Long Way from Normal

Chadwick cosplaying as Enjolras at the
 2013 Austin NaNoWriMo kickoff party.

There's no good way to break this news: I lost my beloved Chadwick to a pulmonary embolism a week ago.

A few weeks ago, I was hoping to get back in the groove of blogging. Now, I'm not even sure when I'll get back into the groove of living. People keep talking about how eventually I'll find my "new normal"-- I've said it myself a few times-- but that's a long way away still.

We were married for 13 years, 1 month, and 17 days. I don't remember what it was like without him there. I don't know what the next days and weeks and months will be like.

And I don't know if I'll be blogging any of this journey to my new normal. But if I don't, just know that I'm still here, somewhere, trying to put one foot in front of the other.

Signs You Moved Away from Greenfield, Indiana

I just got back to Austin after an emergency trip home for a funeral, and while I doubt this post will be interesting to anyone else, it's what was on my mind the last few days. So! A few indicators that you grew up in Greenfield, but moved away a while ago:

The old-old library in my hometown. Where I learned to love
the smell of books. Source.

1. When people say something about "the old library," you still think of the one on North Street and not the one by the high school.

2. Speaking of the high school, what have they done to the parking lot? Or the door you used to always use?

3. And hey, look, it has two stories now! You finally have a use for that elevator pass you bought when you were a freshman.

4. You act surprised when someone suggests Dairy Queen in the winter. It was better when it was seasonal, obviously.

5. You still say you're going to "Reasners" or "3D," if you're ever so mad as to go to whatever is there now.

6. Lincoln Park is apartments now? Cool. Pity it's for old folks. I'm definitely not retiring anywhere this cold.

7. Okay, the Pennsy Trail is awesome, but it was more fun going through here when it wasn't allowed.

8. Are roundabouts the new crop circles?

9. Don't even bother going to Riley Park. The good slide is long gone.

And finally...
10. You're surprised that all four clocks on the courthouse display the same time.

Okay, my life in Greenfield was a bit dull. Bet some of my high school classmates could come up with a considerably more, ahem, interesting list.

What are some quirks of people who grew up in your hometown?

R is for Rings and Ramona

I was going to make this a Teaser Tuesday post and then remembered that I'm not currently reading anything that I'd like to share. So instead, I think I'll finally pick up where I left off in the A to Z Challenge last April, which is... Letter R. It's a tie for two series:

The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien

If you haven't read it yet, I can't imagine what you could possibly be waiting for.








And...

Ramona Quimby, Beverly Cleary

My first encounter with Portland wasn't its bike culture or its coffee, or even its awesome bookstore Powell's (none of which I've actually laid eyes on, btw, but that's totally beside the point), but instead it was Ramona.







What's your favourite 'R' book?

It Will, In Fact, Calm Up

Maybe I need to rethink my theme days. I literally thought, "What are some things I like to write about?" and then wrote those things down on my front page. Intentionality, it seems, is not my strong point.

I can't get over how much I love that
there are things called "chilling stations".
Unfortunately, I need to be a little less
chill.

But this week it has to be. The semester is back into full swing, and I can't hide behind denial any longer. I'm running the Austin Half Marathon in two weeks' time (yeah, I KNOW, I just did that a week ago-- the race calendar in Austin needs an attitude adjustment). My house is filling up with unanswered mail and my container garden sits on the balcony sadly neglected-- two plants need topping up with fresh new soil from my composter, three more need repotting, and one sad dead basil plant needs removing.

The only way to get it all done and make sure that my husband remembers what I look like is to be intentional. I have a laid-back deal-with-it-as-it-comes approach to life, that's all well and good sometimes but leads to elevated blood pressure all the rest of the time. "Maybe I'll just read this fanfiction for a few minutes before I go to sleep," for example, is not the greatest way to either enjoy fanfiction or get enough sleep.

So! Running. Homework. Work work. Blogging. Sorting through the dang mail. It's all on the list and I need to get on it.

What are you being intentional about this week?

(If you read this post hoping for a Stargate thing based on the title-- sorry.)