. . . plus c’est la même chose. A drastic change happens, like a breaching whale, with a lot of splash and carry-on, but then the whale submerges, and the splashes and ripples of its wake dissipate, and life goes on. Or tries to, anyway.
Mom’s memorial service was on 15th November. I was not feeling quite the thing and had an intermittent hacking cough, but I just figured beta blockers, lack of sleep and the onset of a life-changing event, etc. But I kept feeling lousier and lousier until Saturday morning I awoke with a very sore throat, stuffed up head including both inner ears and packed tight sinuses, a nasty paroxysmal cough, and the realization that you, oh, Best Beloved, are sick as the proverbial dog. Long about the following Tuesday, I happened to think that the next Monday was housekeeping’s day and I called down for and got a COVID test which was positive. I was quarantined for a week. It’s only been this past weekend that both ears have finally opened up, and my cough has calmed down to manageable levels. A fried chicken breast from Market Street for supper did wonders for my sinuses yesterday. They used a lot of pepper in their breading, which brought tears to my nose, but in a good way. I’ve been gulping hot tea, with and without spices, and with or without creamer.
This past Sunday, I was determined to have my afternoon ration of YouTube with a side of bacon and Havarti cheese on crackers. I zotted four slices of bacon in the microwave and cut them in thirds, got three slices of Havarti cheese which I cut into quarters, and then discovered that the sum total crackerage on the premises was 11 water crackers. Story of my life. (The dearth of crackers was attributable to a cream cheese with onions and chives smeared on crackers kick that hasn’t quite run its course . . .)
They’ve refurbished my WalMart of choice. They have fancy new shelving, and rearranged it just enough that you can’t find anything. I’m in the middle of a wardrobe turnover. I’m getting rid of the stuff I wore because it fell into that narrow ellipse of styles and colors where mom’s and my tolerances overlapped, and replacing it with stuff I 100% like. (Goodwill and Catholic Family Services are making out like bandits . . .) While I was at WalMart last, I picked up 2 pairs of velour “leisure pajamas” to wear around the house –a rampant pink pair and a pair which is really too orange of a red for my skin tones, but who cares? They’re warm and snuggly and soft against the skin. Oddly, both pairs were cut out with the nap of the velour running upwards instead of downwards like you’d think. They were made in China (what isn’t, these days) and the Chinese do have a reputation for 不可理解性 . . .
My mom, a product of the helmet hairdo generation, did not care for long hair, especially when it was unrestrained. She liked it short, ratted up to give it height, and glued into immobility with hairspray. I like mine long, the longer the better, swept back into a pony tail at the nape of my neck. In my misspent youth (high school) I did back comb it, blow dry it and use curlers, a curling iron and hair spray, but once I left home, I stopped mistreating it as my hair is so fine that back combing, or any kind of heat gave me split ends like crazy. My current approach to hair care is very laissez-faire: I wash it, comb it out and let it dry in the air. I use barrettes but not elastics. The less I have to futz with it, the better.
In the ultimate irony, a combination of chemotherapy, menopause and the male pattern baldness gene I got from my mom (so did my brother), I have gotten to the point that every time I brush my hair, I get this big wad of hair in the brush.
My hair has gotten so thin on top that I have finally admitted defeat. I got it all whacked off yesterday to about 3 inches long all over. It’s easier to care for, and dries in less than half an hour now. Sigh.
I have three things left on my to do list regarding mom’s passing. I have to send a copy of the death certificate to the people who paid dad’s pension to her, I have 15 thank-you’s still to write (mañana). I got a little refurbished Kindle for mom after she moved to Carillon so she could get on Facebook and send and receive emails. I need to take it over to one of the activities ladies whose elementary-age son comes up to Carillon after school and visit with some of the residents including my mom. I think she would have wanted him to have it, especially since his mom is an Amazon Prime member and she can get ebooks for him. Neither I nor my brother had children, so mom and dad adopted other people’s children to grandparent, like this little boy. I already have two Kindles, and if having a Kindle will make a reader out of this little boy, I’m all for it.
I got my BFF’s packages mailed today (Bday in Nov, Xmas) and got stamps, and the green thingies for registered and return receipt requested mail so I can get the pension thing mailed. There’s still taxes, mom’s and mine, but that’s months away. (Sufficient unto the day . . .)
My Christmas cactus is blooming elaborate fuchsia flowers. It has two lovely blooms and a couple of buds. The amaryllis* “bub**” is being green and leafy, but as yet shows no sign of a flower bud. The arrowhead plant is profusely arrowheady, and the antherium’s shiny red blooms are very Christmassy.
Orchid #2’s and Orchid #3’s flower spikes are now long enough to stake, and guess what?
Mr. Ball is putting out a flower spike as well. That’s 3 for 4! I am delighted, and not at all disappointed that Orchid #4 is not spiking as it had just finished blooming in September and I suspect it’s “tord.**” It needs repotting and fertilizing — yet another thing on the To Do list. (Now, where did I put that roundtoit?)
* The little girl playing piano in this clip from the 1962 film of "The Music Man" is named Amaryllis. She makes fun of Ron Howard's character (Winthrop) saying her name because of his lisp. If you will notice, the melody of this song is the same as the melody of "76 Trombones."
**"bub" - Texan, "bulb."
***"tord" - Texan, "tired."