She did give me a cousin's phone number that had been trying to get in touch with me for a very long time and she would not help him until now. That is a plus. He and I are only 1 month apart in age, and I hadn't talked to him in a long time. I called him and we talked for a long time and I'm very glad to be in touch again!
This same sister (the only sibling) didn't bother to call me back in 1996 when my dad passed away. I'd just talked to him a week or so prior, and I had no idea. I found out from that same Aunt in not enough time to attend the funeral, and have never heard from my sister since, with no explanation for why this happened. I'd let it go, content to fill my life with good friends, loving family, and people that ascribe to the same values as my immediate family and I do. Needless to say, she and I are certainly not cut from the same cloth. Most of the time, I don't even think about her, had moved on, and didn't expect to hear from her ever again.
Mark and I met friends at the Maryland Microbrewary Festival at the Beautiful Union Mills Homestead on Saturday afternoon and though I had a fantastic time (though I didn't drink much of the beer), we talked through much of my feelings about the past day's events.
Well, to bring back in that children's book reference, Saturday after weighing in, we went to our usual farmer's market and I got fresh fruit and veggies for the week. I was disappointed in the pound I'd regained, but I thought that wasn't too bad, considering all the stress I'd been through during the week. I hadn't been drinking enough water and I know that usually helps me with my weight. We'd also eaten out more than usual due to all the time I'd spent on phone calls and not on cooking suppers, so I'd gotten enthusiastic again about cooking some good foods for us at home.
I slept well Saturday night, so Sunday morning I went downstairs and decided to clean. I started on the oven and when I cleaned the floor after cleaning the oven (we're the last family on the planet without a self cleaning kind), I decided that the floor was really beyond help which led me to start thinking about replacing it. I was on a roll, so I kept on cleaning, and eventually off we went to Home Depot for some mulch and other things. I bought floor tiles for the kitchen, and began to work on the project that same evening. If you remember the old floor, I'm sure you'll agree that this is an improvement.
It took me Sunday evening and most of the day Monday to get to the end of the 3 cases of floor tiles I bought, so I drove up to another Home Depot looking for more as our local one was out. I was able to get more for the kitchen, finished it, and since I had a case plus a few extras left, decided that the upstairs bathroom needed an update too! I got the bathroom done yesterday, and I really like it! I had to piece at the end because I ran out of 12x12 tiles, but it all ended up ok. Now to get the wall in the living room painted! That might have to wait for another stretch of days off.And you know what? The whole thing with my sister made me really appreciate again how good my life is and how thankful I am for my fantastic family and friends. :) She and I talked a few more times and she is a lot less snarky now, and since she is my sister, I've made a bit of room in my life for her. We'll see how that goes.
