A Little Catching Up

Things have settled down a little here. The mall is still closed, and many churches, including ours, are holding prayer vigils. It's been very odd to live in a town where this kind of thing has happened, but I think things will slowly return to some semblance of normal because that's all we can do.

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The house is decorated and the ingredients for fudge and cookies have been bought and are ready to be baked. Most presents have been bought and most knitting projects have been completed and are ready to ship to their new homes. We'll be staying here for Christmas and enjoying a quiet and peaceful Christmas. But of course, if anyone wants to come over, the door is always open! Just be prepared to to be licked to death by a fuzzy white dog.

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I've added a few more blogs to my list of daily reads.

• R.E.H. at Ramblings of a Madman has been blogging for a mere couple of months and man is he good! His writing is honest, raw, and funny.

• Macoosh at A Chuisle Mo Chroi . . . always has something interesting to say. She's really busy with a new job right now, but keep checking in with her. She lived in Ireland for a while, which is reason enough for me to be in awe. I'd love to go to Ireland, especially now as I listen to Celtic Women singing "Oh Holy Night." But I digress.

• Karen at Smiling Through It All is another wonderful writer who has already done and experienced so much in her young life, that she makes me wonder where all the time has gone. There's always something interesting going on over there.

So, go check them out!

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Now I'm listening to Diana Krall singing "Jingle Bells." I love my iPod. I could turn the TV to "Sounds of the Season" which isn't too bad, really. Lots of standards and great singers. We turn that on every time we leave so that Cosette will have something to listen to. Al would prefer the classic rock station.

I've been taking it easy this week, sort of. Not only because we had 5 inches of snow and the roads were horrible, but also because I seem to have done something to my back. I know I fell on the ice Saturday, but could there be a delay before I felt it because it wasn't until Monday that my lower back started hurting. Anyway, it's slowly getting better, but I think it acted as a trigger for the MS because I'm having some trouble with my the left side of my body being a little weak. Nothing so bad that I can't keep going, but enough that I have to take breaks a lot throughout the day. I hate that. Put greenery and cranberry garland on the fireplace mantle, then sit down. Put a load of laundry in the washer and take the dry stuff upstairs. Then sit down while I fold. And why just sit when I can play tug-the-duck with the dog. Luckily, pretty much any activity with a young dog is followed by a nap. I told Al that if I'm still feeling this bad by Monday, I'll make an appointment with a doctor.

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Now I'm listening to Loreena McKennitt singing "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen."

Saturday night I'm going to see Mandy Patinkin sing at the Performing Arts Center. I'm very excited and am hoping the next snow storm holds off long enough for me to get the there and get home. I took pity on Al and told him he didn't have to go with me. He was a good sport and went with me when Mr. Patinkin came to San Antonio. That was where we discovered that he is the most amazing singer and actor, but he's also really odd. Not bad, but there was some audience participation that was a little different. Anyone who wanted to could come up on stage and at a certain part in a song, they could all run up and touch him wherever they wanted. OooooKaaaaayyyy. I just wanna hear ya sing, dude. Actually, that's not true. If Al hadn't been there, I might have participated. I've loved Many Patinkin since I listened to the Evita cast recording in 1978.

Anyway, Al said that if the roads are bad, he'd take me and come pick me up. Is he the greatest or what?

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Gotta go. "Snowfall" by Manhattan Transfer is playing and I just have to stop and listen to it. I just can't help imaging snow softly falling outside, the Christmas tree lit, and Al and me slow dancing to this song in front of a roaring fire. *Sigh* Who says I'm not a romantic?