Now he's published one I'd put in my "CD-ish" file. Those are the cartoons that are CD, with some imagination. I definitely think she's trying to introduce him to a lifestyle she finds interesting.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Definitely An Enabler
This is the second Close to Home cartoon I've printed. CtH has been in the Washington Post for several years and has made me laugh exactly once. And he's had one "CD" cartoon. Alas, they were two different cartoons.
Now he's published one I'd put in my "CD-ish" file. Those are the cartoons that are CD, with some imagination. I definitely think she's trying to introduce him to a lifestyle she finds interesting.
Now he's published one I'd put in my "CD-ish" file. Those are the cartoons that are CD, with some imagination. I definitely think she's trying to introduce him to a lifestyle she finds interesting.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Therapy the Fifteenth
We spent the first $35 catching up, which was pleasant enough. Then we got down to business and the pleasantness... vanishes.
My wife has decided we were "in love with the idea of each other," not with each other. She says the problem is mine: I don't love myself enough to love another. She accused me of not using my time to do the "hard work" repairing this relationship will require. This is without actually asking me what I've been doing. Or, for that matter, if I agreed with her diagnosis.
She also keeps repeating that I am taking a vacation from her, which is not what I'm doing. I've said many times, in many ways what I am doing. I think the best description I've come up with is, it's a retreat ~ a place where one can step back from life and look at the big picture and see how you'd like to fit into that picture and how you can make that happen.
All that said, I'm going to stop doing the couples' therapy posts, unless something occurs is relevant to this blog.
As it is, it's way too personal and way too depressing. No matter how she looks at the relationship at this point, I'm going to continue doing that hard work and I hope to write a wrap-up post when my gig is over ~ one with a happy ending.
I will write a bit about my individual therapy thing ~ there was no visit this week, but visit three will be next Wednesday. I hope to make it eventful.
I had a bit of "don't care" fun Wednesday and Thursday, and I'll write about those events next week. Please check out the funnies tomorrow and Sunday.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
When Life Hands You Lemons...
(note: it's supposed to be therapy day but time ran out. That should be tomorrow.)
Yesterday, I was back with the family. I was actually a bit nervous about how this would go. The boys will be fine. But when I'm alone with my wife, I feel like I'm under attack.
No t-activity for a couple of days. Tuesday, after work, after therapy, I waited for my older son to call. He took a bus down from NY and I told him I'd pick him up. He wanted me to stop for pizza and then I plan to be staying "home" overnight ~ there's a lot to do, getting ready for the 4th. July 3rd at my house, for the past few years, has involved getting all sorts of bits and pieces together: tables, tablecloths, a 10x10 tent, signs, 30 or so pounds of sugar, hundreds of cups, coolers... and we wash lemons. Boxes of lemons.
On the fourth, my son's 4-H group has its big fundraiser of the year: they sell lemonade at a local fair. We begged my oldest kid to come down because he's a tremendous help. I spend the day schmoozing with the other parents and looking at the other booths. There's a lot of jewelry for sale and I can sometimes sneak a piece for myself. This year, things went a bit different, and I'll write about that another day.
We skipped fireworks because all of us were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I barbequed in the evening stayed over again, and took my son back to his bus early in the morning. I learned that I need to stay away more ~ the issues start up as soon as we're back together.
It's a lot of fun, really. It's near the top of the ways-to-have-fun-in-drab list.
Yesterday, I was back with the family. I was actually a bit nervous about how this would go. The boys will be fine. But when I'm alone with my wife, I feel like I'm under attack.
No t-activity for a couple of days. Tuesday, after work, after therapy, I waited for my older son to call. He took a bus down from NY and I told him I'd pick him up. He wanted me to stop for pizza and then I plan to be staying "home" overnight ~ there's a lot to do, getting ready for the 4th. July 3rd at my house, for the past few years, has involved getting all sorts of bits and pieces together: tables, tablecloths, a 10x10 tent, signs, 30 or so pounds of sugar, hundreds of cups, coolers... and we wash lemons. Boxes of lemons.
On the fourth, my son's 4-H group has its big fundraiser of the year: they sell lemonade at a local fair. We begged my oldest kid to come down because he's a tremendous help. I spend the day schmoozing with the other parents and looking at the other booths. There's a lot of jewelry for sale and I can sometimes sneak a piece for myself. This year, things went a bit different, and I'll write about that another day.
We skipped fireworks because all of us were pretty exhausted by the end of the day. I barbequed in the evening stayed over again, and took my son back to his bus early in the morning. I learned that I need to stay away more ~ the issues start up as soon as we're back together.
It's a lot of fun, really. It's near the top of the ways-to-have-fun-in-drab list.
Wednesday, July 4, 2012
Momma's Got A Brand New Bag
OK, more than one (they're for sorting) and they're old bags (I like to reuse). I also like musical references.
I have hung up most of the clothes I brought with me. I brought a lot ~ more than I have hangers. My goal is to go home with fewer items than I brought.
The bags are for tops, skirts, dresses, swap, goodwill, laundry, trash, keep.
Tops, Skirts, Dresses
As I try on each item and decide I like them, they will go in the spreadsheet (did I not mention the spreadsheet?) and appropriate bag. As of this moment, I have tried on twenty or more tops and skirts. I'll write about the what-to-keep dilemma soon.
Trash
I brought panties that I may or may not love. If I wear a pair and don't love them, they go in the trash bag.
I also have a lot of socks, mostly women's socks. I either need to buy large (rare) or stretchy. Some are just uncomfortable because they're not large or stretchy enough. Some I love but there is now a toe or two peeking through the worn tip: trash.
My male clothing that is worn, torn, threadbare will go in the trash as well.
NO tops, skirts, dresses, bras, camis, nighties will go in the trash, unless they're in bad shape.
Swap
ALL tops, skirts, dresses, bras, camis, nighties that are deemed in good condition but not right for me (fit, style) will go in the swap bag. Just because that beautiful pink minidress is too short for me, or that sheath dress won't quite zip up... it may not be right for me, but it's not fair to leave it in the closet when someone else might go out and look good.
Goodwill
Male clothing that doesn't fit or isn't my style will go to Goodwill or The Sal or some thrift shop.
Laundry
I haven't had an opportunity to go out yet, so I haven't caused any of my Meg outerwear to need laundering. But my civilian clothes I want to keep go in the big laundry bag. I don't plan to do wash for a while. Also, nighties and camis and panties and socks and whatever else I wear go in the big laundry bag. I shouldn't have to do laundry for up to three weeks ~ and that will be because I ran out of civilian shirts.
Keep
After laundry, clothes will go in a "keep" bag. I have more slacks and camis than shirts. When they get laundered just because they're in that bag, I don't want to put them in the "not worn yet" closet or drawer so I'll put them aside.
Don't I sound organised? I'll see how long it lasts.
I have hung up most of the clothes I brought with me. I brought a lot ~ more than I have hangers. My goal is to go home with fewer items than I brought.
The bags are for tops, skirts, dresses, swap, goodwill, laundry, trash, keep.
Tops, Skirts, Dresses
As I try on each item and decide I like them, they will go in the spreadsheet (did I not mention the spreadsheet?) and appropriate bag. As of this moment, I have tried on twenty or more tops and skirts. I'll write about the what-to-keep dilemma soon.
Trash
I brought panties that I may or may not love. If I wear a pair and don't love them, they go in the trash bag.
I also have a lot of socks, mostly women's socks. I either need to buy large (rare) or stretchy. Some are just uncomfortable because they're not large or stretchy enough. Some I love but there is now a toe or two peeking through the worn tip: trash.
My male clothing that is worn, torn, threadbare will go in the trash as well.
NO tops, skirts, dresses, bras, camis, nighties will go in the trash, unless they're in bad shape.
Swap
ALL tops, skirts, dresses, bras, camis, nighties that are deemed in good condition but not right for me (fit, style) will go in the swap bag. Just because that beautiful pink minidress is too short for me, or that sheath dress won't quite zip up... it may not be right for me, but it's not fair to leave it in the closet when someone else might go out and look good.
Goodwill
Male clothing that doesn't fit or isn't my style will go to Goodwill or The Sal or some thrift shop.
Laundry
I haven't had an opportunity to go out yet, so I haven't caused any of my Meg outerwear to need laundering. But my civilian clothes I want to keep go in the big laundry bag. I don't plan to do wash for a while. Also, nighties and camis and panties and socks and whatever else I wear go in the big laundry bag. I shouldn't have to do laundry for up to three weeks ~ and that will be because I ran out of civilian shirts.
Keep
After laundry, clothes will go in a "keep" bag. I have more slacks and camis than shirts. When they get laundered just because they're in that bag, I don't want to put them in the "not worn yet" closet or drawer so I'll put them aside.
Don't I sound organised? I'll see how long it lasts.
Tuesday, July 3, 2012
Sticking With the Old Favourite
I am trying on tops and skirts when the lights and air conditioning work. I have tried on a dozen or more of each, and mostly I have been wearing my favourite bra underneath.
When I was in a lingerie shop in AZ, I asked what size she thought I should wear. I told her I usually wore a 38C and she suggested I might try a 36D ~ going down a band size means going up a cup size, although I've never understood why.
I believe I wrote about hunting a 36C and 36D bra in the same style so I could compare how they fit and how the forms looked. The 36C was too small for the forms; the 36D looked and felt right.
Or so I thought.
I put on the 36D Sunday night, after power came back and I wanted to try on some tops and skirts (note: they're not outfits. Some of the combinations are horrid even to my impaired fashion sense).
I put it on, then pulled on my cinch and a shaping cami. This is probably overkill, but that's what I put on.
After a few minutes, I had to change bras. I have no idea how I thought this fit, except I didn't try it long enough. It is positively painful to wear. Now, I just have to find out if the swap takes bras. They're practically new.
Besides, I think C looks pretty proportional. So no D bra. Hmmm... I wonder if parents who name their daughter "DeBra" think about that.
When I was in a lingerie shop in AZ, I asked what size she thought I should wear. I told her I usually wore a 38C and she suggested I might try a 36D ~ going down a band size means going up a cup size, although I've never understood why.
I believe I wrote about hunting a 36C and 36D bra in the same style so I could compare how they fit and how the forms looked. The 36C was too small for the forms; the 36D looked and felt right.
Or so I thought.
I put on the 36D Sunday night, after power came back and I wanted to try on some tops and skirts (note: they're not outfits. Some of the combinations are horrid even to my impaired fashion sense).
I put it on, then pulled on my cinch and a shaping cami. This is probably overkill, but that's what I put on.
After a few minutes, I had to change bras. I have no idea how I thought this fit, except I didn't try it long enough. It is positively painful to wear. Now, I just have to find out if the swap takes bras. They're practically new.
Besides, I think C looks pretty proportional. So no D bra. Hmmm... I wonder if parents who name their daughter "DeBra" think about that.
Monday, July 2, 2012
Wasn't That A Mighty Storm?
Friday night, I decided to take a break and try on some clothing. It's not my primary task that I set for myself, but I do want to cull my wardrobe. It takes a lot of closet space and I'd like to make my task of figuring out what to wear easier. Fewer items would help.
Around 9pm, I was chatting with a very good female friend, describing what I was trying on next and it's disposition. I wrote "the lights are flickering and it sounds windy. I better shut down."
But I didn't shut down right away. I chatted for another minute or so and then put the machine in standby.
Windows 7 actually does something right: if you put it to "sleep" mode, it both goes to sleep (low power fast restore) and hibernate (copy everything to disk so if power goes out you can get it back). I wanted to take advantage of that. I usually have a lot of windows open.
I waited until it went into sleep mode ~ the power button started flashing amber. Then power went out. Dam. I thought for a second and realised if power comes back on the computer might try to wake up. Power popped back on and it tried to wake up, just as I pulled the plug. I knew I lost the race and it would be a mess when it came back on.
It was dark and I took off what I was trying on and moved the clothes I had tried on as best I could and, by the light of my phone and non-stop lightning, I got ready for an early night.
Saturday was mostly a reading day. There was no power, many traffic lights were out, trees were down. There wasn't much damage at this house, which is good. I do have some cleaning to do.
The basement is the darkest and coolest area of the house. Even with temperatures reaching 100 the basement was comfortable but I needed to be upstairs to read. NO trying on clothes. It was too hot. Mostly I sat around in just panties. NOT a pretty sight. Trust me. Pictures will not be forthcoming.
During the day I tried to find out what the situation was at my home. There was no answer to phone calls to either my wife's cel or my landline. She didn't answer e-mail. My son didn't answer his phone.
So I braved the heat and the downed trees and the blank intersections and drove over there. The trip took more than twice what it should: I couldn't take the most direct path out of my temporary neighborhood because of a downed tree. I tried to go up a connecting street on the way to my house ~ closed due to power lines down. I couldn't get into my neighborhood by the most direct path because of another tree.
Cel service and power were out at my house.
My wife was going to go away for the day but she decided this was a sign that she shouldn't go (I'm not the only one who listens to the universe). My son was to go to a friend's house for an overnight. Even though they didn't have power they did go. First they drove up the street to look for a cel signal so I took advantage and raided my closet. I brought back over 60 tops and a dozen or so dresses. I have a lot of trying on to do.
At bedtime, lights were still out and I went to bed early.
Sunday, I went out for breakfast. My son called later ~ he needed to be picked up and couldn't get hold of his mom so I went to get him. Before and after that, I sat on the screened porch reading. I don't have any shorts with me so I took off my shirt and put on a grey herringbone miniskirt and hoped that if a neighbor looked over it looked like shorts. But later, with a critical eye, I knew that no-one would mistake it for shorts. I don't care, much.
At 4pm Sunday, after 43 hours with no power, lights came back on. This was a fast-moving storm that started in the midwest and made a straight line for the DC area. There's a name for the storm: derecho.
From the Washington Post:
The storm that whipped through the region Friday night was called a derecho (duh-RAY’-choh) , a straight line wind storm that sweeps over a large area at high speed. It can produce tornado-like damage. The storm, which can pack wind gusts of up to 90 mph, began in the Midwest, passed over the Appalachian Mountains and then drew new strength from a high pressure system as it hit the southeastern U.S., said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Unfortunately, there's no tornado-like warning. No houses were down ~ the damage was more like from a hurricane than a tornado. But it was bad and most of us were lucky.
Around 9pm, I was chatting with a very good female friend, describing what I was trying on next and it's disposition. I wrote "the lights are flickering and it sounds windy. I better shut down."
But I didn't shut down right away. I chatted for another minute or so and then put the machine in standby.
Windows 7 actually does something right: if you put it to "sleep" mode, it both goes to sleep (low power fast restore) and hibernate (copy everything to disk so if power goes out you can get it back). I wanted to take advantage of that. I usually have a lot of windows open.
I waited until it went into sleep mode ~ the power button started flashing amber. Then power went out. Dam. I thought for a second and realised if power comes back on the computer might try to wake up. Power popped back on and it tried to wake up, just as I pulled the plug. I knew I lost the race and it would be a mess when it came back on.
It was dark and I took off what I was trying on and moved the clothes I had tried on as best I could and, by the light of my phone and non-stop lightning, I got ready for an early night.
Saturday was mostly a reading day. There was no power, many traffic lights were out, trees were down. There wasn't much damage at this house, which is good. I do have some cleaning to do.
The basement is the darkest and coolest area of the house. Even with temperatures reaching 100 the basement was comfortable but I needed to be upstairs to read. NO trying on clothes. It was too hot. Mostly I sat around in just panties. NOT a pretty sight. Trust me. Pictures will not be forthcoming.
During the day I tried to find out what the situation was at my home. There was no answer to phone calls to either my wife's cel or my landline. She didn't answer e-mail. My son didn't answer his phone.
So I braved the heat and the downed trees and the blank intersections and drove over there. The trip took more than twice what it should: I couldn't take the most direct path out of my temporary neighborhood because of a downed tree. I tried to go up a connecting street on the way to my house ~ closed due to power lines down. I couldn't get into my neighborhood by the most direct path because of another tree.
Cel service and power were out at my house.
My wife was going to go away for the day but she decided this was a sign that she shouldn't go (I'm not the only one who listens to the universe). My son was to go to a friend's house for an overnight. Even though they didn't have power they did go. First they drove up the street to look for a cel signal so I took advantage and raided my closet. I brought back over 60 tops and a dozen or so dresses. I have a lot of trying on to do.
At bedtime, lights were still out and I went to bed early.
Sunday, I went out for breakfast. My son called later ~ he needed to be picked up and couldn't get hold of his mom so I went to get him. Before and after that, I sat on the screened porch reading. I don't have any shorts with me so I took off my shirt and put on a grey herringbone miniskirt and hoped that if a neighbor looked over it looked like shorts. But later, with a critical eye, I knew that no-one would mistake it for shorts. I don't care, much.
At 4pm Sunday, after 43 hours with no power, lights came back on. This was a fast-moving storm that started in the midwest and made a straight line for the DC area. There's a name for the storm: derecho.
From the Washington Post:
The storm that whipped through the region Friday night was called a derecho (duh-RAY’-choh) , a straight line wind storm that sweeps over a large area at high speed. It can produce tornado-like damage. The storm, which can pack wind gusts of up to 90 mph, began in the Midwest, passed over the Appalachian Mountains and then drew new strength from a high pressure system as it hit the southeastern U.S., said Bryan Jackson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
Unfortunately, there's no tornado-like warning. No houses were down ~ the damage was more like from a hurricane than a tornado. But it was bad and most of us were lucky.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
Really.... I'm Still Here
If anyone missed the storm that blasted from the midwest through the DC area, well, I didn't.
Friday night there were high winds, sheets of rain, and continual lightning, followed by trees down, structural damage and power outages.
Mine came back around 42 hours after it went off. And I'm one of the luckier ones.
I'm trying to find my notes and I hope to be back on track for tomorrow morning.
Friday night there were high winds, sheets of rain, and continual lightning, followed by trees down, structural damage and power outages.
Mine came back around 42 hours after it went off. And I'm one of the luckier ones.
I'm trying to find my notes and I hope to be back on track for tomorrow morning.
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