Sunday Matters

Right Now:

Taking a break from my normal Sunday Matters template to talk about my dad a little. For years, he’s been plagued by diabetes related conditions (blindness, kidney failure, kidney transplants x 2, staph infections, etc.) and this past week, he gave in to them and passed away.

We’ve not had a typical father/daughter relationship but there were moments, very specific moments where I felt a connection and those moments are what I am trying to focus on now. One memory I have is the two of us spending the entire day at the Central Library in Los Angeles. My love of reading definitely started from those visits. I was only 4 years old and he’d sit me at a table with a stack of books and we’d sit there all day reading. Moments like that were rare but they are what I remember.

I feel oddly disconnected but at the same time very much in the center of it. I just feel so strange. I have never lost someone so close to me.

There are things that need to be addressed as far as my mom and sister are concerned. Of which, I have very little control over. The situation is very dire and although I have no trouble making decisions on most days, the decisions needed to made here leave me completely overwhelmed. Dysfunctional families are fun to read about, but not much fun to be a part of. To complicate matters, they don’t seem to want my help.

I just need a moment to think about it all.

This Week:

This week will be spent trying to figure stuff out. In the mean time, I am still on social media as a form of distraction. I am still reading because if I stop I feel as if I won’t be able to function. I’ll still be blog hopping and chatting away with all of you because that’s how I deal with things.

Grateful for:

Supportive friends and family.

Sunday Matters

This past week was good. The weather was warm, I didn’t have to rush around and I even managed to cook some meals at home. Valentine’s Day was a little uneventful, but mostly by choice. I don’t deal well with crowds and often just opt to stay in, which is exactly what we did.

Except for the 4 a.m. registration for The Sound of Music on Valentine’s Day which wiped me out, only because I managed to turn my ankle. It’s not sprained or bruised but I managed to turn it just enough to keep rolling it every time I take a step. People were running! I was not. All I did was step out of the car wrong. The Hub says this could only happen to me. He’s probably right.

These cake pops that my friend made helped make-up for the early morning wake-up:

Cake pops

My book club met to select the books for the year and it’s an interesting list. I will post it soon. I agonized over my choices but they both made it in, The Boys in the Boat and Norwegian by Night.

And…I got to meet one of my fave people (Karen) for lunch. She and her husband stopped by to have lunch with me on Friday and she made me these awesome pillows.

There is a story behind these pillows. She posted the fabric on Instagram and I was drooling over it. Japanese prints always make me think of Murakami. And then when I met her for lunch, she had these pillows for me! I was near tears and so surprised. I am going to take the two pillows, reclaim the loft and finally have my reading loft. The Teen may protest.

Pillow

Right Now:

We are going to church this morning. I am looking forward to it since I missed last week’s service. I have coffee in hand now but will probably pick-up a green smoothie on the way home from church.

This Week:

Track starts. It was delayed by a week but will start for real this Tuesday. The Girl needs it.

I have a hair appointment. The one that was rescheduled since the one I had two weeks ago ended up being a no-go since the salon was closed. My hair is a disaster because of it. I am debating if I should go shorter.

Reading:

Just finished Her by Harriet Lane. The book was pretty wonderful until the very end when it all went to crap. Seriously, the last three pages. What the heck?

I need to choose my next book and once again, I haven’t a clue what to choose. Dead Wake is looking pretty good.

Watching:

We watched The Sound of Music last night, in prep for the next show. We also watched Definitely, Maybe. I had seen it before but I thought The Girl might enjoy it and she did. I started watching Breaking Bad at lunch. I am almost done with season one and it has grown on me. Tonight, The Walking Dead.

Making:

I am not making anything today but we are going to pick up Chinese take-out. I have been craving it for weeks but no one else has so this is sort of my Valentine treat. Chicken in black bean sauce and House Special garlic and rice noodles. I can’t wait.

Grateful for:

I am grateful for so many things, the roof over my head, my health (even though I have issues now and then, my issues could be so much worse) and I am grateful for friends. This past week, the actions of some of my friends really brought tears to my eyes.

Happy Thought For the Week:

One last week before rehearsals start for The Sound of Music. I will be starting a new book, my hair situation will be taken care of and every night this week I am going to tackle the clutter that has built-up over the past few weeks. When the weather is like this I just want to clean. Sad, but true.

What are you doing today?