One of the main things that’s been upsetting Mr. C about the ongoing saga of his leg is that he really lives for the holidays and he’d been realizing for months that if he’s still as disabled as he has been, we will not be hosting Christmas or even decorating the house the way he likes. I of course offered to do as much as I can – much as when I offered to take some nights to cook dinner, this was waved away. But he finally decided the way to handle the house decorating was to start it early and take it in small doses.
So I brought up the boxes this weekend and, as expected, this energized him. His sleep schedule is still completely screwed up, but here it is 6:30 am and he’s already starting to assemble the tree or such. (I’d taken all the lights out and tested them yesterday.) I still think we’ll cut a few corners, but it looks like our house is going to be quite Christmassy for several months… and we’re both fine with that.
As far as his leg, he continues to get tests and still has a real problem, but no diagnosis. More tests coming, stay tuned.
C’s birthday was a few days before Halloween. We were supposed to take him and his niece out to Becco to celebrate both their birthday, but he had tummy trouble and we cancelled. But we did a ‘traditional’ birthday for him at home – instead of making dinner, he orders some really great snacks that we can dine on (pâté , cheeses, cornichons, that sort of thing). He watches all his favorite movies. There are presents, of course, and I got him a cheesecake. It was nice. We were still in Scary October mode, so we watched “The Great Pumpkin” and the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers, which is terrific and gets watched almost annually.
Other October watching: we finished “Squid Game”, which was amazing (and brutal). It: Chapter Two, which I really enjoyed, more than the first one. Night House, a new movie with Rebecca Hall, slow and quite unnerving, I really liked it. Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein, which was fun (and also misnamed, as the Wolfman and Dracula are also in it and have even more screen time than The Monster)
Now that it’s November, we’re on “The Good Fight” (excellent and chock-a-block with Broadway actors), and have picked up “Q-Force” (we finished it, actually) and “Loudermilk” again. And this weekend we watched Cruella (fun, but meaningless) and Stillwater. Stillwater is wonderful – I thought it was really something. Great story, with a lot of backstory you discover as you go through it, excellent performances, takes its time. I suspect it will be an Oscar movie, and deservedly so.
What else? C’d gotten boosted a few weeks ago, but I postponed it until after the concert, got it a couple of Fridays ago (and it wrung me out through most of Saturday, much like shot #2 did).
Work is fine. I’m going in today, not a normal thing, to run errands and also to bring my skates in – the free Bryant Park ice rink is open again, just a few blocks from the office. I haven’t been on the ice since Feb 2020. Today’s probably going to be too warm to skate – I may go after work. But in general, having the skates at the office will mean I can be spontaneous. (I’ll probably start taking lessons again after the new year.)
Orchestra is fine, too. We’re rehearsing Tchaikovsky 4 now. I finally broke down and ordered a VERY EXPENSIVE new horn case. This one has wheels, like rolling luggage, and can hold a mute and a stand as well as the horn – which basically solves all the problems I have commuting with a horn. I won’t get it until January, and it’s iffy whether I’ll still have any gigs at that point, but I’m generally excited about it.
Oh, and I finally got my will updated! It’s only been on the to-do list for a couple of years now, and only took me quite a few months because of my own dawdling. But it’s done! and I can turn my attention to other things.
Yep, that’s it. Feeling less pushed, getting things done.
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