Another Really Long Post

We went to Britt’s birthday party last night. Bob was there (Hi Bob), and it was nice to see him again. He looks like he’s doing well, very busy in an apprenticeship program so he’s going to school and working 2 jobs. He’s excited about it, and I think he’s going to do very well. Saw Bridge, she’s gotten a better job and is doing great. It’s kind of sad, everyone’s growing up. Someone, I think it was Bridge, said something about seeing Huey Lewis in concert, and I said “That’s the very first concert I ever went to!” And then I realized that was 20 years ago. *sigh*

I don’t usually do the italics sigh thing, but it was really appropriate there.

I asked Sandie what Britt’s into when she called to see if we were coming to the party. Books. Of course. The women in this family are the readingest people I’ve ever met. It’s that H. gene. Chris asked if Britt had any Dr. Seuss, cuz that was his favorite as a kid. Nope, they’ve checked some out at the library but don’t have any. Chris was horrified and immediately declared that she had to have “Green Eggs and Ham” and Sam I Am, better known as “The Cat in the Hat".

Yet again, I do my job as a good aunt/cousin and provide gifts that are both fun and educational! As soon as Britt saw that they were books, she started tearing at the paper with both hands. We actually had to take the books away from her so she’d open the next present! She had a great haul though, and lots of clothes and toys including a computer from Gigi that she wouldn’t quit playing with either. Grandpa was upset, they got her a new kitchen, and it didn’t have any of the accessories in the box.

Sandie asked if I was ever going to blog again? I said I don’t ever do anything to blog about anymore. She said I never did and it hadn’t stopped me before! True enough. ;)

Personally, I’ve been a little stressed and depressed lately, so I’ve been making an effort to get some more “me” time. There are several lakes not far from here, and when I can, I stop by on my way home from work and spend some time sitting in the grass, looking out over the lake, watching and listening to the birds, the fish jumping, the wind. Just enjoying. I need to start meditating again, and I’ve even been thinking about trying some yoga or something.

September 1st was the opening of dove season, and that was the holiday weekend, so we were all set for a long weekend out at Sandy Sanders WMA. Chris left Thursday morning to get the preferred campsite. I was supposed to drive out there Saturday morning. It started raining there on Friday night and didn’t stop til Sunday evening. Chris called me Saturday, right before I was going to leave and said the roads were mud and it took them an hour in a 4-wheel drive to get somewhere they could call me. So I had 3 whole days to do anything I wanted!

I used to just get in my car and go sometimes. Pick a direction and see where I ended up. I never went very far, never outside the state, but I’d load up the car and get on a highway and look for something interesting. I’ve had that urge again lately, so I loaded up the car and headed west. Saturday I drove halfway out to Sandy Sanders. That way, if the rain cleared and the roads dried, I could go ahead and meet Chris. There’s these Cherokee Trading Post signs all along I-40, and I’ve always wanted to stop in but never had. So I did, and found a couple of CD’s, and a couple books as well as some Christmas gifts. Sunday and Monday I just drove around, and stopped at some parks and lakes, and just enjoyed myself.

We closed on Mom’s house Friday. Chris decided that he’s not up to (prior injury) moving all of the heavy furniture upstairs, so we’re going to hire a moving company. Then Dad knew someone who knew someone (you know where this is going, don’t you?) and it was Friday before we found out she couldn’t get ahold of the person. So, Mom’s a little upset, cuz with one thing and another, we didn’t get her moved this weekend. Chris is supposed to get something lined out on Monday.

Dad’s a bit upset cuz we’ve told him that he’s not going to be going to be able to get upstairs. He swears up and down that he’s walked up stairs for years and doesn’t understand why we say he can’t now. Hmmm, do you think it has anything to do with the fact that he can’t walk across the room anymore? I know it’s tough to admit that there’s things you can’t do anymore. I’m starting to run into the same thing myself, and I’m only 36 (in another week). But I’m not going to let him fall down the stairs just to prove a point. So he’s mad at me right now. And this after he gave me some book money for my birthday! I’m a terrible, terrible daughter!!!

That reminds me, I am in desperate need of a laptop computer. Well, maybe not desperate, but I really really really want one. And it would be useful at school. I’ve wanted one for a couple years now, and every time we get money set aside for it, something else comes up (usually medical), and so I never manage to get one. The one I want is $550-600. The one I had I bought used back in 1999. It was a Windows 95, and it was one of the original Pentium processors. I can’t even remember what speed it was, but it was s l o w. You could only do one thing at a time on it. Any more and it would lock up and you’d have to restart it. So when we moved Mom down here in last May, we hooked up her computer and I used it for some internet classes. When we moved her back to Tulsa, she said she wouldn’t use it anyway, so I could keep it here to finish my classes. (Prior to that, I was using the computer at work which was a pain.) Since then, I’ve been given 2 computers. The first one is only a 12G hard drive, which is still 100% better than what I had, but I couldn’t connect to and stay on the internet. Then Chris’ dad gave me his old computer. It’s a Windows 98 and he found out that MS was not going to be supporting it anymore, so he upgraded. And he says there’s not a thing wrong with it either. I haven’t hooked it up yet, I was waiting until we got Mom moved and now she doesn’t think she’s going to have enough room. We’ll see.

The point of all that – actually, the point before I went on that tangent up there – is that Dad decided he wanted to buy me a computer for my birthday. And he’s pissed at me cuz I told him I couldn’t let him buy me an $800 birthday present (so I stretched it a little). I swear we are forever arguing about money.

Chris told me a couple weeks ago that he had some surprise planned for my birthday. He knows I hate waiting on surprises, so he always plans one, so a couple days ago I came in and asked him what my surprise was – hoping he’d just automatically blurt it out since I’d made a point of not asking for 2 weeks. He looked at me with this totally blank look on his face! Then he remembered, and whispered it to Mom, and she ran around singing “I know what you’re getting. I know what you’re getting.” like we used to when we were kids.

Originally I’d asked for a deep freeze for my birthday, but we haven’t gotten the garage cleared out enough yet, so we’ll put that off until Christmas. Instead, I’m getting a privy! I love camping, always have. Hate the facilities though. Usually it’s just port-a-potties, and we’ve all had experience with those. Sometimes though, you do what’s called primitive camping – which translates to “There ain’t no bathrooms here”. And usually that’s okay too, cuz you’re someplace nicely wooded, so you can find someplace private. And then there’s dove hunting at Sandy Sanders. A desert. With cactus and mesquite, and not much else. No trees. And what trees there are, there might just be a hunter hiding behind. Not very private at all. So after 4 years of complaining, I get a privy! I’m pretty excited. It’s a shower stall too which will come in handy.

I’ve lost my digital camera. I stashed it someplace and can’t remember where. I’ve looked in all my usual places, and a few unusual ones, but it’s nowhere to be found. It’ll turn up one of these days and I’ll have some pictures to post.

I’ll try to post more often. Shorter posts too!