I finally stopped flipping out long enough to remember what I read about giving permission. I gave myself permission to be crazy, and I gave the swirling worry permission to exist. Magic. Went from pacing to sitting down and finishing a sock to relatively functional calm. Not that this is a permanent change. But it's a lovely step in the process.

Of course, not until I'd bombarded alh with too many emails, but she's gracious, so it was OK.

I've been folding clothes and talking to myself, which may seem odd, but that's OK. It's helping. Later, I go get trained in PetCo's method of kitty care-taking for their contingent of CAT cats.

Current Mood: moody

It's 4 degrees below zero. I'm glad it's warmed up a bit. Yesterday, I had to bring in the bird feeder, scrape ice off it, and run hot water over the lid so that I could open and fill it. But it's very pretty out there, with lots of snow on the ground.

It's also nice to see Christmas decorations going up. My favorite so far is about a half mile from my house. Someone has set up store mannequins in pink prom dresses and attached gold wings as part of his display. It looks like he's filming Attack of the Freaky Paris Hilton Angels.

During the time it took to write this, the temp dropped to minus 3. I'd probably feel warmer if I got rid of the Weather Bug at the bottom of the screen.

( ramblings, not coherent, ignore )

In saner news, my back isn't bad today. Standing around on cold asphalt over the weekend wasn't really good for it, so this is a win. I think Terminator Stout is much better for it than oxycodone--I can still walk around, and I'm not nauseated, and my back just relaxes. Oxycodone involves passing out and waking up shaped like a pretzel, with even more back pain. That just isn't right.

We survived a total of eight hours of standing in the cold (two shifts, four hours each), working at the Holiday Express fundraiser for the Portland steam engines and their new home. The fun part was watching the 4449 in action. And I wore antlers. Frightened two dogs and three children.

The wildlife refuge area on the other side of the train tracks is pond-like, and froze in the cold; yesterday, it attracted walkers, skaters, and few sleds. I was a little worried about that, as the temps were rising, but we didn't see anyone fall though the ice. (We were on the trail next to the train, warning bicyclists and runners of the traffic jam ahead during loading and unloading.)

I could not have done a longer shift; as it was, when we got home Saturday, I staggered around and did a little laundry, and then fell asleep. Yesterday, I was wound up, so I didn't sleep in the afternoon, but I did crash early in the evening, after a lovely hot bath.

OH!! There's a roller rink at the park where we were. I didn't know that, or I'd forgotten. I think I want to go skate! I wonder whether that skill comes back...

I've been practicing doing the half-right thing, which actually led to some of the mess in the bedroom dwindling. It's not gone, but I think if I hadn't reminded myself, it would still all be a huge pile. Instead of a half-pile. ;-) It seems to be rewiring the thing in my head that's confused about time, just a bit.

And now, after a brief bout of freaking out, I'm going to go eat, and then empty the dishwasher. No, I didn't really need to tell anyone that, but I want the record. If you weren't used to the boring you wouldn't be here.

edited several times because I don't make sense

Current Mood: hopeful

Back from dentist with freshly-filled tooth; it was the last old amalgam, which had been getting looser over time. Still numb. Tried drinking a little coffee, but it's not safe yet (got more on my chin than in my mouth), and I'm currently at the stage where I have to be careful to not bite myself.

( Dentist wasn't so bad. My brain is a strange place. )

Current Mood: cold

Thank you so much, entrenous88 and anonymous person, for the snowflake cookies! They're so pretty, and they made me smile!

Home from the wedding.

Tired.

That is all.

Current Mood: exanimate

Somehow, I was struck by this plaintive little story in the local paper:

Mason City officials say one person was injured in a fire that apparently started when a shoe placed next to a heat lamp in the top of a fish aquarium overheated.

The fire happened Sunday afternoon at a mobile home. Officials say the fire was contained to the aquarium that was a housing a lizard.

Fire Capt. Richard Paulson says one person was injured and taken to a Mason City hospital. The person’s name was not immediately released.

Paulson says the lizard died in the fire.

Poor lizard. And I can just imagine the kind of living space where a shoe is likely to wind up on top of an aquarium.

I can't stop laughing about this, although the fact that this guy is an elected official should give me pause.

In the opinion of Arlington Mayor Russell Wiseman, President Barack Obama's speech on Tuesday night on the war in Afghanistan was deliberately timed to block the Christian message of the "Peanuts" television Christmas special.

Wiseman made the statements on his Facebook page, where he declared Obama to be a Muslim. Only people on Wiseman's "friend's list" had access to the post. ( Unsurprisingly, the mayor also doesn't get the Friends List concept )

I'll be over here, listening to Joe Cool's Blues, one of my favorite albums. Wynton Marsalis' dad Ellis wrote some of the music for the Peanuts specials, and Wynton and his brothers join their dad and other artists to record these favorites. Now, that's family values transformed into art.

I've been so scarce on LJ for so long, I think I'm making more of this posting thing than it deserves. So I will just babble.

I had the best Thanksgiving in a long time. My father died over a decade ago on Thanksgiving, very suddenly, and that cast a pall over the holiday for years. But I've reached the point in mourning where you welcome the reminders of the person you've lost. And memories of my dad were nicely bookended by the opportunity to see my kids, both of whom came home from college. M:TNG-1 was ill, but at least I was reassured she was getting a bit of rest, and emails indicate she's feeling better now. M:TNG-2 brought a delightful friend, or, rather, jwaneeta brought them both and the cranberry sauce.

Mr. M slaved over the stove Wednesday night and all day Thursday, producing turkey with all the trimmings, including absolutely amazing fig stuffing. We set up and trimmed the Christmas tree, wandered around Iowa City, and jwaneeta dragged me out to the movies. We saw "2012,: which is the funniest film I've seen in ages, with the added bonus of pretty images of the Earth being destroyed.

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2883

This letter written by 20-year-old David Bowie to his first American fan is pretty much the cutest thing ever.

(Well, I guess the surprised kitten is cuter.)

I’ve been having a hard time with Farscape fanfic (first step to making a story readable: Find: “half-breed”; Replace: “Scorpius”) but I’ve been enjoying vids. Particularly comedy vids, like this Scorpius/Braca one, or Scorpius as the Grinch. Man, I wish I’d been in the fandom when the show aired… I love it very much but there’s not really any kind of outlet for my enthusiasm. Active fandoms are a lot more fun.

Current Mood: dorky

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)

http://rusty-halo.com/wordpress/?p=2882

I’m selling some fannish stuff on eBay:

* Buffy the Vampire Slayer Initiative Xander Action Figure (New York Comic Con 2007 Exclusive)

* Pirates of the Caribbean 2 Scruffy Norrington Action Figure

The Norrington one is really cute. Um, for an action figure. (Look at the close up of his face!)

I’m also selling a new, unopened 120GB Playstation 3 (with all accessories) if, uh, anyone wants one. (Long story–I decided to buy an HDTV on Black Friday but to make it worth the cost I had to buy it in combo with a Playstation and then sell the Playstation.)

I’m also selling some books and DVDs. Everything’s listed here. I’ll give free shipping to any of my fandom friends who buy any of these. (If your eBay name doesn’t match your fandom name, let me know who you are so I know to take the shipping cost off.)

Current Mood: weird

Originally published at rusty-halo.com. Please click here to comment.
(Anyone can comment on public entries.)