Too Many Distractions

Writing every day is a discipline  that eludes me quite often.  There are simply too many other bright and shiny things going on that do not involve staring at the blank screen and trying to find something worthwhile to write.
There are also worries to distract.  The cat is not behaving normally, and is not eating as she should.  This is troubling, not only because it could be the sign of a very serious problem, but because that cat has always been the routine, the one demanding that household order MUST continue no matter what the silly humans involved believe.  She has always been a motivating force, our Madame.  The vet wants to see her again, and we are to call if anything new is going on before then, but my husband does not want to wait.  He thinks we should get the x-rays now, so we know what we're up against.  Poor kitty Skye is napping and pestering, but not as much pestering or playing as usual. 
The economy in general going to you know where in a handbasket because of our demented Congress isn't helping. 
My husband has been bitten by a spider of some sort, and has an infection from it.  This involves antibiotics and also a small bit of wound care.  (Which he can't do himself, so I get to do it.  He's a very brave man to let my squeamish self take care of him.  I can handle it, usually,quite calmly and efficiently, but on the inside, I am cringing and saying "Eeeek!")

There is a vague sense of doom overlying a lot of life these days. Or maybe we just feel that way because we've been rehearsing two Requiems since January.  The music is beautiful, but the subject is a bit depressing.  Tomorrow is the concert, and we can bid farewell to Mr. Rutter's Requiem, and the arrangement he did of the Faure Requiem.   Next on the concert agenda for Master Chorale is Opera choruses and arias.  Matt and I are pretty good at a few arias and duets.  My voice seems to like Mozart.  Opera at least should be fun and diverting in a good way. 
Also, it IS Lent, after all.  A somber season for those of us in the more Liturgical Christian denominations.  That is why the two Requiems are very appropriate to sing right now.  Rest eternal grant them.   Light eternal shine upon them, and give them peace.  We have lost many in this country lately to disaster and tragic acts.  For me, tomorrows concert will be a chance to ask for peace for those who were lost in hurricane Sandy, in Sandy Hook, and others we have lost in more common ways. 

I also have a newer version of the Nook reader to play with.  It is more of a tablet than the Nook Color ever was, and I have been having fun getting to know it.  The latest of the Psalm 23 Mysteries is out, and I devoured that on my new Nook in a couple of hours.  I do that to find out what's going to happen, and then I go back and really enjoy it, soaking in more detail.   I am now hoping the next one comes out on time, because I really, really want to know what happens now.  
I have worked a little with the Bodhran, trying to find a way to get it tuned right so it isn't so strident.  (It involves figuring out just how much to dampen the drum head with a moist paper towel to get the desired mellower tone.  It has been very dry lately, and the skin on the drum head is very taut. Too much so.) Figuring out how to strike the drum correctly with the tipper is also proving a challenge.  Going to have to spend a lot more time with the dvd going over that.
So, as the birthday vacation draws to a close, I have had the chance to have at least a little fun, and I have learned a little something.  All in all, it's been a pretty good week, on balance.