September 29, 2006

Family Ties

I meant to call Sis yesterday and sing happy birthday. I thought about it several times as I went through my day. Then I forgot for a few hours. When I remembered, it was evening here, which means late night in Texas. Guess I’d better call her this weekend, and maybe try to find something to send her? I mean, after all, she was hardly late at all with my gift this year.

I don’t do much to nurture our relationship. My brother and sister both live in the Dallas area, as do a number of other relatives from both Mom’s and Dad’s families. There’s an aunt I talk to every two or three weeks. Her home is the family gathering place, so I’m able to do a lot of catching up when we talk. Sis works two jobs. She’s not home a lot. I tried for a long time to revitalize our ties. Called frequently (ie: talked to her voice mail a lot,) and sent chatty emails on a regular basis. She was pretty much non-responsive, so I got tired of that & quit trying. Some days it hurts a lot; some days it makes me angry or I just don’t care. Maybe it’s time to work on that again, but why should one have to work on maintaining a relationship with siblings at all. Shouldn’t it just happen?

Project: I have enough fabric and notions to open up a shop. Most was bought with specific projects in mind, projects that I never got around to. My sewing supplies are one of the few areas of my life that are organized, so no complaints there, but since I’m not doing anything with them, they’re clutter. I don’t have a lot of money to spend on gifts lately, but I have what’s needed to make hand-crafted items for years to come. Now that I’ve created some space by shifting books around, I need to set up a sewing area and get shaking.

Technorati Tags: family, sister

September 23, 2006

Grrrrrrrrrr!

I’ve had no internet connection for about a week. I’m not happy with Roadrunner/Time-Warner, which is the only cable provider on the island. I’m looking for options, maybe DSL would be more reliable?

Progress: The good news is that not being able to play on the internet left me with lots of time on my hands. I’ve read many books, some very good, some not-so, but all reducing Mount TBR to a more managable level. I’ve also made a good bit of progress with getting books registered and have released a few. No new project in the works yet.

September 11, 2006

Dog hair

The bane of my existence. I have two dogs. Both have short hair. Buddy, the old guy, has a baby-soft undercoat and sheds huge quantities of hair. Lance, the beagle, hardly sheds at all. Both have fleas again, dammit!

Today’s task: De-flea. Bathe the boys. Launder their bedding and the towels from their bath. Sweep up the huge furballs from the corners & under the couch so that the hair won’t clog the vacuum. Vacuum. Rake the plumeria leaves from the gravel in the front yard & pick up poops in the boys yard. Spray the yard and the kennel and under the house where the feral cats hide. Collapse.

As an aside: I’ve been avoiding the TV this week. It’s been five years and the wounds are still too raw. Many others that I’ve talked to lately feel the same. I watch Katrina restospectives, reliving those dark days, crying, hurting, getting angry. I can’t do that with the 9/11 tragedy. Will we ever heal?

September 7, 2006

One year later

I don’t think I’ve mentioned on this site that I was raised in Jefferson Parish, right outside of New Orleans. The last time I went “home” was about nine years ago. Sis, who now lives in Dallas, met me there, along with a few other relatives. We cleaned up the old house as best we could and packed up my dad for a road trip to visit relatives in towns throughtout southeast Texas. He and I then flew back here, as my brother had not been able to provide the care Dad needed. Brother continued to live in the old house until we sold it over a year later, the sale closing just a few days before Dad died. Brother stayed in the area, mostly living in motels and working at whatever jobs he could find. I think he lost his anchor with Dad and the house gone. He was frequently out of touch with the family & rarely had access to a phone. This time last year we did not know that he had moved from a motel in Jefferson Parish to one in New Orleans. We only knew that the family friend who tried to find him that Sunday had to give up and take her own family out of harm’s way.

We, along with so many others, breathed a sigh of relief that Monday morning. It was the “big one” that Dad had always worried about (he was chief engineer for those ill-fated levees for many years,) but the city had survived. The relief was short-lived and we watched in horror as all of Dad’s predictions came to life. The days that followed seemed surreal. I took to the couch, constantly clicking between news channels, physically ill at what I was seeing. I called Dallas frequently, looking for news. We consoled ourselves that brother was probably okay, but communications failures precluded him getting in touch to tell us that.

He finally called on Friday. He was in the Astrodome. He had been evacuated by the US Coast Guard from a second floor balcony over his own flooded motel room and, after only one night in a staging area, been transported away from the city he loved. He’d had a harrowing week, but never been in any real danger. My nephew picked him up and helped him complete his journey to Dallas.

I don’t know if my brother will ever regain his footing. He’s living with our sister ourside of Dallas. He hasn’t gotten a job and doesn’t go much of anywhere or do much of anything. He mostly just sits on my sister’s couch, going out occasionally to visit with relatives. Sis is having a hard time with the burden, both emotional and financial. I think that my brother, like many survivors of disaster, has lost his sense of place and isn’t really sure where he’s supposed to be or what he’s supposed to be doing. I hope that time will allow him to eventually restore his life to some new “normal” that works for him.

My family’s tragedy is so small in light of the devastation so many have suffered. Still, it’s ours. The city we loved is beginning its rebirth into something new and different. Maybe, just maybe, my brother will do that too. Someday.

Progress report: I’ve been a slacker this week, lost in the restrospectives that I can’t make myself not watch. Time to re-focus and start over.

Technorati Tags: family, Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, survivors

September 2, 2006

It’s theatre season!

I’m not a real social go-getter. I spend most of my time at home with just the dogs for company and that’s fine. There are two things I do outside of the house regularly. One is the monthly gathering with BookCrossing friends. The other is to attend the productions of Kumu Kahua Theatre. It’s in an old building near Chinatown in downtown Honolulu. A small, intimate theatre, it seats about one hundred people, and the productions are frequently staged as theater in the round, with audience contact and participation . I’ve had season tickets for about four years. I miss it during the off-season & wish they could go year round.

The new season has started and I’m excited. The first production this year is Mahalo Las Vegas, which is a continuation of the story in what has probably been their most popular play ever, Aloha Las Vegas (it’s been staged several times over the years.) I’m excited.

New task: remove the clutter from my car, vacuum & wash it so I won’t be too, too humiliated when I pick up my friend for our theatre date!

Kumu Kahua Theatre. Plays about life in Hawaii. Plays by Hawaii’s playwrights. Plays for Hawaii’s people.

Did I mention that I’m excited?

September 1, 2006

August recap

I have a lawn.

I know where the gardening tools are.

My pantry is clean and reasonbly well orgnized (and there was yucky stuff in the back, as I suspected. Packages with a few chips or crackers gone stale & such.)

I have registered & labeled about fifty books, released maybe ten?

I was more generous to the UCP folks than usual this time, but I can’t see that the stuff I sent off created any new space, sigh!

It feels like I was busy all month, but I’m not seeing a whole lot of progress. I’ll just have to work harder at , I reckon.