Long-Overdue Update

Someone brought up Capital District Fun to me recently, and as I lamented how much I’d neglected it, it occurred to me that someone might think I died of Covid, since my last post was about being positive. I’m sorry! Good news: Cute W and I have recovered completely. Also, both of the girls managed to stay negative.

It’s just been pretty crazy-busy. I happened to get sick just before a bit of a work rush and as the end-of-the-school-year hectic schedule was kicking in. Neither Cute W nor I felt too terribly bad, but I was sleeping at least, like 12 hours per day for a while there. The girls tried to be helpful, but they were not always extremely helpful. For example, both girls will fill or empty the dishwasher, but they just never actually run the damn thing. And so, someone (I will not name who so that each can claim it was the other) put regular dishwashing soap into the dishwasher and produced a really huge amount of sudsy bubbles. Lucky for me, this happened during one of my extended naps, so I missed it entirely. Cute W was philosophical about it. “You know, sometimes when we’re out of the machine soap I’m half-tempted to use the regular dish soap, so it was a good demonstration to confirm that it’s absolutely a bad idea.” So once I was finally feeling up for doing things, there was a backlog of email and laundry and clutter with which to contend.

I never even coughed much at all during Covid, except just after I had stayed home for the designated amount of time and finally ventured out into the world to see an awards ceremony at the high school. I was super paranoid about it and I double-masked, and then instead of putting the ceremony in the main auditorium with plenty of space, they decided to make it a cozy little event in a smaller theater space, and I swear I felt like coughing the entire time. I’m sure it was psychological, but as soon as the presentation was finished, I busted outside and coughed like crazy at a safe distance from everyone else.

That week, as well, we had to have an emergency extra visit to the seamstress who was hemming J’s junior prom dress. Apparently there was just so much material that she needed an extra visit. We had been congratulating ourselves on a relatively inexpensive dress and then just shortening the hem on the tremendously-full-and-wrapping-skirt-with-liner cost more than the actual dress! This is the sort of thing that, when you say it to someone who gets their clothing altered, gets a knowing and sympathetic nod in response, because of course that’s the way it is… but I never get anything altered! I’m not fancy! This was our fourth prom dress and the only one we ever had to alter. When my jeans are too long, I get out my trusty scissors. Now I have learned.

Much more has happened, of course. Before I get to it all, just an overview:

• A weekend away that was sort of required and sort of fun
• J’s prom and organizing the after prom even though J wasn’t attending
• A week spent mostly recovering for me while Cute W traveled
• Cute W launching another massive DIY project
• J finishing finals and junior year
• M’s birthday
• Rising fascism and the decline of human rights within our country
• A weekend trip away for my brother’s wedding
• A quick visit from Cute W’s parents
• A lot of work spent on a special family project that I will tell you about later

I’m sure I’ll get to all of this eventually. But meanwhile, please don’t neglect to make the most of your summer. I’ve updated my FREE Summer Concerts, Shows, Lessons, and more in New York’s Capital Region. For me, something that’s bringing me joy these days is our fabulous raspberry bushes. We are so fortunate to have next door neighbors who like to plant things between our houses that we can share, and fresh raspberries are one of my favorite things in the world.

I hope you’re all enjoying your summer.