Alarms and Excursions
May. 10th, 2004 01:26 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pameladeanWell, the tea was a great success. I didn't make the scones because I had lost my Michael Smith cookbook. I found it about five minutes before people were due to arrive, when I was putting other cookbooks away. I also didn't make the salmon salad, because I ran out of steam, and the other preparatory activities like getting the bucket of black water and the mop out of the dining room, and clearing extraneous objects off the seating in the living room, and washing the tea kettle, took precedence. It was a pity about the salmon salad. I had planned it because ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
carbonel is doing Atkins, and it would have provided her with an additional option. She was very gracious about the whole matter, however.
I was too tired to really participate in the conversation, other than to spout details of recipes, not always on request, but it was a pleasant giggly time, with anecdotes and a bit of sarcasm. It's always lovely to see my tea ladies.
I took JM for a brief tour of the back yard, and realized to what a huge extent the hairy bellflower is taking over. "There are some lilies in there, but you can't see them because of the hairy bellflower." "Lilies of the valley, day lilies, hairy bellflower." Argh. J had brought some plants over, so I have either blue flag or Siberian iris (her mom wasn't sure) and some non-native geranium, and wild ginger, hooray. I'll be planting them later today, along with some of my old seeds.
David and Lydy went off tomgs's birthday dinner, but I was too exhausted. We couldn't really afford for both of us to be represented there, anyway. I put the food away, filled and started the dishwasher, and took an inadvertent hour-long nap, after which I emptied the dishwasher, half-filled it again, and got the kitchen ready for tomorrow's dinner preparation. Raphael and I watched something on TV or on a tape, I can't recall very well.
I didn't sleep well; I was stressed and achy, and even though I have barely glanced at the photographs of Abu Ghraib making the rounds, they kept coming up behind my closed eyelids.
The day started sunny but kept darkening and getting more oppressive. David, at my request, put up on the wall a mirror with hooks under it that my mother had given us about two years previously; I figured that, in the absence of an actual present, she'd like to see the mirror on the wall. She was quite pleased about it, and so am I. We can hang hats there and then the huge closet can't eat them. So anyway, after David had kindly done just what I asked him, we got into some discussion about drug companies and government regulation, and first I snapped at him and then Lydy interrupted him, and then most unfairly I told her to let him finish his sentence, because I felt bad about snapping. David said temperately that we probably just shouldn't discuss that, and I removed myself altogether by finishing the dinner preparations. But I remember thinking, I must be really stressed, much more than just two social events account for.
Just as I had put dinner on the table, the sirens went. I turned on the weather radio in the media room, and was told that warning sirens had been activated because there was a severe thunderstorm with possibly damaging winds coming. Okay, fine, not a tornado. Well, really not so fine. I hate those damn sirens. They make me lose what forethought I possess.
I was taking some dinner upstairs to Raphael when the sirens went again. Raphael was quite unprepared to see me appear with a plateful of spaghetti, since zie had lugged the cat carriers into the kitchen and incarcerated the three long-haired cats, and was in the process of cornering Beryl. Zie had listened to the weather radio more comprehensively than I had, and yes, there had been a tornado sighted in western Hennepin County. Lydy came up to say that Naomi and Chumley were in David's room but she couldn't find Arwen, and she took a carrier downstairs for us. Beryl ran by in the meantime, and I didn't catch her because I was keeping her from getting out the door -- yes, we wanted cats in the basement, but in Beryl's case she must be in a carrier or she goes up into the rafters and becomes feral and cannot be got out without a lot of difficulty. Raphael and I yelled at one another about that, but we apologized later.
The next time Beryl came through, I grabbed her, and Raphael wrapped her in a towel and we got her into the carrier and got the remaining cats down to the basement. Raphael stayed in the laundry room with Minou, who was wailing, and the rest of the cats were stacked outside David's bedroom, and the rest of us went into the bedroom and milled around and looked at the radar of the storm on David's computer. What I saw of the sky while I carried cats down was quite green.
Lydy was quite worried about Arwen, but Raphael found her under the workbench, coaxed her out, and delivered her into David's room, which displeased her a lot but made Lydy much happier.
The weather radio went off a few more times and made a lot of fuss about the weather all over the place, but nothing else happened in Hennepin County, so about five minutes before the official end of the tornado warning, we went back upstairs and had our lukewarm dinner. Raphael kept the upstairs cats in their carriers for fifteen minutes or so and then, as things seemed settled down to just thunderstorms, let them out.
We had quite a pleasant dinner -- we were all very hungry by then -- and even managed to discuss politics without snapping. Lydy went off to watch "Buffy" with Martin and Eileen; my mother went home to see if her cat was all right; David went down to his room. I put the food away, filled up the dishwasher, started it, went upstairs and collapsed.
I've never been really great in emergencies, but I can usually hold it together better than I did yesterday. I still ache all over. I think there is too much stress in my life.
Pamela
carbonel is doing Atkins, and it would have provided her with an additional option. She was very gracious about the whole matter, however.I was too tired to really participate in the conversation, other than to spout details of recipes, not always on request, but it was a pleasant giggly time, with anecdotes and a bit of sarcasm. It's always lovely to see my tea ladies.
I took JM for a brief tour of the back yard, and realized to what a huge extent the hairy bellflower is taking over. "There are some lilies in there, but you can't see them because of the hairy bellflower." "Lilies of the valley, day lilies, hairy bellflower." Argh. J had brought some plants over, so I have either blue flag or Siberian iris (her mom wasn't sure) and some non-native geranium, and wild ginger, hooray. I'll be planting them later today, along with some of my old seeds.
David and Lydy went off to
mgs's birthday dinner, but I was too exhausted. We couldn't really afford for both of us to be represented there, anyway. I put the food away, filled and started the dishwasher, and took an inadvertent hour-long nap, after which I emptied the dishwasher, half-filled it again, and got the kitchen ready for tomorrow's dinner preparation. Raphael and I watched something on TV or on a tape, I can't recall very well.I didn't sleep well; I was stressed and achy, and even though I have barely glanced at the photographs of Abu Ghraib making the rounds, they kept coming up behind my closed eyelids.
The day started sunny but kept darkening and getting more oppressive. David, at my request, put up on the wall a mirror with hooks under it that my mother had given us about two years previously; I figured that, in the absence of an actual present, she'd like to see the mirror on the wall. She was quite pleased about it, and so am I. We can hang hats there and then the huge closet can't eat them. So anyway, after David had kindly done just what I asked him, we got into some discussion about drug companies and government regulation, and first I snapped at him and then Lydy interrupted him, and then most unfairly I told her to let him finish his sentence, because I felt bad about snapping. David said temperately that we probably just shouldn't discuss that, and I removed myself altogether by finishing the dinner preparations. But I remember thinking, I must be really stressed, much more than just two social events account for.
Just as I had put dinner on the table, the sirens went. I turned on the weather radio in the media room, and was told that warning sirens had been activated because there was a severe thunderstorm with possibly damaging winds coming. Okay, fine, not a tornado. Well, really not so fine. I hate those damn sirens. They make me lose what forethought I possess.
I was taking some dinner upstairs to Raphael when the sirens went again. Raphael was quite unprepared to see me appear with a plateful of spaghetti, since zie had lugged the cat carriers into the kitchen and incarcerated the three long-haired cats, and was in the process of cornering Beryl. Zie had listened to the weather radio more comprehensively than I had, and yes, there had been a tornado sighted in western Hennepin County. Lydy came up to say that Naomi and Chumley were in David's room but she couldn't find Arwen, and she took a carrier downstairs for us. Beryl ran by in the meantime, and I didn't catch her because I was keeping her from getting out the door -- yes, we wanted cats in the basement, but in Beryl's case she must be in a carrier or she goes up into the rafters and becomes feral and cannot be got out without a lot of difficulty. Raphael and I yelled at one another about that, but we apologized later.
The next time Beryl came through, I grabbed her, and Raphael wrapped her in a towel and we got her into the carrier and got the remaining cats down to the basement. Raphael stayed in the laundry room with Minou, who was wailing, and the rest of the cats were stacked outside David's bedroom, and the rest of us went into the bedroom and milled around and looked at the radar of the storm on David's computer. What I saw of the sky while I carried cats down was quite green.
Lydy was quite worried about Arwen, but Raphael found her under the workbench, coaxed her out, and delivered her into David's room, which displeased her a lot but made Lydy much happier.
The weather radio went off a few more times and made a lot of fuss about the weather all over the place, but nothing else happened in Hennepin County, so about five minutes before the official end of the tornado warning, we went back upstairs and had our lukewarm dinner. Raphael kept the upstairs cats in their carriers for fifteen minutes or so and then, as things seemed settled down to just thunderstorms, let them out.
We had quite a pleasant dinner -- we were all very hungry by then -- and even managed to discuss politics without snapping. Lydy went off to watch "Buffy" with Martin and Eileen; my mother went home to see if her cat was all right; David went down to his room. I put the food away, filled up the dishwasher, started it, went upstairs and collapsed.
I've never been really great in emergencies, but I can usually hold it together better than I did yesterday. I still ache all over. I think there is too much stress in my life.
Pamela
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 12:21 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 01:07 pm (UTC)Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 01:02 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 01:08 pm (UTC)I've already cancelled lunch with my mother tomorrow; that might be enough, I just don't know. Eeee.
Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 01:52 pm (UTC)Don't feel bad if you can't come, and don't feel the need to decide far in advance. But I want the chili anyway and will make it even if David and Lydy come without you.
(Wrong time of the afternoon to be repeating "chili chili chili rosemary buns chili." Now I am Hongry. Well, I suppose I'm a big girl and know how to fix that all by myself.)
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 02:26 pm (UTC)I live with two anti-vegans. They may not have been to start with, but after several years of my vegan cooking and experiments, vegan is just never their default. So my perspective gets warped.
I hope you are disemhongered by now.
Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 01:55 pm (UTC)Enough to make anyone snappish.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 02:24 pm (UTC)Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 03:28 pm (UTC)here's hoping for better news and a better week.
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 03:39 pm (UTC)Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-10 03:47 pm (UTC)Sunday's weather
Date: 2004-05-10 05:16 pm (UTC)I was surprisingly unfrightened by the storm--probably because I wasn't Home yet in my mind. The mammatus clouds were way way cool.
Shall I try and get you tickets for Pirates of Penzance? I am allowed two, I think.
Cindy
Re: Sunday's weather
Date: 2004-05-11 10:30 am (UTC)I'd love the tickets if the dates work out. David is a huge G&S fan.
Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-11 12:05 am (UTC)It was probably the approaching storm making you achy. We had a thunderstorm in Seattle last week and it did that to me. We can be little old ladies who ache at approaching thunderstorms together.
MKK
no subject
Date: 2004-05-11 10:32 am (UTC)I'll be happy to have weather-related physiological reactions with you, however.
Pamela
no subject
Date: 2004-05-16 07:46 am (UTC)