Remix

Inspirational song: Kiss Them for Me (Siouxsie and the Banshees)

As I said a few days ago, I intentionally declined to make much of a Halloween costume this year. But I didn't just sit around in pj's, wondering whether we would get a single trick-or-treater. I got all tarted up and went to see my favorite comedian with my husband and one of our good friends. Lots of people at the theater were in costume, but the three of us looked like bog standard normies, not withstanding my unusually heavy application of makeup.

I was a little late getting ready, because I zipped over to take family photos of the kids in costume, before they went out to trick-or-treat. Little Fezzik was unhappy and didn't want to pose, but Inigo, Westley, and Buttercup were all into it. They showed Val the Princess Bride for the first time yesterday, and she paid attention for a lot of it, but not all. She asked to watch it again today, so that is a big win.

The show tonight was at the Paramount in downtown Denver. That's where I saw Suzy/Eddie Izzard most recently, and where I've seen a couple other shows since I came back to Colorado. It's a neat venue, decorated in an art deco style. I didn't take photos from inside, following instructions not to do so during the performance. I focused on Eddie, as she selected choice bits from the first 35 years of her career, rounding them out with new material on either side. It was a lot like watching a rock band that has been around a while. The audience was listening to the new stuff with rapt attention, but when one of the old classics came out, the place exploded in thunderous applause. 

She expected to be out of comedy by now, having tried to break into British politics a couple of years ago. She said she is about to stand for office again, in Brighton, so if she wins election, rather than her returning to Denver to perform again, maybe next time we all go look her up in Brighton. Don't threaten me with a good time, woman. I'll do it. I just gotta renew that long-expired passport.

Zs

Inspirational song: Uptown Girl (Billy Joel)

I've been super resistant to using urgent care clinics in the past. I guess it's a result of scare segments on the news. "Ooh, this guy went to urgent care to have a splinter removed, and they charged him $2000." Until today, I really bought into that. But then the Mr enlightened me that our primary care has what amounts to a satellite, same-day clinic over at the Walgreens. All our information is in their computer system, our co-pays are the same. And Walgreens is the only chain pharmacy left in town that Tricare will allow us to use (pretty sure). We both had had enough of passing the same cough back and forth, so we went in one after another to see the nurse practitioner there. He currently has the worse cough, but I have the worse sore throat. It seemed to be enough for the NP to give us Z-packs, tell us to turn the humidifier back on, and not to use Sudafed to dry out nasal passages. He wants us moist not dry. He hinted but didn't outright say long covid, but I got the message that he thought it was possible. I think it was "people are finding more lingering coughs and fatigue," or something along those lines. I just hope it works quickly. I mean, it's only a five day course of meds. Things should be quiet here soon, right?

I had to wait ages for my meds. This was the first time I had gone over there, so they hadn't gotten my insurance right on the pharmacy side. There were extra numbers typed in, and Tricare kicked it back. Once it was done and I was paying my 65 cent co-pay, I asked what it would have been without insurance. She said probably 50 bucks. Ouch. Dumbest medical care system on earth. We are all just profit sources for dudes who own large yachts that come with their own little yachts. Nesting dolls of money hoarding.

Hm. I might be extra grumpy if that is where my "I had a cough" anecdote ended up. Sounds like bedtime to me.

What Did I Expect

Inspirational song: Black Coffee in Bed (Squeeze)

From start to finish, we ended up with a grand total of about four inches of snow. If they had just stuck with the initial predictions, which were right around there, I would have been pleased to meet expectations with the first snowfall of the season. But no, they had to talk up this Snowmaggedon that was never going to hit my part of the county, no matter how much I begged. There were places farther south, different Denver suburbs for example, that had darned near knee deep accumulation. There's only thin coverage in my back yard now, after dogs have tromped on it a bit, and it hasn't been above freezing all day. I wish they had managed expectations better.

We were all so worn out today. I don't think any of us had good sleep last night. The boy kept asking to go out, including bringing me one of his snow boots, knowing that he needed shoes on to go "a-a-out?" We kept saying no, knowing how much he hates cold. We watched movies most of the day, and grandpa and Dmitri napped together twice. At one point during their second nap, Valerie fell asleep in my lap, when the home remodeling video we were watching together bored her. I was the only one who couldn't fully fall asleep (until after they left, for 15-20 minutes), because I couldn't shut my brain down.

Between all the plants we brought in, the pumpkins, and the latest round of storage boxes we have set out to sort, the main floor of this house is a crowded wreck. I should be glad it was such a nap-heavy day. There was no room for serious playing. Any time they tried to run around and be goofy, someone would end up tripping or bonking on something. I think the things I am tasked to sort will primarily end up in the donation bin. I need my space back.

(For pictures, sorry, looks like my front-facing camera was smudged.)

Big Cold Little Snow

Inspirational quote: "Get used to disappointment." (Westley, The Princess Bride)

Some days, the hardest part is coming up with the song at the top of the page. Today I had to give up and try something new. It's today's theme, after all.

It was fun while it lasted. The first three football games of the season, kicking butt and getting national attention. Then the ghosts of Buffs past moved in, and it has been same old, same old. Time to start dreaming of next year.

I didn't end up waking up repeatedly through the night to look for snow. Good thing I didn't bother. There was barely a dusting when I finally did get up. And as I alluded to last night, the heaviest snow seemed to skip us and head down to the Palmer Divide, between Colorado Springs and Castle Rock. I suppose there is still a chance for some accumulation here besides on the grass, but mostly the roads just got wet and it barely even piled up on the cars. On the bright side, it didn't break any of our trees that still have leaves on them.

There was a Halloween parade downtown. Our kids like to go to that, in their family themed costumes. This year's theme was the Princess Bride. My daughter and son-in-law bought well-made Westley and Buttercup costumes, and they did a good job making the kids into Inigo Montoya and Fezzik. Unfortunately, it was so cold the babies couldn't walk around. Even huddled under blankets in their stroller-wagon, they were freezing and miserable. Valerie recovered like a champ, but Dmitri was left cranky for the rest of the day. It seems like maybe more teething, the way he was difficult to console. I hope that was the whole problem. I hope it wasn't a reaction to the cold. The little dude will have a wretched time growing up in Colorado if he doesn't adapt early on.

Warning

Inspirational song: You May Be Right (Billy Joel)

I'm hunkering down tonight. Snow is incoming. By now, you should know exactly how my night will be. I will try to sleep, and starting around 2 am, I will be popping up on my knees, looking out the window above my bed, wanting to see the first flakes start to fall. I'll do that six or seven times during the night. There are places around the Denver metro area that could see over a foot of snow. Here, in my part of the county, we might get as much as six inches, by the end of the storm Sunday. I don't know why we always get less, but such is my curse for choosing this spot.

We did a few things to prepare for the cold blast. I carried in a few of my porch plants, as I said I would do. Mr S-P cleared out a few things from the garage, and donated his old table saw to Restore. While he was digging through things, he found Elsa's old backpack, and he stuck it on Saoirse and pushed her inside the house. I don't know what that thing smelled like, either a long-dead dog or some scary thing from the mountain, but it terrified the cats. Athena was so upset she poofed to her largest size, arched her back, and glared at Saoirse. I put my hands on her, worried there was going to be a huge fight, and I could feel Athena shivering in fear. Even Harvey came up with his tail enormous, and sniffed her. Saoirse has been pouting all evening, like this hurt her feelings. Poor girl. I keep giving her extra snuggles.

We took a surprise trip down to Denver this evening, to buy a set of cast iron pans from Facebook marketplace. On the way home, the cold really started to settle in. While it was still reaching highs in the 70s and 80s this month, it was hard to believe the seasons had truly changed. Pulling the pumpkins in off the porch a couple hours ago, I believe. Oh, yes, I believe.

Zebra

Inspirational song: Sometimes It's Easy (Hoyt Axton)

There is no good reason for me to stress my brain out tonight. I've been fighting a long migraine, and it feels like it might win this round. I just need to sleep it off.

When I was looking around for something to take a picture of for tonight, I noticed my zebra plant was looking wilty. It's a drama queen, ready to scream for attention as soon as the soil gets less than soggy. They're actually very difficult plants to get right. That I have managed to keep this one alive nearly a year, and have figured out its cues, makes me proud. I mixed up some tap water and fishtank conditioner and gave the queen her attention, and she perked right up. At least someone around here is easy enough to fix.

 

Storm Incoming

Inspirational song: Mad World (Tears for Fears)

I've spent the last three hours with a live news stream, listening to the reports out of a state I've only visited once, over ten years ago. Another day in America, another unbelievable tragedy. My heart hurts, and nothing stops it.

This day didn't go as planned. We expected people over tonight, but Mr S-P's hacking cough scared them away. I felt fine all day. Him less so. He has had enough NyQuil to fall asleep sitting up now. I should chase him to bed.

In lieu of our plans, I focused on plants. The first hard freezes are now about 48 hours out, and they swear there will be snow and bitter cold over the weekend. I brought three pots of amaryllis inside, and finally got around to repotting my ficus tree. The ficus benjamina was in an enormous pot, way bigger than its root ball, and it was difficult to find a place inside the house to overwinter it. I had to remove about 50 pounds of rocks that some short-sighted woman put on top of the soil in an attempt to prevent it from being a cat's toilet (that didn't work). I cursed at myself with every handful of white gravel I picked out of it. I could smell something pungent, like maybe there was a hint of root rot, caused by excessive moisture retention under those rocks. I roughed up the root ball, and Mr S-P picked it up and plopped it in a smaller pot (I couldn't lift it). I even pruned it a little bit, to allow it to fit in the corner of the dining room, sort of. More pruning may come.

Before the snow, I should pull in the big coleus out front, and maybe the last surviving Martha Washington geranium. I could get another few weeks out of them, if the weather goes back to mild.

The Nerve

Inspirational song: My Own Worst Enemy (Lit)

There's uncomfortable, and then there is whatever fresh hell is descending upon my nervous system. I am bothered by every noise I hear. Cars driving by grate on me. Doors and footsteps are like percussive strikes. God help me if Saoirse starts barking. Mr S-P is in an online meeting, and his computer was demanding updates to the Teams app, and every forceful, exasperated sigh or exclamation of frustration he made trying to get in had me flinching like I'm in mortal danger. I ought to be in a soundproof room this evening, but I am nowhere near one. This is a loud house, both inside and outside it.

I wildly overslept this morning. I had tossed and turned until after 2 am, so I went back to sleep after first wake, and didn't open my eyes again until 10:20. Oops. Today was my day to set up Rotary, so I had to race through a shower and dressing, only to arrive and find another setup person had beat me to the punch. For all the stress of getting ready, I thought I had managed to put myself together well. My hair cooperated, and I dressed in my best Katharine Hepburn clothes. I thought I'd overcome my challenges sufficiently to be functional for the rest of the day. I came home, ready to start cleaning up for game night tomorrow, and my whole body just threw me into a chair and told me to shut up.

When our daughter was here last week, she arrived with some sort of ick in her respiratory system. Negative covid test, but lots of coughing and other symptoms. She has been gone three days, and now her dad and I are starting to feel and sound yucky on our own. He has coughed his way through his meeting, and I'm chilled and needing silence. I'm inclined to ask "now what," but I've learned better than to tempt fate.

All Go No Chill

Inspirational song: Dos Orugitas (Encanto)

The ottoman was gone when we got back to the ARC. Just to get that out of the way. We didn't get it, but we have established that one of those would be handy downstairs, now that the TV room is functional again.

Almost immediately after the kids got here, we loaded them into the car and ran our errands. We started out at Petsmart, as we were out of fish food for the pond and the good, dust-free cat litter for upstairs. We tried to get Val to look at kittens (just look), but it was hard to drag her away from the lizards. Who is this child? Dmitri slept through the whole stop.

Next was La Mariposa for lunch. Both kids did really well putting away quesadillas. There were a few leftovers that they finished off before going home. I'm a bit amazed. These children? Eating heartily?

We stopped at the ARC on the way to King Soopers, but only grandpa went inside, to see whether the ottoman was still available. When he said it was not, I was extra glad we didn't get the kids out of their car seats. It was enough to take them around King Soopers on the other end of the parking lot. We split up at the end, so I could race back to the bathrooms in the back of the store with Val, while the boys went to pick out a couple big pumpkins out front. It was so cool, seeing the look on Dmitri's face, when he recognized me from a distance, when we met back up. I think I am still giddy from that smile and wave.

We had more than enough time when we returned for a full movie (Tangled), and a long, splashy bath before they were picked up. It was already full dark when their daddy got them, so we dressed them in new Bluey jammies. I received a snapchat showing how quickly the boy fell asleep once home. I feel that in my bones. I will probably conk out as fast once I allow myself to lie down. This was a long day.

Reduce Reuse Etc

Inspirational song: Big Bottom (Spinal Tap)

I didn't really want to use that as tonight's song. But as earworms go, this is proving to be remarkably pernicious, and it won't leave me alone. I gave in and gave it top billing. Maybe now I can stop hearing just the chorus echo in my head.

I'm not typically a thrift store shopper. I'm more the drop off than pick up type. Today we went to one with the kids, in search of clothes that could be altered to make this year's Halloween costumes. I don't know whether I have permission to say what they are going as, so I'll skip that part. We searched the whole store, just for fun, not just the kid clothes section. I ended up getting a small, shiny, silver-adjacent bowl, while the kids loaded up on stuff. I'm not even sure what all they got, other than a Bambi plushie for Valerie and one of those Playskool popper toys that Dmitri pushed all over the store and would not be separated from. Valerie and I found a big ottoman that I might go back for tomorrow, if it's still there. I need something to put my feet up on, now that we have turned the basement room back into a TV lounge.

I know people who think thrift shopping is the absolute best, but I just come away from those stores feeling a little sad. I suppose I could look inside myself and figure out why, but I haven't done so yet. Maybe it is the sense of abandoned dreams I get from some of these objects. Maybe it's the rejection of trappings of the past, a projection of how I feel when I hold my own donation items and decide I'm not that person anymore. There was a little schadenfreude seeing Beanie Babies hanging on the rack, with sub-two dollar price tags on them. I wrote the family text group, saying, "some 90s person's retirement dreams up in smoke."

Back to Status Quo

Inspirational song: Coming into Los Angeles (Arlo Guthrie)

Our family has once again separated to our respective homes. We had the kids today, as usual, and we took them with us to the airport to send their auntie back home. She has checked in this evening to say she landed, and I dropped the kids off with their parents as soon as I got back to town. For the sake of complete data, Dmitri still does not like long car rides with his grandparents. Not one bit. He was in the car about two and a half hours, and that was two and a half hours too much.

I'm grateful to my daughter's college friend for getting married this week, spurring my daughter to fly out on a day that just happened to have been my birthday. It's hard for me to go so long without seeing her. I'll get to see her again in December, and that is a much more acceptable time gap.

It was also good for the kids to get to spend time with her. They need to get a feel for who auntie is, other than us just referring to a random relative who they never see. Valerie really enjoyed playing with her and telling her all sorts of things. Dmitri is working on his communication skills with all of us, so he had a little disadvantage on how much could be conveyed between them. He had a few very clear words while she was here (like "out" and "juice") but his vocabulary in December could be very different. We should work on "auntie" while his understanding of who she is is fresh.

Punkins

Inspirational song: I'm Free (The Rolling Stones)

October should not be this hot. Just no.

After we went out to lunch, my nuclear family and my grandkids, we all went down to the same pumpkin patch we went to last year. We made an attempt at the corn maze, and wandering around. But it was just so stinking hot and sunny that none of us had the energy to really run around. We got a few pictures, grabbed one good sized pumpkin (for soup for my family), a couple mini gourds, and then we split. 

The pictures are the real star today. So I'll give you lots.

Hot Lamps

Inspirational song: Pinball Wizard (The Who)

I'm no fun anymore. Here I sit, watching a video showing the complex wiring and switches inside a classic mechanical pinball machine from the 1970s. At first I thought, man, it would be cool to have one to play on at home. The longer I watched the video, I started picturing standing until my feet or back hurt. Then I started thinking about how much maintenance would be necessary to keep a 40+ year old machine running well, and I got intimidated. Finally I ended up looking at all the incandescent light bulbs in a classic machine, and I mentally threw up my hands, imagining first the electricity bill and second how hot the room would be where it was stored. I hereby renounce any and all desire to own my own pinball machine.

I made myself sit still all day. I hurt everywhere, my cough tried to come back, and I had zero energy. I needed to rest up to be able to hang out with the kids tomorrow. I needed a huge nap, and I took it with zero regrets. Okay, maybe a few regrets, when I realize that dishes piled up and the trash needs to be taken out, and I didn't handle that today. Tomorrow will be soon enough.

I'll have plenty of fun pictures tomorrow. For now, here are a couple from Wolf Creek Pass that I didn't share over the weekend.

The Spirit

Inspirational song: Alison (Elvis Costello)

So glad the plan was to take it easy today. After all the go-go-go of the last week, I needed unstructured time. We were slow to shower, slow to leave the house. We didn't make it to brunch until almost 1 this afternoon. We went to Lucile's, stuffed ourselves senseless, and came home to lie around and ignore each other while we bloated and surfed the internet. I mean, we chatted, and occasionally read out memes or news we were scrolling past, but for the most part, this visit by our older daughter is the lowest of low-key. Just what we all needed.

The October birthday string is almost done. Mine went well yesterday. Dad's today was in an unusual setting, but he was being pampered, so that checks out. I heard from my two-day-younger cousin, and I've already wished her a happy birthday for tomorrow. These are my favorite three days of the year, other than the currently elusive weather change day I always talk about. There is another cold front coming through next week, so if a little mist and fog can come with it, my October will be complete.

On the way back over here for game night, the kids stopped at a Spirit Halloween store. I don't know what their plan for costumes is this year. I'm out of the process. I had too much to work on, and I won't be home on Halloween (yay, Eddie Izzard show!) Whatever they choose for Valerie, I think they should also get her the pitchfork she posed with tonight. She already looks like she has her superhero weapon. (The creepy scary look of picture #2 is my favorite.)

The Tradition Holds

Inspirational song: She's a Beauty (The Tubes)

Looks like it happened again. It wasn't supposed to, but the inevitable occurred. I wasn't planning on making my own birthday dinner. I was going to go to a restaurant. But then my daughter's flight was delayed significantly. We decided to just stay home and have a stir-fry. And the later the flight became, the more apparent it was that I had to cook it too. So once again, I was on my feet for hours, cleaning, prepping, cutting, cooking, and then loading the dishwasher. Why fight tradition, right?

It was kind of an up and down day. Started early, with my usual first thought upon rising: "what day is it?" I lay there thinking Sunday? Monday? It took me several seconds to remember it was my birthday. Then, minutes later, I heard whistling from the back yard, and Saoirse's name getting called. Then Mr S-P came in from the back, slipped on a jacket, and went out the front door. I understood almost immediately that a certain naughty dog had punched open the back gate and gone for a run. She skittered all around the neighborhood, catching the attention of several folks who took pictures and posted online about how she was super scared and wouldn't let anyone near her. We drove around looking for her. Finally a city worker who we had encountered saw her and called us (thank goodness he asked for my number). She was very agitated, and hard to get into the car. She has been a bit odd all day since then. But she is home.

It wasn't all bad news. I had been waiting for an update about a family member all morning, and when that came through the report was good. And today's Rotary meeting was our "non-profit day out," and I joined the group who went to hear the city manager talk about the housing authority, which was folded into city government a few years ago by necessity. It was fascinating and I learned a ton. I also found out there are landlord-tenant type meetings every other Wednesday, that I can attend. Overall, a productive day.

Also, my parents posted photos of how far back my love of gardening goes. I didn't take new photos today, even though I felt cute in my 'fit and makeup. I needed something to share.