June 27: Lots of updates

Again, lost track of how long it had been since actually posting. If only my thoughts when composing in my brain could be transmitted straight to here....

Lyle's birthday party was a big success. He did start to get suspicious, apparently when I suggested the restaurant he knew something was going on, but certainly no idea of the scope. So he truly was surprised when 34 people jumped up and yelled 'surprise!' A lot of his friends were there, not one had let anything slip.

Continuing on the subject of Lyle, just got back yesterday from his HS graduation. While it was very nice and under a big tent it was somewhat marred by the incredible heat and humidity. The nice dress I'd been planning on wearing was ditched in favor of jean capris and a nice top. Not that there will be documentation of my more casual attire: there is a distinct advantage to being the one who does the scrapbooking and, therefore, the editing and cropping of the pictures.

Both events had the spectre of Martha's loss hanging over them. Taking pictures of just the three of them was probably the most obvious difference to me. The first year is always the worst, people say, as not only is the grief still fresh but you are going through everything for the first time without that person. This year was a little harder with two such major events in Lyle's life without his mom. But, as these things go, everything went well.

Major amounts of time were spent between these two functions doing a scrapbook for Lyle of his first 18 years, although it will also have the addition of the graduation. I had scanned in over 100 pictures in little albums up at the house, then had my extensive collection. Unless you've done scrapbooking you have no idea how labor intensive it is, and I had several hundred pictures to try and winnow down. Hence less time for posting or even checking e-mail.

The apartment rental situation has had peaks and valleys. The gal who looked like such a good fit ended up with her housing allowance being threatened. I'd been counting on her moving in, everything with the county seemed to be moving along steadily, although slowly. And then all of a sudden things changed. Both her case manager and she told me to find someone else, knowing how it was stressing me out financially. I am THRILLED to report that I have found someone, he signed the lease today and will be moving in July 1. His name is Jim, he has moved up from Texas to be with his girlfriend, who is very nice. They aren't living together due to religious reasons, and I'm hoping for a nice long courting and engagement!

So almost three months without that income is finally coming to an end. My relief is palpable. This does not mean that I start spending money willy-nilly, but will give me breathing room. For the next few months everything possible will be put towards paying down the home equity loan, trying to reduce principle before re-financing. The bank isn't happy about this delay, but reluctantly admitted that the home appraisal would last until about December, so I'm planning on trying to reduce as much as possible for the long-term benefit of lower monthly payments.

Work is stable. This is good. June and July are better financial months for me due to other's vacations, but that ends in August.

Other big news is that my cousin Susan is moving back from Italy after 20 years. The two main reasons are her parents, my cousins who I refer to as Aunt Beth and Uncle George, as well as her daughter Emily's education. Emily has just finished the Italian equivalent of 8th grade, had to take very difficult cumulative tests before she would graduate to their high school level. At this point kids are expected to decide what they want to do when they grow up and are funneled into specialty high schools. How can you expect 13 & 14 year-olds to make that decision? While college in Europe is very low cost (government subsidised), it is difficult to go back to college as an adult. So Susan & Emily are moving to the States. It will be a tough adjustment for Emily; while she is bilingual, English is not her first language and she has never had to take classes given in English like math, science, history, etc.

So now there will be trips to the Washington, D.C. area as well as up to NY--glad I have a hybrid!

Saved the best news for last! While the diet is proceeding with excruciatingly slowness I am very happy to report that my exercise is really paying off. I'm now walking about an hour 3-4 times a week, and at least 45 minutes a day so that I'm exercising at least 5-6 days a week. I feel stronger than I have in years. As an example is this morning: after being gone a few days, exceptionally busy for the couple weeks before that, my flat really needed some cleaning up. I did an aggressive vacuuming without stopping, followed by the smaller vacuum with the tools. Almost immediately I then showered and washed my hair, well known for tiring me out. This activity did leave my tired, and I was ready to settle down with my iced coffee and recuperate. But then I knocked over the large glass and (after a suitable amount of cursing) cleaned everything up, which required a lot of back and forth and moving of lots of stuff and scuttling around the floor under the table. Despite being tired, I was able to keep functioning. Even six months ago this would have been impossible.

So, on that happy note, I will sign off and try to get back to you soon. Thanks for checking in, Laurie