YOU KNOW YOU'RE OFFICIALLY OLD WHEN...

You go to iHop and have the Rise&Shine 55+ "Senior" breakfast and then go to see the Bruce Springsteen movie.

At 10:00.

On a Saturday morning.

I'm also am not ashamed to confess that I carried my own damn good cold brew in my purse...it is, after all, medicinal.

(The sticker is covering the opening in the lid...I didn't want it to spill, and this came from my planner collection of TCMC emotis.)

Nap time for me, Dearies, because my Irish are playing Boston College this afternoon and I need to be alert so I can holler at the TeeVee!

UM...I MIGHT HAVE TO LIVE HERE NOW

 

My goodness! When I started reading The Count of Monte Cristo, I knew it was a big book, but when I glanced up and saw that I was on page 1,010 with over 400 pages to go...well, I just kept on reading!

I am absolutely positively thoroughly enjoying every minute spent reading this, and I am so happy when I can steal a few minutes out of the day to dive back into M Dumas' world. I printed a graph of all of the principal characters early in, and am so happy I did so! After this many pages, you'd think I know them all like family, but I need to sort them out every now and then.

Laundry today, followed by a flip of the closet from summer clothes to winter...which basically means swapping out lightweight pajamas for flannels! Notre Dame plays Boston College in the football at 3:30, so hopefully I'm parked in the chair with my cold brew and stitching by then!

What's blowing your skirt up today, Dearies? Come tell me all about it!

IN WHICH WE EAT A SALAD

This one was so good! I just kind of dumped in stuff I found in the fridge and pantry: mixed greens as a base, and then chickpeas, craisins, pepitas, sliced apple, and feta cheese for toppings. Salt, pepper, and a little bit of Paul Newman's White Balsamic, and I was one happy spinster!

(Long-haired scruffy Jamie didn't hurt matters either!)

THE SUNDAY REPORT, BY THE SPINSTER STITCHER HER VERY SELF (EDITED BY ANGELS)

So there I was, enjoying my Sunday morning damn good and reading The Count of Monte Cristo, when all of a sudden...MY MOM'S NAME! Right there on the page! My mom's name was Vaceila, but in Greek it's Vasiliki. I've never heard or seen it anywhere in my life, other than when Dad used to tease her that Vaceila was spelled wrong, and should be Vaceilia. And then she would mutter something under her breath in Greek and then sweetly say "It's Vasiliki in Greek, Honey".

(Almost nobody knew my mom as Vaceila. She was Sig. I never knew the origin of it until my Uncle Connie told me that he came up with it because when he was little he couldn't say Vaceila and Sig she became and remained for all of her 54 years on Earth.)

Dinner was Costco meatloaf, mashed, and corn. With JB visiting his mom, groceries got a little sparse, so I figured something that would give me a good dinner tonight and sandwiches this week would be no fuss, no muss. I have had zero appetite lately and have been living on cottage cheese and berries, so this made for a lovely change of pace.

One more block complete on Autumn Quilts and currently in Season 2 of the Outlander:

(There was a rant here about Brian Kelly, but my better angels smacked me on the head and deleted it.)

Well, Dearies. Back to the Outlander and some coloring.

I've been on a bit of a tear lately, and got a new book and some markers, so I'm itching to get back to it!

Here's hoping you had a wonderful weekend, and that the week ahead is full of fun! Any interesting plans? Come tell me all about it!

I MAY HAVE FORGOTTEN THIS PART...

"I need a series to binge", I said.

"Something different than The Sopranos, or Mad Men, or The West Wing, or Succession...or...

"Oh yeah! Outlander! I'll just pop on over to...

"Well, this should work nicely...with...um...school..and...

"Uh....."

 "Wait. What just happened? What day is it! Where....um....

"Nevermind"

"See you in a few weeks!"

 

 

 

WEEKEND PROGRESS

LET'S GOOOOOOOOO!

 

WAIT...WHAT HAPPENED TO WEDNESDAY?

I seem to be in a bit of a time warp, Dearies. I'm not too sure where Wednesday went. I know it was cool and rather gloomy, and I vaguely remember deciding to snooze a little, and then I think I read a bit, ate an apple...

Oh well. The house is still standing and nothing appears to be terribly amiss, so onward we go into Thursday.

Today is beautiful. Cool and sunny and so far lovely and quiet. As soon as I get my second cup of damn good and write my morning pages, I'm off to the laundry room to splosh, toss, and fold with impunity. I managed to get towels and bedding done, but now need to attend to a few loads of my own.

While the Kenmore does its thing I hope to get back to my stitching and catch up on YouTube videos. I've been watching a lot of Ruby Granger and Lady of the Library, so I'm woefully behind with my stitching video friends.

Happy Thursday to one and all! I hope your needles are flying, your soups are souping, and you have the exact day your heart desires! Come tell me all about it!

NOW THE FUN PART BEGINS!

 

I've had a lovely Tuesday, Dearies, but I confess to getting up much later than I would have liked.

OK...noon. I got up at noon. 

I went to bed at 1am, but didn't fall asleep until 3 am, so I am not going to feel one bit bad about getting my nine hours. (That's for you, Betty).

Sleeping is one of those things that has been a big source of anxiety for me ever since transplant. For the life of me, I just can't seem to get myself into a good rhythm or on a "normal" sleep schedule, but I am trying to be patient and give myself a break. After all (as I used to tell my dear Dad when he fretted over his own sleeping issues toward the end of his life)..."You aren't flying a plane full of nuns to church or driving a bus full of babies and puppies on a winding mountain road, so if you're sleepy, you're sleepy, and you can go take a nap with your face in the sun".

But no naps for me today. 

I had my morning (um...afternoon) cups of damn good with my JB, and then after he left for campus I got to it. I did about two and a half hours of "school" at the kitchen table, had my cottage cheese and berries, and then did all of Rich's laundry and washed the washer.

I don't normally do his laundry, but I am trying to find little things I can do for him to make him happy. He is so worried about his mom in New Jersey, and I think the fact that he's turning 70 on Sunday is having more of an effect on him than he realizes.

His mom is 90 and was doing really well living on her own in her condo, but a series of falls has landed her in a rehab facility with a fractured hip that they are trying to mend without surgery. She is doing OK there, but isn't too crazy about the food, and I think she also is really missing going to Mass every morning. Rich is going to go visit her at the end of the month, so hopefully spending some time with her will put his mind to rest a bit. 

But the turning 70 thing? 

I'm at a bit of a loss.

I'm going to get back to my stitching tonight, and now that the center borders are in I can enjoy filling them! I still can't remember where/how/why this one ended up in my stash, but I'm really glad it did! It's super easy to stitch, so after being away so long, it's nice to have a piece to ease back into stitching.

So I think that's about it for me for now. What's new and exciting in your little corner of the world? Come tell me all about it!

THE MONDAY REPORT

On Friday, Rich did his thing over on campus, greeting the visitors to the Alumni Association's Football Fridays at the Eck. He loves meeting fans from all over the country and usually has a story or two about somebody he met from here or there, near or far, who enjoyed some beverages and a sandwich or two from the Portillos booth contained therein. This Friday he actually saw somebody he went to high school with in New Jersey!

(He went to Holy Spirit High School in Absecon).

On Sunday, I got myself dressed in outside clothes and went with him to a volleyball game. (I even tried to put on a little lipstick and mascara to commemorate the occasion).

I like watching the volleyball. It makes me remember playing in high school. (Yes, I am short and round and have a vertical leap of about an inch and a half, but I could set the ball and serve like nobody's business).

These girls, though, can PLAY!

And then...last night...a few hours of stitching:

 

So that's the report, Dearies. Very quiet. Very boring. But absolutely just what I needed to head into a new week. I've already done my "school" for the day and am now going to settle in with a cold brew, maybe a movie or two, and my canvas for company. Rich is snoozimg in his chair (he's wiped out from a weekend full of ushering), and I think we're doing leftovers for dinner with a nice big salad.

What's new with you, Dearies? Are you all happy and safe and healthy and well? Come tell me what's new with you! Happy Monday!

WEEKEND PLAN

Well, Dearies...it's been a lovely week of positively gorgeous weather here in Hoosierville, followed by what I hope will be a positively gorgeous weekend! Rich is doing his thing on campus, and I'm ready to start a nice long stitchy session with a counted canvas piece that I just found in my stash! I'm not sure if this was a Guild project or not, but I know that I am really truly excited to get a needle in my hand again!

So in that spirit, I'm going to unplug for a few days and stay off of the interwebs and just get back to doing what I love! I hope you have an equally wonderful and happy weekend! Meet you right back here on Monday...bring all of your stories!

 

CHEERS, FRIDAY! WE MADE IT!

 

OK THURSDAY. I'M READY.

 

FINALLY. SWEATER WEATHER.

 

OK TUESDAY. YOUR TURN.

 

OK, MONDAY. LET'S DO THIS.

 

SATURDAY

Hello, on a beautifully sunny Saturday, Dearies!  My JB is over on campus doing his "Welcome to Notre Dame thing"...ushering the football game, and I'm freshly showered and in clean clothes contemplating a big long list of things that I'm just going to ignore today.

I sincerely thank you for your lovely outpouring of Spinster love for my test. The truth? The worst part of it was going 24 hours without any damn good, and then the claustrophobic dread that had me in a flop sweat panic attack for a month and a half.

The test itself takes just about thirty seconds. You close your eyes, put your hands over your head, and zip in and out of a CT machine before you have time to wonder if you remembered to shave your legs that morning, or if you had officially entered Winter Legs mode instead. The techs were brilliantly kind, and took pity on me with reassuring pats when I burst into the ugly cry because I was just so damned terrified.

Silly, silly Spinster.

But...

It would appear that I am, indeed, my father's daughter, because exactly like every single other member of the Rich clan I have inherited the "Rich heart". Full of love, and usually reliable, but the absolute poster child for all things coronary-related that are going to involve having a cardiologist as a new member of your family.

The test that I had was called a Cardiac CT/agatston scoring test. Apparently, this test measures the amount and density of the calcium (and presumably other gunk) in your arteries. Normal/optimal levels would be a score of 0-400. For a woman almost 60, the ideal is anything within that range.

My number was 2648.1

If you're a frequent flyer here at Batshit Crazy Spinster Airlines, you know that we live in a world of talking dogs, hyperbole and exaggeration, and enough Starbucks cold brew to float a battleship. (See what I did there with the exaggeration?)

But that score of 2648.1 is real. And it's on a piece of paper that was sent from a radiologist to another radiologist to a head of radiology and then on to my family physician, who said..."Double your statin and start taking a baby aspirin immediately and we're going to get you scheduled for a treadmill stress test". 

According to Dr Google, I am just one big fat (yet impossibly cheery and well-meaning) heart attack waiting to happen, and if there are four major roads leading to Heartsville, three of mine are closed. There were a whole lot of other statistics in Dr Google's office, and I was viewing them with horror and big fat blubbery tears until JB told me to put the damn thing down and stop going to the worst case scenerio.

(This from a guy who's had two heart attacks, eats Big Macs three days a week, and just got a "for a 70-year old big guy (*) you're in pretty good shape" from HIS cardiologist.)

(Meanwhile...Yours Truly over here lives like a nun on an organic kale farm and gains forty pounds when she Door Dashes the TastyKakes that her Lovey has to have in his cookie jar for his after-dinner treat or he pouts worse than Stewey being told to take off his wiglet.)

But I regress...

Today I am trying not to think about any of this, and am staying positive and healthy by doing things that bring me peace, comfort, and joy. The shower was a good start, and I've just finished my breakfast/lunch of cottage cheese with melon and berries, and now I'm going to settle in for the Notre Dame vs Boise State game with some stitching and a nice cold brew.

Thank you for listening, Dearies. I apologize if all of this is just TMI, but I honestly feel so much better now that I've shared it with you and have put it in a better perspective. I'm going to continue to do my thing and will try to be more mindful of making good choices in terms of all things health, and will remember that there are a TON of things going right inside this pudgepot exterior...Belly Bean is doing his thing with numbers better than ever, and Mr Liver looks like his little department is improving, too.

So. I hope that you will enjoy your weekend with impunity and do whatever it is that makes YOUR heart sing. Be well, please, because I just flat-out cherish you in ways you cannot imagine! Do something fun, eat something spectacular, and stitch something wonderful and come tell me all about it!

(*) Rich will turn 70 on the 19th of this month.
 

OH....DEAR.

Dearies...I thank you for all the love yesterday! I let it wash over me again and again, and I just floated around all day long on a cloud of happiness and gratitude.

JB and I took a little drive over to the Grotto on campus, and as I said my prayers, you all were included in the huge basket of things that I thanked God for delivering. Then, as we sat on a bench and enjoyed the peacefulness, I looked at my favorite tree and thought about the fact that my dear dad probably loved this same tree when he visited the Grotto over 70 years ago during his student days here. He always reminded me that this place is my anchor point in life, and that whenever possible I should come here when I'm happy, sad, frustrated, scared, or just need a minute to re-center myself.

Now for the bad news.

I have a cardiac CT tomorrow morning, so I am not allowed to have any damn good today. No damn good! For an entire 24 hours!

I'm really trying not to think about it, but if you've known me for any little bit of time, then you are aware that damn good and damn good culture plays a huge part of my everyday existence! Huge! I look forward to my first sip, my second cup, my cold brew, my "just a little boost to get the laundry done" or my "it's only 6 o'clock" shot that gives me strength to finish my book.

But I'm nothing if not compliant, so I will be doing everything I can to distract myself today.

But...

This too shall pass, and before I know it I'll be on my way home from the hospital hitting up the Starbucks drive-through for a Trenta cold brew with two pumps of sugar free syrup, a splash of creamer, and salted caramel cold foam....which I now understand comes in a protein option!

Now if you'll excuse me, there's laundry to be folded, books to be tidied, showers to be taken, and dinner to prepare. I am determined to stitch a bit tonight, but methinks "First I drink the coffee...then I do the things" might have to stay in her project bag for a bit. Maybe "Hoity Toity" instead? We'll see...stay tuned.

 

 

HAPPY FOUR YEAR KIDNEYVERSARY, BELLY BEAN

Four years  ago, a man I never met gave me the gift of a new life. I don't know his name, or his age, or his hometown, or his favorite color, or whether or not he was a husband, a brother, a father, or an uncle...but I know that he was loved, and I know that he was extraordinary.

In my heart I've named him Angel, and his is the first name I mention when I ask God to watch over those that have gone before me, and his gift is one of hundreds that I hope to be worthy of by living a good and grateful life.

Thank you, Dearies, for all of your love and support and prayers and encouragement and good wishes, and for a constant reminder that this life of mine is very blessed, indeed.

And thank you, Angel, for giving me a chance to live it to its very fullest.

 

IT'S A GOOD THING I CAN'T FIND STEWEY'S OLD CHECKBOOK

This estate is currently for sale. It's an historic home in LIGONIER, INDIANA....the birthplace of the late Mr Stewey Angus Willowswamp and his little cousin, the late Mr Bosco Oliver Willowswamp. Despite their more humble lodgings at birth, I suspect both boys would be proud to own such an impressive piece of local renown.

(I can only imagine the arguments over the exterior paint color, as well as the insistence (on Bosco's part) to convert the sunporch into a bouncy castle.)

Time for a Sunday nap, a big a$$ cold brew and The Count of Monte Christo.

Cheers!

I'm sorry for my absence lately, Dearies, but the level of out of whack-ness here at CS2 has reached levels heretofore not seen before. I'm fine and JB is fine...we are both happy, healthy, and managing not to get ourselves into too much mischief...but Yours Truly is just schlumping around like a schlumpadink on schlumpy steroids.

I can't seem to get out of my own way.

I'm reading and cooking and cleaning and journaling and doing the things that need doing, but I haven't picked up my needle in weeks, it seems, nor have I played with any diamond painting or coloring...or anything, really.

So if you'll bear with me for a minute, I'll get my act together and will come back with a big cup of fresh damn good and more tales to tell.

In the meantime, what's new with you?

IN WHICH WE ARE DEFINITELY HAVING A MONDAY

Happy Birthday to my puppytot nephew, dear Baby Bosco! He would have been 20 years old today. I miss him like crazy! 🥺