Backing up to mid-August, I had possibly my best birthday ever. My mom sent me a fruit bouquet, friends took me out to dinner and I tagged along on others' family parties. The only real disappointment was that not only I didn't manage to reach Melissa on her birthday, but she didn't call me on mine. We've long since drifted apart, but missing each other's birthdays still hurts.
Since then, it's mostly been quiet. With so many of my nearby friends working in academia, there's seldom anything going on at the end of August and the beginning of September. I spent the last two weekends, including the holiday, at home doing absolutely nothing. I've finally started to relax a little. I can tell, because all my muscles are protesting the change in tension. I still have a long way to go, however.
I found my needlepoint, and I've been sewing while watching TV again. I really enjoy it. I just wish there were some useful end result. My mom's church has needlepointed cushions at the communion rail, and my grandmother had her dining room chair cushions needlepointed by family members. Those were projects with purpose. What I do can only be used as throw pillows or framed projects, good only if you have a certain style of decorating - which mine is not.
Usually in the fall I launch into a whirl of travel and visiting. This year, I just don't have the energy for it. I'm finally scheduling some vacation time, however. We'll see what happens.
ETA: Vacation time scheduled. That really shouldn't have been that complicated.
