fly in the ointment

This is only the 3rd time in 30 years that the usual shopping method is causing more than a little bit of anxiety. The first two times were when the main shopper got the flu in the 20's of December. This time it is a little more complicated. The anxious listmaker in the gardens feels the need to make a list of the complications:

1. Typical slight anxiety from the approaching (yet magical, miraculous even) deadline of December 24.
2. Additional responsibilities as new landlord of the basement apartment of The Amazing Girl's new house, including a bathroom remodel (mostly completed by Jack--aka The Reluctant Landlord), and major cleaning and de-spidering of the apartment (spider webs that have accumulated since 1928, mostly completed by Gilian--aka The On-The-Surface Optimist).
3. While 1 & 2 above have been larger than anticipated (as always with remodels), a new complication entered the picture yesterday when, while remodeling/de-spidering, we received a phone call from our firstborn who was at his home feeling very sick. His firstborn was there with him, and while that situation for most people would be no big deal, we could tell from the sound of his voice that this was a big deal. Without going into detail, let's just say that he lives with an ongoing, serious medical condition that occasionally requires a trip to the emergency room for an infusion of fluids. One of those events occurred yesterday, so when he called, Jack and I agreed that he would stay at the remodel site and I would drive really quickly to be with the boy/man (30 minutes for the usual 45 minutes drive--even more amazing if you consider that it was the Saturday before Christmas and the hospital is located on the same street as the fairly new, giant-sized Costco). I arrived at the hospital before he and his wife (who was able to leave work after all--which was very good news indeed). After the usual battery of tests and hours of waiting, the docs determined that he needed three units of fluid and sent him home to recuperate. Once the nurse started the IV, I left to find parking in the nearby Costco lot, where I purchased ham and gifts for last night's family party. Jack and the remaining crew at the rental completed enough of the remodel to allow the new tenants to move in when they arrived from their journey across Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Utah. While the hugh storm that arrived late last week may have tricked my little car and The Drummer into sliding around on the freeway and into the wall backwards (only slight damage to the car and no damage to The Drummer), it also slowed the journey of the tenants enough to give us one of the two extra days we needed to finish up the remodel, which feels like an early December 24 miracle.


Okay, we're feeling much less anxious in the gardens now--time to get back to the detailed list.