ishtar79

Lovely day - even though I spent most of it inside, with my back to a window view of skyscrapers climbing against a bright blue sky. It was in the 70sF, started out in the 50sF and slightly warmer than yesterday, with a nice breeze. So I took a walk up towards the cookie place. The cookie people have grown used to me - and tell that they will see me next week. I even know some of their names. There's a lot of turn over as would be expected - customer service is a tough job. You've a lot of down time, and then have to deal with impatient customers, many that don't speak your language. (It's NYC, one gets used to hearing 500 languages a day after a while.)

I'm wearing the new cat shirt that I bought via Amazon - it's not perfect, the green background dye is slightly off, and there's a little fading on one of the cat designs? But other than that - it's fine, and I only really plan on wearing it at home any how.

And per mother's request - I'm hunting trips to Mackinac Island, Michigan and Chicago that we can go on together. If you've done this or know of any, feel free to drop [ETA: positive] suggestions/recs in the comments below.[I only want positive recommendations for Mackinac Island. I decided to take out the bold, and underline Mackinac Island, because the two responses I got were about Michigan. And really really negative on Mackinac Island. I was kind of hoping for the exact opposite?]

Apparently, Mother's sister suggested it - her younger sister lives in Michigan. She didn't provide additional help or advice on the matter.

Making my way through Rivals - finished the first season on Hulu. It's fun, and reminds me a lot of 1980s prime time soap miniseries and shows, such as The Thorn Birds, I'll Take Manhattan, Dynasty, etc. They were fun too. I think there's a bit more to Rivals - mainly because it's a satire, the 1980s shows weren't satires exactly.

Also, gave up on the satiric romance fantasy Long Live Evil by Caitlin Rozakis, again. ( Read more... )

And still reading This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me by Illona Andrews - which has an entertaining twist. ( Read more... )

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Friday Five

1. In an average week, how many nights do you eat home-cooked dinners?

Pretty much every day.

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Firefox keeps kicking me out of all of my logins - if they've not been active for a while. I get that it is a security precaution. But it's also annoying.

It's easier to forgive painful slights than it is to forget them, unfortunately? And even when I do, my body remembers them. This brings to mind a Sondheim song, Children Will Listen, in it is the lyric: careful the things you say, careful the things you do...children will listen

I think it's important to be mindful of what we say to each other - because a seemingly careless barb said or posted in the heat of a moment, which we or you or I may forget immediately thereafter, could sink in and damage the unlucky soul on the other end. Kindness and mindfulness often go hand in hand, and are lot harder than either appears.

I also think - music often captures the difficult emotions we can't quite find the words or means to describe. Music and paintings, photography, art of all sorts. Some artists create to music, while some musicians create looking at art.

The outside world at times feels sharp edged. And it can be difficult to find the soft edges.

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I asked my mother if I should/could come to see her in July, since Jury Duty could be anywhere from August to December. But mother doesn't want to do that - mainly because she has no idea what to do with me and likes to keep her life on Hilton Head separate from her family. (And to be fair? I've become incredibly high maintenance, unlike my brother and niece who low maintenance - diet issues, bad knees, back issues, special pillow, and can't drive. Although she was nervous about them visiting them as well, she had no idea what to do with them - and was worried they'd be bored. We have to travel too far - is the problem? She live about a 1-2 hour plane ride away. So just a quick weekend getaway doesn't quite work in regards to expense, and travel time.)

I don't really want advice on this. Mother would prefer to do something else with me, but we've not figured it out, and there are obstacles. My knees. Upcoming jury duty. Her health. My job.

My mother is like her own mother - generous to a fault, but undemanding, and not liking to impose or inconvenience anyone. And I, alas, am like them both. We don't like being high maintenance, or asking for help in my family. We like to be independent, and not put anyone out. So I may physically be high maintenance, but not emotionally. In fact, the first time my grandmother had a birthday party was when she turned 90, because her birthday fell on the day after Christmas. And she didn't want to make a fuss. Everyone in my immediate family hates to be the center of attention, doesn't like a fuss being made over them, and doesn't really understand folks that do.

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Looked up Jilly Coopers Rivals series on Good Reads, and discovered from the reviews the following:
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Off to bed.

[ETA: Has anyone else noticed a problem with unconsciously skipping words when writing, and going back and thinking - oops what happened to that word? I know I wrote it, I remember writing it, but it's not there. Damn it. ]