Mini Vacation

The ceiling still isn't repaired in our bedroom, but the insulation has been removed, along with some of the dry wall. Everything is finally dried out, so it can be done at any time, we're just waiting for the handyman to have time to get to it.

In the meantime, we had an amazing little vacation over the past weekend with some friends. We went down to Las Vegas & stayed on Fremont Street, and a nice, historic casino hotel. The strip sometimes feels too much like it's full of  people who think they're at a huge amusement park, especially as we get older. We loved staying down there when the kids were younger, because they enjoyed the chaotic atmosphere and all of the things to see and do down there. So our weekend was a break from the ruined ceiling & full of good friends, good drinks, good music & a great atmosphere, what more could we have wanted?

We enjoyed the more laid back feeling on Fremont and had a very fun stay. Our hotel was right by the main stage, so we could open our windows & watch the people & listen to the music while we stayed in our rooms. It was like being a part of a very large party that all of your favorite people were invited to. There were families, couples, groups of friends and everything else you could imagine, there was even a very good 80s tribute band playing every night.

Wow. That Long?

I seem to keep forgetting about this blog, for some reason. It seems like the only time I post in here anymore is to complain about being sick. Yes, I am again, with a terrible chest cold or bronchitis, I've coughed so much in the pat 6 days that it feels like my ribs are broken. I've tried to treat this migraine without drugs, but so far, it isn't working, so I may have to dig out something to treat it with before too long.

This afternoon or early evening, part of out bedroom ceiling caved in. It didn't go all the way to the roof, but the insulation is soaking wet & hanging down, dripping. The landlord got someone to come & look at it & they'll be here in the morning to work on it. I'm hoping it'll be done tomorrow, since I'm having to sleep on the couch (my bed is covered in everything from the corner of the bedroom where it caved in) & while it's super comfy, I really do love my bed & will miss it tonight. At least it happened after Troy woke up & before I went to bed, right?

Ugh.

So I'm finally getting over the salmonella I gave myself last Sunday, and as a consequence of that, started eating low-residue & am getting my latest diverticulitis flare under control, too. Now? My nose is running like a faucet. I guess I'm either coming down with another cold or my allergies are kicking up again. I really just want to get better and actually feel normal, so I have the energy to do more than sit around watching Face-Off & marveling over the contestants air brush make up skills, yelling at Dave on Storage Wars for being a butthead and sleeping on the couch.

I want to be able to eat normal food again, like fruit and nuts and cheese without it feeling like my stomach is going to tear itself apart from the inside. I'm bored with taking it easy & resting. I'm ready to play, walk and laugh again.

All I can say is that I'd better be well by the 24th, because I'm going to Vegas regardless.

Musical

I know that I've been talking a lot about Erin & his first lately, but it's been awhile since those memories were "safe" for me. For a long time, remembering him before the drugs and booze just hurt too much, so I didn't.

Anyway, I'm hoping that his ex-fiance remembers to send his guitar when we meet her in Las Vegas later this month, he's really been wanting to play lately. It would be nice to see he & Troy playing together again, or maybe see him get together with the people he used to be in the band with and start getting gigs again, now that they're all sober again. I imagine they could make some really great music this time around. They've all grown up a lot, and are a lot less angry than they used to be, I'm excited to see where this journey will take all of them.

At any rate, if she also sends the game back with him that I bought him for Yule, he can play that & brush up on his skills. He said that Rocksmith was an amazing teaching tool and that it's a ton of fun to play, too. He noticed a difference in his playing after he got here & he had only had a chance to play the game a couple of times. It's cool because all you need is an electric guitar, the game and the desire to learn to play. You can start out as a beginner and still learn from it. Maybe I'll finally learn to play guitar if we get it back!

Imbolc & Winter's Return

We had a nice, if very small, Imbolc celebration last night. There were only 4 of us, which was fine, I know people get busy during the week and that it's not even a hugely important Sabbat to a lot of people. It matters to me, as a Sabbat, because it shows me that we're already halfway through Winter & Spring will be here as quickly as Imbolc came. We didn't have our traditional potluck, because I was out of it when I bought groceries last week & forgot about it, then no one else ended up having the money to do it, either, so we just cancelled that part.

Anyway, it was quick & easy, I tried out a few new things with the altar & quarters, they seemed to work out fine! I do need to get a lot of things to fill out the quarters, but South is looking pretty nice so far.

Winter made a reappearance yesterday morning, dumping several inches of snow on us. It was very cold all day, snowed a little throughout the night last night & still feels like it's going to be cold today. That's okay, I don't think I have to go anywhere today, except maybe to take Erin to a meeting or two and paying the rent, but that'll be pretty quick. I kind of plan to just take it easy today & relax, I've been quite sick for the past few days & really just want to get through it so I can feel well again. I may do a little sewing, but that is far from strenuous, and if it gets to be too much, none of it is 100% necessary & I'll quit for the day.

I spent the front half of the week on the couch, watching TV & napping, if need be, I'll do some more of that today, while Troy plays Skyrim. Gods, I hate being sick.

Reminiscing

I remember when our son was finally old enough to have a job. He worked every shift he could & saved almost every dollar he made. He had a goal in mind and that was all that really mattered; some of his friends wanted to start a band & wanted him to play electric guitar, so he did some comparison shopping & found an guitar that he really liked and started saving up for it.

He bought it & used it often, he even had his Senior portraits taken with it. Eventually, he decided he wanted a white guitar, and bought one (which he later loaned to someone who stole it from him) and used it even more. I'm not sure how many different bands he was in here, before things got bad with him & he left, but it was more than a couple. He uses a different guitar these days, but he still owns that first Epiphone, and I'm sure it still holds a place in his heart.

These types of memories would have made me sad while ago, but now that we're getting back to a place where he's more like his old self, it's a lot easier for me to remember them. I'm really hopeful that the memories of our daughter will someday be safe for me, too, but right now, it still hurts too much to remember when she was happy & carefree.

Longing for Spring

I went out yesterday, while taking Tiny out to potty & raked one of the back flower beds/garden plots that hadn't had much done to it last year. Our daughter had planted onions in it & I noticed that they were greening up & reaching for sunlight, so I thought I'd give them some. I intend to fill all three beds with various mints, but don't know if seeds can be bought for mint. The beds are very hard to get into to plant any seedlings, although I'm sure Troy would do it for me if that's what I wanted. At any rate, I plan to do a little research on different types & see if that will be a good place for it.

I'm so ready for Spring, planting and longer days. I miss being outside, in the warmth & relaxing in my yard. I miss camping, grilling and smelling the grass, trees & warm earth. I know that Winter is necessary & I would hate living somewhere that we didn't experience it, I'm just ready for it to be over & hoping these next 7 weeks pass quickly, so I can get on with my planting & relaxing!