Hey, I just finally got Xanga Premium. Does anyone know how to download my archives? Thanks for any help you can offer, and more later. * * * * * Mere moments from now, the other computer will make some sort of beeping or ringing noise and I will log on and see my beautiful daughter for the first time in over a month. She and Nathan finally received their new computer today and we are scheduled to take a Skype-driven tour of their home at 5:30 or so our time. Doesn't that sound like fun? Things are at last returning to what passes for normal around here. Having a family wedding complete with visitors from overseas, followed in quick succession by the death of a close family member gives one plenty to think about and lots to do. In the midst of all that transition, we also had to close out our homeschool year. In spite of all the delays, expected and unexpected, and the emotional upheaval of the past six weeks, we were able to finish school pretty much on time, praise God. So this afternoon I went to the school district office and dropped off Blake's eleventh-grade portfolio and handed in my objectives for next year along with the notarized affidavit swearing we are not perverts. (If you have been reading this blog for the past few years you may remember that it is wise not to get me started on that one.) This marked my nineteenth and next-to-last trip to hand in a homeschool portfolio. Although things have quieted down somewhat here we are not without drama. For example, I have been giving myself little manicures lately and it turns out the Sally Hansen Hard as Wraps fingernail hardener I bought in England last spring may work too well. My nails are looking really long and they make my hands look pretty, but it is becoming a challenge to accomplish the simplest of tasks, like scrubbing out my favorite steel skillet. It's sixty years old, stainless steel, and belonged to my maternal grandmother, and I am telling you people it looks brand new. Seriously. It pays to buy quality. Anyway, even with rubber gloves and a brand new Brillo pad, I can't get real close in the corners because my nails are in the way, so I am reluctant to even attempt to clean the kitchen. Folding towels feels really weird with long nails, too, so I haven't been doing much laundry. I have also taken to wearing pull-on slacks because it is just to dangerous to risk zipping a pair of jeans. Unfortunately, pull-on slacks have elastic waistbands, so you can pack on forty pounds before you notice your clothes fitting differently. I bought fabric the other day to make some new curtains for the dining room, but you know what? I'm really worried that carrying the machine down from the spare room and setting it up on the dining room table might put my manicure at risk, and besides, guiding the fabric under the presser foot? Yikes. Adjusting my car seat to a comfortable driving position (my legs are longer than Bruce's, plus I have a built-in seat cushion he does not) requires me to pull a lever on the lower front edge of the seat, and I am telling you it really puts a strain on my nails to pull that thing. I have found only two workable solutions to this problem: I either drive with my face pressed against the windshield, or I only go places with Bruce. Funnily enough, the length of my fingernails does not impede my ability to surf the internet, although it does make a creepy tapping sound when I type. Time to talk to my Baby Girl! | 
