Anew

Let the countdown begin. . . we’re bidding farewell to a year that has given us happiness, brought us some sadness, and provided some incredible memories and lessons. I feel certain 2012 will do the same. And as corny as it may sound, I always look forward to starting anew and welcoming a new year gives us that opportunity, even if it is only symbolic. Come on 2012, I’m ready.

Tame

A day of errands followed by dinner with my parents in celebration of my mother’s birthday. I tamed my tongue and enjoyed the visit.

Exactly

Today is exactly what I wanted to do on my vacation. I had a relaxing morning followed by an afternoon of “hanging out”. I met a fellow knitter and close, close friend for some knitting and talking. . . more talking than knitting. . . at our local coffee shop. We stayed tucked in the back corner, catching up, gabbing and people watching. We always have the bestest conversations and I find myself telling her things I don’t even tell myself; she’s that trustworthy.

My coffee companion soon had to head home, but I was joined by friends visiting from out of town, left a bit homeless after some family plans kinda fell through. It was a chance to really, really talk about all that is going on in their lives, some of which broke my heart. The good news is that we were able to host them this evening for some relaxation, some distraction and some great conversation. It felt good all around.

Changes

I spent today taking control. Isn’t that what you do after you feel threatened by anyone or anything. I made a to-do list, went after those items and decided that the whole thing was over and I was on my way to forgetting it. I did, however, replace some outdoor lights and caught myself jumping at noises. This too shall pass.

A night out with friends from afar was wonderful, complete with sitting in the window of the tiny restaurant, catching up, good wine and leisurely conversation. We were joined by another dear and golden friend. We tried to move our party to the coffee shop, but alas, it was closed, so we made our way to our house. It was nice to hang out here, nice to fill the place with laughter and good friends. To be surrounded by those that you’ve known for so very long, that know you well and are like minded. . . it’s a gift, a real gift. Even the cats agreed.

Safe

Someone tried to break in. There’s a whole series of events around that, but suffice to say, someone tried to break into our house. And I’m a little un-nerved. For some reason it was ok when I thought that perhaps the man Cynical spied trying to burglarize the cars was doing only that, but when I realized he had also apparently tried to get into the house, and that’s probably what, in fact, woke me up, then I got a little freaked.

And this surprised me. I lived alone for years. I came and went all hours of the night and thought little of it. But now I feel vulnerable.

Of course this is complicated by the fact that the plumber must come tomorrow to rectify the gurgling of our drains; that water has been apparently coming down the wall of our guest room and that I fell down a few of our stairs.

I called a plumber; pleaded with my dad to help me solve the problem that is our guest room wall and amended our police report.

I also completely denied the entire situation by having lunch with a friend and seeing “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”. That didn’t quit do the trick, so I started a hot bath, poured in my newly gifted bath salts, opened a Blue Moon, put my ITouch on shuffle and settled into the warm water. . . and it worked. It’s true, a long, hot bath can cure most ails. After a few minutes I quit sitting straight up sure I had heard some culprit trying to open the door, steal my costume jewelry and fudge or see me naked in said tub. Perhaps more bath salts or more Blue Moon might help in the future.

Day

I loaded up with new music, dropped the GPS into the seat next to me and hit the road. It’s been a while since I took a little road trip on my own, even though it was a short one. We met up for lunch. It’s been ages since we’ve been together and it was a little awkward, but a nice chance to visit.

Christmas

Merry Christmas to you and yours. I hope your day was peaceful, blessed and memorable.

Eve

This our day. . . mine and Cynical’s. We spent it together, pretending Santa has visited and taking a leisurely morning, followed by lunch, just the two of us. I must have been a very, very good girl as Santa was super generous and thoughtful. . . but then again, I did pick out all of my gifts this year.

Our night was filled with a beautiful church service, hanging out with family, yummy homemade pizza, Words with Friends and an earlier bedtime than I anticipated.

Calm

It feels a bit like the calm before the storm; but it feels good nonetheless. We stayed up much too late last night and I got up much too early to suit me, so I began my day with a mid-morning nap. Eventually I found food and took a shower. Our afternoon was spent with my sister-in-law and the littlest one. We stacked spools, ate Clementines, jumped on the bed, giggled and laughed. Eventually the smallest member of our party was in need of a little break, as I suspect was her mother. I fear we don’t have a very child-friendly house and that makes for some stressful moments for moms. I hate that, we really don’t mind little hands and their curiosity.

Seems upon their departure Cynical was ready for a nap, and I thought, foolishly, that I was up for a movie. Instead, apparently I needed another nap. We were awakened by a call to dinner. We scampered around and met my family for Mexican food and a few margaritas. My nephew convinced us we needed gelato and we were easily swayed.

We played Words with Friends with our favorite 16-year-old before he headed home and we headed to bed. Too many naps resulted in me staying up later than I had anticipated while Cynical snoozed in our nice warm bed.

Balance

I balanced my day between some quiet knitting time and hanging out. After a doctor’s appointment, I knew going home would only result in doing some housework, so I stole away to the coffee shop for some quiet and knitting before meeting a friend for lunch.

Afterward I was back at the coffee shop to visit with my brother, his wife, their little one and some mutual friends.

The night was full, we hung out, again with mutual friends, new and old. A good night, but capped by yet again by his need to feel better by correcting me on my own story. . . The very least I can hope is at least he got something out of that, I didn’t.