Happy Thanksgiving!

I am sitting here, when I should be in bed- tomorrow will be a long day! But I am happy to be able to report that I expect it to be a nice day.

The house is not ready, but is close enough that it won't be stressful to get there. The turkey is defrosted and the brine is ready for very early tomorrow morning. The Showtime Rotisserie is ready to give us a great tasting turkey in a very fast cooking time. I'm very much looking forward to dinner and tomorrow evening.

I had a wonderful time this morning. It was "Spirit Day" at Little Flower, and I went back for a visit. The girls are so cute and friendly, and the adults were all very welcoming. I was very blessed to end up there when they closed my beloved Cardinal Dougherty. I still miss Dougherty, literally every day, and I don't know if I will ever completely give up the anger for the fools who closed us, but at least I went to a warm and welcoming place when we had to leave CD. I was reminded, forcibly, of how much I miss teaching and the daily interactions with kids, but a few trips up and down between classrooms, offices and the auditorium, and I was also reminded just as strongly why I can't teach anymore. 

The miserable weather is also making me long to be back in Florida- I am just so not liking winter anymore. But, it is down to a little more than 4 weeks until I can go back and I need the time to sort and pack, and determine what goes there, what stays here permanently, and what goes when there is more room in the car than will be available this trip.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Thanksgiving!

The Day of the Doctor, indeed!!!

Well, it has been seen- the 50th Anniversary show of Doctor Who. It made me smile, it made me laugh, it came close to making me cry. I won't be posting any spoilers, in case anyone reading this has not seen it yet. All I am going to say is that it is one of those things that, when over, leaves you with a smile on your face and a real sense of contentment. 

The Day of the Doctor!

We are now into November 23, the Day of the Doctor! We had a short discussion earlier this evening, settling our plans.

So, the TV is now set to BBCAmerica, from which it will not move until the end of the day tomorrow.

Tea and biscuits is the menu during the show.

All electronic devices which could be a distraction will be turned off.

So, don't try to call, message, text, PM, whatever to me tomorrow- I will be busy with the Day of the Doctor.

November 22

November 22 always resounds with me, for more than just the obvious reason.

When I was 8, I had already developed a deep love of playing the piano. Because it meant so much to me, I chose St. Cecilia, the patroness of musicians, as my confirmation name saint. So, November 22, the feast day of St. Cecilia, became *my* feast day,  because it was the name I had chosen rather than the one my parents had chosen for me.

The second reason for November 22 being special is one I share with all Americans from that time. I was in 6th grade. I remember almost nothing about grade school, fortunately, as it was generally an unhappy experience. I cannot even tell you, for sure, who my 6th grade teacher/nun was. But the afternoon of November 22, 1962 is an image frozen into my mind. I sat next to a girl named Andrea Sicilia, in front of a cousin named Jimmy Dougherty, and in the third row, third seat. Two faceless sisters standing at the door. Mother Superior on the loud speaker. Shock and some hysterics- the main reason I remember Andrea Sicilia's name. 

The rest of the weekend passes in a similar haze- I remember it, but only in specific flashes. Mostly those of Mrs. Kennedy, a few of the family. I do have one clear memory. I am sitting in the back room at home, watching the TV coverage. I am sitting in my little rocker- it is way too small for me now, but I am so skinny I can still squeeze into it. I am home alone, as I had organ duty at 8 o'clock Mass, and the rest of the family has gone later because my brothers had to sit with their classes. Oswald is shot by the man in the grey hat. Chaos on the TV screen. No one knows what happened. They don't know who did it. I keep screaming at the TV "it was the man in the grey hat!!!!" No one is home for me to tell.

We, all of us old enough to remember this terrible weekend, have stories and memories like this. 

Much later in life, November 22 gained another meaning. In 1963 I was unfamiliar with C.S.Lewis' writings. I found the Narnia Chronicles in high school, but only discovered his theological writings much later. I was fortunate to find these. I have had an increasing problem with the Catholic Church over many years. It seems the older I got, the less the institutional Church lived by the theology I had been taught when I was young. I went looking for a way to stay Catholic in a Church that I began to resent more and more. C.S.Lewis provided me a way. He writes about God, and our relationship with God. He writes about them in terms of essential theology. He writes about the common experiences of grief, death, etc. and where our faith plays a part in these experiences. 

From him I gained the ability to identify myself as a Catholic even though I had lost much respect for the Church. I came to cope with the idea that I love the religion but just not the institution that represents it. That ability to separate myself from the manifestation while clinging to the essential has supported me for many years. November 22, 1963, is also the day that C.S.Lewis died.

So, November 22 is always a jumble of feelings and memories for me. I remember and relive the sadness of a day that changed the world I would grow up into, I am reminded that I chose wisely at Confirmation as St. Cecilia has always continued to allow me the joy of my music, and I am grateful for the writings of a man who was a large part of saving my faith. For me, it is a day of great significance.

Not so depressing!

That last post was really dismal- which kind of matched how I was feeling. So, I spent some time playing with the iPad - which I just noticed is down to 10%,  so I better be quick with this post.

Saturday is the 50th Anniversary Special for Doctor Who!!! It seems impossible, living in a mostly Whovian house - I introduced my son to DW when he was about 2 and he's been crazy about it ever since - but there are actually real, live people out there who do not know that this Saturday is the biggest day in DW history!

I love Doctor Who!!! I - yes, me!!! - actually attended a Comicon in the early 80s to see Tom Baker. For the uninitiated, Baker was the 4th Doctor and my first Doctor. The first time I ever saw Doctor Who was in the late 70s, on WHYY late on a Saturday afternoon, like about 4:30. The first episode I ever saw was Pyramid of Mars. Yeah, I'm a Doctor Who geek!!!

Well, I must admit that when I start thinking about, reading about, and watching preview clips of, the show on Saturday, I get positively giggly!!! It is going to be AWESOME!!!!! Not only do we get both the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) and the 10th Doctor (David Tennant), and we get their companions Clara and Rose, but we also get John Hurt as the War Doctor!!! Just saw a clip from a talk show with John Hurt saying that when he signed on he had no idea how big this was! Surprise!!!!!

In order to prevent spoilers from ruining the show for anyone, the show is being simulcast, around the world!!!! Every Whovian in the world watching together, at the same time!!!  Even my husband, who freely admits that he "doesn't get" Doctor Who, will be watching, because "this is a big, big event". 

So, Saturday afternoon, at 2:50 PM (did I mention that the show is going out at EXACTLY 50 years, to the minute, as the very first episode?) we will be having special snacks (for what is a TV event without snacks?) and turning off all phones and other electronic devices, and sitting mesmerized in front of the TV, knowing that there are literally dozens of millions of others doing the same thing!!!

Yes, it really is quite enough to make even this 61 year old, old lady, quite giggly!!!!

Still trying

Well, clearly I am not doing well on the daily posting. It is not that I have nothing to write, it is just I don't do it. Not sure why.

It's doctor week 2. Last week I went to the Rheumatologist, the dentist, went with DH for a cardiac stress test, and took Mom to the Orthopedic surgeon. This week it's the Ortho for me, the Ophthalmologist and the GP for mom. There's more coming up- some fun, huh?

Looking forward to Thanksgiving- not looking forward to the massive amount of cleaning necessary.

So, that's my cheerful report for today.

Sad news

This picture has been running on Facebook, including my own page, since July. Sadly, Roy has been found, dead. One more CD tragedy; there have been too many. 

I've been bad.

Well, I clearly fell completely off the posting wagon. It has been a bad week. Frustration and exhaustion abounding. Absolutely nothing I wanted to share. As things turned out, this was a bad month to try this.

Wiped out!

As I get older, this darn Fibromyalgia seems to get worse. I am not sure if it actually does, or if it is just that at my age, anything makes a difference.

I am sitting here, in the recliner, which is as close to vertical as I have gotten today. Everything hurts. My daily meds made enough of a difference to get me from the bed to the recliner, but even with that I needed an extra dose of the stronger PRN pain killer to ease, somewhat, the aching in my shoulder and arm from two days of driving. 

At 61 years old, and fast approaching 62, can I blame the Fibro or am I just getting old?

Quick check-in

This is really kind of cheating, but I drove for 2 days and I am too beat to think. Back tomorrow.

Not doing so well, am I?

So, here it is November 6th, and this is only my second post this month. Ah, well.

Doing this from my iPad, so I have no idea what this will look like. Here's the deal: I am on my way north to Philadelphia. That does NOT make me happy. BUT.... I am going to see my dear, darling DH tomorrow night, so that part is great. I am going to a wedding this weekend, and that part is great. Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming, so those parts are great. The rest of it? NOT so great.

My mother has scheduled a multitude of doctors' appointments that I am expected to drive her to. I will be seeing several doctors. I will be seeing the dentist, several times. Yeah, not a lot of fun.

But there will be time to catch up with friends and students whom I have not seen in a while, or even a long while. We will be going to DS's Charity Quizo next week. I will get to go to First Friday next month with the CD faculty, and also, there is the CD Christmas Party. I have lunch dates with several former students coming up, and I intend to go to LF's Spirit Day, for one last visit with the now (I cannot believe it!!!!) Senior Class. So, it looks like the positives will probably outweigh the negatives. Why only "probably"??? Because yesterday afternoon I was in the pool at the club in Florida, and somehow I don't think there will be any outdoor swimming in Philadelphia in November. So, it is north to sweatshirts and warm coats, but hopefully, no boots. Florida, I will be back in a little more than 7 weeks- I WILL MISS YOU!!!!

I'm Back!!!

Well, if you look on my sidebar, you will see the link that is also posted right above this. That is the National Blog Posting Month badge- and I have committed to posting every day in November. I am off to a late start, which will surprise no one who knows me, but I will catch up, for sure.

What have I been doing and what do I have to write about? 

Well, I have been living in Florida in the new house, following the Creative Memories bankruptcy proceedings avidly, doing very little needlework of any kind, visiting yard sales and estate sales looking for items for the new house, making some friends here in the development, learning about and joining some of the activities and functions here, talking to DH daily if not more often, spending time with Auntie going shopping and church and stuff, becoming an official Florida resident, starting to get the house organized the way I want it, playing my new, wonderful piano.......yes, I have been busy!!!

I will use the daily posting from NaBloPoMo to share the stuff that is important to me, or anything that I think will be of value to anyone who still reads here. 

Since this is November, it is Thanksgiving and that is something I want to include. So, for today, I am thankful for the blessing of this sweet little house. It is "practically perfect in every way". 

See you tomorrow.