Sunday This and That...

It's been a weird couple of months - as you know - but I have declared it time to get back to normal, well nearly normal.

This - New Traditions:
You may remember that the Christmas season speaks volumes to the child in me, i.e., I adore it all - the flowers, the gifts, the wrappings, the music, the food, the tree.  Name it and I love it.  But circumstances change and sometimes one must start some new traditions. 

We have lovely plans for Christmas dinner  Our friend from South Africa has joined us for several years and will be here again, as well as a young couple from Lebanon.  He has been a family friend for years, but she is his brand new bride.  With both families currently in Lebanon, they will come to dinner with us.  (Hope we don't ruin them forever for American Christmases.  They are Druze, so we have no idea what they expect.)  Mitchell will do most of the cooking, but he says he will allow me to make a pie and season the pork roast.

With the addition of the harp, we no longer have a place for the "big" Christmas tree.  It always went here:

So, I went out and bought a table-top variety this year.  Put on the traditional tree-trimming music and went to town today and now we do have a small tree.  It will have to do for a few years, until I can downsize my office and share it as a music room/office with Mitchell.

Because I was a bit bummed at the pitiful smaller than normal tree, I decided that I need to make a special effort this year to find other little things that make me happy this season. So the next few weeks I hope to share some things that I find interesting or fun this season.  I promise to carry my camera all the time to capture them.

That - It's my Blogaversary!

When I pulled up this screen I saw that this is my 400th post.  Thank you for hanging in and reading the drivel.  Thanks so much for your support of the past several years, and especially the past two months.   Wish I had planned a big party for us, but as part of my decision to get back to normal, here is a commitment to post at least twice a week.

Report from Beowulf*

Rehab is going very well according to Beowulf, my physical therapist.  Actually, I can see tiny gains every day.  I finally got to the painful part last week but, thanks to miracle of good drugs, even that is bearable. I have nearly 100% of the motion back (passively) and am working on active motion.  That means that Beowulf can get my arm all the way up to 170 degrees and external rotation to about 80 degrees  (I need 180 and 90, respectively.)  I can now reach forward and use a mouse, but can't pick up that cup of tea sitting next to me.  I have no strength at all and they want to keep it that way for another month.  By January I think things may actually start getting normal again.

* You remember Beowulf ... from English lit.  "When that Apryl in its sura sota, the drought of March has pierced to the roote, and bathed every vein in sweet liquor" or some such ...  He was the hero of the middle English epic poem who ripped off Grendel's arm in battle and won the day.   Call me Grendel.

Feeling Thankful

Thanksgiving has always been my favorite celebration.  Even as a child i realized that it carried none of the angst of Christmas; that it was all about family.  Usually that meant just the four of us, but now and then the Grandparents would make the long drive to join us.

By college, my "family" grew to include the family of my BFF Elizabeth, who would whisk me off to Maryland to share the weekend with her exxuberant Italian family!  A weekend when gnocci and lasagna shared top billing with Tom.  (Telling you this requires me to explain that i went to college in a time when flying home for a four-day weekend was too expensive, and college girls did not have their own cars!)

As a young adult i seldom got to my nuclear family's for Thanksgiving, but those were the years whan "family" meant those who were not traveling.  You've been to those dinner - the ones where everyone brings a dish and someone else who doesn't have plans.  Those dinners where five people bring green bean casserole.  Those years when family swells to include lots of new folks - some of whom you may not know well or see again.  But still , family for one warm afternoon of football and dinner.

For the past 10 - 12 years Thanksgiving for us has been a trip to Hilton Head Island- initially to play tennis, but in recent years to share with our extended family.  Yesterday we were thinking of all the good times we have had here...  the year that James and Vandy came all the way from Albuquerque, and the times that Abbe and her husband have spent couple of days with us on their way to Florida to see their grandchildren.  And, the years that Elizabeth and Chuck have come up from Florida - recreating my college memories.  Or,recent visits with Dora and the Colonel, who last year introduced us to his project of documenting grave yards..

This year our family is spread to the winds with Elizabeth in Seattle meeting her new granddaughter, Abbe already in Florida, and Dora welcoming that handsome new son-in-law for the weekend.  So, we will celebrate small today, but drive to my brother's tomorrow for the weekend.

The rest of my family will be here today, too.  My blogger family.  And for all of you i give big thanks.

The General Welfare

In case you are looking for a way to help, here are some things we learned from Isabel:

1 - volunteer.  The red cross needs all the able-bodied folks they can get, especially with local knowledge.  They send in great organizers, but need troops.  If you live in the area and have some time, this is a great way to help.

2 - volunteer.  The food kitchens will be rolling in any minute now.  The various state Baptist conventions do a terrific job of providing hot meals, but they may need extra hands to cook, clean and deliver.  Local churches and agencies will need help, as will individual families.  You may be able to donate goods and food to these local groups for direct distribution.

Don't live in the area?

3 - give.  As much as you might want to collect "stuff", you need a distribution system.  in these early days, they need money more.  Our first choice is the Baptists.  Its the Home Mission Board - to pay for all that food.  They get good marks for low admin costs and using all the money for relief.  They even pay the credit card charge themselves rather than taking it out of the donation.  (We aren't Baptists.)  To donate go here.

Also the Lutherans.  They do a good job of getting the right stuff to the right place.  (Not Lutheran either.)

There are plenty of other good places to give .. Google "hurricane sandy relief fund" for lots of places that are collecting.  Just be sure to check that they don't take too much for admin.  You can check CharityNavigator.org for information.  i've linked to their sandy page.

This is going to take a long time and a lot of dollars.  This will take a huge village. we can be part of it.

FITH - a small cheat

Cutting stems left handed is nearly as difficult as writing, altho am improving at both.

Before sandy sends her worst to us i cut everything thats in bloom - well, not the chrşysanthemums - which should be fine.  So, i have a few dahlias, zinnias, scabiosa, and the energizer bunny of the garden ... my aunts mini roses.*    The cheat is that i cut them midweek.

Thanks to Jane for hosting FITH.  Stop over and she who else is expecting you today!

*Dont think ive really talked about aunt agnes.  She loved plants and digging in the dirt.  She never had a planned "garden", but rather plants she loved planted ... wherever!  My love of digging in the dirt absolutely came from agnes.  

The bunny in my garden is standing in a way she so often stood that i see her whenever i see it - including when i view this blog.  The mini-rose came from her yard at virginia beach.