I ordered two of M’s school books yesterday from Amazon, one for $31 and the other for $53.  I still need to order one more.  He got a book voucher for $100, but the school took $50 of it for various lame reasons.  Why they didn’t just give him a $50 voucher and be done with it is beyond me.  

As of today, it is 85 days until Christmas.  W will be about 21 months.  I’m already looking forward to it.  Because this year he will really notice things.  It will be fun to watch Christmas through his beautiful eyes.

Good friends are valuable; stupid friends are expendable.

So I wasted three hours today.  TC asked me to be at Os since she had to work.  I got there a little after 4 p.m. to people waiting already.  I let them in and prepared to do registration.  TC and MC arrived and ran me up.  TC asked me to help MC, but MC didn’t want my help.  I did a little, then decided, screw this.  I greeted a few people, like my cousin TH, waited for R to arrive, and announced that, unless I was needed I’d mosey on home.

R has been eagerly awaiting this day for months.  Braves versus Washington in Atlanta.  The game originally started at 7:00 p.m., but Fox thought they were going to still be in contention so they bought the rights and moved the game to 4:00 p.m.  We left around 12:00 noon and got to the field in plenty of time.  It was hot as blazes.   By 7:00 p.m. there was a chill in the air.  The game stayed interesting, but in the 11^th inning they lost 6 to 4.  Oh well. We still had fun and it brought back memories of 1982.

I am so exhausted; I knew I would be. 

The big news:  no Olympics for Chicago.  Good.  They don’t need it.  It went to South America for the first time ever.  And of all places, it went to Rio de Janeiro.  Cool.  That was the setting of my unpublished novel.  I studied the country so thoroughly from the one book our library had.  There was no internet in those days.  And when that one book went on sale in the Used Book Store, I snatched it up.  So I’m excited that my country was picked to host the next Olympics.   

I got online today to find a bitch in my inbox. 

MC “saw you take [two books] yesterday....If those items or any of the other items that seem to be missing…were your personal items, then certainly you are entitled to them. But if they were removed for any other reason, it is certainly causing a hardship …. Any information you can give us about the wereabouts of these materials will certainly be appreciated."

She doesn’t care about those books.  She’s accusing me of stealing “the other items.”  He has restricted their budget and she is taking it out on me. 

I calmly explained my reason for taking the books.

“…So when I saw the books under some stuff, I was surprised.  I figured if they were not going to being used, or worse, were going to be forgotten, I’d … use them next year.  If this was the wrong thing to do, I apologize.

As for "any of the other items that seem to be missing from Handicraft" I don't know.  Since I didn't ask to be reimbursed…, I did take some of that stuff home with me back in June.  The rest went in those orange Home Depot buckets."

“Yes, this was the wrong thing to do. If you took those books during UOS … [they] should have actually been returned at the end of UOS.  However, seeing as that didn't happen and they ended up with the Cub Events stuff ,  as I previously stated Terri and myself have done an inventory and know exactly what is there. So it needs to be returned.

“If you needed a book for display this year, you should have called the council office ... Same will be true for future years, if you are the one that still does that training.”

I’m pissed at myself for trying to placate her by saying “If this was the wrong thing to do” when it wasn’t and at her for being a council whore.  I held my ground:

“I've tried all that.  I've seen my requests lost, misplaced, forgotten, ignored, what-have-you.  Promises made and broken.  Rules changed on a whim.  I've been held to standards others have not.  Bit my tongue to the point that it bleeds. 

“If it was really about the books, you should have said something Friday before I left, given me the benefit of the doubt.  I deserved that much.”

I’ve been sick since Tuesday, sore throat, headaches, and lethargy.  So I cancelled piano and took two blue Tylenols.  I slept 18 hours.  I’m better, but still tired.

I haven’t had any more nasty emails.  I’m surprised.  It’s not like MC to let someone else have the last word.  And I am disappointed in TC though; she never spoke up for me.  I guess she’s changed her mind about needing me to sub for her when she has to work.  So be it.  It’s like at church:  if you won’t do the hard jobs for nothing, you can just leave. 

I’m still upset about the way T spoke to me Friday.  I was playing w/ W on the treadmill while I straddled it.  When he tumbled I turned it off and said, "You okay?"  He was.  Then T came in upset and jumped on me.  He took W and went outside.  I unplugged the treadmill and went to my room.  After a few hours, he came in and we talked.  He says he had announced the rule; I never knew of it. 

We parted amicably but I’m still hurt. I’ve never spoken to my mama the way he did me.

We went to BSC yesterday.  Rev. RF spoke on “The Doctrine of Irresistible Grace.”  It basically says that only those God has preselected will be going to heaven.  It sort of takes the pressure off preachers.  If one converts few while others convert many, it’s not his fault. 

At some point during the sermon, my mind started wandering.  I concluded that sermons are like horoscopes.  We bring much of the message with us.  The same words or concepts hit each people in a unique ways.  And the same verse takes on a different meaning at different times in our lives.  

K's baby was born Friday.  It's a boy, 9 lbs 3 oz.  He was breach so they had to do a C-section.  But since she’s fifteen, she should be okay.  And the dad is still in the picture.  As a matter of fact, he’s in the Military.

I waited until Monday to visit since I didn’t feel good and wanted to wait until he got home.  He is a little cutie, but right now he is jaundiced.  Both mine were, too, so I recommended they set up his seat in front of the window so he could get some sun.

At Piano yesterday, I worked on Silent Night.  It’s one she presented a few years ago for a teacher and student to do together.  That time I could not do it.  We will see about this year.

I went with R & M to look at a 1991 GMC Sonoma truck, dark blue with automatic shift.  R actually saved up for it in M's credit union account so we could pay cash and would not have yet another expense.  Good.  They're coming too fast lately.  And with his time cut down, we are not getting rid of them as quickly.

On Monday, Dr. Phil had a show on cheating spouses.  He asked his audience how many of them would leave after finding out their husband had cheated.  Most raised their hands.  I don’t know that I believe them.  A lot of women tolerate cheating before they get married, thinking marriage will change him.  When that doesn’t work, they think a baby will change him.  After that, they cannot leave because of the children, because of a desire to keep the family together.  I don’t know if he cheated before they married, but the rest is my mama to a tee.

I am slowly catching up on my ATC’s.  I got Bee ATC out Monday.  Halloween Black Cat ATC is due next.  I haven’t decided how I’m going to do it, though.  

R asked me to baby-sit today while she left to do one of her odd jobs.  K is still nervous about being alone with the baby.  I didn’t mind, but I was surprised when I realized that TP was there, too.  He was asleep in the other room.  So she wouldn’t have been alone after all.  But the baby wasn’t hard to keep at all.  I actually had fun.

RAL called this morning, needing me to watch K & T again.  I got over there around 10:30.  They were asleep so I cleaned for a while and watched the History channel.  A show came on called Cults:  Dangerous Devotion.  Naturally, I was intrigued.  They covered the usual guys, Manson, Jones, Koresh, and added Warren Jeffs.  It made me think about my dad, of course.  He wanted to be a cult leader.  He, in all this time, has managed one disciple, who even he admits is not the brightest bulb on the string.  He blames the goat’s milk.  And mama.

This was another Akela weekend.  It feels weird not to go at all.  Especially since I think this was the weekend that TC had to work and had asked me to help out.  But I also know that even if MC had not shown her ass, I still would not have enjoyed it.  It would have broken my heart so see my golden goose being strangled.  And now I’m available for other things.  And the absence of all that junk in my front bedroom is wonderful.  But I still worry.  I’ve seen that look of disappointment in a boy’s eyes.

I babysat again and met the baby’s other grandma, GP.  I was surprised when she showed up and then hung around.  So around 1:30 pm I asked her how long she was staying.  Oh, you can leave if you want to.  I did. So I did.   

We talked a good bit.  I learned a lot about her son, T.  Turns out, he is in the National Guards at Basic Training.  Good.  If he were full time he would probably be stationed far away.  They are still very much in love so I would hate that for all three of them.

Silent Night, two handed version, was approved as played.  As a matter of fact, she was impressed that I could do the student part and the teacher part equally well.  So she asked, “You want to do it out of the hymn book now?”  Sure. 

I finally ordered the FlyLady calendar.  I’m trying to get R into the habit of putting stuff on the calendar, especially since I am no longer involved in Scouts.  Meanwhile, I’m wondering, what am I supposed to be involved in?  Am I to be a stay-at-home grandma or a working girl? I’m not really sure.

The Holiday Cruising Missions started on Monday.  I’ve already downloaded the Holiday Control Journal.  I dug out my old one last week and cleaned it out a bit, moving it to a bright red folder.  I also started a gift idea bank based on my record of gifts I had given in previous years.  Now I’ve got to ponder “some of the basics that are necessary for the way that you celebrate the holidays.”   My basics are:  My Family Christmas Day Dinner, Christmas cards, Christmas tree and decorations, the yard decorations, Aunt R’s house, Mama’s house, Aunt C’s house…and presents. 

I took ET to the hospital today.  Turns out, she is in really bad shape.  Her doctor put in a bypass in 2002 because all her arteries were blocked.  Now her bypass is blocked, too.  And he refuses to do anything else since she is still smoking and eating poorly.  I told her, “He’s ready to just dig a hole and throw you in.”  She is extremely depressed.  It upset her that none of her immediate family was willing to take her.  I told her kids don’t like seeing Mama when she is not all right.  It freaks them out.

After I got back, I went to our library to check out the Confucius Analects.   They didn’t have it.  Albany does, of course, plenty of copies.  But ours, nope.  So I checked out the Greek plays instead, since they are listed next. 

The kids came over but Matt didn’t go home with them tonight.  He’s planning to get his license tomorrow.  I told T that I’m afraid he will fail.  He told M, who asked me why.  I said, I haven’t seen you study or practice.  I told him his Aunt DS and his Uncle GB both failed the test.

The Driver’s License place is closed on Saturday.  They wouldn’t call or check last week like I told them to.  I wouldn’t either since M insists on his dad being the one to do it with him.  If you want to do it yourselves, then you get to do it all.  Even the parts you don’t like.

T has decided to sell his old truck so he came over today to get the title.  He grabbed M also and headed for the R’s house.  He says they’re trying to let Ms. D know they like her by visiting them more.

We went to BSC today and then to the S Family Reunion.  There was a good crowd this year.  My baby-baby had a lot of fun letting everyone know he was present.  And he, once again, was the youngest one there.  Next year it should be N & M’s new baby.

They did a trivia game this time.  The subjects were DWS & CPS.  Uncle C brought his huge book of genealogy information and pictures.  It reminded me that I want to get back into our genealogy research.  Now the W is here, there’s good reason to do it right.

Today is the day Yahoo’s Geocities shuts down.  Meaning, it is the day my cpack270 website finally and officially ends.  I think I had it up for seven years. In the beginning I updated it many times a week; in the end I updated it less than once a month.  Dr. CL started one a few years ago, but I don’t know if it is as active.  Since yesterday at the Family Reunion, TFH said that P270 is really unorganized right now.  (As was Akela 1, btw; more on that later.)  But, if they don’t care, then why should I?

That woman loves Christmas music.  And duets.  She gave me another Christmas duet to work on this week as well as an extra Christmas piece.  She hasn’t given me this much homework in years. 

I’m still debating the job search thing.  I’ve told R that he is not going to be happy if I get a job.  You won’t either, will you?  I said, Well, I’d be okay, but not if this house ends up going to pot.  Y’all would have to do a lot more.  He looked unconvinced.  He still doesn’t see what all I do.  I know that.

This is beyond hilarious.  We took the black and white cat to the vet yesterday to be spayed.  We went back today and the doctor told us, “This cat is a boy.”  R and I thought he was joking with us.  “No, it’s not.”  Turns out, M sexed the cat wrong.  I never checked for myself; I just took his word for it.  Anyway, the vet went ahead and neutered him.  I’ve never had a cat neutered before.  I guess we’ll see if it really does make any difference in his behavior.  Meanwhile, I’ve changed his name to “Boy Kat.”

You never know who is going to spot you on FB.  I got an email from a woman named LMB who wanted to add me as a friend.  It took me a while to recognize who she was.  I totally didn’t know her from her picture.   Then it hit me—OMG.  I haven’t thought of her in years.  I clicked to approve.  When I researched her friends list I saw others from our class, some that I don’t remember.  Like, today, a DP wanted to add me.  I’ll have to pull out my annual, since I don’t recognize her yet. 

I picked up M from school today around ten. We had some time to kill, before our appointment, so I headed to RAL’s.  K’s tutor was there, so R handed me the baby and started cleaning and cooking.  I didn’t mind.  T is coming along fine; K is another story.  She is still very immature, putting her wants before the baby’s needs

Later, we went to the DMV.  Although we had an appointment, of course we had to wait.  When he finally took the drivers’ test, he made a seventy-something.  Enough to pass.  So now he is an official driver.

Tonight is Halloween, but you wouldn’t know it around our house.  I have candy that we won at the family reunion to hand out just in case, but it has been years since we’ve had a trick-or-treater.  Tonight was no exception.  It is also the night that Akela was going to have a hay ride, jugglers, and other fun.  (Or as much fun as the budget will allow, anyway.)  But no one has contacted me since the incident, so we didn’t go.  It’s my first total no-show in possibly ten years.  It feels really strange. 

I guess I’m finally out.