Visitor

My husband will be here tomorrow.

Weekend

Friday night, Little Boy and I went to see the Ghost Trolley at the Ohio Railway Museum. We went with the Tiger Cubs. It was a nice little outing and a fun way to spend the evening together.

Saturday, I slept in. Ahhhhhhhhh. Sleeeeeeeeeeep. Little boy and I went shopping in the afternoon. We went to Burger King for lunch, where he played at the indoor playground. Then, we went to the Scout Shop to get his Tiger Cub book, and a t-shirt. We also got him a hat. He loves the hat. I'm such a sucker. Then, we went to Kohl's and bought him some dress pants and a couple of long-sleeved t-shirts for school.

I did some shopping online for myself and bought some new clothes.

This morning, I helped my dad assemble the futon that Little Boy will sleep on for the duration of our stay here. I dropped the extension piece on my left middle finger and it HURT LIKE HELL.

We went to church this morning. Little Boy was in the annual primary program. He was very handsome. He sang enthusiastically and fidgeted a lot. Sunday School did not suck again. Relief Society (the women's meeting) got off to a bad start and I'd had a good day up to that point so I quietly slipped out and did some writing while I waited for Little Boy to finish up.

I may get my hair colored tonight if mom has time. I am looking forward to being young again.

Concert

Last night, I went to see Arts to the Rescue, a benefit concert for the arts in New Orleans. It was wonderful. The Columbus Symphony, Opera Columbus, BalletMet, ProMusica, Thurber Center, Columbus Jazz Orchestra and others were represented by music, dance, theatre and song.

My favorite bits were the Reader's Theatre from Thurber House, who did three of his fables. Two were "The Unicorn in the Garden" and "The Tin Box." They didn't script his stories, they just read them, but narrated in character. It was funny and light. It was Thurber, fer pete's sake!

Another wonderful number was a superb alto (she was really hot, too) from Columbus Junior Theatre, who sang "Hold On," from The Secret Garden.

When you see the storm is coming,
See the lightning part the skies,
It's too late to run-
There's terror in your eyes!
What you do then is remember
This old thing you heard me say:
"It's the storm, not you,
That's bound to blow away."

But the best part was the Columbus Jazz Orchestra. They have a new director, Byron Stripling, who is a genius. He did an AWESOME rendition of "St. James Infirmary Blues," and I got positively teary during "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans." They led off with an instrumental piece with a dancer who was just fantastic.

Art students from Columbus College of Art & Design were working at easels in the aisles during the show, and the results were for sale after the show in a silent auction kind of format. I bid on one piece, but others bid after me and DH would probably have been perturbed if I'd spent $100 on an abstract pastel because I liked the lines and it made me think of Mardi Gras.

The only disappointing thing about the show was the turnout. You'd think an unticketed, donation show like this would have raised quite a crowd. There were probably not more than 300-400 people there. Not enough publicity, I guess.

In other news, church did not suck. It's always nice to be able to say that.

Church today

I'm going to church today - a process that is always frought with anxiety. I'm not going to the same ward (congregation) I went to two weeks ago. My buddies in that ward are all busy in Primary, and I didn't have anybody to hang with. I don't know if I'll have anybody to hang with today, either. But it's a different group, at least.

I'm leaving a little early today, so I can visit with my grandma.

Why do I do this, even though I'd rather not? Because DH is not here, and I have little boy, and I'm pretty sure DH expects Little Boy to attend church. So, I do it for him.

It's almost never as bad as I fear.

Job

The job is going well, lest you think I can do nothing but whine. The people are nice, the pay is good, and the work is interesting.

Co-owner Friend and I were talking about our little kids yesterday. I mentioned to him that Little Boy is about the same age as Older Son was when Co-owner taught Older Son how to make fart noises with his knee. I think it's about time to send little boy for lessons!

Air?

The weather here has been remarkably pleasant. The parentals have been leaving the windows open to let the fresh air blow through.

I haven't lived with fresh air for seven years. In Lubbock, the wind was always blowing hard, and bringing with it lots of dust, and cotton pollen. Oh, and flapping curtains and things falling down from the wind. So, it was AC or heat. But rarely fresh air.

In Louisiana, it's too humid, no matter what the time of year, to leave the windows open. At least, it is for me. It can be sixty degrees outside, but when I start to move around even a little bit, the moisture in the air condenses on my skin. Yuck. So, it's pretty much AC or heat or nothing there, too.

I think the fresh air here is messing with my sinuses, and perhaps even my upper respiratory tract. I've been coughing a lot, and my head is stuffy. The pollen is still flying, and the mold is abloom, and I don't think it'll get better until there's a hard freeze. At least, that's what it said in the paper.

Who would have thought that fresh air would cause such annoyances.

Lonely

Living apart officially sucks.

I don't have anybody to help me remember to take my drugs. If I don't take my drugs, I get screwed up pretty quickly.

I don't have anybody to lean on. When something freaky or scary or sad happens, I have nobody to turn to, except for Mom & Dad (who really oughtn't have to deal with a mentally ill daughter.)

I don't have anybody to cuddle with. I mean, I can cuddle with little boy, but I hold him, not the other way around.

My family is here, but I don't really have any friends here any more. Which is weird, because I lived here my whole life. And in any case, friends are not husbands.

I've got another two full months of this. It had better be worth it.

WebCam

Today, DH and I each went out and bought webcams. We were able to set them up this evening and have a nice little video conversation. Little boy was very excited to see his daddy. And gosh, was DH a sight for sore eyes.

The plan is, for both of us to work through mid-December, and then head home. I'm guessing Little Boy and I will head back with Older Son around December 20th. That will give us about three weeks at home together to get things done before DH has to start back to work.

Housework

I don't have to do housework. My mom is retired, dad works about 6-7 hours a day, and they take care of everything. Everything. I don't cook, do dishes, or laundry. I pick up after myself and little boy, but other than that all I need to do is be pleasant and not make a mess.

I'm thinking of doing some of Flylady's "missions." Getting some deep cleaning stuff done that my aged parents have trouble with. At least it's a way to contribute. I will probably also start cleaning the bathroom on Saturday.

I am liking this exile thing a bit more than I should.