Monday and the view out my window is dismal and dark. Fitting since I woke with a knot in my stomach which I can only hope is a passing thing. The sky spitting rain to go along with the pain. I think back over the past week to ensure that it is not from nerves.
My week went pretty well with an amazing night Wednesday at the Whitney Center for the Arts and a new program "Talking Books" with Stephanie Abrams hosting. Three very diverse writers on the stage sharing their experiences and giving me food for thought and some wonderful laughs from Malachy McCourt with excerpts from his life and his book.
This is going to be a regular thing at the Whitney, with different Authors, of course, and Stephanie Abrams hosting. I really enjoyed listening to published authors go through their processes and share with a room filled with people, including my own sweet cousin Marguerite, who insists that I have a book inside me which she cannot wait to read. Someday I hope to prove her right!
The two hours of sitting was killer on my back for a change instead of my neck and I spent the last 30 minutes praying for the night to be over ~ the stabbing pains down both of my legs driving me to distraction and straight to bed with some medicine once I got home.
I had too much to do to let a little pain get in my way. My granddaughter was due on Friday for a long overdue sleepover, the first since my surgery. We were both looking forward to it. I had to pull myself and my house together for her visit. The house was in better shape than I was but I managed to get everything done and feeling fine by Friday night when she arrived.
I took the easy way out and ordered pizza and wings to be delivered. She arrived with a book on Archaeology and a kit to excavate a dinosaur from two hunks of rock. She and Thomas set to work in the dining room (after covering the table with newspaper). Unfortunately Thomas' hunk of rock held most of the pieces of dinosaur "bones" but Ainsley was a trooper and the next morning she busily tried to piece the dinosaur skeleton together.
It took me back to the days when her Dad was younger than she was and naming all of the dinosaurs and whether they were meat eaters or plant eaters and even knowing how to spell those names at four years old! Ahh the memories!
When the pizza arrived I packed up all the rock pieces and dust (and was there a ton of dust) and the tools away and we all sat down and enjoyed some delicious dinner together. I was surprised to find my boyfriend had never eaten a hot wing before ~ so I exposed him to something new for a change!
After dinner Ainsley decided it was time to play her favourite game and that is being a banker. She took out her computer and hired Thomas before the rest of us got involved in the game which saved Thomas at which time he escaped to the safety of his computer.
I had baked brownies after ordering the pizza and we were all anxious for them to cool for dessert, which was made even better with the suggestion of Ice Cream to go on top which was promptly picked up.
My boyfriend introduced a new concept to the banking game by making a paper check to be deposited into his "account" in addition to having the bank send out his car payment. Ainsley got a kick out of that and made me make a check for deposit as well. This game seems to be progressing into a possible career.
In the morning we (Ains and I), had to play bank again since Ainsley herself wanted to deposit a check and even included the car payment deduction. It was fun, as it always is, hanging out with my monkey girl. She had me in stitches while she played WII Resort as she delighted in knocking her opponent off of a tower in Sword fighting and yelling at the game while she played ping pong when she felt she got robbed points!
Finally, she was ready for breakfast and I made pancakes which is our usual Saturday morning ritual when she is over. With the addition of some frozen blueberries in a bowl and some fresh pineapple she was set.
I still felt like crap when I woke up, but I learned long ago how to push the pain out of my brain and focus on something else. I had promised Ainsley that no matter how bad I felt we would do this sleepover. I tried not to show how bad I felt through it all.
After breakfast we set to work on baking some coffee cakes I had been putting off making. Since she was too busy to bake brownies with me the night before I figured there was no time like the present and I love to use cooking to distract myself.
She set to work chopping the walnuts and I set to work measuring and mixing up a double batch of bread and topping (which also goes into the bread). She patiently waited for me to put it in the oven in order to challenge me yet again to some more sword fighting and ping pong and even golf which it turns out she doesn't like.
Noon came too quickly and my son and his wife were at the door. This time we were ready. I made sure she was dressed for a change. While she was getting ready I packed up all of her rocks and tools again, found her discarded socks, made sure she had her toys loaded up her backpack and she was ready.
We had to wait for my son to get in a few games on the WII before they departed. I do love visiting with my family and we all laughed at Jeff's WII character he made so many years ago, which looks so much like him it isn't funny!
When they left I decided to lay down. I was supposed to go to a performance that night and it was clear to me that I was probably not going to make it. I was sent to bed to take a nap (which didn't work) and even the hot water from the shower seemed not to work the magic I was hoping for.
In the end I missed the performance guilt free since they were packed I got the feeling that it was okay that I would not be able to attend. I guess I have to learn my limits all over again, something which has been a constant thing over the past fifteen years.
Now, since the new surgery it is a whole different ball of wax. I feel good in a way, but when these new symptoms come on I am not really too sure how to deal with them. Fortunately I will be seeing my neurosurgeon this week. At least today is just a minor stomach ache and not anything stress or spine related!
I am getting a little antsy without my computer. I think the under abundance of information is dulling my brain a little bit. I hope that will motivate me soon to try to piece something together so I can get back on track and kick start that little voice in my head once again. I am beginning to miss it's endless chatter and being able to write when it does speak up.
Until next time, have a great day and don't forget to smile!
My week went pretty well with an amazing night Wednesday at the Whitney Center for the Arts and a new program "Talking Books" with Stephanie Abrams hosting. Three very diverse writers on the stage sharing their experiences and giving me food for thought and some wonderful laughs from Malachy McCourt with excerpts from his life and his book.
This is going to be a regular thing at the Whitney, with different Authors, of course, and Stephanie Abrams hosting. I really enjoyed listening to published authors go through their processes and share with a room filled with people, including my own sweet cousin Marguerite, who insists that I have a book inside me which she cannot wait to read. Someday I hope to prove her right!
The two hours of sitting was killer on my back for a change instead of my neck and I spent the last 30 minutes praying for the night to be over ~ the stabbing pains down both of my legs driving me to distraction and straight to bed with some medicine once I got home.
I had too much to do to let a little pain get in my way. My granddaughter was due on Friday for a long overdue sleepover, the first since my surgery. We were both looking forward to it. I had to pull myself and my house together for her visit. The house was in better shape than I was but I managed to get everything done and feeling fine by Friday night when she arrived.
I took the easy way out and ordered pizza and wings to be delivered. She arrived with a book on Archaeology and a kit to excavate a dinosaur from two hunks of rock. She and Thomas set to work in the dining room (after covering the table with newspaper). Unfortunately Thomas' hunk of rock held most of the pieces of dinosaur "bones" but Ainsley was a trooper and the next morning she busily tried to piece the dinosaur skeleton together.
It took me back to the days when her Dad was younger than she was and naming all of the dinosaurs and whether they were meat eaters or plant eaters and even knowing how to spell those names at four years old! Ahh the memories!
When the pizza arrived I packed up all the rock pieces and dust (and was there a ton of dust) and the tools away and we all sat down and enjoyed some delicious dinner together. I was surprised to find my boyfriend had never eaten a hot wing before ~ so I exposed him to something new for a change!
After dinner Ainsley decided it was time to play her favourite game and that is being a banker. She took out her computer and hired Thomas before the rest of us got involved in the game which saved Thomas at which time he escaped to the safety of his computer.
I had baked brownies after ordering the pizza and we were all anxious for them to cool for dessert, which was made even better with the suggestion of Ice Cream to go on top which was promptly picked up.
My boyfriend introduced a new concept to the banking game by making a paper check to be deposited into his "account" in addition to having the bank send out his car payment. Ainsley got a kick out of that and made me make a check for deposit as well. This game seems to be progressing into a possible career.
In the morning we (Ains and I), had to play bank again since Ainsley herself wanted to deposit a check and even included the car payment deduction. It was fun, as it always is, hanging out with my monkey girl. She had me in stitches while she played WII Resort as she delighted in knocking her opponent off of a tower in Sword fighting and yelling at the game while she played ping pong when she felt she got robbed points!
Finally, she was ready for breakfast and I made pancakes which is our usual Saturday morning ritual when she is over. With the addition of some frozen blueberries in a bowl and some fresh pineapple she was set.
I still felt like crap when I woke up, but I learned long ago how to push the pain out of my brain and focus on something else. I had promised Ainsley that no matter how bad I felt we would do this sleepover. I tried not to show how bad I felt through it all.
After breakfast we set to work on baking some coffee cakes I had been putting off making. Since she was too busy to bake brownies with me the night before I figured there was no time like the present and I love to use cooking to distract myself.
She set to work chopping the walnuts and I set to work measuring and mixing up a double batch of bread and topping (which also goes into the bread). She patiently waited for me to put it in the oven in order to challenge me yet again to some more sword fighting and ping pong and even golf which it turns out she doesn't like.
Noon came too quickly and my son and his wife were at the door. This time we were ready. I made sure she was dressed for a change. While she was getting ready I packed up all of her rocks and tools again, found her discarded socks, made sure she had her toys loaded up her backpack and she was ready.
We had to wait for my son to get in a few games on the WII before they departed. I do love visiting with my family and we all laughed at Jeff's WII character he made so many years ago, which looks so much like him it isn't funny!
When they left I decided to lay down. I was supposed to go to a performance that night and it was clear to me that I was probably not going to make it. I was sent to bed to take a nap (which didn't work) and even the hot water from the shower seemed not to work the magic I was hoping for.
In the end I missed the performance guilt free since they were packed I got the feeling that it was okay that I would not be able to attend. I guess I have to learn my limits all over again, something which has been a constant thing over the past fifteen years.
Now, since the new surgery it is a whole different ball of wax. I feel good in a way, but when these new symptoms come on I am not really too sure how to deal with them. Fortunately I will be seeing my neurosurgeon this week. At least today is just a minor stomach ache and not anything stress or spine related!
I am getting a little antsy without my computer. I think the under abundance of information is dulling my brain a little bit. I hope that will motivate me soon to try to piece something together so I can get back on track and kick start that little voice in my head once again. I am beginning to miss it's endless chatter and being able to write when it does speak up.
Until next time, have a great day and don't forget to smile!
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