I had a pretty good Mother’s Day. The only one of my kids who was here was my “daughter in law”, John’s girlfriend, Megan. But both John and Al called, and my first foster daughter, Kaylah, posted a really nice mom’s day message on Facebook.
I worked till about 9:30 on Saturday night, grading in one of my online courses, so I wouldn’t have to do any work work on Sunday – and I really kept it to a few emails and reading John’s thesis paper.
We had bacon and egg pizza and rhubarb almond coffee cake and berries for breakfast. Putting sticks of rhubarb on top of the cake looks good, but they get a little thready, and they slide off when you cut into the cake with your fork.
I did laundry, but I haven’t folded any of it yet. I went for a little bike ride and bought fizzy water. I got a new pannier last week, so I’m still kind of checking it out, throwing heavy things, like six packs of fizzy or beer, into it. On Saturday we went to the farmers’ market and my rear tire went flat on the way home. I made it home, just. It was actually probably my comeuppance for being a really bad girlfriend. Mark got me a new iPhone 6 for early Mothers Day – we went an picked it on Friday afternoon. Right before my tire went flat, I said, “You know I love the iPhone and thanks so much, but what I really wanted for Mothers Day was for you to clean the chain on my bike, and adjust the derailleurs”. “Oh just take it in”, he said, in exasperation. I thought, since I’d made it home, I might be able to make it to the bike shop, so I pumped up the tire, but only got two blocks by the time it was flat. I walked my bike home, and shoved it in the car, and took it to be repaired. A couple of hours and $21.50 and it was smooth riding again, no crunchy gears, and Mark didn’t have to do it. Although when I went out Sunday I kept hallucinating the tire going flat again, but I think it was just bumpy roads.
Marked down, and I bought it with my REI patronage rebate – so free. I had to pay shipping, because they wouldn’t do in-store pickup for this – but it still cost less than $35 even with the shipping added
When I got home, I settled I to watch TV. I drank 2 bottles of porter, and about 2 fingers of whiskey, and watched Game of Thrones, Mad Men, and the first episode of Grace and Frankie.
I woke up on Monday realizing that I’d left a load of laundry in the dryer – it was OK – and I hadn’t paid bills – and I just felt kind of cruddy, maybe because of drinking my dinner. Or because my seemingly perpetual sinus infection or allergies, or whatever is making my head hurt so much. I was going to go out for a walk but it was cold and rainy. I paid bills instead, and puttered, and then by the time I was ready to leave it was so rainy I took the bus.
I took a midday break and went to look for myself in Occupy Discovery – an art installation where one of the UW Art faculty, Faisal Abdu’Allah, had photographed people – or had them send in their own images – holding up 11×17 sheets of paper with the slogans of their choice. I found myself but it only added to my general malaise of the day. I thought I was having a good hair day when I got my picture taken back in April, and I tried to compose my features, not clamp my lips together. But I still looked pained, old lady grooves around my mouth, droopy and pouchy. He printed the photos B&W which didn’t help me, either – I think I still have good color, but that was taken out in the B&W. I tried to make up for it by practicing selfies. I’m still really bad at it.
Bathroom with backdrop of drying clothes – those old lady grooves around the mouth are showing
Me in the kitchen (happier?) on Tuesday morning
