The dentist appointment yesterday wasn't quite as bad as I thought it would be (but wasn't exactly a barrel of laughs, either). It took more than two hours and was separated into two distinct parts: the first, "debridement," clearing away the underbrush--I mean tartar--and the second, extractions. I will draw a vein over that part, but with the nitrous oxide, it was bearable. The aftermath was a bit uncomfortable, but with the Percoset and Valium, I slept like a log, and don't feel half bad this morning. My mouth is a bit sore, but the bleeding has stopped, a damn good thing, as in the middle of the pulling part, I realized I had forgotten to leave off the daily aspirin, after all. It didn't seem to matter, though, thank heavens.
My next appointment is in two weeks--no picnic, either, but the worst is over.

Forgot to mention the lousy weather on Tuesday: Rain came down in sheets and buckets almost all day. Actually, it cleared by the time we went to the Awards Ceremony and it was okay driving home. Also, it loosened the ground and I was able to get a (very slight) start on the enormous amount of weeding I have to do.
Went to the cemetery to tidy up the plantings. I'm not sure if it's allowed, but I have in mind edging the little plot with flagstone or something. Baring that, I'll put some mulch down.
Today, I'm starting a pretty extensive course of dental work, so probably won't be blogging tomorrow--or maybe for a few days. Incidentally, figuring I wouldn't be eating much solid food for a while, I foolishly went out and bought pint of ice cream yesterday. Ate the whole thing and it kept me awake half the night (it feels like). Well, that'll show me.
Wider: This is from an e-mail I sent to a "liberal" friend on January 22, 2009 after the inauguration. She was ecstatic at O.'s triumph, but I wasn't quite as starry-eyed. Referring to Iraq and Afghanistan, this is what I wrote:
"The question remains, of course, not 'can he,' but 'will he' end these horrors? His selection of Biden, Emmanuel, Clinton, and others don't strike me as indicating a desire to lessen the bloodshed. Of course, I'm an old cynic. Overwhelmingly great though it is to see an African-American man in the White House--and such a tremendous relief it is to see Bush's ass going out the door-- we must be strictly vigilant, now and for the next four years. It's absolutely imperative for us to apply the "WIBDI"--"what if Bush did it"--rule to Obama at every turn. Otherwise, he's going to be MORE deadly than Dubya, because harder to despise and fight."
Oh, what silly talk! We know, sixteen months later, that O. is doing all humanly possible to end the carnage; wasn't he awarded the Nobel Peace Prize? And doesn't he keep telling us how grieved he is when we slaughter children in their beds? And doesn't he intend to make every effort to rein in the Pentagon and stop their rampages around the world? Well, all right, not yet, but give him time--lots and lots of time, because remember, he's surrounded by evil people who are leading him astray. If he only could, he would guide us out of these horrors and wash the blood off our hands, but you see, it isn't his fault, he's blameless, he's a nice family man, he isn't like the others...
Now go back to sleep.

The Awards Ceremony last night was wonderful. Officially called "Senior Academic/Activities Awards Program," it was held in the Holy Spirit High School auditorium at 7 pm. I met Pat's dear niece, Donna, at her house at 5:00 and she took me to Smithville Inn for dinner. Got to the ceremony in plenty of time and was told to sit up front in the reserved section.
There were lots of scholarship monies from colleges awarded, some in the thousands and thousands of dollars. I assume that means the seniors must attend and tuition will be covered. I hadn't expected to be asked to speak, but I was. Up on stage at the microphoned podium, I was a little nervous, but okay. I mentioned that Pat was a star football player and had probably graduated before most of the people in the room were born. I choked up a little, but got through. I then named the student who had won. There was a kind of happy gasp, then applause--I guess it hadn't been known before that. The kid, Daniel McNair, came up on stage and I gave him the certificate, then a hug. Donna took pictures and later, found Daniel and took others.
I'm so glad I did it and I want to continue for at least next year. The evening was so good--bittersweet, but I was glad my husband's name was out there. It's been more than half a century since he played, but nobody who saw it will ever forget that 74-yard run back against Atlantic High.

Yes, yes, I bought and planted the additional flowers, plus pounded the tree spikes around my poor sick tree. This morning, it's raining, which means I'll probably have to follow through on my promise to weed the sides and back soon--ugh!
While I was digging away yesterday, my neighbor, Anne Mary H., came down to give me several nice candles. People give them to her and she won't light them--thinks they'll suck up the oxygen she needs to breathe or something. She won't use her stove, either, and won't own a microwave. Is she nuts? Yeah, a little, but we in the neighborhood are used to her brand of nuttiness and just take it for granted.
Got a call-back from my old grammar school friend, Elva B. and greatly enjoyed our chat. I had hoped to go up to Lambertville with my old high school friend, Jeanne P., for dinner and to drop in on Elva's gallery, but circumstances interfered. We'll try again later.
The cast party for "Steel Magnolias" is set for next Thursday and should be great fun. I'll bring the guacamole that made such a hit at the last party I attended.
Tonight, I'll attend the Holy Spirit Awards Ceremony and will present the scholarship I endowed (sounds grandiose!) in Pat's name. Will meet his niece, Donna, first for dinner at Smithville Inn.
A problem has developed with The Breeze e-mail. All the copy had been sent to the publisher and the idea was that, after they re-type it, we get the proofs to check and correct. Now there's some snafu or other and we can't get into the e-mail. Trustee Mary S. is working on it and I hope it's resolved before deadline.

I wonder if I'm developing some kind of flower obsession. Went back to Bob's yet again and bought four more red salvias and three more "crystal white" geraniums to fill in the front. On a neighbor's advice, I also picked up some tree spikes, so I can feed my poor sick tree. And now I've decided I need to put in more "gold million" (yes, that's what they're called) to add around the stone Asian shrine. Okay, I'll go get them, but that will be the absolute last until I finish weeding the sides and back (ugh!) and nurse the tree back to health.
Funny--that neighbor, Joe, admired my flowers and remarked that I'd have a patriotic flower display if I added some blue. (Huh? Red, white, yellow, and blue?) When I told him I'm not patriotic, he seemed not to hear. His eyes glazed over and he kept repeating robotically, "patriotic...patriotic...patriotic...." Okay, he didn't say that, but he also didn't respond to my statement; he actually didn't seem to hear it. If he had, I would have told him I consider "patriotism" to be nationalism lite, and what else but nationalism (read "exceptionalism") leads us to murder and plunder around the world?
Do I love my country? No. As somebody said, "Don't love anything that can't love you back." I love my family and many of the other people here and I cherish my home and the flowers out front and I enjoy and appreciate a plethora of other aspects of my life. But "love" my country? Not the way I understand love.
Okay, end of sermonette or diatribe or whatever. Enjoyed a long talk/see last night with daughter Ellen, but was sorry to hear Sebastian and Tillie are sick. S. isn't eating as much, a worrisome symptom, as he'll usually eat his, Tillie's, Ellen's, and anybody else's food he can find, as well as stray bugs and, for all I know, the flowers in her garden.
Flowers? Oh, no!

I'm getting to be a real farmerette. Planted twelve stately red salvia and twelve cute little "Million Gold" plants in front, then decided more were needed to fill in. Went back to Bob's and got eight white geraniums and planted them in back. My planning instincts were off for sure, as I put the geraniums in back and it was hard working around the other plants without crushing them. I also bought four pots of "steppables"--tiny little green ground cover that will drape over the flagstones that front the garden. Besides that, I bought two Rigel begonias and a "copaca"--a low-growing with little white flowers. Planted them in the container and decided to put that on the porch, as begonias like shade. I also again watered the tree, then the flowers.
Barb next door came over to ask if I wanted half of her ficus tree, which Frank is going to divide. I do and I dedicated a big pot to it.
I'm still not satisfied that I have enough planted. I know I want to go back to Bob's and get two more white geraniums, as they stopped a little short behind the salvia. Went to The Home Depot late in the day, to see what they have, but left empty handed. Soon, I'll have to tackle the clearing and weeding in the back, as I want to plant tomatoes. What a chore, but I'll get to it. I don't even want to contemplate the rest of the weeding around the sides that needs to be done. Hard work, but good exercise and, once I get into it, absorbing.

Guess I'm just going to hell in a handbasket (from whence did I dredge up that expression? Dunno)--I slept until quarter of seven! However, virtuous Mimi dressed quickly, grabbed her portable record player (it hasn't been called that for the past fifty years? Oh.), and hit the sidewalk, even though Susan's away for the weekend. Tomorrow I'll make a point of getting up at a decent hour--my usual, 5:30.
Bob, the guy who blows out my sprinkler system (wow, that sounds provocative) noticed that my tree out front is looking sickly, decided at a glance it's infested with parasites, and advised me to get rid of it and plant a new one. Aghast, I finally looked and noticed the leaves are all droopy. Now this is a mature tree which has been here seven years and has been well heretofor. I called Meticulous, our landscaper, and their guy, Jerry, came over, took one look and said it probably needs water. Told me to leave the hose at a trickle for twenty minutes or so every other day and see if that does the trick. Nice going, Jerry! (You're battin' zero, Bob.)
Earlier, I had gone to the cemetery to water there, then went to Bob's and bought some lovely red salvia and little gold flowers, which I had intended to plant around the sick tree. Now I'll put them in the front flower bed until I see if I can nurse poor thirsty tree back to health.
Earlier still, I finally sent off (electronically, of course) the last of the articles for The Breeze. We'll get the proofs back shortly (also via computer), go over them, then meet on the 24th to compare notes. Geez, this project took an enormous amount of time and effort. Of course, it's the first one, so there were snafus here and there, but it's finally done and I hope done properly. We have a short deadline for the July issue, so I made a date for the 26th to interview my next "profile" couple, Marty and Norma H.