This weekend
It was long, and tiring. Friday night we went to Sevierville to Mark's grandmother's visitation at the funeral home. We stayed away from the open casket. I met some of his relatives I hadn't met before, whom I really liked; I was particularly interested in learning who the woman with the discreet om necklace on was--she and her husband, and cousin of Mark's, were good to talk to.
We went to his Aunt Chris's afterwards, and then went home that night. Saturday morning, we went straight to Gatlinburg. His family's cemetary is hidden right in the middle of tacky tourist crap. You actually turn into an alley behind a strip mall and go up a hill to get there. The relative who had sold the land that the strip mall was on had done so with the stipulation that there always be a church on the land; the current owners have gotten around that by including a Christian bookstore on the site, which I think is quite tacky, moneychangers in the temple and all of that.
The service was not surprising--I would have preferred fewer quotes from Revelations and more Psalms. Given that we were up in the mountains, I would have liked to have heard my favorite psalm, the one that starts, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my strength," but, oh well. The minister was related to the family, (something like his grandmother and Mark's grandmother's grandmother were sisters), though I think if your family goes back a certain amount in time in Gatlinburg, you have to be related. Afterwards, we walked around the cemetery, appreciating the wonderful archaic Southern names. My favorite with Amorintha.
In an attempt to give Mark's aunt a break from having a million people at her house, we went to lunch with Mark's mom, and then went to the park for a while. We went to Newfound Gap, and then managed to find the old family cemetery which is still in the park. The directions were on the vague side, and had been told to Mark by two great-uncles talking at the same time, so I maintain that he found it with the help of his ancestors. It was quite amazing, to find in the woods a stone wall still standing, and lots of very old stones.
We went home that night, too. Sunday, we were quite tired, but went back. Mark's mom and her siblings were going to meet at 2 to start going through his grandma's things, and Mark volunteered to make a big pot of soup for dinner. They didn't come back until after 6, quite exhausted emotionally. Having a big pot of chicken-based soup was quite good for them, I think. We were able to pick some onions, garlic, and lettuce from the garden to bring home; I'm looking forward to an actual garden salad.
We left a little before 8. However, because of Tennessee Department of Transportation insanity, we didn't home until close to 10 (what is usually a half hour trip). I got so desperate that I had to pee in a bottle. TDOT still hasn't answered my email.
Yesterday we were both rather tired. At work, because we've done most of the big moving stuff, there was leftover work to do. My boss, when going down her to-do list, kept saying she was trying to find me something "not mind-numbingly boring" to do, and I kept assuring her that mind-numbingly boring was just fine with me.
This evening, Mark's going to pick up his mother after work, and she'll stay with us for a couple of days. Last night was a frenzy of cleaning, though the clutter's just going to remain clutter. I'm coming home after work, to set up the air mattress and stuff. I also want to make sure I'm here at 7:30, for my inaugural skype call with my little brother and my fabulous nephew.
And it's only Tuesday! Happily, I've taken off work the rest of the week, to spend time with my mother-in-law. Friday, I'm having lunch with an incoming MA student who's been assigned as my mentor, and then there's a meeting of the MA reading group. I'm reading Pamela for that righ now--Pamela is an absolute twit. I think that Jane Eyre needs to kick her ass and invite her to a consciousness-raising group.
We went to his Aunt Chris's afterwards, and then went home that night. Saturday morning, we went straight to Gatlinburg. His family's cemetary is hidden right in the middle of tacky tourist crap. You actually turn into an alley behind a strip mall and go up a hill to get there. The relative who had sold the land that the strip mall was on had done so with the stipulation that there always be a church on the land; the current owners have gotten around that by including a Christian bookstore on the site, which I think is quite tacky, moneychangers in the temple and all of that.
The service was not surprising--I would have preferred fewer quotes from Revelations and more Psalms. Given that we were up in the mountains, I would have liked to have heard my favorite psalm, the one that starts, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my strength," but, oh well. The minister was related to the family, (something like his grandmother and Mark's grandmother's grandmother were sisters), though I think if your family goes back a certain amount in time in Gatlinburg, you have to be related. Afterwards, we walked around the cemetery, appreciating the wonderful archaic Southern names. My favorite with Amorintha.
In an attempt to give Mark's aunt a break from having a million people at her house, we went to lunch with Mark's mom, and then went to the park for a while. We went to Newfound Gap, and then managed to find the old family cemetery which is still in the park. The directions were on the vague side, and had been told to Mark by two great-uncles talking at the same time, so I maintain that he found it with the help of his ancestors. It was quite amazing, to find in the woods a stone wall still standing, and lots of very old stones.
We went home that night, too. Sunday, we were quite tired, but went back. Mark's mom and her siblings were going to meet at 2 to start going through his grandma's things, and Mark volunteered to make a big pot of soup for dinner. They didn't come back until after 6, quite exhausted emotionally. Having a big pot of chicken-based soup was quite good for them, I think. We were able to pick some onions, garlic, and lettuce from the garden to bring home; I'm looking forward to an actual garden salad.
We left a little before 8. However, because of Tennessee Department of Transportation insanity, we didn't home until close to 10 (what is usually a half hour trip). I got so desperate that I had to pee in a bottle. TDOT still hasn't answered my email.
Yesterday we were both rather tired. At work, because we've done most of the big moving stuff, there was leftover work to do. My boss, when going down her to-do list, kept saying she was trying to find me something "not mind-numbingly boring" to do, and I kept assuring her that mind-numbingly boring was just fine with me.
This evening, Mark's going to pick up his mother after work, and she'll stay with us for a couple of days. Last night was a frenzy of cleaning, though the clutter's just going to remain clutter. I'm coming home after work, to set up the air mattress and stuff. I also want to make sure I'm here at 7:30, for my inaugural skype call with my little brother and my fabulous nephew.
And it's only Tuesday! Happily, I've taken off work the rest of the week, to spend time with my mother-in-law. Friday, I'm having lunch with an incoming MA student who's been assigned as my mentor, and then there's a meeting of the MA reading group. I'm reading Pamela for that righ now--Pamela is an absolute twit. I think that Jane Eyre needs to kick her ass and invite her to a consciousness-raising group.