In exactly one month

 Today is the 7th day of the 28th week, the 12th day of the 7th month, the 193rd day of 2025, and:

• Bald is in
• Carver Day - celebrating the life of George Washington Carver on the date of the first national monument dedicated to an African American
• Different Colored Eyes Day
• Etch A Sketch Day - first produced in July 1960
• Grange Day
• International Cave Day
• International Day of combating Sand and Dust Storms
• International Skinny Dip Day
• National Eat Your Jell-O Day
• National Michelada Day
• National Pecan Pie Day 
• New Conversations Day
• Night of Nights - in honor of the last commercial Morse message sent in the US in 1999
• Orangemen's Day AKA The Twelfth 
• Paper Bag Day
• Simplicity Day

Quote of the day:

"What difference is there, do you think, between those in Plato's cave who can only marvel at the shadows and images of various objects, provided they are content and don't know what they miss, and the philosopher who has emerged from the cave and sees the real things?"

~ Desiderius Erasmus - a 15th century Catholic priest who was a Dutch humorist, scholar, reformist, and theologian 

from the Bing wallpaper of the day in honor of International Cave Day:  

Devetàshka Cave, a large karst cave in modern-day Bulgaria that was occupied by humans from the mid-Stone Age until about 6,000 BCE.  Now it is a tourist attraction and genuine bat cave

It has been a very long week.  I was able to work from home this week, altho I can't honestly say that I got much done.  I have hidden in my apartment as tho it was a cave, and only mumbled "good morning" twice to a neighbor who caught a glimpse of me in the entire time since I have been back from Nashville [other than taking deliveries].  I made myself go to church on Sunday, but the rest of the family didn't make it and I rushed home as quickly as I could to plunge back into the safety of my own space.  I have managed to talk to Kit each day for a bit because...  well because she needed me so I made myself do it.  When Bonita checked in with me, as dear a friend as she is, I was almost inarticulate when she asked me how I was doing and ended up asking her to read my blog posts for an update.  I could talk about her, I could talk about trivial things, but I just couldn't tell her how I was.  And so I pointed to the blog because I wrote every day, emptying my heart onto the page, pouring out my memories and pain with tears in my eyes.

Did the same thing when Frank died, but that personal blog was lost when I switched my account from Verizon.  I thought I had backed it up, but I hadn't apparently, but I remember how raw the stories were and have often wondered if it wasn't better that they were lost.

But, life is pressing in upon me and I have to return to "normalcy".  

Today I am picking up Gem and we are going for a manicure/pedicure as we do every couple of weeks, and then to dinner.  Tomorrow is church, and then dinner with Gem, Cheryl, Mark, and Ricky and I'll have to be the matron of the family and keep it together until I can come home and let myself go again.  Next week is back to work, glad that I can work from home as Monday is Tommy's birthday

Bryan and friends in VRChat added a memorial in their garden for Tommy.  

There are still comments being added to his Deviant site as members of the community learn that he is gone

In September I will be going back to Nashville for a week to see what we can do about Tommy's things and to make arrangements with Bryan and Chris to bring Tommy home, and then to his final resting place.

But I don't have to think about all that right now, do I?

It's not necessary to worry about estates and bills and insurance and my ex today, is it?  

Today?  

Today I didn't have to set my alarm and get up early.  

Today I'm just going to concentrate on getting fancy nails, matching fingers and toes, and having a good visit with my daughter.