Weekend update

First, thanks to absolutely everyone who offered sympathy. I got feedback from my tryouts and know what I need to work on for next tryouts. I also learned that not a lot of folks moved up, so I feel better about not having made that cut.

Friday
Anyway, Friday, I was supposed to have dinner with Dharma & TGF before they left Sunday for a trip to visit Dharma's mom. As I picked G up from Y-kids, though, I started feeling awful. By the time I got home, I was really nauseated. I called up and canceled and Dharma sounded so disappointed. :(

G and I had scrambled eggs and curled up on the couch for the evening.

Saturday
Saturday morning, we were up early and getting gussied up for Rosh Hashana services at the Paramount Theater. K attends Temple Sinai regularly and was really looking forward to going to RH services with me. We signed G up for childcare (which was extensive and sounded like great fun, including RH-style Twister!) earlier in the week. K was in her black suit, I wore my cleavage dress, and G had on a white, button-down shirt and nice slacks with a blue blazer with gold buttons. We were quite the picture!

RH services were interesting and really quite cool. I had quite a reaction to the Abraham-Isaac sacrifice story. K had warned me a bit, but it was still really disturbing. Oy.

There were so many parts to the services that were new and different and felt foreign. I went from feeling like it was a different way to worship to feeling like a stranger in a strange land and back many times. Since it's a Reform congregation, much of the service was in English and a few of the songs are transliterated so I could sing along without having to just pick it up in the middle. And a lot of the melodies are fairly predictable, so that part of singing along was fine.

Afterward, we went to lunch with a group of K's friends. They were delightful, interesting, and funny. Very interested in me and how we met, etc. and not shy about asking! We strolled up the street to Fenton's for an after-lunch ice cream treat and then parted, with lots of future dinner invitations.

Interesting note: I took G back to the restaurant bathroom to wash his sticky hands before we left. When I emerged, folks were joking with K that she no longer had to keep an appointment calendar--that I, as the femme of the couple, would be taking that over. I really bristled at this and said, "What makes you think I'm femme?" We really do cross over quite a bit: she beads, I play ice hockey, she has the warm/nurturing job, I'm a programmer. And the thought that the domestic/calendar duties would be mine from here on in is preposterous. --Not the least of which is that I'm forgetful! Odd.

But it is nice to be invited to dinner with these new friends (new to me--K has been going there for 10 years). We're already invited to a wedding anniversary celebration. Sweet!

That afternoon, we worked on cleaning up the house for Mom's impending visit. K apparently has exactly the same housekeeping issues with her mom as I do with mine--any perception of lack of housekeeping is taken deeply to heart and perceived as a failure of parenting. sigh. But I got a lot done and it is nice to have the house cleaned up. K went home to get a good night's sleep before Sunday services, and I fell deeply asleep.

Sunday
Sunday morning, I got up early enough to get the vacuuming done, which made an enormous difference. I was once again vacuuming up yellow and black Lab fur, as we have been dogsitting my friends' dog, Pepsi, till they return from New York, as her father has heart trouble and is in the hospital. She is such a sweetheart--as energetic and loving as Max without the PITB behavior--no jumping up, no mouthiness whatsoever, sits to be petted... she doesn't have some of the training I'd forgotten I'd done with my dogs, as she darted into the street (on a Flexi leash) while I was dealing with Maddy's leash more than once. Oy! And she's not keen on staying before eating (but it's getting better).

She is crate trained (hallelujah!) and is now willing to go right in, as I don't take 'no' for an answer on that one. Leaving her in the crate means I don't have to worry about her destroying anything while I'm gone. It is clearly the right idea, as I apparently left one of my bandanas on top of the crate and she pulled it in and ripped it right down the middle. Pepsi is recuperating, today, from her spay yesterday and I'll be picking her up tonight.

Sunday, we went to church (almost on time--I had meant to get there earlier to set up the bells and at the last minute, we were running late). I played handbells for the "centering music" and it went perfectly. I noticed that morning that there was a note in one measure I'd never played at previous rehearsals. It is hard to read within the staff!

Then--ta-dah!--I got to sing in the choir. This is huge, as I'd given up on Chancel Choir due to its schedule (Thursday 7:30-9) and G's bedtime (8:30 firm). K sweetly said she could watch him any Thursday night that she was available so that I could sing--this after I left last week's service early, and in a black mood, as I was missing singing so much. She is so kind. We sang an anthem about coming to church as you are, which was especially apt as we were all in Picnic gear, and left immediately after the service to go to the church picnic.

G went ahead with friends, so I stayed to help put the bells away and went by KFC to pick up Mac & Cheese and their coleslaw to bring. I stayed about 1/2 an hour, kissed my boy good-bye, and left to change into dark jeans, a black snugly-fitting top, and my black leather jacket. I put a rose tattoo on my left breast and set off for the O bus.

Which had come about 5 minutes earlier, damn and blast the incorrect time on my computer! The next one wasn't for an hour, so I went back home and drove to MacArthur BART. BARTed in to Glen Park, picked up by my gf, after nearly fainting at the sight of her in a well-fitting black t-shirt and a black leather Utilikilt and boots. Oh man, she looked good. I said "hello" to her older son, we picked up some sunscreen, and headed out to the Folsom Street Fair. She had never been and I'd only been once, years ago. It was much bigger but just as much a visual feast.... Saw many titillating sights, tons of bare (mostly male) bottoms, several completely naked men except for sensible shoes, some folks in rubber outfits (explaining what I know of rubber fetish to K), and some BDSM scenes, a few of which were interesting and some really disturbing. And I tried on several enticing corsets, one of which was $300, gorgeous but way too pricey for what I'd get out of it (although the saleswoman was very good about pointing out all the ways in which one could use it), and God! really pretty hard to breathe in. Hard to resist the slimmed waist and pushed-up boobs, though. K certainly enjoyed that part!

We wandered back to the car, savoring the time together, and headed back to BART to pick up my car. Collected G, who was initially resistant to leave, and then had to leave NOW. At home, I gathered my hockey gear (freshly washed, but got nasty right away at practice, wah!) and went to Belmont for a 7:35 practice. Ouch. It was really hard to be there at Green and think of wanting to be in Red. Oh, well, it was a pretty fun practice and there were many promising new Green players, and a new Green goalie who was stopping almost every single shot (certainly stopped all of mine!). K got G to fall asleep, an amazing feat for the boy who loves to pretend to sleep with blanket and pillow and very, very rarely does.

Mondayish
Back home for a sweet, snuggly night. Got up in time to drop Pepsi off for her spay (nearly getting lectured for letting "my" dog go through a heat--not my dog, certainly wouldn't be my choice!), worked, met K again for lunch and as I was about to leave, Mom arrived. Got her settled, went back to work, and Mom picked G up from school, to his delight. Settled him at home with babysitter and went off to a nice dinner at Aroma on the estuary. Slept very well and got Mom up (and self) at 6AM as requested and off to the airport (for a 9:30 flight) to return her rental car and get specially x-rayed at the airport because of her titanium knees. Go, Mom! We'll see her again at Christmas.