- First my sister and I went on our long-awaited cruise to the Greek islands. Fabulous time, but the onboard Internet charges were pretty fabulous, too; I only used the minutes I absolutely had to for checking my email. Pictures to follow...many, many pictures.
- The minute we got home we discovered that our parents had moved up the date of their relocation to assisted living and put me in charge of arrangements for the sale of their possessions and their house. We moved the furniture, clothing, etc. that my parents designated the next week and I have spent most of the time since (aided on weekends by Sue and sporadically by Dad) going through all of the stuff they've accumulated in 80+ years of living. When I tell you we found Dad's grade school report cards and two large-ish boxes of photos of people no one could identify, you'll get some idea of what we were up against. Fortunately the estate sale people start pricing things on Monday and the sale itself is next weekend. After that we can have the carpets cleaned, finish patching the nail holes in the walls, etc., and actually list the house. (BTW, I already cleaned the carpets once myself because the neighbor wanted to show the house to a friend from California who was in town last weekend.)
- I mentioned last spring that I would have to give up singing in the church choir due to the contract job I was taking, but the director asked me to keep showing up on Sundays even if I couldn't attend the weekly practice sessions - revealing a touching but misplaced confidence in my ability to sight-sing. Now she's asked me to sing a solo (this Sunday) and repeat the performance at a reception for clergy at one of the local hospitals next week. I agreed, but I have NEVER sung alone in public before, so I am terrified. Over the last three weeks I have practiced the first verse of "You Raise Me Up" so many times that I'm probably singing it in my sleep. I trust this means my vocal chords will channel my inner Josh Groban on automatic pilot even if the rest of me freezes.
- The contract job that was supposed to only last for three months was renewed and just finished in mid-September. Almost immediately a friend of mine offered me a full-time marketing job, which I started as soon as the home-excavation project was more or less under control. So far, so good. But busy.
- Still teaching online classes - in Week 3 of the current session - and handling website maintenance projects for all my regular clients.
- In what little spare time has remained to me I've been catching up on several long-overdue projects in the yard and the house, including finishing a needlepoint pillow I started 20 years ago. Now I just have to finish the bedroom curtains...
"Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings." ~Jane Austen
