Weekend sum-up

Friday
I was supposed to go to a sweet invitation-only Knit Night in Berkeley, but couldn't get a sitter. So I called up Alameda Park & Rec and made a reservation for 2 at the outdoor movie that night, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. I really think we just saw this like 4 months ago. Anyway, G had a ball with all the pre-movie festivities (they start letting you in at 6:30PM but don't start the movie till 8:15 because it is only barely dark enough then), which included several of his counselors at "World of Wonder" that past week. The high point was seeing one of the guys take this big, somewhat sqooshy "Earth Ball" and throw it up over G, and see it just whap him into the ground. (He was just fine. Hush.) They also had some competitions before the movie, done by the guys who put the movie on (from a little laptop projecting on a big screen supported by big blow-up columns and connected to powerful speakers), but G wasn't interested and kept doing the other things, which included balloon animals made by his WOW director. (Which popped as he got back to his seat. Of course.)

We ate our dinner and cuddled up in the blankets I brought, then G predictably wanted to sit on my lap. I just couldn't stay warm and after maybe 1/2 hour, we left. We have enjoyed the movies in the past but that was one night to just leave.

Saturday
Saturdays are always a bit slow till 9:15, when I realize we have 15 minutes before we have to leave for his martial arts class, so we run around like screaming meemies getting everything ready, which for me included snipping Lucy's duck treats into small pieces and packing them in a baggie. Dropped G off at the studio and went on to the local bayside dog park, which I'd visited on the spur of the moment the previous week and loved it, well, Lucy and me both! Lucy swam again--so impressed with her courage; I would have bet last week that she'd never swum before! She did less splashing of herself in the face, so didn't get into the vicious cycle of holding her head higher which made her paws higher which made her splash more.... I did realize she's been biting her paws more this past week, so tried to get in to the dog wash queue for after, but they were booked. There wasn't the Great Dane group this week (that was fun last week--blue Merle Great Danes are gorgeous! And lazy!), but there was a pug group, so that was fun, with a blonde French Bulldog pretending to be a pug, running around with them.

Lucy again did great, none of the gruff menacing stuff she periodically does on leash. I did notice that she is as socially inept as Max was--running on the periphery of playing dogs but not knowing how to join the play herself. I don't know how to teach that. She did have fun chasing (but not retrieving) balls in the water and on land. And I got to see lots of breeds of dogs and ask about them. There was a sleek, feathered, tall white dog near the water stop before the bridge. I asked the guy what her name was, and he repeated it for me: Luka. "Luka the Saluki?" I smirked. Um, no, she was a Borzoi. Well, my way was funnier.

Went to pick G up after class and found out the studio will do a demo at the Solano Stroll, breaking boards among other things. Sounded way fun to me, but G just could not get interested, and since they require some meetings beforehand, we passed. Too bad! But I hope we can manage to catch them at some point there.

For the afternoon, G had had a pool playdate with a friend from his special camp earlier in the summer, but the mom had to cancel because of a funeral for a friend (a mother of small ones, dead at 50). We tried to reschedule with another friend, but she wasn't interested. So we pretty much lay around the house till about 4:30, when I decided we should just go anyway. We got there and I realized we didn't have sunscreen (agh) so we borrowed a bottle that was in the lost & found (and will probably be thrown away). We stayed till the pool closed at 5:30, not because we had to leave (I could stay on as a keyholder), but because I was getting cold. Showers for both (these have been great, as the pool has no baths and G is so much faster and more willing to wash his hair in the pool showers!) and home for us.

For dinner, I got out a bag of fresh Chow Mein noodles I'd bought at Berkeley Bowl... and then realized I had no idea what to do with them. I tasted one and decided they weren't cooked yet, so I boiled them in some broth I had left over and some water (to cover them). They got huge (whoops!), but I dumped all of them in my skillet with some tofu and some broccoli flowerets, and some oyster sauce. It tasted good when we ate it, but I have to agree with G, it sucks as leftovers. Too bad.

Oh, and on Saturday I tried to register for fall hockey, after berating myself for missing the Friday-night deadline of discounted early registration. I got caught up by this beauty in the signup regs:

4. Ready to Play?
All players must be ready to play before they register. You cannot sign up if you are injured.

Crud. I was hoping to sign up and join maybe 1 game into the season. My elbow is getting better, but it is certainly still injured (and I've even noticed my arm is weaker). Stupid freaking tendons! OK, more icing.

Sunday
About 9AM, we got a call from the woman who coordinates the Sunday School teachers, apologizing for not calling earlier to remind me that I was teaching. I'm sure she was relieved and a little surprised that I had not only remembered, but was running right on time (I don't do any prep during the week, so I try to get there early to read the lesson plan and gather materials). We walked to church, G reading his new Indiana Jones book he got at Border's last week with my 30% off coupon and keeping up with my pace. He also helped me cut out paper hearts for the kids to write on and decorate. The lesson was the story of baby Moses being pulled from the rushes and his sister slyly offering to the Egyptian princess to offer to find "a woman" (Moses' mother) to take care of the baby. It spoke of Courageous Women (and emphasized that one should de-emphasize the Pharoah-killing-babies part with younger kids). The hearts were used to write "God" on (the biggest heart) and then the names of courageous people who love you on (the smaller hearts). This pretty much became the names of people who love you, period.

We had a mixed class, preteens down to maybe 4 yr olds, so the older kids helped the younger, and the younger kids did a good job listening to the story as read by the older kids. And one of the older kids came up with the idea of stapling together corners of pieces of paper to make open boxes to hold the strings of glitter-glue-glopped hearts for each kid. Fun.

After church, the church sexton pointed out that they had a volunteer dill bush that was hosting 9 Monarch butterfly caterpillars and that we could consider taking one home to raise. We couldn't do it that day, as we were walking home and then doing errands, but I hope to go by there on Friday to get one. They are fat and colorful and loading up on the dill weed!

After church, we walked by the local Episcopal church, which was having the last day of their rummage sale, at $2 a paper bag. They were smart as anything: You buy the bag for $2 (which I did after we had a few things picked out that we for-sure wanted), and then you fill it, and walk away. G found 3 t-shirts he liked, and a piece of smooth knit material he wanted to use for a "shawl" like I use my knitted ones. Hey, fine with me. We added a few books on our way out, walking past the book tables, but didn't get many, which was good. We have so many books.

I'd also looked at the dresses they had for sale, since it was just after 12 and we had to leave by 2 for my friends' wedding in Lafayette. I didn't find anything that worked, so just went home and looked through my closet. I found my "wedding dress" that I'd worn to my uncle's wedding, which I could pair with the scarf/shawl and shoes I'd worn--done! That gave me enough time to use my steam curlers on my hair and get some makeup on. We left at 2:05 and got there on time (yessssss). G was bored in the ceremony, but read his book (which I was glad he'd brought) and then really danced after the dinner, having a great time. We both did. It was a beautiful wedding of two friends who have been together 22 years. The setting was lovely and it cooled off after a bit. We ended up closing down the party, and taking home a lovely table decoration (flowers and greenery, and artichokes, I kid you not). Fun.

Now that was a pretty good weekend.

My boy, sick-ish

Dropped my boy off at his arty daycamp today, even though he has a cough. He has asthma, so when he gets a cough, he has it for like 2 weeks. So I don't tend to pull him from everything for a cough (and I told him he needs to cover his cough with his elbow each time).

But yesterday morning, he woke up with a cough. He told me with the downcast eyes that I usually get on a school day. But this is Art-camp week! I pointed out that if I kept him home, he'd miss a day of artcamp. He was fine with it, which told me he really was sick.

So he did lots of asthma treatments (a friend just called it "smokin' the peace pipe," which it really looks like, as the nebulizer makes a mist of the medicine), stayed in bed most of the day (and put on socks, with protests, when he was out of bed), and watched an endless train of movies.

He ate well (he rarely has problems with food), and asked me to make blueberry muffins. How could I decline? The Cook's Illustrated recipe called for sour cream, so I had to go to the corner store to buy some. He didn't even argue when I told him, and wasn't concerned while I was gone (with my cell, doors all locked, phone by him with instructions on how to call me). Cool.

The mini-muffins I made were so good, we ate way too many and both ended up with stomach aches. (Work finished off the rest today, thank God.)

I got him to bed early, as I had planned, and he had a solid night's sleep and woke up with still a cough, but a productive one and very chipper, so he is at artcamp right now. After he went to bed, I got a bee in my bonnet about making the Creamy Broccoli Soup from a book my sister recommended, Volumetrics, and damn if it wasn't good! And good for you! (no cream and just nonfat milk) Tasty!

I'm glad he went today, but I did enjoy Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade with him. "We named the dog Indiana!" Too funny.

Y'all go on without me

Friends all around me who have had committed relationships, with or without a commitment ceremony in the recent or distant past, are getting married in droves. Overall, it's been a sweet experience to see so many affirming what's always been true, but is now really, honestly, legally recognized by the Golden State.

I don't begrudge them a thing, honestly. But the whole marriage-equality thing has been hypothetical for me always. Folks would get up in arms, red in the face, furious, and yeah, I get it, but I don't get it, you know? It doesn't really mean anything in my life except for some future possibility.

So this morning, a coworker who has had a tough time romantically but recently met a woman through friends told me they're getting married. And she's pregnant (congrats to them both). And then it really hit me, how lonely I am feeling these days. Some good friends from college days are getting married on Sunday, and I realized yesterday that I so wish I had a date for the wedding, or better yet, a girlfriend. I love weddings and get all teary and emotional, and I'd love to share that depth of emotion with someone. And on the flipside, I worry that I'll get too tipsy and say something stupid. It has happened, in the distant past, but it is seared into my memory (I wonder if anyone else remembers that stupid wedding toast, ah me). And this all makes me not want to go... but I have to. I love these two friends dearly and wish they could turn up pregnant like my friend's girlfriend did. They have never had kids because they think it is too hard on the kids to have two moms (this, in Gay Mecca). So I do just feel like saying, Y'all go on without me. I'll catch up later.

Yep, this fifth wheel thing is getting old.

Life in a small town

After our garage sale, my elbow was smarting, so after we foisted our 6' banquet table off on my neighbor who was continuing his garage sale on Sunday, I didn't want to move our 5' table back into the garage. G is barely able to lift his end anyway.

I left it out overnight. Figured it'd probably be there in the morning.

Guy rings the doorbell Sunday morning. "Are you giving that table away?" Nope, just haven't moved it inside yet.

And I'm thinking, heck, if I were still in my old neighborhood in Oakland, it wouldn't have lasted the afternoon.

There ya go.

Paying for a DS Lite with pennies

G has been wanting a Nintendo DS Lite for about a year now. I looked at them last Christmas and was just turned off by the price. $130 for something small enough to be broken or lost is just intolerable to me. So he was stuck with his GameBoy Advance SP that I got him second-hand (and, it turns out, is cannibalized: it has a silver screen-half and a black base, and our local Play N Trade says they were never made like that).

So he saved up his birthday money and allowances, and enthusiastically helped me clean out the basement of sellable items (recycling discarded paper and throwing away tons of unsaleable stuff) to prepare for last Saturday's garage sale.

Things learned:
1. 9am-3pm is TOO LONG. 9am-2pm next time, and that will be a long day, too.
2. Pack sandwiches. We got really hungry and you can't easily leave your garage sale to eat.
3. Create shade. It got really hot in the afternoon.
4. My method of pricing things at a reasonable price, for which we'd take half of that posted price, worked well.
5. Good attitude is good for me, too. Saying "Have a good day!" to folks who browsed and walked away kept both of us from thinking resentful thoughts. And there were plenty of browsers.
6. Lots of tables is good--people like to look at things at that height. Boxes of toys on the ground are good, too, for kids who can't easily see onto the tables.
7. Giving stuff away feels good, too--we had bought a "PomPom Animals"-making set from Costco. G had made one animal and then was done. I gave it away to a sweet little girl who admired it and she was really appreciative. (And one more thing gone.)
8. Furniture is a great thing to sell. Put it out by the curb and, next time, I'll ask that the buyer (who didn't have her car with her the first time she came) leave it till later--even as a sold item, it would have brought people in who might have bought more things.
9. Most people, surprisingly, paid the price shown. Bargaining is a lost art. (Except for the guy who wanted to pay $4 for a remote-control Hummer H3 that I was only asking $8 for. Puhleaze. I wish I knew how to say "It's a good price" in Spanish. I did get lots of practice for my Spanish and remembered more than I thought I could.)
10. Wow, you can really make some bucks. We made over $140, and quickly boxed up the rest and dropped it at Salvation Army (and the library, for leftover books)--everything gone!

Anyway, G took his $150 in dollars and coins to the Play N Trade to buy his precious DS Lite... only to find that he hadn't listened carefully enough on the phone. The $130 price wasn't for a package deal, as he'd thought, but it was as part of a package: you had to buy an accessory and a game with it to get that price. So the total was about $162, of which I fronted $12. The guy said he'd never had anyone pay with exact change for a DS Lite before (piles of quarters, dimes, pennies...). That made me kind of sad, honestly. No kid has come into the store before with his pile of hard-earned money to get a DS Lite? I do hope some of those parents who charged it had taken the cash and pulled out the credit card for simplicity.

And G is so damned proud of himself for earning it. And deservedly so.

(And I'm tired. Glad we didn't do two days!)

My new kid

G and I took food over to my minister's house on Wednesday, to make dinner for her family. They have an 8-month-old boy, and I know it's hard just to feed yourself when your kid is that young. Plus, this dinner is dead easy (Trader Joe's: organic extra-firm tofu, Red* Curry Sauce, half a bag of frozen broccoli, light coconut milk that you at right at the end).

*or Yellow; that one's good too, but I had Red on hand

After G went into the living room to play with their son, they both remarked on how different he seems. H is doing so much better with social stuff. On the way there, in the car, he started to talk about the levels in a video game he plays, and then stopped himself, saying, "But you're not really interested in that, are you, Mom?" Wow! I complimented him on his sensitivity, and no, I'm really not interested. He mused that his friend W would be interested in talking about that game, and that he'd do that next time they were together.

My minister and her partner pointed out that he seems much happier--and he does. It is really good.

Last night, I took him to Kincaid's for dinner. They see fit to send me $20 gift cards about yearly, and I love getting an entire dinner for two for $15 plus tip. I prepped G for it a bit, since he can be squirmy at nice restaurants, but once we emerged from the parking garage, he blurted out, "I love this place! I remember this!" and we did have a great time, going over to B&N afterwards and scoring some Klutz books, a new family favorite.

And did I mention I had the best catfish I've ever had, that night? And the best mashed potatoes, too, with G's burger.

We came home too late to price things for Saturday's garage sale, but it was a very pleasant evening anyway.