Just Another Manic Monday...

My alarm went off in plenty of time, I even got up early enough.  Went kinda downhill from there, though. 
On my walk, my phone would NOT behave.  Pandora kept cutting out,so I switched to Amazon mp3 player, playing songs stored on phone, still cuts out.  Endomondo, my distance tracker, went berzerk and about doubled my distance for some unknown reason, so I just gave up and walked unmonitored (except by my faithful Fitbit) and in silence.  Miss Bear more when I walk without the music.  Keep listening for his tags, or his toenails on the pavement. 
Got to my voice lesson only to discover that they are working on my teacher's street, and getting in and out is a real challenge.  Made it all right.  Her door was shut, and I had to wait for her to let me in .  Problem with that was mosquitoes, and one of the kind I am allergic to managed to bite me.  Thank God for the Benadryl cream I carry.
  My lesson was challenging and fun.  There is a recital on Sunday evening, and I am not so sure Karen and I will survive that aria she wants me to sing.  It's a marathon for both of us.  The duet with Adria will be beautiful, as long as I keep count properly.  I am also learning two Gilbert and Sullivan pieces.  Now Poor Wand'ring One is stuck in my ear and I can't get it out.

Off to the commissary, where I manage to stick pretty close to my list and come in under budget, but without a few items.  I had walk to the corner store after I got home and got everything put away because one of the half-gallons of milk I bought evidently hadn't been sealed properly.  It had leaked in the shopping bag, and to top it off, had gone bad.  Had to clean off all the other stuff in the bag with it, then wash the bag.  (One of my good thermal re-usable bags.)  SO, I walked to the store, bought the milk, some bananas and some strawberries.  $8. 66 worth, and walked home.  Got the strawberries cleaned and put away, came in here to rest and check Twitter for a few minutes, then had to go start dinner. 
Gee, such a thrilling day. 
Actually, it is.  It is a lot better than the last Monday when I went to the commissary.  Monday, May 20.  That day, I barely got the groceries put away before I had to go hide in the closet and hope for the best.  Took my husband Matt five hours to find a way home around the damage that day.  My friend lost her house that day.  Our poor little city suffered a setback such as it had not seen in 14 years. We lost our hospital, some good people, two schools, far too many children, and lots of things.

Our own house survived, and so did both of us.  The groceries I bought and put away that day survived to be used, at least for the most part.  Some of them were canned goods that are still causing trouble in the pantry.  Some of the frozen meat remains to be used yet.  We are eating a lot less these days, and last month was the first grocery shopping trip since we started the serious dietary changes.

As I sat huddled alone in that closet, I wasn't really alone.  I had my phone with me, and was tweeting about the storm with various people.  My sweet friend Fiona in Australia was especially worried about me, and she was the first one I tweeted to let her know that storm had passed and I was OK.  I messaged my brother on Face Book, and he let our family know.  Even some of the celebrities I follow asked how I was doing.  Rather surreal, actually.  To think how small the world has become because of our electronic devices. I also had a librarian friend in England checking on me regularly.  It helped me greatly to have these messages from afar on that day.  To know other people were out there and caring about what happened to me, even though I was all alone in the closet, I had company.  (Thanks, guys.  I know some of you read this blog once in awhile.  It means a lot.  You mean a lot to me.  Not always easy for me to say that to people, even though I daresay most of the ones I love know it.)

So, on this Manic Monday, when one of my favorite celebrities followed another fan, and I had so much to do, I am grateful for a quiet dinner in my own house, with my husband home at his usual time, and my girlfriend's cats (tornado refugees) all here making this place a happy home.

Yeah, any time I got too bothered by all the stuff I had to do today, I just remembered the 20th of May, and today felt one hell of a lot better.   Here's hoping Friday night is quiet, too.
As Ever,
Katie

For I am done with excitement
Tired of alarms and stresses
I could use a little abatement
Of the weather's excesses.