Endless week
For some reason this week has dragged on and on. It's a 4-day week, so we can celebrate Veterans' Day tomorrow. Why do we have a holiday for veterans? Didn't it used to be called Armistice Day--or was that another day? Who can remember. Anyway, this week has been endless, and each day took forever to get through. I spent my evenings dozing on the couch, full of ennui I suppose.

Last night I took the dogs for a walk in the darkness of night when I got home from Ken's at 8. I used my super-bright little flashlight, which shoots a beam about 40 feet ahead. It was really grand and I hope I continue to do this. My body desperately needs to spend more time in a vertical position than it currently does. The dogs were thrilled by the walk and were incredibly wonderful to share the experience with. Tess did her usual thing of running ahead, then coming back to check on me and let me know what lay ahead. Chances, who doesn't see well at night, seemed to enjoy it all, romping ahead of the light. Temp was great, no snow, just a perfect November evening. As I say, I hope I make this a habit. Perhaps tomorrow and Sat. I can make myself take the dogs for walks--although I say that every weekend.

Had dinner with Ken last night. When I got there he was sleeping so soundly in his chair that I couldn't wake him--I tried, speaking loudly, slamming things on the table. Finally I decided to let him sleep, so I read the paper on the couch and waited. He slept for about 15 minutes more, then woke. It took him a really long time to come to, and I did my usual "It's a good thing to take naps, and you wouldn't go to sleep unless your body wanted you to." He was still embarrassed. We had a nice dinner of ham steak, frozen fries (a staple) and peas. I introduced the concept of green vegetables and it seemed to go over well. Tues. night when I stopped for my traditional post-voting visit he was cooking a venison burger. He had me taste it to see if it was cooked enough (blech--suppose it hadn't been?). Since the deer came from around here it tasted very gamey. No, thank you I don't want any for dinner. I sat with him while he ate and drank my whiskey.

I need to stop drinking so much whiskey--that's one of the reasons I spend so much time supine on my couch. I have one huge drink every time I'm at Ken's. It tastes so good! And mellows me out, of course. But I must stop. It decreases the effectiveness of my meds, for one thing. Once, for training for her volunteer work at a crisis center my mother had to go to an AA meeting. They called on her and she said "My name is Liza and I don't think I'm an alcoholic." I laughed when she told me that because of course that's what all alcoholics say at least once in their lives. She's not an alcoholic, though. Her children run a greater risk--there are generations of alcohol abuse as a heritage for us. Anyway, I'm not an alcoholic, but alcohol seems to be very appealing to me right now. Not good.

And today I'll do authority work, which I enjoy (like Cat's cleaning her dirty catalog). Peaceful and productive, even if I get very frustrated by the messes the member libraries make.

Tonight I'll go shopping on my way home (now food--that's something I have a problem with. Cannot control my desire to eat, eat, eat). I'm soooo looking forward to that moment when I drive up the hill and first spot my house. That means the end of the day, and in this case it means 3 full days of enjoying my home, my dogs, nature, etc. I have a DVD of the first episodes of Weeds, so I can watch that and knit to my heart's content. Must start cleaning house, however, and read book in prep. of next week's book group meeting. It's at my house and there are many, many tasks to be completed before I can allow anyone inside. I need to plant the bulbs I so ambitiously ordered, tucking them in odd spaces and smashing them into the dirt to hurry up and get the chore done. I'll be really happy to have done that when they all bloom in the spring. Lots and lots of crocuses and plenty of narcissus. I'm running out of places to put them, however. Last year I dug up some well-established bulbs my mistake when I was desperately looking for a place to plant new ones.

There are several pre-winter projects I have optimistically put on my BIG list, my SERIOUS list of things to do. Plastic on windows, plastic skirting around the house (it's built on posts, so there's a big space underneath it which the winds whips through. The dogs whip through it too, it's one of their favorite places. I hate going under there, it's wet, dank and once I put my hand on a rotting dead mouse while crawling on my hands and knees. That's all I needed to convince me that I should avoid going there at all costs). I should get some rolls of insulation and stuff them under there, what we did 13 years ago is hanging in a very unkind way, leaving the living room floor un-insulated and cold. I so often feel that I don't treat my house with the respect it deserves.

Now to work.