This has been just a bit of a long day. Productive, but very, very long (at least in comparison with my normal schedule).

Realized this weekend my car battery died. No problem! If I can replace a car battery in the dark at 2AM, it's not as though jumping it is much of a difficulty. But alas, 'twas not to be so. See, there's one little thing I seem to have trouble remembering most of the time: my hood latch release no longer works. So after a grand total of two and a half hours sleep last night (much larger number if I count how long I actually lay there in bed staring at the ceiling and the dog nose an inch away from me on the pillow that was the source of extraordinarily loud and melodic snores), I spent a good two hours this morning alternating between car repair resources online and rushing back out to the car, full of hope and armed with screwdriver and coat hanger, only to find that absolutely none of the "sure-fire" techniques I so carefully studied were of any help whatsoever.

(And wow but that is one heck of a sentence... :grin: But in all fairness, I did warn you I'm overdue for a nap.)

Now ordinarily, a temporary lack of transportation causes me no real difficulties, but this was the Monday for my pdoc appointment. :shakes head: Poor mom actually had to skip lunch to head home, shove me out the door and take me across town to the doctor's. On the positive side, she finally had a chance to see the little library he's...perfecting? (Can't figure out which word is stubbornly glued to the end of my tongue.)

Really great work done to today, but then, the more anxious and wound up I am when I leave, the better the session. Shifting your paradigm is definitely NOT comfortable work, but it certainly provides interesting fodder for contemplation.

Afterward, head over to the hobby shop to pick up some supplies that were somehow overlooked during the last trip (and a number of items that I didn't know I needed till I found them :grin:). Found the most gorgeous tiny little lead crystal candle holders (though I don't know that I've seen any candles small enough and short enough to fit them) that are absolutely ideal for my burgeoning collection of air plants. :grin: Now I just need to find something suitable for my Venus fly trap.

The one portion of our shopping trip that tires me to even consider is the sheer number of little cross stitch/embroidery ornament "thingies" (yes, that is actually the technical term) that I get to create as part of the Christmas gifts mom gives to her staff and student workers every year. I have a feeling I'm going to be quite thoroughly sick of stitching little wreaths and gingerbread men by the time Christmas rolls around! Of course, I quite adore that I get to help. Thinking back, I believe Mom's had some sort of little project like this for me every year since I've moved back. :evil grin: I'm sure Ginny's hoping that this means I won't have time to knit her annual Christmas sweater, but she should surely know that I wouldn't let anything stand between me and a chance to torture Mom like that! (And for those of you tempted to call out PETA on me, I should note that despite her avowed aversion to putting clothing on dogs, Mom's become quite fond of the classic little sweaters I knit for Ginny each year, and heaven knows Ginny is very grateful indeed to have something to keep her toasty when she's forced to venture outside after the temperature drops below 65.)

But now I really am rambling... Since finally getting home, I've been sewing, putting the finishing touches on a commissioned chainmail bracelet to prepare it for photography, planting some dwarf juniper seeds (fingers crossed), and trying my hand at taking cuttings from my now rather large and intimidating Christmas cactus. So now back to spending some more time studying my Spanish or perhaps just giving in and reading a lovely bit of fluff until I'm weary enough for sleep.

:zen hugs: Dream well, friends...

(Oh, and the car hood still won't open, so I can't jumpstart it, so I must try to figure out how to adjust my budget to allow for it to be towed [towed, for heaven's sake!] to the Ford place just because a simple little metal hook is flat out refusing to cooperate. Les grr.)