Life, death, and a few things in between.

Here's something about Firefox that I don't like - it seems like every fourth time I open the browser I have to update to a new version. If I had a website that needed to be compatible with each new version of this browser, I'd be driven slowly insane. Thankfully, I can find this to be a mere annoyance and be driven slowly insane by other things, like humping cats.

So what to blog about today. Well, not much has really been happening. Now that Doug and I have been back from D.C. for a week, we're starting to get back into our routines, which means we're not doing a whole lot other than working. Doug's Uncle Bruce passed away, however; he passed away the Tuesday before we left for Washington D.C., and his service will be next Saturday. It's been stressful for Doug, because his parents don't really deal with these kinds of situations well (Well, I mean, who does, really. Uncle Bruce was 57 years old, Mr. Sisko's only (younger) brother, and he had been fighting terribly hard against the ravages of cancer. He lost the battle, and now the Siskos have to pick up their lives again, which will be hard - and is hard.), but he's been holding his own. I feel badly for him. I've lost plenty of relatives before, some of whom succumbed to terrible illnesses just like Uncle Bruce, but I have a weird sort of detachment from death that most others may not have. I get emotional, but my emotions are done with pretty quickly. I move on. Probably too soon. But, anyway. Death has been a bit of a theme here lately.

But only a bit. Because we did join a gym last Tuesday, so that means we're trying to immerse ourselves in the land of the living. Planet Fitness recently opened a new facility in the strip mall right up the street from our house, which makes this the closet gym to us. It also just offered an unbeatable deal - a $1 joining fee, $10 monthly fee, and no annual commitment (meaning no annual contract). So basically it's $1 down and $10 a month, and if we want to quit we can at any time. My kind of gym! Sure there are drawbacks to this gym - no classes, no balance balls, balance bars, or bosus or anything like that, no personal trainers, and no individual televisions on each piece of cardio equipment (man, we were spoiled with Boston Sports Clubs!) - but what do I expect for $10/month? And this way I won't feel like I'm wasting money if I only get there one or two times a week. I'm happy about this gym opportunity.

I'm also happy that we finally hung up the painting that my aunts Anna and Madeline gave to me. They are such generous people. I had mentioned to them a while ago that I really liked the painting, and, because they are slowly giving away (or tagging for those who want them) many of their possessions, they gave the painting to me. I felt awkward about taking it from them before they passed away. They are thinking that they won't be here much longer, what with Madeline at 96 years old now and Anna at 95, but with the Shea genes you never know. Now there is a huge empty space where this painting once hung, and I feel terrible that I caused that empty space, but they assured me that they don't want the painting and that I should have it now to enjoy in my home. And we are enjoying it. Doesn't it look great in our art room? I can now officially call the sun/cat room the art room, since we have some real, honest-to-goodness art in there. The painting is one done by Porfirio Salinas, known for his depictions of vast bluebonnet fields, and who had a connection to President Johnson. My aunts had someone take this painting to the Antiques Roadshow, and while it was only appraised at $350, I think it's priceless, as it reminds me of sitting at their large dining table at holidays, being bored to tears by the adult conversation. I would stare at the painting, hanging prominently in their dining room, for distraction. So thank you, Madeline and Anna. This is a true gift for us.

And, in other events, we dismantled Christmas. The white tree is tucked back into its box and is in the attic for another eleven months, which makes Doug very sad. I suppose what's most sad is that our Christmas celebrating seems so fleeting, so short. Here one minute and gone another, kind of like life. Except you can't put life in a box and put it in the attic for a few months, ready to take out again to look just as festive as it did last season. That's maybe one of the good things about an artificial tree. There's no death involved.

And, speaking of life, I started today on my second round of bib-making. These will be for my cousin Amy's baby (sex unknown), due in mid-March. I went a little more cutesy with the material this time, and I like it. The bibs will hopefully turn out okay - I am using a thicker material for the backing (terrycloth) and I hope that when I turn them inside out they retain their size and shape. We'll see about these - Amy, I can make no promises except that these will be made with love.

Know what else is made with love? Or at least loved? Doug. The furry ladies love Doug. One hops off of his lap and the other one is right there ready to hop on. He's like a St. Francis for felines. I'll be in the dining room working at the table and I'll hear, "No, Sasha, I don't want you to suck on me right now." And then I'll hear the tell-tale call of Meg, the high-pitched, really whiny cry that only she can do well, and I'll hear, "Meg, come on girl, I just finished with your sister." If I didn't have enough context to know exactly what was going on I would probably get really upset! But let Doug have his cats. Wyatt can't get enough of humping my clothes, my blankets, anything that happens to be near me, and even me myself. So there!