Tom slept until 8:30, unlike last Saturday. We actually got up before he did. mia_mcdavid is out having morning tea with a friend now. Afterwards she will go to a work party for the staff of colgaffneyis. I am watching Tom until our aide for today comes, assuming there is one. Tom has watched some of his videos, and is now playing a video game. So on the surface the situation is very similar, but the extra sleep makes all the difference.
I did not do my part for the American retail industry. I bought some materials at Tandy Leather and at the local hardware store, which I need for a gift I am making for my older son James. That’s it. Actually, I did my serious Christmas shopping months ago, and had no intention of going near a mall today.
I also started a batch of mead. After reading about rhymeswithghoti‘s mead brewing a while back I had been thinking it was time to brew again. This will be another of my sparkling dry ginger meads, which have been well received by many, including the dance guild of colgaffneyis. Long ago my father said that my mead was the only drinkable mead he had ever tasted. Anybody who knew him would recognize that this was quite a complement.
This morning our younger son Tom let mia_mcdavid and me sleep until 7:20–not as good as yesterday, but not bad by our standards. Later I was able to to do all of the mead preparation while Mia was taking a nap, and while I was also watching Tom–the aide we were supposed to have was AWOL. Tom was quite well behaved, and both of us actually had quite a pleasant time.
I had the day off, thanks to the 9 hours I worked on Sunday. It was quiet and relaxing, except for about 10 scary minutes when James was choking on a pill. This was only possible Tom was in school, and we had an aide to cope with him after school.
Did some housework and shopping with mia_mcdavid, then we went to the lunch buffet at the local Indian restaurant. The last is becoming a tradition on days when we are both free and we have coverage for Tom (Actually, the last phrase is redundant). After getting home we both napped. Later we went to the St. Paul Farmers Market to pick up our turkey (ordered long before) and a few other things.
While doing a yard chore for mia_mcdavid I remembered to bring my shaving horse indoors. I know of woodworkers who use their shaving horses outdoors all year long. None of them live in Minnesota.
In the late afternoon I did a little work in the shop. I am making a targe (17th century Scottish Highlander’s shield) as a gift for James.He will be able to use it when we are at events of colgaffneyis. I was able to saw and file the plywood blank to a reasonable approximation of a circle, then glued a leather cover to what will be the inside. Later I will glue some heavier leather to the outside, then add the nails there, and finally the grips.
The story of our morning is continued in mia_mcdavid‘s LiveJournal.
Mia sleeps on….Good. Tom had some more breakfast, and had been watching various videotapes. I am trying to persuade him to go to the car–it would be good to get him out of the house
Tom got up at 5:30 AM today. He does this from time to time (especially on weekends!) mia_mcdavid tried to get him back to sleep, but it did not work. Since he cannot be left alone, one of us has to be up with him. Hence Mia stayed up. I got up around 7:30, and so Mia went back to bed, and I am monitoring Tom. It is my turn.
He is currently watching his favorite scenes from Toy Story for the umpteenth time, alternating that with knocking on our (locked) bedroom door. He much prefers Mommy to Daddy. Too bad. He is stuck with me.
We have a computer upstairs, so I am able to write this entry while on duty. It is a P-166–utterly obsolete, but adequate for e-mail and most LJ tasks.
The weekend is coming to an end. About an hour from now I will drive to Camp Eden Wood and pick up Thomas. I have not done nearly as much as I wanted to do, but I have done a few things I could not possibly do while taking care of him. Not the least of these is getting plenty of sleep.
And a couple hours after Tom gets home mia_mcdavid will return as well. I suppose she is somewhere around Madison now. I am really looking forward to that.
…. because I have taken Tom to the Respite camp for the weekend.
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 