The week of Halloween

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Portender of problems to come

 Somehow, my friend Terrie and I always wind up with a disaster on our hands.  This week, that of Halloween was no different. 

Once the Blue JellyBean was fixed, I was back to my bouncy old Rav4 and no more fancy lady.  But that is actually ok.  My Rav4 and I are used to one another and we are both old together. 

On this week there was much planning to be done.  Our Youth CAB would be meeting on Saturday, a new expatriate is eager to find volunteer work with several agencies, and my computer shidas needed to be resolved. 

My first anxiety was my computer, in which, suddenly my entire iphoto library had disappeared when I tried to merge two libraries.  There were many more stories, but suffice it to say between frantic e-mails to my friends in Durham, (who kindly sent me links to try to resolve) I took my computer and all the links to our dear computer guy at KCMC and laid all the shidas in his lap.  I love our MEPI team, they are so smart, so energetic, and always so positive.  “I am sure, Mama, that we will find out what is wrong and fix it.”  And low and behold Ndmangwa did. The restore was back to an earlier date, but I had lost no photos and had some documents backed up on a flash, so now I am business as a photo freak again.  I am desperately going through an additional back up photo drive and trying to remember names and dates for them.  It is slow slow work but I’ll get through it before I die I’m sure. It was particularly reassuring to see pictures of graduations showing up again, and Christmas at the Cave for many many years.

1998 Christmas at the CAVE with DAD

Halloween was another matter.  This, I have to confess is not my favorite holiday.  I never for some reason could “get into the pumpkins” or dressing up.  I think, perhaps, it was that my mother did not either and so for all the Halloween parties that I was invited to at school, I was always the old pauper lady, or the “old woman and the shoe” meaning that I wore some old ragged dress of mother's and carried a bunch of shoes around.  But suffice it to say, this was important to my friend, and how important it was as two other “grown ups” bailed on her ON THE DAY saying that they were not “into this sort of thing” after agreeing to be part of it earlier in the week.  (and all the school kids were to come to her house--too late to change) So old me, had to be witch and sort of leaping artist to get over a table, to flick lights, and hold doors and craggy voice meanness in order to warn everyone else that things were either ok or not.  

 

Deo, the day askari is horrified at me!

there we are

Trish Gaudi (guard) Terrie, scary clown

Poor Gaudi has never done anything like this b4

 In the beginning all went well, but it deteriorated as more kids came at once, and then suddenly the power went out.  Suffice it to say, I was done when the power went out, and the last group had ripped my nose and chin off and grabbed at the candy bowl just one time too many—oh and sprayed me with water pistols full of red food dye that was on the table for me to use.  Sigh….

So I wound up with the worst back I have had since 2006!  Unbelievable, I am sidelined from running, sitting in a car, and even walking more than to the back yard.  Back on steroids for the first time since 2008, and just trying to plan a different week than last week.  My motto?  NO MORE HAUNTED HOUSES FOR ME! I even missed All Saints Sunday and “For All the Saints” and my all time favorite “ I sing a song of the saints of God”.  That is definitely significant.  For, I have loved the Saints of God for ever….”you can see them school or in shops OR AT TEA” for they’re all of them saints of God and I mean, God help me to be one, too.”  At 65, I am definitely not there.

But on to better things.  And I know it will be better.

They're just folk like me!