Sunsets, Stars, West, Wind
Terry and I are devastated. We lost Roxy yesterday, unexpectedly. I decided to stay home today and try to deal with this loss. So far, I haven’t slept much and I miss her terribly.
So if you don’t see much from me here for a few days, don’t panic. I’m just mourning the loss of my favorite ditzy Rottweiler.
May she rest in peace until we meet again.
Click here for a page of memories and photos dedicated to Roxy.
Good old Murphy messed with my Friday workday. Too many meetings, deadlines, herding of cats, things of that nature. Nothing catastrophic occurred, but much absurdity reigned. I fairly ran to the van when my time came to leave work and head home to enjoy a long three-day weekend (my last paid holiday until Memorial Day in May). As I drove west, I wondered if the sunset would blossom into something interesting, but true to form, as I arrived home, I entered the house and completely forgot about sunsets or clouds or moons or stars.
Terry had called me earlier in the afternoon and expressed his desire to have a fire in the fireplace. The wicked north wind had been blowing incessantly for a couple of days, leaving our great room feeling chill. I rearranged some furniture safely away from the fireplace and then started carrying in armloads of wood. Since we hadn’t had any fires for over a year, the wood in the wood pile was very light and dry. I did not anticipate having any trouble starting the fire.
While the split logs began to crackle, Terry and I defrosted the remaining filling from the chicken pot pies we’d made earlier in the week. Rather than making a crust from scratch (like I normally would), we opted to use a tube of refrigerated ready-to-bake croissants instead. Even though it took less time, we both preferred my pastry, mostly because the croissants were too sweet.
The MGM channel aired the movie Valkyrie last night, which we recorded while making dinner. We started watching the movie while we ate our improvised chicken pot pies. Even though we saw this in the theatre back in 2008, I always enjoy rewatching a movie at home, where I can pause and scrutinize a scene or a frame meticulously. As an example, I loved the detailed recreation of the interior of Hitler’s Berghof home in the Bavarian Alps, none of which survived the end of World War II. And except for Tom Cruise (who has never been a favorite actor of mine), the international cast of characters delivered outstanding performances. We reluctantly stopped watching at the one hour thirty-five minute mark so I could get my cardio workout done before I got too sleepy. I did much better at Rhythm Boxing, but I still can’t beat Terry’s score on Advanced Step.
I fed the fire for a couple of hours, but eventually Terry warmed up enough that I could let it die down to coals. A pleasant evening and a great way to start the weekend.
I said goodbye to my daughter early Thursday morning because by the time I returned home from work, she would be waiting to board her plane at KCI. She did send me a couple of photos of the sunset. She brought the warm Texas winter temperatures with her in late December, and now as she flies south for the rest of the winter, she seems to be taking those milder temperatures with her, at least for one day. When I got in the van this morning, the thermometer registered barely ten degrees.
I came home to an empty house. Roxy couldn’t be bothered to stir from the hideaway bed and Apollo wouldn’t budge for Roxy’s dog bed on the floor. My dad called me about the sunset, as he and Terry were returning from KCI through Platte City and Leavenworth. While I was on the phone with him, my daughter sent me the above photo text message. No sooner than I hung up with dad, than Rachelle called to ask if I’d received her photos. So, I got to speak with her one last time before she boarded the plane. I asked her to call me as soon as she landed at Love Field in Dallas.
Terry made it home safely (this was the first time he’d driven himself since before his surgery in late December). Roxy perked up as did Apollo but neither Terry nor I could be bothered with cooking dinner. We opted for a quick supper at Pizza Hut, which was deserted. Terry ordered honey barbecue boneless wings and I ordered a thin crust Hawaiian personal pan sized pizza (of which I only ate two slices). We were back home by 6:45, ten minutes before Rachelle’s flight was scheduled to take off.
While I did my Wii Fit fitness routine, Terry returned a call to a friend who had left him a voice-mail message while he was driving back from the airport. Terry retired to the band room while I beat his score on Advanced Step and improved my Island Cycling and tried Rhythm Boxing for the first time.
We sat down to watch the latest Bones episode and got about halfway through it when Rachelle called me. It was only 8:10 p.m. (her flight was scheduled to land at 8:35). Obviously, the north wind helped send her back to Texas. Terry and I finished watching Bones and then the Rotts and I retired for the night. They both wanted to be near me because they already missed Rachelle, just like Terry and I do.
May is so far away. That’s the next time I’ll see her, when she performs her senior recital and graduates from the University of North Texas.
As I pulled into the Hallmark Corporate circular driveway, I realized, with some dismay, that the Mayor’s Christmas Tree had disappeared from it’s featured spot at Crown Center. And as I walked one of the rider’s to the lobby entrance, the two Christmas Trees that had graced the corporate lobby were also missing. Another Christmas season packed away. No more twinkling lights on trees or houses. No more hopeful, joyful carols on the radio nor piped through the overhead speakers at the grocery store. I felt deflated.
At least Hallmark waited until the official end of Christmas. Yesterday marked the twelfth day and today is traditionally celebrated as Epiphany. On January 6th, we celebrate Epiphany as a Christian feast day commemorating the revelation of God the Son as a human being in Jesus Christ. Western Christians observe principally (but not solely) the visitation of the Biblical Magi to the Baby Jesus, and thus Jesus’ physical manifestation to the Gentiles. Eastern Christians commemorate the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan River, seen as his manifestation to the world as the Son of God.
The Revised Common Lectionary for today, the Epiphany of the Lord (Year B), suggests reading Matthew 2:-12 for the Biblical narrative of the Three Wise Men:
1 In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, 2 asking, “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.” 3 When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; 4 and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 They told him, “In Bethlehem of Judea; for so it has been written by the prophet: 6 “And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who is to shepherd my people Israel.’ ” 7 Then Herod secretly called for the wise men and learned from them the exact time when the star had appeared. 8 Then he sent them to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child; and when you have found him, bring me word so that I may also go and pay him homage.” 9 When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. 11 On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they left for their own country by another road.
Other definitions of epiphany include:
“epiphany.” Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. 06 Jan. 2012. <Dictionary.com http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/epiphany>.
So here I sit, disillusioned by the passing of another Christmas season. I know that when I get home tonight, I need to pack away the Christmas decorations and dismantle the Christmas tree, storing both in the basement storage room.
Yet I am trying to initiate some enthusiasm for this new year. I continue to persevere in my quest for living healthier. Five days and counting now. It helps that everyone else in the family (including the dogs) has joined me in my Wii Fit adventure.
What I’m truly looking forward to won’t happen for nearly half a year. Rachelle will graduate from college in late May (or early June). Sometime between now and then, she’ll give her senior recital, which I plan to attend (in person instead of via live streaming).
Terry’s right hand is progressing well. The orthopedic surgeon saw him for a second followup visit this afternoon and prescribed some physical therapy and wants to see him again in six weeks. We’re still ecstatic the biopsy came back negative last week for cancer. Now begins the long grueling road to recovery and the welcome return of guitar riffs reverberating through the house.
I look forward to the ruckus with relish.
I had trouble sleeping last night. I stayed up too late watching the latest installment of Restaurant Impossible and then couldn’t get to sleep. I think I finally dozed off after midnight, but that left me only five hours before the alarm woke me up. I snoozed for ten minutes, even though I couldn’t afford to lose ten minutes out of my morning routine since Thursdays are also trash and recycle days in Lansing. To top off a great start to my morning, I cut my finger on one of the cans in the recycle bin. So now I’ll be typing awkwardly all day thanks to a bandage on my left ring finger.
The work commute got shortened by ten minutes or so this morning due to a sick child of one of the riders. Before I hit the road and picked anyone up though, I made a stop at Baristas in Lansing to wake up with a mocha. It would not be good form for me to doze off while driving everyone else to work.
Chef Rachelle fought my favorite appliance today (my bread machine) and won the battle to create pita dough. Her menu for this evening included gyros (lamb) with home made taziki sauce. Simply divine. Don’t tell the Wii I had two!
Soon after dinner, Terry and I went to City Hall to attend the City Council meeting (I will post a complete report in a separate post tomorrow). Agenda item number seven directly affected us (search for my previous post on the no parking zone sign installed last month on our court). We sat through a report on the Kansas Sampler Festival and the presentation of the regional airport site selection study by Coffman Associates. Interestingly, the ‘prime’ site suggested for the airport is on 600 acres just a half mile or mile south of our house, between Gilman and McIntire Roads.
When we finally got tothe parking agenda item, I was relieved to see a good bit of discussion and debate among the council members. Obviously, the voice of the citizens raised in thier wards had been heard loud and clear. The ordinace (No. 900) passed with two dissenting votes. The meeting quickly adjourned soon after and I asked the secretary to provide me with a copy of the ordinance, which would have been helpful to review before the meeting. She agreed to email me a copy.
I forgot to mention in yesterday’s post the fantastic dinner my daughter cooked for us last night. She whipped up a batch of spinach lasagna roll-ups from scratch, including four of them without any cheese just for me. Exceptionally delicious and spicy (thanks to a mishap with the red pepper flake dispenser). I can’t find the exact recipe she used online, but many of the ones I found sounded very similar to what she did from memory. My small contribution to dinner included my home-made sourdough re-purposed as garlic butter and Parmesan toast. I also helped create our pre-dinner salad course with organic baby spring mix, red peppers, green onions and a bit of my home-made raspberry vinaigrette dressing.
I wished everyone I met a very Happy New Year! 2012 has arrived, whether I was ready or not. I even forgot to photograph the first sunrise, but at least according to my dad (who arrived at my house just minutes before said sunrise), the photogenicity of the dawn was suspect (i.e. no clouds).
Dad had dropped by so early on New Year’s Day to say goodby to Derek and Royna, who planned to return to North Texas. I was the only one awake in the house (normal even on non-holiday days). I woke Derek up so he could say goodbye to his grandfather and soon after Dad returned north to his home in Leavenworth.
Very much later in the morning, everyone finally woke and began packing. At ten ’til noon, they boarded their rental and left Lansing. They had lunch with their friends and eventually headed south towards their home. I received Royna’s final Tweet a bit after ten o’clock while I was drifting off to sleep when they finally made it safely home.
I treated Terry to Planet Sub at a ‘new’ location I was previously unaware of on Johnson Drive. He often complains about my easy access to Planet Sub (only a block from where I work). After enjoying our Super Heroes, we drove back to the Legends (we passed it on the way to lunch) and enriched Nebraska Furniture Mart by purchasing a Wii (with Super Mario Kart for Terry) and the Wii Fit Plus bundle (and an extra controller) for me. We spent the rest of the afternoon setting up the Wii and fighting my Denon AV receiver (which doesn’t automatically convert Composite video to HDMI so I had to find an RCA cable in the black hole we call a basement storage room). I spent some time trying out the balance board only to discover, once Rachelle got home, that I had the board facing backwards (so no wonder all the balance activities kept failing for me).
We finally took a break from Wii Fit and sat down to relax and watch the latest episode of Leverage on TNT. I wondered off to bed soon after, forgetting to finish typing up this blog entry that I started at the crack of dawn on New Year’s Day. I will publish it before the crack of dawn today, no doubt.
I pray 2012 brings all of us peace and prosperity.
I got the best gift of all . . . my family. My daughter flew in from North Texas this morning. My son and his wife arrived on Christmas Eve, so today I had all of them together, as well as my father. We enjoyed dinner and then opened all of the presents. The dogs got a treat as well, since both Derek and Rachelle got down on the floor and played with them.
But tomorrow I return to work (for the rest of the week) so Terry will get to enjoy their company exclusively.
I’m sharing with you an angel (and other ornaments) in a Christmas tree.
Click here for the slideshow of the rest of the album.
My true love gave to me … a tour of the Surgery waiting room, holding and recovery area at Menorah Medical Center. Meanwhile, he was prepped for surgery and waited and waited and waited and waited and finally entered the operating room at around 2:30 p.m. In about half the time originally mentioned by the surgeon (thirty minutes instead of an hour), he was in the recovery room and already awake and alert. Even though he had fasted (both food and all liquids) since before midnight (on the first day of Hanukkah), the anesthesiologist and my husband decided a general anesthetic was not necessary for the surgery to his right hand. A local block for the right arm, coupled with some sedative, provide sufficient. Which made recovery faster and relieved my anxiety immensely.
About an ninety minutes after the surgery, Terry was dressed and ready for the road trip home. The nurse sent me off to fetch the car while she wheeled him out to the entrance in a wheelchair. We left the hospital just in time to catch a gorgeous sunset and all the rush hour traffic along I-435 that southern Johnson County is so famous for. We still made it home before dark but not before the sun set on the shortest day of the year (Winter Solstice 2011). He’s doing as well as can be expected this morning. His attempts to contact his surgeon (and doctor) about some medication concerns (and some swelling this morning) are frustrated by the Friday before Christmas Eve short-staffing epidemic.
Thanks to everyone for their prayers and thoughts for us doing this stressful time. We greatly appreciate it.
