Nearly Buried Treasure

Gainesville

Still cold here, but not as. Big box arrived from Crate&Barrel today-- anyone want to claim responsibility? Another box arrived, and it was talking and giggling whenever the box was moved: Bill scored a new Tickle Me Elmo for Megan via an Amazon partner.

I did a bit more shifting of sh--... uh, stuff in the ground floor attic to make room for a tree, then vacuumed (with the big heavy noisy one) the area. Would have dragged the pieces out and started putting them together, except I didn't want to get grungy before the party-thing.

And what a strange little thing it was. I had no idea what to wear, but figured that the nice little fitted red suede-like jacket would be festive enough. Black t-neck, short pleated black and white skirt, black tights, black heels. It worked, but I was the only woman there in a short skirt-- most were in slacks with a glittery or Christmas-themed top. That would have been much more comfortable. Next time I'll be smarter about it.

Some nice conversations. And I was reminded that I have to interview myself next week for a newsletter-- a chore I put off just after retirement. If it's got to happen, better to have some minimal control over it.

"Fund Raiser" meant we were expected to visit the ceremonial Gator and feed him with a check. Which we did.Turns out that in addition to raising orchids (the 60's tract house was fronted on two sides with a make-shift greenhouse for them), John also collects gators of every size and variety, and the UF type were actually in the minority. Another reminder to be very very careful about collecting anything unusual but not valuable-- after a certain point, the collection develops a magnetic force of its own, and then it's too late. Be it owls, angels, frogs, rabbits, trolls, lighthouses, whatever, they will arrive to plague you the rest of your days and probably haunt those of your unsuspecting progeny as well.

I only spent 20-30 minutes today twisting the damn cube. I call that a win (that is, I didn't waste more time on it). I'm no closer to even a basic mini-epiphany than ever. I know it's there, though, and I will not give up. Or at least I will not go quietly.

On the plus side of the brain-wars, I did today's 5-star (hardest) Sudoku with relative ease.

Got the weekly menu plan in place this afternoon, but no time to shop. Bill is still, as he calls it, "sub-clinical" with his cold, so I thawed out leftovers from a recent crock pot beef burgundy and turned it into an approximation of Tuscan Soup (minestrone) by adding cans of Italian stewed tomatoes, light red kidney beans and beef broth, plus 2 cups of frozen mixed vegetables. It was astonishingly good! Much better than the original dish, in fact. And wonderful comfort food for a semi-sick person on a cold night.

Sorry to hear you're having sleep problems, Mom. Maybe you should try getting up and sitting/sleeping in your chair when you wake up at night. I read an article recently about sleeplessness that suggested the sometimes just a change of place can help: a couch, or a bed in another room.

Yes, Christmas cards are slower than ever this year. Got the first three today. Guess it's time to actually get some and think about what has happened over the past year.

We picked up the mail at the P.O. Box on the way home tonight, and buried amid the huge heap was a newsletter from the Cal Music Department-- I've never gotten one before, and it was so miserably mis-addressed, I realized I must have a friend in the local post office who made the multiple connections in order to deliver it. There were mentions of 5-6 of my favorite teachers from that era-- some dead, some very much alive-- and news of a new music library in a separate building. The library space where I spent so much time studying, first for my Russian exams, then for music courses, will now be turned into a small performance space-- it overlooks Faculty Glade, one of the sacrosanct campus places when I was there, and still there. An event will be held in February to honor a teacher who arrived as I was leaving: Richard Crocker. I was in his first class. It was a joy just to be there and hear him enthuse and sing, especially Gregorian chants. I worked very hard (actual research!) on a paper for his class, and he rewarded me by drawing a full page cartoon of a dragon on my title page (appropriate to the Bach cantata I wrote about). Dear God, I hope that paper is somewhere in the trunks of my college stuff, but even if not, it's fresh in my memory. I need to find out when in February that is going to happen, as I might actually be in The Area.

Well, where did that come from. A chance piece of mail, nearly overlooked in the tidal wave of catalogs. Boys and girls, be sure and check carefully through your paper mail. And your email too. Nice things could be buried there.