Δαφνη Ευτυχια Αρθουρος

'Nuther status update mostly about Mom. She was released from the hospital a few days ago and is now at the rehab center on the Eastern Shore where, as of last night, she said she's only had one session of physical therapy. I got the impression she's still too weak from her infection to do much. I haven't been out to see her since the evening they took her out there, because I've had a cold -- not a very bad one, but enough that I didn't want to be around a bunch of fragile people and risk spreading it.

The day she was transferred, I was feling pretty crappy and planning to stay in, try to catch up on my sleep deficit, and keep my cold to myself. Surprise -- gotta go run clothes and toiletries and such to Mom before they take her away! So I put together a bunch of stuff, jumped in the car, and ... arrived at the hospital just after they'd taken her off to the rehab center. So I dashed across the bay -- with an absolutely gorgeous magenta sunset with shiny clouds in my rear view mirror with no place to stop (on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge) and no passenger to hand the camera to (sure, torture the photographer *grumble*) -- delivered Mom's stuff, didn't stay long (partly fatigue but largely the feeling that I Shouldn't Be There with a sore throat (the nasal symptoms atated on the way home) and maybe more-than-a-little-bit the oppressive and relentless sound of too-loud televisions), made it to a gas station with my "miles remaining" indicator at zero for the last 2-3 miles, and drove back to Bowie. My day of rest-and-staying-away-from-people wound up being 129 miles of driving and visits to a hospital and a physical rehabilitation center.

I did slip the only ripe fig on Mom's tree into the bag o' clothes-and-stuff (she later told me she enjoyed it). Now the tree's leaves are already turning brown for fall (edges and spots so far) but it's got four last hard tiny green figs on it trying to ripen in time.

Today my cold seems to be better -- I still have traces of last night's headache but I on't think that's related -- but I'm going to hold off until tomorrow to visit Mom (and if the timing works out, take a friend of hers with me). I need to find out whether I can bring Pepper, the sad and lonely dog who follows me around the house imploring me with her eyes to please bring Mommy home. (She's asked me to play with her a couple times, but on the whole she's not her usual too-perky self.)

Speaking of Pepper, there's something I'd been planning to go to for a few days at the end of this week -- RSVP'd and all -- that I need to find a dog-sitter for (as I was reminded last night). I can leave Perrine with a clean litter box and enough food and water for a few days, but Pepper is Not-A-Cat. (I wonder whether my brother can take her for a few days.)

As for today, I'll be participating in the third #qfaith -- queerness and Faith -- chat on Twitter this evening at 6:00 PM EDT. (The second, a few days ago, was a little more structured -- a short mutual-interview between @JMaseIII and @p2son followed by questions from the rest of us. This one will be a looser format like the first one, I think -- @JMaseIII being a good chat-host and me trying to keep up.) The basic idea is to get group discussions going on Twitter from time to time about how being TGLB intersects with being religious. See some of you there tonight.