Sunday, December 4, 2011

So, Friday morning came and I felt nice and calm.  I listened to the three presentations before mine and wasn't embarassed by what I had to say at all.  I was a bit nervous (my director told me she could tell when I was getting nervous, the flush was creeping up my neck into my face) but my piece flowed easily and I actually had to cut my talk short when they flashed the 3 Minute and then 1 Minute signs at me.  I think it was successful.  And it's over.

Friday night Pk and I went to the fabric store to get some fabric for a couple of gifts I want to make.  I didn't have to wait in line to get my fabric cut or anything.  It was amazing.  I'm going to check out the old sewing machine to see if it works and if it does, I'll use it instead of pulling my machine out from its corner next to the dresser. 

Saturday, we decided to go to a christmas lights warehouse called Kindy's.  I included a link only so you could see the difference between their online presence and their brick and mortar store.  Their website looks clean and neat.  Their store in South Philadelphia is a different story. It just screams "prosperous holiday business" at you, doesn't it?  We had heard that this was THE place to go for holiday decorations so we got there at 10 am and there was a line waiting for the doors to open.

Inside was decidedly underwhelming.  The shelves were not as stocked as one would wish and the variety was less than ideal.

They did have trees in every color of the rainbow (and some that would put a rainbow to shame). 

We bought some new lights for the front of the house and the windows. We should be putting them up today but we are tired and in need of some down time so probably next weekend.

After the excitement of Kindy's, we went to the Franklin Mills Mall.  It's an outlet mall and about a mile long on one floor.  You start at one end and if you're lucky, you have someone else pick you up at the other.  If you're not lucky or smart, you make your purchases on the way down and then have to schlepp them back.  We are not smart.  We spent a few hours walking the mall.  It wasn't as crowded as I thought it would be.  And some outlets (Neiman Marcus, for example) are still expensive.  40% off a 500 dollar dress is still a lot of money.  We did better at the Old Navy outlet and a few others. 

We got home and I fell asleep for an hour before going to get my hair trimmed and shaped. My hair stylist asked "how are you doing with letting it grow in?"  My response was "well, I have been tempted to take the scissors to it several times but have managed to stop myself".  She trimmed and shaped it up and while it doesn't look much different, it feels better.

Today we got up and went to the grocery store and then to get our tree.  That's El standing next to the tree that came home with us and is currently taking up a good portion of the living room.  If you think this is big, you should have seen the first one Peter Kevin saw and said he wanted! 

This one is shaped beautifully (aren't they all any more?) and is a nice size.  It didn't need to be cut down much to fit.

We also bought some pointsettias and some star cookies.  And I had an odd experience.  I was in our downstairs storage area where the curtains were open.  A reflection on my glasses looked like Hobbes walking across the room for just a flash.  It took my breath away and it took me a minute to remember it couldn't be Hobbes.  I didn't believe how sad that made me.  God, I miss him.

I did bring a new animal into the house.  Look at that face!  Could you leave him on the shelf?  I couldn't.  Especially since he has a Santa hat that matches mine and Pk's.  If you push a button his hand, he hops around and sings a holiday song.  It makes me laugh out loud. 

Kate told me he was cute but was quick to add that I should give him to Em.  I think she was afraid I was going to give him to someone and she didn't want it to be her so she threw Em under the bus.  I had to explain to her that he is mine and I am keeping him.

Pk is watching a soccer game and I'm going to watch some Dr Who dvds I got in the mail.  The laundry is going and there will be some barbecue chicken for dinner with some macaroni salad.  The lovely, warm day seems to require a summertime type meal.

Work should be fairly quiet this week since one of 'my' doctors is on vacation all week (for which I am very grateful).  Next week I'll be at a conference on helping people find some spirituality to help them in their recovery.  I'm signed up for workshops in 'bringing art and music into recovery' and 'using spirituality in recovery'.  They both sound like they'll be interesting and not heavy or deadly serious. 

Life is pretty good, isn't it?

8 comments:

amy said...

I'm glad your presentation went well! Good for you.

Our tree is smallish and wonky, and some branches at the top remind me of tentacles. This is the result of over an hour of walking through tree fields with three children, one of whom was adamant that we not kill any trees, and one of whom threw multiple fits over WHICH tree to get. The youngest was just cold. She's the easy one.

Louiz said...

Glad the presentation went well. We don't have anything like Kindys here in the UK. We have to traipse from shop to shop hoping someone will sell us Christmas lights (well last year I did, everyone seems to be selling them this year!).

Rose Red said...

So glad your presentation went well and you didn't run short of things to say. I think we are all our own worse critics when it comes to things like this.

I think the idea of introducing art and music and spirituality into recovery is a great thing to do. Gives a different focus for people and an outlet as well.

Anonymous said...

im so glad your presentation went well. no matter how many times i do it i still get that red flush too. i love the sound of your holiday preparations. reading about your northern christmas makes me long for snow. altho its not warm at all here at the moment, so i should be careful! the conference sounds really interesting, i hope you learn heaps.

Kaye said...

Congrats on the presentation!
Love the tree--ours are the same way: they always look so small until we get them home!

Saren Johnson said...

That's a big tree. We haven't done anything yet. I'm hoping the denial will last a bit longer.

bells said...

well done! Presentations are hard if you're not a natural at it (I'm certainly not and find it really hard). So glad it's done and you're pleased with it.

Seeing a ghost of a love one or pet like that is eerie. It's happened to me. It definitely unnerves you for a moment.

roxie said...

Bless your dear heart! Did you see Bones this week? She was telling Seely that there is a theory that our perception of time is an illusion. All time is present, right now. So you didn't actually see a ghost of Hobbes. You just got a peep into a currently existing time when he was scampering through the room. - --Hmmm-I mustn't have understood the concept very well. This all made more sense on TV. I'm doing my best to give you a trans-continental hug.

Hooray on your presentation. Good to have that over.

The upcoming seminar sounds great. Art and music and spirituality in recovery makes SUCH sense!

Hope you don't overdo the holiday. That tree is going to take a ladder and a few cases of ornaments!

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