Changes

MonsterMustDie's mother is still in the medical facility while they are trying to stabilize her sleep patterns. After that, she should be moving into a nursing home. She is no longer capable of living in a managed care residence. He is still under a lot of stress over all the changes in his life now. He told me that, while it was hard when his father died slowly and painfully, his mother's passing is hitting him much harder than the loss of his father ever could. I am eternally thankful for his cousin who is handling nearly everything that needs to be done for his mother in Alabama.

I will have more time on my hands soon. The part time temp position will be ending soon. They are out of work for me and now I am only going in one or two days a week. The production manager told me fall is always a slow time for them, when they let all the temps go, but the slow-down is coming a lot earlier again this year. I'm looking for any work I can get again, any day of the week. I can move my schedule around at the temp job, which is a low priority now. It's a shame they aren't busier since they seem to like me a lot there.

Next month, I will be house & cat sitting for a month for friends who will be traveling and working in three different countries. I think I will enjoy the "vacation" from el Rancho for a while. Meanwhile, temping and movie extra work keep me on an extremely early schedule, rising at 5:00 a.m., which will necessitate my staying overnight at the house to ensure I have time in the mornings to see to the cats before going to work. Of course, I will be visiting Rancho de WereMonster, but I will not be sleeping here at all.

Looking forward to changes.

sleepless

I'm up early, after getting out of bed 1st at 3:00am-ish to check on MonsterMustDie, who was sleeping on the sofa, and 2nd at 5:00am after being kept awake by the rain that is now slowing down. It has been a bad couple of weeks for MonsterMustDie and his mother, who is an Alzheimer's patient. When she moved into a managed care facility a few weeks ago, she appeared to be very over-medicated when he and his cousin visited her. Then she got worse in days and was stumbling, falling, and incoherent. They had asked for anti-depressants for her at the residence. Things were suggested to her personal physician who, not to be ordered around, prescribed something completely different. As it turns out, her doctor in Alabama prescribed drugs that have actually sped the Alzheimer's disease progression. She is at a medical facility now that is doing a study of her, and while she is awake more often now, the damage the drug did to her was described as setting her brain on fire. She will have to go into nursing home when she leaves the medical facility. They do not expect any improvement at this point.

The stress is getting to him. Stress trying to remotely care for his mother, with the help of his cousin. Stress from his job ending and waiting for a new job to begin, though that situation is going very well - his previous boss from the current job will be hiring him and another co-worker at the company that he's moved to - meanwhile, he has to keep dealing with helping the people firing them with managing and moving the warehouse and what is left of the Atlanta showroom to NJ and NY respectively. Stress from me being out of work for over two years without any unemployment benefits. It seems like it would be a perfect time for him to move back to Alabama but that is not what he wants to do. He is staying here and waiting for things to work themselves out.

total recall

I've been cat napping a lot this afternoon. Can't seem to stay awake for long today but the dreams have been amazing. Once again, dream-remembering places and events inside dreams as if they actually happened. I dream of remembering places, schools, and even people that never existed. I dream of buildings and activites in great detail and of people who died a long time ago as if they had been around all along. They appear not as they were then, but as how they would be now.

Home Bound

MonsterMustDie is in Alabama for the day, taking care of his mother. I loaned him my car for the trip. He dropped me off at work this morning and I was lucky enough to get a ride home after work today from a neighbor. Now, I'm stuck at home without a car for the remains of the evening. I'm hoping someone will phone with an offer to go out to dinner or maybe even a ride to the Tiki party that I had and interest in attending tonight. The rainy weather makes this seem like a perfect night for sushi, fire, and rum drinks. Meanwhile, there are bills to pay and cats to feed.

Boom Boom

MonsterMustDie was a a car wreck yesterday. Not his fault, so the other driver's insurance should be paying for most repairs. Fortunately, he was not hurt, except for a contusion in his left hand from the air bag. I'll be driving him around today and tomorrow he is planning to borrow my car to drive to Alabama to move his mother into a managed care facility, now that her Alzheimer's disease has gotten too severe for her to be left alone. He'll take the car after dropping me off at work early in the morning. Not yet sure how I'll be getting back home tomorrow afternoon.

Summer Gatherings

June 23 was our Summer Solstice Party & Potluck. It was a large project that was my first attempt at taking advantage of the large back yard we have at Rancho de WereMonster by entertaining outdoors. The idea to have live music played at the party came from The Soogs, who wanted to play in front of people for the first time in years. I invited anyone who wanted to participate to play as well. We started out with six bands or individuals who wanted to play and by the party, that list was whittled down to four who could actually make the party. Four was a much more manageable list to be finished by 10 pm, which is generally the legal limit for outdoor music/noise in residential areas - not that there were anyone immediate to the house that would be disturbed. What makes our back yard perfect for music is we are surrounded by a very good sound buffer. Neighbors to the right of us crank their stereo up to sound like a rave is going on whenever they are not in the house. Th neighbors across the street are always asking if they are too noisy because of the large commercial quality sound system they have. Behind us is the roar of Pleasantdale Road. To our right is a park. No problem, except for the Republicans up the street who did not appreciate the cars - none of which were blocking anyone. That is a house too far up the street even be bothered by sound and who always have a large number of cars parked in their driveway, yard and up the street so it was a bit of a surprise when they called the police on our party at 7pm. The police hung out, told us not to stop the party, just watch the volume levels, and were has nice as they could be. The music went on until 10pm wiith no problem. MonsterMustDie was upset at the site of police but I think by now he's mostly gotten over it. I am hoping he lets me have another party like the Summer Solstice Potluck next year. Preferably if The Soogs and others are willing, I would do this again in the Spring, when the weather is a bit cooler. We were lucky enough to have the party on the last weekend of tolerable temperatures before the real heat wave hit last week. I am extremely grateful to Brian, Paul, and Joe for volunteering to build the stage and to Allen for bringing his lighting and sound equipment. The extra trash bins that Brian brought were also a big help and kept me from scrabbling as much all day to empty trash and clean up. They made the party a huge success. There was a lot of good eats and enough left overs to skip buying groceries the week afterward and that kinda helped out with the overall cost of things. I really should have provided an donation jar of some sort just in case anyone wanted to contribute to paying off this event or paying for the next gathering. 

Last weekend, the one thing I did was go to a Grateful Gluttons potluck gathering at the Ryttershire. The heat was so oppressive I had a headache the next morning from dehydration despite bringing a large bottle of water that I emptied while I was there. It is always great to see everyone there in Grant Park. The food was good. Note: IMHO deviled eggs should never made with sweet pickles, even if they are home made. The pickles were very good on their own or on crackers but not in other foods. The pickled watermelon rinds were good and tart and crunchy - quite refreshing. I brought a small batch of home made blueberry hand pies. Didn't make as many as I'd planned because I did not have quite enough dough. I should stock lots of frozen pasty next time or start earlier and double crust recipes. I should also remember to bring an extra bag of ice to any summer gathering, whether it is asked for or not - that seems like something there is never enough of. 

The final act at the Summer Solstice Potluck was Jerome Newton - a bit of classic glam including old Bowie and Eno. 

every other day

I am, for the time being, working three days a week - Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This effectively makes every other day a weekend and every day after that a Monday all over again. I am currently on the Saturday-Monday cycle. Today is Saturday again. Tomorrow is Monday for the second time this week.

In other news, last night I went with our neighbor, Amanda, to an India vegetarian cooking class at the Buford Highway Farmers Market. Came home with a grocery gift certificate, a handful of loose recipes, and a belly full of fresh Indian food. Last night was the first time I've made it to one of the BHFM cooking classes after intending check it out for months. Thanks to Amanda, I had the nudge to do it by knowing I had someone to go with. I'd like to attend other classes as often as money and time will allow. It gives me an opportunity to get out of the house and be around other people as well as learn something new. All good things.

This evening I have more social plans. Looking forward to meeting Mrs. Lounge and J.Paul for dinner in the VA Highlands neighborhood. Because of my current financial status, I'll actually be eating a small meal before I leave the house so I won't be tempted to spend too much at the restaurant. I've been having a lot of appetizer plates or soup at dinner out with friends and that seems to be a good system for me at this time. Drinks are, of course, completely out of the question. I have not been drinking coffee or spiritous beverages since I had food poisoning a couple of weeks ago. I plan to stay off alcohol and caffeine for a long time for both financial and health reasons. I am sure I will make an exception if I am presented with a situations where the vice is free and the quality is good.

health, mind, and the approach of summer

My body is falling apart this month. The week before Memorial Day I was downed by a 3-part combination of head cold, food poisoning, and caffeine withdrawal. I'm still waking up a bit stiff in the neck and back each morning with a slight headache. The head cold is still barely hanging on mostly as a sore thoat but I'm definitely on the mend on all sides.

This weekend has been less productive than it could have been but not too bad, all the same. Missed Rock & Roll MonsterBash at the Starlight Drive-In, which probably would have been pushing my physical limits after the food poisoning I had over the Memorial Day weekend. I did make it the the Indie Craft Experience show at Ambient Plus Studio.

Still trying to put things together for the summer party. Suffering from a lot of tunnel vision in my thoughts. Kinda a forest and trees scenario in my mind this week. I focus on one thing to the extent that everything else is out of sight. Perhaps this is a lingering result of the past couple of weeks.

Days End

Got home from a very nice gathering of friends tonight. Housemate comes up to me with a big smile.
Me: you smell like beer.
John: I AM beer.

too much waiting

Last week was mostly spent waiting. First, I waited for my dental appointment on Tuesday. Then, I mostly waited 14 hours while doing film extra work in Peachtree City. Then, I showed up to pick up a check and help out on building film sets and waited all day for the "wall" that I was to finish to be made (it was not done that day) and went home having accomplished nothing and with no check, either. Saturday, I could take no more waiting and bowed out of showing up again on the film set over the weekend for fear of wasting my days. Just when I thought puttering around all day at home was awful, I found something worse - being stuck all day in a chair or watching from the corner of the room while everyone else works or discusses things I've been out of the loop on. 

On the upside, I did make it out to see Dark Shadows on Sunday. It's a very quirky comedy with an all star cast that is impressive. Came home from that and watched a Eureka marathon while editing photos the rest of the day. Called my mom and tried to make arrangements for a Mother's Day visit, but she wasn't really up to it so we agreed to find a week in the future to go out to Babette's Cafe for a nice dinner while Halibut is still on the menu. 

Tonight, we're due for social planning meeting to send out the final invitation to the summer event at Rancho de WereMonster that I've been working on. Design by committee is never easy. 

hot pre-summer weekend

I did a few things this week. 

Thursday was a rare day of temp work at a very nice office nearby on a very old computer using very old software. What was supposed to be a 2-day job only took me one day to complete. Hopefully, they will call me back in when any changes are ready to be made. 

Friday was dinner and a movie with friends. I went to see The Avengers with MonsterMustDie, Fun Lisa, and Mr. Bunny & Cindi. Great movie - might go for a second time. Josh Whedon understands Marvel. 

Saturday, after some difficulty getting my motivation to go out for a long time in the pre-summer heat, I took my camera to the Fairy House Tour Of Homes at the Lake Claire Land Trust. Oddly, the turnout was not as big as last year. It was a hugely popular event in 2011 and while there were still plenty of children creating structures to welcome back the summer fairies it hardly as much as last year, when there were beautiful magic little alters to nature everywhere I looked.  
Came home, showered, and went for a neighborhood walk in the cool evening to enjoy the full moon. 

Sunday was my day to enjoy the Art-B-Que in Avondale Estates. Lots of really great art and craft and food trucks. Saw some inspiring studios and met some very nice people there. First stop for myself was the King Of Pops. MonsterMustDie had to have a Palookaville corndog and was thrilled to be given the lucky number 13 on his ticket. We stuck around long enough to try the whole hog that Pine Street Market had been cooking since the night before and were given what seemed like half a pound of meat as well as fresh slaw and potatoes for 5 dollars. I had brought a cooler with cold drinks, so we stashed our leftovers in it before leaving. We used some of it to make pulled pork sandwiches for dinner, and will probably finish it tonight along with a good salad.  
On the way home, I went on the weekend treasure hunt with MonsterMustDie, who got home in time for to return to his eBay sales and quality time with his wood shop.  
I laid on the floor for a while and cooled off, showered, headed to East Atlanta for a visit with Gretchen, who was hanging out a the EARL with Chaz and Sandra after returning from another trip to Australia. She was extremely jet lagged but very happy with her trip and experiences on the other side of the globe. She showed photos on her iPhone and talked about music, men, food, strange animals, beautiful old buildings, and the cultural mixture of Australia. 

All of the heat and more walking than usual for me caused a headache last night, probably from dehydration. I took a PM and slept solidly for about 7 hours. I would love to maintain some degree of that activity level for the next week... or months (... or years). The heat was cruel to me but being around people I like and staying busy was great. 

only plants speak to me this week.

Looking for a reason to leave the house today. Yesterday, I did not leave home at all except for a brief trip to the post office to send a package for my house mate. Today, I've spent most of the morning in the yard, weeding while trying to avoid touching the numerous sprouting poison ivy. I'll be out to pull as much of that up as I can while wearing gloves and long sleeves later. Saw the first pod on the snap peas that I planted in February. The tomatoes I started are still tiny plants that haven't done much, possibly from lack of rain. I'm thinking about popping the rest of my tomato and chile seedlings in the ground today or tomorrow between the showers that are forecast for this week. I'll probably do it after the ground is wet and soft. The cilantro I planted is doing better this year than it has before. The planter box in back has leeks and carrots on either side of an enormous parsley that survived the winter and is about to flower. I know I should probably cut it back but I haven't had any need of it since I haven't been cooking much this week. Might be time to make chicken piccata or sauce for pasta.

I seem to have worked my way out of any role I might have had in the latest film by the Twins and I suppose that's okay. I've recommended people and resources to them that have proven to be very useful. I wish there was an official job title for that.

As usual, I really need some work to keep me happy and busy.

Looking at the weekend

Still waiting for a reason to shower and put on clothes today.


Tomorrow, I should be busy finishing the small freelance job I have putting together a brochure for a client in Texas, of all places, who found me on CraigsList. I don't know what the chances are that I will be paid for this (I have reason to distrust small clients and the news feed has me distrusting Craigs List) it is still a very good opportunity to be active and keep things up to date and in memory.
I also have a haircut appointment with a new stylist, which has me feeling a bit anxious, on Saturday afternoon. It's a thing I can't really get out of because I've paid in advance for a flock of haircuts at this salon, which saves me money, and my regular guy has left the business. Wish me luck with this new girl.
In the evening, I will probably be on site for the film trailer shoot of the project created by The Twins, unless I am chained to a computer, working.


Sunday, I am honored to be invited to an Easter Bonnet Brunch with friends so my Easter holiday should be quite nice.


Meanwhile, I found and tried a good recipe for vegan German Chocolate cupcakes. German Chocolate is MonsterMustDie's favorite cake and, with his birthday and the Goth Potluck happening at el Rancho de WereMonster on April 28, I need to be prepared

Happy Rose

We had just enough rain Friday night to make everything spring into bloom.