State of the Union
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| Likely the only political photo you'll ever see here |
Hopefully this State of the Union won't cause half the room to sit and frown, while the other half stands and claps over every.single.sentence,
or no one to print out this post and then make sure they are center camera and then proceed to tear it into little pieces....
Here's what we're up to:
The house is pretty much ready for the Stager to come check on us. The last time we went through this, the Stager came to our home, told us everything that needed to be fixed, and we never saw her again. This Stager has one up on her. She gives you homework, then comes back after a week or so to see that you've done it. Whoah.....
Accountability.
And clever realtor. Since she's paying her, it's pretty smart of her to be sure we did what we were supposed to.
Although of course we're paying her to pay her to tell us what to do. In our house.
There you go.
Being honest, it really does look so much better! Fresh and clear and uncluttered. We tend to live pretty uncluttery anyway, but we did what she sweetly suggested, and you could see a difference. It feels very calm and nice.
Who doesn't want to slip into a tub that has a tray holding the current issue of a home magazine? With an abundance of white towels and a fresh bar of soap? We all want that, right? And you don't have to pay $200 a night to have it; just buy the house and move in.
Cub Sweetheart got his staples out today; he's using a cane outside our home and running around footloose and fancy free inside it. He's pretty much off pain meds, which means he can drive again. I expect the neighborhood to hear him peeling out very soon. He told me he was going to go get a haircut tomorrow, and after two weeks of me as a chauffer, and constant companion, that has to feel pretty big time to him. Everyone knows how much men love their wives driving them everywhere. He's really done amazingly well, and they've told him within two weeks of physical therapy he'll likely be released completely.
So there you go knee replacement! CS is showing himself to be a stud at joint recovery, and our family has nicknamed him The Bionic Man.
I had about 4-5" of my hair cut off a few weeks ago, and several washings in, I really, really like it. When I go to bed with it damp, (which I often do, because I hate drying it) it still looks like some crazy sea witch's hair in the morning, but it's much easier to tame. And it stays that way for days on end. So hooray for finding a haircut that works 2/3 into my expected life span. Way to be on top of it. There is that one area on the top where I used the flatiron, while being lazy and not using the heat protector spray first, that has as sheen of yellow instead of grey, but it'll wear off or grow out, and I've learned my lesson. So if you see me and wonder if I used to be blonde, no, just plain ole lazy.
Lesson one: Being lazy never pays. Lesson two: One is never too old to grow up and be responsible.
I started taking piano lessons two years ago, for about five months of the year, and yesterday I finished Book Two. Hooray for me! My original goal was to play Christmas Carols badly, but I have to admit that's changed into wanting
If I've got it figured right, after 64 years of being a beginner, and hitting Intermediate somewhere around 65 to 66 years old, at this rate I should be whatever comes after Intermediate by about age 120. I've told Gail I'll take lessons as long as she's willing to give them to me.
There's something magical about opening a piece of music, seeing black marks on the page, and as your brain reads them, your fingers respond and out comes something beautiful. It's truly the universal language, anyone who reads music would be able to sit and play and it would sound the same as when I do, no matter whether we spoke the same language or not. How amazing is that?
I also, uncharacteristically of me, watched the State of the Union address this past week. And I won't make any comments about it specifically, because I basically hate politics, especially the current situation we're in, but it did strike an interest in me. An interest that has very lightly been there before, but I didn't do anything about it. This time, I pulled a book off the bookshelf and started reading it, The Everything American Government Book, by Nick Ragone, written in 2004. It's a great read for anyone who never took Civics class, or possibly either skipped class or didn't pay attention when they showed up for class. Not that I'm talking about anyone personally. The book really is a course in itself, and five chapters in I've already learned so much.
Did you, did anyone, did everyone, know that Senator Strom Thurmond holds the record for the longest solo filibuster, when he spoke twenty four hours and eighteen minutes AGAINST the Civil Rights Act of 1957. (I was two years old.) And if that horrifies you, as it does me, go see Just Mercy, a movie currently out. We saw it on Martin Luther King Day, sitting in front of a row filled entirely by blacks. To hear their reactions to the movie was a lesson in itself. The Civil Rights Act was finally passed in 1964, when I was 9 years old and living in southeast Texas where we had separate water fountains and signs over drug store soda fountain counters making it clear only whites would be served.
Five chapters of that book tweaked an interest in the current state of affairs, which I definitely am not known for. So I ordered 'What You Should Know About Politics But Don't, (A non-partisan guide to the issues that matter) by Jessamyn Conrad, a book that is updated every four years to keep current. It has chapters on Elections, The Economy, Foreign Policy, The Military, Health Care, Energy, The Environment, Civil Liberties, Culture Wars, Socioeconomic Policy, Homeland Security, Education and Trade. Wowzers!
Other than that, I'm reading Brothers Karamazov with my bookclub, The Nibs; a club that has three members and our discussions are mostly through text since we have 2000 miles between us. After over 400 pages of reading, the father finally died. I've got about that same amount of reading to find out who did it. After finishing this book, and the two on government and politics, I may well revert to reading People Magazine to give my brain cells a break.
So that's what's up around here. I'll be back soon. Possibly with updates on Bradgelina, and what the Royals are up to, trying to figure out how to make a living for themselves. Just give me time to sit in a few more doctors' offices waiting rooms, catching up on what's really going on in our world.
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