Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

Dad opening his presents

This weekend, The Gryphon and I drove to Central Pennsylvania for two reasons: my annual eye appointment and to celebrate my dad's birthday.

The Gryphon actually took off work on Friday so that he could come home with me. We had to leave very early, because my eye appointment was at 11:40. Running into no problems with traffic, we arrived with time to spare. I put my contacts in, since the eye doctor needed to check their fit.

I was also glad for the opportunity to ask a question about why my contacts had been blurry lately. I didn't know whether I needed a new prescription or not. But I've been wearing my glasses simply because I couldn't see properly out of the contacts.

They were running a little behind at the eye doctor's, so I didn't actually get seen until about 45 minutes after I entered the office. When I finally spoke to doctor, I got some answer. She told me that I didn't need a new prescription but that there was some protein buildup on my lenses and I simply had to have them polished in the optical shop. This was a relief.

Other than that, everything looked fine. I stopped in the optical shop and had my lenses polished, then made it back to my dad's place in time to do my regular afternoon assignment. When I was done, The Gryphon and I went out to get Dad a birthday present, since I hadn't had time the week before. We stopped at a card shop to get him a nice card and while we were there also got him a pack of word games from Mensa. Then we drove to Lowe's and bought him a gift card he can use for his apartment improvement projects.

When Dad got his dinner break, we went with him to the local oriental buffet for dinner. I tried some of their sushi; it was OK. We made it back in time for me to do my regular evening assignments plus one extra one.

By the time I got upstairs, Dad had gone to sleep. The Gryphon and I stayed up a little longer, reading and watching TV.

Saturday was more relaxed for me. I got up early anyway, though, to work on some stuff for Wild Violet. I was still transcribing an interview for the latest issue, one of the things that's holding up the design process. While Dad was running his morning rounds, I transcribed the interview and The Gryphon worked on a play-by-email game he's designing.

When I had finished the interview, I called up Mom to see if we could visit her. I had a bag of clothes to give her, which are now too big for me but which she should be shrinking into, both of us losing weight as we are. My sister had done the same thing for me, leaving me two kitchen bags full of clothes. I tried them on gleefully. All of them fit, although a few things are a bit too tight. There were even a few that were too big, which I included with the clothes I was giving Mom.

I'm happy to receive the new clothes because it doesn't make much sense to buy a lot of new things while I'm still in transition to my goal weight.

Mom was happy with what I'd brought her, although she gave a few of them back. I'll sell them at the local consignment store, along with two bags of clothes she gave me which are now too large for her! She also gave me some books which she's getting ride of, which I'll sell on Amazon.com. Dad did the same thing this weekend; it's amazing everything fit in the car.

After we went through the clothes, we hung out and Mom showed me her latest paintings. She's veering away from strictly representational art now, having more confidence in her instincts. One of her paintings reminded me very much of a Cezanne.

When Dad had finished his rounds, he called my cell phone and I told him to come over and join us. We all socialized awhile longer before The Gryphon and I drove back to Dad's to get ready for dinner. I like to dress up on the weekends, since I don't get a chance during the week. I wore a white short-sleeved turtleneck sweater, the black skirt I bought for new year's, and a black jacket with white stitching.

We met back at Mom's and then drove together to Applebee's. The idea was to try out their new Weight Watchers entrees. While we were waiting for a table, we gave Dad his gifts. In addition to the ones from The Gryphon and me, my Mom gave him two new dress shirts with a matching tie. He was thrilled with all of it.

I had the French onion soup appetizer, the tilapia with mango salsa, and an Amstel Light. For dessert, The Gryphon and I shared a Weight Watchers dessert, a raspberry chocolate cake.

After dinner, we socialized a little longer with Mom before The Gryphon, Dad and I returned to his place. There, the three of us played the game Carcasonne twice, The Gryphon winning both times. By the end of the second game, I was so tired I could barely keep my eyes open, so I went straight to bed while The Gryphon and Dad stayed up a bit longer.

More from my weekend:

February 8, 2005 - Classic Chaplin

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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