A NEW week......!!

Ahhhhh......yes, it IS a new week and my mental and emotional state finds itself more into a John Howser frame of mind.......upbeat and optimistic. Not to say that "all is well", because as I wrote last week......the scars of last week's pain will never fully heal, but time does have a way of making the darkest of days (and nights) a bit more bearable.......and it does also clear the mind a little bit with each passing day.

I didn't write yesterday.....I was still trying to find my way through the fog and attempting to clear my mind of all of the events that occurred last week that were sooooo unpleasant. Even the election celebration party of Saturday night was only a brief respite......enough to let me see through the darkness of my mind and to understand that I had to surface and get on with my Life. And so.....I am doing just that.

I just hung out in the house......did some reading, did some online surfing, and did some planning for our upcoming 3 month winter trip to the Rio Grande Valley, Arizona, and Mexico. So, with nothing new to discuss, I took an evening off from this "business" of keeping those in this world informed.....and just....."hung out".

Today.......it was an early morning with the French Roast coffee ready by the time I emerged from the steaming shower......and I soon had a cup of very hot and aromatic coffee in my hand. Not too long after that the tile layer arrived and began the last day of putting the tile and bullnose edging on the countertop. And then.....the doorbell rang....while I was on the phone, of course......and it was the fellow who will refinish our floors. We made the plans and arrangements for him to return next week on the day before Thanksgiving to begin to take care of his part of our remodeling project. He should finish with everything except one room by the end of the Turkey Day weekend.....and then he will complete that room later the next week.

This afternoon.....I did some research on stainless steel wall plates and electrical switches as we are probably going to go ahead and put up granite tiles for our backsplash.....from the countertop up the 16 inches to the bottom of the new cabinets. Soooo, all of the outlets and switches will have to be extended forward to be flush with the granite tiles on the wall.

This evening........a former student and now a band director in Edwardsville....a VERY close friend, Andrew Gipson, dropped by on his back to Edwardsville after a day of deer hunting with is family. After touring the remodeled and very messy house, we went up to Farmington for dinner at the new Mexicano restaurante.....Las Margaritas. This is the first time he and I have had any time together.....just the two of us....in more than a year....probably closer to two years. Sooooo, needless to say......neither one of us came to a period or a pause during dinner and drinks. Not only was he professional life as a band director a huge topic of discussion, but also our personal lives were laid out on the table. We finally had to find the end of a paragraph so he could on the road as he has to teach at 7:30 in the morning. It was soooooooooooo great to finally have some time to talk....to discuss.....to just enjoy our friendship and to be together as best friends!!! The last time we were together was at his wedding this summer when I had the huge honor of being his Best Man for the ceremony.

And now.......with a GRANDE Margarita inside my aging and sagging body.......I find myself having to retype quite a few of these little lines.....hahahahaa!!!!!!

My Life is returning to something close to normal........and therefore,

Life is good.......and I hope it is great for all of you, also!!!!!