Another curve around the corner

Tuesday morning, my phone rang at 5:30 am.  It was my best friend, calling to tell me she was on her way to the hospital for her mom.  Mom B had been in the hospital for several days and had been getting worse.  Carm was scared, and so was I.  Even though Mom's health had been bad for a long, long time, she'd always pulled through.  It didn't look like it was going to happen this time.  And, unfortunately, it didn't.  Carm called me a bit after 9 to let me know that she was gone.

Mom B had been there for me a lot after I left college.  She welcomed me into her home, had no problem with me calling her Mom and just WAS like a mom to me.  So her loss has been devastating to me as well.  Not as bad as it's been for Carm or her husband, but still very rough.  Her funeral is this weekend, but I won't be able to make it there.  Florida is too far of a drive and I don't have a lot of money.  However, her internment is in Indiana on Tuesday.  That's only a 5 hour drive, so I'll be driving there Tuesday morning, spending the night and driving home on Wednesday morning.  I suspect I'm going to be a bit quiet at that time.  Of course, considering my spotty posting, people might not miss me.

I've been trying to keep busy with swapping and reading.  I've got to get a few pictures of one of the journals I'm working on.  I'm pretty pleased with how it's come out.  I've been doing a bit of crafting in it, which has come out pretty good.  I've got a lot of online swaps going as well - Halloween cards, Cheer Up cards, things like that.  I've still got a bit of bookkeeping to do with several of them.  But I'm surprisingly on track for everything.  Part of me is wondering when that will fall apart!

I also decided I needed one MORE thing on my plate and I've picked up crochet again.  I used to do some when I was younger, mostly chain stitching, and I needed something that I could see when I finished.  So.... crochet it is.  I've started doing bag.  I'm 3 rows into it.   I'm hoping to work on it some while I'm in Indiana.

I also have been working a bit on my 101 in 1001.  Still need to get all those figured out and written.  And I've got an intro post that I need to write for LJ Idol.  That one has been a bit harder because I just don't know what to day about myself or how to say it to catch people's attention.  I'll figure it out, I'm sure.  Before the end of the weekend.

This weekend is going to be as busy as last weekend.  The kids have trick or treating at PDO tomorrow (which reminds me, I need to make up the bags to hand out there), then I'm giving blood at 12:15.  The kids are out of school at 2, we're coming back to my place to hang out for awhile with Becca and her kids and then going to my church for the Fall Festival.  Plus we'll be making a stop at IHOP because they have free pancakes for the kids.  Saturday is library, followed by the Fall Festival at the kids PDO, followed by a birthday party and possibly trick or treating at one of the malls in the evening.  Sunday is church and trunk or treating at the church where we get our Angel Food.  Plus I've got to work on getting things cleaned up, clothes packed and to be ready to leave early on Tuesday morning for my trip.

Will time calm back down again?  Probably not.  But this is probably for the best.

And in another off-hand remark, I'm watching Clash of the Titans on BBC America.  I've never seen it before.  I think I'm going to have to borrow it so I can watch without commercials.  Now I'm off to do a bit more brain work.  Keeping busy is a good thing.  Or so it seems.