Saturday, May 12, 2012

This has been a very different week!

I don't think I have ever had a week like this past one before in my life. So this is going to be a very odd blog post too.

Last Friday DH and I went to 2 different wakes, parents and grand parents of friends. Neither was very sad, but running between two wakes in one afternoon was different.

On Saturday DH and I judged the Chamber of Commerce parade, that we have been attending for years and years. That was a new experience! DD2 and C came with us, and C made out like a bandit! She had a grocery bag of candy! plus a stuffed animal, two pom-poms, a tiny Frisbee, and several tissue flowers. The grown-ups collected the coupons and ads, the fridge magnets, and coozies.

The judging was interesting to do. It took quite a bit more concentration than I expected, and the parade seemed to rush by. Everyone was happy with the results, and we were asked to do a repeat performance next year! C was very pleased too, with her haul.

Sunday was quite normal, but Monday I was invited to bring my pick-up to Ikea to help DD1 haul 2 wardrobes home to her new apartment. An Ikea run is always fun (even though I didn't buy anything!) but my truck is not used to running on the expressway any more. Plus it was a rainy day...

I had the forethought to pack a tarp, so even though the wardrobes stuck out of the bed, they were so well wrapped that the cardboard didn't even get damp. It was a real adventure getting them up the 2 flights to the apartment! I look forward to seeing DD1's apartment after she gets everything unpacked, it looks like it will be quite a bit nicer than her old apartment.

Unfortunately, while I was out and about with DD1, we received the news that DH's only sister had passed away. She had been in a coma in January, and had made a miraculous recovery, but they were never able to say what the problem had been or what to do to avoid a future problem. She was found unresponsive again. So that took up a big portion of the rest of our week. Thursday was the wake, and Friday was the funeral. DD2 was able to spend Thursday with us, and DD1 was able to come on  Friday. My SIL will be sorely missed; she was always real, and she kept me honest. It is even worse for DH, of course: he is the only person left in his family.

We also had to go to another wake for a former co-worker on Wednesday, so that took up an afternoon as well. And Thursday early afternoon I was involved in a work party for a non-profit organization, preparing tags for Mother's Day flowers for the holiday.

DD2 and P & C will be moving in with us in a couple of weeks, so we are changing things around. DH's music room is moving to the basement, and we wanted to build a deck to protect the instruments from occasional seepage down there. We have been discussing hows and whats for weeks, but ended up doing something different anyhow. The deck is built, between yesterday afternoon and today, so now we will be moving drums and other accessories down stairs. We replaced the shower head to make it easier to use for "shorter" people. There is a bunk bed in a box sitting in the middle of the house waiting for the music room to be emptied so we can build it in what will be the new kids room. So we are in flux.

Amazingly, DH and I are feeling quite well, after all that.

In-between all of that I finished a chemo hat, a pair of "grandma's" slippers (double strands of acrylic yarn, the kind I had when I was a kid) for a knitting group project; and a pair of felted slippers in hot pink to match my bathrobe, for me. I felted all the pieces for my hydrangea purse too, but that is not assembled yet.

I hope next week will be more usual.