Weekend Update, Illustrated

After the psycho-emotional hell of the past week, it was nice to get back into the groove over the weekend. Unfortunately, we suck at remembering to take pictures, so we have to rely on my professional illustration capabilities to show you what happened. I can see Mike and Hans chuckling even now (yes, guys, it's a joke - my drawing abilities have not declined THAT much).

Saturday was beautiful and sunny (and not even that cold), so we decided to hang the exterior Christmas lights. I was set to climb up on the moist moss farm I like to call my roof, but Raechelle persuaded me that the lighter, better insured person was a better candidate. We got the front porch lit, and will add another long string to the front gutters and carport when we next get a clear day (har har!). Here is Rae on the roof, stringing lights, with a shining sun and fluffy clouds in the sky...


We finished just before Rae's friends Kim & Tim came over for dinner. Here we all are...


Rae made the most delicious vegetarian enchiladas, Mexican rice and black beans. There was beer. There was wine. The guys bonded. The girls bonded. Then all four of us played Apples to Apples until the wee hours of the early evening, before Kim-n-Tim had to return to their little Milo (who apparently was sick during their absence, or that was what I gathered from Tim's side of the phone conversation). Here is us playing Apples to Apples...


Sunday we watched the Hawks play better than they have all season and STILL lose to New England. We also were able to drop by my friend Sharon's holiday open house, where I had the most surreal experience, of which I will just give the basics:

Linda is a former neighbor on our street, and she still owns her home here, which she rents out. She knew Sam, her daughter used to go to the same bus stop as Tyler. The usual neighbor stuff. But she moved from the block in about 2001 or 2002, just before Sam was diagnosed. She had no idea Sam was dead. She had no idea Sam had even been sick.

And there she was, at Sharon's party. And when Raechelle had gone to get some refreshments from the kitchen, Linda came over and sat down and asked, "So, are you still together with Samantha?"

Ugh.

I've been at this for almost four years, and I STILL don't know how to handle a situation like that. The hard part is not the delivery of the news. It's easy enough to say, "Sam died in 2005 - cancer - came out of nowhere." The hard part is watching their eyes get wide and their hearts sink and the disbelief flash across their faces. And you kind of have to hold their hands and guide them through the surface grief they experience, knowing that an old friend and neighbor has died.

Then there's the added elements to the story. My dad. The sewer flood. The fire. It's easy for me to talk about it now (in fact, I almost cringe when I have to tell it, because it's so incredibly unbelievable for most people).

So whenever that happens, it puts a really surreal spin on the day. Because I'm not sad. I'm not still actively grieving. I have a great home and two great kids and great friends and my health. And I can happily introduce my girlfriend Raechelle and tell these old friends how happy I am.

Then it was french bread pizza and Buffy, and everyone to bed. This week is jam-packed, and I really hope Raechelle and I can each find some "me" time during this insane schedule.

'Tis the Season

Well, we did it.

We hosted Thanksgiving dinner for eight, and Friday morning, the tree went up. Not just the tree, but pine garlands, decorative candles, window stickies, and stockings. We stayed away from the malls on Black Friday, only venturing to our local Home Despot for some necessities (like a new garbage can), spending most of our time putting up the tree and decorating it. And of course, within 24 hours, Elvis had plucked down most of the plush ornaments we hang from the lower limbs and corralled them into the center of the tree skirt, which he then used to "tuck them in".

Saturday saw the kids at respective overnights, and Raechelle and I went up to Ballard for a nice quiet dinner, followed by Kyle Stevens at the Kiss Cafe. It's a cute little hole in the wall, serving 100 beers and a few different wines. Kyle put on his usual strong set, while Rae and I sat at the bar next to Kyle's sometimes writing partner and fellow singer-songwriter, TJ Sherrill. It was nice not to have to rush home.

Today was a leisurely day, culminating in Kayleigh, Raechelle and I joining Dan & Trish for Twilight at a quaint old theater in South Seattle. I won't go into what I thought about the movie, as I'm obviously not an 11 to 14yo girl and therefore had a lot of problems with the acting, story pacing, makeup, editing and direction that those in the target market wouldn't have had. We headed home and made dinner, watched some Family Guy, and headed to bed.

Except that I'm too restless and full of energy to sleep. So I decided maybe a weekend recap post was in order - blogging as a soporific.

Yeah, good luck with that.

Samhain Approacheth

I know I've mentioned the Celtic origins of Halloween before, in the ancient holy day of Samhain (sah-wen), the eve of Celtic New Year. I may also have mentioned that for the past 4 or 5 years, I haven't really been into the whole decorate-for-the-holidays thing. Well this year, I've been inspired (duh). The autumn wreath is a Raechelle original.

I couldn't get a decent shot of the front porch with the flash, but they're all blurry without. So here's both. The clear but non-glowy one will give you an idea of what's actually there, and the blurrier, glowy one will give you a more realistic impression of the lighting.