Sunday, August 29, 2010

Sunday evening on the porch

Dave starts back to school tomorrow, this time online. I know he's nervous about it as he is not as computer savy as I am, and I'm no tech nerd. But we got his old laptop updated and hooked up to a wireless keyboard and mouse and attached to a large external screen so at least it should be easy to see.

The weather has calmed down, too, and the evening is cool though damp. It's a fine time to be sitting out on the porch, and I'm getting my patio furniture slowly fixed up and cleaned up and ready for some serious hanging out. It makes me happy.

Last night was a lovely evening too, and I spent it delightfully with friends, first having a drink with the girls from the game group, a treat from Karen which I only got to participate in partially because I was previously committed to Hilary's birthday party. I used to have frequent nights of multiple of invitations, with the only answer to party-hop or miss out, but lately this is very rare. The game group went on to dinner and I went to Hilary's where I always have a wonderful time-she knows the most interesting people. A jam session in the shed showed off Hilary's son Forest's talent on the drums, and later on, Cliff had an acoustic guitar and sat playing standards on the patio enticing me to sing for an hour before I hit a wall and could no longer keep my eyes open. My voice is out of shape, as is the rest of me, but it is working and I feel confident that I could achieve vocal fitness with a doable amount of  effort. It felt amazingly good to sing, and made me remember why I want to find an outlet. I've been invited to join the community choir and I want to do it; I have to talk to Dave about the Monday night rehearsals that will take place every week starting after Labor day through December. Unless I have further surgery, I should be able to do it, and I think it will be very good for me.

It was a good spirit-lifter too as I have had a hard time the last couple of weeks fighting depression. All the several questionnaires that I filled out in the first couple of months of treatment got a very positive response from me, while did not yet feel worn down, still hopeful and positive about my outcome and my looks, my sex appeal, etc. Those questionnaires should be required later on in treatment, when the weekly hits start to seem to go on forever and the continual steroids start to mess with one's mind. I'm hopeful that my dose of these will be reduced this next treatment, as my antihistamine was this last time. I feel so much better this past 2 days, but Friday was rough, and Thursday I snapped at a couple of folks who did not deserve it. A massage Friday afternoon was a welcome help, and I slept for 12 hours or so afterward.

Went to the flea market today and the farmer's market yesterday morning. I rarely go to the mall, but the joys of this kind of shopping, flea and farmers markets, are not lost on me. I love to see what is in any individual stall, to squeeze and sniff fresh produce, to find a rare bargain from an estate or antique vendor. The latest fashion wear, not so much.

So it's bedtime again, and then off to work again tomorrow. Weekends are never long enough.

No comments: