Oh, what a day

I bought several “01.20.09” lapel button a couple of years ago. My husband and I wore ours frequently and if someone figured it out and acted delighted, I handed one to them.

Finally, we can put them away.

We applauded, cried, cheered and sang during the inaugural ceremonies. The singing was especially funny – as the helicopter carrying former President and Mrs. Bush floated away, our little group sang the “Na, na, hey, hey, good-bye” song you often hear at championship sporting events.

We had a little personal drama as the party was starting. The phone rang and Caller ID showed that it was the hospital where my father is currently a guest. It is not good to get calls from a hospital, no matter what day of the week or what time of day. I picked up the phone with trepidation.

It was my dad, announcing he was going to have a pacemaker inserted at noon.

Now the doctors have been talking about pacing him since November, so all we can figure is that it must have been an urgent situation for them to suddenly decide – on Inauguration Day! – to stick one in him. He assured me that he’d called Washington and they were going to delay the speech until he was out of recovery. (My dad is a lifelong Democrat and is as happy about this election as he can be.)

He was, of course, kidding, which was oddly reassuring. If he can still make jokes about such things, then he must be okay, right? The next call came at 2 o’clock. The procedure went well; Dad’s heartbeat should be well above 35 by now. I talked with him last night before I went to the prison and he sounded great.

The prison meeting was beyond great. You can just imagine how a room full of first-time, non-violent offenders looking at years of lockdown under our current Draconian drug-sentencing laws might feel with a new administration taking the reins. Maybe, just maybe, some of Obama’s hope and promise will extend to sentencing reform.

And now it’s back to Real Life – working out and eating healthfully are Numbers One and Two on my list. My book client wants the project ready for print on Friday, and we start a bathroom remodeling project Thursday.

Our mayor wants to meet with me next week to begin working on materials for her re-election campaign. I think a little politics has seeped into my blood. Heh.

One day and a wake-up

At the prison where I volunteer (and probably at all prisons), the inmates describe their remaining days of incarceration thusly: “I’ve got three weeks and a wake-up,” or “Six days and a wake-up.”

Well, folks, we’re down to one day and a wake-up.

My husband and I toyed with the idea of going to Washington for Obama’s inauguration, but in the end decided to enjoy the festivities from the comfort of our family room. I have to admit to wishing I’d been there for yesterday’s We Are One concert, though.

We thoroughly enjoyed it, especially Garth Brooks’ medley of American Pie, Shout and We Shall Be Free. (Catch it here on YouTube.) I’m a folk/rock/Dylan fan, and my husband loves classical music, especially Baroque, so for us to highlight country star Brooks is astonishing.

In the end, we thought it fitting that we have yet another party for the swearing-in ceremony – a luncheon for old farts, if you will, who probably won’t be awake for coverage of even the first fancy inaugural ball. Retirement has its advantages – you don’t have to schedule a day off work to watch history being made.

Overshadowing all this excitement is the fact that my dad is back in CCU. His doctors will be discussing implanting a pacemaker this morning. He has repeatedly assured me that he’s doing fine, is being well cared for and doesn’t need me to be there. I do, however, feel very torn – glad to be home to share the inauguration with my husband and our friends, but wishing I could be in Florida, to speak with Dad’s caregivers face-to-face and find out exactly what’s going on. Neither my dad nor his wife ask enough questions when the doctors breeze in and out of his room.

The best-laid plans …

Just about all I’ve talked about for the past couple weeks is party, party, party. Then the morning after the party, you all get … nothing! Well, there’s a reason for that.

Yes, we had the party, and yes, it was a big success. Our family room is the perfect size for a dozen people (we could have squeezed a few more in), and the guest list included the cream of the Democratic crop in our little county.

We failed to include the elusive Unknown Factor as we planned the event. Sometime very early Thursday morning, my husband’s mother fell in her bedroom and severely fractured her right humerus. Her housekeeper didn’t find her until noon.

My husband, of course, spent the day and most of the evening at two hospitals, and my mind was definitely not on the party. My mother-in-law was initially taken by ambulance to our local emergency department and then transferred to a larger facility for the surgical repair of her arm yesterday afternoon.

She did very well with the surgery, spent last night in ICU for observation (due to her age and other medical conditions) and we expect her to spend a couple more days on an orthopedic unit before being transferred to a rehabilitation hospital. If she qualifies.

Because my mother-in-law is right-handed, she used her right arm to break her fall. (Note to self: Practice falling with left arm extended.) She apparently fell face-first, as evidenced by the two huge shiners and other bruises/lacerations on her face. I asked the nurse to keep mirrors away from her.

Back to Thursday night – we carried on without my husband, and he did make it home in time for Obama’s acceptance speech. The group photo I took was pretty boring, but at least everyone’s faces are visible. When it’s on the Obama website, I’ll let you know. (They are putting together a slide show of the hundreds of photos submitted to them.)

Here are a couple random shots of party food/things, not people:

The centerpiece on the buffet table

‘Yes We Can’ (and generic, patriotic) cupcakes

Obama logo fruit pizza

One of the best parts of the party was the two times everyone here burst into spontaneous applause. One, of course, was after Obama’s speech. The first was after Al Gore’s speech. The comment was made and agreed upon that if Gore had been that good a speaker during his Presidential run, he might have won the last election. (Yes, yes, I know he did … you know what I mean.)

Today is FOOTBALL! Villanova at WVU at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time. We’ll be home from the hospital in plenty of time, and since it’s not an ESPN- or network-televised game, we’re going to splurge and order it on ESPN Gameplan.

Because we deserve it. And we’re worth it.

Y’all have a great weekend. Don’t labor too hard.

Upping my average

Today being Thursday, I stepped on the scale for the official weekly weigh-in. All those other days don’t count – it’s just information. Heh. Thursdays are for real.

175. Down another pound. When my body is cooperative, my typical weight loss is about half a pound a week. Metabolisms slow down as the years go by, so any of you youngsters out there reading this, take heed. Figure out what works for you now, get-r-done and avoid the lifetime struggle.

Easier said than done, I know.

Anyhoo … my average weight loss at this very moment is .533333 pounds per week.

The party is tonight! I am – amazingly – on schedule with the cooking and cleaning and Martha-Stewarting. Still have to figure out the photo shoot. Someone who shall remain nameless suggested having five people (I assume she meant guys) paint their chests, á la football fans, with the letters O-B-A-M-A. I reminded her that these guys were, um, old. One is on oxygen. I seriously doubt any of them would be willing to display – well, you get the idea.

This same reader also thought maybe we could play Obama Twister. My husband goes on Medicare in two months and one of our guests will be going to her 60th high-school class reunion this fall. Really, guys, we’re old!

Which, when you think about it, is pretty cool. We’re a roomful of geezers from a seriously red state, retired and inspired by a young, progressive, forward-thinking man who is from a completely different culture and background. His ideas and ideals, though, are ours, and we’re all committed to making his Presidency a reality.

My husband and I were so very proud last night. We figured out that the network to watch is C-Span – no chit-chat, no commentary and we felt like we were right there on the convention floor during the roll call.

Tonight? Maybe I’d better make a Kleenex run.

What speech were they watching?

Sorry this is turning into a quasi-political blog lately.

My husband and I care very much about the outcome of the coming Presidential election, and since the Democratic convention is going on, that’s what’s on our minds. We flip back and forth between MSNBC and Fox, figuring we’ll get the partisan viewpoint from each side of the broadcast aisle.

I was at my prison volunteer gig for much of last night. When I got home, my husband urged me to stay up to watch Hillary. Based on the commentators’ build-up, he predicted I would be happy with what she was going to say.

(I’m not a Hillary fan, I don’t care for her stage presence – that head-bob bothers the heck out of me – and it’s difficult for me to listen to her strident voice. Thus, my husband knew I would need some convincing.)

So, I stayed up to listen. The way our family room is arranged, I can sit at the computer and not have to look at the TV. I was not swayed by crowd reaction or by her facial expressions. And I thought she said all the right things to get her supporters to vote for Obama. So did MSNBC.

Keith Olbermann: “A grand-slam. Out of the park.”

Apparently, Fox wanted something different.

William Kristol: “Tepid.”

It’s laughable, really, no matter whose side you’re on. (I’m on Keith’s side.)

Okay, back to the running and the knitting. Knitting first: I’m almost finished with the body of my in-the-round, looks-like-it-will-be-too-small pullover. The sleeves will be knit separately, joined to the body at the underarms and then the bodice will be completed as a raglan with a V-neck.

Someday.

The running: My husband and I went together for his 10K walk yesterday. When we do that and I need to throw an easy run into it, I end up doing seven-ish miles. I was supposed to only run two miles, but I felt really good and ran 3.5. The first two were continuous, then I walked a mile and then I ran another one. Each of the running distances were at a sub 12:30 pace. I know, I know – not fast at all. But I feel more and more confident about continuing to improve my time and being able to finish the entire 13.1.

On today’s agenda: Cooking, cleaning and ironing t-shirt transfers onto a couple of shirts for my husband and I to wear tomorrow night. Can’t have a party without new clothes, can we? Heh.

It's all about the food

The dieting portion of this blog is temporarily suspended. Continue reading at your own risk.

If you’re going to throw a party, be sure to have good food and plenty of it. That’s my daughter’s philosophy, and I think it’s pretty good advice.

The members of the group who will be here Thursday night are middle-aged and older, so I think mostly traditional appetizers are in order. We’ll have Swedish meatballs and those little sausages cooked in a sweet-and-sour sauce, along with artichoke dip, hummus with vegetables and crackers, a bowl of cinnamon-spiced nuts and a fruit pizza.

Cupcakes are on the menu. Cupcakes sure seem to be popular these days – Google Blogsearch came up with 1,181,447 hits and amazon.com is selling a boatload of cupcake cookbooks.

Mine are plain old chocolate, and will be decorated with the words “Yes We Can” on top. I think some will be iced in blue and some in white, with red lettering.

I’m also making pig candy. I first had this at one of my daughter’s Oscar parties several years ago. The serving plate was empty in mere minutes. If you’ve never made it, it’s super-simple and absolutely delish!

We don’t drink alcohol, but will have soda, tea, coffee and lemonade for thirst-quenching.

So there you have it. I’m leaving all the inspiration for the speech (wasn’t Teddy Kennedy inspiring last night?); the food is part of the background.

I received a packet of material from the Obama for Change headquarters yesterday, including a sign that our group is supposed to pose with. They want party photos to use on their blog. I’m trying to think of some creative way to pose our guests so our picture will actually be posted.

I thought maybe I’d have everyone stand on the stairs and shoot it from below, but the light in the stairwell isn’t so great. I also might stand on a ladder, just to get a different angle (I bet a thousand other photographers use that trick). I also thought I might have everyone make a silly face, but this crowd might not get into the spirit of silliness. (My fairly prim-and-proper husband would probably die if I suggested it, actually. Wouldn’t want that.)

Must. Think. Harder.

Any ideas? I wish you all could be here!

Almost party time

Have I mentioned that my husband and I are having a party to watch Obama’s acceptance speech Thursday night? I’ve lived here 11 years, and other than our wedding party (held at his mother’s home) and our annual 4th of July family reunion, I can think of only one other “party” we’ve held, and that was for a group of knitting friends.

My husband really wasn’t part of that equation.

Anyway … we’re excited and I spent the weekend putting the finishing touches on our office/family room. After much trial and error, I think I found the solution to hanging 12 photos, all the same size, so that they a. don’t fall and b. are equidistant apart. Sticky-back Velcro works like a charm. Of course, the frames (simple, black, wooden, ordered online a couple weeks ago) are very lightweight. During the initial stages of trying to use actual picture frame hangers, three frames fell, resulting in broken glass. I bought cheap Dollar Store document frames to replace the glass. It’s been two days now and every photo is still on the wall. It’s so exciting to walk up the stairs and see that the whole display is still intact.

I turned to Martha for patriotic decoration ideas, and ended up making tri-color, three-dimensional paper stars and some little red/white/blue drink umbrellas. I think they’ll enhance the buffet, and we might even stick some in cups of lemonade.

(I also found this cute little way of presenting gifts of cash; my older grandchildren appreciate cashmoneybucks more than “stuff” these days. That Martha is sooo clever.)

Fifteen stars are scattered across the wall space above five windows, along with four “Yes We Can” posters. (You can snag lots of Obama printables here.)

We also have goodie bags for our guests, filled with swag: posters, bumper stickers, buttons, a t-shirt transfer and a mix CD of protest songs. This was my favorite part of the party prep, and I’ve been working on it for a couple of weeks.

Now that the room is ready (please pray that the satellite doesn’t go on the fritz this week), it’s time to start on the food! Mmmmm! (I’ll write about the menu tomorrow, if you’re interested.)

With all this busy-work, have I had time to run? Why, yes, yes I have. Last week was an easy week – three runs, two three-milers and a four-miler, all at a 12:47 pace. I aced the second and third ones, which gives me a lot of confidence that continued training will result in faster times and improved endurance.

Cooler temperatures wouldn’t hurt, either.