The Annual Trip To Mom's

On this very warm October Friday, I am finishing some laundry and preparing for the annual trip to my Mom's house in Alabama.  This is not our family home, she sold that in the 90s and moved to  a little town in Southern Alabama, next door to her sister, my Aunt Margaret.  It isn't far from where she and several of my aunts and uncles grew up.  (The family home was in Los Angeles County, California, in a little unincorporated area called Hacienda Heights.  At least MY version of the family home.  Moved there when I was 14 and all the others were already grown and gone.  I finished Jr. high, high school, and college living in that house.) (The older kids call the Compton house the family home, 'cause that's where they finished school.  By the time I reached Jr. High, Compton was no longer a good place to be.)

At any rate, I already mailed two boxes of clothes ahead to my Mom's so I'll have stuff to wear to do all the yard work we're going to do.  I left some stuff there last year, but it is all probably too big for me now.  I've lost 30 pounds since December.  (20 of it since May.) I have to pack all the stuff I might need en route into my huge purse so I don't have to mess with a carry on.  This usually works pretty well.

It is late evening now, and my preparations are almost done.  My sister is worrying about thunderstorms delaying her plane.  Sigh.  They'll come or they won't, it's the weather in the Plains.  Usually don't pop up bad until later in the afternoon than when we'll be there.  Last Saturday, they didn't start until after 4 pm., at least as far as I remember. (I was a bit, uh, distracted last Saturday.)

It is now one week and two days since I wrote the paragraphs above.  I have survived the journey to Mom's, the week of yard work, and the journey home.  Still trying to get my mind and body back on normal schedule.  Mom's house is in the same time zone, but the schedule is vastly different when dealing with an elderly relative.  Earlier up and earlier to bed.  Also had to get up and out to work early, before it got too hot. 

The weather is part of my disorientation right now.  I left warm temperatures behind here in Oklahoma, to go to even warmer (and more humid) temperatures in southern Alabama.  I came home to true Oklahoma Autumn.  Cool, sunny days and cold nights.  Beautiful clear, bluer than blue skies, and very bright sparkly starry nights.  I find myself contemplating taking the winter things out of hibernation and putting the summer ones away.  Not a good chore, as many of my winter workout things will no longer fit.  They will be far too large.  Now, this is a good thing on one hand, because it shows that I have lost 30 pounds.  It is a bad thing in that I really don't want to spend more money on clothes right now.  I had to upgrade my phone during the short week I was home before going to Alabama, because the venerable Droid X2 decided that it was done during our weekend at Dallas ComiCon Fan Days.  (Where I finally got to meet Ron Perlman.)  This is not an inexpensive undertaking.  I am still not sure how much my new bill will be every month.  The new phone, however, is wonderful.  Except for the fact that the wireless charging back won't fit in my Otter Box Defender case, it's perfect.  So, I have to do without the wireless charging capability until I can find a protective case that will work with it.  I really prefer the Defender cases, though, as they really make the phone easier to handle, and they keep it in almost new condition. (Plus my new case is really pretty.  Purple outer case with a seafoam green inner case.)


I also have to do the paperwork.  Bills to be paid, budget fussed.  Email cleared up.  Sigh.  Made chili for dinner.  (No heads, SOA fans, I promise.  I discuss cooking with Michael Ornstein sometimes, NOT with Chucky.)  Only  unusualness in this chili was about a cup of Left Hand Milk Stout. Added some depth to the flavor.

It felt so different to be out of my native adult environment, away from my husband, and with my Mom and my sister, who both tend to think of me sometimes as still being a very spoiled child.  I will admit to being a bit spoiled, but I am no longer a child.  I think it surprises my sister every year when we start all this work, exactly how much I CAN do.  I know when I was a child I was pretty useless except as an ornament or a distraction.  These days, I have experience running a household, often for long periods of time on my own, and in a foreign country far from family.  I have experience dealing with the public, handling all sorts of transactions, and performing for an audience.  I can also successfully navigate the bureaucracy of the military that affects my life.  I am confident in my ability to do my job and in my relationships with others.  Why, then, do I become a very insecure and fearful person around my family?  Perhaps because I know they will never really understand a lot of things about me.  I am the different one in this bunch, the sci-fi and fantasy fan, the musical one, the poet, the daydreamer.  They never did understand my non-sequitur comments, never could follow my admittedly eccentric train of thought.  Matthew can.  He's always been able to figure me out.  One reason I married the man.  He knows me. And he loves me anyway.
Another thing that bothered me was the way this trip made me reflect on leave taking.   When someone leaves this life, they can do so in a number of different ways.  They can go unexpectedly and suddenly, like my nephew, and send us all into shock and grief.  They can go out fighting to the last, like Melodie did, brave, inspiring, and striving to their last breath, or they can go little at a time, the way Mom is.  She is going to be 90 on her next birthday, and she is growing weaker, and her mind a bit fainter every time I see her.  She forgets little things, she forgets she just told you something, and so tells you again.  And again.  She doesn't cook, or quilt, or even read much anymore.  All were things she loved to do.  She has trouble walking, and spends most of her day just hanging out in her recliner, with old TV shows re-running in the background.
My sister is getting older, too, but she is as spirited and stubborn as ever.  Her father's daughter.  She will never really be old, I don't think.  Too much attitude.  Even if she is a grandma.
As for the work we did this week, well, I DO have a few pictures.

Azalea by Mom's driveway, during.

Same azalea after.

Circle of Azaleas, after trimming.

Sister Susie trimming.

Front of house, before

We did the back yard, too, but I am having trouble getting these photos to behave, so I think I will cut my losses and end this blog entry now.  I still have a lot to get done before resuming my regularly scheduled life tomorrow.

The Most Fun I've Had In Years

This past weekend, I had a chance to meet some people face to face that I only interact with online.  The fact that one of them  is my favorite actor was icing on the cake.
There are about a dozen or so of us Ron Perlman fans who follow Ron on Twitter and talk to each other all the time.  He tweets us back sometimes, and it's fun for all of us.
Three of us girls met up in Dallas for the Dallas Comic Con Fan Days.  Ron was appearing at the con.  It was so much fun to meet in person and get to put voices with the faces and words we see on the screen.  (I mean, we all know what Ron sounds like, but now he knows how we sound and we know each other's voices now.)  Not that we had much time to talk to Ron, but he made what time he could for us.
Anyway, for us girls there was lots of laughter, staying up late and talking, wandering the Dealer's Room and getting separated and either DMing or calling each other to get back together.  There were little happenings that became jokes, and it was just like being a teenager again for three days. 
My poor, long suffering spouse was our "handler", keeping us from walking into people, Daleks, Hulks, and zombies.  Unfortunately, he couldn't protect Mary from Kelly's Damn You Autocorrect moment involving a certain penguin.  (You don't want to know, trust me.)

There was pizza, and a hash tag game, and way too much silliness.  It was a blast.  I laughed so hard my sides hurt, and my cheeks hurt, and my abs got a real workout.  Kelly and Mary had never been to a con before, and Matt and I hadn't been in about 30 years.  My, how technology has improved things!  The last time we went to a con, there were only a few PCs, and they were dumber than the average microwave is these days.  There were no cell phones, no tablets, and certainly no Internet. This con was a lot bigger than the last Creation Con we went to in L.A.  It was also less hectic and crowded, which is odd, since there were a LOT of people there.

In the Dealer's room, I primarily focused on acquiring buttons for my library lanyard.  (Gotta keep my Geek Girl cred current, you know?)  I got several and some to share.  I also got some movie posters. I even found an insulated cup for coffee that is cobalt blue and has the Star Trek TOS command insignia on it.  It's really neat!  Matt got a couple of really nice books and had a large Pacific Rim poster sent home.  (We didn't want it to get ruined.)
 Of course all of us girls got Ron to sign our photos.  I got one signed for a young man who works with me who is in Basic Training for the Oklahoma National Guard as I write this.  I told him I would get it for him and frame it for him so it would be safe until he got back from Basic.  He is really excited about it.  I scanned the picture and posted it to his Face Book page.  I got lots of DMs  from him, and he tweeted his thanks to Ron, also.  Hope it cheers him up when he gets bogged down in PT and training and being away from home. He won't have Internet access while he's there.  Guess I'll have to write him actual letters once they tell us where we can send them.  (It's OK, when I was really into Fandom, the U.S. Mail was the only way we had to communicate and share "text files".  These letters and stories often required extra postage, which on a typical fan's restricted budget was a bit of a burden.  This spawned many buttons and stickers that said "The Post Office is a Klingon Plot!")

The main thing I take away from this weekend is how interconnected this world has become.  Never before would it have been possible for fans and their favorites to be able to communicate like we can now.  Not all celebrities are going to be comfortable with social media, but for those that are, they can really get a sense of who their fans are, and why they are fans.  Good things to know.
I also had my good judgement confirmed.  I just knew Kelly and Mary were great people, just from conversing online.  I was right, they are great people, even more fun to talk with in person.  It's also good to have it confirmed yet again that Ron Perlman is every bit as warm, witty and charming in reality as we always suspected he was.  I cannot find the words, which for me is a bit unusual, to say how much it meant just to spend a few minutes chatting with him, and being able to tell him in person how much his online presence has cheered me up in the midst of all the stuff that has gone on this year.  Because of Ron, I have a group of friends all over the world, which means when I'm up late worried about something, SOMEBODY will be online to talk to, somebody who cares.   I have a pretty good support group here locally, but I hate to bug people with my random midnight anxieties.  Online, there's usually someone already there who won't mind chatting, and these gals usually cheer me up.  Would be great to meet all the "Perlgirls" in person.  Maybe someday. It would be one HELL of a party!

In other news,  my cell phone was in the process of dying during the con. (REALLY not a good time to have a cranky cell phone!)  It was upgrade time anyway, and so the last two days have been consumed by a learning curve for a new device.  I also have to get ready to go to my Mom's for a week.  Leaving on Saturday.  A whole week with no WiFi.  No fun.  At least my phone package is good enough that I can check my Face Book and Twitter and email regularly.  I plan to hit the library for the free WiFi when I can.  We are primarily going to do Mom's heavy yard work and to visit with her and Aunt Margaret, of course.  Geez, I may lose even more weight while on this trip.  Sure hope we can find stuff to eat that's healthy.  I can't do a bunch of fast food again.  I just bought a bunch of size 8 Levis.  I want to still fit them.
Some pictures from the weekend follow.

Thanks again, Ron, just for being your fabulous self!  We all love ya, big guy.  

 

Me and Mr. P.

Three very happy ladies and one really awesome guy.

The Penguin Picture.

(And that's all I'll say about that.)

Yeah, we're cool.

Waiting for the fun to start.

The fabulous Star Trek coffee cup, buttons, and earrings.

The picture that was signed for my coworker.

Staff Day Adventures

Our library system has a staff development day every year.  The last two years I have missed because I've been at my Mom's in Alabama, helping my sister do Mom's heavy yard work for the Fall. 
This year, our trip falls AFTER staff day, so I was in attendance today. 
Staff day is usually at least a little bit fun, because we get to see colleagues that work at other branches who maybe we worked with at our branch or on a committee before.  It's a good time to reconnect with your fellow strugglers against ignorance, your fellow crusaders in the cause of information availability.  It lets us know it isn't just us, we're ALL a little bit insane! :)
This year, I am glad I could go.  I was afraid though, that I would never make it in time to pick up my two coworkers who were car pooling with me.
Let me tell you a story.  Our little city of Moore, OK is bisected by the BNSF rail road tracks.  Only TWO streets, one on the South side of the city, and one on the North side, go under the tracks.  All three of the central main drags are blocked by the train.  Guess what happened before I could cross the stupid tracks this morning, when I was in a hurry?  Oh, yeah.  LOOONG, SLOOOW train.  I tried to beat it to 4th Street, no luck.  So I had to go all the way to SE 19th, and then across to Telephone and back up to SW 2nd to pick up my first friend, and then I had to drive all the way to Norman to pick up my second friend, and THEN drive to the other SIDE of Norman to get to the conference location.  (Which happened to be the USPS National Center for Employee Development, where Matt works.)  (They have a separate conference center which is REALLY nice.)  We managed to arrive in plenty of time, despite the best efforts of Big Nasty Stinking Freighttrain.  (Which is what we here locally call the Burlington Northern Santa Fe.)
Once we got there, things went pretty well.  I was tired, and some of the presenters made it hard to keep my focus, but most of it was pretty good. Lunch was really nice, because we had lunch tickets that gave us free reign in the food court.  Matt came and joined us for lunch, which was nice.  (He had to buy his, though.)  I behaved myself.  I had a salad. 
I hate these things because I have to spend so much of the day sitting.  I HATE to sit still for hours at a time.  I am WAY behind on my step count, so I now have to go and do my elliptical trainer time that I didn't have time for this morning. 
So, another staff day survived, no awards won in our department, but hey, we've all won them before.  (I got one at my second staff day.   I have been with the system for 14 years now.)
The only part of the day I could really have lived without was the whole system staff picture.  It was a totally disorganized zoo.  The individual branch pictures were more efficiently done.  I also hate being squished in the middle of a crowd like that.  Claustrophobia is my nemesis.  I don't like enclosed spaces, or being that close to so many people. Even people I like, and I really like my coworkers.  Our branch in particular is a crazy fun place to work.  The jokes are fast and furious in he circ work area some days. 
Won't be much fun for awhile because we are missing our Melodie.  Her laugh and her smile were precious to all of us.  Long ago, she introduced me to Sandra Boynton's kids music.  The songs are funny and catchy and won't drive adults nuts.  I used to cheer Melodie up some days when she was a little down by starting out the "Dinosaur Blues".  I'd sing "I got those dinosaur blues..." and she'd chime in with "From my hat to my shoes" , and smile at me. 
So, on this day when we all gathered to renew friendships and to learn, we paused a moment to remember Melodie and her kindness, her patience, and her loving nature.  We will always try to be more like her.

What A Year! And It's Only 3/4 Over!

I have been thinking a lot about all the things that have happened over the course of this year so far.
It's been a doozy for me already. 
The bad things:  Our cat died, my husband had to spend a week in the heart hospital, two tornadoes came through our little city, my nephew died, and just yesterday, a friend and coworker who had been battling cancer passed away. That's a lot to deal with in about nine months' time.
The good things: Matt and I have both changed our diet and our habits, and are both losing weight and getting healthier,  I have made some awesome new friends online, my niece welcomed a daughter, so now I have a tiny little grand-niece, our church has a new roof and consequently, better acoustics, my voice lessons are going really well, and I feel better about life than I have for awhile.

Lots of things are coming up, a trip for a weekend away with my hubby, a chance to meet someone I admire, a trip to my Mom's to help my sister do yard work, the library system's Staff Day, Red Ribbon Day here in Moore, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, all that fun stuff.
I just hope the rest of the year has more of the fun stuff and less of the sad stuff. 
I miss my cat, my friends lost their house in that tornado, I miss my nephew, and I will always miss Melodie.  A sweeter, more Christian person you would never meet.  Everybody loved her, and quite literally, the whole town will miss her.  Patrons ask about her, how she's been, since she became ill.  They will be heartbroken to know she is gone.  She fought for so long, and she fought so hard to hold on to life.  She made all of us appreciate life so much more.  She did everything with love, and I am very, very lucky to have known her, and to have her as one of the people who trained me at my job.
I only hope her calm, loving presence finds my nephew in that life beyond this, and that she lets him know how much we all love him and miss him.
I hope my crazy cat finds my nephew and gets in his lap and refuses to let him up, like she used to do us.  I hope my sweet dog Bear finds Melodie and loves on her for us.  Bear met Melodie a few times, and he was always up to love and be loved on by her.
I hope as life goes on at the library that we all live a little more by Melodie's example:  her calm, her patience, her smile.  She was a truly selfless person, always more concerned about others and their needs than her own.  
This world is a poorer place without her. 
There are so many potentially really good things on the horizon, I hope they turn out as well as they promise to.  This town (and I) could use some happy endings right about now.

This was Melodie on our Pirate Day at the library about four years ago.  We will always miss that smile!

Vacation Adventures and List Amendments

Since I last posted my music lists, I have purchased few new albums. 
They are:  The Diving Board by Elton John
A Short sample of a song from The Diving Board
Dog Train by Sandra Boynton and friends
Sneakers from Dog Train
Highwayman 2
Don't have one I really want to share from this one.
Frog Trouble by Sandra Boynton and friends. Listen to a sample here:
 Deepest Blue from Frog Trouble
They are all very good, but I think Frog Trouble may be my favorite.  I haven't listened to all of Elton's newest yet, and I always enjoy his music.  It was the soundtrack for a lot of my adolescence.

Ah, the vacation adventures.  Well, this is day 3 of my one week September vacation from the library.  (Use it or lose it leave.)  I am trying to get in shape for a week of yardwork at Mom's with my sister the second week in October.  Yesterday kicked my behind, but I am going to be at it again today.  The front yard is almost done, but the back looks awful.
Monday was voice lesson and grocery shopping.  Yesterday was front yard work, today it's the back yard, and Thursday is house cleaning, a little laundry, and packing stuff to ship to Mom's so I don't have to bring a suitcase.  Friday is mailing the boxes, getting my hair done and making goodies for my Monday evening program table at the library.

Yesterday and today I did yard work, and I have about worn myself out.  I only hope I survive better when we get to Mom's next month.  I run out of gas and get achy a lot quicker than I used to!
Here are the before shots of the front and back yards...

So now you can see the fruits of all that labor I have engaged in during what is supposed to be a break from work. 
Tomorrow I clean house, do a little laundry, pack boxes to go to Mom's for my visit there, and Friday is running around day.
Right now it is bug Matt about making dinner and crash time.

The Life Inside My Head

Admit it, when you were a kid, and maybe even now sometimes, you hear a voice over announcer narrating your life.  Probably making snide remarks about your choices, if your life is anything like mine.  You probably also had theme music that played in your head whenever you were sure you were doing the Just and Right Thing.  Also the laugh track when your best efforts resulted in the Epic Fail.  (Because, let's face it, if you're my age, all the TV shows you watched were sitcoms about families who lived in nicer houses and better neighborhoods than you did, and the kids on those shows had "epic fails" that were FUNNY , not humiliating as our own real failures were.)
You never REALLY heard the "Wha-wha-whaaaa" notes that accompanied failures on those shows, but you sure heard them inside your head.  When you tripped walking through the cafeteria and spilled your lunch all over the principal's shoes, when you were so SURE you hit the ball out of the park in softball, only to have it immediately caught by a fielder... stuff like that. 
 And really, you might as well laugh, because crying isn't really going to help.

When I was a kid, I used to imagine a soundtrack to my life.  I had all kinds of music playing all the time, and some of it was in my imagination.  My parents both liked Swing music, the Big Band Sound.  Mom also liked Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Andy Williams, and SOME Elvis.  She also liked some Country music.  Pop (I'm sorry, Pop, wherever you are, but it is true) liked Elevator Music.  I swear, the man was probably the one and ONLY fan of "easy listening" music.  The stuff that put the rest of us to sleep better than any drug was what he listened to if given a choice.
My oldest brother liked classic rock, "Come Go With Me" played over and over in our house, so did "Sugar Shack".  My sister liked the Beatles, my brother Walt liked Simon & Garfunkle.  My radio in my room was set to 93 KHJ, which played Top 40 hits in the early 60's when I was little and needed music to fall asleep to.  The first song I remember really liking is the Four Tops' Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch." Yep.  I liked the Motown Sound.  I also like the Mamas and the Papas and the Beatles, and Simon & Garfunkle, and my oldest brother's old 45s that he left for me to play with when he went away to college.
THEN, I took piano, and learned to love Classical music.  So, Mozart and Bach and Beethoven became part of my personal sound track.
As a teen, I became an Elton John fan.  A SERIOUS one.  I probably still know all the words to his songs that came out in the 70s.  I sold my bicycle when I was 15 in order to go to the Dodger Stadium concert.
I remember being astounded as a high school student that our songleaders were allowed to do a dance routine to Elton's The Bitch Is Back.  (Oh, yes they did! And it was very popular at pep rallies.)
93 KHJ was still my favorite radio station, and at one point, it called itself "The Official Elton John Radio Station."  I remember Machine Gun Kelly and Charlie Tuna,  it was a great time for AM radio in Los Angeles.
Of course, my senior year, Disco was popular, and I liked it for dancing, it was fun, but it was not good music to listen to.  I remember dancing with my best friend at our prom because our lame dates couldn't disco dance, and Brenda and I had taken a disco dance class for PE, so we knew the moves.  Oh, well, the other kids already knew we were weird.
Whenever I felt like I was walking through a dangerous situation (of which there were a few to be found in Compton when I was middle school aged, and in Southern California in general when I was a teen) I heard minor key classical themes playing.  The kind of things that make you uncomfortable, that you would hear in the suspense or horror movie when the hero or heroine is about to be grabbed by the forces of evil...
When I went back East to visit, I always heard "California Dreamin'" playing in my head as I wandered among cousins and other relatives who lived in fairly small towns in obscure states I wasn't sure I wanted to be in at the time. 


There was also a voice-over narrator, and a laugh track.  There was a lot of stuff I did that got laughed at, at least in the privacy of my own brain.  Usually, I was lucky, and nobody else saw the stupid silly things I did.  I played alone a lot as a kid.

My announcer always sounded like  Gary Owens, and said things like "And now Katie is back outside with nothing much to do once again."  When I fell down (which I did a lot, having long skinny feet and no coordination), I would hear Gary Owens saying "and she's down again, let's see, yes, she's getting back up, oh!  Look at that, two skinned knees!  She keeps the world record for most scabs on knee caps  for another two weeks at least!" (There was usually laughter and applause tracks running in the background after these observations in my head.  Who was your announcer voice?  Was it serious?  Snide?  Did you hear laughs or did the sorrowful violins play for you in the privacy of your own imagination?)
I also used to hear Arte Johnson doing the "German Spy" character from Laugh In.  Usually when I was trying to make conversation with someone new, and I'd make some random observation. (I excel at non sequiturs.  My husband seems to know how I got where I end up, but nobody else has ever been able to.  One of the reasons I married him.  I don't have to explain everything.) Anyway, I'd say something, and the dreadful, awkward silence would continue, and I'd hear the Arte Johnson voice saying "Very interesting.  But pointless."

These days, I hear my own voice narrating my life.  Sometimes when I am out walking, and a good song comes on my mp3 player, and I'm feeling really good about myself, and I'm just truckin' it down that sidewalk like I'm still young and hot and all that, and I'll hear my own voice in my head saying, "Yep, there I go again.  I think I'm still hot, and I look like somebody's grandma who's going to be late for her lunch date."
Some days, I look in the mirror before I leave for work and I hear myself saying "It's a bird, it's a plane, no, it's LIBRARY LADY!!"  Oh yeah.  Sensible shoes, not quite stylish clothes, sensible haircut, and Coke-bottle-bottom glasses.  Hot stuff. That's me.
Then there are the times when the voices and the sound track just shut up, because I KNOW I have the spotlight, and in a good way.  When I get up to sing at a recital, I walk up there with confidence, because I take great pains to make sure my voice and the piece I am singing are ready, and that I look GOOD.  My singing voice is not the best in the world. not by a long shot, but it's pretty damned good.  I work hard on the pieces I sing, and I think it shows when I perform.  The feeling I get when I am singing is just incredible, the sharing of that wonder, that transport, the beauty of the music, it's incredible.   Besides, my fan club  is usually there. Both of them.  The Kelleys, who are members of our Friends of the Library group come to ALL my recitals.  They are my fans.  They always tell me how well I do, and how much they enjoy the music.  It's good to have fans.  I always do my best, because hey, I can't let them down.  The voice in my head would never let me live THAT down.

So, remember, the next time you're running out the door, and everything that could possibly happen to slow you down and make you late is happening, listen to the voice over announcer, who is probably saying something like, "Let's see, she's put the coffee cup down on top of the car, will she remember to pick it up before she drives away..."

Musings on a Friday Night In the Not So Big Town

Tonight was a special Friday night for me.  I got to meet someone in person that I have only ever "spoken" with online!  It was very nice to meet Mary, who is every bit as warm and funny in person as she is online.  Her grandson Ryder came along, and he is a sweet little guy.  Typical two almost three year old, but well behaved as that age group goes.  And so cute!
We all met up at Back Door BBQ in OKC for dinner.  Matt was along, of course, and he was glad to meet Mary, too.  
 It was a very nice time of good food and good company.  Someone was having a birthday celebration at the restaurant while we were there, and they sure had some great singers at that party!  Best "Happy Birthday" I've heard in a long time!
Here's Me and Mary and Ryder in the parking lot after dinner.  (Poor Ryder was having his neck tickled over Grandma's shoulder by silly old Aunt Katie.)

Once Matt and I got home, I relaxed for awhile and then headed out for a short walk.  (.85 of a mile instead of the usual 1.78.)  I could hear the high school band playing at the stadium.  (When the wind is just right, the sounds from the stadium carry over to this side of town.)  Friday night lights and football games already.  My thoughts are with one member of that band whose mom is in the hospital right now.  Praying for her recovery and for the family as they deal with yet another in a series of many battles with cancer.  She is such a brave warrior in that battle.  One of the last poems I put in this blog was for her.  She's the most Christ-like Christian I know.  Gentle, accepting, loving, and never thinks of herself.

As I turned the corner onto our street on my way home, I saw our house for once all lit up with the proper outdoor lights, and the front windows all lit.  It felt so good to be walking toward home.

Since May, my husband and I have been trying to alter our diet and exercise habits in order to help him keep his diabetes and his high blood pressure under control, and in general make ourselves healthier.

Here is how I am doing right now.
I average over 10,000 steps a day.  I am eating fewer calories than I burn.
I have lost 19.8 pounds since May 7, and 26.8 pounds since January.
I take two walks daily, or use the elliptical once and walk once, or use the elliptical twice almost every day.
My measurements have come back to more normal proportions.  (38-29-37- I have a waist again!)

More importantly, I have more energy, I feel better, and I feel better about myself.

My weight was stuck around 145 for a long time, but now has crept lower, 141.2 this morning.  Appears to be a bit stuck there for now, but will go down again, I have no doubt.

I recently had to order another one of Michael Ornstein's "Blue Sweater" art t-shirts. Both the others I own are too big now!  Those are my "lucky shirts", they have gotten me through doctor's appointments and two tornadoes safely, so I HAVE to have one I can wear somewhere besides around the house.

This was me, wearing the size XL shirt in May, right after we started the diet.

This was me in July, a few pounds heavier than I am right now.  I will have to get a decent picture make of me this week and see if I can add it in later.  Right now, it's late, I just got off the elliptical, and I look horrible. Skinnier, but horrible.

The clothes that have gotten too big to wear at all are not of the sort that could be altered.  Some garments it just isn't practical to try.  I have plenty of things I saved from thinner times that fit now and are still in style.  (Well, as much as I am ever in style, rather frumpy library denizen that I am...)

The green dress that I have always loved, and that hasn't fit in years now fits again, so I will be getting some pictures made in it soon!

Here is a quick shot of me in this dress late last night.  I haven't been able to zip this dress in I don't know how long, and now it fits well!

I feel so very blessed tonight.  I have good friends, a wonderful husband, a nice home, a job I love, coworkers that make my job more fun than work, a church family that is loving and supportive and all the things church is supposed to be, and I have music.  It is a gift and a privilege to be able to sing.  I don't have a great voice, but it is pretty darn good.  I have my health, and I am finally doing something positive to keep it.  By the way, this dress is a favorite for Holiday recitals, but I think I only fit in it for one recital in the past.  Perhaps it will make another appearance this Holiday season.
That's all for this Friday Night in the Not So Big Town.
All my best from Moore, Oklahoma
Katie