robot•jumping•rope

you’ve surely figured out by now i rarely see a half-full glass of anything. except wine. or maybe honey mead.

anyways, still no car, and mechanic has no hopes of finding the correct replacement transmission anytime soon, if at all, and to rebuild would cost more and is iffy, as the old one was pretty much trashed. so we’re not making the trek to the in-laws, which makes me sad, a little.

for daily errands my sister has been wonderful about letting us borrow hers, so that’s a positive. i hate being car-dependent but in my old sidewalk-less nabe there’s just no way around it. the single time i took the kids on a walk to the store we almost got plowed over by a large truck, there were numerous unattended dogs along the way (they viciously barked at me and i’m not some dog hating girl), AND the crosswalk signs across a busy through street were broken. i held the baby and we made a run for it. i empathize with the single car family as never before. (the mother in law laughs at my pain, for she drove her husband to and from work during rush hour or stayed housebound for 20 years or something like that.) we are used to getting out every day, even if just for a krispy kreme (you knew it) or coffee. or both. and i never thought i’d miss Target, but i do.

also, my father had exploratory surgery today. he’s 85 and in pretty good health, what with being a lean, mean farming machine who still stays very active (2 years ago i think it was he built my mom’s breakfast room. and painted the huge 2 story house. and fell off the roof of a shed trying to fix the tin. you can’t keep an old dog down, or so they say. but you should definitely try. see above.)

now it is a big deal to have exploratory surgery, i mean, they’re exploring in there, looking around for something, anything amiss. and that something is probably not good, for in my family if one lives long enough one is almost genetically destined to get cancer. no, we don’t even call it the Big C anymore, ’cause it’s far too frequent. i sound like a far-too-pragmatic little frak and even a bit morbid, but sometimes i feel like a ticking time bomb. and have considered testing for the magic gene. but, and perhaps it’s denial, i don’t really want to know. instead i try  to live well healthy, performing all the necessary tricks and praying for the best.

wow, downer huh? we’ll make the best of it all, thanks to the Resident Eternal Optimist (husband) and our daughter, who shows all the signs of being a pollyanna of the highest order even at her tender age.

so it’s the novelty of pizza, beer, pumpkin and pecan pies from Costco (yes, i could cook a turkey but i’m not gonna. saving that for when it’s absolutely necessary. again with the pragmatic.), perhaps a salad, definitely raking some leaves if this weird 72 degree weather continues. (all of this not nearly as exciting as the two times i was heavy with child on this holiday and we were forced into some $50 a head brunch thing that was fabulous in every delicious way. i might have eaten my weight in crabcakes and exotically mushroom’d omelet both times. but i’ll never tell.)

and we’ll think of grampa a lot and hope to share many, many more thanksgivings with him

works for me.

happy tuesday to you all,

me.