Since last I put fingers to keyboard here on "The Adventures of a Middle Kid" quite a bit has happened...more or less. :P Would you like a quick run-down of all the happenings?
You would??
Great! Hang on to your hats! ;)
Monday
This was a busy day. I was grouchy all day long too, which didn't help anybody--much less myself. Most particularly poor Granddaddy whom I blew up at while making supper. Yes, I lost my self-control and barked at the old man for not staying put, but instead, coming back into the kitchen after I had already taken him out once. I felt really bad about it and apologized to him once I quit shaking with irrational fury.
Anyway, the day was spent doing last minute things to get ready for the arrival of one young man by the name of Andrew. My parents and Savannah went to pick the "Man from Tomorrow" up at the airport, leaving around 3:30 (pm). Andrew is courting Savannah and has been for several months. He's from Australia so there are definitely some different things about him. He's also left-handed. ;) Not that that has anything to do with anything...but the really funny thing about that is he shares a birthday with another man we know (and love!) who is likewise left-handed. (And yes, that's some of that "Racheal's Trivia" stuff that collects in the resesses of her skull....) We fixed him up a bedroom in the living room...this isn't the first time we've had a young man crashing in our living room, so it's no big deal.
Monday evening I had a few 'things' happen with my computer that I hadn't had happen in the past...it was weird, but my thinking that it needed to go to the shop was heightened.
Tuesday
Tuesday I turned on my computer and promptly turned it off. Daddy would eventually get ahold of a computer repair man that day...but on to more important stuff.
Of course, that "more important stuff" falls into the category of usual daily chores (on my front) at anyrate. (Hopefully I'm getting my days straight here!) This means: Laundry! (Yes, that's right...I did Andrew's laundry that day as well as two loads of Granddaddy stuff and at least one of our stuff). Dishes! Cooking! (You wouldn't believe how many onions I massacre in the making of a single meal--I LOVE them cooked.)
Naturally, I did some eavesdropping...don't ask me what the topic(s) of conversation were. I don't remember.
Mama went to town and while she was gone, Daddy and Savannah gave Andrew a "walking tour" of the place and introduced him to Grandma and Grandpa. Katherine was doing her school and during this time I sat on the piano bench and thumped my way through a hunk of my guitar repertoire. On Andy Kenway's reels I jumped down to B (or up rather) with the most ease that I think I've ever had with them. I was quite pleased. I guess I've played enough recently that my D to B jumps on the (high) E-string have improved due to the extra hand stretching and loosening.
Wednesday
Daddy took my computer into the shop (boy, you'd think that was pretty important!)
{break here for family worship}
Anyway, Wednesday was a lot of the same...only I did read a chapter out of God and Government, Vol. 2. I'm gaining something of a wee bit more knowledge of biblical economics. For some reason, a uncomplicated understanding of that particular subject is rather elusive to my brain.
Thursday
For being rather "useless" (or so I felt yesterday), I guess I really did alright.
Other than doing the usual laundry and dishes, I played my guitar (sitting in the cold room) for a while. I haven't been through that particular book (and I only got about half way when my toes got too cold to stay in there any longer) in over a year--which is understandable since it was one I sent with Katherine when our family temporarily split up!
I also read both my philosophy/theology (and economics) and my history too. I was having a ball with the history reading. I had Shelby Foote's Narrative open over here, my Long's The Civil War, Day by Day open over there, my Generals in Gray in my lap, and a book concerning WBtS's battlefieds containing maps in one hand. As I was reading about First Manassas (or the First Battle of Bull Run for my friends of Union stripe ;P), I naturally had the battlefield guide open to that particular engagement's map and Long's Day by Day open to July 21st, 1861 (which was a Sunday). I referred to Generals a couple of times to put faces to names of particular Confederate generals. Naturally, I already have facial recognition with Beauregard, Joe Johnson, and Stonewall, but I couldn't reall what Gen. Bee looked like and "who was this guy??" There are SO many generals (on both sides) that most of us have never heard of.
Other things of note: both my cats got spayed. Curio is still kind of sleeping off the drugs. Runty seems mostly back to normal. My biggest question is an incredulous "How do you expect me to keep cats from jumping up onto the furniture [bed, treadle machine, chair, vanity]?" Most particularly since their favorite napping spots are all up and not down?
I have done like I was supposed to and checked their incision sites a couple of times today. They look fine--not red or swollen. The glue on Runty's incision is mostly gone (they are stitched internally, then glued shut), but so far is still fine. Curio is still growling at me a little when I pick her up...like I said, I think she's still a little doped. (I imagine they gave her a little more 'stuff'.)
Mama did most of the cooking on Thursday.
Friday
That's today! I started the morning with laundry (actually just flipping the wash machine on when I got up--I had a load of socks soaking overnight), letting a groggy white and black cat out of her carrier (I let Runty out last night [she slept with me most of the night--as is usual] because I couldn't stand listening to her fussing and rattling the door), drinking my coffee and reading my Bible--with said black and white cat sitting on my stomach. She doesn't usually sit in my lap for any length of time, but she curled up there and promptly went to sleep. Runty joined in the nap curled against my knee (question...why do cats pick the side between you and the edge of the bed and never the side between you and the wall??)
Speaking of coffee...by day two in our house we had "created" another black coffee drinker. :) Tuesday morning (or was it Wednesday?) Daddy was still asleep, but all the ladies and Andrew were awake, so we sat around talking--and drinking coffee. Someone offered Andrew some and he accepted and took it black since the rest of us were and decided he actually liked the stuff.
Today, I did the cooking, most of the dishes (thanks, Katie, for doing the supper dishes several times this week!), some paltry amounts of laundry, some eavesdropping (of the obvious sort :D). It got kind of funny as I was "waiting for the onions" before I could make supper this evening. Mama and Daddy had gone to town (hey, you wondered where/when I got my computer back, didn't you? ;P) and I knew she was going to buy more onions (I used the last three at lunch time--by the way, I cook with a mightly lot of onions--to quote Gen. McDowell [US], I think them "monstrous fine!" {only he was referring to a watermelon...}).
I didn't get any history reading done today though I did get through the next chapter in God and Government. Instead of reading history, I scribbled out a letter. (Okay, so I really did try to write neatly...) You who are destined to receive that letter (you know who you are) can probably read my messing handwriting by this point--afterall, you've been doing it since those long ago days when we lived but an hour (or so) apart. I also, strangely, used a pencil instead of a pen. I "always" use a pen...but I actually write neater with a pencil (besides which I can erase). But anyway...that's neither here nor there.
I am, currently, in possession of "the ear" (aka the baby monitor by which we listen to Granddaddy while he sleeps/wakes/etc.) I will gladly hand it back to Daddy when he finishes his shower. I'll pass back the hat he placed on my head with a little less enthusiasm however. Andrew got him this white "boat-hat" that says "Capitan" on it. It looks adorable on Daddy and good on me (vainity!) and I like it a lot. I also made the discovery that I can wear it over my braids cross on top of my head. Nifty...
By the way, I'd put some pictures up...but it's getting late and I haven't been able to locate Savannah's camera cord recently--and I definitely won't bug her post-10 pm for it! I'm going to sign off here and spare you all the details of the evening that had me in stitches a couple of times. I can't remember what they all were anyway...