid?” Look at the name of the inspector of my oranges:

Packing label on orange crate showing the name of the inspector

Just who is this Yolanda, and why is she Angry? All I can say is that I hope she’s happier than her name would suggest… who would want to eat fruit inspected by an angry inspector? Thoughts of poisonous spiders and unwanted sputum have crossed my mind, but, thankfully, the oranges are delicious!

I wish you every happiness, Yolanda, wherever you are.

Tegan

And yet, she was the true-bluest of friends, in every sense of the word. She rarely left my side, even in my most private of moments when I would have locked the door to keep the kids out, but not her. She gave freely of hugs, complained loudly, and often, and shared my interest in yarn and writing creative Facebook status updates (especially when I was on deadline and trying to code web pages instead).

She was a true lover of cheese and of warm, sunny spots on the rug. Empty boxes were a favorite distraction, and climbing. WAY high, to tallest place she could find, only to cry because she could not get down again. Very demanding of my full attention was she, and, at the same time, she asked nothing of me. Not much more than a safe home, good food (including the occasional steak!) and lots and lots of hugs. All were so easily given.

On the last morning of her life, when she was moving so slowly and refusing her breakfast, I took a brief nap before a noontime errand. Though she could barely move by that time, she climbed up, so she could whisper into my ear one last time.

She was begging me to let her go.

And so I did. With a heavy heart and many tears I held her as she breathed her last on this world. Knowing that the last touch she would feel was mine brings some comfort, but the hole left behind in my heart is enormous. I hope that someday soon I can speak her name with smiles and not tears .

Tegan Sleeping

I’ll miss you.

closeup of knitted cable patterns

Except that it was. Truly awful. Most nights I did not sleep at all, and no manner of allergy medicines or traditional cold elixers would do anything to put a dent in my misery. I was full-on sick by last Thursday a week ago, and am only just now coming up for air.

I haven’t knit a stitch in 10 days, despite all of my dreaming of a good lousy cold and a few sick days with endless knitting, just for myself. Ok, so that was the stupidest fantasy ever. Lesson learned.

I’m looking forward to knitting again. Looking forward to getting some cooking done again. Looking forward to sleeping without feeling as if I am going to drown just as I start to nod off. Looking around me, though, I see that there is a lot of digging out that I have to do first. I definitely can’t claim that I live in a clutter-free zone, but the clutter level is something far beyond whatever passes for usual. I think maybe tonight I’ll head to bed early for a change, to fortify myself for tomorrow, when I have to get up and start moving and restore some semblance of order to the chaos that is currently my home. Wish me luck. I’m going to need it.

New pink and purple hair

I’m too old to be afraid anymore.

No joke, this is the real temperature today.

You know? I think I was the only person not complaining about the snow when it was falling back in February. Of course, I didn’t have to shovel it, and I was perfectly cozy in the house for two weeks with my knitting and hot chocolate. Now, it’s too hot to knit, too hot to cook, too hot to eat even if I did cook. It’s basically hot, pissy, sweaty, hot. This fat girl’s so over it… so wanting to declare that it’s Ice Cubes Under the Armpits Day, and not come out again til Fall.

Who’s with me?

I think our cat, Zöe, has the right idea.

It's a great day for a cat nap.

So, I had an adventure this week. My faithful old computer, which admittedly had been on its last legs for some time.suddenly died. It went swiftly in the end, leaving me dumbfounded and without saying goodbye. Not even a too-highly-paid-for-not-much-real-help Geek could make anything happen. So, I had to get a new PC, in a hurry. I prefer to take my time, spec out what I want, and wait for the UPS truck. Usually consumer retail is giving up too much in performance for my taste, but this time I had to make do with something off the shelf. I chose an HP machine that wasn’t going to break the bank, and at the same time, had most of what I wanted.

Got it home, set it up, upgraded to Windows 7 Professional, and all was well as I went to bed Thursday night. Then Friday evening when I got home, my daughter turned on the PC and nothing happened. I called HP, who literally instructed me to take it all apart, take the chips out, and unplug all the components on the inside, one by one. After two hours and much cussing by my husband, HP could not identify the problem. They said I could send it in for service, but why would I want to do that, when I could just take it back to the aforementioned retail store?

New Gateway Computer

Luckily I kept my data files on external hard drives. Except for my Outlook data files, which means I’ve lost all my contacts. That’ll take forever to fix. Wish me luck.

Anyway, so that’s what’s happening here in Hades. I hope you’re cooler than I am, wherever you are.

Our daughter plays flute and piccolo, and is “first chair” stage right of the conductor.

This last number is my favorite of all. I hear the kids loved playing it, too. It sounded like a real challenge.

Way to go, Wind Ensemble! This mom is proud of you.