surprise, surprise...good stuff

January 22nd "Good Stuff"

*My dad had surgery yesterday. And everything went very well. Not that problems were expected, but it's nice to have that nerve-wracking worrying over with anyway. And as happy as I am that it's over with, and I'm sure he's even happier.

*This almost seems odd to put on a list of good things. But it's something good that comes from extremely sadness. Jason's Poor Kitties Memorial Fund. He started this in response to sadness. Neil Gaiman's sweet, beautiful cat Zoe is dying. And Bookfool, a woman with a heart of gold, has been left with that heart aching as she just lost a much-loved feline friend. While not everyone reacts to the loss of a furry loved one in the same way, for so many of us it's truly a loss that defies words. But Jason invited us to say a few words about kitties who have touched our own lives. I think I will just link to this post I wrote a few years ago...as I said, this kind of loss defies words, but I tried in that post to convey what one big, beautiful, affectionate feline baby meant to this family. Especially to one little boy. And you know, it's now been 3 1/2 years since Taco died, and he is still missed daily by every one of us.
While Jason has suggested a charity to donate to, I do hope he won't mind if I donate to our wonderful local shelter instead. Max has a new buddy now, Lucky. And while Lucky could never in a bazillion years replace Taco, he is a very special new friend. And without Lollypop Farm, who kept this sweet abandoned cat alive for several months just waiting for the right person to come and love him, Max wouldn't have this very special kitty in his life now. And neither would the rest of us.

*Rich. For more reasons than I could ever list.

good stuff...a babbling version

January 8th "Good Stuff"

*Finding out that the intersession class Rich is teaching doesn't meet on Fridays...I'd thought it was Mon.-Fri. Such a happy, happy surprise!!!!

*Silly me should have mentioned this before...Rich is not in the Bahamas right now. :) Okay, I honestly never begrudged him his January trips to the Bahamas. Really, I didn't. But on the other hand, I'm not going to complain that he turned down the opportunity to co-teach the marine biology class there this year. I like having him here with me. With us. And seriously, not just because I don't have to shovel the daily snow we've been getting. ;)

*And speaking of snow...I know I say it all the time, but oh how I love it! And we've really been in the typical lake effect pattern since the end of December, and this just makes me so very happy! We usually only get a couple of "big" snows (as in 18+ inches) per year, sometimes only one big snow a winter. But thanks to living so close to the Great Lakes, we do get snow most every day for a few month stretch. Not a lot of snow per day...generally one to four inches. Enough to keep things looking beautiful all the time because there's always fresh snow to cover the ugly brown stuff from the snow plows, but not enough to cause problems to people who are used to it. Yes, I do believe I am utterly spoiled. :D

*Songs that make me cry. Every single time I listen to them. Like Casimir Pulaski Day by Sufjan Stevens. Thank you, Ana!

*Documentaries. And the fact that I get to watch them for school so often. :) Yesterday, Annie and I watched World in the Balance: The People Paradox. (Actually a NOVA episode, I think.) So good. Also yesterday, we watched the third lecture of AIDS: Evolution of an Epidemic, a four-part lecture series by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Yeah, see, despite my bitching about all the work that homeschooling is, it really is a pretty good gig, huh?

*An added bonus to watching movies for school...I get to crochet! Watching TV is usually the only time I have to crochet and knit. And I really have very little time for watching TV. So "having" to watch it for school...well, you can't beat that, can you? :D


*This guy. Officially Lucky. Though we tend to call him Luxray. Of all the non-human animals that share the house, this guy is definitely the life of the party! (If we were including humans, it would be a tough race between Luxray and Maxidoodle.) Lux is such a character. Playful as all get out, rascally as hell...and yet so damn affectionate. Yep, we're all so grateful that this fellow came to be part of our family. Even Aldo, though she'd never admit it. (And in the wee hours of each morning, when he's woken me yet again for some pampering, I'm loathe to admit it, too.)

Sheesh, it's still morning. This babbling might just make novel length if I don't just hit "publish." Not that having a mile-long list of good stuff is a bad thing, of course. :D