Talk about falling off the face of the earth, huh? It’s a horribly long and wrong story that I do not even wish to get into tonight. Not even. Instead, I want to talk about watches.

Instead, I want to talk about the Orient watches at Kenmar Watches. You know I picked this one because it is pink, right? Yes, that is too pink. It’s a magenta-ish dark pink. Isn’t it gorgeous? For a man’s watch, I mean?

If that doesn’t appeal, Kenmar has plenty more. Did you know New Balance makes watches? Me either, I thought they just did shoes! The most fun thing about Kenmar watches, though, is the search feature, because you can type “pink” in that search box (like I did), and you will get seventeen pages of results. Seventeen, people. Please excuse me, I have some, ummm, research to do. Like sixteen more pages worth!

And then I need to post some project 365 stuff. I actually took a picture of GuitarGuy yesterday, and he is practically panting to see himself on the internets. HA!

:booking: It’s a week or two later than you’d expect, and it may be almost a trite question, but … what were your favorite books from 2008?

I think my favorite books from 1008 were the Harry Potter ones I read and The Reincarnationist. I also read Created to be His Helpmeet, and that has probably been the most practically helpful book I’ve ever read, even though I can’t say I enjoyed it. It has too many hard truths for that, but it probably kept me from divorcing my husband before I figured out his “mean-ness” was actually sickness.

Let’s Move on to the Project 365 catchup. I am really enjoying the prod to document my day this way. And yes, I do plan to develop and scrapbook the pictures. I have the materials, so the only cost will be an album and developing the prints. Pretty cheap to create a book of me, right? I may even have an album over there somewhere.

Day 6 Social Security

Tuesday, I took my husband to the Social Security Office to help him apply for disability. I have no idea if he will qualify or not, but i do know that he can’t work. “Change in mental status” is such a cruel phrase. It seems pretty innocent until you live with it awhile. Until you realize how much your spouse doesn’t remember anymore. Until you walk him through the steps of government paperwork.

Day 7 Ang. has Sparkly Balls

Wednesday, I went back to Wal-Mart to pick up more meds for dh. And other stuff. I had seen a Christmas wreath I wanted to make, and so I talked myself into buying the stuff for it. I justified it by saying I could spend $8 now or $32 next year, and really, $8 was so much better. When I sent the photo of the ones I was planning to use for myself to Ang., I asked her if she wanted one to, and she did and sent me paypal for these. Mine will be silver, gold and ivory. I bought the meds, materials for two wreaths, a huge roll of wrapping paper and several boxes of chocolate covered cherries for $32. QOTD: Some people love Christmas, I love the after Christmas sales.

Yes, I did text her that she had big sparkly balls as I was leaving the store. Yes, she texted back “giggle”.

There will probably be a Project 365 shot of the finished wreaths, but I have to clear off my desk office furniture to make them. Inless I use the dining room table……. NO! You know what I need? I need one of those hard top folding tables to replace my soft topped card table. That would give me a better space for puzzles, cards and all sorts of other stuff.

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to spend the day with my dad. This has not always been the case, but……that was then. He got older and learned to talk a little bit. I got older and learned that silence is not always a bad thing, and ….. somewhere along the way, we just started enjoying being together.

I think for me, it is the absolute freedom from responsibility. When Daddy calls and says let’s go, I get dressed, grab a lipstick, my cellphone and my knitting and we walk out the door. He drives and he pays and I ride and walk and knit. And shop.

Our favorite place to go is Myrtle Beach to the Tanger Outlet Mall. We went there today, and picked up the shoes I had decided not to get before Christmas. We picked up some stuff he wanted, too. And then we both needed jeans, so we went to Vanity Fair. They did not have the “blu” brand I have been looking for, but I did find jeans that fit me well. I was particularly thrilled to walk in wearing a size 12 and walk out with 2 pair of brand new size 8s in the bag. No wonder I’ve been hating the way my pants fit lately, huh?

After we left Tanger, we went down the street to Myrtle Beach Mall. We walked around it for a bit and bought nothing. Then we went to Broadway at the Beach and walked around there. I had to keep reminding myself that it was Saturday, because all three shopping venues were mostly empty. That’s why we were able to visit so many places today. There were lots of closed stores, too. It was kind of sad, actually.

Anyway, I had a great time all day until I got home and found out my middle son had run away not long after lunch, and just returned not long before I got back myself. Yeah.

As for Daddy, I don’t know why he likes hanging out with me. I’m certainly not as much fun as a barrel of monkeys lately, yk? But tomorrow’s SPS will be the picture I took of us with my phone at Broadway. It will be the second one I took, because in the first one, you can see my eyes and his nose and mouth. That’s what happens when we both stand and try to get ourselves in the same frame.

Okay, I know I might seem to be fixated on the weather a bit. But really. In my last post, I talked about how cold it was going to get, and folks, believe me, it did. get. cold. But tonight, Christmas Eve, mind you, I am sitting here in my tie-dyed tee thinking, about turning the fans back on! I was just outside for a few minutes, and I do believe the temperature is rising instead of falling!

Lately, I have weeded out some of my too-large clothes, and I’ve been looking at turtlenecks and mocknecks. I picked out a few this past week (for Christmas, of course) but I’m thinking it might be time to look at tees now! Can’t you see me in some of these UFC t-shirts? All that rough stuff? No? Me either, but I could totally pull off one of the johnny cash t-shirts, right? Like, the one with the big guitar? As if I get much time to play guitar. Maybe I should go with seinfeld t-shirts, instead. That’s like totally my hair up there, you know!

In truth, though, I’d like to wear the turtlenecks for a little longer. I like it cool but not frigid. I’d be thrilled with a couple of weeks in the 50s. And then, we can go right to 75 with a light breeze for several months

I want to shop on Black Friday. Just once! I seriously never have. And this year, I won’t be able to either, because I have to go to Cheerleading Competition instead. Booooooo! I know you can find good deals on Cyber Monday as well, but… you know, it’s hard to get run over by crazed toy shoppers, and folks wanting $200 computers if I am sitting here at my desk shopping by mouse.

BTW, it’s looking like vacation time for me. It’s not a vacation that I want to take, but I’m pretty much out of options. I’ll be back as soon as I can, and until then……..go read a few magazines. Maybe by the time I get back, I will have whittled my pile away to nothing.

Ok, ya’ll. Despite abysmal customer service where they told me they didn’t have what I needed, and I should bring my guitar in for repair, until I walked by the container of saddle blanks and said “oh, can you find one of these shaped like this“, and the little boy said “oh, yes”……….. I managed to pick up the stuff I needed to repair my guitar. And also a pretty healthy lust for a new pink Alvarez. Here’s the pictorial proof:

I’ve already been playing it, so I’d call this a worthy tackle.

Yes, I have. I have finally succumbed to the Croc rage. Sorta. See, I have avoided crocs for their pure-tee ugliness since they first came out. But I have a love affair with denim from way back. I’d live in it if I could, except for when I want to wear high heels, and even then, if it didn’t make my mama frown, I would maybe wear denim. So when I saw these shoes, it was all over but the buying. I mean. Jeans. For my feet. Only plastic. Hello!

Yeah.

The good news is that they aren’t really Crocs, but a brand called Funky Feet. Now that I’ve worn them, though, I imagine it’s only a matter of time until I get more. And opportunity. Let’s not forget opportunity.

So, then, just in the middle of my frenzied research on cholesterol and how to lower it and all that, my connection dropped. Kaput. Gone. No internets. Boooooooooooo! So I called tech support, and the lady took me through some things, and she decided I needed a new modem. She said it would be here in three days, and I said that was unacceptable, and she promised to overnight it instead, and I was unhappy, but I though I could deal with 24 hours off-line.

But on Thursday, guess what came? That’s right: NOTHING. So I called the competitor, who I;d been considering switching to anyway, and they made me a pretty nice offer, and said they’d have an installer out Friday. And they did, and life was good. I got back on line just in time to go camping, which picture you saw.

And then on Monday, my cousin and I were finalizing plans via email for a face to face midway between her place and mine for Sunday when she wrote, “and Grandma is in the hospital”. Well, it didn’t look real good about Grandma, we knew she would not be recovering, and we emailed through the week, and I was a bit distracted, and that is what was going on in that mostly silent week between the SPS’s. Check email, switch the laundry, check email, fix food, eat, check email. On Friday, we postponed our face-to-face, knowing that our aunt who was to join us would not want to leave her mother.

Saturday, I spent with Mama, and we had a good time, as we always do. We shopped like lunatics, and I bought more crack shoes. Behold the gloriousness of high heel platform wing tip mary janes:

And then I came home, and compulsively checked my email for a few hours. And Sunday, there was church, and a trip to Granny’s to give her some pictures, and more compulsive email checking. My cousin called early this morning, and Grandma died last night. We will be having a face to face this week after all, because she will be buried tomorrow, beside Papa, who was buried just 8 short weeks ago. It’s been a rough year for grandparents, ya know?

My emotions are so mixed here. I have never been close to Grandma, for a variety of reasons that are really no longer here nor there. There are lessons learned as there always are. And in this case more than any of the others, there are the lingering “what ifs”. There is a hurt and confused little girl in here, trying to make peace with a past that even the grownup me doesn’t understand.

I guess that just about catches us up, now, doesn’t it?