fun and death and anything in between--which is to say: business as usual
The rollercoaster that is life is going at top speed yet again. My brother came to stay at our place last weekend. We chatted, watched silly and awesome vidoes on YouTube together, and went to a fabu-tastic concert in town (Phillip Boa & the Voodooclub. We'd all been looking forward to it, and I've lost count how many times we've seen them perform before.^^). Funny thing: the hubby's boss was at the concert, too! So we now know that he's got great taste in music. *gg* What made me sad, though: my brother spilled the news that he had to sign a new contract at work--one which reduces his working hours (and thus his paycheck) drastically.Oo Apparently, they hired too many new staff and mis-distributed the workload. *sighs* I so hope the situation's going to improve for him again soon!
There's also been another degu funeral on Monday. One of the little critters had been rather lethargic for a couple of days, and barely eaten anything. I knew what was going to happen, and that it was inevitable. Luckily, she didn't seem to be in pain, just . . . drowsy? So I decided against taking her to a vet, and let her fall into eternal sleep, as the course of life would have it. I picked a flat, white stone for her little grave, now resting next to the other two on that small, flower-covered hill in our garden. *smiles*
What else? My father had a meniscus surgery last week. Apparently, it all went well. The knee is barely swollen, and he can already move about as though nothing had ever happened! I guess that's thanks to his overall shape. He's still very active, physically speaking, riding his bike for hours on some days or taking his kayak to the nearby river. Ah well, he's only 70 years old, after all. ^^ Which reminds me . . . I never wrote an entry about the weekend of his birthday, did I? He'd invited friends and family, and it became a lovely day--with the most lovely weather, too. I sort of concluded the celebration with a Powerpoint presentation, in which I showed pictures I'd scanned: pictures of the most relevant stages of his life, starting right at the beginning and moving up to the present day. I didn't make it a polished presentation, though. I had some phrases in mind, of course, but I never wrote down a fixed text. Instead, I let my comments flow as they would. And he was deeply moved, so it was more than worth all the effort of hours upon hours of sitting in front of the scanner. Not to mention that I'd discovered one or the other loooovely shot which I'd never seen before. I'm probably going to have some of them enlarged and printed, to hang on a wall. I'm a sucker for black-and-white photography, and some of those old ones are simply utterly beautiful. And if it's someone from your own family in such a picture . . . that's just awesome, ne? :D
That weekend, there was another celebration: two friends of ours, Anja and Gunnar, got married. They'd been together for many, many years, and I don't think anyone expected them to tie the knot after all. Just like the hubby and I. *gg* Anyway, the service at church was, hmm, I don't know. Too stiff and dusty for my personal tastes (what's with all that talk of getting married so you can start a family? Oh please. . . !!?! *snorts*), although it was lovely to have the bride's harp and singing teachers perform in between. After church, everyone moved on to a nearby castle to celebrate. Dinner was delicious, and the wine, too. Thankfully, for the DJ they'd hired for the night didn't do his job too well at first. He'd laid out cards for the guests to fill in with suggestions for songs, AND the bride and groom had told him what kind of songs/artists NOT to play. He didn't seem to care until the bride went up to him and gave him a piece of her mind. *gg* What followed were 2 or 3 hours where, finally!, all those wishes for Alternative and 80's pop were heeded. And I never stopped dancing the entire time, along with some others. ;) All in all, the evening was highly enjoyable. Questionable DJ aside, the hubby and I had lots of fun, especially chatting with Carsten's sister Nadine, whom we'd met countless times before, who's very much the kind of nutcase that I am, and an artsy person on top of that. Makes me feel like I'd known her for ages. :)
For both celebrations, I put on that Chinese dress I bought some time ago--it's black, with colourful embroidery all over. Admittedly, the thigh-high slits at the sides were maybe a little daring for a wedding, but I received so many compliments and admiring looks for it that I don't think people minded. lol And I felt right "at home" in it. As though it were a part of me. Gods, I love that dress! I really need to write Holger an email to send me some of the pictures he's taken. . . .
Last but not least, the hubby's been away on a business trip, and he's going to be away for another couple of days come Sunday. It's stressing him out again, and I feel helpless. Thankfully, my Jan was there to provide distraction and comfort. And so much more. Kami, I don't know what I'd do without her anymore. *smiles*
There's also been another degu funeral on Monday. One of the little critters had been rather lethargic for a couple of days, and barely eaten anything. I knew what was going to happen, and that it was inevitable. Luckily, she didn't seem to be in pain, just . . . drowsy? So I decided against taking her to a vet, and let her fall into eternal sleep, as the course of life would have it. I picked a flat, white stone for her little grave, now resting next to the other two on that small, flower-covered hill in our garden. *smiles*
What else? My father had a meniscus surgery last week. Apparently, it all went well. The knee is barely swollen, and he can already move about as though nothing had ever happened! I guess that's thanks to his overall shape. He's still very active, physically speaking, riding his bike for hours on some days or taking his kayak to the nearby river. Ah well, he's only 70 years old, after all. ^^ Which reminds me . . . I never wrote an entry about the weekend of his birthday, did I? He'd invited friends and family, and it became a lovely day--with the most lovely weather, too. I sort of concluded the celebration with a Powerpoint presentation, in which I showed pictures I'd scanned: pictures of the most relevant stages of his life, starting right at the beginning and moving up to the present day. I didn't make it a polished presentation, though. I had some phrases in mind, of course, but I never wrote down a fixed text. Instead, I let my comments flow as they would. And he was deeply moved, so it was more than worth all the effort of hours upon hours of sitting in front of the scanner. Not to mention that I'd discovered one or the other loooovely shot which I'd never seen before. I'm probably going to have some of them enlarged and printed, to hang on a wall. I'm a sucker for black-and-white photography, and some of those old ones are simply utterly beautiful. And if it's someone from your own family in such a picture . . . that's just awesome, ne? :D
That weekend, there was another celebration: two friends of ours, Anja and Gunnar, got married. They'd been together for many, many years, and I don't think anyone expected them to tie the knot after all. Just like the hubby and I. *gg* Anyway, the service at church was, hmm, I don't know. Too stiff and dusty for my personal tastes (what's with all that talk of getting married so you can start a family? Oh please. . . !!?! *snorts*), although it was lovely to have the bride's harp and singing teachers perform in between. After church, everyone moved on to a nearby castle to celebrate. Dinner was delicious, and the wine, too. Thankfully, for the DJ they'd hired for the night didn't do his job too well at first. He'd laid out cards for the guests to fill in with suggestions for songs, AND the bride and groom had told him what kind of songs/artists NOT to play. He didn't seem to care until the bride went up to him and gave him a piece of her mind. *gg* What followed were 2 or 3 hours where, finally!, all those wishes for Alternative and 80's pop were heeded. And I never stopped dancing the entire time, along with some others. ;) All in all, the evening was highly enjoyable. Questionable DJ aside, the hubby and I had lots of fun, especially chatting with Carsten's sister Nadine, whom we'd met countless times before, who's very much the kind of nutcase that I am, and an artsy person on top of that. Makes me feel like I'd known her for ages. :)
For both celebrations, I put on that Chinese dress I bought some time ago--it's black, with colourful embroidery all over. Admittedly, the thigh-high slits at the sides were maybe a little daring for a wedding, but I received so many compliments and admiring looks for it that I don't think people minded. lol And I felt right "at home" in it. As though it were a part of me. Gods, I love that dress! I really need to write Holger an email to send me some of the pictures he's taken. . . .
Last but not least, the hubby's been away on a business trip, and he's going to be away for another couple of days come Sunday. It's stressing him out again, and I feel helpless. Thankfully, my Jan was there to provide distraction and comfort. And so much more. Kami, I don't know what I'd do without her anymore. *smiles*