2006-01-13 - 12:33 p.m.
Up for air again…
Incredibly, insanely busy here.
The wedding was lovely, except for the fact that I had a case of the creeping crud and was running to the bathroom every half-hour. Imodium is your friend. Lomotil with atropine is your very best friend with benefits. We spent the weekend in a hotel in Alton, which the Professor rather enjoyed, although getting to dress up in pretty clothes and see her cousins was more fun.
Christmas was also nice. We got to spend time with my mom Christmas Eve, and my in-laws Christmas Day. Everyone was very pleased with the Christmas beer, and I got some not-so-subtle hints that I should brew at other times of the year aside from Christmas. I made a pub stout and a braggot. The stout is midnight-black, nice coffee and black chocolate flavors from the patent malt, just enough hops to balance the sweetness. I call it “Shaw’s Patented Cerebral Nutrient”. The braggot is lighter than last year; I used a lighter malt and more honey so the spices could come through. Good stuff. I received a number of nice gifts, though nothing I actually asked for (not that I’m complaining). My father-in-law hauled off and gave us a Showtime Rotisserie (just set it and forget it!), which I have used primarily for roasting vegetables for salsa. J’s just not much for roast chicken, ya know, and there’s no way I’d do a pork shoulder in there. Dandy little gadget, though. He also gave me a huge Looney Tunes collection. My wife gave me the first season of The Muppet Show on DVD, and the first three Harry Potter movies. Plenty of good TV-watching there. I’d asked for things like a big stainless-steel spoon for stirring beer, or a new carboy, a ukulele, stuff like that. Again, I’m not complaining.
My grandmother is doing so well that she’s been removed from hospice care and given a regular room at the nursing home. She’s still awake and aware, still capable of the occasional wisecrack. She’s still not getting any medication except for her antipsychotics, and she seems happier for it.
The Professor has started school this week. She’s going to a Montessori school that was founded by an old teacher of mine, and who still remembers me rather fondly. (Given my somewhat problematic temper back then, I’m surprised at her fondness.) School starts no earlier than 8 AM, and I have to be at work by 8:45. Thanks to my encyclopedic knowledge of traffic flows and the network of backstreets in West St. Louis County, I manage. Still, to make things easier, Mom has volunteered to help out. So she’s going to start meeting me at a halfway point and she’ll take the Professor the rest of the way. She’ll also occasionally pick her up, seeing as how the nursing home is in the same area. I’m so glad we did all that therapy and patched things up.
Michael is growing by a pound a week. He’s nearly double his birth weight, and is in 3-6 month clothes in some cases. We’re thinking of calling him Mongo. Only time will tell if her ends up like this guy or this guy.
Hopefully it won't be another month before my next update...
