Home again

Got home last night, and MAN was it a wonderful thing to sleep in my own bed again. My own bed, my own shower, music that doesn't twang and is from this decade.

The last few hours of driving were rough as far as music in the car went. After a week in the south I'd had more than enough country, but my mom doesn't like the same music as me, so we compromised on oldies/classic rock when we could find it on the dial. Sometimes we'd get modern music, but only until a song came on that was too heavy on the guitars or the 'dance/club' type of beat. Then it would be changed. I was DYING for some Metallica by the end. Or anything other than what we'd been listening to.

But other than all that, it was a great week. Got to see my sister and bil and grandpa. Got caught up on all the family gossip - my one cousin is in jail again for meth-related stuff, another one went out to the west coast for some guy she'd met online only with nothing but the money he'd sent her and he ended up leaving her there alone, brother of the meth-head is doing shit-all ith his life while his bby-mama is God knows where and his parents are raising his kid and his sister's kids. And they (the parents) are such good people, too. They really don't deserve kids like that. They worked several jobs at once to try and provide for their kids, and look how they're paid back. Every time I go down there I am so grateful my parents moved up here to raise us. I shudder to think what my life could be like otherwise.

But Pam and Brock are good, Grandpa's good, and that's all that matters to me.

Now I have two weeks of laundry and teevee to catch up on.

Christmas presents

Every year my one friend rotates her Christmas decorations between a Snowman Christmas, Santa Christmas, and Penguin Christmas. She has a lot of time on her hands, lol. This year is a Snowman Christmas, so for her birthday in October I made her the snowman off of the Lion Brand website.

( Snowman )

For Christmas I decided to make her the penguin and santa off of the Lion website, too, so she has a complete set.

( Penquin and Santa )

Now I just have to wait to give them to her. That's the hardest part, lol!

More about vacation

While down at my sisters, we went to the Biltmore again in Asheville. It was all decorated for Christmas, and it was beautiful. They don't allow photos inside, which is a shame because it's so gorgeous, but I understand. So I only got a few photos of the outside while we were there. And because we took the candlelight tour at 5:30, it was getting dark when we got there so I couldn't get a lot of pics of the outside.

So here's the few pics I did get.

Biltmore at Christmas 2009






link goes to my lj album.

Nancy - 1953-2009

I just got a phone call I knew was going to come, but wasn't expecting so soon. My friend from work, who's been battling her second round of breast cancer for over a year, just passed away.

I don't know what to feel right now. I don't really feel much of anything.

She got sick again year before last? I think? Anyway, she got sick again but didn't go to the doctor for six months because her daughter was in school to be an EMT, and she didn't want Emily to worry or have her studies affected. So there's that.

But who's to say that if she did go right away things would be different now?

I don't know how to feel right now. I knew it was coming. We all knew it was coming, nobody said it but we all knew it was coming.

Emily sent out an email Friday that Nancy had to be put into hospice care. That she was weak and disoriented. That her body had become used to the chemo treatments and that was why they weren't making a difference.

Nancy's birthday was the 9th. One of the other women at work threw her a party on the 2nd of November. I couldn't go because I'd been sick, and was still sick the day of the party, but a lot of other people from work did go. They said it was nice to see her, and that her seeing everyone else cheered her up. But they also said she looked like a skeleton, that she was gray and nearly unrecognizable. I'm sad that I didn't get to go and see her one last time, but I'm also glad that my last memory of her isn't of her looking like that.

She was always smiling. Always funny and joking around. Nice to everyone. Sarcastic, too. She was a good artist; she would always make our announcement posters at work. Loved cows. Her dad had been a milkman back when it was delivered to your door. She always made cakes for everyone's birthday. Never forgot. She was good person. A good mom. Everyone loved her. I loved her.

She didn't deserve this.