Sunday, July 26, 2015

Hot Summer Days

It has been the typical hot July days here now.  I expected them eventually and they have finally arrived.  Today it was 90 degrees out but I was cool and comfy inside with the windows shut to keep the heat out and the fan on me!  Nice and comfy!  Peony has been comfy too!  Today was a mostly Peony and me day.  I love these days.  Also, ABC family has a Harry Potter marathon on so that is what I am watching.  I started with number 6 as I didn't know the marathon was on until then.  Definitely a good way to spend the afternoon and evening!

Earlier, my precious princess pup and I went for a bit of a drive.  It was nice and relaxing.  We drove for about an hour.  I just wanted to get out of the house for a bit so we went.  Peony loves car rides, fortunately for me.  We enjoyed ourselves immensely, being together.  I came home and did the dishes right after that.  I was on my own for dinner so it was a Panera dinner for me.  I love their Greek salads.  I always get it with chicken.

I have a busy week coming up so I am very glad about that.  I will be meeting 2 friends on 2 different days too.  Cathy and her daughter for dinner and Mollie and her sons for lunch.  I am excited about that.  It should be rather fun.  I believe so that is for sure.  I haven't seen Cathy and Ally since May nor have I seen Mollie since early June.  Both are overdue for a visit.  I try to visit as much as possible.  I will see an old friend, Sue next week.  I haven't seen her in about 16 years so that will be good.

Peony is in the living room barking at something outside.  She does this often.  It is quite cute when she does this.  I find it rather amusing.  She will run back and forth from my room to the living room and then do it again.  She is back by my side for a few seconds again.

My cousin, Wilbert passed away yesterday.  He had dementia.  He didn't know who he was anymore.  Wilbert had pneumonia.  He and Momma were first cousins.  Once they were very close, then they drifted apart, and then they met up again.  I was with Momma when she met up again with them.  I have been close to his wife, Tilley every since.  I have mixed emotions about his passing.  He was an abusive man in his adult life, which is why Momma drifted away.  When I knew him, he was no longer physically abusive.  I mourn the man I knew, the non abusive one, the one who was kind to me, the one he was before he forgot who he was.  That is the man I mourn.  As for the family, I know they are conflicted with who they mourn.  Do the remember the good times, or the bad?  I know there were some good times, but I also know the bad so out weigh the good.  Abuse ran so much in our family.  For my particular nuclear family, it stopped with Momma.  She never abused us.  She was abused as a child so she knew what it was like and stopped it with her.  For her siblings, I am not sure.  I don't think my aunt was physically abusive but she was verbally.  I don't know about my two uncles for sure, but I suspect my one uncle was based on what one of my cousin's has said in the past.  As for the other, I don't know at all.  Abuse can be such a bad circle for families.  I am glad it stopped with Momma.  Of course, we didn't know anything about my grandfather's abuse while he was alive.  Only after he died did we learn about what he did to her and what a monster he truly was to her and her siblings.  One time, he hit her in the face so hard she went flying backwards in the chair and landed on the ground.  I cried when I heard that.  that was just one story that I heard.  I heard so many.  Momma didn't like to talk about so my aunt and uncles told us.  The grief of my cousins will be a different journey than mine was of my mother.  I still walk that journey.  Some days it is okay, others not so good.

I hope your week is going to be good!!!  I am looking forward to my lessons and my visits with friends.

Sunday, July 19, 2015

Fibro and the Heat

It is very hot for us right now.  Not like it is in the south, but hot enough.  I ache more in the super cold and the heat so right now, I am aching a lot more than usual.  It happens every year.  I feel it more this year because our a/c has died and needs to be replaced and like so many I know, we just don't have the money to replace it.  Or rather, if I replace it and the furnace goes, we are in deep trouble so the best choice was to wait and see what happens with the furnace.  So far, until yesterday, it actually hadn't been so bad.  Low 80s, high 70s, not much humidity, it was really nice.  Then yesterday, yup, summer is here!  We are heading for lower temps again this week, so that will be good.  I have several tops that are very light and I have a trusty good fan so does most everyone in the house so we are all set.  My fan has been brought down to the kitchen right now so it is blowing on those of us sitting at the dining room table.  It works.  It was quite comfy, temp wise, although very achy, with the fan blowing in my room last night.  I hope it is again tonight.  We have an attic fan too that helps pull the hot air out upstairs.  I am afraid I have gotten quite spoiled with this a/c we have had for the last 20 years.  We didn't have a/c in the house growing up.  It was put in in 1995.  I was a grateful girl then.  It was right before I started really getting sick.

Summer has been okay so far.  I have a few students who have stopped for the summer, which is always sad as I miss them.  Most of them stay.  I don't have a lot of students as I am just not healthy enough to teach that many.  I do have 2 new ones starting tomorrow so that is good.  It helps balance out the ones that quit.  I have the books we need already.  Acer and I picked them up on Thursday.  I like taking him with me because he is good company and he likes going to music stores.

I hope summer is good for you so far.