A Mixed Week

In every December for the past thirty years, we’ve held a solstice party but this year had to be contented with a lovely Saturday evening get-together for six (including Shaman, who always assumes he’s invited).  At 86 and still recovering from nearly dying and being revived and days in the ICU completely immobilized except for my right hand, I cannot give such a party with all the cooking, cleaning, prepping by myself.  This year, Melenie couldn’t help me as she won a prize that stipulates two weeks in a writer retreat, as well as money.  She was given the last two weeks of December.  So, no big party.

I am working away on my new book but have slowed down a bit with all the gifts to wrap and year end contributions.  I can do dinner parties and tonight we’re having four friends over.  I’ll be making a Greek leg of lamb that’s a pot roast with tomatoes and many vegetables and wine, fresh rosemary and fresh cilantro.  Woody cut a bunch of rosemary from my herb garden for me before the deep freeze came this week, along with cilantro from my vegetable garden.  Today it’s mild, in the 40’s.  We’re getting plenty of rain and high winds, but no snow for us so far.  A big chill will come in tonight.

My dear friend Gigi was over this week.  She was one of the three friends, including Karen [who is coming tonight] who babysat me the first week when I could not be alone.  I am doing more household tasks, half the laundry making my own bed and of course, cooking. I finally got to put in time straightening my bedroom into some kind of order as everything had piled up and it was getting difficult even to walk around. 

I need to work on my office too but it’s difficult until I finish wrapping. I have two more gifts to wrap, one for Woody and Dale’s.  I should get them wrapped tomorrow. That’s the first night of Channukah, when I’ll light the chanikiyah and exchange presents with Woody.  We have some smoked fish he ordered from Zabars in NYC that we’ll have.  Some time this week, I’ll make latkes or potato kugel.  After all, there are eight nights in which to do it. 

I have many good days and an occasional bad one.  Yesterday was one of those.  I probably overdid it between putting my bedroom back together and wrapping and doing some exercise.  My left arm’s weak.  And painful.  I injured it last year moving up from beginner to intermediate yoga.  Being immobilized for seven weeks seems to have brought back the pain and of course, the weakness.

Anyhow, it was fortunate supper was leftovers or I couldn’t have managed.  I was exhausted.  Today, I feel fine and energized.

A few seed catalogs have come, but many haven’t yet.  I wish they’d hurry up.  I’d like to get a head start on seed ordering. Now the rain seems to have stopped and the wind is getting more powerful.  I’m glad the weeping beech finally let go of its leaves, long after every deciduous tree but the oaks had long ago stripped.

Shaman went through a period of being stand-offish as he moved into adolescence, but that seem to have passed and he’s back to being his lovey-dovey self.  Yesterday, when I was feeling whacked, he got on me and purred and purred.  He kept gently touching my shoulder and my cheek.  When Woody came back from shopping and an excursion to Hyannis, he was ecstatic.  Feeding the three of them is always a circus.  They each are convinced, especially the two boys, that one of the other cats has something better.  They are always changing plates, always both going after whatever Willow is fed, generally exactly the same as what each of them got.