midweek

Dragon seems well enough. We will know more when results from biopsies come back. The results of the viewing seem good so far. Many thanks to all who communicated their love and good wishes, and to those of you who were so supportive. I'll keep you updated.

Speaking of updates, I will be able to post online from my hotel room in Ottawa. Please look here for updates about having arrived safely and the like, though probably not much detail, as I do not expect to have cell service.

There's a mountain of work to catch up on for being out, but it's all good. Dragon is a trooper. He deserves all the gold stars. We did actually hav a bit of fun yesterday afternoon, as he wanted to visit Papa at work (i chose a new dishwasher -- it was an evil alliance, i tell you). We also ended up choosing paint for my office, the downstairs room, and the kitchen. Over dinner at the Olive Garden, all of us worked on developing the back yard Pirate Area (no longer to be confined only to the ship). We have plans for an upper deck, a plank (to be walked), a galley, hammock swings, bells, whistles, telescopes, periscopes, whatever-the-big-wheel-thing-is-called [update: it's a ship's wheel. many thanks to those of you who wrote to inform me of it, and went further to let me know that the person who mans the ship's wheel is called a helmsman], and even a bunk house. we have a name percolating about for the ship herself. we have a plan to officially christen the ship and area on Pirates Day next september. I get to be the Bucaneer, and am working on my costume. Tiger wants to host a tour and charge admission to play in the back yard. arrrrr!

rainy days and mondays

Good morning. After spending all day yesterday on the couch with a serious fever and school bus disease (trust me, you don't want it), i seem to have returned to normal, albeit weakened, state. Many thanks to Eldarian for sitting around and laughing at me moaning and helping herd the boys. Many thanks to the boys for being wonderful and as accommodating as any little boys ever really could be.

The tea, the frog prince and the down comforter helped as well, I'm certain. I have to confess that I was beyond irritated that the second season of Battlestar Galactica isn't out as yet. I think I watched the final six episodes in a marathon.

Hope your monday is excellent. I'm not up for much more than soup today, but that's my plan: it's all about the coziness. Despite being sicker than a dog (well, okay -- dogs don't get this sick; they are shot first), there was much progress made on the house, and the playroom and office upstairs are coming along nicely. The plan is to be able to have everything in such a state as of January that we can have Steve et al come in and finish remodeling the kitchen, put shelves in the playroom upstairs, paint and shelves in the office. . . wow. this list is longer than i thought: the joys of home ownership. anyway, we seem to be on track, even if the list of home improvements is non-ending.

For now there isn't any 'net at home, and i'm grateful for such WiFi as is around the neighborhood. The co-op and barnes and noble share theirs gladly, as does Mill Mountain Coffee & Tea. WiFi, snow monkey plum tea, books and a table. Now that's luxury living.

Dragon has a procedure tomorrow, so don't expect a post until wednesday. We'll be at the hospital at the crack of 06:30, so i'm getting together some crochet patterns and novelty yarn to keep me awake and occupied. I've always been big into shawls, but now there are just ever so many patterns and novelty yarns and the like. how cool is that?

thanksgiving

Hi there. Our Thanksgiving was a fun, relaxed affair. the boys and i bought yummy munchies and cooked some favourite dishes, then settled back to play monopoly with visitors. Dragon predictably performed remarkably well. It sort of gives me the creeps that a five year old has that much luck with the dice. Tiger wasn't exactly hurting, either, by the time we all took a break. The food and company were Just Right, and the episode of Battlestar Galactica was just the thing at the end of our day.

I finished up Night Watch wednesday evening, and it was delightful. Many thanks to Jax for lending it to me. i have some favorite quotes, as you might imagine. I started Pop Co. Thanksgiving morning (is there any better way to wake up than to roll over and find a new book to read for an hour?), and from the first few pages, I think this book is going to be a real keeper.

I hope your holiday was delightful.

whoa. i think i'm in love.

Library Thing.

movie review

We saw Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last night. It was the best yet, and the boys' first in the main auditorium at the Grandin. I enjoyed it quite-a-bit-a-lot.

update

work: I have a job. Woo hoo me. It’s still temp, and looks as though it will continue that way through the beginning of the year. I like it well enough. This is my public journal though, and so you won’t read much about the job here. If you want to know, ask.

boys: They are getting so tall. Tiger looks more like a young man than ever, and Dragon is right behind him. I am truly lucky to have such wonderful children. They do a full day of school and then take the van to Riverwalk near my office, where I pick them up on the way home. It has taken a bit to discover the right routine, but we have adapted to this one quite well. Discussions on the way home usually involve who is cooking that evening (we take turns, to great effect) and what went on in our respective days. We have colds, which have been kicking our butts for too long now. Dragon is reading and writing more than ever, and Tiger seems to have done a really good job at finding a measure of control over his emotions.

pets: We have kittens – two of them. No, one just wouldn’t do, thanks anyway. They are Artemis (artsie), who is sleek, and Aphrodite (nibbers), who is fluffy and cute. They are not related, both black, and frustratingly dear to me.

Come one, come all to the before thanksgiving feast

Sunday, November 13
Come on over and join in the pot luck and conversation. Food goes on the table at 7-ish p.m. with the House open for assistance (and I will put you to work) at four (just in time for tea, which I will gladly provide). Dragon has signed up to make beef stroganoff, and Tiger is making his favourite-ever chili. I have no idea what I’m making yet, though it is widely known how I tend to always put out the raw fruit-vegetables-nuts for grazing. Jax is bringing French Onion Soup, so I might just sit back and eat that and hum contentedly. I have one loaf of Jax-bread left, and might let the boys talk me into letting them make a bread braid (I think they like pulling it more than they do eating it). Denniston is running low on root beer and cream soda and ginger ale, so if you want those sorts of things, or want to provide them (and you know who you are!) they will be most welcome.

movie review

last night i saw A History of Violence, and it was very good. I liked the acting and the unfolding. Maria Bello seems to have been in a number of other things, none of which i've seen, which is a shame since she brings such a powerful presence to the screen. Her interaction with Viggo Mortensen is so real you can almost smell it in the theatre, even over the popcorn, and Ashton Holmes delivers a bullied-teenager at its best, so real i could practically hear what he was thinking. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this young man on the screen in the future. Though the plot had moments of the predictable (perhaps reflective of the story's origins as a graphic novel), the direction was superb and Cronenberg delivers one of the best uses of silence in a film i've seen in a long time, perhaps since Closetland. Overall, the movie raises questions about what makes a family, our goals and obligations, how, when and where we draw the line, the role of violence, and ultimately what makes good men.

of course, i'm sure other people just had a good time with a bit of a thriller. :)

i hope your wednesday is delightful.