Farewell

I got a shock today when I went through my flist and read an obituary for someone I "knew" virtually. We'd chatted via email, traded Christmas cards, that sort of thing, but I can't say in all honesty that we were really close. His death disturbs me nonetheless, because Will was one of the most gentle, thoughtful, witty, and intelligent people I've managed to come across on the Net, and just realizing that I will never again see his zany sense of humor pop up on my screen makes me terribly sad.

The fact that he died over a week ago and I'm just hearing about it also makes me feel bad. I feel guilty somehow that he died and I just went merrily along with my day, without acknowledging his passing. Not reasonable, but that's how I feel.

He used to call himself The Baron. He was the first person to comment on my "signature" smileys; he thought they were cute. :c) I had been chatting with him for over a year before I realized that he had such severe health problems, because he never really talked about it, except once in a great while when it all overwhelmed him. He never lost his sense of humor, and he was lighting-fast with the one-liners. I learned to swallow my cola first before reading his posts, lest I spit up on my screen. He was truly a unique individual, and the world is a colder place without him, and I will miss him.

Peace be unto you, Wil.

Catching up...

Now that the holiday lull has passed, and the ankle-biters are back in school (HOORAY!), things can get back to something resembling a routine around here.

We've spent the last few days just sort of piddling around, doing little to nothing and enjoying it. The kids are old enough to feed themselves breakfast, so we were able to sleep in until 9:00 or later on most mornings. Shocking, I know. I haven't been able to do that since...um...I can't remember. Before I had Lukas, I worked fulltime, and I had Griffin on the weekends so I never slept in then, either. I think it's actually been close to 20 years since I was able to just sort of snerk my way through the morning. It was lovely. :c)

We took the kids to see "Happy Feet," which I thought was really cute (I was, unfortunately, the only one who got all the pop culture refs). Hubby was impressed by the computer graphics, and the kids liked the singing penguins. Definitely a feel-good film.

I went on a bender and bought BOOKS! I finished the first one last night, called "The Thirteenth Tale," by Diane Setterfield; a very Gothic and Jane Eyre-ish mystery. I had a lot of trouble putting it down. I'm almost done with Umberto Eco's "The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana:An Illustrated Novel", which, unlike most of his works,has just sucked me in from the start. I can't wait to finish it. After that I have "Special Topics in Calamity Physics" by Marisha Pessl, which I haven't started yet but will tonight, and "The City of Fallen Angels" by John Berendt which I thought was fiction but turns out to be non, which is even more interesting. I'm about 1/2 done with that one. So many books, so little time. I'm due for a trip to ABC in Amsterdam, because it's going to be my birthday sometime this year. ;cP

We bought a real computer desk for Lukas, and hubby has cobbled together a Linux-based computer for him to learn on. We just got his completed school work for the prior semester back from the teacher, and he's completed the 4th level work. Lukas is only halfway through 3rd year. My son the genius. :c)

The only true annoyance is that the xmas package I sent to my oldest son via "Super Expensive Express Mail" on December 4th STILL has not arrived. And now we have to fill in all kinds of stupid forms and MAYBE they'll be able to track it down. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR......

Okay, I'm sort of rambling, so I'll just shut up now and go back to my book(s). Stay warm and dry, everyone!

ETA: How could I have forgotten to mention "The Barchester Chronicles" by Trollope? I got it for 50 cents at the Kringloper! Such a deal!